Chapter 35: Film Out
by GideonTo Jubin, it was clear CEO Moon Woo-jin had already passed his limit. Jubin couldn’t help but pity the man, imagining him dreading the next day’s work. He quickly grabbed CEO Park Ji-bun’s arm before he could slip away.
“I’ll drink it.”
Besides, CEO Moon had a habit of clinging to anyone and crying when he drank too much. Jubin had no desire to be the one cleaning up that mess.
“Does it look like I’m bullying CEO Moon this time?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
CEO Park shook his head in resignation and abruptly thrust the glass he was holding forward.
“You can just be CEO Moon’s Black Knight.”
Jubin had been the target all along. He’d fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.
“My arm’s getting tired. Take it already, will you?”
CEO Park Ji-bun was eager to hand over the glass. Jubin took it with a reluctant sigh.
“To actor Cha Jubin’s next project,” Park said, lightly clinking his glass against Jubin’s while his gaze lingered, relentless.
If it had been before the contract, Jubin would have smashed the glass right into Park’s face for his insolence. But since he’d already signed, and out of respect for CEO Moon Woo-jin, he chose to endure it.
Just get through today, he thought, and I’ll never have to deal with this man again.
He downed the drink in one go, a defiant gesture.
The first notes were a blend of nutty grain and sweet caramel, followed by a wave of smokiness. It was a cask-strength whisky, bottled without dilution, and the alcohol content was staggering.
“Whoof… that’s some aroma…”
It was intense. The warm alcohol left a strong burn on the tip of my tongue. I hadn’t had a malt this bold in a long time, and I was inwardly pleased.
“Good, right?” Jubin asked, looking proud of himself for having offered it, as if he’d known I’d enjoy it.
“Take your time and enjoy the solitude.” CEO Park Ji-bun replaced my empty glass and headed back inside.
As the alcohol flowed, my tightly wound emotions began to unravel.
Because of the contract, sex was off the table. Because of the chip issue, smoking was forbidden. Drinking was the only outlet I had left.
My body and brain seemed to instinctively recognize this, absorbing the alcohol as fast as I could drink it. Since it was a high-proof spirit, the intoxication hit me quickly.
My body loosened, my tension melted away, and even the ambient noise around me sounded like soothing ASMR. It was a welcome sense of liberation.
Leaning against the terrace railing, Jubin drank alone until his glass was empty.
“Ugh, it’s so hot…”
He headed back inside, craving an on-the-rocks drink with fresh ice this time. The interior was definitely cooler and more comfortable than the outdoors.
Why did I even go out there… he thought, chewing his lip as he swallowed the rest of the words. Just acting pathetic.
Jubin instinctively steered himself toward the drinks and beverages station.
His foot slipped slightly to the side. Is the hotel floor uneven?
“Yeon-a!”
CEO Moon Woo-jin called out, a loose, easy smile on his face. Jubin nodded and started walking toward him.
As he moved, his feet lagged behind his intent, and his vision blurred, making the world seem hazy and out of focus.
“Meet Director Kim. We’ll be seeing a lot of him as an executive after the merger.”
CEO Moon Woo-jin’s words sounded fragmented, breaking apart as he spoke. A wave of crushing fatigue washed over Jubin, making his body go limp, but he forced himself to stay awake.
Jubin lifted his heavy head and greeted the man.
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Cha Jubin.”
Though he was in the middle of a conversation, his brain felt paralyzed, his reactions sluggish. Perhaps the alcohol was too strong, or maybe he just couldn’t handle it today—a pounding headache began to throb behind his eyes.
The voices around him drifted further and further away. The words he’d just heard blurred into static, and no matter how hard he tried to focus, his consciousness sank deeper into the abyss.
This is it, he thought. The alcohol has won.
Then, the world went black.
A man stepped into the hotel lobby. The bellhop, recognizing him immediately, greeted him with a polite bow.
“Welcome, sir.”
“Good to see you.”
Zion returned the greeting warmly, then casually brushed the raindrops from his shoulder as he walked further into the lobby.
He strode across the floor toward the reception desk.
“May I have the name for the reservation, please?”
“Do Zion.”
After confirming the name, the staff member asked for payment, and Zion handed over his card.
“Payment processed. We’ll have your luggage sent up to your room. Here is your card and your room number.”
Zion smiled as he took the card. “Thank you.”
He headed straight for the elevators. As the doors slid open, the guests already inside gasped in surprise, their voices dropping to a frantic whisper.
“Do Zion… It’s Do Zion!”
Zion, realizing they’d recognized him, gave a brief nod of greeting before turning his back.
Under the elevator’s lights, the line of his shoulders was broad and sharp. The V-taper spreading from the center of his back to the sides cut right through his clothes. His chest was impressively wide.
The line of his waist tapered smoothly, showing off a perfect inverted triangle physique. Even the transition from his shoulders to his arms was strikingly firm.
Though his arms hung naturally at his sides, they possessed the heavy, solid build of a former athlete.
After the other guest stepped out, Zion politely wished them a pleasant stay. Then, his fingers tapped the close button repeatedly.
Left alone in the elevator, he checked his phone, unable to hide his growing anxiety.
“Is he already wasted…?”
He opened his chat with Jubin and checked the time. There was still no reply to his message asking if he’d had too much to drink.
When the elevator reached its destination, he stepped out and walked down the carpeted hallway. Soft lighting lined the walls, and the carpet muffled his footsteps.
He should have gone home after his schedule, but he’d rushed here because of Cha Jubin.
Aren’t you coming to pick up Representative Park Ji-bun?
CEO Park Ji-bun had sent him a photo of Jubin, head bowed and eyes closed, fast asleep as if completely drunk.
For a week, CEO Park Ji-bun had been badgering him to attend the celebration for the merger between SUB Entertainment and MOON Entertainment.
The CEO seemed to think he’d met all the conditions for the contract renewal, but while Jubin was now under the same agency, there had been no progress on the casting news for his next project.
He had tried so hard not to come, but he never expected them to use Jubin—his weakness—to force his hand. Always the cunning bastard, then and now, he thought.
As the door to the private room swung open, he immediately saw Cha Jubin arguing with CEO Moon Woo-jin.
“CEO, I live in a studio apartment,” Jubin said, his voice raised, clutching his phone as he stared at Moon Woo-jin with a blank, bewildered expression.
“You moved into an officetel a few days ago. Don’t you remember?” Moon Woo-jin retorted, his words slurred, his eyes half-lidded as he questioned Jubin with exasperation. “I helped you move! You need to set the destination to the officetel~”
CEO Park Ji-bun watched the two of them with keen interest.
He chuckled softly and waved at Zion, who had just arrived.
“Playing hard to get, are we? You knew you’d come anyway.”
“Did you do this to him, CEO Park?” Zion asked, his voice laced with anger as he strode toward the man.
“I only gave him a few drinks, you know?” CEO Park Ji-bun replied, swaying as he rose from his seat.
He stumbled toward CEO Moon Woo-jin, who was sitting opposite him, and draped an arm over his shoulder to help him up.
“Moon Woo-jin. Let’s go.”
Though he was unsteady on his feet, Moon Woo-jin pushed CEO Park away, his concern still fixed on Jubin. “Ah, wait. He can’t even find his own place right now. I have to help him find it—”
CEO Park naturally took Moon Woo-jin’s hand and pulled him along, his tone firm yet gentle. “Leave it to Do Zion.”
“Do Zion? Do Zioni?”
Only then did CEO Moon Woo-jin recognize Do Zion.
“If it’s our Zioni, I can trust him with Jubini~ Butake~”
He grinned foolishly and followed CEO Park Ji-bun out.
Now, only Cha Jubin remained. Jubin, so drunk he could barely keep his eyes open, was struggling to hail a taxi on his phone.
“Sunbae.”
Zion approached him and spoke softly.
“…Oh, it’s Do Zion.”
His reaction was slow, but he set his phone down on the table and reached out to Zion with both arms.
“Do Zion, why are you only just getting here?”
Zion had never seen Jubin this drunk before. As Jubin stumbled toward him with open arms, Zion didn’t hesitate to embrace him.
The scent of dawn dew, Jubin’s signature fragrance, wafted strongly from him.
This felt like a dream. Jubin had actually initiated the hug…
“Have you had a lot to drink?”
Nuh-uh, Jubin replied, shaking his head as he snuggled closer, rubbing his cheek against Zion’s chest with a playful, whiny tone.
Every time he moved, his sweet scent wafted over Zion, stirring a deep, primal desire within him.
“Sunbae, let’s go. You’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk.”
When a drunk person insisted they weren’t, it meant they were one hundred percent wasted.
“I have to say goodbye to CEO Park and CEO Moon before we… Huh? Where did they go?”
Jubin’s expression suddenly turned serious, and he pushed Zion away with all his might.
“CEO Moon!”
Stumbling and unable to keep his balance, the drunken man tried to run, only to trip over a chair leg and fall flat on his face.
“Sunbae!”
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