Life, Once Again!

Chapter 857. Sequence 12

He thought about calling out to him but then decided to watch the situation. He leaned against the wall while fidgeting with his phone. He couldn’t see the woman’s face because it was blocked by the partition, but he could definitely see Maru’s grinning face. This was the first time he had seen him grinning like that. Although they had been hanging out together since ‘New Semester,’ he had never seen that guy smile like that without a care in the world. He even clapped and responded to the woman’s words, though he didn’t hear what she said. Maru was clearly way too excited.

Giwoo tried connecting the lines in his head with Maru’s actions. A bad Han Maru, an angry Han Gaeul, and finally Maru smiling foolishly while looking at an unfamiliar woman. All of that combined allowed him to draw a picture. It was something so common that it wasn’t even that surprising. A man and a woman breaking up after getting fed up with each other. The reason Gaeul was angry was probably since she was dumped. It wasn’t that surprising that she was angry since she was an actress at the peak of popularity. The reason Mijoo said that it was her fault was probably since she did something between the two. Or maybe, she had an absurd misunderstanding like how it was her fault that the two broke up. That wasn’t really important right now though.

Actors dating each other was very common. It just wasn’t released to the media that often. Even if it was just an act, there was no way romantic feelings would not sprout when they whispered love and kissed each other for months. Sometimes, top stars and minor actors would date each other, but most of the time, that ended badly. It was natural as there was a gap in their league. This was why people should play with those in the same league. Getting involved with someone in a different league would frustrate both parties before it ultimately ended badly.

It was quite a pity. If the two were close, then the ecstasy of stealing her from him would have been multiple times bigger. This guy really wasn’t to his liking. Even if he tried to socially bury him, this guy had nothing to him that he could bury. He then tried to make him taste the sense of powerlessness from having his lover stolen, but he dumped her first. He was a frigging Bohemian. There was nothing that bound him, so there was no way to attack him. This guy was frustrating.

It was time to check on the situation. Giwoo pretended to be on a call and walked towards the two. Luckily, Maru noticed him first. Maru scanned him up and down with a displeased expression.

“Maru, what brings you here?”

Giwoo greeted him first so that he could not ignore him. That guy hinted to him to walk away, but Giwoo replied to that with a smile. Looking at him panicking slightly was very pleasing. This was his first time seeing Han Maru so flustered. It meant that he was really serious towards the woman in front of him. He turned around to the woman and asked for a handshake. Although she had taken her mask off, she still had her baseball cap deeply pressed down, so he couldn’t see her face. However, just from her jawline, he could tell that she was a considerable beauty. Han Maru, this lucky bastard, either had incredibly good talking skills or a very big thing between his legs.

“Hello.”

He greeted the woman. As he was here, he had to check her face. The woman scoffed and took off her cap. It was someone Giwoo knew well.

“Suyeon-noona?”

“Oh, it’s Giwoo. I thought it was one of those obsessive fans of mine. What brings you here?”

“I came here to drink with a couple people I know. How about you, noona?”

“Me? I’m here to have a drink with this guy as well. But you two look close?”

“We are. Aren’t we, Maru?”

Maru’s eyes twitched. His displeasure was apparent. It was so refreshing. He even wanted to capture that flustered expression on camera. It was a pity that he could not take his phone out.

“We’re friends.”

“Really? Giwoo, since you’re here, you should have a drink too, right?”

“Sure.”

Suyeon picked up a bottle. Giwoo accepted her pour with both of his hands on the glass. Han Maru was staring holes at him from the side. It seemed that he really didn’t like this.

“It’s been a long time since I got to drink with you, noona.”

“You had it so busy, that’s why. Also, you didn’t even call me once. We can only drink if we can talk to each other, duh.”

“That’s true. Looks like I was a little dumb.”

“Give me a call next time. I’m good at drinking.”

He rolled the fruit-scented liquor around his mouth for a while before swallowing it. He felt like he could get drunk pleasantly if he kept drinking here. There was no need for accompanying snacks. Han Maru’s displeased face was enough of a snack.

“You should have a drink too, noona.”

He picked up the bottle and tilted it. After receiving a glass, Suyeon drank it heartily in one go. Just like the rumors that said she was refreshing, she didn’t hold back while drinking. She even tapped down the glass and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. If this was their first time meeting, he would’ve thought that this was the kind of person she was, but Giwoo knew Suyeon’s other face very well. If any other actress wanted to drink with him, he would not refuse, but if it was Kim Suyeon, he would look for excuses first. Her appearance wasn’t lacking compared to anyone, so it would be pleasant to drink while looking at her face, but still, he couldn’t afford to sit at the same table with a viper hiding its fang. Right now, it was fine since he was an uninvited guest.

“I know that you two belong to the same agency, but you two are pretty close after all, huh?”

He threw a question to probe out the atmosphere. Suyeon swirled the empty glass around as she spoke,

“I’ve known Maru for quite some time, so I guess you can call us close.”

“I want to go to JA too in the future. I hope you can say a word or two to the president for me. You too, Maru.”

“If Kang Giwoo is coming, I’m sure the president will welcome you with open arms. If your contract expires, you should think about it seriously. It’s good to become a part of the family, isn’t it?”

“I’ll really seriously consider it.”

“The president of Soul must be disappointed to hear that.”

“It’s fine, our president has a big heart.”

Maru tapped him with his elbow, hinting to him to leave. He couldn’t stand up already when he hadn’t found out anything yet. He wanted to see him act displeased for longer too.

“Maru. I called Gaeul just a while ago, and she sounded angry. She probably wouldn’t answer me even if I asked her why. Do you know anything? You two are close.”

Han Maru’s expression froze up in an instant. Rather than his stiff face, Giwoo chased his eyes. His lips were twitching in displeasure, and his eyes were giving glances at Suyeon. At this point, he was convinced.

“How would I know?”

Although he sounded like he was oblivious, it was child’s play in front of Giwoo, who knew everything.

“Also, stop talking about Han Gaeul. What are you doing, talking about someone that’s not here in front of someone else?” Maru whispered to him.

He almost burst out laughing. He even found this guy pitiful for trying to look good in front of a woman. Just what made him so worried about this guy until now? The beast-like eyes that he showed from time to time were gone without a trace. So even he wasn’t anything much if he got nervous.

Although he tried to stay seated, Maru called him out separately. Giwoo thought that this was about enough and followed him out. Maru started speaking where Suyeon’s eyes did not reach,

“What the heck do you want?”

“What’s this all of a sudden? I just said hi because I was glad to see someone I know here.”

“If that’s true, then just leave after saying hello. Don’t say anything unnecessary.”

“Anything unnecessary? Did I say something bad?”

Maru’s lips twitched, but he didn’t say anything. There was probably no way that he could say that he used to date Han Gaeul and that he was trying to look good in front of Kim Suyeon now. Giwoo decided to ask just to confirm,

“But hey, it looked good back there. Are things going well with Suyeon-noona?”

Maru shook his head, saying that it was nothing like that, but there was definitely a hint of a smile on his face. It was clear that this guy held Suyeon in his heart. He wondered how far he had progressed. Were they dating already? Or did he just dump Gaeul so that he could change ships?

“What are you two doing?”

Suyeon came over. Maru said that it was nothing and that they should go back.

“Go back first. I have something to talk about with Giwoo.”

Maru didn’t leave immediately and stuck around for a moment. He looked pathetic for being servile to Suyeon. There was nothing more tragic than a man being dominated by a woman, and yet this guy was the prime example of that. When Suyeon once again told him to go, Maru put on a foolish smile and turned around.

“I thought you were supposed to feign ignorance in this place even if you do find someone you know. Have the rules changed recently?”

Suyeon’s eyes were aglare unlike when she was at the table. This was her true form. She couldn’t be more duplicate than this. According to the rumors, there were at least ten producers that this woman had ensnared. It might be an exaggeration considering that she had never been caught up with bad rumors, but it was also likely that she was very good at cleaning up the aftermath. What he could say for sure was that he couldn’t afford to joke around with her. Giwoo did not see Suyeon as someone below him, whether it was in terms of popularity, appearance, or skill. Above all, he liked her for knowing how to use her head to manipulate other people. He had no plans on warring against someone of the same kind.

“That guy and I have some matters. But are you two dating?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“You still don’t get what relationship we’re in after seeing how he acted?” Suyeon asked as she licked her lower lip.

It was indeed one of the stories he had in his mind. Maru had fallen for Suyeon and was seeking her love.

“I get what it is now.”

“If you do, then get going. I thought you had company. Let’s mind ourselves with only the people we should care about. As far as I know, you don’t like people disturbing your business either, do you?”

“I don’t, a lot.”

“There’s a good boy. You really are a good boy, unlike the rumors.”

“There are rumors about me?”

“On our side, a little.”

“You’re different from the rumors too, noona. I thought you only partnered with capable people.”

“Women like to be innocent at times. You should try it too, I mean being in innocent love. Don’t do things like drugs.”

“Don’t say something so dangerous. There’s no one in Korea who does drugs.”

“Right?”

“Of course.”

Suyeon placed her hand on Giwoo’s shoulder. She started stroking upward before her hand eventually reached his neck. She flicked his Adam's apple and spoke,

“Why don’t we have a drink together sometime? I don’t think we’ve ever drank just by ourselves.”

“I’d love to, but I’m a man with many fears.”

Suyeon chuckled and took her hand off.

“I don’t like you either. Let’s not get close to each other.”

“Sure. Oh, right. Good luck with Han Maru, with that innocent love or whatever.”

“I’m not sure yet. It might end before it even starts because of my lack of interest. You know, don’t you? Innocent things are quite boring.”

Suyeon turned around and waved her hand. From the way she spoke, it seemed that Han Maru was destined to get rejected. Perhaps this drinking occasion was his last. Thinking about how Han Maru would be looking forward to dating Suyeon, he burst out laughing. That guy had a terrible eye for women. He was acting cute in front of a viper who can very well swallow a man whole.

“Dumping Han Gaeul for Kim Suyeon, huh.”

Giwoo fidgeted with his phone. Gaeul’s face kept popping up in his mind. If he could meet her now, he would be able to score some points with her by consoling her. These days, he thought about her a lot more. He had to admit that this had gone beyond simple possessive desire. It probably started back then on the day they shot their first kiss. It was the day a fluffy emotion he had never felt before swept across his heart like a wave.

He put his phone inside his pocket. There was no need to hurry. There would be plenty more chances to see her in the future after all. Perhaps thanks to Han Gaeul, Han Maru left his interest. Seeing him act so submissive in front of Suyeon made him feel like being concerned about him was a waste of energy.

Before he went back, he had a glance at Han Maru who was looking at Suyeon, for one last time. His eyes were sparkling like a dog seeing food. Giwoo laughed in ridicule before turning around.