CH 22.1

“Let’s go.”

“Okay Hyung, hold on tight.”

Hastily fastening his seatbelt, Lee Tae Gyeom stepped on the accelerator without hesitation. Skilled in driving, he weaved freely through lanes in a large celebrity van, demonstrating almost acrobatic manoeuvres.

“But do we really not need to go to the hospital?”

That was a good question. Lim Seung Hyun took a quick look at Yoo Yeon Seo, who was lying down in the back. His body shook with the rough driving, but fortunately, he was securely fastened with a seatbelt.

“We’re not going to the hospital. We’re just heading home.”

The conviction in Lim Seung Hyun’s voice wasn’t quite solid. He too was unsure if this was the right choice.

“Don’t worry about the scandal. I’ll handle it later.”

“Alright, I’m not worried about that now.”

As Lee Tae Gyeom sharply turned the wheel, the van swerved harshly. Lim Seung Hyun gripped the handhold above the passenger-side window tightly.

“Uh, senior. Are you busy? If not, could you come over?”

They couldn’t just do nothing about this situation after he’d collapsed so suddenly. Lim Seung Hyun decided to use his few connections.

With Lee Tae Gyeom’s acrobatic driving, they significantly shortened the travel time to Yoo Yeon Seo’s home. They carried him across the parking lot quickly towards the top floor.

“This way.”

Following Lim Seung Hyun into the apartment, Lee Tae Gyeom tactfully opened the bedroom door. They carefully laid him on the bed.

“We should change his clothes, right?”

He had seen somewhere that one should loosen things like belt buckles to make the person comfortable and perform a massage. Lee Tae Gyeom took off the prop bulletproof vest he was wearing. Lim Seung Hyun brought out comfortable clothes from the dressing room.

At that moment, a loud ringtone sounded from the pocket of Lee Tae Gyeom’s pants.

“Wait a moment. This is a call from the executive producer”

“Answer it.”

Lee Tae Gyeom answered the call and turned on the speakerphone. Over the line, Park Sang Tae unleashed his irritated voice.

(Yoo Yeon Seo walked off the set?!)

“Uh, Producer, about that…”

Lee Tae Gyeom pulled the phone away from his ear and spoke silently. What should I do?

“Hello, Park Sang Tae-ssi. This is Lim Seung Hyun.”

Without a word, Lim Seung Hyun reached out for Lee Tae Gyeom’s phone and responded. His voice was uniquely gentle, but his expression was somewhat scary, so Lee Tae Gyeom bowed his head and focused on massaging Yoo Yeon Seo’s arm.

Producer Park’s voice quickly calmed down.

(Oh, hello, secretary.)

“Our boss has collapsed.”

(What?!)

His voice overlapped, suggesting he was likely with the CEO. Lim Seung Hyun glanced at Lee Tae Gyeom, who was wincing as he continued to change Yoo Yeon Seo’s clothes.

“It seems to be an aftereffect of a car accident… He didn’t want it to be known to the public, so we’ve come up with a reasonable explanation for the crew.”

(Reasonable explanation? I heard he went home to feed his puppy. Does Yoo Yeon Seo even have a puppy?)

Producer Park, who had a personal connection with the assistant director of ‘Baekho-ham,’ had received a call shortly after Yeon Seo’s sudden departure from the set

He went crazy with his acting today, but then he just walked off the set right before the next scene. I thought his attitude had improved, but it seems it hasn’t. This was a bit of a rant and a subtle hint.

“…Is that so?”

Lim Seung Hyun, deciding not to let Lee Tae Gyeom handle things next time, responded in a chilly tone.

Lee Tae Gyeom clamped his mouth shut. For some reason, he felt a prickling at the back of his head.

(Ah, I see. It wasn’t you, but Lee Tae Gyeom who came up with that, right?)

“…If anything comes up later, it would be helpful if you could dismiss it as him being exhausted from getting too immersed in his acting.”

(Immersed? Him? I heard he went a bit mad today…)

(Park Sang Tae, step aside. Yes, we will handle it.)

“Thank you. Mr.President.”

After hanging up, Lim Seung Hyun sat across from Lee Tae Gyeom and began to massage Yeon Seo’s legs.

“…I’m sorry.”

Feeling the unusual tension in the air, Lee Tae Gyeom apologized. But Lim Seung Hyun didn’t reply. The silence was broken by the ring of Lim Seung Hyun’s phone.

“It seems they’ve arrived. Tae Gyeom, could you give us a moment?”

“Sure.”

With a sigh, Lee Tae Gyeom watched Lim Seung Hyun leave the room. Only then was he able to take a good look around Yeon Seo’s house.

“Why is this room so large?”

Even to his inexperienced eyes, everything looked expensive. The privilege of wealth certainly didn’t skimp on housing. Suppressing a sigh of envy, he continued massaging Yeon Seo.

“Damn it, I really messed up with that dog excuse.”

Lee Tae Gyeom tore at his hair in frustration.

“Senior, over here.”

The person who Lim Seung Hyun had gone out to meet was a senior from his college club activities, now a newly certified doctor. They quickly walked towards the elevator.

“I heard you were employed, but I didn’t realize you’d be chasing after the rear end of a chaebol’s son.”

“I’m not chasing after anyone’s rear end. I’m called a secretary.”

“Huh, secretary… I heard Yeon Seo’s personality is something else. Is it bearable?”

“It’s bearable. This way.”

Despite his words, he had come immediately upon Lim Seung Hyun’s sudden request.

When they entered the room, Lee Tae Gyeom awkwardly stood and bowed his head.

“…That’s not real blood, is it?”

“It’s fake blood for the shoot.”

The doctor, Han Ye Seong, sat down next to Yeon Seo and took out some medical equipment from his bag. These days, synthetic blood not only looked real but also smelled of iron… they must make it quite realistic.

“There isn’t much I can do. You understand that, right? For now, I’ll at least put him on an IV.”

“Yes.”

Quick to catch on, Lee Tae Gyeom brought over a stand light and set it up next to the bed to hang the IV bag.

“He suddenly collapsed?”

“Yes. Could it be a residual effect of a car accident?”

“It’s possible. But there should have been some signs…”

Lee Tae Gyeom pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Now that I think about it… before the shoot, he seemed to be breaking out in cold sweats.”

“Really?”

“His complexion was even worse than now. I thought it was because of the makeup…”

“So, it was even worse than now? Seems serious.”

Having finished his treatment, Han Ye Seong got up from his seat.

“Judging by the symptoms, it seems like vasovagal syncope… Has there been anything stressful happening recently? Or something that could tire him out…?”

“Stress? Yoo Yeon Seo?”

[TN: vasovagal syncope – fainting triggered by a sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate]

Translator’s Note: I am not too sure about the title of Park Sang Tae if some sort of a director or producer. For now, I’ve gone with producer until otherwise.