Payback - Chapter 10

Delighted by my permission to take nude photos, Photographer Lee ran somewhere in his underwear to take the profile photo. The young man started calling people for styling and makeup, and began to busily move to check the internal equipment, and the surrounding gradually became more noisy. Perhaps the photographer was originally the type to work suddenly, those who were suddenly called in proceeded with the work quickly as if they were familiar with it without complaints.

In the meantime, I was taken to a small room, dressed in various clothes, got simple makeup and hair done. In just less than an hour, all preparations were completed. Now that I just had to take the photo, the manager drove people out and closed the door with a click. With the sound of locking the door, the manager approached me with a serious expression.

“Taemin, let’s talk for a bit.”

When I agreed, he sat down across from me and the questions came pouring out.

“What on earth are you thinking? Do you know what nude is? You’re supposed to take off everything, strip to the skin, and you’re being filmed naked. You’re going to do that? Really? That could be a hindrance to you later… Ah, of course, the artistry will be recognized because Photographer Lee is taking it, but it is clear that it will have a great influence on your image. Are you still going to film it?”

“…Are you really not scared? Sigh, Taemin ah. Even if you don’t take those pictures, the person you talked to said he’ll help you, so you can just take the profile picture…”

“…”

“He said he’d help you, right?”

I nodded.

“He said he’d help you let Photographer Lee take a picture.”

“No.”

“Mhm. That’s right, he didn’t. What? What?! He didn’t?!!”

The chair, which fell backwards while standing up, made a loud noise, but was buried by the manager’s scream.

“What does that mean?!! You said he’d help me, so you asked me to come here!!”

“Yes. But I’ve never told you that he’s helping me with this.”

“But, I, when I asked if you were sure, that’s what you said. That you believed it. You were sure that Photographer Lee would take the picture.”

He nodded as his face turned red with embarrassment.

“Yes, I believed. In you Manager Choi.”

“What? Believed in me…”

“I heard that Photographer Lee only takes pictures of people he wants to take pictures of. So I thought he’d want to take a picture of me if he saw me.”

He looked at me with a puzzled expression, and I slowly explained it to him.

“Isn’t it the manager who scouted me? You said I have a charm to attract people. So I thought that Photographer Lee would definitely see the same thing.”

“Then just… because you believe in my intuition?”

“Yes.”

“What if Photographer Lee didn’t want to take your pictures?”

Somehow I felt his voice trembled slightly, but I was not sure.

“That won’t happen. He’s the person that manager-nim deemed the best.”

Your perception can’t be wrong. I didn’t need to say anything more, but he seemed to have understood somehow. There was a moment of silence. Meanwhile, the exaggerated expression along with the manager’s loud voice had completely dissipated.

“But why did you leave the misunderstanding as it was? Besides, you even called to confirm somewhere before you came in here. I thought it was a call to someone who helps you, was it not?”

“It was phone banking. I went to check the balance.”

“Just without any meaning?”

“No, I heard it costs a lot to take pictures. I checked how much was left in my bank account.”

“…”

“And the reason why I didn’t resolve the misunderstanding was because I liked seeing it.”

“My appearance of being fooled?”

I shook my head at him with a frown.

“It’s about asking someone for a favour and pushing forward with the courage to be shameless. In the past, you were cowardly and kept bowing your head. But even if Photographer Lee stood on his feet in his underwear and was adamant, you smiled and raised your voice as well. You did good.”

When I smiled slightly and praised him, he looked at me and picked up the chair that had fallen down and sat down.

“…Because I had always been like that.”

Mumbling softly, he added.

“I used to be good at asking shamelessly. In the past. But… Do I look cowardly now?

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“Thank you.”

Turning to look, I saw his smiling face.

“For believing in me.”

It wasn’t much. It’s because you’re the only person I can trust. I thought it would be better not to answer from the bottom of my heart, so I grabbed the doorknob silently, and I heard a question.

“Then what on earth did you ask that person?”

“Just, nothing special.”

Yeah. Nothing special.

“What’s the benefit of having you?”

“I can give you a headache from time to time. By the way, there’s no refund.”

“That’s interesting. But I don’t want to.”

“Why?”

“Ah, because I can be a better headache.”

“…”

“To be honest you’re not very interesting. Still, I’ll invest in you for making me laugh this much. I’ll trust your future and pay you a deposit first, so you develop your value so that I can feel interested. What do you think? It’s a good deal, right?”

“What if my value remains the same?”

“You’d better not make such assumptions. If you don’t want your useless body to be eaten up.

“…”

“So what do you want as a deposit?”

“How much influence do you have over the agency?”

“More than you expect.”

“Then get an employee disciplined.”

“Who?”

“My manager.”

———

Click. Click. Click.

The shutter sound of the camera rang so loud that it could reach the ceiling. A dazzling bright light poured from above my head. All eyes were on me. People were buzzing. The sound of the devices moving, the shutter sound of the camera again. Photographer Lee’s voice commanded me.

“Lower your chin!”

Click.

“Tilt a little and look at me!”

Click. Click.

“Don’t stare like that, be as gentle as if you’re looking at someone you love.”

Click.

I was dizzy. It was like being in the middle of a vortex. All I could do was focus on the voices I heard and follow them. I couldn’t afford to think about how I would look and what kind of expression I would make. Standing in front of the camera, which I thought was not a big deal, seemed more awkward than expected and I was embarrassed. Perhaps Photographer Lee’s voice, who was constantly running his mouth while pressing the shutter, made it more so. Even though I was pointed out several times to relax my shoulders, my head didn’t work for a long time after moving my stiff body around. And I realised that I must’ve looked very silly now, but I heard a question from Photographer Lee who stopped taking pictures.

“You rarely get filmed?”

He was looking at the small screen and adjusting the camera.

“Your whole body is as stiff as a log. Your expressions are not varied.”

“…”

“But your eyes didn’t avoid it. You weren’t embarrassed or ashamed.”

When he raised his head, a strange smile appeared on his face. For me, I was embarrassed enough, but I didn’t have to tell him either, so I kept quiet. Perhaps he thought I was angry because I didn’t react, he shrugged with a smile.

“Ah, it’s just amazing. It’s rare for people to look straight at the camera without caring about their surroundings. Are you usually that fearless?”

Expectations were mixed in the gaze at me. Is it my hallucination when he looks like he’s expecting my answer? It may be a little different, but I have received similar attention. Newcomers from a biker gang I was the leader of, or young thugs who looked up to me when I was collecting money. Eyes that had no doubt that every word I said would be wonderful words that meet their expectations. At that time, of course, I had deliberately said childish words with faked bravado to meet expectations.

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t have any hesitation even now. ‘I’m not afraid.’ ‘As you said, I’m actually an amazing person.’ That’s what I would like to say. Anyway, Photographer Lee did not look like a person who suffers losses. And the answer came out of my mouth easily.

“No.”

I added slowly, looking around the people around me, high ceilings, and devices.

“I’m sufficiently scared now. I’m just hiding it well.”

This answer may have changed, but it may be because I’ve gotten used to understanding what kind of person I was. Fortunately, Photographer Lee did not seem disappointed with my answer. He tilted his head slightly and a smile spread across his lips again.

“Wow, I thought he was the pretentious type… The more I see it, the more I’m attracted.”

Mumbling with sparkling eyes, he took a step closer to me.

“Hey, Lee Taemin. I can raise you well. If perhaps men are fine…”

“Ahem!!!”

Suddenly, I heard a loud cough, and the manager put his hand on Photographer Lee’s shoulder with a tap.

“I’ll raise Taemin well, so don’t worry about him and take a picture.”

Surprised by the appearance of the manager, he replied with a frown.

“But I can raise him better…”

“I can raise him much better.”

When the manager opened his eyes wide and refuted, Photographer Lee choked up and asked back.

“So what if I can raise much much better?”

“No way. Because I can obviously raise much much much better than that.”

“That’s what CEO Choi thinks, and if I raise him much much much much better…”

Was that a new type of game? I was looking at the two in doubt, and the woman who came to fix my makeup laughed and talked.

“Mr Lee must have liked Lee Taemin a lot. Nowadays, he wouldn’t say jokes like raising someone so openly.”

“These days” meant that there used to be. I asked while looking at the two who had now raised their voices and was pointing out how many times they said “much” with their fingers.

“Why not?”

When I asked lightly on purpose as if I was not interested, she replied lightly.

“He was really broken-hearted. After that, he declared that he would only date casually. Of course, casual relationships end up being broken up. Please keep it a secret that I said this.”

I nodded to her with a small smile, but I didn’t stop asking questions. The two arguing fools were still caught up.

“Is the celebrity who he broke up with related to my manager?”

As I looked at the two who were still quarrelling, I thought the manager’s excitement was a bit excessive, and on the other hand, Photographer Lee, who had the upper hand since he was a well-known photographer, seemed intimidated. Moreover, since the beginning, the manager has been grumbling about Photographer Lee’s casual way of speaking. As I stared at the girl who didn’t reply to my question, she awkwardly turned away to look at the two still arguing on the other side. Now the battle between the two has escalated to a mathematical problem where they were miscounting the number of “much” each other had said.

“Um, I shouldn’t say it, but if you’re in this field, you’ll find out someday… It’s who you think.”

Her answer could not help but reveal a little smile. There weren’t many people who could be involved with Photographer Lee who was gay and also be a former male celebrity of a manager who doesn’t like sponsors very much. Wherever he goes I hear his name, Song Myeongshin.

“So it’s Song Yoohan.”

Although no reply was given, it was fine. Her surprised look said it all.

I left the manager behind to look at the pictures taken over the 2 hours and went up to the place where the car was first. Perhaps because I was nervous about something I wasn’t familiar with, I felt a little tired, so I was walking to sit in the car, and someone called me from behind.

“Hmm, Lee Taemin.”

When I stopped at the entrance of the parking lot and turned around, Photographer Lee stood there. He quickly approached and coughed again, looking behind his back, worrying if someone was chasing him.

“Hmm, where are you going?”

“Parking lot.”

“Why the parking lot?”

“I was going to rest for a while in the manager’s car.”

Then his eyes widened.

“Tired? That’s good! If you want to rest, my accommodation is on the 2nd floor. Take a rest there! We can talk about my nude project there too~”

Pointing upward with his hand, he replied in an excited air.

“No thanks.”

When I lowered my eyes because there was no reaction, I saw Photographer Lee who stiffened with his hands up.

“…Why? Is it because of CEO Choi, Taemin’s manager?”

“No.”

“Then? Do you… not like me? Are you uncomfortable with men?”

Thirty-three years old? With shallow wrinkles around his eyes, he looked that old. But the disappointment on his face was like a child’s. Without a talent for photography, I felt that he would be the type of person who would find it difficult to live in the world. No, it’s possible that that kind of personality came about because of his talent. Just like how he tries to overcome a broken heart by finding another love.

Perhaps most people were like that. Even if they were brokenhearted and got betrayed, they would not choose revenge, just like Photographer Lee or manager-nim. So that was how Myeongshin could be where he was now. However, not everyone in the world was like that. Myeongshin might have overlooked. That there might be a real person who will pay him back with real time and effort. Like me.

“I don’t dislike you. I’m not uncomfortable with men either. But I don’t feel like fooling around and getting entangled. So go find someone for your broken heart.”

Honestly, when I heard that he had been dumped by Myeongshin, I knew I could not use him. However, it was sufficient to have the manager be involved and know my plan of getting revenge. Although I didn’t know what to do if Photographer Lee had a spiteful heart that he would never date a celebrity again after being dumped.

I purposely said it in a dry tone so that the other person could hear the coldness in it. Then the stiff-faced other party’s mouth opened after a while.

“W…wow! What to do? I’m going to fall for you!”

…What? I frowned as if I heard something wrong, and his excited voice confirmed it.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to have feelings! Just roll around with me and I’ll do anything for you. Hm?”

He wasn’t in the same category as manager-nim. He’s just an idiot.

“What do you want? I know a lot of people, I can put you in the CF right away. Or, there’s a movie director that I know and you can appear right away…”

“You don’t have to do that!”

Fortunately, a louder voice interrupted Photographer Lee. And the manager, who ran gasping, stood in front of me with open eyes and raised his chin.

“That’s enough! I can take care of my own actors, so just keep your hands off, Photographer Lee.”

“But, I can give Lee Taemin what he wants!”

“What? How do you know what Taemin wants? Taemin ah, did you tell him you want revenge on Myeongshin?”

No, but you did just now.

I should have realised that he was an open book when I saw him for the first time, worrying about the children’s school fees when I had been doing delivery work. Unfortunately, Photographer Lee, who had his ears pricked up next to him, reacted first.

“Revenge? What’s this, did you become a celebrity to get revenge? Who is Myeongshin?”

Only then did the manager realise and gasped, but Photographer Lee turned his head at the speed of light.

“Ah- Myeongshin is Song Yoohan’s real name.”

“Gasp! Photographer Lee already knows Yoohan’s real name?”

The manager even kindly confirmed it. Photographer Lee, whose eyes have grown bigger, looked back at me.

“Woah, are you really going to take revenge on Yoohan? Amazing~”

Instead of paying attention to him, I looked back at the manager. His eyes met mine, and he shuddered and took a step forward. He stepped back and grabbed the excited Photographer Lee’s arm.

“Hey, Photographer Lee, I… I was just joking. Haha, what revenge…”

The manager belatedly brought up that it was a joke to make up for it, but no one would believe it. Even the idiot Photographer Lee did not believe it.

“Aye, what are you saying, CEO Choi’s face right now says it’s real. What, CEO Choi is trying to get back at him too? Ah, let me in too! I want revenge too!”

Suddenly, I didn’t want revenge anymore.

t/n: hehe~ photographer lee is a fun person.

on another note, i’ve been thinking for getting a proofreader bc i’m too lazy to check my work lmao so if anyone is interested, can dm me on discord @misa#7404! you won’t have to do much bc i fix sentences as i translate anyway [edit: have found one, thank you!]