Payback - Chapter 9

Fortunately, they found a new delivery man so I only had to work for another week. When I handed over the car key for the last time and came out, I intentionally left the company without greeting. From tomorrow, I would have to go to work somewhere else, not here, but it still hadn’t hit me. However, I knew. I would put all my energy into getting revenge just like how I worked so hard for five years to pay back money. Maybe it was just an extension of the time I spent paying back the money. Maybe that’s why I was calm. Even if there suddenly was a problem on the first day of taking a profile picture.

In my mind, I thought that it was just pressing the shutter and then it would be over. So when I arrived at a high-ceiling studio with a warehouse feel, I felt awkward. Unknown devices were lined up here and there, and in the middle of them, only a white background hung.

There were only unfamiliar things but I could see what was missing here. People, there was no one here to operate them.

“No, didn’t I call yesterday in advance? I confirmed twice that I would come at 1 o’clock today, right?”

The manager rarely got angry and raised his voice to the only woman who was left in the studio. However, the embarrassed woman repeatedly said that she didn’t even know since she was a simple part-timer.

“Everyone left early this morning because they had an outdoor shoot. It’s unknown when they will come back…”

“All the cameramen? Photographer Park, too? Are you sure?”

The part-timer nodded fervently to the manager’s question.

“Yes, everyone including the makeup team. So I got a call in the morning saying that I should keep the office empty for a few days, so I came out.”

The part-time employee kept trying to call their superior and making excuses, as if they were about to cry. However, the other party didn’t answer the phone, so I could only hear the dial tone and there was no answer. On the other hand, the manager tried to make a phone call too, but his hand stopped at the words of the part-timer that followed.

“I don’t know either, I heard that Mr. Song Yoohan needs to take an outdoor pictorial urgently…”

“Who did you just say?”

“Huh? Talent Song Yoohan. Ah, hang on, the call is… Ah! Sir! Someone here from Dream said they came to take a profile picture…”

A part-timer who was connected to the other person explained the situation in a hasty voice, but soon listened with a perplexed face.

Then I glanced over and turned my head to look at the manager. It was obvious that the other person wouldn’t be able to come even if the manager didn’t hear it. He’ll probably hang up the phone and apologise. But the apology came from someone else first.

“I’m sorry.”

When I turned my head to the small voice, the manager muttered with his head bowed.

“Perhaps Myeongshin is interfering with your business because of me…”

I had already heard Myeongshin talking on the phone on the rooftop, so I was going to say I wasn’t too surprised, but I shut my mouth. Rather, why was he so sorry about this? Isn’t it just taking pictures?

“Can’t we take pictures elsewhere?”

Immediately, the manager’s face showed signs of embarrassment after the question.

“Ah… This is where the company made the contract with. If you want to go somewhere else, I have to report to the people above and get permission separately. Or, we can just use our own money. But the money right now…”

“…”

“But, it’s okay! Since you have a one month contract and it’s urgent to take pictures and submit them to the people above… Don’t worry! There are a few people who can take pictures at the company, so as a last resort, anyone can…”

Anyone? Weren’t you preaching that the photographer was important? Rather, it seemed that the person who should calm down was the manager, but there was no time for me to intervene.

“Taemin-ah, I have to go back today and make an appointment the next day or so. What about the day after tomorrow?”

When the manager asked the part-time worker who had just hung up her phone, her expression had become teary again.

“Um… they told me not to take reservations until the end of this month because the schedule is full.”

“Sorry? Ha, then we…”

The manager lowered his voice knowing that the part-timer was not at fault.

“For now, please set the earliest date available. We can come even if it’s late at night.”

He talked with the part-timer in such a low tone that I could barely hear it. After repeatedly asking her to contact him when they had time, we left the studio. I thought he was blaming himself for this, but I was fine. I was going to say something, but I couldn’t.

“You were surprised, right? Haha, it happens a lot, your appointment goes wrong.”

He forced himself to smile and the muscles of his face were trembling slightly. For some reason, it didn’t seem like he would be able to hear anything I say right now, so I just nodded and got into his old car. Then he put out some papers for me to see, trying to change the mood.

“I wrote down the schedule you have to follow in the future.”

On the paper he handed out, it was all practice all day long. Vocalisation, pronunciation, movement, dance… The schedule was fairly tight from morning to night and there was also something checked in red, for an hour or two a day. The manager explained by pointing his hand.

“These are classes supported by the company. Most people usually learn in advance, so it may be too much for you to follow. But people can do them all, so don’t worry.”

As expected, I didn’t worry at all, but I didn’t have time to talk again this time. The manager called me to take a class in advance today because I was free. However, the contents of the call flowed to a similar situation as before.

“…What? What do you mean you can’t accept my actor? The company is applying for it. What does that mean… He’s an actor that hasn’t even been verified yet?! Isn’t he trying to learn because he doesn’t know anything? And of course it’s part of the contract…”

The manager, who was raising his voice, stopped talking at some point. When I started suspecting that he had stopped breathing, he muttered.

“…Is it Song Yoohan? That kid… Hello? Hello!”

The manager looked down at the cell phone blankly as if the other party just hung up. I don’t know what happened to the situation, but it seemed certain that my schedule was empty today. I turned my eyes away from the manager and looked down at the paper in my hand. The schedule for a week was written down to the exact timings, and it was densely written on one page.

It looked like a timetable I used to make when I was a student, drawing long lines with a ruler and manually writing in each space at a time. There were four sheets like that. For a one-month contracted actor, how I was going to spend that one month. It must have been painstakingly made.

“Taemin, I’m really sorry. Work… So…”

He said something more, but at that moment, I couldn’t hear it because I was thinking of something else. I didn’t have any power. I knew this in the first place and was trying to think for a way, but in fact, an opportunity may have already come to me.

However, since the other party was a very troublesome person, and I may have been suffering from a headache for a long time, I implicitly excluded him. That psychopath. However, he was right. What can I do at my level? So I had to seize the opportunity without nitpicking about it. Even if it’s a terrible opportunity.

“Let’s go back to the company.”

I grabbed the manager’s arm and cut him off. Then he looked back with inquiring eyes.

“He’s going to be upset.”

Upset? Who is? I briefly gave a name when the manager asked.

“Song Myeongshin.”

Qtja vbfr atja wfjc, tf jrxfv lc j abcf bo jyregvlas, yea P jrxfv jcbatfg defralbc.

“Qtja vb sbe atlcx bo wf, wjcjufg?”

“Lw? Cybea ktja?”

“Gb sbe atlcx P’w lcafgfralcu?”

“Ejatfg atjc lcafgfralcu, sbe mjc yf j tfjvjmtf rbwfalwfr.”

Ca atja ecfzqfmafvis rfglber jcrkfg, P rwlifv jcv qlmxfv eq atf qtbcf. P obecv atf cewyfg P tjv rjnfv pera lc mjrf jcv qgfrrfv la.

[Madman]

After the name appeared, the dial tone began to ring. And after a while, a soft voice that was now familiar flowed from the phone.

“Yes.”

“I’ll give it to you.”

I felt the manager staring at me strangely from the side, and I calmly added as there was no response from the other side of the phone.

“So give me the payment in advance.”

After a while, I heard a question with a low laughter in my ear. “What’s the benefit of having you?”

Benefits? Who knows…

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

———

Click.

Confirming the sound of the door closing with my ears, I leaned his back against the chair of the car I climbed in. The manager’s expression was mixed with anxiety and curiosity, perhaps because I went outside to take the call and he had only heard the previous content.

“Who was that? Who on earth did you say you’d give it to? And what advance payment?”

I knew it was a bad habit that’s disrespectful to the other person, but a question flowed from my mouth, changing the subject and avoiding the question.

“Who do you think is the best?”

“What do you mean, the best?”

“For taking pictures.”

Blink. He didn’t answer and just looked at me, so I let him know a little bit about what he was curious about.

“Someone’s helping.”

“Who?”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t asked for his name yet.

“I don’t know.”

When I answered honestly, the manager’s expression was distorted.

“You don’t know? If you’re joking right now…”

“I really don’t know. But I do know one thing.”

“What?”

I opened my mouth to speak as soon as he asked back.

“A person more powerful than Myeongshin.”

“…”

“Who’s the best photographer?”

“If we are talking about photos then, Photographer Lee is the best. But he’s a weird person who only takes pictures of people he wants, so it’s hard to make an appointment… No, I mean, who’s a more powerful person than Myeongshin? What does he do? How do you know he’s more powerful than Myeongshin?”

This time, even if I switched to another topic, it did not seem to work. However, the problem is that I also knew very little.

“I saw Myeongshin being intimidated by him.”

I thought that should be enough to explain everything. Judging from Myeongshin’s behaviour that I witnessed, it was as though he was lowering himself in front of a stronger opponent. I knew that because I had seen it a lot. There were guys in every group who instinctively knew who was strong and switched sides. Those guys may be annoying and get insulted, but they weren’t really strong, so they don’t get much attention.

The problem is that among them there will always be those with dark intentions who want to rise to the top. I’ve seen whole groups eventually collapse because of the greed and trickery of certain people. This type of person was even more dangerous and troublesome than those strong only externally. I think everyone is different, but obviously there are still some similar types of people.

Myeongshin was trying to be the best, but he’s not at the top. So it was obvious what his actions meant. So it was evident in his actions. The reason he bowed his head was that the other person was more powerful. And I thought this was a simple fact that didn’t even need to be explained, but the manager frowned and asked.

“Because of that, you asked someone who you didn’t even know?”

“Yes.”

“…”

He stared at me and muttered quietly.

“You’re like someone who lives by instincts.”

Isn’t that obvious? Everyone lives by instinct anyway. I tried to respond, but I closed my mouth at the manager’s words that followed.

“But what if that person is a dangerous person? Besides, what’ll you do if he asks for something weird after saying he’ll help you?”

The manager hesitated a bit, then calmly confessed.

“I didn’t like your idea of getting a sponsor, but I tried to let it go because it was for revenge, but when you get involved with someone you don’t even know…”

“Manager-nim, should we spend a month doing nothing because of Myeongshin?”

“…”

“Anyway, do you think I look like someone who would easily be cheated on?”

As soon as I finished speaking, I stared at him, he seemed to have stopped breathing and finally gave an answer with a sigh.

“No.”

“Then leave the issue to me and let’s go.”

Only then did the manager, who answered ‘Alright’, start the car. Then he suddenly looked back on me.

“Where are we going?”

A scene similar to the studio I went to for the first time unfolded in front of me. Inside a warehouse-like interior without a single window, full of unknown devices, and bright lights pouring only over the white background in the center. According to the manager, the photographer’s studio was as cold as the previous place.

“The photographer does not have any studio shoots scheduled today. We don’t have appointments from Dream.”

The only young man who was working on a computer inside looked through a notebook with a tight schedule in a bewildered voice. Hearing that, the manager turned to look at me. His eyes were filled with the same confidence that he had before entering the studio.

“He said he would help you, right?”

He had been checking with me several times and it was bothersome to have to nod again.

“We do not have an appointment, but we need to take pictures. Do you know where Photographer Lee is? If he comes to see us, he’ll know we’re filming.”

“He’s doing personal work at home upstairs. So I was told not to disturb him today…”

“Ah, I’m telling you to ask him to come down first. It’s already arranged so don’t worry and hurry up and call him.”

When the manager urged him strongly, a young man called somewhere with a half-confident look. In the meantime, the young man who had been making calls several times at the manager’s urging turned around and began to say something in a small voice. The manager looked at it with a pleased look and explained to me.

“As you can see from the fact that he set up a studio like this at a young age, Photographer Lee has the best skills. But he’s so stubborn that he’s a person who never films a model he doesn’t like, so I’m a little worried, but he’ll try to take it because the person you talked to on the phone with said he’d help.”

After that, I turned my attention to the young man who ended the call while listening to a series of compliments of this photographer. He turned off his cell phone stiffly and opened his mouth with a contemplated face.

“He said he would come down soon. But… he’s very angry.”

“Huh? He’s angry?”

The manager, who asked in surprise, looked at me who was expressionless and smiled awkwardly.

“I guess Photographer Lee hasn’t been contacted yet. Don’t worry. He’ll contact him soon.”

“Who’s contacting him?”

“Ah, that’s…”

The manager, who was trying to answer cheerfully, glanced at me again and whispered to me so that the young man couldn’t hear.

“Hmm, I’m not doubting you, but are you sure?”

“For now, I believe it. So I’m sure Photographer Lee will take the pictures.”

When I answered firmly, the manager turned his head with a relieved look.

“Haha, I’m sure he’ll contact Photographer Lee.”

“So who is it?”

“…”

“…”

“…A very powerful person?”

“Sorry?”

The young man was dumbfounded and opened his mouth wide and was about to say something when a ‘dadada~’ sounded.

I heard loud footsteps coming down the stairs. Perhaps because it was underground, the sound that was growing as if it were ringing soon led to the door sound that opened with “Bang!” And the loud voice followed.

“Ah, fuck! Who’s disturbing me?”

The person who walked in with the door wide open was a young man who appeared to be around 30 years old, as the manager said. He’s wearing only a pair of underwear.

The most interesting thing in the world is watching a fight as a bystander, but if it is repeated, you will get tired of it.

“Didn’t I tell you not to disturb me? Do you want to die?”

“Sir, I didn’t mean to disturb you, but these people are from Dream… Argh! Say something! They said they contacted you?”

“I’ve never been contacted?”

“Ah, you’ll be contacted! I said you really will be contacted. Look, Photographer Lee, you know me. Do I look like someone who lies?”

“It doesn’t matter whether I know you CEO Choi! I haven’t received any contact. And you, I told you not to bother me no matter what!”

“Sir! I tried telling them that too. But, they say you have been contacted, but how can I… Manager-nim, there hasn’t been any contact!”

“Tsk, I’m telling you you’ll be contacted! And Photographer Lee, you know me, but are you suspicious of me? Hm? Don’t you trust me that much?”

“How many times have I seen CEO Choi? And that’s not the issue here? I didn’t get any contact. And you! If I had said this on the phone, you should have taken care of it on your own. Why would you bother me? Do you want to be fired?”

“Ahh! Sir, why are you doing this to me? The manager here said you were contacted…”

It was like a loop. Seeing the three people face each other in a triangle and repeat what they had said, I had a small doubt. Do they enjoy doing that? After wondering, I moved and walked in front of the white background with the lights on. Standing in the centre, I slowly looked around the surrounding devices. These things are the stuff I have to get used to now.

Strangely, there was no fear or trembling at all. Maybe it’s mostly because of my fearless personality, but I didn’t understand. Why should I be nervous in front of the camera? While standing looking at the front device, which was considered the support of the camera, I realised that the surroundings had become quiet. When I turned my eyes, three people were looking at me with different expressions. Curiosity, frowning, and worry. Among them, a young man with a frowning face stepped forward.

“You can’t go in there recklessly…”

I cut off the young man who was beckoning me to come out and turned to look at the person standing next to him. The person looking at me with curious eyes.

“I heard you only take pictures of people you want to take.”

At my question, Photographer Lee who was in underwear raised one eyebrow.

“That’s right.”

“Then it doesn’t matter. Who you get a call from.”

Shouldn’t you have decided by looking at me in the first place? Recognizing the implicit meaning of my words, he stared at me for a moment. Then he tilted his head to the side and spat out.

“Take off your shirt.”

It was out of the blue, but I didn’t care and obeyed him. I grabbed the bottom of the T-shirt with both crossed hands and pulled it up. My head came out of the clothes, I pulled out my arms, and threw the T-shirt on the floor. And I faced him with my bare upper body. The exposed skin felt cool, but it was okay. I was resistant against the cold. And I didn’t feel ashamed. Isn’t there a person who was more exposed than me in front of me? I didn’t know whether the subject was more ashamed or Photographer Lee was more shameless, he observed my body so closely that I felt bored. As I silently caught his gaze, a question was heard.

“Do you do manual labour? These muscles don’t look like they’re from the gym.”

The manager who was next to him was quick to explain his conjecture.

“Haha, what manual labour. Taemin originally worked as a deliveryman. So he moved luggages…”

“I did manual labour.”

Whip, I could hear the sound of the wind. The manager stared at him.

“What? But didn’t you say that you worked in delivery during the day and at a logistics centre at night?”

“Yes. On weekdays.”

“…”

“I did manual labour on weekends.”

“Then when do you rest?”

“I didn’t rest.”

I don’t know why, but I took my eyes off the stiff-faced manager and looked back at Photographer Lee. For a moment, I thought his eyes were smiling, but then he replied casually.

“Well, it’s just average.”

The manager next to him tried to intervene in his evaluation, but Photographer Lee stopped him with his hand.

“You’re not particularly handsome either. Those kinds of looks are overflowing in this world. Even if you’ve heard that you’re a little handsome in your life, that’s nothing here. On the contrary, if you only look at the appearance, you can’t even be in the median. Well, after holding out for a year or two at the longest, your face won’t be well-known. Few people will recognize you and you’ll go under soon.”

The last words predicting my future contained ridicule. I could hear the manager with a stiff expression calling the photographer quietly, but his voice was soon buried in my question.

“So are you saying you don’t want to take the pictures?”

When asked dry, his lips slightly curved.

“No.”

“Then we can shoot it.”

At my conclusion, he turned to talked to the manager, making his slightly curved lips bigger.

“Where did you get that guy from? The more I see him, the more attracted I am.”

The manager’s face, which had been a little nervous, was completely relieved by his words and started laughing.

“Right? Don’t you want to take pictures? So hurry up and take a good picture of him.”

“Yes, I’ll take it. In return, please do me a favour.”

“I wish I could do Photographer Lee a favour but… that’s not possible!”

I don’t know what ‘that’ was referring to, but the manager’s expression turned scary. Then, Photographer Lee said, “Ai, I won’t touch him.”

He muttered with a sullen look.

“Then what is it?”

When the manager spoke up as if he were wary, he smiled and pointed at me.

“I’m working on a personal project right now, and I want to put him in it.”

Then the manager, whose worries disappeared, nodded in relief.

“If it’s work, then we’re happy to accept. What kind of project is it?”

“Nude.”

“Haha, nu… What did you say?”

The manager, who had a firm smile on his face, stared at the other party with menacing eyes. The photographer, who was startled by those eyes, quickly asked for a favour.

“Aii, CEO Choi, please let me take a picture of him. I want to take a picture of that body! I don’t want muscles that were obtained on purpose, but I really want reality that represents the beauty of life!”

“No way.”

“I’ll do it.”

Whip, there was a sound of wind again. At that rate, I put back doubts that the manager might have a neck disc, and said again to seal the deal.

“I’ll shoot it. Nude.”