Chapter 36.1

Chapter 36.1

Kyung-soo flashed a grin and winked at Miran. Startled, she blinked and glanced over at Hyuna, who gave her a subtle nod, as if to say, “Just go along with it.” But Kyung-soo was more than twenty years older than her.

Oppa…? The word sent chills down Miran’s spine.

“What? But… how can I call such a senior like that…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. After spending all day biting and sucking on each other, by dinner time, you’ll be calling me oppa in no time,” Kyung-soo joked smoothly, his voice oozing confidence.

“What? Oh… yes…”

His gaze trailed from the top of her head down to her feet, lingering on the cleavage peeking out of her deep neckline. Miran felt a wave of darkness wash over her vision.

At that moment, the assistant director Seongho announced the start of the rehearsal.

—

The title of the film, A Gangster’s Innocence, was ridiculous, and the script was trashy, bordering on p0rn!gr@phic. The fact that Miran would soon be acting out those memorized lines in front of the camera had been gnawing at André’s mind since that morning.

He couldn’t shake the memory of Miran, terrified and sobbing on the day they first practiced the script. The thought unsettled him so much that he barely touched his lunch before retreating to his hotel suite. Pacing and glaring at the phone for a while, he finally snatched it up.

Since the filming location was close to the base, stopping by for a moment didn’t seem like a big deal. He justified it to himself as repaying the woman who had helped him when he lost his bag. That thought made it easier to leave a voice message on Miran’s pager.

At exactly 4 PM, André arrived at the karaoke bar near Samgakji.

Descending into the basement after pushing open the unlit karaoke bar’s door, he found the brightly lit interior bustling with scattered film equipment and staff. One of the crew members noticed André and, startled, approached him, crossing their arms in an X-shape to signal that he couldn’t come in. Just then, they paused, hearing a voice from behind.

A man holding a rolled-up script like a microphone called out loudly from across the room, his voice booming.

“Assistants! Gather over here right now! The director says he’s going to give you all a show you’ll never forget. You’re lucky, so watch closely and learn something!”

Cheering erupted from all around as half a dozen men gathered together.

“Hey, did you see her earlier? That mixed girl?”

“Who, Chorong?”

“Yeah, the tall chick with the killer body. Dude, her chest, oh man… I’m not getting any sleep tonight. You know what I mean.”

One of the younger men brushed past André, hanging off the shoulder of the guy in front of him while laughing.

“Man, you’re such a lowlife.”

“Fu11ck you! Can you even take yourself seriously when you’re grinning like that while saying this stuff? I’m gonna check your d2ck in the middle of the shoot if you’re actually hard or not.”

“F^ck, cut me some slack. How can anyone not get hard with a girl like that? Stripped down and crying in front of you? If I knew this was coming, I would’ve gone into acting too. What a waste.”

“You need to take a good look in the mirror.”

“Like you’re any better.”

The moment André heard the name “Chorong” in the middle of their crude banter, he froze. A cold, prickling sensation spread through him, as if all the blood had drained from his body. His icy green eyes, now hard as winter pine, locked onto the backs of the men ahead of him.

His blood boiled, as if his insides were being incinerated. The sound of ringing filled his ears, and a wave of heat surged so intensely that his vision turned red. Within mere seconds, sweat poured out of every pore, slick and unpleasant.

‘So, they’re going to strip an actress nake#d and have her act out a s#x scene, treating it like some sort of reward for the male staff.’

The image of Miran’s tear-streaked face, terrified even during rehearsal, flashed in his mind. He also remembered the way she would beam at him with innocent delight, unable to hide her emotions. Without even realizing it, André’s legs began to move, following the direction the two men had taken.

Step by step.

His feet felt heavy, as if he were trudging through a thick mire.