#114

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I couldn’t follow your wishes, sir.”

As if that were some kind of grave mistake, Jung Hosu wore a gloomy expression. I shook my head at him. Unless it was something he absolutely had to do for work, there was no reason for him to always obey my words. He was a person with free will, and I could suggest things to him, but I had no right to force anything.

I didn’t want to be someone who gave him orders. I didn’t even think I had the right or qualifications to do so. So there was no need for him to shrink away like he’d committed a crime just because he couldn’t follow my wishes.

“Please don’t apologize. You’re not obligated to agree with me all the time, Hosu-ssi.”

“But……”

“You have your own perspective, and I have mine. It’s only natural that we clash in situations like this because we both care deeply about each other.”

At my calm, steady words, Jung Hosu slowly lifted his gaze that had been lowered to the ground and looked at me. I gazed quietly into his pitch-black eyes, where warm emotions stirred, and continued.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through. If I imagine you were the one who went through what I did today…… I think I would’ve stood in front of you without a second thought.”

“……”

“It doesn’t make sense to ask someone to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do myself. So I’ll take back what I said about never doing this again. Instead, how about we both just try to be more careful so that nothing like this happens again and you don’t get hurt either?”

If it was something I couldn’t realistically enforce, it was better to let go of it cleanly and look for another way. With that in mind, I spoke the compromise I had come up with, and Jung Hosu blinked slowly and said.

“So we’re going to work on it together? You and me, sir?”

“Yes.”

“……If that’s the case, then I’m okay with it.”

At his acceptance, I gently lifted the corners of my lips. Working together. It was a compromise I really liked.

“Great. Then let’s do that.”

Responding to Jung Hosu with a voice full of satisfaction, I slowly rose to my feet. As I stood up, Jung Hosu reached out and gently dusted off the knee of my pants that had touched the ground. The dust on my suit pants vanished quickly.

I looked at his hand as it moved away from my knee and then reached out and playfully pressed down on his nose. Startled by the sudden gesture, Jung Hosu widened his eyes and looked at me.

His double-lidded eyes, now wide and round, gave him a softer appearance I quite liked. But what I liked even more was the fact that he had expressed his own opinion to me.

He’d lived his life rarely opposing the opinions of his parents or others, and now he was standing up to mine and asserting his own view—that was incredibly admirable. I moved the hand that had been pressing on his nose and tousled his hair thoroughly. His neatly styled hair got thoroughly messed up under my palm.

“You seem happy for some reason.”

Noticing how cheerful I looked, Jung Hosu asked with curiosity, and I replied in a slightly excited voice,

“Yes. I’m happy.”

“What are you happy about?”

“I wonder…… What could it be?”

When I returned his question back to him, Jung Hosu’s eyebrows twitched. I let out a small laugh at his reaction. As I laughed, his dark eyes followed my lips. It was so cute that I gave his head a little more of a gentle rub, and just then, I heard the voice of Secretary Sung Yoojun from behind.

“President.”

“Oh, Secretary Sung. Did you handle things well?”

“There was a little commotion outside, but I sent him off properly.”

A ‘little’ commotion, huh? I wondered how little that really was……

I let out a soft sigh and walked toward Secretary Sung Yoojun. I then tidied his tie and shirt collar, which had become disheveled while he was out.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“It was nothing. Just doing my job.”

At Secretary Sung Yoojun’s reliable answer, I gave him an apologetic look and spoke.

“And I’m sorry to bring this up as soon as you get back, but I think we need to escalate things a bit.”

“It’s fine. That’s also part of my job, so don’t worry too much. Please just give me your instructions.”

“First, Director Do Seungwon is going to gather more victims, so let’s hold off on the lawsuit for now……”

I stopped speaking mid-sentence as a sudden realization struck me. With me suddenly going quiet, Sung Yoojun looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Sir? What’s wrong?”

“I…… just realized I had forgotten one important thing.”

Answering his question, I hurriedly turned around. There, I saw Jung Hosu’s calm face, still sitting in the chair. When I turned to look at him, he tilted his head slightly to the side, expressing confusion.

Looking at Jung Hosu’s innocent face, I couldn’t hide the feeling of guilt. I was so angry at Director Lee Gilseon’s violence that I had forgotten something important, which was rather embarrassing.

“……Hosu-ssi.”

“Yes, President.”

Jung Hosu replied with a calm voice at my quiet call. I carefully looked into his dark eyes and spoke cautiously.

“I’m thinking of suing Director Lee Gilseon because of this incident. Would that be okay with you?”

Jung Hosu’s mouth slightly parted at my question. He looked completely surprised, as if he never imagined I’d ask him something like this.

“Uh…… I’m sorry. I should have asked your opinion first, since you’re the one directly involved, but I got so angry that I……”

In cases like lawsuits, the opinion of the person who’s been harmed is the most important, and I felt bad for rushing ahead without even checking with Jung Hosu first because I was blinded by my anger. I’m someone who believes that anyone who wrongs others should face legal judgment, but I also know that not everyone feels the same way.

There are many reasons why a victim might not report or sue the perpetrator. Fear of other people’s judgments. Fear of retaliation. Worry that no real punishment will be meted out, just wasting time and money. Or simply not wanting to recall the trauma.

Perhaps some people might not understand these reasons. But to the victim, those reasons could be the most important, and I had to respect that. If I truly cared for Jung Hosu, I should have thought about his feelings first, not let my anger take control. I didn’t do that, and that’s why I felt guilty, staring at him with a slightly clouded face. Suddenly, Jung Hosu, who had been blinking blankly, burst into laughter.

“Ha…… Ahahaha!”

Jung Hosu’s clear laughter echoed through the now-empty set, where the staff had disappeared. I stared at him, who was laughing brightly, with a look of surprise.

“Are you really asking that now?”

“Huh? Ah, yes…… I’m sorry.”

Jung Hosu, who had been laughing for a while, asked with a voice still full of laughter. I quickly apologized, and he scrunched up his nose, looking at me as if he couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

“President…… you’re sometimes too stubborn. If you just went ahead, no one would have said anything.”

Despite laughing so hard, there was no trace of anger or discomfort in Jung Hosu’s expression. I felt relieved and replied.

“That’s not possible. That would be disrespecting your opinion.”

At my firm words, Jung Hosu laughed again softly. He covered his mouth with his hand and chuckled for a while before quietly speaking.

“I’m fine with it. Whether it’s a lawsuit or whatever, you can do whatever you want, sir.”

“Are you really okay with that?”

“Yes. Of course.”

After receiving Jung Hosu’s firm answer, I looked at Sung Yoojun. He nodded with a trustworthy expression.

“I’ll handle everything cleanly, so you don’t need to worry about it, sir.”

“I trust you with it.”

I said with strong confidence. Hearing this, Sung Yoojun smiled softly, his lips curving up in a gentle arc. I returned the smile and slowly turned my head.

There, around Jung Hosu, who was sitting in the chair, were the members of Tartarus gathered together, and Manager Ahn Siwon was still holding the first aid kit. I quietly spoke to them, who were all staring at me with wide eyes.

“Shall we go home now?”

***

After the director was switched to Do Seungwon, the music video shoot was completed very quickly. At the same time, the lawsuit against Director Lee Gilseon was also progressing smoothly.

As I had expected, there were many victims who had suffered from Director Lee Gilseon’s wrongdoings. The damages were varied as well. I personally met with victims who wanted to speak with the person leading the lawsuit, and I listened to their stories. I saw them crying as they vented their frustrations.

They had endured because they felt powerless. They cried, saying they couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, feeling bitter and wronged, but had no other choice. After seeing them like that, I spoke to Secretary Sung Yoojun.

“Make sure it’s big.”

Whether it’s sentencing or compensation, make sure it’s as big as possible.

“Get him to pay the highest price he can within the limits.”

Of course, Secretary Sung Yoojun nodded with a confident expression. As always, he would carry out the task flawlessly.