"It had e, as expected."
"It was somewhat of a relief."
Calmly searching through the kitchen drawer, I found and took a calming herbal pill. I scooped some honey, a gift from Nam Joyoon's mother, into a mug and brewed myself a cup of honey tea. As the sugar hit, my nerves relaxed. The effects of the medicine were superb.
"Hyung, why is it so quiet? Team leader, you're not monitoring, are you?"
"Just watch. You have to eat shit to know it’s shit."
"What are you talking about! Hyung, never look it up online! You know I'm the expert when it es to this, right? Mental health is the most important."
"If you know so well, why are you always looking things up and whining?"
"Ah, keep quiet! Can’t you read the room right now?!"
Amidst the loud voices of Im Seoyoung and Eljay ing from the speakerphone, Im Seoyoung soon spoke again.
"Anyway, Hyung, don't worry about things like hate ments!"
"Are there hate ments?"
"About me?"
I logged onto SNS. Searching my name, I saw that new posts were being updated almost in real-time.
"Let's see what they're saying."
"I went to see 'Hong Gil-dong' as the first session. I’m on my way to get a refund from Jung Sunwoo."
"This is bullshit, even Jung Sunwoo who remended this is a bastard for making me watch this at 7 AM."
└What remendation? He even clarified that it was a rumor.
└But when they were promoting 'Hong Gil-dong,' it was flaunted as remended by Jung Sunwoo.
"I think Jung Sunwoo must have been paid to promote this. He’s been continuously associated with World Art Pictures from 'Alive' to 'City Jungle,' isn’t it obvious he was promoting it? He denies it to avoid the backlash while keeping the promotions up. Pure honey for him, isn’t it?"
└Exactly, seems right. Such insight.
└What about the other movies on the list?
└You have to make a tidy list so it doesn’t look obvious.
"This time it's just Jung Sunwoo picking the wrong movie. About time he slipped up."
"Let's stop looking."
Hearing my incredulous sigh, Im Seoyoung advised again.
"Did you see? Ah, I told you not to look! From my experience, on days like this, it's best not to leave the bed."
"What is this, a reason to go into hiding?"
"Hyung."
This time, it was Lee Songha.
"Are you really okay?"
"Don’t worry about me. This chaos won’t last long."
"But people are too much..."
Lee Songha's voice trailed off solemnly.
Despite everything bubbling underneath, the hate ments seemed trivial to her.
"Stop monitoring and get back to work."
"How can you say that with all this chaos?"
"I’ll handle everything. Have I ever messed up or failed?"
"That's true."
"So what’s there to worry about?"
Suppressing the urge to speak my heart out, I ended the call.
I then dropped a herbal tea bag into my still-warm honey tea. The sweet and subtle aroma lingered around my nose.
Someone sent another message, and my ignored phone vibrated intensely.
I ignored it and leisurely sipped my tea.
This was all expected.
From the day Baek Hansung asked about my mental state, I had been preparing for this moment.
It didn’t bother me.
Not really.
*
pared to the noisy online world, the office was quiet.
Although glances followed, no one overtly asked anything. Instead, the staff tried their best to act as if nothing was amiss, treating me with the usual demeanor.
A bit of humanity seemed to rise within me,
But evaporated as soon as I reached the fifth floor.
The promotional team's office was bustling with prowlers.
Goodness.
It seemed they wanted to witness my downfall in real time, those who typically disliked me were especially gleeful today. Every time we met, their faces soured, but today, they were all smiles.
Among them, the most delighted was,
"Team Leader Jung!"
Acting team leader, Cho Byunghwan.
He briskly approached and patted my shoulder.
"It’s okay. The first time is the hardest, it's nothing once you get past it. We've all been through it."
"How could a person only walk on a path of roses? This is normal."
"I don't understand why everyone is making such a fuss. Everyone goes through this, learning from insults and embarrassments. Don’t worry too much, Team Leader Jung."
It would have been better if they had just mocked me.
Their true feelings were obvious, but outwardly, they all acted like wise seniors, showering me with forting and
encouraging words which made it even more unbearable.
"This too shall pass. I’m a bit busy right now."
"Oh, alright…"
I waved them off like shooing flies and left.
In the office, Kim Hyunjo was waiting for me.
He held a box of doughnuts that smelled strongly of sugar.
"You’ve had a tough time. This is a gift."
"Thank you."
He followed me into the team leader's office and cleared his throat before speaking.
"Don’t mind those clueless people outside. You know how it is. When someone unlucky slips, everyone jumps at the chance to bite."
"Am I that unlucky guy?"
"Well, my point is, those who thought so are now jumping out at this opportunity. It's said that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down, and you weren’t just sticking out; you were like a meteorite that fell from the sky…"
His words were disorganized, but I understood what he meant.
Seeing him try to offer clumsy fort with his tired, dark-circled face made me feel a pang of emotion.
Ah. Am I being sentimental?
I almost hugged him.
Just then, there was a knocking sound, and the third team leader entered the room, holding a jar of homemade liquor and a single paper flower.
He looked particularly nonsensical today with a snapback, part of Blackout merchandise, worn askew.
He placed the crumpled paper flower on my desk and inexplicably wished someone's soul peace.
"Who died?"
"Yeah, there was someone. Called Midas's Touch. It was short and intense, lasted about three years."
This guy, really.
Before I could react, Kim Hyunjo, looking genuinely flustered, suddenly kicked the third team leader's sturdy shin.
"Are you a sociopath? Huh?!"
"Ah, ouch, ouch, it hurts! It was just a joke, man! Normally, you should take these things lightly. I was trying to lighten the mood because I was worried you’d be brooding over getting trashed."
"A joke? You call that a joke!"
"My pride is intact, and I’m not brooding. Please leave, go on."
I sent the disruptive duo out and then brewed some coffee.
Just as I poured a cup, there was an ominous knock.
"Team Leader…"
This time, it was Director Lee Taeshin from Prettygirl.
He entered cautiously and pulled something from a plastic bag he was clutching. It was a box of medicine that looked like a fatigue recovery supplement.
"This is like a recovery supplement. When Prettygirl was going through a rough patch, I started taking this because of stress-induced gastritis and headaches, and it really helped. Thought it might help you too…"
The listed benefits were extensive.
Anxiety, nervous exhaustion, sleep disorders, asthenia, tonic, loss of appetite...
A cure-all?
"Thank you."
I took it anyway.
Once the office door closed, I was left alone again.
I slumped back in my chair.
I felt drained just ten minutes after arriving at work.
Wondering whether to take the cure-all, I ultimately just shoved it in the drawer and instead pulled out a doughnut.
With the first bite, the sweet sugary coating crumbled and melted in my mouth. The oil-fried dough was chewy yet moist. Each bite felt like fireworks exploding in my head.
I quickly ate two and, on a whim, poured myself a shot of the homemade liquor.
Indeed, sugar, carbohydrates, and alcohol are the ultimate peacekeepers of the mind.
Sipping the liquor, I pondered how far this situation would go.
After all, this was just the beginning.
It seemed it would be noisy for a while.
***
Million.
On the opening day of "Hong Gil-dong," the number of spectators exceeded a million.
It was a tremendous achievement that took the third spot in the domestic box office opening scores.
It implies that many had booked their tickets in advance and waited just for the premiere of "Hong Gil-dong," and just as many were devastatingly disappointed.
No, a million...
Somehow a million people on the first day...
The aftermath was massive.
I did end up watching it, but I urge you all never to watch it—a sacrificial review.
I can’t be the only one to suffer; "Hong Gil-dong" is a masterpiece of my life, so you all must watch it too—a ghostly persuasion.
Both sides clashed fiercely. It was simply a mess.
And on the second and third days of the release.
The number of spectators truly plummeted.
Naturally, whether on social networks or munities, it was chaos.
I don’t know how my name is being tossed around in there.
I haven’t seen it.
And I won’t in the future either.
***
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