101 Ways to Pretend│Taegyu

Chapter 19

It was never not noisy on set. There were always going to be directors unhappy about one thing or another, makeup artists who touched up nothing in particular, and music to accompany the mood of the shoot (though Beomgyu never really found any of it useful). He had to stay professional, his phone was switched off whenever he was on set itself and he wasn't anywhere near his personal belongings during the hours that he was filming. So how was he to know the dire situation Taehyun was in?

Beomgyu switched on his phone after finally wrapping up for the day, seeing the numbers 2:00 pop up on his screen- it was normal for shoots to go on this late, even later on some days. But what lay underneath those numbers were notifications, of frantic text messages and numerous missed calls from both Taehyun and Taehyun's manager, and those notifications were what made Beomgyu's heart constrict in fear.

--

The police station was crowded, not an unusual sight considering the hour of the night- there were drunk men being manhandled by police officers, ladies reporting petty theft, rebellious teenagers stuck in holding cells waiting for their parents, and numerous other small incidents that would quiet down by the time the sun rose. And in the middle of it all sat Taehyun, knuckles bruised and a restless foot tapping rhythmically against the tiles of the station floor.

In a nick of time, Beomgyu was running through the police station and crashing into the seat next to Taehyun, the sound of heavy panting and audible worry fusing in with the ruckus of the station as he looked at the state the anchor was in. The younger's knuckles were bruised and cuts littered his lips and his cheekbones that were crusted with dried blood, but he still made the effort to muster up a smile for the actor despite slightly wincing at the sting of his injuries. Upon seeing the younger, Beomgyu began to spill out complaints and curses alike, words flowing from his mouth that seemed to have no end.

"I'm fine," Taehyun grabbed Beomgyu's hands and interjected his chorus of worries to reassure him before the actor's tone of voice became louder than the commotion around them- mostly because he wanted the other to calm down and partly because he didn't really want all their business to be aired out to every person in the station. Maybe because the amount of noise and the brightness of the fluorescent lights were also making his head spin like there was no tomorrow, especially since he could practically feel his brain rattling around in his head after the whole incident at Beomgyu's house.

"Are you sure you're okay? What even happened?" The elder finally settled on those two questions after rambling for five minutes, awaiting Taehyun's response eagerly.

Taehyun didn't necessarily hate all the attention, but it was unusual to have all of it on him for a change. Baffled by the number of eyes that were on him (Yeonjun, Soobin, a couple of security details and also... Kai? Since when did he get there?), he fumbled for the right words to explain the situation to the whole entourage of people that came running when he was hurt. Somehow their attention felt more pressuring than the dozens of cameras he had to face every day at work.

"I walked into your house and it just felt like something wasn't right, so I walked into the kitchen and I noticed someone standing there- he tried running away and I ran after and we... sort of got into a scuffle? I guess all those years of boxing finally paid off though," he attempted to shrug it off nonchalantly with a smile, acting as if he hadn't thrown the best punches of his life back there (he was proud, but he could never admit it for the sake of savouring the moment).

"Wait... you box? Besides the point- did you get him? Notice his face or anything?" Beomgyu continued asking, prying as much information from him as he could without being over-exhausting- Taehyun could tell that the fatigue was probably showing on his face.

"He's being questioned right now, I managed to call the police before it all went down." He reassured Beomgyu and looked up to see a wide-eyed trio standing behind him, mouths gaping open in shock and maybe... awe?

Yeonjun proceeded to pat Taehyun on the back in admiration, shaking his head in amusement. "Wow Taehyun, Beomgyu really scored with you, huh?" He turned to Kai. "I need to get myself a guy that goes around punching people for me," he sighed, but Taehyun pretended to not notice his eyes shifting to a certain manager in the room.

He undoubtedly didn't miss the way the colour pink crept up the actor's face either as he looked away- but he couldn't revel in it as much as liked since he noticed a detective making his way to the group, lanyard swinging rhythmically against his stereotypical leather jacket, eyes sagging with weariness from working a late shift. All eyes immediately shifted to him when he stepped in their proximity.

"Hi, I'm Detective Lee. I'll cut to the chase- after some questioning, the culprit ended up confessing to working under Director Kim Hyewon. Further investigation will be needed but the perpetrator will be taken under custody, and we will try to keep this investigation as confidential as possible unless you choose to go public and press charges."

All eyes immediately shifted to Beomgyu instead of the detective, shell-shocked at hearing the familiar name. Taehyun couldn't fathom the fact that someone so close to Beomgyu had done such a thing, let alone the fact that Beomgyu had somewhat suspected it for a while- but those were conversations to be had later. What mattered most now was the actor's decision, and everyone shuffled in anticipation wondering whether he would choose to go public or not.

Going public meant ruining her career, and perhaps his own as collateral damage. Hyewon had influence, and she was never afraid to use it- going against her would mean going against a whole network of crooked directors. But Taehyun knew Beomgyu would never be afraid of doing it, even if it meant never acting again. After a moment of silence, the actor finally spoke up.

"Yes, I would like to press charges. And if it's not too much of a hassle... let's go public too."

--

DIRECTOR KIM HYEWON CHARGED WITH ALLEGATIONS OF BLACKMAIL AND STALKING

Sooner or later Taehyun found himself sitting on his couch next to Beomgyu, smiling at the appearance of Hyewon's enlarged face on the TV along with a photo of her being shoved into a police car, as well as the headline displayed across the screen. He slung his arm around Beomgyu and pulled him closer, detecting the personal sense of victory that the actor felt despite not showing it. Not wanting to focus on her anymore after spending days on end submitting evidence and running around, Taehyun switched off the TV after hearing the last of the segment. It was not over- there would be months and months of court trials that came after, but they could spare a moment to not think about the wench.

"Gyu?" He called out to the elder who turned around to face him, responding with a subtle "Hm?".

"What did my father tell you when you met him?" He could immediately see the shift of expression in Beomgyu's face, the air around them turning stale from the change in conversation topic. It wasn't the best time to bring it up, but it was better late than never.

"He was just worried, that's all. Nothing I can't handle," he nudged Taehyun reassuringly. "Anyway, didn't I tell you I would give you a gift for letting me stay here? How about we go to an amusement park this weekend? I think we both need it," he shifted with a smile.

Taehyun knew that Beomgyu was changing the topic to avoid talking about his father, but he gave the actor the benefit of the doubt. How bad could it be anyway?

"Sure, why not?"