"The Response"
A sedan screeched to a halt in front of Yongsan Police Station.
Screeech—!
Before the tires even stopped spinning, the back door flew open, and Enbin bolted out.Cap, sunglasses, mask—the whole disguise only made him look more suspicious.The officers standing by the entrance traded wary glances.
"Bin! Wait up!"
"Mu-yeong, go after him—he's gonna blow up in there."
"Hey! Don't run!"
While the manager parked the car, Mu-yeong sprinted after Enbin.
"Excuse me! Where's the detective division?"
"Upstairs."
"Ugh—so fast!"
No wonder idols had stamina—dancing and singing every day really paid off.Enbin didn't even pause for breath as he tore up the stairs.
– "The suspect has been arrested."
Only two days after the report, the message came through.
When Enbin had asked the blackmailer to send the video, there'd been no response.Two hours later, the same blurry still image had arrived again—nothing else.
Bang!
"Where's Detective Kim Min-cheol?"
Those two hours had felt like forever.When no reply came, his fear curdled into rage—and that second, taunting photo had poured fuel on it.
Only the picture exists.
The image was so unclear that even die-hard fans wouldn't have recognized him.There was only one thing left to do—report it.
"Over here."
A bald detective raised his hand from the corner.Across from him sat a woman in a hoodie, head bowed low.
Enbin froze. He knew that back anywhere.He'd seen it following him too many times.
"...Lift your head."
At his low, shaking voice, the woman slowly looked up.
It was her—the stalker.
Enbin lunged before anyone could stop him.
"You crazy—!"
"Hey! No! Don't!"
"Sir! You can't do that here!"
Mu-yeong wrapped his arms around his waist to hold him back.It caused a brief uproar, but the officers seemed used to this kind of scene.
"I'm sorry, oppa… hhh—"
The stalker burst into tears even as Enbin grabbed her collar.The detective muttered under his breath with a grimace.
"Lady, he's twenty-nine, you know."
"If he's handsome, he's oppa to everyone!"
The wildly inappropriate comment broke the tension for a second.Mu-yeong risked a glance—Enbin looked seconds away from snapping.
"I'm sorry, oppa. I just needed money. Please—just once.For the sake of all the time we've spent together, forgive me. Please?"
Hands pressed together, sobbing, she begged.Enbin's face went from stone-cold to pale as death.
"The time we've spent together?"What the hell was she talking about?!
"I didn't mean any harm. I was just curious what you did at home.I figured you must be seeing someone…"
She hadn't even realized the camera had captured that scene.For a moment, shock and betrayal washed over him—but beneath it, pity still lingered.After all, he had been someone she claimed to love.
If only that fire hadn't happened.
"Then why'd you take screenshots?"
"The woman's face wasn't clear. I wanted to see who she was.I adjusted the brightness, but I couldn't tell."
Her statement made him exhale shakily.Good. She didn't know. She couldn't.He'd done everything to keep that relationship hidden.
The detective motioned for her to sit properly.
"So, according to her, the original footage was on a USB—destroyed in the house fire.Only the screenshots were automatically saved to her cloud backup.She said she uses, uh… what did she call it?"
Mu-yeong mouthed silently: "Jjik-deok." (A "photo-freak.")
The detective scratched his nose, half-smiling.
"Right, that. She says she uses an app that saves every picture automatically,but not videos—they take up too much storage.We'll confirm that later.And yes, it was a drone—exactly as we suspected."
"What about the money?"
At Mu-yeong's question, the woman flinched.
"She claims she spent some—around six hundred grand—on living expenses.We found her in a hotel, and another hundred fifty went there."
"That—!"
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, oppa!"
"Stop calling me oppa!"
He nearly threw the chair beside him before she dropped to her knees again, wailing.
Still, it could've been worse—out of the hundred million won, she'd spent only about seventy-five million.
Mu-yeong grabbed his arm quickly.
"It's fine. Think of it as being over. Okay?"
"I'll get every last won back."
"Oppa…"
"Shut it! You disgust me!"
If the manager hadn't arrived just then,a punch would've landed for sure.Mu-yeong clung to his waist again, barely restraining him.
"Mu-yeong! Take him out!"
"Come here, you—!"
"You realize there are reporters in the building, right? Calm down!I'll handle it. Get outside—now!"
Slam!
The door shut behind them.Enbin heaved for breath, fists trembling.He'd calmed down—barely.
"Want something to drink?"
"Haah… What do I even do?I swear, tearing her apart would make me feel better."
"Don't. Just let the law handle it.The more you rage, the more it eats you up.She'll pay her dues."
Enbin frowned.Why did Mu-yeong always sound like some enlightened monk?
"You're annoying, you know that?"
"Mhm. But I'm right."
He answered confidently—because behind that woman, Mu-yeong had seen it:
a mass of black smoke, thicker and darker than ever before,so dense it had swallowed even the restless ghost of her mother whole.
"...Whatever."
Grumbling, Enbin headed for the lounge.They sat across from each other, cracking open canned coffee.The warmth in his hands, the low murmur of police outside—bit by bit, the fury drained away,leaving only the faint hum of the city beyond the window.
"Thanks."
After a long silence, Enbin finally spoke.Words he hadn't managed to say in all the chaos.
Mu-yeong just smiled softly.
"Took you long enough. I even missed all my classes."
Since that day, Mu-yeong hadn't gone back to school—he'd stayed with Enbin at his dorm.Technically it was a shared house with other members,but they'd all moved out, and the situation was too serious to leave him alone.
"You said you go to Seoyeon University, right? You must be smart."
"Call it an act of God."
"...Really, thank you. At the reading session too, and for coming to see me today."
An idol's life was full of colleagues but empty of friends.Maybe Enbin was just peculiar—but after spending his youth in show business,he'd never really learned how to trust anyone.
"How can I pay you back?"
"Pay me? Just buy me lunch."
"When I get that billion won back, should I give it to you?"
Mu-yeong's eyes went wide.He nearly snorted coffee through his nose.It had to be a joke—but Enbin looked completely serious.
"Are you out of your mind? Why would I take that?"
"Because if not for you, I'd have lost that money—and my career, my girlfriend, my private life. Every last piece of it."
He'd gone so long without real friendsthat he'd forgotten what pure goodwill even looked like.Everything had a price, or so he believed.
Mu-yeong scratched his cheek, awkwardly.
"We're friends. Don't make it weird."
"Friends?"
Enbin blinked. Friends? Him?
"I'm older than you, you know."
"You've been dropping honorifics just fine so far.And you're a 'fast' birthday anyway. Want me to switch to polite speech now?"
"...Unbelievable."
"Yeah, I know. Me too. Anyway, keep your billion.Save it for retirement. Just don't quit."
He was right.After canceling his contract, all of Enbin's schedules had been frozen—album release, concert rehearsals, and of course, the web drama.Square Film and the Seoul City Media team were probably tearing their hair out right now.
"It was supposed to upload Friday, but it got delayed.Today's Saturday, so everyone's off work anyway, right?"
"You're crazy. How can you think about that now?"
"I told you—it's my first project."
At that, Enbin couldn't help but laugh.The kid was strange. Determined.Someone who knew exactly where he wanted to go—and would get there no matter what.
Then, from down the hall—
"Bin! Mu-yeong!"
"We're here."
"Oh, good. Did you have something to drink? Feeling calmer?"
Enbin tipped back the rest of his coffee before asking:
"How did it go?"
"We made it clear—no leniency.The company's legal team will take it from here.You can stop worrying.And thank God, nothing leaked to the press."
The manager wiped sweat from his forehead,watching his artist's expression carefully.Enbin had nearly torn the walls down to see the culprit's face earlier.
"So now—"
"Let's go."
Thunk!
He tossed the empty can straight into the trash and stood up, passing the manager by.
"Sorry, hyung. You've worked hard.I'll talk to the company myself—just start rescheduling everything."
"Wait—really?"
"Yeah. Really."
The manager's face lit up.Enbin gave Mu-yeong a quick nod to follow.Smiling, Mu-yeong tossed the cans away.
"I'll work twice as hard to make up for lost time."
"That's the spirit! I'm proud of you, Bin!"
"And don't tell my parents anything."
"Of course not!"
Before stepping out the station doors,Mu-yeong adjusted Enbin's disguise—mask, hat, sunglasses.Only his ears showed. No one would recognize him.
"All right. You're good. Let's go."
"Ha Mu-yeong."
"Yeah?"
"If you ever need that billion, just say so."
"Oh my god, shut up already."
"Fine, then. I'll pay you back another way.If you ever need something done, I've got connections."
"Yeah, yeah. Sure you do. Let's just go."
Mu-yeong brushed him off with a laugh as they headed down the steps.What could he possibly need, anyway?He was just going to keep acting.
Vroooom—!
Enbin's car shot out of the station lot.
That evening, news spread through Square Film:Enbin was officially resuming his activities.
The production team cried tears of relief as they sent the video to the Seoul City Media Channel.
Ding.
[Seoul City Promotional Web Drama — "A Midnight Cart That Heals Youth's Wounds!But the Owner Is… Enbin?"*Midnight Cart – Episode 01]
At last—Mu-yeong's first project was uploaded.