Chapter Text
Characters:
Mr. Chae Hyungwon - CEO of H.One Entertainment.
Hyunwoo - Mr. Hyungwon’s assistant.
Changkyun - Mr. Hyungwon's half-brother; Jooheon's best friend; student of fine arts.
Jooheon - Changkyun's best friend; Minhyuk's husband; songwriter, producer.
Minhyuk - Jooheon's husband; painter.
Hoseok - Kihyun's best friend; comedian.
Mr. Yoo Kihyun - CEO of MX Entertainment.
The events are taking place in Seoul.
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ACT I
(Penthouse of Mr. Chae Hyungwon and Changkyun)
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Scene I
(Changkyun’s Room)
Mr. Hyungwon. Ah! I didn't know that freedom was so important to you, my dear brother.
Changkyun, ecstatic. You bet! Now I am an adult, who has never dreamed of this moment when we can enjoy all your rights?
Mr. Hyungwon. Are you trying to make me understand that you want to take your independence? Will you leave me? (He's suddenly worried.)
I would advise you, however, to stay here for a few more years, Kyun; I will pay you for your registration in the Art School, but your house is here and I will always welcome you there if you wish. No need to spend money unnecessarily in a second rent when you can stay comfortably with your half-brother!
Changkyun, smiling. I wasn't going to tell you I was leaving, Wonnie. Of course I want to stay here!
Hyungwon, almost whispering. But...? (He frowns, and his reflection lasts no more than a few seconds.) Oh! You're going to talk to me about love, aren't you? (He sighs, exasperated.)
Changkyun, smiling more widely. Of course, it is a subject that you headstrong and your heart of stone will never be able to understand.
But, hyung, you know how much I'm waiting for that. I've been dreaming of love for so long, I want to love! Now that I am an adult, I can love an older man without shame or fear.
(Hyungwon stands up, starting to walk around the room with his hands behind his back, frowning with a dark look.)
Hyungwon, with a cold, almost threatening tone. I suppose you're talking about that idiot of Yoo. How many times have I told you that this man is not for you! He's much older, he's unbearable, ugly, he's my rival! Our rival! His father in his time, already, had made our father...
Changkyun, his voice full of resentment. Your father. I still wonder what our mother may have loved about him.
Hyungwon, ignoring the remark. Our father and that fool were enemies. I don't understand how you could get in love with the son, when the only thing he can give you is condescension, contempt, and certainly not love.
You don't have to envy him his money and notoriety, how can he have created such feelings in your heart? Seeing these stars in your eyes, hearing this joy in your voice when you talk about him or when you see him, makes me want to vomit.
Forget this little teenage sweetheart, my brother, you will meet in your school young men of your age who will be much more interesting, and who will suit you much better.
Changkyun, filled with sadness. What do you know about how I feel? What do you know about what I like, what suits me? It is not a "little teenage love" as you say: I love Kihyun, and you will never be able to put out the fire that inhabits me!
I cherish the dream that he loves me in return, and there are signs... I live in this hope that I have interpreted them correctly; now that I am an adult, we will no longer have to hide! It is possible that he loves me too, I know that!
Hyungwon, snorting, and not holding his grin. We are not in a movie or a novel, Changkyun. Yoo Kihyun is a businessman, older than you, older than me; he is in great demand, and hundreds, if not thousands of people in this country are driven only by the desire to marry him - certainly for his money only, this is the destiny of us notable.
Do you honestly think he would be interested in a kid, still in high school, who lives in comfort only by the generosity of his half-brother?
(Hyungwon ignores the tears that are beginning to flood his brother's eyes. He does not want to make Changkyun suffer, but he is intimately convinced that it is his duty to make things happen to his youngest; for his rival would have no qualms about making the newly-old man suffer.
No, Yoo Kihyun can only have the worst intentions towards his half-brother, who is so fragile, so emotional, so romantic and, apparently, easy to conquer.)
(Minhyuk and Jooheon enter.)
Jooheon, rushing to his best friend Changkyun. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE BROTHER !!! (Hyungwon, Changkyun and Minhyuk wince at the volume.) You're an adult now! You who dreams so much! You'll be able to buy what you want, drive, vote... and above all... DRINK FOREVER!
(Minhyuk sighs, and shakes his head gently, exasperated by his husband's behavior.)
Changkyun, attempting a smile but feeling a stubborn grudge towards his brother. Thank you hyung, at least you understand me, and are kind to me. I won't drink until I get what I want. At that moment, then, we will celebrate life. (He smiles, and Jooheon imitates him.)
Minhyuk, approaching the youngest and caressing his neck gently. I see that this mule's head who serves you as a brother has once again brought out one of his great romantic speeches of which he has the secret. (He looks up at the ceiling.)
Believe in your dreams, little kitten. Even more so today, because it's your birthday - Happy birthday! You can pray for your wish even stronger! Fate will be in your favor, I am sure.
Hyungwon, pissed. Don't put stupid ideas in his head like that, Minhyuk. You don't see reality in the face; it is partly because of you that he still attaches himself to that dwarf.
(Changkyun lowers his head, wounded. He tucks his hands into his sweater with too long sleeves.
Jooheon takes him in his arms to comfort him.)
Hyungwon, ignoring his brother's pain. He is a child who does not understand that love doesn’t bring anything good! He doesn't yet know the ugliness of this world.
He delights in his dreams, he puts Yoo and his hamster face on a pedestal when he is the worst rot, the most mediocre creature that can exist! Son of the Devil, vile and petty, who dares to steal my brother's heart with his intense gaze and charming smile!
No, nothing good will come out of this, and you encourage it! I'm right, you're wrong. If he gets too close to the precipice, Changkyun falls, for Yoo would have dealt him the fatal blow.
Changkyun, crying discreetly. You... You can't help it, can you? Why do you always insult him? His father and yours may have been enemies, but did Kihyun hurt you personally? You don't know anything about him, you only see the façade and only stop by his name!
Hyungwon, plaintive. Illusions! Like a magician, he enchants you with his charms to imprison you in a cage, and reveals his true face only once his misdeed is accomplished!
Changkyun, continuing to defend the man he loved. Have you only spoken to him, other than to exchange cold greetings? Did you give him a chance, did you take an interest in his true personality? Were you even kind to him, at least once?
Hyungwon, in bad faith. Of course! Every time we met, I overflow with sympathy. (He chuckled.)
Changkyun, lowering his head again, and muttering. You don't know who he really is. You don't know what words we say to each other, you haven't witnessed the looks we exchange.
He is so sweet... so tender... so thoughtful... attentive to everything I feel, interested in what I think and do, worried about my lifestyle, my health, curious about how I see the world...
Hyungwon, turning sharply, alarmed. Did he dare touch you?!
Changkyun, raising his head abruptly to look at his brother with dread. What? No! What are you going to imagine, he...
Hyungwon, raising his voice. What is this behavior that you are describing here, then? The snake incubates you, observes its prey, do you receive gifts too? Naive you are! Candid child! Don't you see what he's looking for?
Oh, I don't know. Your youth must please him, no doubt - he is a man who loves danger after all! Do you think you're the only corrupted idiot he's playing with?!
(Changkyun bursts into tears.
Minhyuk gets up, to keep Hyungwon away from his half-brother.)
Jooheon, angry in turn, and indignant. Sometimes I wonder if you are aware of the horrors you can say, Hyungwon. (He hugs Changkyun more strongly.)
Come on, Kyunnie, let's go to my studio. We can talk quietly there; and then I have to make you listen to my latest compositions, I need your opinion. (He smiles tenderly at his friend.)
(Changkyun sniffs, wiping away tears with the sleeves of his sweater.
He nods, giving his consent and meaning that he wants to get away from his brother as quickly as possible.)
(Changkyun and Jooheon leave the apartment.)
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