Defective Banana - Chapter 46

Miok’s face froze in panic. She stammered under her breath.

“Why… why isn’t there any reaction? There should definitely be a response—”

Seohyuk’s expression darkened, shadows cutting sharp across his face.

“What reaction?”

“The text I read said… you’d get hard if you got hit—”

Realizing what she’d just blurted out, Miok quickly slid off his thigh, head bowed. She quietly began buttoning up her blouse, one button at a time.

Seohyuk’s black eyes stayed locked on her the whole time. Finally, a humorless laugh slipped from his lips. He grabbed her shoulder and turned her toward him.

“So it was you. You’re the one who spread the rumor that I’m impotent. And you even spilled Ara’s private details to everyone. Right?”

“No, no! I never did that! It’s a huge misunderstanding!” Miok backed away, shaking her head frantically, looking almost pitiful.

Seohyuk closed his eyes for a beat, then opened them slowly, a sneer curling his lips.

“Fine. I’m impotent. And yeah, it’s true I only get hard when I’m hit. But you know what? I’m extremely picky about who I deal with.”

“I said it’s not me! How many times do I have to tell you!” she shouted now, sounding half hysterical.

“What—did you think if you hit me, I’d get turned on and jump all over you? Did you really think I’d do that disgusting crap with you?”

“Wh… what? Disgusting?”

Her eyes went wide in disbelief. While she glared, Seohyuk stood up, towering over her as she sat on the sofa. His voice was calm, like it was the last thing he’d ever say to her.

“Let’s never see each other again. Tell the company yourself.”

He started to leave, but Miok suddenly screamed.

“No! Why should I? I’m your personal stylist!”

Seohyuk narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing like he was looking at something rotten. Running a hand through his hair in exasperation, he gave a short, cold laugh and pulled out his phone.

“Really? If you’re that stubborn, I can tell them for you.”

As he tapped the screen, Miok seemed to snap back to her senses. She rushed forward, dropping to her knees, grabbing his legs desperately.

“Please, just this once, can’t you let it go? I swear I’ll never do it again. I just… I like you so much, I didn’t know what else to do. Can’t you understand me? I’ve done a good job all this time, haven’t I? Please.”

One by one, Seohyuk pried her fingers off his legs, his face flat and emotionless.

“Yes. You were good at your job. But I guess you didn’t think about how much bigger the betrayal would feel. Get up. Before I call security.”

That’s when it happened.

Manager Seungbok appeared out of nowhere, striding straight to Miok and grabbing her arm in a firm grip.

“It was you? You’re the one who spread those rumors?”

Earlier, before Miok had come, Seungbok had been drinking with Seohyuk, who had opened up about everything—how he met Ara, his past, even the trauma he carried. He’d also mentioned there was a space in the apartment reserved for Ara.

Seungbok had gone to see that space. The faint scent of paint lingered in the art studio. The bedroom across the hall, the cozy, fully furnished living room… all untouched. It was the place Seohyuk had kept empty, saying he’d move his mother in one day. He never visited it. Never paid it any mind.

He remembered the time Seohyuk had asked him about celebrity marriages. It hit him then—he was planning to marry her.

Walking through that quiet, untouched space, Seungbok’s chest ached. This was his kid brother in all but bl00d—someone he’d poured everything into for years. The thought of him silently suffering there made Seungbok angry at himself for not being there for him.

On the way back, he’d heard a familiar woman’s voice. The tone of the conversation was strange, so he peeked around the corner—and froze.

Why the hell is Shim Miok on top of him, shoving her chest in his face?

His jaw fell open. He swallowed hard.

Don’t tell me… they’ve been…

Then he heard it.

“So it was you. The one who said I’m impotent. The one who spilled Ara’s info just to ruin her. Right?”

Everything clicked. Seungbok’s bl00d boiled. He clenched his fists until his knuckles ached.

When Miok dropped to her knees, begging, her words were so outrageous that he couldn’t stay hidden anymore. He stepped forward, grabbed her arm.

“It was you? You spread that crap?”

When she didn’t answer, he tightened his grip, eyes hard.

“Shim Miok. Was it you? I’m asking you!”

Seohyuk just waved his hand like he couldn’t stand the sight of her.

“Hyung, get her out of my face.”

“Yeah. I’ll take her right now. Don’t worry about a thing—just rest.”

Seungbok yanked her toward the door, his voice echoing through the living room.

“Get out! What the hell makes you think you can just waltz in here and talk about understanding your feelings? Get up and go!”

“W-wait! If you throw me out like this, you’ll regret it! Do you hear me?” she screeched, still trying to fight him off.

Even as she was dragged out, she screamed back at Seohyuk.

“Hey! Kang Seohyuk! Did you hear me? I’m not letting this go!”

Head pounding, Seohyuk pressed a hand to his forehead and went to his room.

“…Haa.”

He collapsed onto the bed, throwing an arm over his eyes. He’d suspected Miok was behind the scandal. But seeing her true face with his own eyes left him reeling.

It was ridiculous to blame anyone else. This mess had happened because he let his guard down. If he’d been more careful, maybe he could’ve avoided the worst. But the truth was, being with Ara had made him so happy that he’d gotten careless—blind, even.

And now, losing her… was entirely his fault.

***

Outside, Miok got a brutal earful from Seungbok before he stripped her of her access badge and kicked her out.

Fuming, she didn’t even wash her tear-streaked face before sitting at her desk. She pulled up the video from the Busan hotel parking lot and sent the full, unedited version anonymously to that reporter again.

“If I can’t have him, I’ll just ruin him. He brought this on himself.”

Seohyuk had caught her snooping on his phone before, but he had no idea she’d been the one to leak that video.

“What? Disgusting? I’ll show everyone the side of you that’s even more disgusting than me.”

She even told the reporter why Ara had slapped Seohyuk in that video.

[It wasn’t a lover’s quarrel. Kang Seohyuk’s a perverted impotent freak who only gets it up when he’s hit. That’s why she slapped him. They were about to do it.]

The video showed the two hugging and whispering, when suddenly the woman slapped the man. He just smiled, put a hand on her shoulder, and they walked into the hotel together. The full version even caught their affectionate backs as they disappeared inside.

A few hours later, the video started popping up on YouTube. The reporter, too wary to rewrite the same scandal he’d already run, had sold it to multiple YouTubers instead.

Titles flooded in.

[Plot twist! Not a lover’s fight. He’s a pervert!]
[The man who needs a slap to get it up]
[The secret life of a top star]

Watching the uploads roll in, Miok smirked, then flopped onto her bed and drifted off, satisfied. She didn’t see how the comments were starting to shift.

[Honestly, they’re made for each other. One hits, one gets hit.]
[The way he smiles after getting slapped is kinda sexy, not gonna lie.]
[You can’t call him a pervert from just that clip. They probably agreed to it. And Seohyuk’s clearly enjoying himself.]
[Can you vultures stop hounding him already?]
[He’s already struggling. Why make it worse?]
[Wait… at 13 seconds, doesn’t the car window reflection show a woman’s face?]
[OMG it does. Is this actually a stalker fan? Or a creep filming without consent?]

The speculation grew sharper.

[Video was taken by someone close to him. Pic attached.]
[I’ve got a photo of someone wearing that same red hairpin at that time. Attaching it now.
Creepy. So he had a stalker right beside him the whole time…]

***

The next morning, Miok was woken by a call from the agency CEO, ordering her to come in immediately.

Still thinking it was about Seohyuk, she walked into the office with a smile.
She was wrong. Very wrong.