You Promised Me, Mr. Lee San-ha - Chapter 67



Only Noblemtl

Episode 67 Not all weak people are weak (2)

As I open the door, a man appears.

I was shocked the moment I saw him.

… … because he was someone I didn’t know.

‘They say he’s a famous person that everyone knows just by hearing his name… … ?’

I avoid eye contact for a moment because of the awkwardness.

‘Huh? Wait a minute?’

A familiar face passes by the skinny, balding man.

I asked half in doubt.

“Are you, by any chance, Mr. Im Se-yeol…?”

He nodded silently.

I can’t say anything because of his changed appearance.

Lim Se-yeol was a man who was called the ‘nation’s little brother’ in the past.

To exaggerate a bit, it’s like appearing in a new drama every quarter.

At its peak, it was featured in three dramas at the same time, including reruns on cable channels.

At that time, Internet comment sections were filled with words like this.

‘The whole world is Im Se-yeol.’

From youth dramas to period dramas, hospital dramas, and even spy action dramas like ‘The Irish’, he has appeared in many.

Lim Se-yeol, who has been shining in all aspects of Korean dramas regardless of genre.

Then one day he suddenly disappeared.

It is said that no one has seen him since his conflict with his agency’s CEO was reported several times in the news earlier this year.

‘But that guy is here… … ‘

Lim Se-yeol, who heated up the Internet comment section, is now in front of me.

In a very messy state.

at that time.

“… …Fuck.”

Im Se-yeol suddenly tried to close the door.

At that moment, Kim Tae-kyung quickly grabbed the door.

“Brother-in-law! Stop it and listen to what I have to say. This guy… … ”

Lim Se-yeol said with a look of displeasure.

“My brother-in-law is freezing to death. Get out of here! If you don’t want to see me get beaten up.”

He seemed extremely nervous.

A look of fear and distrust.

It reminds me of a wounded wild animal.

This time, Lim Hyeon-ji stepped in and calmed him down.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. This person here is Taekyung’s friend, and he just wanted to talk to you.”

Lim Se-yeol spoke, still holding the doorknob tightly.

“That guy who was a reporter? He’s no longer useful, so you’re selling him off to reporters? Heh, heh, heh. This will get a lot of views. What the, what the, shit… …!”

Occasional violent remarks.

Scratch marks all over his forearms.

Eyeballs that roll without rest.

I could tell right away.

‘Is it methamphetamine?’

It is a drug called methamphetamine, or philopon.

‘I heard that it is a highly addictive drug among narcotics.’

I could see why he had become so haggard.

Meanwhile, Lim Hyeon-ji still has a calm expression.

It seems like he doesn’t care at all when his younger brother criticizes and curses at him.

She continued speaking in a polite, steady tone.

“I came to see you because I was worried about you. If I were to write an article, I would get your consent to write it after you have gotten better.”

“The journalist, the same,

Lim Se-yeol spoke in a tone full of distrust.

Having been in the entertainment industry for a long time, it’s understandable that you would hate reporters.

… … I felt like I knew how to take the first step toward healing.

thud-

I put down the bag I was carrying on my back.

I even threw my cell phone away.

Then I just took out a piece of paper and a pen from my bag.

I handed over what I wrote on paper to Im Se-yeol.

The counselor Lee San-ha will not disclose any information about the client Im Se-yeol that he or she learns while conducting counseling. If he or she fails to comply with this principle, he or she will be subject to any punishment equivalent to defamation.

Signatory: Lee San-ha

Lim Se-yeol accepted the paper with a frowning face.

“… … .”

He looks like he’s about to say something but then swallows it.

I consoled Im Se-yeol.

“An accurate document is more reliable than an uncertain statement. The format may be a bit messy, but it will be legally binding.”

Lim Se-yeol, who had been mumbling for a while, said.

“What, what, if you write something like this, I’ll be like, uh~ What, after you cure my addiction, write an article! Do you think I’ll write a consent form or something like that?!”

“Mr. Im Se-yeol, you don’t have to give that to me.”

To the eyes of a wounded person, even a needle appears as a sword.

Moreover, it is even more so if you are an entertainment reporter, which is what celebrities fear the most.

In the end, in order to let his guard down, I had to put down everything I had.

Kim Tae-kyung whispered softly.

“… … Hey friend. Are you okay?”

“… … I guess I’ll just give it a try.”

I shrugged.

yet.

Im Se-yeol’s guard is somewhat relaxed.

“Okay, wait a minute, just talk… … .”

His hand finally left the doorknob.

* * *

I was the only one who was allowed entry.

The first thing I encountered when I entered his room was a lot of vomit stains.

Lim Se-yeol said, lowering his head.

“If I don’t take my medicine, I’ll keep vomiting. The cleaner hasn’t been here lately, so I can’t empty the trash can… .”

His speech is quite awkward.

Seeing that he was not good at choosing causal relationships or concluding verbs in sentences, it seemed to be a result of a side effect of the medication.

“Hey, hey, please sit here.”

There was a table in the rugged space.

I sat across the table from Im Se-yeol.

When I looked closely, I saw that he was seriously damaged.

A body so skinny that you can see the bones protruding.

It looks like he’s been scratched all over his body, with scabs sitting all over his body.

My gums were so black that it looked like my teeth would fall out at any moment.

This was the first time I had ever seen a drug addict so ruined.

At that moment, I was wondering what to say first.

“ha ha ha-”

Lim Se-yeol spoke first.

“Rice, you’re like a cripple. There was a time when he was called the nation’s little brother… … .”

“Don’t say that. The fact that you’ve decided to break it off somehow is amazing.”

Lim Se-yeol had an expression on his face as if he was about to cry at any moment.

He said, squeezing his knees with both hands.

“I… … don’t think I can quit. You did too much. If I don’t take the medicine, I’ll keep vomiting. The cleaner hasn’t been here lately, so I can’t empty the trash can… … .”

I’ll repeat what I said when I came in.

‘Flashback… …? Could this be a side effect of another drug?’

It is presumed that Im Se-yeol took a mixture of various drugs.

I consoled him.

“Don’t worry. Everything will be okay. You can go back to how you were before you started taking drugs… ”

While trying to change my thinking to positive thinking.

……bang!

Lim Se-yeol slammed the table.

“T, this is all because of that, that b*tch… …!”

My hands, which were already shaking, started shaking even more violently because of the anger.

Blood welled up in his eyes and he looked as if he would burst at any moment.

I said to him, calming him down.

“Let’s calm down. Here, let’s have some water… … .”

There were countless water bottles rolling around in his room.

I’ve heard that one of the most common side effects of mixed drugs is thirst, so maybe that’s why.

Gulp- Gulp- Gulp- Gulp-

Lim Se-yeol took a few sips of water and continued speaking.

“I, I. I’m prolific, yi, yi, the reason is, when I, when I rest, there are too many bad articles coming up, so, to avoid hearing the, the sound of being called a quitter, I keep, keep on making, making, making flops… .”

This is where you can see why he is wary of reporters.

An article by a ragtag group that even he, who was number one at the time, could not help but fear.

The countless rumors and accusations seemed to have driven him into a swamp of anxiety disorder.

Lim Se-yeol said while crushing an empty plastic bottle.

“No matter how hard I struggle, there’s always a hiatus. So, during my break, I hide because of my anxiety disorder, so, I’m, like, the representative year… .”

Lim Se-yeol couldn’t continue speaking as if his throat was blocked.

After a few hiccup-like movements, he burst out crying and said,

“Me, me, me, me, she took me to a drinking party, got me drunk, and gave me drugs. She said they were good for anxiety. And that btch, while I was unconscious… … .”

Thud- thud- thud-

Tears pour down like raindrops.

It seems like every drop is a lump of pain coming out.

“And then from then on, they took the medicine hostage and forced me to have sex with them… … .”

thud!

Lim Se-yeol eventually banged his head on the table and started crying.

“I! I’m trash, trash, trash! Aaaah! So, just, just let me, just let me die!”

As the commotion grew louder, I was worried that Im Hyeon-ji might come in, but that didn’t happen.

I sat still and did nothing, waiting for Im Se-yeol to calm down.

Im Se-yeol’s sobbing gradually subsides.

I handed over the tissue.

“Don’t you want revenge?”

“I want to! I think about fucking that b*tch to death over and over again every day!”

“We have to make an effort to do that. The first step will start with addiction treatment.”

I spoke with more confidence and force than ever before.

However, Im Se-yeol did not strongly agree.

He spoke in a voice full of resentment.

“Ah, no. My sister… … is really having a hard time… … because of me. I know it’s hard. Of my, of my own will… … This, can’t be. I’m sorry… … because I’m such a piece of trash… … .”

Continued self-deprecating remarks.

How shattered is your self-esteem?

There is no way to extract his promise in this state.

‘It may not be a classic treatment method, but do we have to take a risk here?’

Even though it was a bit forced, I had no choice but to push through with momentum.

“Let’s just say something positive. ‘From now on, I’m going to make up my mind to quit drugs and take better care of myself.’ Try doing that.”

“… …Mom, I don’t want to say something I can’t keep.”

“It doesn’t matter. If you can’t keep it, so what? I’m just saying it once. Even if it’s just a small thing, if you say it out loud, it will have an impact on you. Just do it once. Say, ‘I’m going to make up my mind from now on, stop using drugs, and take better care of myself.’”

After hesitating for a while.

Im Se-yeol’s dry lips trembled.

“I am…….”

* * *

I left Im Se-yeol’s room and moved to the living room.

Kim Tae-kyung and Lim Hyeon-ji, who were sitting anxiously, greeted me.

Kim Tae-kyung asked first.

“How is it? Do you think it will be okay?”

“We’ll just have to wait and see. So, let’s come and check the road every day from now on.”

Bright smiles spread across both their faces.

Lim Hyeon-ji was half-hearted but sincerely grateful for my sincerity.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it… … .”

“It’s just the beginning. Anyway, I think I should keep coming to check. Are you keeping your promises?”

“Is it a promise?”

I didn’t really have anything to say, so I said anything.

“I decided to do that exercise. I guess serotonin needs to be activated to get rid of depression, right?”

“Mr. Sanha, you also have a lot of knowledge about this.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m just scratching the surface.”

I recalled my college days.

Among the old assignments that Ahn Hee-yeon gave me, there was one called ‘The Correlation Between Crowd Psychology and Individual Psychology’, and I never thought it would be helpful in a situation like this.

After that, Taekyung Kim and I went out of the house.

“See you tomorrow, friend.”

“Let’s do that.”

After sending Kim Tae-kyung off, I went straight back to my studio.

A small room I found near the company.

As soon as I got home, I opened the appointment status window.

Lim Se-yeol: I promised to quit drugs and continue to practice self-management on my own.

I pressed the run button.

“… … ! … … ! … … !”

I just lost consciousness.

* * *

The next morning.

A headache comes on that can’t even be compared to a hangover.

What woke me up was a phone call from Kim Tae-kyung.

“Ugh… … . Hello, hello. Why.”

[Thank you, Sanha!]

“Hey, it’s noisy. So why?”

[My brother-in-law came out of the room! He said we should start with exercise first!]

“oh.”

Even with a bad headache, I can smile.

It’s finally begun.

The first step in addiction treatment is ‘self-management.’