Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: ZingZing Ride and Veranda Cleanup
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Watching the beautiful sunset ablaze in red, I slowly followed along behind Yu-na's brand-new ZingZing.
Ziiing!
“Waaah!”
The distinctive motor sound and Yu-na's cheers drew the eyes of everyone in the market.
“Oh, out for a walk with Yu-na?”
“Our Yu-na's driving so well!”
“Ahaha! Drive carefully now.”
The merchants watched Yu-na with fond gazes, tossing out little comments here and there.
They'd handed over every single one of the gifts they'd promised her that morning.
I wanted to refuse, but their determination was unbreakable, so my lightly loaded hands suddenly grew heavy.
Time to head home?
With my hands full, I couldn't enjoy the stroll any longer.
“Yu-na, let's head home...”
That was the moment I started to speak.
Patrolling officers blocked our path. They greeted me with a wink and smile, then bent down to meet Yu-na's eyes.
“Little miss? Saw you zooming from way over there.”
“Time for a breathalyzer test.”
The two officers teased Yu-na with grins.
Faced with the police, Yu-na trembled, her face full of fear.
“B, breatha... lyzer?”
She had no idea what it meant, right?
Yu-na's expression was so adorable right then that I just watched quietly.
This was a good experience for her.
As long as she didn't cry, it was fine.
“Th-then... are you taking Yu-na away?”
“Who knows. Little miss.”
At their words, Yu-na whipped her head around to stare at me.
She wanted to say something but was too scared with the police right there.
As I kept watching silently, her eyes started to well up.
‘Oh no...’
To soothe Yu-na, who looked ready to burst into tears any second, I set my bags down and spoke calmly.
“Hmm, Yu-na. Remember what Daddy said last time? Daddy's stronger than the police.”
Nod nod.
I gently stroked the head of Yu-na, who was pursing her lips and nodding.
Only then did the faint trembling stop.
“Shopping with your daughter, huh?”
“Looks like you've got a lot of bags.”
They glanced at the bags I'd set down for a moment.
“Ahaha. These are all kindergarten enrollment gifts for our Yu-na.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Your daughter's so cute. Must make every day a joy.”
“Yeah, she's my whole world.”
This wasn't empty talk.
In my past life, I'd always come home to an empty house. Now I had a family.
Just looking at Yu-na filled me with strength I didn't even know I had.
Sure, her occasional outbursts caught me off guard, but they were entertaining in their own way.
Oh, no time to dawdle.
I snapped to attention, picked up the bags again, and stood.
“Anyway, it's time for us to head home. Mind if we go?”
“Oh, we held you up for no reason.”
“Take care getting back.”
They gently patted Yu-na's head before walking away. On the way home with Yu-na, I casually brought up the CF.
“Ahem! Yu-na? You really like the electric car?”
“Yes! It's so much fun.”
“Then how about... doing a CF riding the electric car with Daddy?”
“CF?”
Yu-na, who had been chugging along fine, stopped and turned to look at me.
Didn't know what a CF was, huh?
How should I explain?
As I pondered a super simple way to tell her, an ad came on from the TV at the nearby appliance store.
I pointed right away.
“CFs are like that.”
It was an AC ad with kids lying clustered together in a green field, striking all sorts of poses.
“Y, Yu-na wants to do it too!”
“Huh?”
“If Yu-na does CF, then Daddy and Yu-na come out on it!”
I flinched at her words.
In other words...
Anything she did with her daddy was fine.
Whether it was a CF or acting.
If I could show the endlessly charming and talented Yu-na the joys of acting, someday she'd surpass me as an actress.
Then I'd have to help her out a lot, right?
Imagining stepping on the red carpet together made my lips curl up involuntarily.
“Yu-na can do it!”
“Yeah, let's work hard together.”
“Yes!”
After dropping Yu-na off at kindergarten, I'd been bored out of my mind, so I slowly tackled the filthy veranda to kill time.
It was crammed with junk and caked in dust—I'd never mustered the will to clean it.
“Cough! Cough!”
Even shifting a little stuff kicked up dust that tickled my nose.
Why clean it now...
To prep for moving out of this rundown studio into a nicer one-room with better facilities.
An apartment was still out of reach, though.
I carefully opened the windows and screens, letting the dust billow out.
‘Time to get serious. Here we go.’
I reached first for the boxes stacked high up.
Thud!
My hand slipped, the box crashed to the floor, and the dust piled on top scattered across the veranda, sneaking past my mask.
“Cough! Cough!”
The coughing wouldn't stop.
I flailed my hands and fled to the room, collapsing onto the bedding. I hadn't even started properly, and I was already wiped out.
“Cleaning all that by myself... seems impossible...”
I dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone.
A reliable cleaning service I could trust.
That's what I needed to find.
Asking neighbors felt like it'd lead to annoying hassle.
‘My network's really so narrow...’
With one swipe, I scrolled from the top of my contacts to the bottom.
“Oh, the group chat.”
I hopped into the cast group chat and typed away.
Lee Jun-seo: Anyone free today?
Shin Dong-hyun: What? What's up?
Shin Dong-hyun: What is it?!
Shin Dong-hyun: Hey!! Don't read and ignore! Reply!
No matter how long I waited, no one else responded besides Shin Dong-hyun. They were all busy with shoots.
Just a few days ago, the chat had been nonstop.
Lee Jun-seo: Guess everyone's busy.
Shin Dong-hyun: Hey! Don't ignore me!
I hit back without regret and set the phone by my head.
Ziiing!
A call came right away.
Shin Dong-hyun.
This guy had a major role as the protagonist's brother, and he was free?
Grumbling, I picked up.
“What.”
-What do you mean what. What's going on?
His tone matched mine exactly, and I couldn't help but chuckle.
It wasn't that I truly hated Shin Dong-hyun and was pushing him away.
The trauma from my acting career ending because of trash like him lingered.
That's why I was wary of friends.
I hesitated, then spilled why I'd called.
“Was gonna ask about a good cleaning service.”
-Cleaning service? Why?
“Why do you think? Gotta tidy up before the move.”
-What? You're moving? I'll help. Got nothing going on.
“...No need.”
I didn't want to invite him to this collapsing dump.
-...You hate me that much?
His voice came out thin and hurt.
I answered without panic.
“It's not that I hate you.”
-You do. Sorry... Even bugging you with calls till now. I thought we were friends...
His voice over the phone carried real hurt.
I hadn't expected this...
I ruffled my hair roughly, apologized over and over, and blurted out my address.
-Kuhuhu.
“......?”
-How's my acting?
“...What?”
-Practiced lately.
“......”
I couldn't believe I'd fallen for this guy's act. I was genuinely sorry... Betrayal hit, turning me to stone, then I heard laughter.
-Ahaha! Got it. Heading over now. Wait up.
Shin Dong-hyun hung up first.
I stayed frozen, unable to shake off the shock.
Bang bang bang!
“Hey! Open the door!”
“......”
I ignored the knocking Shin Dong-hyun and focused on the veranda.
I'd thought I'd made good progress.
But I hadn't even hit halfway.
“Hey! Open up already!”
“Haa...”
The knocking grated, so I let out a deep sigh, left the veranda, and opened the front door.
“If you call someone, open the damn door. And shake off that dust on your head. It's piled up like snow.”
“Oh, yeah?”
I brushed the dust from my head and eyed Shin Dong-hyun.
Not dressed fancy—just casual sweats. Empty-handed too.
Like he'd come just to help clean.
“Told you to call hyung when you need help.”
“Hyung? We're the same age.”
I led Shin Dong-hyun to the room.
“But where do we start?”
He poked around the room, lips moving. I'd figured he'd ask about the rundown, cramped place.
He didn't.
Like he was being considerate.
“...See that? Just the closed-off veranda. Room's clean enough.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Hey, wait!”
Shin Dong-hyun rolled up his sleeves, flexing his veiny arms, and headed to the veranda without listening.
It was full of dust right now.
Going in without a proper mask was idiotic.
Slide!
He slid the door open, peeked in, then shut it again.
“Got CBRN gear at home... Nice.”
Once the dust settled...
We moved fast, clearing the junk-packed veranda.
Tossing big visible stuff first, it started looking clean bit by bit.
Finally.
As the sun set, the filthy veranda was restored.
I crossed my arms, nodding at the now-empty space.
Nice and neat.
“Check thoroughly before moving in next time.”
“...You knew it'd be like this?”
I'd learned something cleaning: it was full of trash even before move-in.
“Haa, so tiring.”
Shin Dong-hyun wiped sweat from his brow with the towel around his neck and flopped to the floor.
I watched, then grabbed cold drinks from the fridge and handed one over.
“Was gonna call a recommended service... Hey, thanks for helping.”
“No biggie. Friends help each other. And next time, something tougher? Call me anytime. I'll help.”
Friends...
Shin Dong-hyun.
Could I accept this guy as a friend?
Rushing over without complaint, helping clean to the end, sticking around despite my walls...
“Hey. Jun-seo. You're buying dinner. Starving here.”
“Ah, wanna come? Was gonna eat out with Yu-na tonight.”
“Right. First full day of kindergarten classes today?”
“Yeah.”
“Eat out sounds good. Pork. Hate beef. Just expensive.”
He suggested cheap pork and sprawled out. I'd seen him pick only beef at cast dinners.
‘Lying where?’
I stared at the totally zonked Shin Dong-hyun, then chuckled.
Friends... This must be what friends are.
“Hey, asleep?”
“Haa, wiped out. Can I crash here? One night won't kill you.”
“Too cramped as is. You saying that? Go home.”
I lightly stepped on his foot.
“Ow! Hey!”
I smirked at him as he shot up, fuming.