Chapter 96
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Soundproofing Check
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I wonder if the soundproofing is okay.
Thwack, pow, whaaam-!
In the empty gym, the crisp sounds of fists striking the sandbag echoed brightly.
Catherine Tramell.
Wearing a plain white T-shirt, she lightly stepped in place.
And in an instant.
Screech-!
She powerfully pushed off the gym floor and charged toward the sandbag once more.
Catherine's body swayed flexibly in a fully relaxed state, her shoulder extending lightly, and at the moment her fist connected with the sandbag, the final impact landed cleanly.
A sound like the air itself bursting.
Pow, thwap, whaaam-!
Even to an untrained eye, her long reach was obvious, her light steps moving a tension-free body with crisp efficiency, and her motions utterly free of waste.
It was so precise that even a pro boxer would have gasped in admiration.
"Hoo, haah, hoo-!"
Beneath her sweat-soaked white T-shirt, the outline of her underwear showed through.
Then.
With a screech, the somewhat dim gym interior began to brighten.
Someone had entered the gym, bringing light with them.
Almost simultaneously, a light gasp of admiration rang out.
"Wah-!"
Catherine Tramell didn't even turn around, as if it were routine. She undid her hair tie, tidied her messy locks, and rebound them neatly.
"You're here? Jennifer."
"Yeah!"
Catherine's lips curved up involuntarily at the world's most innocent voice. But by the time she finished tying her hair and turned around...
Catherine had reverted to her cold, expressionless face.
"What about your album work?"
"It's done, so I came to hang out!"
Though Catherine wasn't a singer herself, she knew album production wasn't something you could just whip up with effort alone.
But common sense like that always applied a bit more loosely to Jennifer.
A special talent.
This special girl possessed a remarkable gift—one that worked across a variety of fields.
Catherine recalled the first time she worked with Jennifer on season 1 of Paranormal.
She'd inwardly cursed when she heard some singer kid was landing a double supporting role alongside her.
But once they met, she found she couldn't harbor any ill thoughts toward the girl.
Whether during shoots or off-hours.
Jennifer stuck to her like glue, being a total nuisance. Watching her every move, imitating her.
It was absurd, but for Jennifer, that was enough.
Astonishing absorption.
Watching over a decade of her own hard-earned acting skills, built from the ground up, get absorbed by Jennifer in less than a year...
It made her question what all her sweat and effort had been for.
Yet even so, Catherine couldn't bring herself to hate Jennifer.
"Catherine! Wanna hear what I recorded for the album this time? Come here quick! Hurry!"
"What...?"
Forgetting her lovely looks for a moment—how could anyone be this purely free of malice?
Jennifer was undoubtedly the most unique person Catherine had ever met.
In that brief pause.
Jennifer strode up to Catherine and pulled one earbud from her own ear, shoving it toward Catherine's.
"Eek. Jennifer, get off. You'll get sweat on me."
"Argh! Who cares, just listen already! Hey, hey? Don't push!"
"Sigh..."
Catherine stood on tiptoe to push away the clinging Jennifer, then obediently lowered her head to make it easier for her to pop in the earbud.
The earbud approached one ear, and a melody began to flow in.
A gentle tune that somehow made her foot tap along unconsciously.
And when Jennifer's voice overlaid it...
Zing-.
A voice so sweetly melting it felt like it would dissolve her brain lingered in her ear.
Catherine unconsciously halted her movements, leaning in to the song resounding in her ear.
Lalala~ lalalala♬
The melody was simple, the chord progression just a few repeating basics.
The lyrics were straightforward, heavy on humming.
But amid that simplicity, the rhythm was fast.
Like the rapid heartbeat of a girl fallen into first love.
The song, which seemed endless, finally faded out.
Catherine cleared her throat and looked at Jennifer.
"Jennifer, what's with the sudden love song...?"
Three days after the film festival, I was back in California.
I'd spent a short time in Korea, cycling through each of the women's places.
Sorting out the news I'd heard along the way.
Hong Ye-won had dove headfirst into writing her new project, and surprisingly, Son Sia was interested in it too. Maybe because they both knew they were sleeping with me, but they were getting along like friends now.
Jung Eun-ji was swamped shooting her sub-lead role in the currently airing drama, while Han Woo-hee and Lim Eun-ha were on break.
It was a shame the time with them was so brief.
But it wasn't a lack of time—it was just short. Money wasn't the issue. If I missed them, I could always call them over later.
Baek Hee-jin had even prepared a place way too big for me alone.
Why not? When schedules were free, they could visit, satisfy urges, sightsee—win-win.
Anyway.
"Uwaaa-!"
At the airport entrance, I stretched my stiff body with a big yawn.
"Huh...?!"
Mid-stretch, my sunglasses slipped down my nose, and a foreign woman holding a carry-on nearby covered her mouth as she stared.
I hurriedly readjusted my shades and gave her a quick wave.
My fame overseas was zilch anyway.
Just some service.
I messaged Baek Hee-jin and waited at the entrance.
Vroom-.
A deep blue Mercedes G-Class pulled up.
I could tell who it was just from the silhouette in the driver's seat from afar.
Baek Hee-jin.
I smirked and muttered to myself.
"Our rep's got some killer tits."
The G-Class rolled right up, the window rolled down, and Baek Hee-jin—in a near-black gray dress—waved.
"You're here? Hop in!"
No carry-on, just me, so I slid straight into the passenger seat.
Baek Hee-jin floored it without delay, pulling away from the airport.
Cool wind rushed in through the half-open window.
Causing the flimsy dress barely clinging to Baek Hee-jin to flutter and sway.
No bra, apparently—the shape of her nipples showed clearly through the fabric, and the thin dress billowed ethereally, making her breasts stand out even more vividly.
I stared openly at her chest and said,
"Feels like your body's getting hotter and hotter lately?"
Baek Hee-jin had always known how to wield her assets well, but since coming to America, it seemed dialed up even more.
"You at least wore underwear in Korea, but in America you're just flashing everything?"
Baek Hee-jin glanced my way through her sunglasses and grumbled softly.
"When I'm alone... I don't go this far."
"Then."
I reached for the crotch of her gray dress, where part of it had slipped between her thighs.
The soft, slightly plump feel unique to Baek Hee-jin.
No panties down there either, as expected.
I gently scratched over the mound bulging through her dress and continued,
"Eek, uh..."
"You expect me to believe you got this horny just because I was gone a bit?"
"Th-this is all... because of who?"
Since she was driving, I pulled my hand back after a quick touch.
But my fingertips came away slick.
"Drive. Drive."
I slipped my hand between her arms—careful not to mess with her driving—and kneaded her breasts.
Baek Hee-jin chewed her lip, gripped the wheel, and refocused ahead.
But the corner of her mouth was definitely quirked up.
"Cute."
"......"
We soon arrived at a pretty swanky standalone house.
The kind with a little garden you see in American dramas.
"This is it. Not too far from the set, so use this to get around..."
As I took a slow look around inside, Baek Hee-jin handed me the keys to her ride.
"Nah. Don't worry about it—just talk normal. More importantly—."
Thud-.
I shut the door and strode toward Baek Hee-jin.
"Huh...?"
She instinctively stepped back, but I pressed forward, herding her deeper into the house.
Her already disheveled dress from the car ride rumpled even more from my pushing, now exposing even her pink areolas.
"Huh? What's with the huh? You were expecting this."
"Th-that's fine, but let me at least wipe off the sweat..."
Pushed all the way to the sunlit window area, Baek Hee-jin stood awkwardly beside a potted plant taller than her, gazing at me sheepishly.
A sharp, charismatic face others might call fierce.
For now, at least.
I knew that if I started teasing her for real, she'd melt into a gooey mess soon enough.
"Anyway. I wonder if the soundproofing here is any good."
My shadow fell over Baek Hee-jin as she stood there, holding her breath.