Episode 15: Choi Si-joon Was Affectionate, and Park Ha-ru Feels Disappointed
Episode 15: Choi Si-joon Was Affectionate, and Park Ha-ru Feels Disappointed
Chapter 15: Choi Sijun Was Kind, and Park Haru Is Left Wanting.
"Good evening. Do you have a reservation?"
"No, I didn't make a reservation... but, is General Manager Park still in, by any chance?"
"Ah, Department Manager Park... you mean the president?"
"Oh, yes."
While the staff member at the desk made a brief phone call, I laid Park Haru down on a sofa in one corner of the lobby.
"Aigoo, my back."
She didn't seem that heavy, but since she couldn't keep her body upright, I'd felt nearly one and a half times her weight.
"Young master?"
"Ah, General Manager. It's been a long time. Ah—it's President now, isn't it."
"How long has it been? I haven't been back in Korea long, so I've been rather busy and couldn't get in touch."
A middle-aged gentleman impeccably dressed in a suit greeted me, pulling me into a hug.
"Well, you've been busy. That's fine. And given my age, still calling me 'young master'..."
"To me, you'll always be the young master! If you were coming, you should have called!"
I had shown up out of the blue—he could have been put out—but the president welcomed me warmly.
"I got a new phone and messed up, so I lost all my numbers at once. That's why I showed up a bit unannounced."
"You're welcome anytime. Your timing was actually good. I had a lot of work today, so I stayed late."
We set aside reminiscing for later. A manager-level department head came over and guided Park Haru and me inside.
"Thank you."
"Not at all. Rest comfortably."
With the help of a female staff member, I got Park Haru changed into comfortable clothes and laid her down on the bed, and the staff member left the room.
"Aigoo..."
I sat down on the chair next to the bed and caught my breath.
I spaced out for a moment, then carefully pulled the blanket back over Park Haru, who had already kicked it off. I left a note on a memo pad, stepped out of the hotel, and headed home.
"I'm home."
"You're late."
"Yeah, I told you I had a company dinner tonight."
"Oh, right."
She must have been looking over a script—the table in the living room was a mess.
"Sijun-ah."
"Hmm?"
As Nuna naturally took my jacket from me, she called my name in a low voice.
"Forget it. Go rest."
"???"
She'd welcomed me warmly, then the atmosphere suddenly turned strange. I was heading to my room to change clothes, but I ended up following Nuna into her bedroom instead.
"Why are you following me? Go change your clothes."
"Uh? Uh..."
I couldn't even ask her to give me the jacket she was holding. I just walked out of the bedroom, quickly changed my clothes, and came right back.
Nuna was lying under the blanket. I carefully approached her from behind and held her.
There were so many things I was curious about, but I waited until she decided to speak on her own.
"Sijun-ah, did you really have a company dinner today?"
"Of course. Why would I tell a lie that would get caught the second I set foot on campus?"
A one-word answer wouldn't cut it.
"Then what's that mark on your jacket, and the perfume smell?"
"What mark?"
Sieun Nuna pulled free from my arms, picked up the jacket I'd tossed aside, and showed it to me.
"Uh...."
Something was smudged on it, but I couldn't guess what it was. I brought my eyes closer to get a better look, and a subtle scent wafted up from the jacket.
"Uh...?"
"This looks like a woman's lipstick. And perfume, too."
No matter how hard I thought, I couldn't figure it out. Besides, if a woman's lipstick got on me, it would normally be on the front collar or near a pocket—but this was on the inside of the neckline.
"I seriously don't... Ah!"
A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
"Ah?"
"Well... I think it was Ms. Park Haru..."
"Park Haru?"
"Yeah."
I explained, gesturing emphatically with my hands and feet, that Park Haru had been drunk and clinging to me, so I had no choice but to put her in the car; she seemed cold so I covered her with my jacket; and I put her to bed and left—I swore, absolutely nothing happened.
"Is that the truth?"
"Yeah!! Absolutely!!"
Nuna's expression relaxed a little, but she hadn't let her guard down yet.
"I thought... you'd been waiting..."
To sum up what Nuna said while crying, Eunhwi Nuna and Sieun Nuna had been holding me back, so I hadn't been able to meet other women. She thought that, since she told me to meet someone else, the reins were off. She felt jealous, and wondered if she was the one who had blocked me—a lot of thoughts went through her head.
"So... I thought you... didn't love me anymore."
Now she wasn't just tearful—she was actually crying. She had always been a sensitive person, but I'd thought she'd mellowed a bit with age.
Apparently not. I pulled Nuna onto my lap and held her completely in my arms.
"What do you mean by that?"
I slowly stroked her back and soothed her. Once some time passed and her crying had stopped, I asked her carefully.
"Were you scared I would go find someone new right away the moment you said that?"
"Yeah..."
What a truly adorable person.
"Were you afraid I would leave you?"
"Yeah..."
The position was a little awkward, but I lay down just as I was, holding Nuna, and comforted her until I fell asleep.
The sun was already high in the sky by the time I woke up. We were eating well past lunchtime, and Nuna kept avoiding my eyes.
"What's the matter?"
Even when I called her, she didn't answer and just kept dodging. When I persistently questioned her, Nuna raised her voice.
"Ugh, because I'm embarrassed!!! Okay?!!"
"Huh?"
"Agh... seriously... so annoying, Choi Sijun!!!"
"Whyyy?"
Remembering what happened the night before, I spoke in a teasing tone, deliberately drawing out my words.
"Ughhh!!!"
Normally, I would have just let her hit me, but today I dodged lightly and ran away.
"You stop right there!!!"
We played a wild round of tag and then plopped down on the sofa.
"So, why were you embarrassed?"
"It's just... last time I talked all mature-like, and this time I got jealous and... cried..."
"..."
"Yesterday, while I was practicing the script and drinking a bit, my emotions just welled up and..."
"What kind of script makes you drag it into real life?"
It's said that some actors occasionally get so immersed in their roles that it affects their real lives. But while that might happen to Sieun Nuna, Eunhwi Nuna almost never did. And even if Sieun did get swept up in a role, it wasn't like her to vent her emotions the way she had last night.
"This one."
Nuna brought the script from her room, showed it to me, and explained.
"The woman feels she's no longer loved by the man... and... anyway, you get the idea..."
"Ah..."
I'm not an actor, so I couldn't fully empathize, but I had a sense of what it felt like.
"If I ever do meet someone, I'll get your permission first. And I'll keep loving you, Nuna."
"So you're not saying you won't meet anyone?"
"Uh..."
Hearing Nuna's words, my thoughts suddenly became a mess. Even after I'd spoken, I couldn't sort them out.
Nuna must have sensed my confusion, because she pulled my head into an embrace.
The warmth of her body against my head was tender. For someone who had been shouting that she was embarrassed just moments ago, her touch was incredibly composed and gentle. That dissonance somehow made her sincerity feel as if it was reaching me directly.
"Don't overcomplicate it. I'll always support you. No matter who you meet, no matter what choice you make... what makes you happy is what makes me happy."
They were kind words. They should have been sweeter than any blessing in the world, yet, strangely, that voice pressed heavy on my heart.
Was it because I'd seen Nuna's anxiety with my own two eyes the night before? Or was it because, rather than feeling relieved that I had her permission, the selfish instinct of 'is this really okay?' had raised its head?
"Nuna..."
"Hmm?"
"I think I'm seriously trash."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"When you say something like that... it makes me feel sorry, but... haa... I just can't put it into words."
At my answer, Nuna pulled me into an even tighter hug. I held her too, and like a baby unwilling to leave her arms, I burrowed deeper into her embrace.
"If you were truly trash, you wouldn't even be thinking those thoughts. And I told you. You might not believe me after the fuss I kicked up yesterday, but I'm not going to let anyone take you away."
Nuna's declaration felt like a prison trapping me, yet also like a fence that put me at ease.
"And I said it before, didn't I? If you abandon me, I'll kill you?"
The fence is cancelled. Prison it is.
----
"Ungghh..."
Something under the white blanket wriggled.
"Wa... water..."
A figure emerged from the blanket.
Like a wild animal driven by instinct to find water, she kept her eyes nearly shut, found the refrigerator by pure instinct, and poured water into her mouth as if refueling.
"..."
The cold water wetted her lips, and only now did the woman come to her senses. She opened her eyes, looked around, and began to size up her situation.
"Uh... huh?"
A panorama of what she'd done while drunk the night before flashed through her mind.
"Crazy, Park Haruuuu!!!"
Park Haru clawed at her own hair and collapsed to the floor. While inspecting the luxurious-looking room out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her clothes hanging on a hanger.
"No way?"
She was suddenly terrified that she might have had sex without knowing it.
"Department Manager-nim wouldn't... ugh, no way..."
She checked her body just in case, and found she was wearing a bathrobe, but her camisole and shorts were still on underneath.
"Phew..."
Once she decided that her stray thought wasn't the case, Park Haru let out a sigh from the very depths of her chest.
Yet, at the same time, a sense of disappointment rose from somewhere in her heart.
"He's too kind for his own good..."
It's a bit of a problem if her first time was so hazy in her memory from being drunk, but still, if he'd just devoured her, she could have told him to take responsibility.
"My phone is..."
Park Haru looked through her bag for her phone and found a note next to it.
{ I didn't know your address and you seemed extremely intoxicated, so I brought you here. I ordered some comfort food from the front desk, so if you call, they'll bring it right up. In case of any misunderstanding, I should add: your clothes seemed too uncomfortable, so I enlisted a female staff member's help to change you. Have a good weekend, and see you next week.
P.S. Putting you up in a motel felt a bit off, so I brought you to a hotel. Don't worry about the charges.}
She clutched his note, stiff yet full of consideration.
"Department Manager-nim... as kind as ever. I like it."
Lying on the bed, Park Haru felt the warmth of Choi Sijun's thoughtfulness. Then she remembered her own actions from the night before and shot upright.
"Crazy bitch, crazy bitch, crazy bitch."