Episode 32: Park Ha-ru Wants to Be Filled

Chapter 32 Park Haru Wants to Be Filled

"Let's go watch a movie."

"Sure."

"I'll send you the address."

The address Park Haru sent wasn't for a regular theater. It was one of those private screening rooms that have become trendy lately — the kind where it's just the two of you watching together.

I'd been imagining something like those couple seats with privacy dividers, but hey, you learn something new every day.

If I ever end up going to a movie with someone else later on, I'll have to look for places like this.

I was driving with Park Haru in the passenger seat when my phone rang.

I moved to answer, but the moment the AI voice announced who was calling, my hand acted on its own and hung up.

"Why did you hang up?"

Park Haru's voice carried a distinct lethal edge.

Before I could even attempt damage control, the phone rang again.

- Incoming call from Cha Nara.

"Answer it."

"Okay..."

I didn't want to answer, but she rested her finger on the dashboard display as if to say, If you don't pick up, I will. Under that subtle pressure, I moved my thumb and took the call.

"Hello?"

- What the heck? Why'd you hang up on me, Oppa?

I heard the sound of teeth grinding right next to me. I chose to ignore it.

"Ah, I'm driving."

- Oh~ Are you at the office today?

"No, I had something come up, so I left early."

- Aw... I was gonna come see you today. Okay then, next time.

"Sure."

- Drive safe!

I was about to hang up when Cha Nara called out to me again.

- Oh, Oppa!

"Yeah?"

- That thing you said before about not stopping... when are we... I mean, I'm ready whenever...

"Ah... um... maybe we should go on a few more dates first...?"

- Okay! Be careful! Mwah!

The call ended, and silence swallowed the car whole.

- You have arrived at your destination. Navigation complete.

If I'd still been driving, it might have been salvageable. But we'd already arrived, which made the atmosphere spectacularly awkward.

"So... shall we get out? I'll park and meet you inside."

"Okay."

Park Haru, who had gone from cold to outright frosty, yanked the door open and got out.

"I'm fucked."

Park Haru headed into the building first, and I dropped my forehead onto the steering wheel.

"You piece of shit. Garbage human being."

I'm garbage. The kind that can't even be recycled.

Then a thought suddenly cut through my head.

"Wait, why the hell am I garbage?"

"The people who made moves on me even though I have a girlfriend — they're the ones in the wrong! Yeah!"

True enough. Of course, if any of the parties involved heard me say that, they'd beat me to death.

"Ugh..."

But what's done is done. I just have to manage the situation. Minimize the damage, do my best not to hurt anyone.

"Hoo! Hoo!"

I exhaled hard, letting my shoulders rise and fall to release as much tension from my body as I could.

I opened the door carefully and stepped inside. Park Haru took my hand and guided me to our seats.

"Oh..."

"The atmosphere's nice, right?"

"Yeah, really nice."

The whole place had this cozy, warm feel that melted my nerves right away. What can you even do with a simpleton like me?

"Sit here."

"Okay."

It wasn't so much a chair as a giant cushion — the kind you half-sink into, almost lying down.

"Should we watch this one?"

"Mm... whatever you want to watch, Haru-ssi."

I'd already screwed up. The last thing I needed was clashing tastes leading to screw-up number two.

"Alright. Let's watch that one."

The vibe made it pretty clear that handing the choice back to me was not an option right now.

She started the movie and sat down beside me. The cushion was slightly slippery, so we naturally ended up pressed together.

"Hoo..."

"Uncomfortable?"

I'd been trying so hard to be careful that my body had tensed up, and I'd let out a big breath without realizing it. Naturally, Park Haru caught it.

"Let's do this."

She lifted my arm and slipped into my embrace.

We were practically cuddling, absentmindedly playing with each other's fingers as we watched. But the movie was actually more entertaining than I'd expected, so at some point the fidgeting stopped and we both got absorbed in it.

Only when the ending credits started rolling did we finally look at each other and take stock of our situation.

"Ah... pfft!"

"Heh!"

Once our eyes met, it was just ridiculous. We burst out laughing.

The laughter gradually subsided, and Park Haru gazed at me with a serious expression. That look brought all the tension I'd pushed aside rushing back, and I swallowed hard.

"Um..."

"Yeah?"

"Can I... call you Oppa too?"

"..."

"No, I'm going to call you Oppa. Oppa."

Honestly, what is it with that word, 'Oppa'? It makes my heart flutter for no good reason.

"Okay."

"Oppa, can't you drop the formal speech too?"

"Uh... Haru-ya?"

"Yes, Oppa."

She seemed happy that I'd switched to casual speech, because she called my name and burrowed deeper into my arms.

We stayed like that for a long while, just holding each other and feeling each other's warmth. Then Haru stirred slightly and whispered into my ear.

"Oppa."

"Hm?"

"My... baby room is empty... will you fill it for me?"

I'd braced myself for things to escalate fast, but not this kind of escalation. I pushed her away and shot up from my seat.

"Wha... what the!! What kind of actress says something like that!!!"

I was so flustered I couldn't even get the words out properly. Completely unfazed, she rose to her feet, draped her arms around my neck, and pulled me gently closer to whisper in my ear again.

"So... do you not want to?"

"..."

I hate that I can't say no.

"Hoo... Haru-ssi, is that really you?"

I honestly wondered if this was the same Park Haru I knew. Where did the Park Haru who got all bashful in the office go? A succubus had suddenly taken her place.

"It's me. It doesn't have to be today, though."

"Okay..."

She let her arms fall and took a step back as she answered.

"I'd just like it to be sooner than Cha Nara-ssi."

"..."

"It's not jealousy or anything... it's just my pride. I'm twenty-six... if I have my first experience later than a twenty-year-old, I think the stress might actually kill me."

"Uh...?"

It still didn't entirely make sense, but in a weird way, I could almost understand.

"Alright. But..."

"Yes?"

"Are you really okay with this?"

"With what?"

I asked one more time — was she really okay forgiving the fact that I'm garbage? That there was Eunhwi-nuna, and maybe even Cha Nara could end up as my girlfriend too. I couldn't even bring myself to mention Sieun-nuna right now.

"I'm really okay with it."

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"I mean... Eunhwi-nuna, I've known her for a long time, so let's say that makes sense. But Haru-ssi— ow!"

"Haru!"

She's really sensitive about forms of address. She let the formal speech slide, but the moment I said "Haru-ssi," she pinched me.

"Haru is beautiful and just starting to make it big. Why would you take this kind of risk... there are plenty of handsome, successful guys out there, you know?"

"Oppa is handsome and successful too, though?"

"..."

I had no comeback. She said it with an expression that practically declared, I don't lie. I couldn't say "No, I'm not" to that face — and I didn't want to.

"And there's something I should confess."

"Hm?"

What Park Haru told me next was both more shocking than I expected and, in another way, not shocking at all.

Born beautiful, Park Haru was treated like royalty everywhere she went.

Once she became an adult, she said, there were only two types of men who approached her.

One type wanted to get her on her back by any means necessary, and the other type wanted to exploit her looks for their own gain.

"I'd been a trainee before that, so when I got out, I genuinely knew nothing about how the world worked."

"Oh, you were a trainee?"

"You really don't know a single thing about me, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do you?"

"Sorry..."

"There were even people offering to be my sponsor, using the fact that I used to be an idol trainee as a pretext."

"Sigh... those kinds of scumbags are still around..."

Things have cleaned up a lot, but the entertainment industry's dark corners are still tangled up with the worlds of politics and finance.

Still, Park Haru's family wasn't exactly struggling, so she never went down that path.

By a stroke of luck, she caught the eye of Professor Choi Sijung, which gave her the chance to study acting. She eventually transferred to Daehanyedae on his recommendation.

"But that's when I first saw you, Silljang-nim. You were a TA back then. That was when I first transferred — I was twenty-three, so three years ago."

She said that any other man would have shown at least a flicker of interest in her, or at least been kind. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But I had shown none whatsoever.

"Ah..."

Back then, I had Eunhwi-nuna and Sieun-nuna in my life, and I wasn't the type to go out of my way to be kinder than necessary. That might have amplified the impression.

Being a TA also made me extra cautious. Though to be precise, three years ago I was still in my "I don't want to work" phase, perpetually irritable.

"But... I've never seen anyone named Park Haru..."

"Ah! I changed my name. After I graduated."

"Still, there's no way I wouldn't remember a face like yours..."

My memory isn't great, but there's no way I'd forget a student with this kind of appearance.

"Back then I wore glasses like these..."

"Huh? Ah!!"

She pulled a pair of glasses from her bag and put them on. Instantly, it clicked.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠"Park Hayoung-ssi!!!"

"Now you remember."

"I'm sorry... you look completely different... wow..."

With the glasses on, she radiated a strong intellectual unnie vibe.

From there, her story went: she shot some short films, learned well, graduated, and eventually started working as Professor Choi Sijung's TA.

"At first, Oppa, you were... intriguing."

"Intriguing?"

"Because you didn't give me any special attention..."

What started as curiosity, she said, gradually evolved — until it became the love she'd confessed to me earlier.

I'd assumed this had only been going on for a year or so. I was surprised to learn her one-sided feelings had lasted much longer than that.

As someone who had done his own share of one-sided pining, I understood her heart completely.

"Well, I've been through a one-sided ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠love myself, so..."

"You have, Oppa?"

"Of course... Eunhwi-nuna and I have an age gap, so back when I was in middle and high school..."

"That must have been so hard."

"It really was..."

Even now, both nunas are beautiful, but like Sieun-nuna once said, when they were in their mid-to-late twenties — I genuinely thought I was going to lose my mind.

I was a teenager at the peak of my sex drive. It was brutal.

My standards naturally got way too high, and let's just say watching porn stopped being an effective solution to my urges. That stays between us. (It's not that it didn't work — it just didn't work enough.)

"But still... how does that lead to this conclusion?"

No matter how I looked at it, Park Haru's conclusion didn't add up.

"What conclusion? That I want Oppa to fill me up?"

"Yes, that! I mean, the way you phrase things..."