A Weekend Incident (1)
The bright sunlight streaming through the window was what woke Baek Yerin from her deep weekend slumber.
She rubbed her arms against the slightly chilly air and tilted her ear toward the window, where the diligent chirping of sparrows could be heard.
It was a October autumn morning.
Somehow, a full month had already passed since Baek Yerin began staying at Ryu Won's house.
Though it was a short period, during that time she had completely adapted to living in his home.
First of all, whenever she woke up and stepped out of her room, there were people there to greet her warmly.
"Good morning. Father, Mother."
"You're up already? The filming ran late yesterday, so you must be exhausted."
"Ah, I'm fine. And I've gotten used to waking up at this time."
"It would be nice if our kids could even take half of your habits."
"More than that... I still can't get used to you calling me 'Father' no matter how many times I hear it."
"Isn't it much better than 'Mister'?"
"Well, that's true."
Ryu Won's father, who had been brewing coffee, gave a bitter smile. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he placed a cup of coffee in front of Baek Yerin, who was sitting at the dining table.
"How does it taste today?"
"It's perfect again?"
"You may not be good at cooking, but your coffee is excellent."
At the continued praise, his face turned slightly red.
He looked quite proud.
That was when it happened.
"Then, after that accident, you couldn't play the piano anymore?"
"Yes. My left hand is fine, but my right hand has severe aftereffects. I can play lightly, but making it my profession would be too much. Of course, I can't compete in contests either."
"...It must have been incredibly heartbreaking. I'm amazed that you're smiling like this while talking about it."
"Haha. Thank you! But I'm really okay now. Um... in a way, I suppose I have composer Haon to thank for that!"
A familiar voice flowed from the TV.
It was Ryu Se-a's voice, appearing on a talk show.
"She looks happy."
"...She really does."
Watching their daughter's bright smile on the screen, they both wore faint smiles.
When Ryu Se-a had received what was essentially a death sentence for her piano career, the one who grieved the most was naturally Ryu Se-a herself.
And they had watched their daughter go through that pain right by her side.
She always said she was fine with a bright smile, but they couldn't help but notice that the smile was false.
But now, Ryu Se-a had reclaimed it. The happy smile from the days when she played the piano.
From a parent's perspective, what news could bring more joy than that?
"Oh, now that I think about it, has Se-a gone out again today?"
"She left early this morning for a music broadcast filming."
"Then the only one left is our young master."
At those words, everyone's eyes in the living room turned in one direction.
It was Ryu Won's room.
The current time was 10 a.m.
Originally, Ryu Se-a was also the type to sleep in late, but ever since she started her singer activities, she had become a perfect morning person.
She claimed it was because the work was so fun that she couldn't sleep...
But Ryu Won was always the same.
On weekends, he would usually sleep until nearly noon.
In that sense, Ryu Won's mother turned to Baek Yerin with a request.
"Yerin."
"Yes?"
"Could you wake him up? Tell him to get his head straight before lunch."
Baek Yerin nodded without hesitation.
There was no particular reason to refuse.
However, that kind of (?) event never occurred.
"Don't say such scary things. If I wake up and Yerin's right in front of me... I'd snap awake in more ways than one."
Ryu Won had opened his bedroom door and stepped into the living room.
At the sight, Ryu Won's mother looked slightly surprised.
"Oh my, what's gotten into our son that he's up at this hour? Do you have somewhere to go?"
"Yes. I just felt like taking a walk. I'll grab lunch on my own. I might not even be back for dinner."
"Then that's perfect. Take Yerin with you."
"?"
"What's with that face? Yerin finally has a day off after so long. She'll get bored."
"More than bored, wouldn't she be tired from all her activities? And at this point she's too famous, so she'd need a disguise at the very least."
As Ryu Won spoke, he glanced at Baek Yerin.
But for some reason, no one was there.
Baek Yerin had already dashed to her room to change clothes.
In the blink of an eye, Ryu Won and Baek Yerin's weekend date was set.
"...?"
For Ryu Won, it was all a bit sudden.
***
Ryu Won had gone outside first and was waiting for Baek Yerin.
"Have you been waiting long?"
At the familiar voice, he turned around to find Baek Yerin standing there in her going-out clothes.
With her face and proportions, she looked good in anything—that was one of Baek Yerin's characteristics.
Because of that, what caught Ryu Won's eye wasn't her outfit, but something else.
"What? You still have that?"
The hat and sunglasses Baek Yerin was wearing for her disguise.
They were all things Ryu Won had given her. On the day of her first Music Save filming.
In truth, Ryu Won had never gotten them back.
The process was annoying, and they had both been cheap to begin with.
But to Baek Yerin, they were absolutely not cheap.
Rather, they were a gift filled with precious memories.
"But where are we really going?"
At Baek Yerin's question as she walked beside him, Ryu Won thought for a moment before answering.
"Originally, I was planning to take the bus alone and ride from one terminal to the other and back. But doing something like that with you feels a bit..."
"I'm fine with it?"
"I'm not."
Ryu Won let out a sigh.
What kind of crazy person in this world would make the current Baek Yerin do something so stupid?
Hmm...
"But are you really okay with it? It's a weekend morning, so there probably won't be many people. And I doubt anyone would think Baek Yerin would be riding the bus on her day off."
When Ryu Won asked cautiously, Baek Yerin smiled brightly and nodded.
She simply wanted to spend the whole day by Ryu Won's side, observing him.
If it hadn't been for Ryu Won's mother, this opportunity probably wouldn't have come at all.
And so the two of them ended up sitting side by side on the bus seats.
However, once on the bus, Ryu Won simply stared out the window.
Watching the street scenery, watching the people passing by, and spacing out.
Having successfully followed his plan of going from terminal to terminal, Ryu Won's next destination was the movie theater.
Surprisingly, he chose the currently most popular movie.
It was a comedy, and throughout the film he laughed along with the audience, enjoying the movie in a perfectly ordinary way.
And as soon as the movie ended, he said this:
"Um... I'm really sorry, but could we watch one more?"
"Another movie?"
"Yeah. To be honest, I'm doing this because I want to get a bit of inspiration for composing or melodies."
If you stay cooped up in your room composing all the time, your ears naturally close off.
But when you go outside, various sounds, sensations, and smells intersect, naturally increasing the input.
Sometimes, those small differences can lead to creating a good song.
After listening to Ryu Won's explanation, Baek Yerin looked somewhat intrigued and said,
"That's interesting."
"What is?"
"I thought you could just close your eyes, open them, and make a good song. You've done that a lot."
"That was just good luck."
"Really?"
"Of course. I'm not that amazing of a person. Honestly, even making one song is a struggle for me. Um... are you disappointed?"
"Not at all."
Baek Yerin answered immediately.
How could she be disappointed?
In other words, didn't that mean he had given all those best songs he worked so hard on to her?
From her perspective, that was something to be even happier about.
At Baek Yerin's instant reply, Ryu Won scratched his head and headed to the next screening room.
This time, he chose the complete opposite—the movie with the fewest audience members.
The genre was even a horror thriller.
Because of that, Ryu Won checked with Baek Yerin once more.
"It's a horror movie. Are you really okay with it?"
"Do I look like the type to get scared over something like that?"
Baek Yerin spoke with her usual mischievous smile.
In short, she looked completely relaxed.
Well, it was rare for Baek Yerin to show any sign of being shaken.
In their previous life, he couldn't even imagine her like that.
Besides, Ryu Won already knew.
That Baek Yerin's preferred movie genres were horror and thrillers.
"Kyaaaaaak!"
"?"
And that thought completely vanished exactly ten minutes after the movie started.
At the scream coming from beside him, Ryu Won quietly looked down at his left arm.
For some reason, Baek Yerin was clutching his left arm tightly and trembling. She had even buried her face in it.
Sigh...
'But that wasn't even a scary scene?'
Was the information I knew wrong? But she herself said she likes this kind of movie?
Either way, Ryu Won had no choice but to offer his left arm to Baek Yerin until the movie ended.
He knew all too well that fear was an emotion you couldn't control even if you wanted to.
But here's the thing.
Baek Yerin, who had been naturally hugging Ryu Won's arm throughout the entire movie...
'Hmm... Should I suggest watching it one more time?'
It was a little questionable whether she had actually felt any fear while watching the movie.