Chapter 135
Cheong-yeon first doubted his own eyes. Even though his acting lesson had finished earlier than usual, after stopping by the hospital, at least five hours must have passed.
Why is he still here? What about work? Or has he already been to the office and back?
Cheong-yeon stood at a distance from the entrance, making sure the person standing in front was indeed Do-heon.
This was reasonable because Do-heon was leaning against the car he’d driven in the morning, even smoking a cigarette.
Not yet having noticed Cheong-yeon, he tilted his head slightly and tapped ash from his cigarette onto the ground. Already, a rather messy pile of cigarette butts had accumulated at his feet.
Though his dark suit jacket still looked neat, the sleeve of his shirt still bore the bloodstains from the nosebleed this morning. Moreover, his necktie, which he usually fastened compulsively tight, hung loosely and crookedly around his neck.
This disheveled appearance of Do-heon seemed far from the man Cheong-yeon had always known.
“Cheong-yeon. The hospital…”
Do-heon belatedly spotted Cheong-yeon and threw his cigarette to the ground, grinding it out with his shoe.
As their eyes met, Cheong-yeon approached him with a face that couldn’t hide his surprise.
“Have you been waiting here the whole time?”
As Cheong-yeon drew closer, Do-heon waved his hand to disperse the remaining cigarette smoke.
Up close, the bloodstain on his sleeve was darker and more substantial than Cheong-yeon had thought. He probably hadn’t gone to the office. If he had, with Do-heon’s personality, he would have changed clothes long ago.
“What about work?”
“Did you get tested?”
They each blurted out what they wanted to say.
“Director, you’ve been smoking too?”
How much has he smoked? Cheong-yeon couldn’t hide his shock looking at the cigarette butts on the ground.
Only then did Do-heon look down to check near his feet.
“Ah. Don’t worry about that.”
“……”
“I felt like I needed to do something.”
“But so many cigarettes…”
“I don’t usually smoke. You know that.”
I know very well. When living with Do-heon, Cheong-yeon had never even seen him with cigarettes. So naturally, he thought Do-heon disliked smoking, but it seemed that wasn’t entirely true. Had he known how to smoke all along?
“What did the doctor say? Tell me what tests they ran first.”
“……”
“Was it because of the medication?”
Do-heon straightened his loosened tie and buttoned his jacket as if he had never been disheveled.
“When I asked Professor Han Sung-wook, he said there were similar cases among the side effects. If you want, we can still get a detailed examination…”
“I already went to the hospital. They said it was due to overwork.”
Cheong-yeon replied dismissively while looking around to see if anyone was watching them.
Noticing the meaning behind his action, Do-heon opened the car door and took out a hat.
“Wear this.”
“…I’ll borrow it just for a moment.”
He was about to refuse but decided there was no need to assert his pride over such a trivial matter.
Thinking caution wouldn’t hurt, Cheong-yeon accepted the bucket hat. Judging by its unfamiliar design, it seemed Do-heon had purchased it for emergencies.
“You’re saying it was because of overwork? After losing that much blood, does that make sense?”
Do-heon frowned as if frustrated. At his displeased tone, Cheong-yeon carefully studied his eyes.
Was Do-heon unaware that waiting here for hours to see if Cheong-yeon had gone to the hospital was abnormal behavior?
As if the disrespectful words Cheong-yeon had hurled in anger that morning didn’t matter at all, he was solely focused on what the hospital had told Cheong-yeon.
Was Do-heon unfazed by such verbal abuse? Or did Cheong-yeon’s condition appear that serious?
Indeed, the amount of blood seemed excessive for a nosebleed caused by fatigue. But it wasn’t severe enough to warrant immediate testing.
Cheong-yeon had no intention of getting a detailed examination as Do-heon wanted, and even if he did, he didn’t want to share every detail with Do-heon.
“I guess so…”
Cheong-yeon sighed as he gave a casual response.
Unlike the unusually serious Do-heon, Cheong-yeon just felt tired and bothered by everything. Most of all, he wanted to go home and rest.
Even if it was a side effect, as long as he had to meet with Do-heon, he couldn’t stop taking the medication.
At this point, it was difficult to understand why Do-heon was making such a fuss.
“Anyway, I’m fine, so you should go home now. You could have just asked me later instead of waiting.”
Cheong-yeon adjusted his bag strap, lacking the energy to lash out further.
“Is that all?”
Do-heon immediately questioned. Pondering his words, Cheong-yeon blinked slowly.
“What else is there?”
“……”
“Ah. Of course I’ll come out on Friday…”
“Stop that! When did I say I was curious about that?”
Do-heon scowled and cut him off.
“So we’re not meeting on Friday?”
“……”
Do-heon’s lips pressed into a straight line at Cheong-yeon’s calm and clear question.
After a moment, an even more complex emotion than what Cheong-yeon had seen that morning appeared on his face.
He looked like he didn’t know what to say.
“I’m too tired now, so I’ll go in first. Text me when you decide on a hotel.”
Leaving those words, Cheong-yeon was about to head toward the main entrance when he paused. He turned back, returned to Do-heon, and gave back the borrowed hat.
“Take this. I don’t want to have to visit that house again just to return it.”
As soon as Do-heon accepted the hat, Cheong-yeon entered the officetel without a trace of lingering attachment.
After returning home, washing up, and changing clothes, all Cheong-yeon wanted to do was sleep. He carefully buttoned his pajamas and drank a glass of warm water.
Out of curiosity, he looked out the window and faintly saw cigarette smoke dispersing into the air from the parking lot. It seemed Do-heon still hadn’t left.
“……”
Why is he still there making himself uncomfortable?
The image of Do-heon leaning against the car with his disheveled appearance kept appearing before his eyes.
‘You’re saying it was because of overwork? After losing that much blood, does that make sense?’
Had he looked serious enough to cause such urgency?
“……”
If he stayed still, it seemed endless unnecessary thoughts would follow. Soon, Cheong-yeon turned off the lights and lay in bed. Though it was still quite early to sleep, his body felt more tired than ever.
Although he needed to memorize the script and hadn’t properly prepared for tomorrow’s schedule, everything felt bothersome at the moment.
Rubbing his eyes and yawning, Cheong-yeon pulled the blanket up to his neck.
*
With a chime, the automatic door of the BBQ restaurant opened. Cheong-yeon looked around, searching for his table.
The spacious interior was packed with unfamiliar staff faces. However, finding the director and actors’ table was easy. The director had the loudest voice, and the actors’ appearances naturally stood out.
“Yeah, that’s it! This is why we have company dinners, to soak in this atmosphere!”
The director shouted boisterously, as if the entire hall could hear, though he hadn’t even finished his first glass of beer. Just by his voice, he sounded heavily intoxicated already.
“Actor, I think our table is over there.”
The manager following behind whispered, pointing to where Cheong-yeon should sit.
“Min Hye-rin and I will be at the table in the far back, so call us if you need anything.”
“You and Hye-rin can leave after dinner if you want.”
“Come on. How could we leave you behind? We’ll drive you home after the dinner, so feel free to chat with the staff. Try not to drink, though.”
The manager smiled reassuringly as he escorted Cheong-yeon to the table, then returned to his seat far away. Min Hye-rin and Cheong-yeon’s other staff members were already settled at their table, chatting as they arranged utensils and water.
Before sitting down, Cheong-yeon scanned the BBQ restaurant once more. Some actors were comfortably conversing as if already acquainted, while others awkwardly sipped beer, conscious of their surroundings.
“Hello, Director. I’m Yoo Cheong-yeon.”
Cheong-yeon first went to greet the director at his table.
“Oh, Cheong-yeon. We meet again after the audition? Come here. Sit down.”
“Director, let the young ones sit separately. Let them bond with people their own age at that table over there.”
The head writer cut off the director and gestured to Cheong-yeon, indicating he should go to the adjacent table.
“Is that so? Well, today’s MZ generation is different from our time, right? Ha-ha. Alright then. Sit wherever you’re comfortable.”
“All these old folks just love young people too much, it’s a problem.”
As the director spoke with obvious reluctance, the head writer clicked her tongue and filled his glass with beer. Cheong-yeon gave a slight bow of thanks before moving to the actors’ table.
They seemed to have already introduced themselves, as some actors were chatting while waiting for the meat to arrive.
“So did that person completely leave the project?”
“I heard they had a falling out with their sponsor. What else could they do?”
“Hello, I’m Yoo Cheong-yeon, playing the role of Seo Jae-min.”
“Oh, it’s Cheong-yeon! Hello!”
“Sit over here. This is the first time we’re all meeting, right?”
“It looks like almost everyone is here now.”
Cheong-yeon smiled gratefully as he sat in the spot indicated by an actor who appeared to be around his age.
“What were you talking about?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
