Chapter 111
“…”
A dinner with the JT Group family? Not only was it no longer a place he should attend, but he didn’t have even the slightest desire to go, so he couldn’t readily answer.
But he couldn’t straightforwardly tell Grandmother that he had long divorced Do-heon and was making a living doing other things.
—Why are both you and Do-heon suddenly so quiet? You used to chatter away with smart retorts. Don’t you want to eat?
“Huh? No? Of course not. I, of course I should go.”
For a moment, his mouth moved on its own without going through his brain. Only after answering did Cheong-yeon quietly sigh, realizing his mistake.
—Good, then I’ll see you soon. I was worried something had happened since Moon Do-heon barely opens his mouth.
“Nothing’s wrong. Um… please let me know when the exact date and time are confirmed.”
After hanging up, Cheong-yeon realized he had been swayed by Grandmother and spouted nonsense without any plan.
“Oh, this is bad.”
It would soon reach Do-heon’s ears too. Would he think he was crazy? After reciting prayers about never wanting to be involved with that “crazy bastard” again, suddenly declaring he’d attend a family gathering.
It was absurd even to himself. But then again, Grandmother had called personally, so how could he coldly refuse?
“Ah, I don’t know. I can just say I can’t go on the day of.”
Cheong-yeon muttered as he flopped down on the sofa. He could make an excuse that something came up and he couldn’t attend, and he could also meet Grandmother separately, just the two of them.
If Do-heon agreed, he wanted to tell Grandmother the truth about their divorce later and apologize for the deception. Of course, that would only be possible if Grandmother’s health improved significantly.
While Cheong-yeon was lost in these random thoughts, staring blankly at the ceiling, a short vibration sounded as a message arrived on his phone.
Cheong-yeon lazily stretched his arm and groped around to find his phone.
[Manager Park Yong-jun: Actor! The broadcasting station contacted us saying they need footage from the talk show you filmed today *^^*]
The sender was none other than his manager. Cheong-yeon checked the message that appeared in the KakaoTalk chat again.
[What?? What kind of footage?]
[Manager Park Yong-jun: Practice videos and albums from when you were active as Dex, actor.]
[Manager Park Yong-jun: Since it’s been a long time, there isn’t much material left on the internet, so the PD requested that if you have any personal materials, please send as many different ones as possible-!!]
[Manager Park Yong-jun: They said outfits, unreleased photos, and photocards would be good too if you have them. Would that be okay???]
Did he have enough screen time for past materials to be shown? He did receive quite a few questions during the talk show he filmed today, but most were common questions for all the appearing actors, and he thought the broadcast would be edited to focus on the lead actors.
Plus, if it’s his old materials…
“Damn. Those are all at Moon Do-heon’s house.”
All his idol-era outfits and goods were at the house where he lived with Do-heon. That meant he would have to go to his house and bring them back.
The thought of having to enter that house on his own and face Do-heon already gave him a headache. Cheong-yeon roughly tousled his hair. Then he wrote a reply to his manager.
[When do I need to deliver them by?ㅠㅠ]
[Manager Park Yong-jun: By tomorrow~]
“What? How can I suddenly do this by tomorrow…!”
Cheong-yeon, who had been lying on the sofa like an idler, sat up abruptly.
He couldn’t act proud and say it was too tight for a rookie like him to deliver by tomorrow. And if he delivered them late and the offended PD decided to cut him from the edit altogether, that would definitely be frustrating.
[Ah then for now]
[I have a schedule tomorrow afternoon anyway]
[I’ll find them by then and give them to you, manager…!]
[Manager Park Yong-jun: Understood !Actor**^^**]
After finishing the conversation with his manager, Cheong-yeon immediately pondered what excuse he should use to get permission to visit tomorrow.
If he told the truth that he needed to take some items for the broadcast, Do-heon probably wouldn’t tell him not to come, but the problem was that he didn’t feel comfortable contacting Do-heon from his side.
Should he just ask the employee to pick up a few materials and send them by quick delivery?
“No. It’s going to be on TV, what if they pick out only weird ones to send?”
If possible, he wanted to show footage that made him look good. He couldn’t rashly trust the eye of the employee who had absolutely no sense in this area.
But asking Do-heon to select and send them was even more out of the question.
“Sigh. I don’t know. Let’s just work.”
For now, he thought he could contact the employee tomorrow and somehow work things out – a rather complacent thought.
The issue wasn’t visiting that house, but not wanting to encounter or contact Do-heon. There was no one preventing him from visiting.
Putting aside the complicated concerns for now, Cheong-yeon found and opened the script and synopsis that had come in for review.
*
The next day.
When he contacted the employee, she replied that she happened to be on personal leave today and wouldn’t be at home.
She added the ambiguous comment, “But if it’s you, Mr. Cheong-yeon, you can come to the house whenever it’s convenient for you.”
So should he get permission directly from Do-heon after all? But someone like him would have left for work early in the morning and wouldn’t be at home anyway. Given that the employee said it was okay, was there really a need to get Do-heon’s permission?
He knew the house password too, so he could just quickly gather the items and leave. Besides, neither Do-heon nor the household employees had ever particularly restricted his access in the past.
Having rationalized his actions with miraculous logic, Cheong-yeon decided to drive to Do-heon’s house alone. He could just leave a message later saying he had taken a few items. Or he could tell him directly when they met on Friday this week.
“As expected. The password is still the same.”
The fact that he hadn’t changed the password must mean he doesn’t mind if I come in.
Interpreting the situation in his favor, Cheong-yeon tiptoed into the living room.
Perhaps because the employee who worked in the kitchen was absent, the interior was as quiet as a mouse.
Other employees responsible for gardening or room cleaning usually came to work in the afternoon, so there was no one walking around at this time.
Cheong-yeon quietly went up to the second floor and opened the door to the room where all his goods were collected.
“Wow. This place is still the same too.”
I thought he would have thrown away what needed to be thrown away and at least tidied up somewhat. Nothing had changed since the day Cheong-yeon left the house.
Even the cleaning seemed to be done regularly, as there wasn’t even dust on the hangers and storage cabinets.
To quickly pack only the materials to submit to the broadcasting station and leave, Cheong-yeon busily opened drawers and started taking out the contents.
There was quite a variety of items: outfits, posters, albums, USBs with dance practice videos, photo cards, letters from fans, and so on.
“What should I take?”
After taking out Polaroid photos taken with DEX members, Cheong-yeon fell into contemplation. Since Kim Ji-han was still active in personal broadcasts, it would be nice to have photos where Ji-han’s face looked good too.
Taking everything would make too much luggage, so he needed to filter appropriately, but it was difficult to choose.
Cheong-yeon first put the USB containing dance practice videos in his pocket. Then he carefully selected albums, photo cards, posters, gifts from fans, outfits, and other items, and carefully placed them in the bag he had brought.
“To think the day would come when I submit these to a broadcasting station. Indeed, live long enough and you’ll see everything…”
“What are you doing?”
“Ahhh!”
A quiet voice came from behind Cheong-yeon, who had been concentrating on packing.
Startled, Cheong-yeon’s legs gave out and he collapsed on the spot. The shopping bag he had been carefully holding also sprawled on the floor.
Cheong-yeon placed his hand on his pounding chest and turned his head toward the source of the voice.
“D-Director! You scared me!”
Do-heon was standing at the entrance of the room, wearing pajamas.
Feeling as if his heart was about to jump out of his mouth, Cheong-yeon took a deep breath.
“Don’t you think I should be more surprised in this situation?”
“Haah… You could have made some noise or something. I almost had a heart attack.”
“Why should I, when my ex-husband who left home is rummaging through a room without saying a word?”
“Ah, that’s true… wait, no. Why are you at home at this hour, Director?”
Cheong-yeon belatedly assessed the situation and looked up at Do-heon blankly from his crouched position.
He had naturally assumed Do-heon wouldn’t be home at this hour. Was he on vacation? Or was today a day for late arrival at work? What excuse should he make?
Cheong-yeon didn’t even think about getting up and just froze in place.
“That seems like a question I should be asking. What brings you to the house at this hour?”
Do-heon crossed his arms at the doorway, tilted his head slightly, and looked down at Cheong-yeon. As if to say, go ahead and explain yourself.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
