Chapter 42
How relieved I felt the moment I spotted Secretary Shim’s face in the crowd. Even though he hadn’t properly explained the situation, he quickly separated me from the people who were intimidating and pressuring me to film.
If it hadn’t been for him, I might have been forced to shoot that scene, pushed by threats in the middle of a crowd where I had no allies.
“Haah…”
Seeing the street now clear after the filming crew had left, my rapidly beating heart gradually returned to its normal rhythm. On the other hand, I felt embarrassed for having made a spectacle of myself in front of people connected to Do-heon.
I thought I should leave as soon as the last remaining truck departed. I didn’t particularly want Do-heon to know about my pathetic situation. After fighting with him so fiercely last time, it seemed too shameless to be sitting in his office like this.
I finished my tea and placed the cup on the table. As I rose to leave, the office door suddenly swung open.
“Oh.”
It was Do-heon, entering without knocking. Having run into him face-to-face when I was about to leave, I froze in an awkward half-standing position.
My lips felt sealed, and no words came out even as I looked at his face.
After briefly scanning me up and down, Do-heon approached.
“I heard you went through unnecessary trouble. Are you hurt anywhere?”
The moment I heard his voice, the tension drained from my stiff shoulders. And the last thread of anxiety I had been holding onto finally snapped.
Why was that? A difficult-to-explain emotion welled up, and instead of answering, I slightly nodded my head.
After confirming I was alright, Do-heon went to sit on the sofa in the center of the office. Instead of sitting with his back straight as usual, he leaned completely against the plush backrest and looked at me, still frozen awkwardly.
As if contemplating something, he rested his hand on the armrest and tapped the wooden part with his fingers.
After some time passed, unable to endure the silence, I watched him carefully, trying to find the right moment to say I should leave. He didn’t look pleased.
He probably wasn’t happy being suddenly summoned after hearing about me in the middle of his schedule. And when he arrived, the situation was already resolved. In truth, even if Do-heon had come earlier, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
Plus, it was raining outside. A series of situations had occurred that he likely wouldn’t appreciate.
“I heard you interrupted your schedule to come because of me…”
“That’s not something you need to worry about.”
“…”
Before I could even apologize, Do-heon cut me off coldly.
*Right. Of course. Even when speaking, you just have to show that you wasted time because of me.*
I swallowed a sigh and spoke again with determination.
“Then I should be going…”
As soon as I spoke, Do-heon stood up from his seat.
“Have you eaten?”
“What?”
“Dinner. It’s dinnertime.”
He tapped his watch as he spoke.
The topic was so unexpected and unrelated to the situation that it took me a few extra seconds to fully understand what he meant.
“No.”
*Looking like this, do you think I would have eaten? You must have heard everything.*
I grumbled internally.
“Then let’s have dinner first.”
I was about to retort “Dinner? Suddenly?” but Do-heon quickly added without giving me a chance:
“It happens to be my dinner time too.”
“…”
*Why should I eat with you? I’m already feeling depressed and my stomach is upset.*
Bitter words rose to my throat, but I found myself keeping quiet.
Partly because I had received help from Secretary Shim today, but mostly because I was grateful that Do-heon hadn’t immediately launched into a cold lecture about wasting time with unnecessary actions, which I had expected.
“What do you want to eat?”
Taking my silence as agreement, Do-heon asked about the menu. Then he came over to me and swiftly took away Secretary Shim’s jacket that I had been wearing.
“Return this. If you need one, wear mine.”
Again, before I could answer, Do-heon preemptively put his own jacket around me.
*
I nibbled at the food placed on the table while appreciating the outside view. It had been almost half a year since I’d been here with Do-heon, and it was the first time we had come alone.
This was a restaurant I usually visited with others for gatherings, so I had never properly savored the food here. I had been too uncomfortable and distracted to even tell if the food was going into my nose or mouth.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Do-heon, sitting across from me, pointed at my barely touched plate. I silently looked down at the baked lobster on my plate.
I had an allergy to crustaceans, so I didn’t like seafood. Perhaps that’s why I had no special memories of this restaurant’s food either.
The symptoms weren’t severe, so I could eat small amounts sometimes, but on days like today when I wasn’t feeling well, eating seafood was likely to cause problems. So instead of the seafood main course, I mainly ate pieces of bread and salad.
In the past, I might have felt hurt that Do-heon didn’t know about my crustacean allergy, but now I felt nothing. He was someone who had so little interest in me, I’d learned to accept it.
“Why aren’t you asking me anything?”
Instead of answering Do-heon’s question, I brought up a different topic. Even after restaurant staff had brought fresh food several times, Do-heon hadn’t mentioned what happened today and had just focused on eating.
“What should I be saying?”
“Just… You heard what happened.”
It was strange that he remained quiet when he surely had plenty to say, like why I agreed to appear in such a drama without checking properly, or how I was bringing trouble upon myself.
“It wasn’t your fault, so what should I say to you? Would you like me to scold you?”
“…Of course not.”
“Then finish your meal. Stop picking at it.”
I had been mechanically opening my mouth to eat, but now I put down my fork, feeling bloated. I had tried to force myself to eat at least the side dishes, but my stomach refused to accept any more.
Outside the window, rain-soaked cars passed by, emitting hazy yellow light. Suddenly, an indescribable fatigue washed over me. I wanted to go home quickly, shower, and sleep.
And after waking up… what would happen? The director might threaten me, demanding compensation for the production costs lost today. Not to mention being removed from the role.
Just thinking about what might happen made my head ache.
Lost in these gloomy thoughts, I suddenly caught my own reflection in the glass window.
I had expected to look terrible, but I appeared more presentable than anticipated. The hairstylist’s claim that they had put extra effort into my hair setting must have been true, as it looked as neat as it had in the waiting room earlier.
My rain-soaked clothes had dried by now. It occurred to me belatedly that my outfit might be a bit too much for such a restaurant, but what did it matter? People wouldn’t care whether an unknown entertainer like me wore flashy clothes or shabby ones.
I stared at Do-heon, finding it curious that he hadn’t commented on my appearance yet, and he mouthed “What?”
“You haven’t said anything about my clothes today. I’m even wearing makeup. Does it suit me?”
I asked while examining my reflection in the glass, bored waiting for Do-heon to finish his meal.
“You told me not to criticize your fashion.”
Do-heon raised his eyes and looked me over.
“It’s not that I have nothing to say.”
“…Ah, unbelievable. Does it look that strange?”
*But it doesn’t. Today I actually look pretty good.* I pouted.
Though it was modeled after idol makeup, since I wasn’t performing under music show lighting, the base was very subtle, only making my features slightly more defined. Unless someone looked closely, they might not even notice I was wearing makeup.
“I don’t like how people’s gazes are excessively drawn to you.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected comment, I hesitated for a moment.
“Isn’t that good for an entertainer?”
*What did he mean by not liking attention being drawn to an entertainer?* Although I thought his personality was strange and picky, his words didn’t feel particularly unpleasant.
At that, Do-heon, who had been eating silently until now, finally put down his fork.
“Why do you want to be an actor?”
He watched me intently, hands clasped on the table, as if genuinely curious.
I remained silent for a moment. I had actually thought about why I wanted to be an actor before. So I knew exactly the answer to Do-heon’s question.
But strangely, I didn’t want to explain it to him of all people.
“Do you want to be famous?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
