“Huh?”
“I’m a model too, just like Daniel Ayl.”
“But Somerset, you don’t even manage your diet. You can eat as much as you want without gaining weight, and you build muscle easily… ah, I guess Danny could end up feeling inferior.”
“There’s no need to bring up his inferiority complex in front of me. Anyway, forget it. I’m declining. End of discussion.”
The appeal demanded from Daniel Ayl and Somerset Quinn was simply different. That didn’t mean I was more attractive than Ayl. To Ben, who scratched the back of his head awkwardly, I gave the task of fetching me water while massaging my shoulder muscles. Holding tense poses in front of the camera all day had left my body stiff.
Soon the lights came back on and the shoot resumed. I ended up pouring the bottled water Ben gave me over my body instead of down my throat. Since the studio heating was poor, my wet skin quickly turned cold.
“Quinn, the final outfit is here.”
“This barely looks like clothing.”
The only consolation was that the end of the job was finally in sight. There wasn’t much left to prepare, and the shoot progressed smoothly enough that we wrapped up earlier than expected. Ben draped a large towel around my bare upper body and led the way to the waiting room. After wiping off my light makeup and pulling on the black V-neck sweater I’d taken off earlier, I headed back outside and sat beside the photographer.
“Want to see the photos?”
“Only the good ones.”
As he pulled up the photos on the monitor, the photographer asked,
“Is it true you’re appearing in Tamara White’s music video?”
“Who told you that?”
“I’m working on Tamara’s album cover. It came up during a meeting with her team.”
“Did they ask you to find out whether I’m accepting or not?”
“Caught me.”
I shrugged. The agency and Manager Ben kept encouraging me, saying it was a great opportunity, but I just couldn’t get excited about it. It had been the same when I received offers to audition for dramas and films—everyone around me acted as though heaven itself had handed me a miracle, but I’d refused those too.
Just as Eden had recited a few days ago, I’d been born and raised in wealth, so I’d never had any burning ambition to make huge amounts of money. I was simply accustomed to receiving attention because of a face that had never once been considered unattractive in my life. But I wasn’t someone obsessed with fame, and I had no desire to become so famous that it made life inconvenient.
No matter how I tried to explain it, it would only sound like the complaints of someone too privileged, so I chose not to say much. After giving the photos a quick glance, I left the studio. Interrupting Ben’s rambling about how fantastic today’s shoot had been, I asked him to drop me off in SoHo instead of at home. I planned to shop and relax for the first time in a while.
“By yourself? Want me to come with you? I still have time before meeting Danny. If it’s for you, Somerset, I’ll prioritize it.”
“I’m not alone.”
Even when I wandered around by myself, I wasn’t truly alone.
Because I was being tailed by a stalker like a shadow.
“So you’re meeting someone. Where exactly? I’ll drop you there.”
“It’s fine. Anywhere is fine, anytime.”
I was confident and not confident at the same time. As long as Eden kept trailing after me, I wasn’t alone—but that didn’t mean we were together, and it wasn’t like we’d made plans to meet either.
Ben stopped in front of a university building and let me out. He said his own appointment wasn’t far from here, so I should contact him if I needed anything.
After seeing him off, I turned around and strode away. I crossed my arms and stopped in front of the hood of a black sedan parked crookedly by the curb.
When the standoff dragged on, Eden leaned forward with one hand on the steering wheel, as if trying to get a better look at me. Meeting that blatant gaze head-on, I crooked a finger at him lazily.
“Get out.”
I felt like a little kid trying to make myself seem imposing by yelling, or an animal puffing up its fur to look bigger. My voice stayed low, though. My build was already big enough without forcing it.
To passersby, it might’ve looked like I was picking a fight with the car’s owner.
But I didn’t care what they thought, or whether paparazzi might be mixed in among them.
I crooked my finger again. If it came down to it, I was ready to kick the front tire.
“Get out. I’ll give you five seconds.”
Warning him in a voice that couldn’t possibly reach inside the car, I started counting. By the time I silently mouthed the full five seconds, Eden had grabbed his coat and stepped out of the car. Quite the coincidence.
Strangely enough, despite being a stalker, Eden always wore suits—or, if not suits, neat monochrome outfits. Rather than making him blend in, those colors only emphasized his own distinct features even more. Blonde hair, emerald eyes, and vivid pink lips.
“What?”
he asked, and I answered casually.
“You’re going to follow me around anyway, so while you’re at it, you can wait on me a little.”
It was the first time we’d spoken since that night that had almost turned into an argument.
There was no awkwardness between us.
“That’s not part of my job.”
“Your job is stalking me. I’m temporarily giving a stalker permission to stay close to me. You should be jumping for joy instead of acting reluctant. I know you’re secretly thrilled.”
“Who knows.”
Eden tightened the loosely hanging tie beneath his coat. He acted hesitant, but in the end he’d follow me anyway. There was an invisible tension pulling between the stalker and me.
I slowed my pace so he could catch up easily. At first, Eden trailed a couple steps behind as though we weren’t together, but gradually he moved closer until he was beside me by the time we entered a clothing store.
“No thanks on the clothing gift. I’ll pass.”
“I never said I was buying you anything.”
I snorted at his premature refusal, though in truth I had been thinking about buying him a piece or two in brighter colors. My gaze drifted unconsciously to a beige-toned sweater on a mannequin. I pictured Eden standing in front of me wearing it. It would suit him perfectly, as though it had been made just for him.
Looking wasn’t enough, so I lightly toyed with the sweater sleeve.
“Soft fabric is nice, isn’t it?”
Eden didn’t answer the casual question. The eyes trapped behind his black-rimmed glasses simply refused me again.
Not wanting to lose, I briskly walked ahead of him. Who said I was buying him anything? I could just be investigating his taste. It was natural to ask for another person’s opinion while picking clothes.
As I justified myself internally, trying to make myself understand, I scanned the clothes displayed along one wall. Every eye-catching item looked like it would suit a beautiful blond with pale skin. A man with strikingly beautiful eyes and an intellectual atmosphere. Around my height—or maybe slightly taller. Slim, with broad shoulders. That would be perfect.
“This jacket…”
The moment I picked up a jacket with a simple design, Eden shook his head.
“Somerset.”
The way my name rolled off his tongue felt rigid. I already knew what he was going to say next, so I interrupted before he could.
“I’ll say it again—I never said I was buying it for you. Did it ever occur to you that you misunderstood?”
“No.”
“What is with that confidence? Seriously unbelievable.”
Even after embarrassing him, Eden looked utterly unaffected. With an indifferent gaze, he surveyed the store interior before stepping up directly behind me.
“Somerset.”
This time my name sounded even firmer, heavier than before. Barely enduring the weight of the voice hovering over my shoulder, I hung the jacket back in place. As I stiffened with my arms lowered at my sides, Eden reached out from behind me. Pulling the jacket I’d been about to recommend back off the rack, he whispered softly,
“Don’t show me softness like this. What if I’m a bad guy who takes advantage of it? Hmm?”
Could buying someone one piece of clothing really count as being taken advantage of? Unless I was bankrupting myself over it. Wondering if my standards were simply too lax, I turned around. If Eden hadn’t stepped back so quickly, our noses, or chins, or at least our hair might have brushed against each other.
Fortunately, there was no contact at all.
“There’s no such thing as a good stalker.”
I’d hoped my words and gaze might scratch at him at least a little, but even that wish lost to his calm composure. Rubbing at my inexplicably burning ears, I crossed the store.
Don’t show me softness like this.
The words Eden whispered sounded like dialogue from some movie or drama.
What if I’m a bad guy who takes advantage of it?
Honestly, it might’ve been easier if he were simply the kind of bad guy who exploited things. Right now, he was a suspicious bad guy whose true intentions were impossible to read, which made dealing with him difficult.
Hmm?
The little sound asking for my agreement reverberated through his throat, then echoed through my ears and my mind.
Hmm?
It really was a voice good enough to replay over and over. That much was undeniable.
Hmm?
But if it kept replaying in my head like this, wasn’t there something wrong with my brain?
Hmm?
Nothing was going to happen just because I kept clinging to that brief little sound by myself.
Hmm?
Stop. Stop thinking about it.
Eventually I grew irritated with myself and scratched at my head. The hair spray holding my hair in place left half of it sticking stiffly upward while the other half turned messy. The reflection in the mirror looked ridiculous, so I turned around. When I grinned and pointed at my hair, Eden tilted his head.
“What are you doing?”
“Isn’t it funny?”
“Not really.”
His lukewarm response completely killed the mood. I swept my bangs back into place.
“Your boring expression is even less funny.”
“Sure.”
“You know you’re seriously irritating, right?”
“How could I not? You make it incredibly obvious.”
Answering easily, Eden carried the jacket to the register. Even though he acted like he’d thoroughly take advantage of me, he paid for it himself. Judging by how he spent every day tailing after me, he didn’t seem to have a proper job, but apparently his finances weren’t bad. Maybe his family hadn’t gone bankrupt before they moved after all.
He returned carrying a large paper shopping bag. Judging solely by the action, he looked like a loyal puppy, but the reality was different. He felt more like a cat than a dog, and he certainly wasn’t loyal to me.
When I criticized him for buying clothes without even trying them on, he brushed it off indifferently, like it had nothing to do with him. And when I told him to wear it next time, he firmly said no.
“If you’re not going to wear it, why buy it?”
“Because cooperating with you seemed easier.”
His irritating attitude annoyed me enough that I decided to push him around a little. We stopped by three more clothing stores, and I handed all my shopping bags over to Eden. He looked slightly dumbfounded, but accepted the bags without protest.
