Chapter 82
However, the situation before him remained unchanged. He couldn’t comprehend it at all. It wasn’t a message sent 10 minutes or even an hour ago, but a whole day before. How could it still be unread? Unless something had happened… His heart sank at the fleeting thought.
Yes, unless something had happened, it didn’t make sense for her not to read a message from him, of all people. No matter how many times he thought about it, it was nonsensical. He hastily contacted the production team.
Real-time Admin Chat
“Are you in touch with Ki Seo-jung?
He hasn’t been home for almost two days. Should we report this to the police?”
As soon as the word ‘police’ came out, all sorts of unpleasant thoughts dominated Cha Yoon’s mind. It was a world where unsettling news poured out almost daily when you turned on the news. What guarantee was there that Ki Seo-jung would be safe?
He couldn’t consider the fact that Seo-jung had a much more robust build than most men as he let his imagination run wild. The longer he thought, the more his worry and anxiety intensified.
Real-time Admin Chat
“I can’t take this anymore.
I’m going to report it now.”
Even that brief moment of waiting for the production team’s reply was unbearable. Cha Yoon jumped up and was about to dial 112 when it happened.
At the same time, urgent messages from the production team arrived one after another at the top of his phone. Cha Yoon read through the messages in order, and his expression, which had been covered with anxiety, gradually changed.
Real-time Admin Chat
Admin:
“Ki Seo-jung is currently in constant communication with the production team.
Also, Seo-jung has decided to stay at home until today due to personal reasons. We plan to inform the other cast members once again, so please don’t worry and go about your day.”
Several more messages followed, urging him not to report to the police. But nothing else registered in Cha Yoon’s eyes. Among the various message bubbles, he read and re-read just one message several times.
Real-time Admin Chat
Admin:
“Ki Seo-jung is currently in constant communication with the production team.”
Cha Yoon checked the chat window with Ki Seo-jung once more with an expressionless face. There, he saw a yellow message bubble with the number ‘1’ next to it, sitting alone. He let out a hollow laugh.
Ki Seo-jung was in constant communication with the production team. And the message he had sent still remained with an uncleared ‘1’.
In other words…
“He’s only avoiding my contact, that’s what this means.”
Cha Yoon brushed back his bangs that touched his forehead. With the production team’s message, the wall of ‘mental victory’ he had built up until now crumbled all at once. Suddenly, everything looked different. Ki Seo-jung’s strange expression on the day they kissed, his absence for two days…
“Huh? They say Seo-jung hyung isn’t coming home today either?”
“Really? Is something wrong?”
“Maybe it’s because of work? Seo-jung does overnight shifts.”
“Didn’t he not come yesterday too? What kind of place makes you work overnight two days in a row? His body must be wrecked.”
“Yeah, I’m worried about Seo-jung.”
As the concerned voices of the cast members were heard, having received the message from the production team, Cha Yoon’s lips twisted upward. Work, yeah right. They could only say that because they didn’t know the whole story.
Only Cha Yoon, who knew all the details, could see through to the hidden truth. So, Ki Seo-jung was avoiding him now. Thinking that, he felt a surge of resentment.
Did he dislike it that much? To the point where he couldn’t even face him? His fists clenched. Realizing that it had all been his misconception, he couldn’t bear to stay there any longer.
Cha Yoon strode towards the entrance. Soon, the front door opened and closed.
At the loud, thunderous sound, the cast members stopped their conversation and looked out from the kitchen. What was that? Didn’t you hear something breaking? Obviously… Let’s just eat. The cast members shrugged and focused on their dinner.
***
Cha Yoon’s steps, having left the entrance, had already passed the main gate and reached his car. Getting into the car, Cha Yoon started the engine and released the side brake. However, the car that seemed ready to dash onto the road remained stationary.
It was only natural. He didn’t know where Ki Seo-jung’s house was. The destination was clear, but there was no way to get there.
“Damn it, really…”
Cha Yoon cursed under his breath, gripping the steering wheel tightly. The bones on the back of his hand turned white, and an unpleasant noise arose.
He knew it clearly in his head. That Ki Seo-jung would return to the X House after today. So he could just get out of the car now and wait comfortably in his room.
Despite knowing this, he couldn’t give up. He felt like he needed to see Ki Seo-jung’s face right now and talk to him. In a place where cameras weren’t watching them from all sides, he wanted to ask what he was thinking, what he wanted to do with him.
To do that, he needed to go to Ki Seo-jung right away, but there was nothing he could do. As he moved his gaze, biting his lower lip with a sense of urgency and impatience as if being chased by something, that’s when it happened. Cha Yoon’s contorted expression took on a strange light.
He slowly extended his hand that had been resting on the steering wheel. The place his fingertips touched was none other than the navigation screen.
On the screen, under the words ‘Recently Searched Routes’, addresses like his home and the university hospital he visited regularly were written. He swiped the screen with his finger. As the scroll moved with his touch, new addresses appeared in a row, and soon an address that caught his eye popped up.
Cha Yoon, stopping his fingertip right there, slowly read the address with his eyes. This address, starting with ‘Incheon Metropolitan City’, was also the one that had appeared at the top when he got back in his car after being discharged from the hospital. Every time he faced the address, he tried to delete it due to the tightness he felt near his chest, but he always hesitated just before deletion, ultimately leaving it as an attempt.
Looking at the address he hadn’t seen in a long time, Cha Yoon instinctively realized. That if he went there, he would be able to meet Ki Seo-jung.
After that, there was no hesitation. He turned the steering wheel and moved forward.
The car that had been driving on the main road soon turned into a neighborhood street. Soon, a voice came from the car speakers saying, “You have arrived at your destination. This guidance will now end.”
Cha Yoon, who had glanced at the navigation screen, turned his head back to the front. There was a strange light in Cha Yoon’s expression as he stared at the apartment complex visible through the windshield.
He had felt something strange since the car was speeding down the neighborhood street. In this unfamiliar neighborhood where he had never set foot before, Cha Yoon felt a sense of déjà vu. As if he had come to a place he visited daily, he moved the steering wheel as his subconscious dictated. And the moment he came to his senses, he heard the voice announcing that he had arrived at his destination.
Cha Yoon wanted to look more closely at the nature of the feeling he was experiencing now. It felt like he had to. As the car entered a bit further into the apartment complex, that’s when it happened.
The moving vehicle stopped again. A look of dismay appeared on his face. The reason was the long vehicle barrier clearly set up in front of the complex.
What should I do, should I abandon the car and walk in? Just as he was thinking that, the vehicle barrier that had been down rose as his car number appeared on the LED screen.
“…What’s this?”
Why is this registered? The confusion intensified. Looking ahead with trembling eyes, Cha Yoon soon seemed to make up his mind and stepped on the accelerator. The vehicle that had entered the complex kept moving without stopping. After turning the steering wheel following his instincts for a while, the vehicle came to a complete stop in the parking lot.
Cha Yoon unfastened his seatbelt and got out of the car. He stood in place and looked around. There were glass doors here and there in the parking lot. They seemed to be entrances to the complex.
Among the glass doors that all looked the same, what caught Cha Yoon’s eye was the large lettering ‘113 dong’. At the same time, a pain like a needle stabbing his temple struck him. Cha Yoon tightly closed his eyes.
‘Let’s choose this one.’
‘Yoon, I told you to think before you speak. We haven’t even looked inside the house yet.’
‘I am thinking before I speak. Look here, 213. This number is the date we decided to start dating.’
‘…Oh, you’re right.’
‘See? We don’t even need to go up. This is our home.’
Following those words, laughter that seemed to say ‘you’re hopeless’ echoed like an auditory hallucination. He couldn’t mistake the owners of the voices that followed. They were the voices of Ki Seo-jung and himself.
