Keueuung-
When I woke up, my whole body scread in protest. Just how long had I slept? My body was so stiff that even stretching felt exhausting.
I had stayed up several nights morizing lines to deal with Park Ji-hoon, and then fild for over ten hours. It’s a wonder I managed to endure it all.
“Let’s take a shower first.”
I don’t rember washing up before falling asleep. No, I didn’t even take off my clothes and just lay on the sofa.
It’s a sha to have left sweat-stained makeup on an expensive sofa, but I didn’t have the luxury to think about that at the ti.
“…Huh?”
As I tried to get up, I felt sothing strange in my hand. It turned out to be a blanket draped over my waist.
When did I get this?
I had never seen such a blanket before.
Maybe because I hadn’t fully booted up yet, my brain couldn’t co up with a clear answer.
I stared at it with half-closed eyes for a while before a sudden thought struck like lightning.
If I didn’t bring it in my sleep, soone must have covered with it. How many people have access to this house anyway?
“Could it be Eun-ha ssi…”
With that thought, I quickly regained my senses. I looked around the house like a erkat, but there was no sign of anyone.
Then I noticed a yellow post-it note stuck to the small table in front of the sofa. I got up quickly and checked the content.
『Since you seed very tired, I didn’t wake you and just covered you with a blanket. I’ve prepared so food that’s easy on your stomach, so please heat it up and eat it.』
The mont I saw the neatly written letters, a wave of relief washed over .
“…The housekeeper must have been here.”
She regularly visits to prepare side dishes and clean up. She’s like a caretaker.
She knows a bit about the relationship between Kim Eun-ha and .
She’s usually very aloof, so we just exchange brief greetings when we et.
When I was out, she would often leave post-it notes like this, so I was quite familiar with her handwriting.
“How long did I sleep anyway?”
I didn’t even hear the sound of the front door password being entered, which ans I slept very deeply. Did I sleep for a whole day and night?
I hurriedly searched for my phone and checked the date and ti on the main screen.
“…It wasn’t just one day.”
The drama shoot was on the 5th, but my phone now showed the date as the 7th.
I had slept on the sofa and lost an entire day. Even though the shoot went on until dawn, I had been asleep for almost 24 hours.
“My body isn’t what it used to be.”
In my early twenties, I could stay up all night and wake up fine after just 8 hours of sleep. How did I change so much after just a few years?
Sigh-
I let out a small sigh and fiddled with my phone. In just one day, I had a ton of missed calls and ssages.
The first thing I checked, of course, was the ssage from Kim Eun-ha, which I had pinned to the top.
Boss: Woo-ju ssi.
Boss: Kim Eun-ha has transferred 1,000,000 won.
Boss: What? Are you really sleeping?
Boss: Call when you wake up.
Hehe-
I couldn’t help but laugh at Kim Eun-ha’s ssage. Sotis she can be really cute.
It seed she wanted to check if I was deliberately ignoring her ssages. Even without the money, I always check my boss’s ssages first.
“…Huh?”
Haha-
I was montarily taken aback to find the transfer ssage was real, but then I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, thinking it was just like her.
: I’m back ho now.
Boss: Good job. Sleep well.
As I sent the ssage, I found the text I sent yesterday and Kim Eun-ha’s first reply.
If you glance at it, her ssage might seem very formal and mundane, but that’s only if you don’t know Kim Eun-ha. Normally, her reply would have ended with “Good job.”
The sentence that followed.
Only three characters long, but why does that short sentence stick in my mind so much? I couldn’t understand it.
Boss: ?
While I was organizing my thoughts, a new ssage suddenly appeared. Startled, I quickly scrolled down.
Boss: Why are you ignoring my ssage?
: It’s a misunderstanding.
Boss: What misunderstanding?
: I just woke up, checked my ssages, and was about to reply. But our timing is impeccable!
Boss: (Glaring emoji)
Fortunately, it seed like Kim Eun-ha was letting it go without further questioning. She probably heard about my situation from the housekeeper last night.
Boss: If you’re awake, get ready to go out. I’ll finish what I’m doing and head over there.
: Why?
Even though I wasn’t particularly tired after sleeping for a whole day, I instinctively questioned her because I wanted to laze around at ho for today.
Boss: There’s a place we need to go.
: Do I have to go too?
Boss: You don’t want to?
In a familiar situation, PTSD suddenly struck . I could almost hear the drill instructor’s voice saying, “You’re not going to it? Do you want to get dragged here?”
Of course, unlike the army, this was half a choice I made, but I’m only human and sotis want to rest for a day.
: What ti should I be ready by?
However, my superior frontal lobe managed to block such lazy thoughts.
My brain, tainted by a lifeti of social experiences, identified the current situation as a “crisis.” It gave the correct answer almost automatically.
Boss: It will take about two hours to finish work and get there. Allow for a 30-minute margin of error, so be ready.
: ∠(‘-‘*)
I thought about lying down for just five more minutes, but I quickly shook my head to clear my mind.
I got up imdiately, stretched, and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.
I didn’t know what would happen, but from past experience, when Kim Eun-ha gave such notifications, it usually wasn’t an urgent matter.
If it were as serious as the situation with Park Ji-hoon, Kim Eun-ha would have been right in front of when I woke up. It seed I could afford to relax a bit.
“…What’s going to happen today?”
Saaaa-
But since there are no absolutes, I pondered again under the stream of water pouring over my head.
*
“You arrived right on ti.”
“Got a problem with that?”
“Water too… Never mind.”
I was about to make a joke, but I stopped because even I thought it was inappropriate.
Seeing Kim Eun-ha’s montary look of disdain, it seed like a very wise decision.
“Co on out. We need to leave right away.”
“You must be tired. How about a drink before we go?”
“We’ll be late.”
Whatever was so urgent, Kim Eun-ha quickly grabbed my hand and pulled outside. Feeling the soft touch of her skin against mine, I decided to go along with it.
Since it didn’t feel right to make her drive again after she rushed all the way here, I quickly took the car keys.
“Where to?”
“Just follow the navigation.”
Unfortunately, the navigation only showed an address, so I couldn’t tell where the destination was. All I knew was that it was sowhere on the outskirts of Seoul.
Since she wouldn’t answer even if I asked, I silently started the engine and pressed the accelerator.
“Did the shoot go well?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Since the destination was farther than expected, we had so small talk.
Most of our conversation was about the past two days, including the day of the shoot and the day I slept through.
“What do you an I did a lot?”
“You did a lot. When I went to the set, people were really surprised. Especially writer Jung Ha-rin, who said I seed more realistic.”
“Huh? What do you an by that?”
“You made morized the script ticulously to deal with Park Ji-hoon. You also corrected all my detailed mannerisms over the past few days. Thanks to you, my imrsion in [Kang Joo-heon] improved.”
Aha-
Kim Eun-ha nodded with a short exclamation, continuing the conversation as if sothing resonated with her.
“Indeed. The atmosphere did seem to change subtly. I couldn’t explain it precisely, but now I understand.”
“I don’t really know myself.”
“It’s hard for the person to notice.”
“Speaking of which, Eun-ha ssi, you’ve changed a lot compared to when we first t. Did you know that?”
“?”
“Yes.”
Kim Eun-ha tilted her head as if asking what I ant. I explained with a playful smile.
“Honestly, at first, you seed like a narcissistic, extrely selfish third-generation chaebol, and a sociopath, just like in dramas. But now, you’re different.”
“…You are so casually say so incredible things. I do acknowledge so of it, but anyway, what’s different?”
“You’ve beco cute.”
“…?”
Whoosh-
I felt an intense gaze from the passenger seat. It was so hot it felt like it could fry an egg.
Thankfully, I was driving and kept my eyes on the road. If I had looked directly at her, my heart might have stopped.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”
“You said I beca cute?”
“I misspoke. Seeing your gaze now, oh wow, you’re sharper than when we first t.”
“…Oh, that mouth of yours.”
Kim Eun-ha shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe it. Finally, the suffocating air lifted a bit.
Though I’ve beco more relaxed lately, I mustn’t forget that she could erase from this world anyti she wanted.
‘…This isn’t baseball.’
Life isn’t like baseball, where you get three strikes.
Life is real.
You only have one life.
Let’s think about Kang Joo-heon, the character I played the other day. How coldly he disposed of Secretary Kim after working together for years.
I didn’t see it firsthand, but rembering my first impression of Kim Eun-ha, she probably has that cold side sleeping within her as well.
“…”
Grip-
With that thought, I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. I kept silent and drove toward the destination.
Kim Eun-ha also kept quiet, and we drove in heavy silence.
– You have arrived at your destination.
The chanical voice of the navigation broke the heavy silence. I never found the tactless machine so welco.
“Eun-ha ssi. Why are we here?”
“Get out first.”
“…”
Following her order, I got out of the car and obediently followed her. We arrived at a car showroom.
A vast lot filled with sports cars, sedans, and various expensive cars.
“Choose one.”
“What?”
“If you did a good job, you should get a proper reward, right?”
“…”
Her smile was more mischievous than usual.
Looking at her, I was at a loss for words.
*****
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