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“No worries about that. Now tell me before I misunderstand.”
“Excuse me, sir?”
“Why were you embracing my daughter?”
Won Joo’s spirit left his body.
Oh. Right. He had forgotten that he had, mere seconds ago, lost his mind briefly and opened his arms for the She-Devil Yul Hee to snuggle close to his body for a teddy bear hug. One that he realized he actually had been enjoying for a few minutes before he thought he saw Death.
He shoved that thought deep into the darkest recesses of his mind, his survival instincts kicking in. All focus had to be in this moment right now with one stern father staring at him, wondering why he had had his arms around precious daughter Yul Hee.
“Dad, this isn’t the time for this. What about Da Young? I can’t get in touch with her at all,” Yul Hee said, darting out from behind Won Joo to reach her father. She ended up becoming the barrier between the two of them now. Won Joo shrunk behind her for protection.
“I contacted her parents,” replied Mr. Han gruffly. “They don’t know where she went, either. You’ll likely see her tomorrow on set. I suppose the only thing we can do now is wait. She’s off the radar. Likely doesn’t want to be found right now.”
Won Joo didn’t pick up much of what was said, but he thought they were saying this Da Young person would be on set tomorrow. He didn’t have long to linger on this as Mr. Han cast a glare over his daughter’s shoulder at him. Won Joo shrunk further.
Mr. Han’s look was so scary, but his voice turned gentler as he told his daughter, “I know you’re worried, but I’m sure she’s fine. She can take care of herself. Let’s go home so you can rest.”
Yul Hee wanted to protest. Her thumbs stroked her phone as she stared down at the blank screen. Maybe Dad’s right, she thought when suddenly her screen lit up.
A text from Jae Woon.
Don’t worry. She’s with me.
A small smile of relief appeared on Yul Hee’s face. She finally had heard something about Da Young.
The smile disappeared.
Don’t worry?! Can I really not worry?! she thought. She wasn’t worried about Jae Woon so much as the fact that this would be Da Young’s first time sleeping over a man’s place, and that man happened to be Jae Woon. She can be so oblivious sometimes, but the heart never lies…I hope she can handle it…
—
A few minutes before, Jae Woon had hesitated before finally asking Da Young, “Did you let anyone know by the way? Where you are?” They both knew he was talking about Yul Hee, but he did not want to make any assumptions about who Da Young knew or what her situation was like.
“No…I don’t really want to talk to anyone right now,” she murmured, avoiding his eyes. He realized she wouldn’t even be here with him if he hadn’t come across her in front of the cafe. He wondered what she would have done then. Stayed at a sauna overnight? All alone?
While Jae Woon suspected she needed to retreat to her room for some alone time, he still felt hesitant to leave her. He didn’t want her to feel sad by herself. Yeah, that’s it, he convinced himself while his own hollow room beckoned for him.
After a few more beats of silence, he reluctantly said, “Well, good night then. We have a shoot tomorrow, so go to bed early!”
She gave him a small bow of her head and shuffled off to her room. He watched her close the door, and then pulled out his phone as he walked to his own room down the other hallway. He felt he should at least let Yul Hee know because he had seen her texts asking if he was with Da Young by any chance. The series of short, intermittent messages suggested she knew something was wrong and was worried.
Jae Woon sent the text to allay her concerns, then climbed into his bed, but sleep evaded him. He lied on his back, his hands politely folded on his stomach as he stared up at the dark ceiling. The feeling was different from before when he had not wanted to be home alone.
Now he very much knew someone else was with him. And he knew who that person was. And he knew only a few walls separated the two of them.
He tried turning onto his side to sleep. He hoped she would be able to get some rest.
But the same tossing and turning was happening in the other room. Da Young got tired of the ceiling, which seemed to play the scenes from earlier in the day ad infinitum—the non-confrontation with her parents, the walk to Jae Woon’s with his comforting presence beside her, the tour of his house, the way his hair looked limper after a long day of traveling and she wanted to brush it out of his eyes…
Wait, what? Her eyes flew open. This was supposed to be the best option for her right now, not the 24/7 sauna she probably would have settled in for the night otherwise, but why did this seem even more of an impossible place for her to get some rest? The bed was perfectly cushy, the sheets and blankets luxurious, the room the right temperature—and yet she felt too warm and restless. She wasn’t scared—she knew there was someone else there she felt safe around, and maybe that was the problem.
There was another warm body out there. She knew who he was. She knew where he was. And she wondered if his bed was more comfortable than hers.
—
In the end, the sun came over the horizon as two pairs of tired eyes stared up at the ceiling that wondered What the heck are you looking at? for the last few hours.
Awkwardness ensued as they both opened their doors at the same time after washing up. They both attempted to close the doors again, but realized they had already been caught, so that would make things even worse.
It’s like we’re sharing the same brain cell, Da Young thought grimly. She decided to be bold. She ventured out like a peacock, chest out and shoulders back. He came out, as well, but more hunched over with his gaze on the floor.
They met somewhere in the middle before the kitchen island. He eyed her uncertainly and asked, “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you,” she said, hoping her looks didn’t betray how little sleep she actually got. He was staring at her now, which made her suddenly self-conscious. Why is he looking at me like that?
While he did not notice the dark circles under her eyes, he also did not notice any puffing or bloating, which was what he was looking for. He had been worried she might have cried herself to sleep. He was relieved that she seemed okay.
“We have a bit of time before heading to the set,” he said. He eyed his kitchen doubtfully. “There’s nothing here to eat. Want to go to the cafe?”
She nodded. A few minutes later, they came out of their respective rooms again, dressed casually for the day ahead. They didn’t say anything as they headed down the elevator, both wearing masks and caps, and waited in the parking garage for Jo Suk.
Jae Woon’s manager was, of course, surprised to see a woman standing with the star in wait for the van. When he stopped in front of them, both climbed in and took off their caps and masks, surprising Jo Suk further.
“Ms. Eun Joo Ni?” he exclaimed.
She gave an awkward chuckle and bowed her head. “Good morning.”
He faced forward to drive off, saying, “It’s nice to see you so bright and early—” then froze. Bright and early. It was super early in the morning, around six am—and she had clearly come out of Jae Woon’s apartment. He spun back around to face Jae Woon so quickly he almost snapped his neck.
“You came here this early to wait for me in Jae Woon’s garage?” he asked Da Young, half-hopefully, even though that sounded ridiculous to his own ears.
She gave the same awkward chuckle and a grimace suggesting that was not the case. Jo Suk’s eyes latched onto Jae Woon’s with such disapproval that Jae Woon felt like he had committed a crime.
“No, it’s not what you think. What are you even thinking? Get your mind out of the gutter. It’s nothing like that! Stop it!” Jae Woon commanded.
“Okay, so if I’m misunderstanding and you did nothing wrong, then pray tell what she was doing at your place this early in the morning.” Jo Suk was clearly not going to move the car an inch until he had an answer.
He sounds like a jealous girlfriend, Da Young thought, feeling more tired by the minute.
“It’s nothing like that,” Jae Woon said with a lighthearted chuckle. “Come on, you know me.”
“Sure, so what is it?”
“She just lives with me now.”
Jae Woon sensed from the silence that fell that he had not said anything to improve Jo Suk’s appraisal of him.
“That’s all! The writer needs a place to stay,” Jae Woon insisted.
The silence continued, but now it was because it was finally Jo Suk’s time to shine as a K-Drama fan. Forced to live together! A contractual marriage? That’s my favorite trope! Jo Suk, having “drunk the kimchi juice” (as in gotten way ahead of himself), was busy on his phone, his fingers flying as he left the same message in two group chats.
Ms. So and President Ha’s phones lit up first, and then the phones of Hye Na, Min Ah, and Yoo Min.
Next week on 🌟How to Write a K-Drama🌟
The editor’s eyes narrowed in on Da Young, who, when she thought no one noticed her, would softly gaze at Jae Woon but quickly look away whenever he turned even slightly towards her.