Chapter 891. Sequence 14

“Listening to you, it sounds like Miss Hamin must have a lot of worries too. Kang Giwoo is always the problem huh? It’d be great if he could just stay still.”

That guy seemed like he was enjoying toying with others using vague words. Or, that was the only way he could form relationships with others. At this point, whether genuineness and conscience existed inside him was debatable.

“I told her not to show any signs, so there shouldn’t be any problems for a while. I don’t think she’s naïve enough to be fooled twice.”

“We should create a social circle later; a group of people who are acting in front of Kang Giwoo. Who knows, there might be a lot more people like us.”

“The way he acts is actually filled with holes, so that’s a possibility. I’m sure if such people exist, they are just staying still because like us, many things would go awry if they made enemies with him.”

“This is why public image is important. I want to give him a big blow, but I can’t.”

“Geez, you’re saying the exact same thing Joohyun-noonim did.”

The cold can of beer touched her forehead. Gaeul shivered slightly as she received the can. Maru was sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa. He said everything went smoothly, but it must have been exhausting for him to talk for hours in an environment that was different from a drama shoot. From the sofa, she massaged the back of Maru’s neck. It was stiffened up like a nervous person. She pulled Maru towards her when he groaned and tried to pull away.

“Stay still. You’re an adult, yet you can’t even endure that?”

“You’re just way too spicy with your hands.”

Hearing the word spicy, she exerted even more force. Maru shut up. He seemed to have realized that talking wouldn’t do him any good here.

“Miss Hamin found out that we are dating. When I talked to her, things just inevitably flowed to talking about that.”

“I’ll try to reach out to her first when I meet her later.”

“Also, she says she’s a friend of Yoojin.”

“Yoojin? You mean Lee Yoojin?”

Gaeul took her hands off Maru’s shoulders.

“You still keep in touch? I’ve never seen her since high school.”

“Of course you didn’t. You didn’t keep in touch with anyone around me ever since you graduated, like some kind of monk who became detached from the world.”

“Did I now?”

“You did. Just look at Chaerim-unni.”

Gaeul brought her phone from the bedroom. She opened her photo gallery and pulled up a photo she took with Yoojin. It was from May of this year, when she came back to Korea for a little while.

“She’s gotten a lot prettier, hasn’t she?”

“She hasn’t changed at all. She still looks nosy and like she would peek at other people kissing.”

“When was that?”

Gaeul thought back to what happened on Christmas a long time ago. After a stage, she received a matching ring and a bottle of perfume from Maru as a present. It remained as an intense memory in her mind that still made her heart flutter when she thought about it to this day.

“It was a rather bold first kiss, wasn’t it?” Maru said as he jutted out his lips.

Gaeul pushed away those lips with her palm. She only wanted to remember that she had received his heartfelt gift. Pulling Maru down and kissing him was something really daring even when she thought about it now. Back then, she must have had an abnormal amount of courage to go skydiving without batting an eyelid. Would she have given him a kiss if he gave her presents and confessed like that but it was another boy? Definitely not.

She pulled the cheeks of the grinning Maru. He seemed to have found a point to tease her about. While it was true that it was one of her cherished memories, she was going to have a hard time sleeping because of the embarrassment at this rate.

“What does she, who has witnessed our first kiss alongside mother-in-law, doing right now?” Maru asked as he swiped over the photos.

He was looking at photos that they took together in Seoul during the ten days she came to Korea. Gaeul spoke as she looked at the photo they took while eating an annoyingly spicy tteokbokki,

“She’s in Japan now.”

“Traveling?”

“No, because of work. It’s been about two years. These are the photos we took at the beginning of the year. It’s almost been half a year since I haven’t seen her. We were both busy, so we haven’t been messaging each other that much either. Maybe it’s because of that, that we stay up all night chatting every time we meet each other. It was the same when we took these photos too.”

“Is she acting in Japan then? From what Miss Hamin said, she seems to be continuing her acting career.”

“She is. She’s continuing to shoot many pieces in collaboration with some college circles there too. But you know how meticulous she is. She says she has to prepare in case she doesn’t succeed as an actress, so she’s working under her mother. You remember that Yoojin’s mother runs a hair shop in Cheongdam, right?”

“I do remember that fancy hair shop. Joohyun-noonim said that she wanted to meet Yoojin. Apparently, she and Miss Hamin went to Busan to meet her during middle school. They must have been young, so it’s quite incredible. I’m sure she didn’t even imagine that she would be working together with a young girl who went to get an autograph from her.”

“Yoojin was her daughter in Twilight Struggles, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah. She liked it a lot back then too.”

“She was the actress that Yoojin admired. So I’m sure she liked it a lot.”

Gaeul gestured to Maru to come closer. She put her face against his and took a photo.

“Why are you taking a photo all of a sudden?”

“I feel like I should report this. She was my number one conversation partner back when I broke up with you. We talked trash about you for days. I forgot about her because I hadn’t messaged her for a while. It’s almost November, so she’s coming back home soon. I was thinking that I should tell her when she comes, but since I remembered, I might as well report to her now.”

“Considering Yoojin’s personality, I think my safety is at risk here.”

“If she says she wants to hit you, then just endure it. You deserve it.”

“I can’t even defend myself, huh.”

After taking a few photos, she sent one that looked good and one that looked funny through the messenger. To Gaeul, Yoojin was someone that provoked her competitive spirit. They competed for the same spot during the amateur acting class but she lost, and even after they turned 20 and they started going down the path of acting, Yoojin was a step ahead of her. Right now, she had gotten famous first, but she believed that Yoojin would follow her sooner or later. She knew this because they had been running side by side while looking towards the same objective. Ever since she left for Japan, they talked a lot less than before, but no matter how long she didn’t talk to her, she felt as close and friendly to her as ever. This would not change even in ten years, or in twenty years. She wasn’t simply a friend; she was a competitor she had been fighting with for a long time.

“If she’s working under her mother, is she doing hair-related stuff?” Maru asked.

She shook her head and showed him some photos that Yoojin sent her before. The photos contained a large concert stage and photos taken backstage.

“Yoojin’s mother actually runs a lot of businesses. When we were young, she was already involved in investing in film production. Did you know that TTO is doing concerts in Japan right now?”

“TTO? I saw one of the members during the shoot today. He apparently came back to Korea after doing all the concerts.”

“Once they’re done with the group concert, they hold individual concerts as well. They’re hugely popular in Japan after all. Yoojin’s in charge of their concert outfits. She’s not doing everything by herself, though, she’s just one of the team. From what she says, she’s the one leading everything, but I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

“So that’s why she’s staying in Japan.”

“It’s not just TTO. A lot of the idol bands who go to Japan seem to leave their styling to that team. I’m sure it’s a result of her mother’s great business skills. I heard she launched a premium hair shop in Aoyama, and apparently, the reservations are 4 months long. The shop she’s running in Cheongdam is still doing great too. You’ve seen senior Joohyun when I took you to that hair shop in high school, right? Apparently, she has been going there ever since that time. I go there from time to time too.”

“I do remember. She looked like she would be quick on the calculator.”

“Putting it like that makes it feel strange. She’s a good person.”

Just as she smiled back at Maru, Yoojin replied. It was an emoticon of a cute dinosaur breathing fire and stomping on the ground. She spent ten of those in a row. It meant that she was extremely angry and would punish her if she did not explain things properly.

-It’s been about two months since we got together.

She got a reply as soon as she sent it.

-Don’t you have any pride!? After all that crying because of him!

-Sorry. But both of us had a misunderstanding. A lot of it was my fault.

-Shut up. I’ll see you when I go back to Korea. Both of you are so dead. Also, tell Han Maru this.

Gaeul read the latter part of Yoojin’s text.

“What did she say?”

“Yoojin wants me to tell you this: you damn prick. You cut off contact and escaped to the military, yet now you reached out to me saying that you’re living a sweet life? I’ll kill you when I see you.”

“I don’t think her mouth was so rough before. No wait, was it?”

“We should kneel and beg for her forgiveness once she comes.”

Gaeul sent her a message again, asking when she was coming.

-As soon as possible. I need to see if this is true or not with my own eyes.

-Sorry.

-Then don’t do things that make you feel sorry. Tell me honestly. Are you seeing him because of sympathy or something?

-Absolutely not.

-Then you like him? You love him?

Gaeul looked at the side of Maru’s face through her peripheral vision and moved her fingers.

-Yeah. A lot.

-Then fine. Just, you have to compensate for all the time I consoled you. You’re going to have to play around me this time when I go back to Korea, alright?

-Don’t worry about it. I’ll leave my schedule empty as much as possible.

-Geez, you’re a popular actress, so I can’t take you around all day either. Anyway, I’ll talk to you when I get back.

* * *

Lee Yoojin put down her phone. It was absolutely absurd. Han Gaeul was someone who bawled her eyes out after looking like her soul had packed up its stuff and left her body on the day after Han Maru went to the military. For a while after that, she acted like she was going to die soon. She even felt worried that she had to leave Gaeul behind and go to Japan. She felt relieved whenever they met in Korea and saw that she was becoming better. But now, that girl was meeting the very man who made her suffer through all that.

“What a tenacious bunch.”

Yoojin picked up her phone again. Gaeul and Maru could be seen in the photo, and Gaeul was smiling in delight. It was that clear smile that she saw for the last time when in high school six years ago. It was a smile that made her hold back from asking if she was crazy. She couldn’t say anything when she looked so happy. Although, she felt a little relieved because it felt like the soul that had left her had finally returned because her partner was finally by her side.

Still, it was unforgivable. She decided to bully the two of them as a price for making her suffer all this time seemingly for nothing. It seemed that beer was a must on her trip to Korea this time.

“Yoojin, you inside?”

“Yes. I’m here.”

“Come down and say hello. We have an important guest.”

Yoojin dressed up. The fact that her mother had invited a guest to the house in Tokyo meant that the guest was truly important. She met most of her guests in her shop. She went down the stairs and saw the guest sitting on the sofa.

“Hello. My name is Lee Yoojin.”

“She’s my daughter.”

Her mother’s voice could be heard from the kitchen. The guest sitting on the sofa stood up. His neat hairstyle and artistic fit of the suit were quite impressive. Was this what they call a middle-aged charm?

“As I heard, you are one lively lady. I’m Hong Janghae. Nice to meet you.”

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