Chapter 60
“Keep your promise. And don’t scold me. Then I’ll tell you.”
She nodded. He spoke flatly, like making a report.
“I told Changshin to hit me a bit hard. I wanted to see you. That’s all.”
“What… ha. You mean you got yourself hurt on purpose, just to see me? Really? Why? Like that?”
After filming, the director always insisted on wrap-up parties. She hadn’t seen him for weeks. Earlier, his mind had gone blank. He saw no other way.
But he didn’t say all that. He just said:
“You came running, didn’t you?”
“What? Hey! That’s not—”
“Hey! You promised not to scold me.”
Instead of words, she smacked his arm with her palm again and again, glaring at him.
“I’m a patient. My shoulder feels like it’s broken.”
She gave him a look of pity mixed with frustration.
“You’re ridiculous. You should’ve asked me to hit you instead. Why not?”
“I don’t have that kind of kink.”
Her face flushed. He wanted to bite her like a sweet peach. Maybe that was his kink.
But she couldn’t stop scolding.
“Do you realize how precious your body is? It doesn’t belong only to you. It belongs to your work, your staff, your fans. Understand?”
She wasn’t his manager, but her words sounded exactly like one.
“My body belongs to you.”
He said it so calmly, it didn’t even sound like a joke. That made it worse. She glanced nervously at the driver, who only smiled like he was watching young love. Her face burned hotter.
She clenched her teeth and spoke firmly.
“Treat it as precious. We’ll talk more at home.”
“Looks like you can’t even shower tonight. What about your medicine?”
She crossed her arms as they stepped into the living room, ready to nag him more.
But he tugged her arm, steering her toward the bedroom.
“I’ll take it with dinner.”
He answered so casually.
“Hey, why are you going in here?”
“You said you’d give me a kiss.”
Ten years. How did he endure for ten years? They’d only just come home.
“But why the bedroom?”
“Because it won’t stop at just a kiss, right?”
He said it like it was obvious. She couldn’t find a reason to deny him—except she had one.
“Not tonight. You shouldn’t strain yourself. And you can’t even shower.”
“Ah… shower…”
It wasn’t the strain that bothered him. Jumping on her unwashed body felt like something only a beast would do.
He sighed, pulled her wrist, and dropped onto the sofa instead.
The house was warm, but outside was cool autumn air. Concern flickered in his eyes.
“If you feel cold, tell me. I’ll turn on the boiler. Want something to drink?”
“Seongheun.”
“That sounds stiff. Call me ‘Heun.’ I like that.”
“Hey.”
She looked up at him with eyes still holding unresolved questions.
“Okay, okay. From now on I’ll treat my body carefully. Because it’s yours. Happy now? But if you keep looking at me like that… I might get turned on.”
“God… how did you hold yourself back for almost thirty years?”
“I held it back. That’s why I exploded.”
If only he couldn’t speak, she wouldn’t find him so annoying.
“If you get yourself hurt again, I won’t let it go.”
“And if you don’t?”
“Ugh, you’re shameless. Were you always like this? Did I just never know the real you? You’re like a master of flirting, you live to tempt me.”
“Jeongyeon.”
His voice carried no mischief now, only softness.
“Yeah?”
“Let me savor this a little.”
“What?”
“Even if you glare at me like that… I feel so happy I could die.”
“What?”
He’d gotten injured needlessly. His mother hadn’t blessed them. She was glaring at him. He couldn’t shower.
Yet he still said—
“I feel so happy I could die.”
“Happy? Really?”
“A thirty-year-long crush finally came true. I’m having a dopamine party. I’m dizzy with it.”
“Ha… you really like me that much?”
She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, proud. He frowned and shot back simply:
“Wouldn’t I?”
“So how long will this dizzy dopamine party last?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
“There are problems, yeah. We have a lot of obstacles.”
He twirled the ends of her hair around his fingers.
“I always wanted to touch you from head to toe.”
Even now, he said shameless things.
“You are the obstacle, Seongheun. Stop with the dirty talk.”
“Dirty? I haven’t even started.”
See? Her cheeks were already red.
Her shifting expressions—embarrassed yet bold, shy yet defiant—only provoked him further.
Finally, she asked quietly:
“Why do you like me so much?”
“What about you? Why did you start liking me?”
“Hey, I asked first.”
“I can answer, but mine’s boring. Maybe even a burden. Want me to go first?”
She wanted to hear his answer badly, but… no. This time she’d say it first.
“When we were in high school, there was that big zelkova tree. A hundred years old. Even when the school closed, the tree stayed. Remember? The bench under it?”
“Of course. It was the school’s pride.”
“On the day my dad died… you and I sat there. Remember that?”
“I remember. You cried all over my gym clothes.”
“Ha. You’ve got a good memory. Then do you remember what I told you that day?”
He smiled faintly.
“You’ll be embarrassed. Should I recite it?”
She shook her head, recalling the words.
“How am I supposed to live without Dad? What if I get buried under grief and lose all will to live?”
If she said that aloud now, it would be unbearably embarrassing.
“Don’t recite it. I lost my will to live when I lost someone so close. But crying in your arms… I felt strength again. You gave me the will to live, to keep going. You were my support.”
“……”
“No matter how many people came and went in my life, you were always there. Like that hundred-year-old tree, standing firm. I remembered that feeling today.”
“……”
“How could I not fall for you? It was always going to happen, sooner or later.”
After saying it, embarrassment flooded her. She hugged her knees on the sofa and hid her face in her hands. Her cheeks burned.
“Ugh, so embarrassing. Is it okay for us to be this cheesy?”
He suddenly leaned over, wrapping his long arms around her. His warm chin rested on her head. His tenderness clung to her chest, making her heart swell.
He whispered softly above her head.
“The reason I like you… is instinct.”
“…What?”
So plain. So primal. It made sense, yet didn’t.
Seeing her stiff face, he must’ve realized he owed her an explanation.
