Chapter 41
“…Hot.”
An hour later.
Chae Eunbi sat up in bed as soon as she opened her eyes.
When did she fall asleep?
She took a moment to catch her breath and then, with her hand on her head, tried to recall her memories.
It had been such a bewildering experience in many ways that she needed time to sort out what had happened.
‘…Huh?’
However, her body felt it before her thoughts could catch up.
A feeling of energy overflowing everywhere.
She wasn’t sure if this was the right expression, but when people say they are full of youthful vigor, this was exactly how it felt.
And the most important part was her waist.
She was so full of energy that she simply twisted her body lightly as a stretch, and it was incredibly light and smooth, as if by magic.
No, it wasn’t just that it had become smoother, it felt like the structure of her waist itself had changed slightly…
It couldn’t be, but at least it felt that way.
‘If it’s like this, maybe…’
Chae Eunbi got out of bed hesitantly and took a swing stance.
If her waist was really healed, if she could play golf again…
“No, no.”
But she shook her head and sat back down on the bed.
It wasn’t that she didn’t think it was possible, but she was afraid that if she moved her body recklessly, it might get worse again.
Because it was a possibility, she had to be even more careful.
‘I can’t ruin it by getting all excited, can I?’
However, the desire to check it out right away was so strong that Chae Eunbi slapped her cheeks a couple of times as if to hypnotize herself.
“…Uh, what?”
Then, Chae Eunbi, looking at the clock that came into her view, made a bewildered sound.
This was because there was a big difference between the time she thought it was and the time shown on the clock.
“I’ve been asleep for an hour?”
A deep sleep without any dreams.
It felt like she had just dozed off for a moment and woke up right away, but in reality, an hour had passed.
She took out her smartphone and checked the time again, but the clock wasn’t wrong.
‘Ah… If that’s the case, then Ahjussi must have gone home.’
At first, she hadn’t expected much from the massage itself and thought, ‘Let’s just be satisfied with getting a meal from Ahjussi’, but in the end, she got more than expected from the massage and the meal with Ahjussi had disappeared.
Of course, if she had to weigh the options, the current situation was definitely better, but she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
The corners of her eyes drooped dejectedly.
‘I haven’t even said thank you yet…’
Chae Eunbi sighed softly.
With a complicated feeling that was hard to put into words, she felt a tightness in her chest.
“You’re awake?”
But at that moment.
The closed door opened, and a soft orange light entered the dark room.
It was a light that was turned on first so that her eyes wouldn’t hurt if the bright white light was turned on right away.
The person who entered the room after turning on the light was none other than Kang Taehan.
He met Chae Eunbi’s eyes and, with a light smile, placed the refreshments he was carrying on the small table.
“Uh… uh?”
Chae Eunbi, on the other hand, opened her eyes wide with a bewildered expression.
It was almost 9 o’clock now.
The reason why the person who originally said he would leave work at 7 o’clock was still here…
“Did you wait for me?”
At Chae Eunbi’s words, Kang Taehan chuckled lightly.
“The staff member who was supposed to bring out the tea like this has already left work… and you said that earlier, Eunbi.”
“Said… what?”
“That we should eat together.”
Right after pressing Chae Eunbi’s sleep point and she collapsed, she had mumbled those words as if in pain.
She was already asleep, so her pronunciation was slurred like sleep talking, and her voice was so faint that she wouldn’t have been able to hear it if she wasn’t concentrating… but Kang Taehan had clearly heard it.
“You probably said something like, ‘I have to eat with Oppa.’ The pronunciation was a little different though.”
“Eh? Really?”
“Yes. So I was waiting.”
Hearing those words, Kang Taehan smiled and came out after covering her with a blanket.
Then he worked out at the fitness club as usual and came back here.
“Well, I did ask you to come to Seoul, and if you actually came, it’s only right that we have a meal together, right?”
“R-right? Haha, it would be too cold to just leave like that! You came all the way to Seoul!”
Flustered, Chae Eunbi laughed awkwardly and rambled on.
Maybe it was the aftereffect of the massage she had received earlier, but her face and ears flushed red for no reason.
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Well, I don’t know?”
“There aren’t many restaurants open at this hour… Would you be okay with Gamjatang?”
“Ah, I like Gamjatang. I like Bone Hangover Soup too.”
“That’s a relief. Then take your time and have some tea before we go out.”
Kang Taehan smiled lightly, changed the orange light to a bright white light, and went out.
Chae Eunbi stared blankly at the closed door for a while.
“Ugh…”
She then rubbed her head roughly for no reason.
Her hand movements were quite rough, but her expression was grinning with her lips curled up.
‘That was close.’
She got both her waist healed and a meal, killing two birds with one stone.
She was a little embarrassed when she heard that she had been sleep talking, but if the outcome was good, what did it matter?
“But then… can I call you Oppa now?”
She hadn’t asked his age yet, but Kang Taehan didn’t really look old enough to be called Ahjussi.
There was a strangely mature air about him, but that was all.
It also felt like it was putting a limit on their relationship, so she was trying to find the right time to change the way she addressed him… but she had inadvertently broken the ice.
“Taehan Oppa…?”
Taehan Oppa. Taehan Oppa.
It felt strange.
Chae Eunbi realized that she hadn’t really called anyone Oppa before, and after practicing the pronunciation a couple of times, she picked up the teacup on the table.
“Oh, what is this.”
It was tastier than she expected.
She had thought it would be just instant green tea, but a sweet and bitter taste she couldn’t quite place stuck to her palate.
It tasted slightly homemade rather than store-bought.
…Did he perhaps make this for me too?
Nah. That was going too far, even for him.
Chae Eunbi shook her head slightly and took another sip of tea.
⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢
“…What’s wrong?”
Chae Eunbi cleared her throat for no reason and then called Kang Taehan by his original title, Ahjussi.
She had thought it would be easy to just call him Oppa, but when she actually tried to, the words wouldn’t come out.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing… Actually, you’re not old enough to be called Ahjussi, are you? Did you say you were twenty-six earlier?”
“That’s right. Twenty-six.”
“Then, I was thinking that there might be a more appropriate title than Ahjussi. Don’t you think so?”
As she said that, Chae Eunbi glanced at Kang Taehan.
Kang Taehan looked puzzled once again.
It felt like she was asking something too obvious.
“Then you can just call me Oppa.”
“T-that’s right? Hehe. It’s just that the word Oppa doesn’t come out of my mouth easily.”
“Why are you being so awkward? You called me that earlier.”
“No, that was just sleep talking. It’s different when I’m awake. Anyway, I’m twenty years old, so let’s speak comfortably.”
“I don’t mind. Shall we do that then?”
Kang Taehan smiled brightly.
It wasn’t a bad feeling to have a younger sister.
He dropped the formalities as if he had always been doing so.
‘Oh, this is so silly.’
To think she would be so nervous about changing a single title.
Chae Eunbi, having finally achieved her goal, let out a small sigh of relief.
“By the way, how’s your waist?”
“Ah, it’s gotten a lot better. It feels different, you know? If I had to make an analogy… it’s like switching from a cheap golf club to a high-end one.”
Chae Eunbi said, twisting her waist lightly from side to side.
Although her words were exaggerated, they were not a lie.
In fact, with the improvement in the arrangement of her acupuncture points, her condition was even better than when she was originally healthy.
But it wasn’t completely healed yet.
Kang Taehan looked at her smiling and said.
“Still, don’t overdo it for a while. Play golf after you’ve had enough time to recover.”
“Hmm… How many weeks?”
At the sound of Kang Taehan’s deliberately stern voice, a look of tension flickered across Chae Eunbi’s face.
The waist was a delicate and sensitive area, and therefore most injuries took a long time to fully heal.
In the case of a herniated disc, it was practically a lifetime of management.
Even though her waist felt great now, if she didn’t manage it properly, it could suddenly worsen or revert back to its original state.
But Chae Eunbi had already considered that.
As long as she could return as a professional golfer, she didn’t care if she had to focus on recovery for a few months, even a few years.
“Well. You should go to bed early for about three days.”
“…Three days?”
However, what came out of Kang Taehan’s mouth was a unit of time so short that it made her resolve seem meaningless.
Chae Eunbi asked Kang Taehan back without realizing it.
“Why. Do you have a program you have to watch at night? Still, enough sleep is essential for recovery.”
“…Pfft.”
Hahahaha.
Chae Eunbi burst out laughing.
She couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Kang Taehan speaking such an absurd thing with a straight face.
“…Laughing too much might put pressure on your waist.”
“No… Hehehe, ah. It’s just ridiculous. You’re saying three days is enough. Hahahaha.”
Chae Eunbi continued to laugh, unconcerned.
Kang Taehan watched her quietly for a while, then with a gentle smile, he handed her a tissue.
Was it because something she had vaguely wished for had come true?
Tears had been streaming down her laughing eyes for some time.
⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢
“…What is this?”
A tropical island located off the coast of Thailand.
Yoo Se-ah, who was waiting for filming near the beach on the island, turned her head at a sudden feeling.
A strange, chilling sensation, you could say.
Coincidentally, the direction Yoo Se-ah turned her head was the direction of her homeland, South Korea.
‘It’s like… someone broke into my house.’
A cold and ominous premonition.
It was a similar feeling to when her younger sister had eaten the macarons she had hidden deep in the refrigerator a long time ago.
“Um, M, Miss Se-ah?”
“…Yes?”
“Is something wrong? You seem edgy.”
The assistant director, who was passing by, asked cautiously.
She was someone who had never lost her temper, not only with other actors, but also with the filming staff, but now her expression was stiff and her eyes had a cold glint.
“Hmm… Really? Nothing’s wrong.”
But the next moment, Yoo Se-ah’s hardened expression softened, and her eyes drew a natural curve.
It was a natural expression management befitting an actress.
“…Oh. Now that I think about it, maybe it was just my imagination?”
“Maybe your blood sugar is low.”
“Ah, that could be it.”
The assistant director shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand and looked up at the sky.
The sun was starting to set, but since it was a hot day, it was common for people to become dehydrated or have low blood sugar, which would affect their concentration.
“Should I get you some snacks?”
“Could you do that for me?”
“Haha. I’d do anything for you, Miss Se-ah.”
The assistant director waved his hand and walked back the way he came.
As he moved a certain distance away, Yoo Se-ah once again looked in the direction where she felt the ominous energy.
