OTC Chapter 16

How many days had it been…?

Probably about a week. The day the rainy season began, when the rain poured down relentlessly. The memory of Eunkyo’s voice, dismissing him as too young, echoed in her ears.

“Were you waiting for me?”

She asked, shifting her handbag to her other shoulder. He glanced at his parked car.

“Yes. I was going to go with you. Get in.”

“There will be a lot of traffic today… Wouldn’t it be easier to take public transportation?”

“Then, shall we take the subway together?”

Was it just her imagination, or did the smile on his face seem a little strained?

She felt strange today, perhaps because of his stylish attire, or perhaps because his presence reminded her of someone.

Lee Jaeheon seemed determined to go with her no matter what. It was better to just go along with it than to argue pointlessly…

Ha, am I treating Lee Jaeheon like a nuisance now?

A chuckle escaped her lips. She covered her mouth, and his brow furrowed in displeasure.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Oh, that… it’s nothing. I think it would be better to take your car than the subway after all, Mr. Lee Jaeheon. Would you like some coffee?”

“Yes.”

Once again, there was no refusal. Come to think of it, had Lee Jaeheon ever said no to her? Yes to borrowing the fan, yes to coming inside, yes to showering at her place.

Like a puppy.

Amused by the thought, Eunkyo chuckled and went inside the cafe. Haeda, who had been watching them from behind the counter, approached her.

He looked her up and down, then handed her two cups of coffee he had already prepared.

“Be careful. Don’t stay out too late, and don’t drink too much.”

“Such a nag. Thanks for the coffee. Ah, and tomorrow…”

“Take the day off. I’ll switch shifts with you, so have fun.”

“What’s gotten into you, Kim Haeda? Have you finally grown up?”

“Employee benefits. Now hurry up and go.”

Eunkyo, practically pushed outside, felt slightly taken aback by Haeda’s uncharacteristic generosity, and stared blankly at him as he turned away.

Then, a large hand suddenly appeared, taking one of the plastic cup of coffee from her.

“Let’s go. I think hyung will nag us if we’re any later.”

“Oh, right. Okay.”

Strange. Something seemed different about Kim Haeda. 

However, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, and she got into Lee Jaeheon’s waiting car.

─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───

“I’ve been thinking, and I think I was too forceful with you, sunbae.”

The scent of dry linen filled his car. Strangely comforting.

Eunkyo, who had been staring out the passenger window, turned her head towards the driver’s seat.

As if sensing her questioning gaze, he skillfully turned the steering wheel and continued, his eyes fixed on the road ahead,

“I knew you thought I was too young. But hearing you say it directly… it frustrated me. Because my feelings for you are real. I really did fall for you at first sight.”

“When did you even see me?”

Her mouth felt dry, but she didn’t want to smudge her dark lipstick, so she refrained from licking her lips. Instead, she kept her lips pressed together and shifted her eyes to look at Lee Jaeheon.

He habitually raised one corner of his lips, slowed down, and came to a complete stop at a red light. His gaze, which had been indifferently watching the pedestrians crossing the street, turned to her.

“Does it even matter? Even if you had been one of those people crossing the street, I would have fallen for you just the same.”

Why does he have to phrase things like that…?

His tone was laced with what sounded like genuine emotion. She’d only glimpsed Lee Jaeheon’s true face once, yet she was beginning to see more of it.

Eunkyo shifted her gaze outside again, trying to hide her blushing face.

“You’re right. I think anyone can fall in love at first sight. To be honest, I also…”

She trailed off and clamped her mouth shut, realizing she’d almost made a mistake. She had almost slipped—nearly confessed the truth. That she had, in fact, been attracted to him. Eunkyo took a deep breath.

“I’m… not completely closed off to the idea.”

Her hand tightened around the strap of her handbag.

“What you said that day… I interpreted it as you wanting to sleep with me, not that you were genuinely interested in me.”

She glanced at him, wondering if she had been too harsh. But his expression remained unreadable.

He seemed angry, but not quite. His driving hadn’t become reckless. But he didn’t respond.

He rested his left arm on the window frame, frowned, and touched his lips, then chuckled and focused on driving.

“Is that the building? Thankfully, it has an underground parking lot.”

She pointed at the brick-colored building in the distance, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

He nodded and changed lanes. It took almost thirty minutes to reach the parking garage from the intersection due to the Friday night traffic in the heart of Gangnam.

“Remember where we parked. Whether it’s on the first or second floor. That way, you won’t get lost later.”

At his words, Eunkyo instinctively noted the “B3” sign on the wall. Section C17, next to the pillar.

He watched her as she mumbled the location under her breath, her lips moving slightly, then sighed and walked towards the elevators.

They stepped into the elevator, its walls plastered with movie posters, and pressed the button for the top floor. The elevator stopped at every floor on the way up from B3 to the lobby, filling with people. She was gradually pushed back until she was standing in the corner. Leaning against the wall, she discreetly glanced up at Lee Jaeheon, who had extended his arm protectively in front of her.

He’d been looking up at the floor indicator, but as if sensing her gaze, he lowered his eyes. Their eyes met, and she asked casually,

“Are you hurt?”

He frowned, then said, “Ah,” and nodded.

“I cut myself. It was a dangerous task, and I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Was it bad?”

She hadn’t noticed while he was driving earlier, but his hand was covered with a large bandage. It looked more like a hospital dressing than a simple band-aid. 

How badly was he hurt that he had to go to the hospital?

“I got five stitches. I’m getting them removed tomorrow… you know we haven’t seen each other since then, right?”

“When did you get hurt?”

“That day. The rainy day.”

The day he mentioned was the night she had spent in the storage room. The night she had ignored his note and hidden herself away.

He, too, had been waiting for her, and in doing so, he’d gotten hurt.

Lost in thought, she hadn’t noticed the elevator stopping. Everyone else seemed to be heading to the cinema and poured out of the elevator.

The two of them were the last to exit. Then, a voice called out to them.

“Over here! I thought you weren’t coming. Let’s go in. We’ll have the screening first, and the business presentation, then the real fun begins, okay?”

Sunggeun, unusually excited, ushered them forward. She saw some familiar faces near the entrance to the private screening room, not the regular cinema.

There were the engineers they’d worked with and some celebrities she recognized on TV. But most of them seemed to be investors. People of various ages, from their twenties to sixties, filled about half of the private screening room.

“Over there, seats 11 and 12. Sit there. You’ll have to come up on stage for a quick greeting later. Don’t even think about running away.”

“Sunbae, about the stage greeting…”

“Hey, don’t try to get out of it. Oh, someone’s calling me over there. Anyway, enjoy!”

Sunggeun patted them both on the shoulders, urging them to sit down, and then disappeared down the stairs.

It felt like a storm had just swept through. Staff members who recognized Lee Jaeheon greeted him one by one, and some belatedly acknowledged Eunkyo as well.

Lee Jaeheon was like a dazzling peacock. He stood out wherever he went, his presence impossible to ignore even without any grand gestures.

A sharp, stinging sensation pricked beneath her heart.

She forced a smile, sat down, and muttered,

“This is a bit overwhelming.”

“There are more people than I expected.”

“I know. Are you really going to do the stage greeting?”

“Why? Don’t you want to, sunbae?”

Eunkyo nodded vigorously. She didn’t want to reveal herself as the writer in front of so many people. He considered her response for a moment, then suddenly rested his chin on her shoulder and whispered,

“Then let’s escape at the right moment.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the lights dimmed. A hushed murmur filled the suddenly darkened room. Eunkyo stared at the man leaning against her, her eyes wide with surprise.

Breathe.

Breathe, Jung Eunkyo.

Finally regaining her composure, she took a deep breath.

“We’ll start with some advertisements, and then we’ll get to the main event. As you know, this project is for the development of an application for the visually impaired. We’d like to thank everyone involved in this project, which was created as an extension of TTS technology¹ and for the purpose of social welfare, for their generous contributions.”

As Sunggeun finished his smooth introductory remarks, the screen lit up. Highlight reels from well-known movies, films any Korean would recognize, flickered across the screen like a silent film.

Then, with impeccable timing, Lee Jaeheon’s narration, the same voice that had made her palm sweat in the recording studio, flowed from the speakers and filled the room.

“I pray that you will love me.”

A shiver ran down Eunkyo’s spine. Goosebumps erupted on her arms, and every cell in her body seemed to tingle with tension.

The same tension she’d felt that day returned, and this time, the nape of her neck grew damp.

“I… to you…”

“Wow, the sound is incredible.”

The same voice, but this time, it was whispered directly into her ear. Feeling Lee Jaeheon’s breath and warmth against her, Eunkyo covered her mouth with both hands.

She felt like she might cry out if she didn’t.

What do I do…

Then, his hand covered her trembling wrist. She pulled her hand away, startled, and his face drew closer.

“What’s wrong… why are you trembling so much?”

Eunkyo, barely breathing, pressed her lips together. With nothing to say, she could only stare into Lee Jaeheon’s dark eyes.

“Ha.”

He sighed softly and moved his hand from her wrist to her palm, his fingers sliding between hers, sending a jolt through her. He intertwined his fingers with hers.

Eunkyo swallowed hard. Lee Jaeheon’s voice, his narration, still flowed from the speakers all around them. The gasps and whispers from the audience, the curious glances searching for the owner of the voice, made her feel like she was playing hide-and-seek, caught in the spotlight.

She pressed the back of her hand against her burning cheeks. He watched her intently, then suddenly pulled her wrist.

“Let’s go to the car.”