BRF Chapter 15

Woojin quickly dressed, pulling on a cap, having no time to style his hair. He practically flew down the stairs, startling Hyohyun, who rushed out of the living room.

“What’s wrong? Where are you going in such a hurry at this hour?”

“No time to explain. I’ll tell you later.”

Kang Eunseong’s heartbeat showed no signs of slowing down. Woojin ignored Hyohyun’s calls from behind and rushed out the door.

Even in his haste, he remembered to grab his car keys. Thinking about the last time he got yelled at for driving his most prized car, he still felt wronged.

He went to the garage, got into the driver’s seat of the most inconspicuous car—a black mid-size sedan—and took a few deep breaths.

His hands had started shaking the moment she didn’t answer the phone. He repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to calm himself.

“Calm down, calm down… calm…”

The loud, relentless thumping of her heart made Woojin slam his fist against the steering wheel, squeezing his eyes shut. The frantic rhythm was like a war drum, signaling the start of a battle. It was a sound he didn’t think he would ever get used to.

He drove to the broadcasting station where Eunsong worked, parked in a nearby public lot, and headed towards the main entrance.

What am I even doing here? 

Am I going to ask the security desk to call Kang Eunseong for me?

Now that he thought about it, he could have just called the broadcasting station.

Woojin adjusted his cap and closed his eyes tightly. A curse suddenly rose up in his throat, a strange occurrence for someone who rarely used such language.

He was about to pull out his phone from his pocket to look up the ABS main number or the news headquarters’s contact information when,

“It’s freezing! It’s so cold today!”

He heard a familiar voice. Woojin turned his head and looked around. In the distance, he saw Kang Eunseong walking towards the building, bickering with the bear-like man.

“That’s why you should zip up your puffer jacket. Of course, you’re cold if you leave it open like that. Here.”

The man put down the plastic bags he was carrying and zipped up Kang Eunseong’s puffer jacket all the way to her chin.

That… son of a…

Woojin swallowed the vulgar curse, unwilling to taint his vocabulary.

“Honestly, these people are relentless. Absolutely clingy.”

The man shook his head, picking up the plastic bags again. Kang Eunseong was holding a coffee carrier. They must have gone to buy coffee.

“Whoa!”

“Hey, stop it! Seriously, so childish!”

Instead of helping her with the coffee, the bear-like man was teasing Kang Eunseong, making her jump. Although she didn’t seem particularly startled, their playful banter irritated him.

He had to admit, though, that Kang Eunseong looked particularly charming today. In her long white puffer jacket and hurried steps, she resembled a little white bunny.

Woojin chuckled at his own thought.

A white bunny, huh? So, am I Alice, lost and captivated by a white rabbit?

Woojin sighed and was about to turn away when…

“Oh?”

Kang Eunseong stopped, seemingly having spotted him.

“Sunbae, take this and go inside. I forgot to stop by somewhere.”

Woojin turned around in panic and started walking away. Now that he had confirmed Kang Eunseong’s safety, wandering aimlessly in front of the broadcasting station felt almost surreal.

What would he say if she asked why he was here?

Just as his mind went blank, a cold sweat trickled down his back.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Sunbae, just go inside! Hurry!”

Thankfully, the sharp-witted Kang Eunseong had sent the bear-like man inside first. From that moment on, her heart pounded as if it would burst, filled with relentless determination. He had thought she was just smart but it seemed she was also incredibly persistent.

As he walked quickly, he glanced sideways and saw her running towards him at full speed. A wave of terror washed over him, more intense than the time he had encountered a tiger in the mountains.

“You’re Jung Woojin, right?”

She was calling his name out loud in the middle of the street. Woojin pulled down his cap lower and quickened his pace, pretending not to know her.

“Ah, come on, stop for a second!”

She bent over, hands on her knees, gasping for breath. For a reporter, she didn’t seem to have much stamina.

“You came all the way here, so why are you running away now?”

“I’m not running away.”

He definitely was.

“If that wasn’t running away, then what was it?”

“Just passing by.”

Woojin’s steps slowed to a stop. Kang Eunseong strode up to him, standing directly in his path. It seemed like she was wearing sneakers with a lower heel than before because she looked slightly shorter today. She tilted her chin up and looked at Woojin.

Her eyes were wide open, her breath coming in gasps, and her flushed cheeks glowed red.

“Ugh, I’m so hot. I haven’t run like that in a while, and now I’m burning up.”

She pulled down the zipper of her puffer jacket. The sight of her damp, white neck with strands of hair clinging to it made him swallow hard. He had only caught a glimpse of her exposed skin above her sweatshirt, but it felt like he had just witnessed something far too sensual and his ears burned.

“You were ‘just passing by’?”

“Yes.”

Woojin nodded vigorously, giving a compliant answer.

“Alright. I’ll believe you. So, Mr Jung Woojin is the kind of person who coincidentally runs into people on purpose and coincidentally just passes by on purpose, huh?”

Kang Eunseong smirked knowingly, clearly recalling their previous argument.

“Haa… So, what’s your point?”

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, Woojin shot back defensively.

“Let’s just talk for a bit.”

“I have nothing to say.”

“I believe you do.”

Woojin had no idea why this woman was so certain.

“This isn’t a good place to talk. There’s a quiet cafe nearby. The coffee is so terrible that people avoid it like the plague. Let’s go there.”

“Why would we go to a place with bad coffee?”

Woojin found himself following her, as if drawn by an invisible force. He truly felt like Alice, trailing after the white rabbit.

“Because no one goes there.”

Woojin wasn’t sure if she had noticed his dislike of crowds or simply thought a quiet place was better for conversation.

The small cafe she led him to, tucked away in a back alley behind the broadcasting station, was indeed deserted. Standing in front of the the counter, Eunseong mumbled under her breath without moving her lips, as if she was practicing ventriloquism.

“Don’t order coffee. Get something else. The citron tea is good—it tastes like a major brand’s.”

Woojin simply nodded his head, saying that he would.

“Hot?”

She asked, looking up at him intently. She was clearly referring to the temperature of the tea, yet the word “hot” sent an odd heat crawling up Woojin’s spine.

“No. Cold.”

She nodded and ordered two cups of iced citron teas. The barista quickly prepared their drinks, and before she could reach for the tray, Woojin took it.

“Let’s sit first.”

She led him to a secluded corner. It must have been truly hot for her as she chugged the citron tea in one go, crunching the ice between her teeth.

“Ah, I feel alive again.”

Now that he looked at her properly, the dark shadows under her eyes suggested she hadn’t slept well.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“I was shot, so things were a bit hectic.”

The casual way she said it made Woojin nearly jump out of his seat.

“You got shot? Where? By who? Kang Eunseong, are you okay?”

Woojin leaped to his feet, pulling Kang Eunseong up by the shoulders, and turning her side to side, inspecting her.

“No, not that I was literally shot.”

Eunseong’s small frame swayed like a sheet of paper in the wind as he spun her.

“Then?”

“When reporters say they got ‘shot,’ they mean a big incident broke out.”

Feeling both relieved and embarrassed, Woojin hurriedly sat back down.

“Why would you use such a violent expression?”

“It means the situation was as shocking that it feels like you’ve been shot.”

She crunched another ice cube.

“Is that why you didn’t answer?”

The expression on her face as she nodded seemed a little suspicious, but Woojin refrained from pressing further, sensing the already strange atmosphere could easily tip into something more uncomfortable. And he definitely didn’t want that.

“Have you made up your mind now?”

Lowering her voice, she suddenly leaned in and asked softly.

Made up my mind about what?

Woojin stared at her blankly, momentarily stunned.

“You said you had something to tell me.”

Kang Eunseong smiled sweetly, an angelic expression on her face. She leaned forward, resting her arm on the table. Her lips, chilled by the cold drink, were a deep shade of red. Against her pale face, the slight blush on her cheeks made her even more attractive. She was beautiful.

“It’s time to tell me what’s on your mind.”

Her warm brown eyes gleamed softly. 

Beautiful.

“Like… what, for instance?”

He nearly blurted out that she was beautiful as if he was possessed. The faint, tangy scent of citron tea wafted from her, sweet and refreshing as she leaned closer. Her heartbeat, steady but growing faster, reached his ears as they sat down close to him.

That damned heartbeat!

The very same heartbeat that had started all of this was now making Woojin feel inexplicably irritated.

“You know, Ms. Kang Eunseong…”

“Yes, go on.”

She tilted her chin slightly, prompting him to continue.

Could the reason he kept hearing her heartbeat be related to her profession? In today’s news-saturated world, there are countless videos of Kang Eunseong’s reports online.

He wondered if the constant proximity of her news reports was the reason he kept hearing her heart.

“Have you ever considered quitting being a reporter?”

At Woojin’s question, her jaw tightened, a frown creasing her brow. The atmosphere became serious in an instant.

“Is your tip so dangerous that I would need to quit being a reporter?”

He felt as though he had been struck on the back of his head. Perhaps he was the one who had been shot, not Kang Eunseong.

In his haste, he had completely forgotten that he had lured this clever, tenacious woman with the promise of a scoop a few days ago.