BRF Chapter 17

“Director, as I said before, I have no interest in being a news anchor. I’m not cut out for it.”

Eunseong had to practically jog to keep up with Director Lee’s brisk pace.

“Why do you think you’re not cut out for it? You’ve even hosted a brief news segment on live radio.”

“That was a guest segment on a radio DJ’s program. I wouldn’t call it proper anchoring.”

Director Lee narrowed his eyes, glancing at Eunseong with displeasure.

“Is anyone born an anchor?”

“I’m very satisfied with my work as a reporter.”

“You can still report if you anchor. Anchor on weekdays, report on weekends.”

If anyone saw it, they would think he was offering some great favor. He made it sound so easy, casually suggesting she work seven days a week.

“Then when do I rest?”

Director Lee laughed heartily at Eunseong’s sharp question.

“See? This is why I think highly of you, Kang Eunseong. But…”

He stopped suddenly, and Eunseong, who had been about to take another step, stopped beside him.

“Don’t you have any sense of gratitude, considering we hired you despite you being a high school graduate? I was the one who insisted on hiring you! If it weren’t for me, it would’ve been tough for you to get into our broadcasting company back then. Who hires a high school graduate?”

“I finished all my final exams for the second semester of my senior year before starting work! I wasn’t a high school graduate, I was a soon-to-be college graduate.”

Eunseong didn’t even blink at Director Lee’s unreasonable claim.

“A soon-to-be graduate is still just a high school graduate. And…”

He seemed to have more illogical arguments to make.

“Just because you audition doesn’t mean you’ll automatically get the position. Why are you making such a fuss about not wanting to anchor? Since only people from the announcer department are auditioning, I, as a former reporter, lose face. Just come out and make up the numbers for the reporters.”

So it’s just a formality, a seat filler. 

She didn’t understand why he was doing this. Why not just have auditions with people who actually wanted to be anchors and choose from among them?

“I might embarrass the reporters if I participate. But if you’re giving me a chance to smear your reputation, Director, I’ll gladly make a real mess of it.”

Director Lee pointed his finger at Eunseong and laughed, as if she wasn’t getting through to him.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. Just because I said you were pretty… And you…”

Eunseong widened her eyes slightly, indicating she was listening.

“Aren’t you tired of walking around reeking like that?”

“Re… reeking?”

Taeyoon had said earlier that she smelled stale, but Director Lee shuddered and waved his hand exaggeratedly, claiming she reeked.

“It’s good that you’re working hard. But shouldn’t you be at a level where you have time to shower?”

“I don’t think I reek.”

Eunseong tilted her head, thinking it couldn’t be true.

“And didn’t you, Director, always prefer reporters who roamed the field reeking of sweat and adrenaline, rather than those who just sat in the office living like civilized humans?”

His exaggerated reaction and comment about her smell must mean he had something up his sleeve. Eunseong looked at him suspiciously.

“Reporter Kang, are you interrogating a suspect now?”

She couldn’t deny that she had sounded a bit like she was seriously questioning a suspect outside a police station.

Eunseong bit her lips and looked away.

“Do well, okay?” Director Lee started walking again and snapped, “And stop following me!”

She swallowed the words, But I wasn’t going to follow you anymore.

* * *

The house was quiet. Hyohyun, who usually came running to greet him at the door, was nowhere to be seen. An ordinary person would look around the quiet, still house and enjoy the peace. However, a silent house with Hyohyun was different. For her, silence was a form of protest.

“I’m home.”

Woojin took off his jacket and walked past the hallway into the living room. As expected, Hyohyun was sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed, glaring at him as he entered.

He plopped down on the sofa opposite Hyohyun, resting the back of his head against the headrest. He hadn’t noticed while he was out and about, but he must have been quite tired from his poor sleep since dawn. The warmth of the house and the softness of the sofa made him want to melt into it.

“Where on earth have you been so early in the morning?”

Hyohyun asked sweetly, her voice low and subdued. This calm approach was more unnerving than her usual barrage of questions.

“I had some business.”

Woojin answered curtly, as if even a longer reply was too much of a bother.

“So…”

Hyohyun took a deep breath, as if suppressing her anger, and continued.

“What kind of business requires you to rush out before sunrise? And you didn’t answer your phone! Do you know how worried I was at home?”

Woojin lifted his heavy eyelids with difficulty. When he opened his eyes slightly and looked at her, Hyohyun, meeting his gaze, just moved her lips soundlessly.

Sitting up straight, he tilted his head and stared at Hyohyun. His dark eyes, tinged with purple, gleamed coldly, reflecting the clear morning sunlight of winter.

“W-What? What is it with that look?”

The longer they stared at each other, the anger in Hyohyun’s face gradually faded. A reddish blush quickly spread over her pale face.

“You certainly know how to use that face of yours.”

Hyohyun pouted her lips and looked away first.

This is normal.

He had lived with this appearance for hundreds of years, so there was no way he could be unaware of his handsome face. But he hadn’t lived his life with the intention of using his good looks to his advantage. It simply meant getting an extra side dish at a restaurant, or a few extra pieces of fruit at the market.

He’d used his effortless smile to make his way through a harsh world a little easier, that was all.

But for some reason, the method that had always worked everywhere until now hadn’t worked on Kang Eunseong. Perhaps due to her profession, Kang Eunseong was excessively suspicious. Her eyes were full of questions, as if she doubted everything in the world.

“Where did you go, anyway?”

Staring at the orange sunlight streaming into the house, Woojin recalled the refreshing scent Kang Eunseong carried earlier.

“Should we talk over a cup of tea? Do we have any citron tea?”

“I think so.”

Soon, Hyohyun brought out two glasses of warm citron tea in clear glass mugs. He took a sip of the yellow, translucent liquid, and the sweet and sour aroma filled his mouth. Scents and tastes tend to expand memories more vividly.

The events of his encounter with Kang Eunseong at the cafe seemed to replay in detail in his mind.

“Now tell me.”

He almost laughed as he remembered Kang Eunseong’s serious face as she’d asked if he was finally ready to talk.

Perhaps sensing he wasn’t paying attention, Hyohyun suddenly furrowed her brow.

“What is it, seriously?”

Woojin quickly composed his face, tightening his lips. The suggestion of tea had been an excuse to change the subject. He’d hoped to gloss over the conversation, but Hyohyun didn’t seem to have any intention of letting it go.

“Why are you acting like this lately? You keep doing things you don’t normally do, I can’t live with all the worry.”

Her grumbling continued until the citron tea had cooled down. Listening to her, he wondered why he was even putting up with this.

Woojin wasn’t obligated to report every detail of his schedule to Hyohyun. He felt a slight pang of guilt for causing her worry by rushing out like a madman at dawn, but even that he could blame on Hyohyun for her insistence on living with him.

“I met someone. You can just leave if you don’t like living here.”

At his words telling her to leave, Hyohyun quickly changed her attitude and nodded as if anyone might rush out at dawn. Though rare, Woojin did occasionally meet people for official business.

“Was it the person you were supposed to have dinner with?”

The perceptive Hyohyun had pinpointed the unknown individual. In fact, there was no one Woojin met that Hyohyun didn’t know about. Except for the person he’d met that day and today.

“Yes.”

His throat suddenly felt dry, so he took a large gulp of citron tea. Facing Hyohyun, who looked old enough to be his mother, he felt like he was sitting before a parent, confessing something. Of course, that was only how it felt. Woojin couldn’t even remember what his parents were like.

“Why did you meet them?”

Her eyes were filled with questions, as if she would start shooting question marks at any moment.

“Just because.”

“Just because? Just becaauuuse? Is rushing out at dawn something you do ‘just because’?”

“Are you scolding me right now?”

“You deserved to be scolded if you’ve done something wrong!”

Woojin chuckled at Hyohyun’s attitude, which was like that of a parent towards a child.

“I have a right to privacy, too. I made a friend, okay?”

Eunseong had told Woojin, who seemed hesitant to give her information, to contact her casually like a friend.

“Let me give you a warning, Jung Woojin, considering your limited experience with human relationships throughout your long life. Making the wrong friends can be disastrous. You know that, right? Especially for someone like you!”

Hyohyun, who seemed to be gearing up for a long lecture, suddenly stopped mid-sentence, a dazed expression on her face.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe I was so clueless! Oh my god!”

She started clapping her hands and muttering to herself, saying she should have known from the moment he said he was having dinner out.

Hyohyun raised her right index finger in the air and declared dramatically,

“It’s a woman!”

Anyone would think she’d made a groundbreaking discovery.

“No, it’s not. Let’s stop this.”

Woojin placed his mug on the table and stood up from the sofa. He had nothing more to say, and saw no need to continue.

“Bring her home sometime. It takes a woman to understand another woman.”

Hyohyun continued chattering, undeterred by his incredulous stare.

“You’re not very good at judging people, Jung Woojin. That’s why you missed out on a woman like me. I’ll take a look at her for you. Bring her home. Okay?”

“Let’s say I do bring her home, how am I supposed to explain our relationship?”

He deliberately asked a question that would put Hyohyun in a difficult position, hoping to end the conversation. But instead of being flustered, she gave a chilling smirk and crossed her arms defiantly.

“So, it really is a woman?”