DWWWB Ch 6 part 1

It was a day that felt like it was drenched in tangerine lemonade. The bright, orange sunlight was shining down from the sky, and the blue sea was refreshing. And because we were near the sea, it was extremely humid.

If it was this hot in April, how much hotter would it be in the summer?

I frowned and fanned myself with the script. The production team was busy setting up the Sokcho Eye filming.

“Hey, PD Oh Milhee.”

PD Han blurted out my name in a somewhat mischievous tone.

“Yes?”

I didn’t have the energy to get involved with his teasing, so I gave him a curt answer.

Going on a Ferris wheel with Gong Mujin…

It was a request from the star of the show and could not be refused. We could not leave out this scene from the program. It was a scene that had to be filmed in order to gain the cooperation of the local government.

But, of all things, it was a Ferris wheel that I had to ride alone with Gong Mujin…

“You called, so say something.”

“Only you can know.”

PD Han lowered his voice. It didn’t feel like he was being too serious. Instead, it was like a scene where a teenage girl was sharing a secret she actually wanted to tell everyone.

“Are you going to tell me a secret?”

“Yeah.”

“Once it leaves your mouth, it’s no longer a secret. I’ll probably tell someone else by saying, ‘I’m only telling you.’”

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head. I didn’t want to get caught up in useless gossip.

“No. You won’t be able to tell anyone. So you have to be the only one who knows.”

“What is it?”

What is this secret that I can’t tell anyone else?

“Your heart.”

I frowned and flashed him a glum expression.

“Do you like Gong Mujin?”

“What are you talking about?!”

Anyone would be able to tell that my abrupt response was laced with my personal feelings towards Gong Mujin. It was only after raising my voice that I realized that PD Han had accurately caught my tail.

“I have no intention of interfering with your tastes, nor do I want to know. But every time you look at Gong Mujin…”

PD Han lowered his voice even more.

“You look like you can’t wait to eat him.”

“Sunbae-nim!”

I hated the way he giggled mischievously. PD Han made a circle with his hand and put it next to my eye.

“Stop drooling with your eyes. I should put parentheses around your eyes and add a disclaimer. This PD’s personal preference is her personal preference. It has nothing to do with the production team’s opinion.”

“Ah, I said it’s not like that!”

“Then why do you have to be the only one who films him in the Ferris wheel?”

This was a request that was easily agreed upon during our meeting. However, a smile was plastered on PD Han’s face as if he were curious about the story behind it.

“How many times do I have to tell you? It was the subject’s request.”

“You didn’t tell me why he made that request.”

Suddenly, Gong Mujin’s soulful voice entered my head.

‘Only you know about my fear of heights, PD Oh. I would like to ride the Ferris wheel tomorrow with just you. Without any other production staff present.’

I couldn’t just casually reveal his secret that only I knew.

“I will withhold that information for the athlete’s protection.”

As I spoke in a grave tone, PD Han laughed as if he found it ridiculous.

“I think the athlete’s greatest danger is you.”

I tilted my head and glared up at PD Han.

“Don’t even think about doing something stupid when you’re alone. You’re a professional producer. Think about the program.”

“What kind of person do you think I am?”

“I was wondering why you never dated before. You really do have high standards, don’t you?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying all this time. My standards are high.”

My first boyfriend, Gong Mujin, was the baseline when choosing a man. But isn’t it natural to want my current boyfriend to be better than my ex-boyfriend? If you were going to meet someone worse than your ex-boyfriend, then why break up with your ex? Just keep meeting your ex-boyfriend.

But that’s easier said than done. Trying to find a guy better than Gong Mujin makes me feel like the world is too small. And I’m not sure that a guy better than Gong Mujin will even like me. Is there a guy better than Gong Mujin in outer space?

Anyway, it’s not that I can’t date. It’s just that I don’t. It’s because I’m looking for a guy who’s better than my ex-boyfriend.

“I get that you have high standards, but I think I now understand why you like Gong Mujin. Wipe your eyes. They’re still drooling.”

Suddenly, Gong Mujin began to walk towards us from afar. He was wearing light-colored jeans and a white crew-neck T-shirt, but he looked like a model. With a height of over 190 cm, slim muscles, long legs that were built from exercise, and a small head. His proportions were really crazy.

“Ah, you should wipe your drool.”

I feigned innocence and wiped my eyes. PD Han laughed as if I were ridiculous.

“What’s the point of wiping your drool? It’s still so obvious. I told you to put parentheses here.”

PD Han put both of his hands on my eyes and snickered.

“Are we ready to shoot?”

Even though the cold voice interrupted us, PD Han didn’t take his hands off of my face. He answered Gong Mujin while covering the sides of my eyes, like putting blinders around the eyes of race horses to prevent them from getting startled.

“Yes, we’re ready.”

“What are you doing?”

Gong Mujin asked as if he couldn’t understand our ridiculous behavior.

“Ah, that’s because PD Oh keeps trying to lick someone with her eyes…”

“Sunbae-nim!”

I shouted out and tried to cover PD Han’s mouth with my hand. There was nothing more humiliating than saying that I had eyes for Gong Mujin right in front of him.

Does PD Han have a brain or not?

“And does that person happen to be PD Han?”

Gong Mujin tilted his head to the side and lifted his chin. A ray of sunlight sparkled across his smooth face.

“Not at all! I have high standards!”

I shook my head and denied it. Then Gong Mujin looked around and asked again.

“Then is he among the production staff here?”

Gong Mujin looked at me and PD Han with a persistent gaze. Why was he so curious?

“It is me.”

PD Han grabbed the wrist of my hand that was trying to cover his mouth and dragged it down. Gong Mujin’s gaze was focused on my wrist.

“Aigoo, what the heck? PD Oh, I’m really disappointed. You said you had high standards. But it was just PD Han?”

Writer Park spoke up in a playful voice.

“No, but are you going to join in on this too, Writer Park?”

As if he couldn’t hear anything I said, PD Han kept talking.

“Why else would you follow me to Minerva? Do you like me that much, Hoobae-nim? Don’t take things too far. There are a lot of eyes watching.”

Everyone snickered at PD Han’s joke. There wasn’t a single person among the production staff who suspected us. Production staff who worked on the same program were like family. You don’t do that with family.

“I really need to start dating soon. This is like a curse.”

Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey. I wanted to scream and shake off PD Han’s ridiculous joke.

Ah, seriously, seriously… This is why I didn’t want to go into variety programs… After rolling around in the entertainment industry for over five years, I think my mindset is becoming more and more childish.

“We’re ready to go!”

The sharp AD shouted out in a cracking voice.

“Here, do you know how to handle this?”

PD Han handed me a 4K broadcast camcorder. There were three portable cameras installed inside the Ferris wheel capsule. This means that even if only two people were on the Ferris wheel, there were four sets of eyes watching.

“Okay, here’s the script.”

Writer Park handed me three sheets of A4 paper and told me she had just revised it. It looked like she had marked the pages here and there with a red pen and then wrote a few more lines. This bothered me.

“You added a few more questions?”

“Yeah. Athlete Gong Mujin also gave me the okay.”

The questions did not deviate significantly from the concept we discussed during the meeting.

As the production team watched, Gong Mujin and I boarded the Ferris wheel together. It was a compartment with a more sophisticated design than the one we rode at the amusement mark all those years ago.

We sat opposite each other, and I was busy taking footage of him with my broadcast camcorder. He was quietly looking out at the horizon across the sky.

He’s always had a handsome face, but his appearance that no longer held the refreshing energy of his twenties was now exuding the sophistication and grace of his thirties. He seemed to shine brighter. His steep nose and sharp jawline gave him a strong impression. Whenever his long eyes blinked, his thick eyelashes fluttered serenely. I used the broadcast as an excuse to observe my ex-boyfriend’s beauty.

As a road cyclist, he spends a lot of time outdoors, but his skin was dazzlingly smooth and pale. He had skin that didn’t tan in the sun but instead turned red.

The Ferris wheel was getting higher and higher. I felt a bit bad because I couldn’t even ask him if he was alright due to the cameras that were filming us.

“Can I ask you a question now?”

He nodded. All that was needed was some footage of him naturally answering the PD’s questions. It would be cross-edited and merged with other footage of him on the road.

“What do you usually think about when you ride?”

He didn’t look at the camera. Instead, he looked at me and opened his mouth.

“I wish a wet wind would blow.”

“Wet wind?”

It must be an expression with a special meaning to him. The compartment began to shake back and forth against the sea breeze. My chest tightened, perhaps due to my anxiety regarding his fear of heights.

“A humid breeze. When the wet wind blows, it rains.”

“Does this mean you wish for rain while you ride?”

He nodded quietly.

“When it rains, I can rest.”

He tilted his head languidly. My hand holding the camcorder shook slightly. I took a deep breath and propped my forearm against my chest.

When we started dating, we didn’t meet often, just as he’d told me. Most of his work was filled with training. On days when he had outdoor training, if it rained, he would be able to finish a little early. And on those days, we could go on impromptu dates.

Rainy days became his days off, and naturally, those were the days when we met. There were days when I desperately hoped for rain. I even seriously contemplated performing a rain ceremony.

He spoke as if he were still waiting for a rainy day. Imagining him pedaling on his bike as he hoped for a wet wind to blow, I couldn’t help but think he seemed a little lonely.

“It seems that even the world’s best road cyclist wants to rest sometimes.”

I laughed faintly and made the remark. My voice sounded relaxed as if he and I had no connection at all. I even felt like he couldn’t see me since I was watching him through the small monitor of the camcorder.

“Rest…”

He nodded and mumbled the word quietly as he looked out the window.

“I heard that you’re planning to reduce the number of tours in the future and increase your activities in Korea. Is there a special reason for this?”

“There is a special person in Korea.”

The Ferris wheel capsule seemed to have risen to mid-height, and my heart dropped to the floor.

“Can I ask who this special person is?”

He drew in a deep breath, his chest heaving, and placed his large hand on his forehead. He dragged his hand down his face as if he were washing his face and then looked at me while resting his elbow on his thigh.

“Oh Milhee.”

I held my breath without realizing it. I felt my pulse pounding rapidly at my temple.

He reached out to me. My heart now rose to my throat. He snatched the camcorder away and turned it off. I quickly got up and turned off the two cameras hanging above the seats on both sides and the camera hanging at the entrance.

I had a bad feeling about this. To be honest, it felt ominous.

I don’t think he called me by my name because he was saying I was the special person. I felt like he turned off the camcorder because he didn’t want this side of himself to be caught on camera. Even if this was a request from the local government, the filming plan should have been changed.

“Is it difficult?¹”

I sat down and asked anxiously.

“Yeah.”

He sighed and leaned back in his seat. I fidgeted as I sat across from him.

“Can I move to your side?”

I nodded my head at his request. His voice was filled with a sense of desolation. He jumped up from his seat and strode over to me. The breeze that blew when he sat down next to me had a refreshing tangerine scent. My heart began to race.

My mind was already a mess. It was filled with anxiety regarding what would happen if this turned into an emergency situation mixed with the sensual memories of the past.

“Oh Milhee.”

He said my name slowly.

“Yeah?”

I barely managed to reply in a shaky voice. I couldn’t take my eyes off his face as he sat right next to me.

“You told me yesterday that you made a mistake.”

My pulse, which had been pounding in my temples, seemed to have moved to my ears.

“Yeah.”

My answer was curt.

“This time, I’ll be the one to make the mistake.”

A large, warm hand wrapped around my neck. His fingers curled around the tip of my chin. That was how our first kiss had been. Before I could understand what was happening, our lips merged together. However, this time, I was aware of exactly what I was doing.

Our lips met. A cool mint scent surged into my mouth. My eyes closed on their own. His kiss, which filled my mouth in one breath, was much more persistent than last night’s. My tongue was sucked aggressively. He thrust his thick tongue and let out a ragged breath. My cheek flushed as his breath brushed against it. My eyes grew moist for no reason.

He said there was a special person in Korea. When I asked who it was, he called my name. And then he kissed me, saying it was a mistake.

I pushed his chest with a clumsy fist. Our lips parted for a moment. His face, which I saw through my narrowed eyes, seemed to be engulfed in lust. His dark, moist eyes looked dreamy and languid.

Once again, the kiss continued without a moment’s pause. My heart was pounding. No, it wasn’t my heart that was pounding. It was my heart crying. And to my chagrin, I could clearly feel the area between my thighs grow wet.

A warm hand ran down my arm. He quickly slipped his fingers under my thin T-shirt and stroked my slender back as he pulled me into a tight embrace. He must have felt a bit uncomfortable because he let out a ‘hmm’. At the same time, my body was suddenly lifted up.

He placed my body on top of his firm thighs and held my waist within his arms. He scraped my upper lip with his teeth as if he were tickling it and rubbed my tongue until all the bumps were on end. He licked the inside of my mouth as if he were going to devour it.

“Mmm.”

A moan poured into his mouth. Even though I had tried to push him away with my clenched fist just moments ago, I was now holding tightly onto his neck and pushing against him with my whole body. My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. It must be PD Han who was monitoring the footage with a paired laptop below.

My mind suddenly snapped. I quickly got off his lap, wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, and let out a ragged breath. Ahem, I cleared my throat and answered the call from PD Han.

— What’s going on? Why did the cameras turn off?

“Ah, something happened. I don’t know how to quite explain this…”

He gently snatched the phone out of my hand.

“PD Han-nim, this is Gong Mujin. There’s something I didn’t tell you. I have a fear of heights. I didn’t want it to be caught on camera, so I turned off the cameras. Please tell the production staff that there was a hardware issue. Can we continue the interview somewhere else?”

He looked at me with his brows furrowed. I nodded even though I knew his question was directed at PD Han.

“Yes, it’s a personal matter that hasn’t even been made public, so it’s a bit difficult for me to talk about. Then I’ll come see you once we’re down.”

“What did Sunbae say?²”

His expression darkened for a moment as he handed me the phone. I don’t know if it was because I called PD Han ‘Sunbae’ or because I had reverted to formal speech.

“What is your relationship with PD Han?”

I felt like I was struck in the back of the head with that unexpected question.

“He’s a colleague.”

“Is that all?”

“Is that even important right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

I swallowed a sorrowful breath. I opened my eyes wide as tears threatened to well up again.

“I don’t want to do something that will make me feel apologetic towards PD Han.”

“Coward.”

I muttered without realizing it. He threw me a somewhat bewildered look as if he hadn’t expected this.

“Coward?”

“It’s okay to make a mistake with me, but you don’t want to feel apologetic to PD Han?”

I opened my mouth and looked into the distance for a moment.

“Did I look like I was scared to answer PD Han’s call just now? I had to protect Athlete Gong Mujin’s privacy, but it was obvious that he would ask why we suddenly stopped filming! That’s why I was flustered!”

“PD Han is ‘Sunbae’, but I’m just ’Athlete’?”

It was getting worse. I’m not the type of person to be this stubborn, but I was so shocked that tears were starting to well up. I was no longer an AD. I no longer cried on the job… It’s been a long time since I’ve cried due to an injustice on set.

Tears flowed down my cheeks. His frown quickly disappeared, and his eyes widened in surprise.

“Are you crying?”

“Can’t you see that I am?”

I glared at him, breathing heavily.

“We can talk later.”

I wiped my tears with my sleeve and grabbed the camcorder. As soon as the Ferris wheel door opened, I adjusted my expression and jumped out.

“Did anything happen?”

PD Han approached me with a smiling face. I had barely managed to control my emotions and had now reached my limit. But when I heard PD Han’s soft, soothing voice, the sadness suddenly surged up again. I swallowed the heat that filled my throat and answered him.

“Nothing happened. I think we can at least use the beginning of the interview and the intro.”

The interview that took place on the beach was conducted by PD Han. The dinner filming at a raw codfish stew restaurant near Dongmyeong Port also concluded without a hitch.

“You shouldn’t go to restaurants recommended by road cyclists.”

Even Gong Mujin joked around and became talkative.

“Think about it. After riding the bike like crazy, whatever you eat will taste delicious, right?”

He insisted that anything he ate after working out and sweating was delicious. He ate his food blissfully. His spoon was clean, and his chopsticks moved gracefully. The way he filled his mouth with food and quietly chewed was enough to grab anyone’s attention.

“That’s why you shouldn’t go to restaurants recommended by cycling clubs or hiking clubs. But the food here is truly delicious.”

The scene of them naturally smiling in front of a glass of Daegu Clear Stew was captured on camera. PD Han gave a thumbs up, indicating that the filming went smoothly.

After finishing filming for the day, Gong Mujin headed to the hotel first. The production crew was just about to head to the restaurant for dinner.

“I’m going to head back to my room.”

I had no appetite. Ever since I got off the Ferris wheel, I felt like my stomach was burning. I took a bite of a granola bar that Writer Park gave me to cheer me up and threw it away. It felt like I was chewing on a bunch of fish bones.

“What’s wrong with you? Your complexion has been off since earlier.”

“I guess it’s because I’m lacking sleep. I’ll head in first.”

PD Han told me to go rest and patted my shoulder.

“What’s wrong? PD Oh, are you feeling ill?”

Writer Park asked as she moved to get into the car that was heading to the restaurant.

“No, I’m just lacking some sleep. I’m going to try and head to bed early.”

“Are you going back to the hotel? Then can you wait just a moment?”

Writer Park rummaged through her bag and pulled out a clear file that contained the script.

“Athlete Gong Mujin asked for this earlier, but I forgot to give it to him. Just hand it over to him before you head to bed, okay? By the time we get back after dinner, it’ll be too late.”

I nodded obediently. It was something I could do as a PD in charge. But I felt bad because the person I had to hand this to was Gong Mujin. No, I was angry. No, I was sad. No, I don’t know.

I could have walked back, but I called a taxi. I didn’t have the energy to walk. I was thinking of going straight to Gong Mujin’s room, but thinking that he must have just arrived at the hotel, I assumed he might need some time to wash up and destress.

First, I took a lukewarm shower and changed into a thick dress with an attached hood. I dried my wet hair until it was damp and headed to Gong Mujin’s room. This time, I brought my hand to the doorbell without hesitating.

“Yes?”

When I heard his cold voice, my heart jumped. I really felt like I was going to throw up.

“Who is it?”

He asked as he approached the door. There was no peephole on the door, so there was no way to check who I was from the inside.

“It’s PD Oh.”

I answered as if this was a business visit. The door opened with a clang. He stood aside as if I was naturally going to enter the guest room.

“Writer Park told me to give this to you.”

I handed over the clear file without much thought.

“Come in.”

His friendly words made my stomach churn again.

“No.”

“You said earlier that you had something to tell me. That we could talk later.”

That’s right. There were definitely things we needed to discuss. We couldn’t just continue filming like this.

I nodded my head and entered the room.