A Night Soaked With You - Chapter 21
That’s crazy. Kim Yeong-won. Did you just hit him?
“Did I just…… get slapped?”
He asked, unbelievingly, staring at her.
“N-No! I didn’t hit you, I-I just pushed you! Right, I pushed you. That’s all.”
She hastily waved her hands, trying to explain. His smooth left cheek had already turned red from the impact.
“I-I mean, why would you get so close and say something like that? You startled me.”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“I told you before, I absolutely refuse those weird proposals. I only asked because Yu Chae-young has stolen my roles several times before, and I was just concerned.”
“What if it’s not?”
His words were vague, lacking both subject and verb. Confused, Yeong-won asked, “What?” to which he casually added.
“If I’m not the one backing Yu Chae-young.”
It was a situation she had never considered before, so Yeong-won hesitated, fumbling for a response.
“If that’s true…… then I suppose I’d owe you an apology.”
“An apology? Do you think that’s enough? You headbutted my lips, left a mark, and then stole my lips saying I kiss well.”
Stole his lips? Who was the one kissing like they wanted to devour her? Yeong-won felt wronged and was about to protest, but Tae-geon beat her to it.
“On top of that, you promised to treat me, but you slapped me as well.”
Listening to him, Yeong-won felt as though she was the bad one here.
‘Who are the real bad guys, the ones buying and selling people and taking what’s not theirs…….’
Determined, Yeong-won decided to stand her ground.
“None of this would have happened if you hadn’t been helping Yu Chae-young behind the scenes.”
“No, you’ve got it wrong. None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t suddenly appeared in front of me.”
What was that supposed to mean.
Yeong-won blinked in confusion, completely at a loss. Seeing her puzzled expression, he reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.
The tickling sensation along her ear made her shoulders tense up.
“Well, there’s more than one way to apologize. Maybe another method wouldn’t be so bad.”
Somehow, that touch felt too lingering, so Yeong-won quickly swatted his hand away.
Even so, Taegun’s relaxed smile remained unchanged.
Yeong-won’s eyes froze over.
This man, he definitely has something up his sleeve.
‘Mm…… what could that possibly be?’
For now, there was no way of knowing.
The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, neither backing down.
◇ ◆ ◇
| Jae-young descended the steep mountainside. Though it was broad daylight, the dense trees made it feel darker than night.
‘Where did everyone go?’ She looked around, trying to spot her group. She was sure she had followed the right trail, but somehow, as if bewitched, she had veered off onto a strange path. The others, who had been ahead, were nowhere in sight. Jae-young quickened her pace, thinking that if she kept going straight, she would eventually reach the end. However, no matter how far she walked, there was no end in sight. To make matters worse, a light drizzle began to fall. Her breathing became labored. Just as she thought she couldn’t go on any further, her foot slipped on the wet leaves, and she began sliding down the slope. In that critical moment, just before tumbling down the hillside, someone grabbed her hand. |
“Cut!”
At the director’s shout, Yeong-won straightened her posture. The crew bustled around, adjusting things as needed.
Even though they had finished the scene, it wasn’t really over—they still needed to shoot from another angle.
Having gone back and forth to the same spot for the second time, her legs were starting to give out.
As Yeong-won stumbled, the man beside her quickly caught her.
“Are you okay?”
“Oh, yes. I think I’m just out of shape. Thank you, sunbae.” (t/n: ‘Sunbae’ refers to someone with more experience or seniority in a particular industry. A mentor or senior.)
Yeong-won bowed her head slightly, and the man gave a bitter smile.
“You haven’t changed at all.”
“Oh, come on. It’s In-woo sunbae who hasn’t changed. You’re a top star now, and yet you’re still exactly the same.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
When Yeong-won looked at him innocently, as if she had no idea what he was talking about, he chuckled and shook his head.
The first shoot of ‘Distress’ began in the late spring, just as early summer was fading.
With investors on board and the crew expanded, Director Choi Bong decided to scrap all the footage shot so far and start over from the beginning.
This decision was largely due to the cast, which featured big-name actors.
The male lead, new intern Gu Cheol-won, was played by Jo In-woo, with Manager Im portrayed by Woo Ju-hyun, and Senior Manager Kang by Park Jung-won.
All the actors cast were well-known in the industry.
After filming the same scene three times, everyone was exhausted and took a break.
Yeong-won also sat on one of the chairs set aside for rest.
While staring blankly at the green trees, In-woo approached with a warm cup of tea.
“You used to like yulmu tea, right?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Yeong-won accepted the cup of tea and bowed her head slightly.
It had been quite a while since they last filmed together, yet he still remembered even the smallest details. In-woo’s memory seemed to be incredibly sharp.
In-woo sat beside her, and a moment of silence passed.
It was Yeong-won who broke the silence first.
“……I never thought I’d meet you like this, sunbae.”
“Me neither.”
In-woo, who said this, stayed silent for a while. Then, cautiously, he asked,
“You’re not uncomfortable with me being here, are you?”
Yeong-won’s hand, holding the mug of yulmu tea, hesitated for a moment.
“Oh, not at all. It’s much more comfortable with you than with a stranger. I can act more comfortably this way.”
Yeong-won smiled, though honestly, she did feel a bit uncomfortable with In-woo.
But for business reasons, and since it had been 8 years since they last met, she didn’t want to act awkwardly with him.
“By the way, Chae-young’s joining the shoot next week, right? Is she busy with the ‘New York Serenade’ filming?”
Of course, there was one person in this world, whether for business or otherwise, who she couldn’t welcome.
Yeong-won furrowed her brows just slightly, enough not to be obvious, and replied with a somewhat displeased tone.
“……Yes.”
“It’s been so long since the three of us got together.”
In-woo smiled brightly as if he were happy.
Chae-young had successfully joined the cast of ‘Distress’.
Fortunately, she hadn’t resorted to dirty tricks, and Yeong-won kept the lead role, while Chae-young took the supporting female lead role Yeong-won had originally planned to play.
“Did you stay in touch with Chae-young?”
At In-woo’s question, Yeong-won couldn’t answer right away.
She had kept in touch, or rather, it had been one-sided with Chae-young making the effort.
During the three times she had been robbed of her role, she had gone to Chae-young, called her, and begged. Of course, she had only received ridicule and disdain in return.
Thinking back to those humiliating moments, Yeong-won felt a hot flush rise to her head.
“……Sometimes.”
Yeong-won barely managed to smile as she replied.
She still didn’t want to get entangled with Chae-young, but there was no way to prevent her from appearing in the show.
Perhaps she should be thankful that she managed to hold onto the lead role.
“I see. You should contact me too.”
Yeong-won, who had been lost in thought about Chae-young, belatedly asked, “What?”
