A Night Soaked With You - Chapter 23
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When she arrived home, her grandmother was sitting on the living room sofa, unfolding something. As Yeong-won kicked off her shoes, she asked.
“What’s that?”
“Come here and take a look.”
Yeong-won approached with a puzzled expression and looked closer. There were photos of men she had never seen before, laid out in front of her.
“Who looks good to you? This one’s the grandson of Mr. Lee. I heard he works for a big corporation. And this one’s the son of Mr. Park, who runs a fish shop.”
“……Grandma.”
Yeong-won called her grandmother with a groan. As she froze like a statue, her grandmother waved her over.
“Come take a look.”
“No thanks.”
Without a second thought, Yeong-won refused.
“Why not?”
“You’re going to try and set me up, aren’t you?”
Whether her words were right or not, her grandmother tightly shut her mouth.
‘I told you not to do this.’
Yeong-won scratched her forehead awkwardly, letting out a long sigh.
Since her grandmother’s health had taken a turn for the worse, she had shown an overwhelming interest in her love life.
It was even fine if her grandmother asked her to bring home a boyfriend.
But recently, it seemed her grandmother was in a hurry, asking around and even finding potential matches for her.
Even though Yeong-won kept refusing, it wasn’t exactly easy on her heart.
‘I guess she’s afraid I’ll be left all alone…….’
“Grandma, I’m fine.”
Yeong-won tried to reassure her grandmother. Her worries were understandable, but she couldn’t just create a boyfriend out of thin air.
Her grandmother didn’t respond.
Yeong-won pulled her grandmother into a tight hug and continued.
“I’m not thinking of meeting anyone. Being with you like this is the happiest I can be.”
Her grandmother, once much larger, had shrunk over time and now was frail enough to fit in her arms.
Still, this time spent hugging her was more precious to Yeong-won than anything else.
If she could be with her grandmother forever, she wouldn’t need to get married at all.
And right now, all Yeong-won wanted was to use the money she earned from the movie to make her grandmother’s remaining days a little more comfortable.
However, even with Yeong-won’s cheerful tone, her grandmother’s face seemed to grow even more troubled.
After finishing her shower in the hot water, her body felt more sluggish.
She thought about quickly lying down in bed when her phone rang as she was applying cream.
– Yeong-won, are you in the middle of shooting?
She pressed the call button, and Yuna’s voice rang through, sounding excited.
Something must have been up, as she was in quite an enthusiastic state.
“No, I’m home. What’s up? Is something going on?”
– Oh my God. I found something out.
“What is it?”
– Seong Tae-geon! It’s not what you think!
“What do you mean, not what?”
– That thing! You know, Yu Chae-young’s man!
……What?
Yeong-won, who had picked up the phone without thinking much of it, froze, even her hand with the cream stopped moving after hearing the shocking news.
“……Then who is it, exactly……?”
She asked, her face full of confusion.
– Apparently, it’s Seong Gyu-won, the executive director at Daehho Enterprise, who’s been backing him. He’s Seong Tae-geon’s cousin. But you know how Yu Chae-young might have fallen for Seong Tae-geon or whatever? Seong Tae-geon went around saying he’s her guy, so everyone misunderstood.
Yeong-won couldn’t say anything and just stood there in a daze when Yuna called out, “Yeong-won?” from the other end of the phone.
Yeong-won, pale, fumbled to speak.
“So…… you’re saying Yu Chae-young and Seong Tae-geon aren’t involved at all?”
– Well, we don’t know for sure. They could’ve been seeing each other in secret. But you really think someone as proud as Chae-young would talk like that if there was nothing between them? Something’s going on for sure…… Anyway, the fact is, it wasn’t Seong Tae-geon who took your role and gave it to Chae-young, it was Seong Gyu-won. And why did Seong Tae-geon apologize to you? Because he’s his cousin?
Yeah, why did he apologize? He could’ve just said it wasn’t true, and that would’ve been the end of it.
Yeong-won was dumbfounded, struggling to get her words out. It felt as though all the blood had drained from her body, leaving her lightheaded.
Yeong-won had naturally assumed that Tae-geon was the one backing Chae-young.
The rumors circulating, the fact that they had been in the same space at the rooftop bar, and the way Tae-geon never explicitly stated that he wasn’t Chae-young’s backer—all of it had led her to that conclusion.
But none of it was true.
Her mind was a jumbled mess of confusion.
In a daze, Yeong-won hung up the phone with Yuna.
It wasn’t until much later that she was finally able to slump onto the bed with weak legs.
Memories of the things she had done to Tae-geon rushed through her mind like a passing parade.
From rushing at him and kissing him on the lips, to demanding an apology, to slapping him when he came to the convenience store.
‘This can’t be…….’
She let out a groan, but the reality didn’t change.
That man wasn’t Chae-young’s sponsor.
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In a busy corner of the filming set, the director was waiting for Yeong-won.
“Yeong-won, do you have time this evening?”
“Tonight?”
“Our film’s investor wants to treat us to dinner.”
At the sudden suggestion, Yeong-won hesitated, unsure. Director Choi, sensing she might be reluctant, chuckled ominously.
“You’ll regret it if you don’t go.”
“……?”
Yeong-won glanced at the director, puzzled. He quickly looked around, then leaned in and whispered.
“The investor…… he’s young, extremely good-looking… and, ugh, unbelievably rich. You must already know that without me saying it.”
As Yeong-won was about to ask what that had to do with her, a certain figure flashed through her mind.
Young, handsome, and incredibly wealthy. Someone like that.
Yeong-won tentatively opened her mouth, almost whispering.
“……May I know who it is?”
“I’d love to tell you, but they asked for confidentiality for now. You’ll be seeing him soon anyway, since he’s coming this way.”
The director, in an unusually good mood, smiled broadly.
Yeong-won’s mind spun in circles. It felt like she was on the verge of piecing something together, but the clues remained tangled and elusive.
She tried to calm her anxious heart. Such a man wasn’t common, but in this vast world, it wasn’t impossible to find someone like that.
Anyway, she had planned to skip the evening gathering. Her mind was already tangled because of Tae-geon, and she was tired, wanting to go home early and rest.
She was about to tell them that she couldn’t make it tonight.
At the end of the rugged road, a luxury sedan pulled in.
It was such an out-of-the-way place, and the expensive car was so rare to see that all eyes in the filming location turned toward it.
Director Choi muttered to himself as he spotted the car.
“Ah. He must be here.”
It was definitely a car she hadn’t seen before, yet for some reason, there was a sense of déjà vu.
Black, large, and intense.
It felt like it resembled someone. The car finally stopped in front of the filming crew. The driver got out first and opened the back door.
The first thing that entered Yeong-won’s view was a long leg. Then, with the large physique came a sharply chiseled appearance.
In shock, Yeong-won’s mouth hung open.
