Part 15

Seowoo slowly lifted her eyelids.

Eventually, her body gave out. Pain surged as if her body were breaking apart. She had been suffering like this before and after Star’s anniversary, but this time the fever was worse than usual, perhaps because she got caught in the rain.

With no strength to even move a finger, Seowoo breathed heavily due to the pain.

“…….”

The dream she had just had was so vivid that Seowoo, with her eyes open, momentarily lost herself in thought.

Was it because she hadn’t seen him in years?

She hadn’t dreamed of him in a long time. A dream of her happiest days with him.

She had an illusion as if she could see and hear his affectionate and gentle voice, and that smile he used to give. Seowoo’s gaze, lost in thought, sank low.

Tick.

Just then, she heard the sound of a door lock unlocking in the distance.

The sound of hurried footsteps grew closer and closer. The bedroom door swung open, and the light from the bedside lamp illuminated the figure.

“I knew it.”

A voice, tinged with sadness, echoed in her ears. Unable to move even a muscle due to the pain, Seowoo remained motionless in bed.

“Good grief. Look at that fever.”

Jung-ah, her hand on Seowoo’s forehead, looked shocked.

“With such a high fever, have you taken any medicine?”

Seowoo’s breath came in ragged gasps. Even lying down, the world felt dizzyingly turbulent.

“Let’s take some medicine. Try to get up.”

Jung-ah supported her torso to help her sit up. Then she put a pill in Seowoo’s mouth and brought a water bottle to her lips.

Seowoo barely swallowed a sip before collapsing back onto the bed.

“I’m really upset.”

Jung-ah, pursing her lips, quickly walked out of the bedroom. Shortly after, she returned with a cold towel and placed it on Seowoo’s forehead.

Knowing that Seowoo suffered severely around this time every year, Jung-ah rushed to her house as soon as she finished her work.

She couldn’t help but feel relieved that she could at least take care of her after moving to Seoul.

Otherwise, the thought of Seowoo being alone in this condition saddened her deeply. All she could do as a friend was to provide her with medicine. 

Wrapped up in blankets up to her chin, Seowoo shivered uncontrollably.

“Is it okay to leave you like this?”

Although she had given her medicine, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of anxiety seeing Seowoo in such agony.

She hoped the fever would subside soon.

Beside Seowoo, who was whimpering, Jung-ah anxiously watched over her condition.

How long had I slept?

The agonizing pain had somewhat subsided.

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

Seowoo blinked slowly. As her blurry vision gradually cleared, she saw Jung-ah’s worried face.

“Do you know how worried I’ve been because of you?”

“What, did you even worry about me like that?”

With a voice mixed with resentment and relief, Seowoo chuckled softly and sat up. The fever seemed to have gone down, but her body was drenched in sweat.

Her clothes and bedding were damp.

Nevertheless, after going through such an ordeal, she felt somewhat refreshed.

“Have some water.”

“When did you get here?”

Jung-ah handed her warm water. As Seowoo took a sip, her parched lips finally felt relieved.

“Don’t you even remember I came?”

“Well…”

Seowoo thought she heard the sound of the door unlocking faintly, but she must have been too sick and in pain to think straight. It felt hazy, like a dream or not a dream. Jung-ah clicked her tongue and shook her head at her dazed state.

“If you’re in pain, at least call me. What would you have done if I hadn’t come?”

Seeing her friend who had suffered so much and had a thin frame made Jung-ah feel saddened.

She didn’t need to ask, but she knew how hard Yoon Seowoo had been going through all this time.

After her divorce, she lived alone for two years in a provincial town with no connections. Partly because of her fame as a top actress, but also because the news of her divorce from Kwon Jiwook forced her to go into hiding for a while.

‘Jung-ah, sigh. What am I going to do…’

Jung-ah still felt as if she could hear Seowoo’s voice, crying on the phone after her first miscarriage.

Since then, Seowoo often fell ill around the time she had lost her baby. Even though Jung-ah was often busy and couldn’t visit her frequently, she always made sure to take care of Seowoo around this time.

“I’m fine.”

“Have some porridge. Okay?”

“Jung-ah…”

“No, you have to eat. I couldn’t sleep all night worrying about you.”

It was a disparaging tone, but Seowoo understood. She knows that Jung-ah is the one who cares for her more than anyone else.

It was Jung-ah who cared for her like a mother, like a sister.

“Aren’t you supposed to go to work?”

“I asked the CEO to let me take the day off today. And the porridge, the CEO bought it for you.”

“Did Seung-min come?”

“Yeah. He bought a lot for both of us and went back to the office.”

Moon Seung-min and Heo Jung-ah were the most excited to hear that Seowoo was coming to Seoul. They were like a family who had been by Seowoo’s side since she was a rookie actress.

They were also acquaintances who hoped for her to return to acting as soon as possible.

“Let’s eat.”

“Jung-ah, I’ll take a quick shower and come out. I think I sweated too much.”

“Sure. I’ll be preparing, so go ahead and get cleaned up.”

“Thanks.”

Jung-ah scurried out of the bedroom. Seowoo’s eyes sank low as she remained alone.

Although depression sometimes lingered around this time, her encounter with him yesterday brought back a feeling of oppression.

‘Let’s start over.’

‘I never even thought about divorcing you, not even a bit.’

“Easy for you to say.” 

Still living in agony herself, he remained consistent, then and now.

A self-deprecating laugh escaped her lips as she realized how different he was in her dream from the man she saw yesterday.

She pushed her thoughts away and headed for the bathroom.

***

“It seems she’s signed a contract with CEO Moon.”

Cheol-hoon carefully laid down the documents he had brought for Jiwook’s inspection. Jiwook furrowed his brow as he picked them up. His sharp eyes scanned the documents.

“I confirmed with the officials that your wife’s comeback article will go up tomorrow at 6 p.m. The director for the drama is Choi Hoon-soo, who won the Best Director for his last drama, and the script is by Cho Young-eun, the first work Madam worked on.”

The information Cheol-hoon had gathered was very detailed. Broadcasting time, network, and even the investors supporting the drama, along with the cast.

As Jiwook read through them, his eyes paused at one point.

“The co-star is…”

“It’s Ki Sung-hyun.”

“Ki Sung-hyun?”

“Yes. He’s the actor who was recently chosen as the new male model for K Motors.”

He was the new male model for K Motors.

Three years younger than Seowoo.

As he was a rising star in the industry, the marketing team carefully selected him from among several candidates.

“And this is Madam’s new cell phone number, which she changed the day before.”

As Cheol-hoon handed him a small note with the number written on it, Jiwook accepted it immediately.

“She must have gotten a lot of calls since the news of her return to work got out, so it seems she changed it.”

Seowoo tended to change her number periodically. Whenever she received calls from him or calls related to Jiwook, she would change her number shortly after.

Although it wasn’t difficult to find out her new number, she always showed reluctance and tried to avoid him.

“Find out more about Ki Sung-hyun.”

“Understood.”

“Good work.”

Cheol-hoon bowed to him and left the office.

“A comeback…”

He didn’t expect it.

Jiwook looked at the script in front of him. He hadn’t expected her to be thinking about a comeback.

He thought after getting married, she quit acting for good.

But apparently, that wasn’t the case. Jiwook stared blankly at the paper with the number written on it.