Volume 3

Part 1

“Eat.”

“No, this is all…”

What Sung-hyun brought was a lunch box.

It was so fancy that it could be considered a luxurious meal. Various dishes, fruits, desserts. It was so beautiful that it felt almost a shame to eat it.

Still staring blankly, Sung-hyun tore off chopsticks and handed them to her white hand.

“You’re going to need a lot of energy today, so make sure you eat.”

“I already ate.”

“What did you eat?”

“…Granola.”

Sung-hyun chuckled.

“Ah. Granola?”

“You have the same reaction as Jung-ah.”

Seowoo made an awkward face as she looked at him.

Today was scheduled to be a full day of filming at the amusement park.

Seowoo and Haewon went to the amusement park. During a brief moment, Seowoo lost Haewon and the scene involved her frantically searching for her daughter.

Worried that Seowoo, who was frail, might collapse from crying all the time, Sung-hyun had bought her a lunchbox while buying his own early in the morning.

“Just try to eat a little.”

“Sung-hyun, I really appreciate it, but I really can’t eat anything right now. I really can’t digest anything.”

She was already in a highly sensitive state, so it was unlikely that anything would sit well with her. Her heart felt heavy already, to the extent that even swallowing water was difficult.

Ever since she received the script, she would burst into tears just thinking about this scene.

“Then at least try some fruit. You need to recharge your sugar levels.”

Sung-hyun picked up a piece of watermelon with a fork and handed it over.

She was grateful for his gesture, so she felt bad for not eating it. 

Without much choice, Seowoo put the watermelon into her mouth.

The cool, sweet juice moistened her mouth. Only then did a satisfied smile appear on Sung-hyun’s face.

“What about you, Sung-hyun?”

“I’ve eaten already.”

“But why did you come so early? Your shooting isn’t until the evening.”

Sung-hyun’s shoot was scheduled for late evening because Seowoo and Haewon’s shooting was first.

“Just, you know, nothing else to do. Also, I was curious about your shooting, Seowoo. You’ve eaten all of it. Eat some more.”

Sung-hyun nodded toward the watermelon placed in front of her. Seowoo started to reach for the watermelon with her fork but then stopped and gave a bitter smile. Seeing her expression, Sung-hyun sent her a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that I haven’t had watermelon in a long time.”

“You don’t like it?”

“No, I like it but…”

Seowoo trailed off.

When she was pregnant with Byul, watermelon was the food she craved. It was just when she had moved into the main family home, so she felt too self-conscious to eat much of it, and after losing Byul, the sight of watermelon weighed on her heart so much that she couldn’t even bring herself to eat it. 

They say when you crave something during pregnancy, it’s because the baby likes it and wants the mother to eat some.

She picked up a piece of watermelon with her fork and forced a smile as she put it into her mouth.

“It’s sweet and delicious. Thank you.”

She was simply grateful for his attentive care. 

Soon after, she had finished eating and set down her fork, tidying up the lunch box.

“I’ll eat the rest after we finish.”

“Alright then.”

“I think I need to get going now, where will you be?”

As Seowoo stood up, Sung-hyun also rose to follow her. While they were eating, a staff member came by to notify them that everything was ready for shooting.

“I’ll watch you shoot.”

“It’s a little embarrassing.”

Although her job was an actress, being watched was still embarrassing. Of course, once filming started, she would become so immersed that she wouldn’t notice anyone watching.

“Don’t be embarrassed. Good luck.”

Sung-hyun nodded with a light smile.

Maybe it was because of the dark atmosphere of the script, for some reason, her heart is very heavy today.

Seowoo walked away, trying to ignore her sinking mood.

***

“Mommy! I want cotton candy!”

Haewon pointed at the colorful cotton candy with her finger, tugging at Seowoo’s clothes. Seowoo bent her knees to squat down in front of Haewon, looking at her with eyes full of love.

“What color do you want?”

“Mmm.”

Haewon pondered while looking at the cotton candy.

Haewon’s eyes, rolling around in their black sockets, made Seowoo smile involuntarily. Her hair was tied in pigtails, a blue denim skirt, and pink sneakers.

Seowoo took in the adorable sight of Haewon.

“Strawberry!”

“Okay, one strawberry flavor, please.”

Seowoo stood up and ordered, and the vendor handed over a pink cotton candy.

“Wow.”

Haewon buried her face in the giant cotton candy and giggled, her eyes curving into happy crescents. Seeing her child happily enjoying it brought a mix of emotions to Seowoo.

“Mommy, you’re the best!”

Haewon jumped up and down, even sticking her thumbs up in front of Seowoo.

“Cut.”

Even after the director’s okay sign, Haewon still had her face buried in the cotton candy. Seowoo took out a wet wipe from her bag to clean the sticky residue around Haewon’s mouth.

“Is it good?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s stop eating now.”

Soo-kyung, who had approached, made a remark, but Haewon ignored it.

“I’ll be right in!”

The makeup artist touched up Seowoo’s face and then stepped back out of frame. Soon, a crowd of extras was expected to arrive for the scene where Seowoo’s character loses her daughter in the story. 

Just thinking about it made her heart heavy, and Seowoo furrowed her brow as she sat down next to Haewon on the bench.

“Phew.”

As Seowoo sighed heavily, Haewon tightly grasped her hand. Seowoo lowered her gaze to look at Haewon.

The firm grip of the small hand seemed to calm Seowoo’s troubled heart. Seowoo intertwined her fingers with Haewon’s.

“Mommy Seowoo.”

“Yes?”

“Why does your face look like that?”

Haewon’s eyes flickered uneasily as she studied her face. Surprised by the sudden question, Seowoo tilted her head slightly.

“Why? Does it look strange?”

“It’s just……you look sad.”

“…”

“Your eyes look sad.”

They say children can’t lie. That must have been how she appeared in Haewon’s eyes. Seowoo smiled softly and stroked Haewon’s small head.

“Do they seem that way?”

Haewon nodded vigorously.

Seowoo felt grateful and proud of Haewon for reading her emotions.

How comforting it would have been to have such a daughter. 

Her eyes prickled with tears, and Seowoo bit the inside of her cheek to compose herself.

“Thank you, Haewon.”

“For what?”

“Just…everything.”

Just by sitting beside her, just by holding her hand—these simple gestures seemed to heal her aching heart. Seowoo’s eyes, gazing at Haewon, were filled with sorrowful emotions.

***

“Byul, Eunbyul!”

Seowoo ran frantically through the amusement park, tears streaming down her face. 

Time had already passed and darkness had descended on the amusement park. As she ran here and there, the cameras and staff were busy following her.

“Ha. Ha. Byul!”

“No sign of her yet?”

At that moment, Sung-hyun rushed towards her, his face pale. Sweat covered his forehead, and his breath came in ragged gasps. 

Seeing Sung-hyun, Seowoo’s face was filled with despair.

“What should we do? It’s my fault. I lost track of her for just a moment…”

Seowoo collapsed to the ground, tears pouring down her face. Sung-hyun kneeled down in front of her, taking her cold hand in his, and warming it.

“It’s okay. The police are here helping us, and the amusement park staff are also looking. Nothing bad will happen.”

“Sob, honey.”

“Just get some rest a bit. I’ll go look for her.”

Sung-hyun stood up and set off to search for Haewon again. 

Still sitting, Seowoo watched his retreating back and wept.

“Cut!!! Well done.”

Even as the director called ‘cut’, and the okay sign was given, Seowoo’s tears did not easily stop. Fortunately, that was the end of the shoot for the day.

“Please take care of Seowoo.”

The director called out to Seowoo’s staff in a worried tone.

Seowoo shook her head and covered her face with her hands. Jung-ah, who had been watching from the side, rushed over to her.

“Seowoo, are you okay?”

After an hour of continuous shooting, Seowoo had been crying non-stop for that entire hour as well. 

The problem was that even when the cameras weren’t rolling, Seowoo remained in this state. Jung-ah looked at her with worried eyes.

“Stop crying. It’s all over now.”

Though it was common for actors to be emotionally overwhelmed during a performance, today was different from other days.

“Seowoo.”

Sung-hyun, who had approached unnoticed, also looked concerned. As Seowoo continued sobbing, Jung-ah gently lowered her hands to her shoulders and wiped the tears from Seowoo’s face.

“Let’s go to the car and rest, okay?”

“Ha…Ha.”

“Seowoo!”

“Seowoo-ssi!”

It was in that moment of supporting her that suddenly, Seowoo, gasping for breath, collapsed to the ground. The situation unfolded so abruptly that everyone froze in place.

“Oh my, what do we do? Seowoo! Yoon Seowoo!”

Sung-hyun was shocked and quickly supported her back. Jung-ah shook her, but Seowoo didn’t respond at all. 

The staff and the director, startled, gathered around her.

“Seowoo, come to your senses!”

“Hold on.”

Finally, Sung-hyun lifted Seowoo up in his arms. She was so light, alarmingly so, as if she weighed nothing at all.

“Make way, please. We’re going straight to the hospital.”

With Seowoo in his arms, Sung-hyun started running. Jung-ah followed him, tears streaming down her face.