Chapter 10 – Between Heaven and Hell

8 PM.

At the El Stella Hotel’s underground club, Seo-jun, drinking with Go Won-hoo, was deep in thought about her, who kept lingering in his mind.

Unaware that his flawless forehead was crumpling and smoothing repeatedly.

“……”

Why did I do that?

The moment he spotted Eom So-yeon on the rooftop, he almost ran up to her crazily, embraced her as if to crush her, and kissed her wildly. Completely out of his control.

Was it because of what I had crumpled and then carefully placed back in my wallet, that made me act that way? Did those old, uncharacteristic emotions make my heart race so wildly at that moment?

It had only been a few hours since his head and body were at odds. Even now, thinking back to himself on the rooftop, Seo-jun felt very unfamiliar and bewildered by his behavior on the rooftop, and he clenched his fist even tighter.

“……”

But she was crying there.

The one who said in pretty handwriting that she’d take the sadness and be happy, and that she’d become a happy person too.

Why was she standing alone at the edge of the rooftop in the chilly weather? Why was she quietly sobbing as if she didn’t want anyone to discover her? What had made her large eyes so sorrowfully wet?

Was the world, which often goes awry rather than as planned, hard to endure? Or did she meet a terrible man? Did that guy make her cry and leave? Well, whether Eom So-yeon cried or not is none of my business.

That woman had vanished like smoke from the bed they once shared.

Thrown defenselessly before that unilateral truth, he was outraged, but that was merely his feeling. There was no reason for him to go out of his way to find her after she left him.

That was how things ended three years ago.

Yet, the moment he saw her again, he thinks he was thrilled. By her eyes, still sparkling beautifully as before. By her still youthful but somehow more mature beautiful appearance.

Yeah, that’s how it is for me.

But you didn’t say anything, did you?

Not even the cliché greeting of asking if I’ve been well.

Instead, you bowed as if to a stranger and disappeared from my sight with quick steps.

As if you were meeting someone you were not pleased to see. As if you didn’t want to recall even a speck of memory about me.

Was that all I was to you?

Was I that uncomfortable for you?

Just as you said, emotions are forgotten with emotions. What should I use to erase you, who made all that possible?

I didn’t know how, but I understand now.

Perhaps a small emotion, insignificant enough not to be called a lingering attachment, had fed on the passage of time and grown within me. Yes, that seems to be why. I’m going crazy because of Eom So-yeon now. You’re infuriatingly annoying.

So what should I do?

If you hadn’t appeared before me, maybe I wouldn’t know, but I don’t think I can just let you go, who rolled into my palm. Playing a mean prank might relieve this dirty feeling a bit.

Suddenly overwhelmed by discomfort, Seo-jun furrowed his brow deeply.

However, his distinct lips curved softly upwards. Just like that, Tae Seo-jun’s emotions were bouncing between heaven and hell.

‘I was just about to contact you, but here you are. Let’s have dinner together.’

‘No, I have somewhere to be.’

‘What keeps you so busy every day without a boyfriend?’

‘Since I don’t have one, I need to go make one.’

Just before descending from the rooftop, Eom So-yeon exchanged light jokes with Go Won-hoo, who belatedly came up there.

At that moment, Seo-jun had a strange experience.

That’s why. A smile of relief overlapped the frowning expression.

It wasn’t as if he had taste buds in his ears, but So-yeon’s voice, saying she had no man, sweetly seeped into his ears.

“Well, well?”

Go Won-hoo, who had been watching Seo-jun’s subtle change in expression, chuckled and uncrossed his legs, crossing the other leg over.

“What are you thinking so deeply about with someone sitting in front of you? Is your head still not fully healed?”

Seo-jun, who slowly raised his tilted head, chuckled.

“……As you can see.”

On the surface, he seemed fine. But laughing alone, frowning, and being unable to tell if he was in a good mood or bad was very strange. However, Go Won-hoo prioritized asking what he’d been curious about.

“Can’t I know a bit too?”

“Know what?”

“It seems you and Miss Eom So-yeon know each other.”

“I crossed paths with her once a long time ago.”

Seo-jun, who replaced his previous ambiguous expression with an arrogant smile, brought the crystal glass to his lips and swallowed a few sips of the amber liquid.

“For just one encounter, your eyes seemed quite sticky.”

“Isn’t it your eyes that are sticky?”

Understanding it as something like crossing paths at a filming site, Go Won-hoo subtly brought up the conversation from the CEO’s office again.

“Anyway. You’re a guy who usually does a lot of work. Since you’ve rested for a while, think of it as warming up and let’s do the drama.”

“I said I don’t want to.”

“If that’s the case, there’s nothing else to do but appeal directly to the drama investors.”

In other words, he intended to present Eom So-yeon to the so-called market of patrons, the den of jackals reeking of money.

“Depending on how Eom So-yeon handles it, who knows? She might even become the lead.”

Of course, Go Won-hoo’s intention wasn’t genuinely to tie Eom So-yeon to a sponsor. He was just throwing in a bit of business-like exaggeration, hoping for some connection due to their thinly linked fate.

“Would you resort to that vile and dirty method? It can’t be that the company is struggling, so why say such things?”

“There’s nothing I can’t do when I’m desperate.”

The only way to navigate a ruthless world extraordinarily is a head-on approach. The entertainment industry, where stars rise and set all the time, was no exception.

The dark reality of this industry is that even a firmly established actress’s vitality needs the backing of money to sustain it. Seo-jun, who knew this reality well without going through Yoo Jung-hwa, couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

“Does Aunt know that you live like that, Go Won-hoo?”

“Well. My mother has a good intuition, so she might know. She’s praying every day for my downfall, so if she knew, she’d already be nagging me to close my business and join my father’s company.”

Such was Go Won-hoo’s family situation, but he was too solid to fail. Seo-jun, who was in the same position in his family as Go Won-hoo, mixed a sarcastic smile with his shining dark eyes.

“Poor guy.”

“Is that what a guy who knows I’m pitiful says?”

“It’s no fun if you take a joke seriously.”

“Alright, I get your point. Let’s just drink heavily today.”

“Let’s do that.”

Isn’t he a guy who’s either all in or not at all? 

Go Won-hoo decided to give up cleanly at this point.

Seo-jun, who drank the strong, undiluted liquor like water, refilled his empty glass without a change in expression.

They raised their glasses and clinked them together.

The two men drank the strong whiskey in one go.

Though their tall statures and superior looks were striking, the aristocratic sophistication flowing through their entire bodies made their appearances similar yet different. However, the captivating charisma that captured people’s attention was a notch higher for Tae Seo-jun.

While they drank a few more glasses, Seo-jun remained silent, and so did Go Won-hoo. The thick bond flowing in that silence was as strong as that of real brothers.

“Go Won-hoo…… give me the script.”

Seo-jun, who had been caressing his sharp jawline with delicate fingertips, slowly rolled his tongue.

Go Won-hoo, who quickly inhaled the alcohol on his lips with a ‘Sss,’ stared intently at Seo-jun with a gaze that couldn’t shake off suspicion.

“But you said you wouldn’t do it.”

When Seo-jun’s expressionless face proved that he wasn’t lying, Go Won-hoo, whose eyes had narrowed earlier, smiled broadly, curving his eyes into crescent shapes.

“Alright, I’ll give it to you right away! Don’t change your mind later.”

“You seem excessively happy?”

“There’s nothing bad about it. It’s about creating a new face that will benefit our company. How about doing one more project…”

“Let’s not go too far.”

Go Won-hoo’s additional suggestion to do a movie with Eom So-yeon was immediately ignored. The cold gaze of Tae Seo-jun was piercing.

“This is the only time I’m granting your request.”

It would certainly be a good opportunity for Eom So-yeon, but it meant someone else would lose that opportunity. If she ended up being a flaw in that project, the one who had to take responsibility would be none other than him.

Seo-jun’s gaze, which couldn’t overlook that aspect, deepened a bit more.

***

So-yeon, who had been tossing and turning in bed, suddenly got up and flung open the large window by her bedside.

It was a night she couldn’t fall asleep, so she needed the cold air to blow away her thoughts.

When she stretched her arm outside, the gentle breeze slipped through her slender fingers. Was it because the soft touch tickled? A magnolia-like bright smile bloomed on her white face, which was bathed in the soft moonlight.

Though her clear eyes filled with the subtle light of the night, So-yeon’s mind was entirely occupied by one person. Tae Seo-jun, whom she’d never forgotten even in her dreams, whom she missed so dearly, and whom she’d never let go of in her heart.

It was awkward.

She didn’t know what to say, so she couldn’t even manage a clumsy greeting. She couldn’t say a word to him standing in front of her and ran away because she felt so foolish for crying.

The reason she turned back and went up to the rooftop again was largely out of curiosity.

Peeking from the far corner of the smoking area, she saw Go Won-hoo sharing a lighter with Tae Seo-jun, who was sitting on the bench with his long legs stretched out.

‘It’s nice.’

‘What is?’

‘You being next to me, Tae Seo-jun.’

‘I’ve even heard cheesy lines. It’s worth not dying.’

‘Stop it. You know Uncle charged into the Army Headquarters as soon as he heard your bad news, right?’

‘Did Father really do that?’

‘Oh dear, seems you didn’t know.’

‘……’

Recalling what she saw and heard then, So-yeon tilted her head, looking up at the night sky. She’d never heard even a rumor about the two being cousins.

But, was Tae Seo-jun a smoker?

So-yeon tried hard to remember.

For him, it might be a memory that had already scattered into dust, but for her, it was no exaggeration to say it was her entire life, the memory of that one night.

However, So-yeon, who could only remember his pleasant scent and not a hint of cigarette smell, was already shaking her head.

Well, what do I know? That one day was everything.

Having lived with him in her heart for four years, he was a man who had become more than just a one-sided love, even though she knew nothing personal about him. That obvious yet sharp fact stabbed her heart as if gouging it out.

The moment she encountered him on the rooftop, her heart, which had throbbed and sunk with a pang, was still pounding.

Placing her hand on her chest as if to soothe the unrelenting pain and tremor, So-yeon conveyed with moist eyes directed at the night sky and a small voice.

“I’m glad. Thank you. For coming back safely……”

To him, who would now be under the same sky.

The words she couldn’t bring herself to say.