Even as he drove, Sihyeong couldn’t stop thinking about how quiet Yunjoo had gone. Unlike on the way there, her face had grown complicated, and she had retreated into a world of her own. The sight of her staring out the window with eyes fixed on somewhere else entirely weighed on him.
But he had no regrets about saying what he felt. He didn’t want to keep pretending not to know, didn’t want to send Yunjoo off to Kangwook the way he had that last time. It was a hard thing. He let out a quiet breath, hesitated for a moment, then spoke up.
“Ms. Yunjoo, is there someone impressive outside the window?”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve been staring out there so long your neck’s going to go crooked. At this rate, I think a stiff neck might want to be your friend tomorrow. Not sure having a friend that hurts and makes you uncomfortable is a good thing, though.”
“Oh, that’s definitely not good. My mother always said to be selective about the friends you make. And I do listen to my mother.”
“Ms. Yunjoo, do you know you’re really good with words?”
“Me?”
“Yes. That’s actually one of the things I don’t like. I feel like I’d lose every time if we went back and forth.”
“Yes! Winning is a good thing.”
She pumped her fist with a laugh, and Sihyeong watched her with a complicated feeling inside. He loved seeing Yunjoo laugh like this, but that laugh was not his to have.
“Ms. Yunjoo, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“President Choi Kangwook.”
“……”
“You two know each other, don’t you? It wasn’t the first time you’d met at the theater company.”
It was something he had wanted to ask ever since that day. The atmosphere between them, and the way Yunjoo had acted, made it clear they were people with a history. His question put a troubled look on Yunjoo’s face.
“Mr. Sihyeong…”
The better person was always at a disadvantage. The moment Yunjoo’s expression changed, Sihyeong let go of his curiosity.
“Alright. I won’t ask any more. Looking at your face tells me my guess was right. That’s enough for me.”
Sihyeong had been putting the pieces together ever since the day he ran into Kangwook and watched Yunjoo leave with him. That was part of why the urgency had built inside him, and why he had ended up saying what he had been trying to hold back until after the play. Well, the outcome wasn’t great, but at least he no longer had to pretend he didn’t feel what he felt. That much was good. When Sihyeong’s car pulled up in front of the house, Yunjoo said her goodbyes.
“Thank you for taking me somewhere nice today. Drive safe.”
“Ms. Yunjoo, don’t forget that I’m your friend. And remember that I’m not someone who’s kind to just anyone. If you can hold onto just that for now, I won’t ask for more.”
“Mr. Sihyeong, but…”
“Go on in. I have to get to the broadcasting station, so I’m in a hurry.”
Sihyeong cut her off before she could say anything and drove away. Yunjoo stood watching the direction his car had disappeared for a long moment, and then the instant she turned around, she froze in place with a start.
“Cha Yunjoo.”
Kangwook had watched the whole thing. He had seen Yunjoo step out of Sihyeong’s car, and he had seen her stand there for a while after it disappeared, as though reluctant to let it go. He had been watching all of it, and when she finally turned around, he stepped out of his car and called her name.
She had been standing there in a daze, and the moment she turned, Kangwook was right in front of her, looking straight at her. The shock made her draw a sharp breath. She had been standing there feeling pathetic about her own situation. Under different circumstances, a confession from someone like Sihyeong was the kind of thing she could have received with a bright face and bragged about endlessly. She had been turning all of that over in her mind when she spun around, so of course finding Kangwook there startled her.
“Kangwook!”
“What happened to your car… why are you getting out of that man’s car?”
“I went somewhere for a bit, so I just rode back with Mr. Sihyeong.”
“Coming back from a date, were you?”
“A date, of all things!”
“Why so surprised? Don’t forget that Cha Yunjoo is still a married woman.”
His eyes were cold. His words were cold. His expression was cold. He seemed like a man who already knew what Sihyeong had said to her.
“I haven’t forgotten.”
“Then what does it mean that someone like that is out and about with someone so conspicuous?”
“Nothing you’re imagining is happening, so don’t worry about it.”
“Cha Yunjoo!”
Her mind was already in enough turmoil, and the way he kept jabbing at her made her furious. She snapped back at him and turned away first. Kangwook’s voice behind her had a sharp edge to it, but she ignored it. She said what she had to say, turned, and walked inside, and Kangwook, left standing alone, followed her in.
The fact that Yunjoo had come back with a man and was now angry at him made no sense to him. Kangwook grabbed her arm just as she was about to head up to the second floor and turned her around.
“Cha Yunjoo, is telling you to be careful really something worth getting this angry over?”
“Don’t treat me the same as everyone else.”
“What!”
“I don’t want you to criticize me. At the very least, Choi Kangwook has no right to criticize me.”
“I’m not criticizing you.”
“Nothing will embarrass you, and nothing will cause a problem. So let go of my arm. I’m tired and I want to go up and rest.”
“Cha Yunjoo, that’s not what I meant…”
Kangwook let go of her arm, and Yunjoo went upstairs. Kangwook went into his own room, ran a hand through his hair in irritation, and threw his jacket aside without care. The truth was, seeing Yunjoo arrive with Sihyeong had made him jealous, and hearing her say they had been somewhere together had pushed him past what he could hold in.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her. He knew better than anyone that she wouldn’t cause a problem. Kangwook knew exactly how Sihyeong looked at Yunjoo. Pretending to be unbothered while watching her come back from being with a man who looked at her that way was something he simply could not manage.
Sihyeong had probably recognized him too. Any man would have. On top of that, the two of them had come face to face, so there was no way he hadn’t known. That was exactly why, the last time they had run into each other, he had refused to back down even knowing it put Yunjoo in a difficult position. He had seen the hurt in Yunjoo’s eyes from what he had said.
“Ha, that wasn’t what I meant to do… How am I supposed to say I’m angry because Cha Yunjoo was with that guy?”
His words echoed alone in the room.
Even after retreating to her own room to get away from Kangwook, Yunjoo couldn’t settle the anger inside her and kept pacing. The feeling of being looked down on, and the embarrassment of having Kangwook see her with Sihyeong, left her on edge.
“Look who’s talking! This is absolutely ridiculous!”
But there was also a part of her that had fled because it felt like Kangwook had somehow seen through her, like he already knew what Sihyeong had said to her today. Yunjoo felt like the day had gone on far too long. She lay down on her bed without even changing her clothes and closed her eyes.
After that not-quite-a-fight, Yunjoo came downstairs the next morning to find Kangwook already gone. She felt relieved, and then oddly hollow, and feelings she hadn’t had before tangled together inside her. She was in the middle of brewing coffee when a thought about Kangwook struck her as so absurd that she muttered to herself.
“Really, Cha Yunjoo, the things you end up doing with Choi Kangwook. You’re not even a real couple, so what are you doing having a couple’s quarrel?”
* * *
Today was the day all the work left Yunjoo’s hands and passed to the actors. She had spent the whole day in a frenzy, checking every corner for anything out of place, and now she sat in the audience watching the final rehearsal. In just three hours, the audience would walk in, and the actors would perform on the stage she had built.
Everything she had poured into this place since the day she first walked into the theater company, met Sangyun, brought Mr. Seok on board, and threw herself into the work like a woman possessed was right here in front of her.
The production would disappear eventually, whether its run was long or short, but she felt no regret. This was the work she did. After watching the stage for a long while, Yunjoo got up and walked into the theater company’s office, and her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Come out for a moment.”
“What’s going on?”
“You’ll know when you come out. Should I come inside?”
“No, I’ll come out.”
Yunjoo ended the call, her eyes flickering with unease as she stepped out of the theater company.
At that same moment, Kangwook was on his way to the theater company, the thought of having left without seeing her face after their first real fight sitting uneasily with him. More than that, he wanted to watch the play that was opening on the stage Yunjoo had built, to see it properly from the audience. And perhaps, he thought, that might be a way to make peace with her.
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Tillda
Yet another perfect opportunity to pinpoint his infidelity ignored. At this point I’m convinced that this doormat FL will never call out his past behaviour.