Chapter 23

Bzzzz—  

Just then, his manager, Jin-hyung, called. In his frantic state, Yeon-woo struggled to press the call button, his fingers slipping repeatedly.  

― Hey, Yeon-woo. There’s been a change to tomorrow’s schedule, so—  

“Hyung!! Something terrible happened!”  

― What? What’s going on?  

“Assistant-noona, Assistant-noona collapsed!”  

― What? Assistant-noona? Who’s that? Wait… you mean that university assistant? Are you with her right now?  

“I ran into her on the street, and she suddenly collapsed. I’m taking her to the hospital now. Hyung, can you come too? She’s burning up!”  

― Cha Yeon-woo, are you crazy? Turn the car around immediately!  

“Turn around? Noona could be in serious danger!”  

― Do you have any idea what’ll happen if you take a woman to the hospital? That’ll be the end of you! 

Jin-hyung’s furious voice rang out. Yeon-woo fell silent for a moment. His manager was right. As an idol, taking a sick woman to the emergency room could lead to all sorts of scandals.  

“Then what do I do? She’s practically dying!”  

― Damn it, just take her to your place!  

“My place?”  

― Yes, I’ll call a doctor to come over immediately. But don’t even think about going to the hospital! Do you hear me?  

“Alright. But make sure you get the doctor right away, okay? Promise!”  

After ending the call, Yeon-woo quickly turned the car around. He continued to glance at Seol-rin, unable to hide his worry.  

“Noona, just hold on a little longer. Just a little longer.”  

* * *  

“Assistant Jin Seol-rin?”  

Tae-oh’s face showed a hint of disappointment as he entered the department office. He had walked over to talk to Seol-rin as soon as the clock struck six, but the person in question was nowhere to be found.  

“Hmm…”  

Looking around the empty office, Tae-oh let out a small sigh. He wasn’t a fool; he understood exactly what her actions meant.  

“She’s avoiding me.”  

It wasn’t surprising. From her perspective, the situation wouldn’t be pleasant. After all, she had experienced something so unexpected with her superior, and it was only natural for her to feel flustered.  

He realized he might have been too forward, too direct. Regret washed over him as he thought about how he had cornered her that morning, demanding to know if she was interested in him.  

He should have been more considerate, more cautious. What had made him so impatient?  

Deciding to respect her wishes and take a step back, Tae-oh slowly scanned the empty office once more.  

‘Professor!’  

In his mind’s eye, he could see Seol-rin rushing toward him, calling his name. It was strange. 

Had I ever missed or longed for someone this much before?  

Moments later, he shook his head. He realized that his feelings for Assistant Jin Seol-rin were special. Perhaps he had known this for a long time but had been in denial.  

His chest felt tight, his heart heavy. Frustrated, he ripped off his glasses and tossed them aside. That kiss they had shared—it hadn’t been a mistake. In that moment, Ma Tae-oh had wanted her just as much.  

“This is bad.”

He muttered to himself with a sigh. His face flushed red, his ears burning.  

“This is really bad.”  

***

The surroundings were engulfed in pitch-black darkness. Sitting curled up in a corner, Seol-rin glanced around with an uneasy expression. The fear brought on by the darkness was overwhelming. She felt as if her breath was caught in her throat, and the only thought in her mind was that she needed to get out of there as quickly as possible.  

‘S-someone, save me!’  

Instinctively, she reached out her hand and felt a solid door. She instinctively realized she was trapped inside a wardrobe. With her small, delicate hands, she pounded on the door repeatedly.  

‘Let me out! Headmistress, I’m sorry!’  

From her mouth came the voice of a little girl. She had returned to her six-year-old self, a time she never wanted to revisit, not even in her worst nightmares.  

No matter how much she screamed until her voice was hoarse, no one came to rescue her. She pounded on the door so hard that her pinky fingernail broke, and bruises formed on the back of her hand. The darkness, accompanied by excruciating pain, continued relentlessly.  

Much time had passed. Finally, the wardrobe door opened, and a bright light poured in through the small crack. Tear-streaked and pale, Seol-rin looked up at the woman who had trapped her.  

‘Have you reflected on your actions? Are you going to leave your side dishes uneaten again?’  

‘No, no! I won’t leave them again. I’m sorry, Headmistress….’  

‘Good. This all happened because of your mistakes. Do you think I would’ve punished you like this if you had behaved? Right?’  

‘Y-yes. I’ll never do it again. I’ll behave from now on. Hwaaah….’  

Crying and kneeling, Seol-rin clasped her hands together and begged earnestly. The headmistress, seemingly satisfied, smiled and pulled her out of the wardrobe, adding a stern warning not to tell her parents.  

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Huff!”  

When she opened her eyes, she saw a high ceiling and a beautiful chandelier hanging above. Having never seen such a luxurious ceiling in her life, her face stiffened.  

“Noona, are you feeling a bit better?”  

“Where is this…?”  

Through her tear-blurred vision, a man’s figure came into view. After blinking a couple of times, she realized it was Cha Yeon-woo.  

“Cha Yeon-woo? Why are you here…?”  

“I brought you here. You collapsed on the street. Your fever went up to 39 degrees. It could’ve been really serious.”  

“Oh…”  

Finally understanding the situation, Seol-rin cautiously sat up.  

“Ouch.”  

“Wait! You shouldn’t get up! Your fever has gone down, but you’re still hooked up to an IV drip.”  

Sure enough, a long IV line was connected to her slender wrist.  

“Oh, you’re awake.”  

At that moment, Jin-hyung, noticing that Seol-rin had woken up, approached the two with long strides. His expression clearly showed how bothersome he found the situation.  

“Yeon-woo must have seen you collapse by chance. Our Yeon-woo has such a soft heart that he wanted to take you to the hospital immediately, but I told him to bring you here instead. If reporters spotted you, that would’ve been a whole other problem.”  

“Oh… Thank you.”  

Hearing Jin-hyung’s explanation, Seol-rin roughly pieced together what had happened. She must have lost consciousness while trying to go to the hospital after her fever spiked at the sauna house. She had never been this sick before, but it seemed her health had deteriorated significantly over the past three years of job hunting.  

“You should thank Yeon-woo. He was in such a panic when he saw you collapse.”  

“Hyung! I wasn’t that panicked!”  

“…Thank you, Cha Yeon-woo.”  

Seol-rin looked at Yeon-woo and nodded lightly. For some reason, Yeon-woo’s face turned bright red.  

“Ahem. Uh… Noona, you can drop the formal speech. Once the semester starts, I’ll be your junior at school anyway.”  

“I’ll drop the formalities when you actually enroll in school.”  

“…Promise? You have to keep your word.”  

“Of course. By the way, is this your house, Yeon-woo?”  

“Yes.”  

“Wow.”  

She quietly marveled, thinking how different it was to be one of the top idols in the country.  

Even while lying down, she could tell how luxurious Yeon-woo’s house was. The towering ceiling, the duplex structure, and the marble walls—all of it was breathtaking.  

Her own situation, worrying about washing machine leaks every winter and losing sleep over it, felt even more pitiful in comparison. She knew she shouldn’t feel envious, but the disparity was undeniable.  

“You must’ve worked incredibly hard to live like this, Cha Yeon-woo.”  

“Of course! I’ve been through so much since my trainee days, even eating moldy bread. Everything I have now is the result of hard work. I didn’t get anything for free.”  

“I thought so. That’s amazing, really.”  

Hearing her praise, Yeon-woo’s face turned even redder. He felt embarrassed about the time he had asked her to write his academic plan for him.  

“Uh… About that academic plan, I was just really busy at the time and took a shortcut. Normally, I’m someone who gets things done, okay? So, forget about what happened before.”  

Yeon-woo started rambling about the academic plan, feeling the need to clear up the misunderstanding, even though Seol-rin hadn’t brought it up.  

“I know. That’s why you rewrote it and brought it back.”  

“R-right?”  

“Anyway, thanks to you, I’m getting a taste of luxury. Staying in a place like this.”  

Seol-rin let out a faint smile, her face still pale. Seeing her look so fragile, Yeon-woo impulsively grabbed her hand and said,  

“If you want, you can stay as long as you’d like, Noona.”  

“What? Are you out of your mind?”  

Jin-hyung, startled by Yeon-woo’s offer, glared at him. 

Did this kid even realize what he was saying? 

It was absurd.  

“What’s wrong with that? It’s my house, and there are plenty of rooms. Besides, people should help each other out, right? Don’t you agree, Assistant-noona?”  

“Hahaha! Oh, Assistant, our Yeon-woo is so kind and caring. It’s a problem sometimes.”  

Trying to smooth over the situation, Jin-hyung let out a hearty laugh. But his eyes pleaded with Seol-rin to decline the offer.