CHAPTER 28 – So That’s What It Was (Part 2)

When Seoyeon awoke, sunlight streamed through the curtains, casting a glow over the bed.  She buried her head in her pillow and turned her head. She blinked and opened her eyes to see a beam of light crossing the bed, and heard Dojun’s voice through the open door to the living room.

“Room 101. Yes, just leave it at the door.”

At the sound of his voice, Seoyeon sluggishly sat up. Her whole body felt heavy like a cotton ball soaked in water. She had yet to get used to the exhaustion that followed their nights together, no matter how often it happened.

9:24 AM.

Seoyeon reached for her phone and smiled weakly. They had ordered pizza for dinner, watched a movie, and then moved to the bed for another round. The last thing she remembers is Dojun pulling the cozy sheets over her exhausted body.

Even though she usually woke up during the night, last night she hadn’t woken up once. It felt like the entire night had vanished, and morning had arrived in an instant.

“Are you awake?” 

Dojun said, standing in the open doorway.

“Yes.”

“I was going to wake you up anyway.”

“Yes, I should be heading home now.”

Despite her words, Seoyeon couldn’t bring herself to get out from under the sheets. Dojun smiled as he leaned against the doorframe. Though he had seen her n*ked many times, being undressed in front of a fully clothed person was different, so she clutched the sheet tightly.

“You need to step out if I’m going to get up.” 

“There’s no need to get up.” 

Dojun said, stepping into the room. 

Oh no, what now? Not anymore.

Seoyeon thought, holding the sheet tightly as she scooted back.

Seoyeon’s back hit the headboard as Dojun sat beside her, leaning in close. Flustered, Seoyeon stammered.

“W-what are you doing?”

Dojun reached out and gently brushed her teardrop-shaped eye crust with his finger. Seoyeon, still frozen with embarrassment, stared in confusion.

“You had a bit of eye crust.” 

Oh. Oh no. 

Seoyeon froze with her mouth open. She wanted to scream in shame. If only she could fall to the ground right, now if only the earth would explode. This was the worst moment of the new year, hands down.

“You didn’t need to be so surprised. It wasn’t a big deal.”

Dojun smiled wryly. Seoyeon glared at him, feeling a surge of annoyance. 

Of course, there was eye crust. I could feel it. Why point it out now? Saying that is even more annoying. 

Glaring at Dojun with emotion, he just looked at her amusedly, as if finding her cute. Seoyeon pouted at him.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“You should be grateful I’m only looking.” 

The way he said it jokingly, yet it sounded so sincere. Seoyeon pulled the sheet tighter around herself. Leaning in towards the tense Seoyeon, Dojun tilted his head and placed a light kiss on her lips, then got up from the bed.

“Come on, let’s have breakfast.”

“No.”

Who said I’m eating breakfast with you?

Seoyeon affirmed this to herself as she got up from the bed, but Dojun’s next words shattered that resolve.

“Don’t think about leaving. You need to set up the outfits before you go.”

She hadn’t planned on doing any personal shopper work. Clutching the sheet, she glared at Dojun’s back as he exited the room. He turned around, looking nonchalant.

“Coffee?”

Oh, really. 

She was genuinely annoyed with Dojun at that moment.

* * *

The first week of February passed similarly to the previous week. On weekends, they spent time separately, but during the week, they exchanged texts and occasionally had brief phone calls.

Texts came frequently, often following a pattern. Dojun texted while traveling, after meals, on his way home from work, and before bed, causing her phone to light up intermittently.

Their short phone calls usually took place late at night. Once, shortly after Dojun had sent a goodnight message, just as Seoyeon turned off the bedside lamp and was about to lie down, the phone rang.

• Would you like to come over?

Whenever Dojun asked, Seoyeon would reply, “No.” Dojun would laugh and ask again.

• Should I come to you?

Though she always answered “No” to this as well, sometimes she wanted to say “Yes.” In those moments, she counted to three before responding in a firm voice.

“Let’s meet on Friday.”

Dojun would then wait a few seconds, counting to five, before responding.

• Alright, see you then.

She enjoyed the passage of days, from Monday to Tuesday, Tuesday to Wednesday, and Wednesday to Thursday.

• Just two days left.

She smiled when she realized Dojun was also counting down the days. Whenever they bumped into each other at the hotel, he would acknowledge her with a nod and a brief smile that only she noticed.

“Manager, what’s making you so happy?”

Assistant Chae So-hee asked as Seoyeon unwrapped a new watch for display, smiling to herself.

“Because tomorrow is Friday.”

“Oh, Friday is coming, huh? Not really relevant to me, though. Boo hoo.”

From across the way, Seongmi mimicked crying, lamenting about the weekend work schedule. Suddenly, she remembered something and asked Seoyeon.

“What happened with that guy? Did it not work out?”

“Who?”

“The guy who came with that huge bouquet of flowers.”

Seongmi was referring to Sehyun. Seoyeon shook her head.

“I have no intention of meeting him again.”

“He’s the same guy who used to send flowers to the store before, right?”

Seoyeon nodded. It had been almost a year from their first meeting to his proposal. Even during the time they weren’t dating, Sehyun frequently sent flowers to the store.

“He seemed to like you a lot. Are you sure it’s completely over?”

Seongmi asked, clearly curious, since Seoyeon rarely shared details about her personal life.

“It’s over.”

Seoyeon replied calmly. It had been nearly a week since she last heard from Sehyun, who used to send daily sentimental photos and messages. She felt relieved that he seemed to have given up after she ignored his messages.

“Ah, the person coming in looks like that same person.”

Just as Seoyeon felt relieved, Seongmi spoke up. Seoyeon turned to look at the entrance. There, with a determined expression, stood Sehyun, confidently walking into the store. He approached Seoyeon and spoke.

“Yoon Seoyeon. We need to talk.”

Moments like this reminded Seoyeon that people don’t change. Invading someone’s workplace, and showing up unannounced—Sehyun would never understand these actions were inappropriate.

“Ms. So hee, could you please take over?”

Handing the watch to her assistant, Seoyeon stood up.

“Follow me.”

Not wanting to go far, Seoyeon led Sehyun out the back door. She heard him chuckle softly behind her.

“I have nothing to say to you, Mr. Lee Sehyun. Leave now, before I have to repeat myself.”

She didn’t hide her exasperation. Sehyun sighed, looking at the sky before meeting her eyes with a serious expression.

“Hwang Dojun, CEO of Hanseong Hotel.”

Seoyeon looked at him in disbelief. Sehyun spoke seriously.

“It’ll just take a moment.”