part 14

"Goodness!"

Park, the fashion coordinator for the idol band THE ZERO, widened her eyes in surprise.

As usual, she had visited the company a day before the concept shooting day.

She had already handed over the outfits for tomorrow.

So she was about to leave.

She was just about to exit the company when she saw an unfamiliar young woman suddenly enter the studio.

Seeing a stranger in a place where celebrities resided, the manager asked how she had come in.

The woman's answer was unexpected.

"I'm here to see KROCK. If you mention the golf coach, he'll know who I am."

Golf, of all things.

It was a sophisticated hobby that suited KROCK.

But to have such a beautiful female golf coach and even bring her to the studio? 

It was unlike KROCK in every way.

It wasn't that she was shocked that K-pop singers, who said to not date, were dating.

Park, a veteran with over five years in the industry, wasn't that naive.

K-pop singers might claim they don't date in front of fans, but how could young, attractive people in their prime not date? 

Initially, they might pretend to listen to the company out of fear and stuff.

But as they gained experience, few continued to abstain from dating.

Especially for a global K-pop group like THE ZERO, which had already entered its seventh year on the top, abstaining from dating sounded ridiculous.

Many members of K-pop bands dated regularly.

Some even sought dating advice from Park, as she was an outsider and easier to talk to than company staff.

But KROCK seemed different from the others.

While other members were jealous of those who were popular with fans, tried to sing louder in front of their favorite celebrities or female juniors, and even fought over the same girl, KROCK stayed out of all that.

He always seemed to observe the members coldly, detached from their passionate, chaotic dramas.

KROCK even had a surprising charm. 

In his daily life, he was so taciturn and quiet, but when he sang, his emotions were so rich. 

It was as if he always had tears in his eyes.

Yet, he managed to keep it from being overwhelming.

His songs always carried just the right amount of emotion.

Park, the fashion coordinator, had been working with singers for so long that she got sick of K-pop.

She rarely watched their performances.

But whenever she was with THE ZERO, she always listened to KROCK's performances.

Seeing someone so emotional while singing, only to return to his calm and cold demeanor after the performance, made her think Seung-rok was truly professional.

And his manners, how could she forget those? 

Unlike most celebrities, he was always considerate to others.

He remembered the names, birthdays, and even the joining dates of every employee, from the directors to the youngest rookie, Park.

Seung-rok was undoubtedly kind-hearted.

He was the type who would be popular with the opposite sex.

Yet, his private life was as clean as a semiconductor factory. 

KROCK didn't go partying with women or even with his band members. 

Instead, he spent every day holed up in the studio, practicing and researching music.

There were even rumors that he might be asexual.

Park found herself naturally drawn to him, not out of possessiveness, but out of admiration.

And lo behold.

Today, for the first time, she saw KROCK bringing a female guest.

Mina stood there, staring blankly into the office.

Suddenly, Eui-jin Lee, who had walked up to her, called out to Park.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh my! Chief."

"…Did you see her too? That woman?"

"Yes? Oh. Yes."

"Surprised, huh?"

It was only then that Park came to her senses.

She remembered that Eui-jin was particularly close to KROCK.

"Do you know who she is, Chief?"

"She's Seung-rok's golf coach, apparently. Unexpected, right? Seung-rok, inviting a woman to the office. And such a beauty, no less."

"Indeed."

"Oh, this is a secret to the outside world. You know that, right?"

Park nodded vigorously. 

Working in the K-pop entertainment industry required discretion. 

Fans were sensitive.

Even the smallest bit of a K-pop idol's private life should never be exposed.

A staff member could be permanently banned from the industry for a single slip of the tongue.

Seeing that he had brought her to the office casually, it was likely that she and KROCK were not in any special relationship.

Yet, this matter must never be made public.

As she nodded, Eui-jin Lee smiled.

"Well, Park, you are a professional. It should be fine."

Saying this, Eui-jin glanced slightly towards KROCK's studio.

There was a hint of worry and jealousy in his eyes.

Park Codi felt she understood his feelings.

They were truly a handsome couple.

Just imagining her standing next to KROCK felt like a scene from a movie.

They looked perfect together.

If the woman KROCK had brought was similar to herself, she might have felt jealous.

But with her tall, over 170 cm height, slim yet firm body, and a face that brightened the surroundings just by being there.

Comparison was not even possible.

Thinking that someone with such looks played golf with Seung-rok, everything seemed to make sense.

She even found herself wanting to cheer them on.

The two of them stood there for a long time, wrapped in strange emotions.

They were staring down the corridor where the mysterious woman had left.

***

As always, Seung-rok got into the passenger seat of my car. 

At first, I thought he was frugal because he didn't have a car and didn't drive. 

I believed he was more mature than celebrities who drove supercars. 

But now I realized that wasn't the case.

Since he couldn't drive, I always had to give him a ride.

I was starting to wonder if I was hired as a golf coach or a manager.

Now, I began to see Seung-rok as just another spoiled person used to having a manager cater to his needs.

Thinking that, a slight annoyance towards Seung-rok crept up.

I couldn't help but pout my lips.

I turned on the navigation app and entered Seung-rok's home address.

"What are we eating today?" I asked.

"I have some good lamb at home. Let's have lamb stew. Hayeon still can't stand the smell of lamb, so it's better to eat it when it's just us."

I wondered why he bought meat that the child couldn't eat. 

Honestly, I was a bit excited for the food ever since I moved in. 

From what I could see, Hayeon and her grandfather seemed burdened by Seung-rok's insistence on using only organic ingredients for health reasons.

He didn't even let them eat snacks.

But maybe because I wasn't tired of it yet, I still liked Seung-rok's food style.

"Sure, sounds good sir," I said, starting the car.

Hearing my words, Seung-rok twisted his mouth slightly, showing a dissatisfied expression.

An awkward silence filled the car.

Even though we had met in his house several times, I still felt awkward around Seung-rok. 

Of course, yesterday was the first time I spent the night in his house.

For some reason, I couldn't sleep well. 

It was probably because it was my first time sleeping at someone else's house.

Even though Seung-rok said he wouldn't come home yesterday because he was working on music, I still felt uneasy. 

If something as simple as driving together felt awkward, I worried about how I would manage living with this man in his house.

After a long silence, Seung-rok finally spoke.

"Are you going to keep calling me 'sir'?"

"I can't think of a better term," I replied. 

No matter what I called him, it didn't feel right.

"But 'sir' sounds strange. I am younger than you."

"Well, I can't call you 'oppa' or 'appa(father),' can I?"

Hearing my subtly pointed words, Seung-rok's eyes deepened.

" It's just that you've been doing such a good job playing the father role for Hayeon. If I'm not careful, I might accidentally call you 'father' like Hayeon does." 

I was being sarcastic.

Seung-rok, who had been quietly listening to me, suddenly spoke.

"She just made a mistake. She is still a kid."

I laughed coldly.

Honestly, I was now certain. Seung-rok was Hayeon's father. 

Just seeing them together, I could tell.

They were definitely not siblings. 

KROCK, who usually lived a solitary life, turned into a doting father in front of Hayeon. 

Watching him stubbornly deny it made my emotions swell up inside me.

Without realizing it, a strange joke slipped out of my mouth.

"Well, I make mistakes too sometimes. I might accidentally call you 'honey' since we're living together."

Seung-rok snorted.

"That would be a disaster. Don't say that anywhere."

"Of course. I want to stay alive too."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't want to get hate comments from fans like Moon Lua."

Seung-rok's eyes narrowed slightly from irritation.

There was only one time Seung-rok got caught up in a scandal.

He had released a duet with Moon Lua, a fellow singer from his agency.

They sang a heart-wrenching love song, gazing into each other's eyes with deep emotion for the music video.

Even on stage, they acted out their roles, looking at each other with longing. 

It was just a pure performance, of course.

But the fans didn't see it that way. 

After their performance, KROCK's fans bombarded Moon Lua with a torrent of malicious comments. 

The backlash was so intense that they had to cancel the remaining joint performances.

The situation was eventually resolved by blaming the agency for its lack of foresight in making a K-pop star perform a love duet with an active female singer.

"…That was Eui-jin Lee's idea, our company's composer. It was a mistake," Seung-rok said.

"Why?"

"K-pop stars shouldn't do that."

"That's strange."

"Why?"

"A singer should be able to pretend to be in love with another singer. Sending hate comments and threats over that is just weird."

Seung-rok shook his head.

"It's a promise with the fans. It's natural for them to be upset if it's broken."

"There's no such promise like not singing duets."

"It's just as peculiar as golf etiquette, you know."

Golf? 

What is wrong with him?

Was he almost killed by golf or something?

Why was he so obsessed with it?

"You can't drag your feet. You have to be careful to step on others' shadows. Golf is full of strange etiquettes if you look at it objectively. Isn't everything like that?"

"That is not the same."

As we bickered, my phone suddenly rang.

It was a call from Jisun Sunbae. 

I took a deep breath to calm my emotions and quieted Seung-rok before answering.

"Sunbae, I'm driving. You always seem to call when I'm driving. Are you using some kind of magic?"

Maybe it was because I was emotionally charged, but my words sounded bitter even to me.

However, as soon as I heard Sunbae's words, my emotions turned to embarrassment.

-Are you on your way to Seogwipo now?

"Why?"

-What do you mean why? We were supposed to have dinner together today.

"Oh my!"

I finally remembered our promise. 

Since Seung-rok had been living in Jeju Island lately, I thought he would have dinner with his only child. 

So, before starting golf lessons tomorrow, I had planned a small dinner with Jisun Sunbae to celebrate finding a job and getting out of debt. 

After sincerely apologizing to Sunbae, I hung up. 

I also promised to make time to see her next week.

As soon as I hung up, Seung-rok asked me.

"Why don't we have dinner with her today?"

"Are you crazy?"

"Isn't she the only one who knows that you are coaching my sister? It might be better to have a housewarming together and ensure her secrecy."

Well.

He was annoying, as always.

But he had a point.