part 22

"Have you finished your work?" 

Seung-rok asked in his usual dry tone. 

Strangely, his manner of speaking was comforting to me.

"Yes. I'm about to leave now."

"Were there any problems?" 

His question caught me off guard. 

Normally, he didn't show much interest in others.

But occasionally, he would ask such caring questions to me. 

I hesitated for a moment but decided not to mention what had just happened. 

There was no point in talking about being mistreated by stepmother. 

I didn't want to expose my messed up family.

"No, everything went smoothly."

"Congratulations," Seung-rok said indifferently.

His emotionless words made her laugh.

"Thank you. I survived thanks to your help."

"Now that you've paid off your debt, I guess I can't catch you if you run away." 

His dry humor made me laugh a little bit.

At first, I was always confused by his words.

I was unable to tell if he was being sarcastic or joking. 

But now, I could sense his attempts at humor even over the phone.

"What would you do if I ran away? Would you chase after me? Put a bounty on my head?"

"I'd go to the ends of the earth to catch you."

I didn't back down. 

"I'm not running away. Why would I? I'll stick around till the end of time."

Seung-rok cut me off as if what I said was pure nonsense, which was true.

"You're on the mainland, right? I'm in Seoul too. Want to meet up?"

I could have met him. 

My schedule in Seoul was over. 

But for some reason, I wanted to cut him off just like he did to me a moment ago.

"It's a weekday. Don't you have work? You seem free."

"I finished recording today. Are you coming or not?"

Honestly, I was curious. 

A star's workspace sounded intriguing. 

There was no harm in seeing it. 

Besides, I had just left home with the excuse of going somewhere/

So I needed to go somewhere. 

It didn't take long to decide.

"Alright. I'll come."

***

I headed straight to the address Mina had sent me via message. 

Seung-rok was waiting for me at a café. 

It was surprising to see him in such a public place.

But thanks to his sunglasses and mask, no one recognized him. 

Strangely enough, I spotted him immediately.

"Thank you for your hard work. Is everything okay now? No debts left?"

"Not that I know of."

"That's good. Don't get into debt again."

Seung-rok teased me lightly. 

I knew it was a joke, but the emotions I had bottled up from my stepmother suddenly spilled out.

"It's not my debt. My unconscious mother incurred it. How could I have known about a debt someone else secretly took on? It's just my fate to pay off other people's debts."

The words flowed out on their own. 

I was surprised at what I had said. 

I thought I had handled the situation well, especially with Seung-rok's help. 

But now I realized there was a knot in my heart I hadn't been aware of. 

Tears welled up in my eyes.

Seung-rok remained silent, showing no reaction. 

How much time passed? 

The silence became more familiar than the conversation.

Then he spoke softly.

"…I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry for suddenly bursting out like that."

I carefully dabbed my eyes with a tissue, trying not to smudge my makeup. 

Seung-rok added quietly.

"…I went through the same thing. That's when I finally came to my senses."

His voice was barely audible, but clear, as expected from a singer. 

He didn't elaborate, but I could guess his situation. 

Whether Hayeon was his child or sibling, it didn't matter. 

The burden on Seung-rok was the same. 

He was the head of the family, responsible for Hayeon and his grandfather. 

From the age of twenty, when others were having fun, he carried that burden.

After a moment of silence, Seung-rok lifted his head and spoke sharply.

"Maybe it was for the best. One must throw away his dream. Dreams only lead to pain."

What was he talking about? 

Hadn't he achieved his dream? 

He was now the world's top K-pop star, the standout main vocalist of the biggest group in the world. 

Fans all over the world wanted him as their boyfriend. 

Thanks to their loyal purchases, Seung-rok was making astronomical amounts of money. 

Just observing him for a week, it was clear how wealthy he was. 

He seemed happy enough.

I suddenly became curious. 

What dream had he been forced to abandon?

"…What dream did you give up?"

"Nothing much."

He shook his head as he spoke.

He clearly did not want to talk about it.

It was only then that I remembered I had come here at Seung-rok's invitation.

"Did you call me here just to say that? You said you'd show me your studio. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

In truth, I had nowhere to go. 

But for some reason, I wanted to let him rest. 

Maybe talking about dreams had brought up old wounds.

Or perhaps today's recording session had been particularly tough. 

Seung-rok looked more tired than usual. 

Despite his neat and perfect appearance, his eyes seemed hollow today.

As I stood up, I added, "You should rest too, Seung-rok."

"I called you here to take a rest."

"What?"

What was he talking about?

"Let's go together. You need to rest too. Let's watch a movie and chill."

Chill?

What was this man saying? 

I looked at him in disbelief, but Seung-rok walked out without waiting for me. 

He turned back, holding the door handle, and looked at ,e.

"Aren't you coming?"

"…Are you asking me to netflix-and-chill with you?"

I felt my face flush. 

The area around this café was full of high-end hotels. 

Netflix-and-chilling in such a place… 

Even if he was a world-famous idol, this was too much. 

I instinctively took a step back. 

Seeing this, Seung-rok laughed.

"You're fun to tease. Your ears are red, Mina."

"What?"

I touched my ears without thinking. 

I had no way to check my own face.

"It's not what you think. Follow me."

Realizing that Seung-rok had been teasing me, I felt a surge of anger, but it was too late. 

My pride was already wounded. 

I had no choice but to follow him.

Seung-rok led me to a small theater. 

It was too small to be called a movie theater, but it was at least twice the size of a typical café. 

There were no customers, probably because it was still afternoon.

"Did you turn this café into a theater?"

"There was an empty building, so I converted it into a theater. Movies are best watched in a theater, after all. Here, I can watch whatever I want, whenever I want."

Like Hayeon, Seung-rok seemed to be a huge movie buff. 

Buying a theater, though—that was the power of a rich person 

I couldn't help but sigh.

That's when he added something.

"I moved all the DVDs from where you were staying to here."

So, it wasn't emptied out just for me. 

That thought brought a slight, bitter smile to my face. 

I looked around. 

Despite being called a theater, it felt more like Seung-rok's personal workspace. 

Except for the white walls and the projector, it was decorated like a private café. 

One wall was filled with LPs, making it look like a library made of records.

"You have a lot of records. Is there a reason you collect LPs?"

Seung-rok looked at the pile of LPs with a loving gaze, as if looking at a cherished lover.

"Records contain much more information than streaming services. It tells you about the musicians, the instruments, and so. I often look for the instruments I need by checking the LPs, especially vintage ones."

Looking at the old, musty LPs, I felt curious.

"Can I play one?"

"I'll do it."

Seung-rok took out an LP from where I had pointed and played it. 

The artist was named Marvin Gaye. 

The cover showed a black man in stylish, reddish clothes, smiling brightly. 

Soon, soft music filled the room.

"…It's rock, right?"

Seung-rok frowned slightly.

"Rock? It's soul. Soul."

"It has guitar, bass, and drums. Isn't that rock?"

Seung-rok shook his head firmly.

"Not at all. It's soul. Soul."

"Maybe it's a ballad, since it's softer?"

"It's soul, I tell you. Soul!"

I laughed playfully. 

I didn't know much about music, but I could tell it wasn't rock or a ballad. 

Seeing Seung-rok so sensitive about music made it fun to tease him. 

It felt like payback for him teasing me earlier. 

For a moment, it felt like we were equals, not just employer and employee.

Feeling a bit better, my gaze lingered on one side of the room. 

There was a mountain of golf videos stacked up. 

That's when I remembered what Hayeon had told me.

"I saw you, teacher. In a video."

…Could those be the videos? 

But I wasn't bold enough to ask if those were mine. 

I was still pondering when Seung-rok spoke first.

"Mina."

"Yes?"

"Let's watch this together."

Seung-rok pulled out some DVDs.

"…What are these?"

"You mentioned the kid likes this kind of stuff. Let's watch and check it out together."

I finally realized what the DVDs in his hand were. 

From Hamlet to The Merchant of Venice.

They were recordings of Shakespeare's plays. 

It was even in English.

He must have imported them directly.

"…You want me to watch these?"

"It's part of the child's education. Let's check them out, and if they're good, we can give them to the kid."

"Why don't you do it yourself? Do I really need to watch them too? I'm just an athlete. Do you think I speak better English than a K-pop star?"

"You were the one who suggested it. Honestly, I feel like telling you to watch them alone and let me know."

After some back-and-forth, we agreed to watch together. 

But not long after the video started, Seung-rok, to my astonishment, fell asleep with a thud, his head hitting the table.

SNORE~

His shamelessness made me chuckle. 

At first, I thought about waking him up. 

But there was no need. 

He was a K-pop idol, after all, traveling the world and keeping up with a hectic schedule. 

Even if I understood, it was still funny. 

Silent laughter kept escaping me.

But a part of me felt a bit bitter. 

Was he that comfortable around me? 

Was I just the child's tutor, nothing more? 

These thoughts made it hard to focus on the performance of Romeo and Juliet on the screen. 

Initially, I forced myself to watch, worried there might be inappropriate parts for the kid. 

Eventually, I too fell asleep at the table, a faintly bitter smile on my lips.

***

Mina was clueless.

Seung-rok had slowly opened his eyes. 

He was watching her.

"…"

A strange smile played on Seung-rok's face as he looked at Mina.