part 37

"Ugh…"

When I opened my eyes, the sun was high in the sky. 

I held my head, feeling like it was going to split open. 

I barely managed to gather my thoughts and looked around. 

No one was there. 

Not Grandpa, not Hayeon, not even Seung-rok. 

I felt a bit relieved, though.

Seung-rok's words from yesterday were still ringing in my ears.

[Don't feel wronged. I also expect more and get disappointed every time.]

What did he mean by that? 

What should I say when I see him next? 

Could I even look him in the eye? 

These thoughts made my face flush. 

To clear my head, I hurried to take a shower. 

Jisun Sunbae had already checked out, according to her text. 

So, I had no choice but to shower in Seung-rok's hotel room without him there. 

I washed my hair, brushed my teeth, and scrubbed my body, trying to erase my thoughts. 

It seemed to work a bit, as I started to feel less drunk. 

But as I came out, I was thinking again. 

My hair had grown quite long, and I realized it would take time to dry.

Living in Jeju, I had stopped going to the hair salon, so my hair had grown a lot.

It will take some time….

Time? 

Time!

I quickly grabbed my phone to check the time. 

It was 11 a.m. 

My mind went blank.

It was obviously too late. 

Only then could I calmly think about my current situation.

Why were Hayeon, Grandpa, and Seung-rok not in the room? The reason was simple. 

They had taken a morning flight back to Jeju. 

But I had overslept. 

Why didn't they wake me up? 

I felt a bit resentful towards Seung-rok, even though I knew it was my fault. 

I sighed deeply, looking at the clock, when suddenly the door opened. 

It was Seung-rok.

"You're awake now?"

Seeing his face, I felt relieved. 

It meant I wasn't too late yet.

"…What time was our flight back?"

He chuckled and sat on the sofa.

"10 o'clock."

Oh no.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I did. You just couldn't wake up."

I must have been having a restless sleep. 

Seung-rok chuckled quietly, watching my frowning face. 

Seeing him laugh made my blood boil. 

This guy really had a talent for making me angry. 

Maybe he was better at that than singing.

"Why are you laughing?"

Seung-rok handed me a plane ticket.

"I changed the time to 3 p.m., so take your time getting ready."

I grabbed the ticket with a scowl.

That's just Seung-rok. 

Even if he made fun of me when I was down, he'd always come through in the end.

So, I never had a chance to get mad at him. 

I stared at the ticket to Jeju.

It probably wasn't refundable. 

Missing the flight was entirely my fault. 

He must have bought a new ticket with his own money while seeing his family off at the airport. 

Thinking about that, my resentment towards him disappeared, replaced by guilt. 

After all, it was my fault for not keeping the scheduled time. 

Well, he was the one who made me drink like that, though.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not keeping the time."

Seung-rok shrugged at my apology.

"You are fine. It's better to rest well. Anyway, taking the kids to the airport isn't your job."

He said that and headed to the fridge. After grabbing a sparkling water, he poured it into a glass and took a slow sip.

I checked the time again.

 It was past 11, heading towards 11:30. 

I wondered why Seung-rok wasn't doing anything at this time on a weekday.

"Don't you have any plans today?"

"I'm going out for an interview around 12. I didn't schedule anything in the morning since I had to take the kids to the airport."

"Why did you do that when you don't even drive?"

I complained out loud, but deep down, I had mixed feelings. 

Seung-rok was known for his work ethic, but he always made exceptions for his kid.

He always acted coldly towards her, but at times like this, I could feel how much he cared for Hayeon. 

It made me feel warm and a bit jealous. 

Why was I jealous of a kid? 

How silly. 

He was just my employer, after all.

I was slightly bowing my head when Seung-rok suddenly spoke.

"Can you do my hair?"

"What?"

I asked back without thinking. 

I didn't understand what he was saying at all. 

Then Seung-rok spoke again, clearly and slowly.

"Do. My. Hair. Please. We should leave soon."

"Oh! But there's a mirror in the bathroom."

"You don't want to do it for me, then?"

Seung-rok asked quietly. 

I stood up without thinking. 

Honestly, it felt like he was just making me do something, but I still wanted to do it. 

Maybe it was out of stubbornness. 

Using the wax, hairdryer, and comb he handed me, I started to style his hair. 

I wasn't sure if it was because of the practice I had with manager Cha or the perfect demonstration Hayeon had shown me during practice.

But this time, it was much easier to style Seung-rok's hair. 

When I finished a pretty decent see-through perm, I handed him a hand mirror. 

While he checked his hair, I got lost in thought for a moment.

"…"

It was surprising that he remembered this.

Even though he had just returned from a concert in Germany, participated in a luxury brand event in Abu Dhabi, and then attended a fan meeting in Vietnam before coming back to Korea, he still remembered the small promise I made to style his hair. 

What a strange man. 

Without realizing it, I touched my own bangs. 

Honestly, I was curious about this man. 

He bothered me too. 

While I was thinking that, Seung-rok finished checking his hair and spoke.

"You did well. Very thorough."

A silly smile spread across my face.

I felt a strange sense of victory.

"Athletes are good at everything. They have perseverance."

Seung-rok looked at me with a gaze that seemed to say, 'what a bs'.

Without realizing it, I met Seung-rok's eyes. 

He didn't avoid my gaze and kept looking at my face intently. 

His eyes were really black, but also had a deep blue tint, almost like navy. 

It felt like an eternal moment. 

Suddenly, Seung-rok raised his hand and pointed at my face.

"What?"

I asked, puzzled by his unexpected action.

"Your forehead."

"What's wrong with my forehead?"

I asked back, touching my forehead without thinking. 

I felt something slightly wet and sticky.

"There's something white on it."

"Oh!"

Feeling my face turn red like a tomato, I hurried to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. 

I saw a streak of sunscreen across my forehead. 

I must have missed it while slowly showering and putting on makeup. 

I quickly wiped off the white mark with my hand and checked my face thoroughly. 

Only after making sure my face was completely clean did I come out of the bathroom. 

My face was still burning with embarrassment. 

I had felt a bit proud after being praised for my neatness while doing his hair.

But now I was being pointed out for such a silly mistake. 

I took a moment to catch my breath. 

Once I felt my face cool down, I finally stepped outside.

In the meantime, the table had been cleaned. 

The snacks and trash that had cluttered it were all gone. 

It was Seung-rok who did this.

He was neat.

At first, I didn't think much of it. 

Sometimes, I even thought he was too fussy about cleanliness. 

But now, I felt differently. 

There were always so many people around him ready to do chores for him, from managers to staff. 

Despite that, he always did the dishes and cleaned up himself. 

Now that I knew it was his way of being humble, his cleaning habits didn't seem so bad. 

In fact, I sort of liked it.

As I was thinking this, Seung-rok looked at me with crescent-shaped eyes.

"Did you clean it all off? Too bad. You looked cute, like a kid with flour on their face from baking."

"Are you teasing me?"

I glared at him slightly. 

Seung-rok laughed softly, as if he didn't care.

"It was just funny."

His words were short. 

His usual dry tone was full of mischief. 

He was always serious and cold.

Why did he become playful only when teasing me? 

Maybe what he said last night was just a joke too. 

Thinking that, I felt my heart sway like a reed with every little thing he did.

"Fine. I'm leaving."

"Where to?"

I asked while packing my things.

"Where else? The airport. We should leave now to have enough time."

Seung-rok also put on his coat, ready to go out.

"Let's go together."

"Don't you have plans?"

"I'm taking the same flight. My afternoon schedule is in Jeju."

I didn't expect we would be on the same flight. 

Would we be sitting together?

As I was thinking that, Seung-rok seemed to read my mind and continued.

"…Not next to each other. There could be a scandal. I'll be in first class, and you'll be in economy."

I pouted on purpose.

"How mean, taking first class alone?"

"It's just an hour. What's the big deal?"

"Then you should have given me the first-class seat. Don't you know 'ladies first'?"

"You know I bought the ticket for you, right? You're asking for too much."

We bickered as we left the hotel room. 

This was fine. 

I thought it was okay to end our little discussion like this.

As if nothing had happened. 

Otherwise, I had no idea how to deal with him from now on. 

But my hope to restore our relationship was shattered. 

As we got into my car to go to the airport, Seung-rok said something unexpected.

"Do you have time tomorrow?"

"Why?"

Tomorrow was the weekend. 

It meant I had free time. 

Usually, Seung-rok never made plans with me during his free time. 

Looking straight ahead, he answered calmly.

"I want to stop expecting something more and get disappointed later."