NOVEL WEB Chapter 22 - He's a Player
Chapter 22: He’s a Player
TL: Aniea
There are days like this.
Days when you suddenly wake up from your sleep.
Moments when you become strangely clear-headed, recalling the days when you was always muddled with fatigue, contemplating ‘Should I sleep for 5 more minutes?’.
Every time this happens, something always comes up. Like being late for school, or receiving a complaint call from a client I took over for yesterday.
“……”
It’s chilling.
It feels as if a dagger has been thrown into the back of my head.
Feeling the presence around me, I stealthily opened my eyes slightly. Then, the silhouette of someone standing behind me entered my vision.
I closed my eyes again.
And ponder for a moment.
Now, what did I do yesterday?
‘…After the walk, I took Eun-ha ssi to her officetel.’
365 days a year.
There are no days off for her who goes to work every single day without rest. Since she said she’s going to work tomorrow too, I dropped her off at the officetel near the department store.
Afterward, I moved to the house Eun-ha ssi had provided for me, along with a substitute driver. I checked the parking, received the keys, and handed over the money.
‘So far, so good.’
The problem is what happened next.
Today, I had just finished an intense script reading session with Actor Kim Young-ho. After that, I went hiking with Kim Eun-ha on my back.
If we only consider the distance in simple kilometers, it might not seem much, but taking the slope into account, I thought it was close to the difficulty of a march.
As a result, after locking the front door, I barely managed to take off my shoes and sprawled out on the wooden floor, thinking, ‘Just lie down for exactly 5 minutes and then take a shower,’ before falling asleep immediately.
‘…Then, the silhouette now is likely Eun-ha ssi.’
No matter how desperately I try to recall, I don’t feel like I touched my phone before falling asleep. Meaning, I fell asleep without contacting Kim Eun-ha.
I don’t know how much time has passed since I fell asleep, but judging by how my mind is racing, it seems like a lot of time has flown by.
‘Uh oh. I’m screwed.’
No matter how much I think about it, that’s the conclusion.
No matter how much I ponder, I can’t come up with a way to smoothly resolve the problem I’m facing.
Especially creepy is the fact that Kim Eun-ha is standing still without saying a word.
If it weren’t for the pathetically blinking light, I might not have even been aware of her presence.
‘…What to do.’
I can’t keep pretending to be asleep forever. But getting up and greeting her cheerfully seems like it would genuinely earn me a slap in the face.
Stuck in this indecision, a cool shadow fell over my face.
“Kang Woo-ju ssi.”
“Yes, Eun-ha ssi.”
The answer came out reflexively.
I realized my mistake, but it was already too late.
I slowly opened my eyes and our gazes met directly. Like looking into the eyes of Medusa, my body froze.
“I’m sorry…”
“Go wash up and sleep in bed.”
“What?”
“You’ll catch a cold if you sleep like this.”
I said something stupid because I didn’t catch the context for a moment. Given her personality, I thought I was going to hear a lengthy scolding.
I even thought maybe she would come back with a physical reprimand. But Kim Eun-ha did not take any further action.
It’s better to be hit first. Seeing her act differently from usual made me very anxious.
“I’ll leave now, then.”
Swoosh-
With those words, Kim Eun-ha turned around. She opened the door without a moment’s hesitation.
“Wait, just a minute!”
Finally coming to my senses, I sprang up from my spot and grabbed Kim Eun-ha’s hand. Then, she looked down at her hand, held by me.
As someone who has studied people’s expressions for a long time, the meaning behind Kim Eun-ha’s expression was clear.
Oh, you dare to hold my hand?
What the hell are you doing?
Let go of this hand immediately?
“……”
“……”
The suffocating silence continued. I wanted to immediately let go of her hand and step back, but that was definitely not the right choice.
Even though I may not have enough experience to fully understand women’s hearts.
Even so, I knew that letting her go now would be the worst of the worst decisions.
‘Let’s at least have a conversation.’
Whatever the reason, it was clear she had come all this way to check on my condition after dragging her tired body here.
Seeing that she was still in the clothes she wore for dinner, it was evident she hadn’t had proper rest.
Then, at the very least, shouldn’t I offer Kim Eun-ha ssi some warm tea before she leaves?
‘But the time…’
I sneakily glanced at the clock next to the front door, and it was already way past 11 PM.
Even if I were to take her to the officetel right now, it’s more than a 30-minute trip one way.
Assuming she goes to shower, removes her makeup, and immediately goes to sleep, it would easily be past 1 AM.
That would leave Kim Eun-ha ssi, who starts her day every day at 5:30 AM, with only about 3-4 hours of sleep at most.
“Stay and sleep.”
Crazy.
I was startled that such words had slipped out of my mouth. I must still be half asleep. Or maybe my brain had overloaded from using it too much in a short time.
“……”
“……”
For whatever reason, saying it outright without considering the context in front confronted me with a harsh reality.
The silence that followed was incomparably heavier than before, pressing down on my shoulders. Just as I was about to add a detailed explanation in a rush.
“Okay.”
“?”
Kim Eun-ha ssi simply nodded and took off her shoes, then bypassed me, who was still in a daze, and walked inside.
I was the one surprised this time. Not knowing how to react, I turned around in a daze, and Kim Eun-ha ssi, while letting down her tied-up hair, said,
“Is it okay if I shower first?”
“…Ah, yes, of course!”
Kim Eun-ha ssi nodded lightly and headed to her room without looking back.
Since it was originally her house, and since I hadn’t touched anything in her room, it should have everything she needs to change into.
“…What exactly is this situation?”
Left alone, I tried to compose myself from the absurdity. Thinking that it was rather odd for me to be the one panicking.
‘Anyway, the house is too big.’
The house was spacious enough to be considered excessively large for two people. There were more than enough unused rooms, not to mention a separate guest room.
Compared to that, the furniture was only the bare essentials, making the large detached house feel empty from afar.
‘…What was I even imagining.’
Scratch scratch-
I scratched my messy hair, clearing the random thoughts that had surfaced in my mind. Her staying over was just a practical choice made for convenience.
If I harbored any strange misunderstandings and it showed, I would no longer have the face to meet Kim Eun-ha ssi.
‘I should also quickly shower and clear my head.’
Thankfully, in this unnecessarily large house, there were two bathrooms on the first floor alone, allowing us to shower at the same time without crossing paths.
Kim Eun-ha ssi meant she would use the shower room first. This place had such luxurious spaces to offer.
With that thought, I headed to another bathroom that wouldn’t overlap with hers.
While washing off the sweat-stained body, I also hoped to rinse away the cluttered thoughts.
* * *
Where am I?
Why am I doing this?
Submerged in the bathtub, Kim Eun-ha stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought. Immersed in warm water, her brain felt soft and mushy.
‘…I was planning to be angry.’
When she first came to check on Kang Woo-ju’s condition, her annoyance was brimming to the top of her head.
Wondering why she was doing this when she had to go to work the next day, what she should do if he wasn’t home, and so on. Stress piled up from all sorts of hypotheses.
However, the moment she opened the front door and saw Kang Woo-ju sprawled out on the floor, all her irritation melted away like snow in the sun.
‘He must have been really tired.’
The moment she saw Kang Woo-ju, Kim Eun-ha’s keen mind understood the whole situation and its cause, including the part where she had been carried by him.
Reaching that thought, she found herself unable to be angry. In fact, she was almost amused by his state.
“Ha…”
Irritation and sympathy.
Gratitude and guilt, etc.
A typhoon of emotions, both positive and negative, swirled chaotically, leaving her unable to say anything. She just watched.
While she watched, Kang Woo-ju’s breathing started to sound odd.
Because she had been watching him all this time, she could even notice the slightest movement of his eyelids.
And yet, his pretending to continue sleeping almost made her chuckle.
‘Sometimes, he has his cute moments.’
Wondering how long he would keep up this act, she left him alone, but seeing no sign of him waking up, she eventually broke the silence.
Having confirmed he was home and breathing fine, she was about to leave when Kang Woo-ju’s sudden grip stopped her thoughts in their tracks.
– Stay and sleep.
Splash-!
The moment Kang Woo-ju’s voice came to mind, Kim Eun-ha accidentally slapped the water without realizing it.
Then, embarrassed by the loud noise, she quietly held her breath and looked around.
Listening for any noise from outside, fortunately, she didn’t sense anything unusual and let out a sigh of relief.
‘What am I even doing?’
She easily guessed the meaning behind Kang Woo-ju’s words. She also thought staying and sleeping here was the rational decision.
Especially since the rooms were far apart, there wouldn’t be much overlap in their paths.
But the idea of sleeping under the same roof made her feel oddly conscious.
‘I should go to sleep quickly…’
But she couldn’t calm her mind, not even a few hours left before she had to leave for work, she ended up filling the bathtub for a half bath.
Time heals all wounds, they say.
As her body became drowsily warm, sleepiness crept up on her. Kim Eun-ha quickly got up from the tub to avoid the unfortunate event of falling asleep in it.
“Huh?”
Just as she was about to change into the comfortable clothes she had prepared and leave the shower, she paused, noticing the items neatly placed in front of the door.
Banana-flavored milk.
And right next to it, a pristine white straw.
“…Seriously.”
Wondering when he had come and gone.
She could imagine Kang Woo-ju tip-toeing silently, heel lifted, to quietly place the items there, feeling guilty for having fallen asleep without contacting her and making her come all this way.
Pff-
Kim Eun-ha inserted the straw into the banana milk. Taking a long sip, a gentle sweetness swirled in her mouth.
Her parched throat was soothed, bringing a refreshing feeling. Unknowingly, the corners of her mouth lifted.
‘Jeez, really…’
He’s a player.
Shaking her head, Kim Eun-ha entered her room. It was a night she fell into a comfortable sleep, a stark contrast to the years of insomnia that had plagued her.