Chapter 45: A Young Girl’s Secret Thoughts
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Inside the studio.
The two of them were waiting for the director to announce the result of the take.
Jung Soo-jung was nudging the gap between the steps of the café set with her boot. On the third occasion she pretended to adjust her bangs while sneaking a glance at Kang Jae-hoon's earlobe, she finally could not hold back.
“About earlier... I didn’t control my strength very well.”
“It’s acting.” Kang Jae-hoon grinned unconcernedly. “When I was filming *Ode to My Father* in Thailand, I improvised and slapped one of the extras across the face. The director even praised me for being emotionally convincing.”
“What happened afterward?”
“When we finished filming, I gave the guy a full formal bow and apologized. He ended up becoming my manager.”
Kang Jae-hoon lifted his chin toward the distance. Kim Dae-won was chatting animatedly with one of the crew members, his arm slung over the man’s shoulder.
“Inspiring, right?”
Jung Soo-jung burst out laughing. Then, as if possessed by some unseen force, she reached out and rubbed his earlobe.
“Does it still hurt?”
Kang Jae-hoon froze instantly, even forgetting to blink.
“N-no... I’m fine...”
Jung Soo-jung came to her senses and snatched her hand back. Her earlobes were as red as though kissed by the setting sun.
“Bona, you—”
Before Kang Jae-hoon could finish, she raised her chin and snapped fiercely, “What, do you want me to give you a formal apology? Rubbing it twice was already more than enough consideration!”
“No!” Kang Jae-hoon hurriedly waved his hands. “I never said I wanted you to apologize...”
“Hmph.”
Jung Soo-jung turned her face away with a cold snort.
Kang Jae-hoon: “...?”
After what felt like an eternity of agonized waiting for Jung Soo-jung, the director finally called, “Cut.”
That was their only scene of the day. Once it was over, they were free to leave.
So the moment Director Boo Sung-chul’s voice fell, she hurried straight to the dressing room.
The heels of her combat boots struck the floor faster and faster, as though ten fire-breathing dragons were chasing her from behind.
The dressing-room door slammed against the wall.
Jung Soo-jung leaned back against the partition, pressing her palm to her heaving chest. A reckless little deer was charging wildly inside it.
Her reflection showed cheeks as pink as ripe peaches, while the sensation of his earlobe beneath her fingertips refused to fade.
She glared at herself in the mirror and gnashed her teeth.
“Jung Soo-jung, have you lost your mind?”
But before the words had even left her mouth, she suddenly began laughing at herself. Twirling a strand of hair around her finger, she drew circles in the air.
“Still... I was pretty brave this time.”
...
The last rays of sunset were swallowed by the Han River.
Jung Soo-jung curled up on the bay window of her apartment, her fluffy slippers swaying with the gentle motion of her dangling toes.
On her phone screen was an eighteen-shot sequence of Park Hyung-sik’s iconic waist-embrace scene. Under the overhead lights, the edge of Kang Jae-hoon’s profile was gilded with a soft golden glow. Her fingertip drifted absently over the screen.
It was almost as though she could still feel the softness of his earlobe.
Click.
The instant the lock turned, Jung Soo-jung swiftly hid her phone behind her back.
“Hey! Jessica, why didn’t you knock?”
Jung Soo-yeon leaned against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow.
“Do I need to knock to enter an apartment I bought myself? More importantly, why is your face so red?”
“It’s hot.”
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“Liar.”
“Oh, come on, unni. What do you want?”
Jung Soo-yeon waved the invitation to Seoul Fashion Week between her fingertips.
“Come with me on the seventh.”
“I have filming.”
Jung Soo-yeon scoffed. “How many lines do you even have?”
“I have group activities too!”
“Oh...”
The Function group had recently released its third mini-album and was in the middle of promotions.
She really was short on time.
Jung Soo-yeon thoughtfully pulled the door shut.
The moment Jung Soo-jung let out a sigh of relief and took out her phone, the door was shoved open again with a bang.
“Are you dating someone?”
“What? No, I’m not! What are you talking about?”
Jung Soo-jung fumbled to stuff the phone into the pocket of her pajamas.
“Hand it over.”
Jung Soo-yeon reached toward her.
Jung Soo-jung clutched the phone tightly. “Do you not understand the meaning of personal privacy?”
“You’re talking about privacy when I still have photos of you wetting the bed saved in my cloud drive—”
The sisters instantly twisted together like tangled strands of dough.
Within three minutes, Jung Soo-jung had been pinned against the bay window by her older sister.
Jung Soo-yeon waved her spoils in the air, not forgetting to taunt her.
“You’re so weak.”
“...”
But the moment she saw what was on the screen, the corners of her mouth froze.
“Rich Lady Bro?”
“His name is Kang Jae-hoon!”
“Shut up!”
Jung Soo-yeon gave her a light kick on the butt with her foot while swiping through the eighteen consecutive shots of the waist embrace.
“Tsk, tsk. Our little Soo-jung looks awfully cute with her heart racing.”
Jung Soo-jung buried her face in a cushion, secretly watching her sister’s reaction.
“You like him?”
“It’s only a professional relationship.”
“The stubbornness of your denial could rival the punching bags at Dad’s gym.”
Just as Jung Soo-jung prepared herself for teasing and interrogation, Jung Soo-yeon suddenly handed the phone back.
She stared in surprise at her sister’s retreating back and scratched her head.
When her eyes returned to the screen, her pupils suddenly contracted.
The lock screen date clearly read September 2.
And Kang Jae-hoon’s birthday was September 12.
When she called Kim Ji-won, the bustle of the Hongdae shopping district mingled with the background noise.
“Bona, I’m in Hongdae buying earrings... A birthday present for a man? Send him away for good?”
“Be serious!”
“Hmm... For a dense block of wood like Mr. Kang, I suggest tying a ribbon around yourself and giving yourself to him.”
“...I’m hanging up.”
“Fine, fine, I’m joking!”
Kim Ji-won laughed so hard on the other end that she could barely catch her breath.
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“What about dumbbells? I heard he and his roommate work out at home.”
“Don’t bring Lee Sung-kyung into this!”
“You were the one who brought her up! Wait, how do you know her name is Lee Sung-kyung?”
“Mind your own business.”
“Okay, okay...”
Kim Ji-won found a relatively quiet spot and began her analysis.
“A tie could be mistaken for a marriage proposal. Perfume would look like a declaration of ownership. A razor is too suggestive. A belt...”
“Just tell me the answer!”
“A fountain pen.”
“A fountain pen?”
“Yes. An engraved Montblanc.”
“Then... what should I engrave on it?”
“Option A: K.J. 2013. His initials plus the year you met. Understated, but still meaningful.”
Jung Soo-jung’s lashes trembled.
“What’s the second option?”
“To the next scene.”
The words were subtle yet lingering.
They hinted at her anticipation of the next scene with Kang Jae-hoon, while also suggesting that the relationship between them was about to enter a new chapter.
“At first, Mr. Kang will definitely take it as a professional blessing. If your relationship develops later, then when he looks back at the engraving, he’ll be struck by the romantic meaning.”
Jung Soo-jung’s toes curled inside her slippers.
“Wouldn’t it be too deliberate?”
Kim Ji-won’s undisguised laughter came through the receiver.
“It’s still better than someone secretly—”
“Hey! I’m hanging up!”
After the call ended, she stood silently gazing at the nightscape outside the window.
Yet strangely, Kang Jae-hoon’s face seemed to appear on the glass within her line of sight.
“Damn it...”
“Jung Soo-jung, you really have gone crazy.”
She buried her face in the pillow and groaned, her feet flailing in the air.
In another bedroom not far away, Jung Soo-yeon was making a phone call.
“Chief Jo, look into someone for me—Kang Jae-hoon from the Acting Department at Seoul Institute of the Arts. Focus on his romantic history.”
Twenty minutes later, Jung Soo-yeon stared at Kang Jae-hoon’s résumé in the email and murmured to herself.
“Top of his class in the professional acting program, Class of 2009, at Seoul Institute of the Arts. Three consecutive full scholarships...”
“Signed with Hwang Jung-min Studio. No known financial backing.”
“No romantic history...”
“Wait!”
“A female model as a roommate? A support truck for Yoona?”
She stared at the suspicious relationship chart marked in the email, her pupils trembling violently.
“Damn it, Jung Soo-jung, are you picking up discarded junk now?!”
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