Who could Lee Jae Ho be?

Da Jung seemed to love a man who was neither the actor Lee Jae Ho nor just an ordinary man named Lee Jae Ho, but someone ambiguously in between. She was afraid because she couldn’t understand him. For a moment she had mistakenly thought she knew him well, but that was a miscalculation. How could she have had such a naive thought that she knew him after meeting for just a few weeks?

She recalled the glib words he had casually thrown out while pretending to be a guest who happened to be staying at this pension he actually owned.

‘A secluded beach, the same pension, resting for the same period. How can this be a coincidence? It must be fate.’

‘I’m so lucky. I booked this place and got to meet Yoon Da Jung too.’

Her mind grew clouded. Unable to know how to regard the man, she hadn’t been able to answer his calls. An inexplicable sadness kept welling up. Why did you do it? Why did you lie to me?

For what reason? Why?

Surely not just to casually play around…

That’s when it happened.

– Knock knock knock.

“Young lady. Are you in there?”

The warm voice of an elderly woman rang out from beyond the door. Having encountered her regularly every other day, Da Jung immediately recognized who it was just from the voice. It was the pension owner. Da Jung approached without suspicion and opened the door.

“Hello. Is something the matter?”

“Ah.”

The old woman smiled warmly.

“I heard there’s a pension nearby with no electricity. I was wondering if it was the same here.”

“No, everything’s working fine here.”

“That’s good. So, what were you up to? You seemed so quiet.”

“Oh, I was just…”

Just as she was about to reply out of habit, a flash of realization struck Da Jung’s mind. This old woman wasn’t the real owner. The real owner was Lee Jae Ho.

Could it have been Lee Jae Ho who made her pretend to be the owner? Da Jung froze with a chill.

“By the way ma’am, how much did you pay for a pension like this? Or did you say you built it? How much did it cost? I’d like to build something like this for my retirement too.”

The old woman was flustered by the unexpected question.

“Well… I don’t know about the cost, my husband would know that. I’ll be going now.”

Da Jung watched for a long time as the caretaker’s figure disappeared, almost as if fleeing. She had been avoiding Lee Jae Ho’s calls all day. The caretaker’s seemingly purposeless visit seemed somehow connected to Lee Jae Ho.

With a bitter feeling, she absentmindedly fiddled with her phone when a chat window opened by chance. Lee Jae Ho’s fans were chattering away. Da Jung’s gaze was drawn there.

[Wow lolㅋㅋ Is that person reallyㅋㅋ Am I the only one who can’t recognize celebs?ㅠㅠ] [He looks even more handsome nowㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ] [Did he meet Oh Chae Won? Like, privately? So curious lolㅋㅋ] [His manager was there too!! Probably not just the two of them!! Maybe about Season 2~?]

Scrolling up to understand the flow of conversation, a link to Lee Jae Ho’s fan cafe appeared.

Da Jung clicked the link without much thought. A photo of Lee Jae Ho sitting in a cafe with Oh Chae Won came up. The poster who happened to see Lee Jae Ho at a cafe in Gangnam was clearly excited.

‘I’ll be back.’

He was wearing the same clothes he had on when he left at dawn. The man who had insisted on coming into her bedroom while she slept to kiss her before leaving. The gray designer suit she had glimpsed through half-open eyes as she embraced him sleepily.

It was today.

Lee Jae Ho’s body was leaning heavily towards Oh Chae Won, which could be interpreted as him approaching the other woman with interest, depending on how one looked at it.

It might be somewhat incorrect to infer the whole situation from a momentary scene, but the fact that such speculation was possible weighed heavily on Da Jung’s heart.

‘Chae Won.’

Perhaps he had called her name so affectionately.

The phone rang again. After hesitating briefly, Da Jung finally answered.

“Hello.”

[I was worried.]

“…”

[Why haven’t you been in touch all day? What were you doing? Did something happen?]

“We talked this morning. What could have happened?”

[That’s true. There shouldn’t be anything. But I’m still anxious. I regret leaving you behind.]

The concern in his voice sounded sincere.

There were many things she wanted to ask. About the pension. About Oh Chae Won. About his intentions. If I ask, will you tell me honestly?

How much of it is your true self?

Even if she filtered out most of what the document envelope had said, the fact that this pension belonged to Lee Jae Ho remained an unchanging truth. Why did you lie to me and why are you still continuing to do so?

Da Jung asked sharply.

“What did you do today? Were you busy?”

[I did an interview and came to my grandfather’s house.]

“Did you go straight there after the interview? Didn’t you stop anywhere else? Didn’t you have any other appointments?”

The man paused briefly. Da Jung had no time to ponder the meaning of that silence.

[…I didn’t have any other schedules.]

“Ah. So you went to your grandfather’s house right after the interview?”

[Yes.]

Another lie.

What are you trying to do?

Even if he had honestly said he met Oh Chae Won, she would have been hurt.

Da Jung thought she was quite a mess. Why was she thinking so complicatedly about a relationship that was meant to end anyway?

“I see.”

A relationship that would end.

For a moment, Da Jung’s lips twisted into a smile. She felt like she had found the answer in cynicism.

[I have to hang up now. I’ll call before I leave.]

She had briefly forgotten, having fallen so deeply for him. How she had defined this relationship. This relationship was magic, and it was terminal. Like Cinderella’s midnight. When they returned to Seoul, the relationship would end. That’s how it was from the beginning.

Even if this pension belonged to Lee Jae Ho, the parting remained unchanged. Yes, even if she had been treated like a plaything.

“Okay. Enjoy your dinner.”

Da Jung slowly unclenched her tightly balled fist.

It had been days of happiness beyond what she could handle. She wished only happiness would remain in her memories until the end. What meaning did truth have in a relationship that was going to end? If it was an extremely uncomfortable truth, it was better not to know.

What was the point of confirming that my happiness was nothing more than your amusement? I’ll be leaving anyway.

Da Jung buried her face between her knees.

Even if everything had been a misunderstanding and his feelings were genuine, it was still a relationship with a set ending. There was only a week left of their month-long stay by the sea.

I should just, do nothing.

Da Jung took a deep breath and got into bed. It was time to practice saying goodbye.

The autumn insects chirped sorrowfully. Crickets or some nameless bugs cried out desperately with their shrill chirping. It was an unusually dark night.

**

“Grandfather, happy birthday!”

“Father. Congratulations.”

The dining table where the family gathered after a long time was bustling. It was a gathering of all four family members centered around Lee Hun Tae – Mi Jung, Jae Ho, Lee Jin Hyuk, and even Lee Jin Myung. Lee Se Ah clapped her hands and then pulled out a camera.

“Grandfather! Blow out the candles!”

Se Ah, who had insisted on putting a cake she claimed to have made herself on the table because it was a birthday and candles had to be blown out, smiled brightly and acted cute. Then she handed over a bouquet of flowers with a smile. It was the image of a pure granddaughter sincerely celebrating her grandfather’s birthday. Jae Ho was dumbfounded.

‘Sister is trying so hard.’

The candles on the cake, which she likely hadn’t even made herself let alone paid for, were blown out at the appropriate moment.

“Grandfather, you have to live a long and healthy life! I love you.”

How can she put on such a ridiculous act when it’s widely known that she fools around with young debuting singers?

The cake was cleared away and elaborate dinner dishes were set on the table. Starting with a soft pumpkin porridge, there were hand-made dumplings, grilled short ribs, various jeon pancakes, and stone pot rice – a full course meal no different from what you’d find at a high-end Korean restaurant. Mouthwatering galbi grilled over charcoal was served as the main dish.

“Chef Yeon Min Woo from Cheongdam personally prepared everything, Father.”

Mi Jung briefly introduced the food.

“You must have worked hard to prepare all this.”

“Indeed. My sister-in-law must have put in a lot of effort.”

Jung Hye Soo, Lee Jin Hyuk’s wife, calmly commented while picking up some vegetables. Her attitude was impeccable and neat. Despite suddenly having to play the role of an elder sister-in-law with a grown son, she never showed it outwardly. Jae Ho thought she might be the most inscrutable person among that family.

“Come on now. Everyone eat.”

As Lee Hun Tae picked up his spoon, the meal finally began. Lee Jin Hyuk’s two daughters chattered away, continuously praising the food, while Lee Jin Hyuk briefly explained about the urban redevelopment project that Taemyung Construction was currently pursuing.

Lee Jin Myung, true to his role as the immature youngest uncle, playfully attacked Jae Ho with his chopsticks.

“Ah. Uncle.”

“Aren’t you dating anyone?”

“You should date, Uncle. Please.”

“I’m too old for that.”

Jae Ho looked at Lee Jin Myung’s bright smiling face with bewilderment. Lee Jin Myung was a bachelor boasting quite a handsome appearance. Although in his late forties, he looked over ten years younger due to taking extremely good care of himself.

No, even if he were a paunchy middle-aged man, the fact that he was Taemyung’s third son and a major shareholder with substantial shares remained unchanged. Jae Ho knew that if he set his mind to it, he could easily date women ten or twenty years younger.

“Grandfather worries a lot because of you, Uncle.”

“No, Father has given up on me now. Right, Father?”

Lee Hun Tae raised the spoon he was using to eat seaweed soup to hit Lee Jin Myung on the head, but Lee Jin Myung quickly dodged it with a laugh. Mi Jung smiled awkwardly as if thinking, ‘Here we go again.’

“You! Is that something to say on your father’s birthday!”

“Father, why are you getting more violent as you age!”

“After receiving the best education possible! I can’t understand why you’re wasting your fine minds and abilities like this!”

Lee Hun Tae clicked his tongue, looking back and forth between Lee Jin Myung and Jae Ho. Jae Ho looked at his uncle and poured out his resentment.

“Because of Uncle, I’m getting scolded too even though I was just sitting quietly.”

“You deserve to be scolded. You hardly ever come home.”

At that moment, Lee Jin Hyuk cut into their conversation and asked a businesslike question.

“Jae Ho. When did you say your new movie is coming out?”

“Probably sometime in the first half of next year, Uncle.”

“Jae Ho is exceptionally talented in acting, Father.”

Jung Hye Soo also joined the conversation. Then the two sisters, Se Ah and Se Hee, chimed in with high praise, saying they really enjoy watching Jae Ho act.

“Jae Ho is unparalleled. There’s no one who can match him among actors in their 30s!”

“Father.”

Lee Jin Hyuk called Lee Hun Tae in a low voice.

“Acting suits Jae Ho perfectly. Since he loves acting, we should just let him continue. As for the company, I’m here, and Se Ah and Se Hee are here too.”

“That’s right, Father.”

Jung Hye Soo chimed in.

Lee Hun Tae, who had been eating, stopped his spoon and looked around the table. His sharp eyes with deep insight flashed keenly.

“So you came with ulterior motives.”