Between Us is X - Chapter 31

“I didn’t say they were the same. Of course they’re different. How can hands and thighs be the same?”

Joo Han slightly raised his chin. He lowered his already downcast gaze even more.

“It’s troublesome when you react to every little thing. Did you agree to this not knowing it would be like this?”

“You really…!”

Eun Soo, who almost lost her temper and shouted, stopped mid-sentence.

Something caught her eye. The assistant director was peeking at them from the entrance.

Eun Soo quickly grabbed both of Joo Han’s hands. Joo Han flinched.

“What are you doing? It’s not okay for me, but it’s okay for you? I only held one, but you’re holding two…”

“No, that’s not it. Hey, Joo Han, please.”

“What?”

Eun Soo’s tone became much gentler, while her volume increased as if for others to hear.

“You know, with the camera and all these people, I feel really embarrassed.”

Eun Soo added, sending a desperate look.

“So, could you maybe save that kind of talk and behavior for when it’s just the two of us?”

“…”

Joo Han’s eyes showed understanding. He seemed to guess that someone was behind him, where Eun Soo’s anxious gaze kept darting, and let out a shallow sigh.

“…Alright.”

Joo Han pulled his hands free from Eun Soo’s grip. Then he reached out, wrapped his arm around Eun Soo’s shoulders, and pulled her in forcefully.

“I didn’t realize you were so nervous.”

Joo Han spoke tenderly as he held Eun Soo in his arms and even patted her back.

“It’s okay now since there’s no camera, right?”

“Hey, you…!”

“Let’s stay like this for a moment. There’s no one here.”

“Mmph, ugh.”

Eun Soo couldn’t bring herself to push him away and made choking sounds as she twisted her body. Joo Han, who had been silently snickering, only loosened his grip and stepped back after getting his side pinched quite hard.

Rubbing his side with one hand, Joo Han roughly fixed Eun Soo’s messy bangs with the other and said,

“I’m going in first.”

“No. Who said you could? I’ll go in first…”

“Your face is really red right now.”

Eun Soo’s mouth snapped shut. Joo Han added with eyes trying to hold back laughter,

“Come in when it turns white.”

Joo Han turned around and strode into the showroom with his long legs. Eun Soo stared intently at his broad, annoying back and let out a deep sigh.

“Hah…”

She felt like she knew Joo Han’s words were true even without looking in a mirror. Both her cheeks felt hot to the touch.

It’s only natural for my face to be red when my blood pressure has risen this much from irritation.

Eun Soo took deep breaths to calm her pounding heart. At the same time, she muttered to herself the reasons why she had to continue this show despite everything.

The power of broadcasting, unlimited promotion, highest sales, only profits, salary increase, incentives, wealth and fame, immortality… no, that’s going too far, maybe just long life and health?

Having finally regained her original complexion and pulse, Eun Soo tidied herself up.

So that’s how you want to play it? Then I’ll show you how it’s really done.

Despite Eun Soo’s resolve, things were hectic from the very first day of filming.

The container arrived late in the afternoon. It was what Joo Han had filled and sent during his last European business trip. While Eun Soo was busy checking documents and Joo Han was moving furniture with his sleeves rolled up, PD Park, who was capturing it all on camera, asked Jae Rim who happened to be passing by.

“What process do vintage furniture pieces go through before they arrive here?”

Jae Rim politely clasped her hands together and pulled up the corners of her mouth.

“Are you curious about Vida’s product procurement process? Our CEO Kim Joo Han goes to Europe himself once every two or three months to visit local dealers. While there are some models or pieces in good condition that we ask to be set aside in advance, for the most part, the CEO personally inspects and purchases items, gathers them in a local warehouse, and when the container is full, sends it to Korea.”

“I see. But you don’t need to be so conscious of the camera…”

“Was I? Hahaha.”

So Min appeared behind Jae Rim, who was laughing like a robot, and put down a chair wrapped in plastic. PD Park quickly turned the camera towards So Min.

“Does the CEO usually go on these trips alone?”

“Yes. He stays for about 2 weeks. He mainly covers Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and occasionally goes to the U.S. as well.”

Jae Rim tapped PD Park’s shoulder.

“You could ask me too. Or are my answers going to be edited out?”

“What? Oh, no. It’s just a professional habit to capture everything. What to use will be decided later in the editing room.”

“I see. By the way, aren’t you curious about who handles Vida’s PR and how it’s carried out?”

While Jae Rim was vying for a solo camera shot, the furniture unloaded by the staff was lined up in the backyard. They carefully checked the condition of each piece as they removed the packaging and moved them to the warehouse.

“Wow, this…”

Eun Soo’s eyes lit up with delight at the sight of the teak shelf from Finland. The overall lines were clean and elegant. Despite its modest size, it had a strong presence.

“It might not be deep enough for books. But it would be so pretty with cute dishes, like antique teacups and such.”

Joo Han chuckled as he watched Eun Soo circling around the shelf.

“I thought you’d like it.”

Joo Han casually dropped that comment and disappeared into the warehouse, his arm muscles prominently displayed after a day of physical labor.

‘So that’s how you do a casual “I just happened to find this”.’ Unlike PD Park, who was unnecessarily touched and even impressed, Eun Soo grumbled quietly.

“It’s not like you’re going to give it to me anyway…”

Unlike during the first interview when she was nervous, now Eun Soo had mostly forgotten about the camera and microphone as she was caught up in work.

Sun Kyung said with a smile,

“Seeing how Manager Sun has fallen for it, I bet this one will sell first again.”

While not 100% accurate, there was a pretty high probability that the pieces Eun Soo personally liked were also the first to catch customers’ eyes.

Of course, in line with Vida’s philosophy that every piece of furniture has its own destined owner, there were cases where furniture expected to sell well remained for years, or where someone would find and take home a piece that had been relatively overlooked.

“I’d like to put it in the showroom and admire it every day, but I guess it’ll be gone soon, right?”

Joo Han, passing by with a large side table on one shoulder, said,

“Let’s just finish bringing everything inside today and call it a day!”

After all the employees had left, only Joo Han and Eun Soo remained at Vida. When Eun Soo came down after tidying up the office, Joo Han standing on the first floor turned his head.

“You’re having dinner before going home today too, right?”

What are you talking about, when did you and I make dinner plans… Eun Soo was about to blurt out, but then she saw it. Joo Han’s eyebrow twitching slightly.

This guy is really, again without any warning or discussion!

Eun Soo was certain. Joo Han, twisted about something, was clearly taking out some kind of frustration on her.

He was obviously trying to throw her off balance by exploiting the fact that she couldn’t pick a fight, curse, or resort to violence in front of the camera.

‘If I confront him, he’ll just make excuses about doing it for the broadcast, and I’ll end up looking like the one who can’t play along and has no sense.’

Quickly thinking it through, Eun Soo scurried over and linked arms with Joo Han.

“Yeah. I should have dinner before going home. Let’s eat at your place today.”

“Home?”

Joo Han’s pupils shook. The arm Eun Soo was holding also stiffened. Eun Soo smiled.

“How about we just make something simple with whatever you have at home? Do you have anything in the fridge we can cook?”

“Well, I don’t think there’s much… How about we just order in…”

“No, honey.”

Joo Han’s mouth gaped open in shock at the term of endearment he’d never heard even in his dreams, then quickly shut it just before the camera could catch it.

“You skip breakfast and eat out for lunch every day. It’d be good to have at least one home-cooked meal. You have kimchi at home, right? And tuna? Instant rice?”

“I do have all that, but…”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll make kimchi fried rice for you. Can you chop the kimchi, stir-fry it with the tuna in a pan, and then just add the rice?”

“At that point, aren’t I the one cooking for you?”

“No, I said I’ll make it for you.”

PD Park, who had been quietly following behind, asked for permission to go ahead and film them coming up the stairs. Taking advantage of that moment, Joo Han covered his microphone with one hand and spoke rapidly, almost just mouthing the words.

“Hey, ‘honey’ is cheating.”

Eun Soo responded with ventriloquism.

“If you’re upset, you do it too. But if you do, I’ll do something even worse.”

“Are you telling me to do it or not to do it?”

“I’m saying just try it and see.”

“So you’re telling me not to do it.”

“That’s right. Just you try it.”

Anyway, appearing affectionate on the outside with their arms linked, the two entered Joo Han’s house. Fortunately, since it wasn’t her first visit, Eun Soo naturally put down her bag.

“I’ll wash my hands first and then…”

“You wash your hands and go sit down. I’ll chop the kimchi, stir-fry it with the tuna in the pan, and just add the rice.”

Joo Han pushed Eun Soo towards the sofa. Then he headed to the kitchen himself. In fact, the shock of hearing “honey” grew as he mulled it over, making him feel the need to focus on something else.

‘To say something she’s never said even as a joke so casually… But it sounded really natural. Surely she hasn’t used it with someone else before…’

Joo Han’s fingertips on the refrigerator door handle turned pale for a moment.

They both knew they were each other’s first love, but there was no way to know what happened after they broke up. He hadn’t heard anything and hadn’t particularly noticed anything while working together, but that wasn’t proof that Eun Soo hadn’t had another lover since.

He had briefly thought before that the Eun Soo he knew could have easily dated and broken up with someone without showing any signs. Above all, it was impossible that no man had been interested in Eun Soo all this time.

‘That magazine team leader too…’

While he was grateful for igniting Eun Soo’s desire to quit and come to Vida, the fact that he had even confessed to her was something that made him angry every time he thought about it. Of course, he knew well that he wasn’t in a position to be angry. That’s why it made him even angrier.

To escape from the “honey” that was swimming back and forth in his head like a fish in an aquarium, Joo Han concentrated on chopping kimchi, microwaving instant rice, and cracking eggs.

The kimchi fried rice was soon ready, and as Joo Han was setting out the spoons, he finally realized how quiet the house was.

“Eun Soo. Let’s eat…”

Joo Han stopped as he entered the living room. Eun Soo seemed to have fallen asleep, slumped sideways on the sofa from a sitting position.

What should I do? After pondering for a moment, Joo Han quietly sat down by Eun Soo’s head.

The people watching through the camera now, and those who would see the footage later, wouldn’t know, but it had been quite a while since he had seen Eun Soo sleeping.

She was still defenseless, still lovable.

What would he have done in the past?

If this moment was a day that had continued without us breaking up.

Somehow, it felt like a parallel universe. It might really exist somewhere in the universe. A Kim Joo Han who didn’t hear those cold words from Sun Eun Soo that day, or who managed to hold on tightly even if he did hear them, living in a scene no different from now even without cameras.

He must be really happy.

Joo Han, who had been gazing at Eun Soo’s cheek still covered in fine hair, raised his hand.

That’s when it happened.