Between Us is X - Chapter 45

“You said you’d appear on a broadcast, but I didn’t hear about who you’d be doing it with or what you’d be doing. Did I forget because I was busy?”

“No. You didn’t give me time to explain in detail.”

I was just going to say I had plans to appear on a broadcast and explain the details over the phone, but you cut me off asking if I was thinking of becoming a celebrity, and then we missed each other’s calls a few times so I didn’t get a chance to explain.

“What do you mean you’re seeing someone?”

I recalled Eun Soo’s words telling me to tell the truth. But I didn’t want to talk about Eun Soo like that in front of my mother.

“You know her. Eun Soo.”

“Eun Soo?”

For a moment Ja Kyung asked as if she didn’t know who that was, but soon she frowned as if she’d heard something unpleasant.

“What did you say?”

Just as Ja Kyung’s voice rose, there was a knock from outside. An employee came in to set down the food and quietly left.

“…Didn’t you break up with her a long time ago?”

“We did, but we’re seeing each other again now. We’re working together at . She’s someone I can’t do without.”

Ja Kyung stared intently at Joo Han and let out a hollow laugh.

“Such deception.”

Joo Han picked up his fork as if he hadn’t heard. Ja Kyung’s eyes were cold as she watched her son calmly eating.

“When are you going to end it?”

“End what?”

“Don’t play dumb. The shop, and that girl.”

“I have no plans to end either. They’re the two most important things in my life.”

Ja Kyung pressed a hand to her forehead.

“You should have given me trouble when you were in school instead. You were so obedient back then.”

Joo Han didn’t respond.

How could I have dared to disobey you back then, Mother?

Thinking back, it was more like an investment than loving parenting. I knew what picture you wanted, and I knew I had to repay you by being the perfect piece to fit that picture.

But I felt more and more suffocated as time went on. It felt like I had been swimming freely in open waters only to be suddenly caught and placed in a well-decorated fish tank.

“Are you deliberately doing only the things I hate?”

“Maybe you’re deliberately hating only the things I love.”

“Kim Joo Han.”

“If I say I’m happy working at and being with Eun Soo, couldn’t you just say… ‘As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters’?”

A bitter smile appeared on Ja Kyung’s lips.

“You’re clearly my child, but why do you only act like your father’s son?”

“…”

“This irrational stubbornness of insisting on taking the path with no answers when I’m trying to lay out an easy path for you. I don’t know where you inherited such a useless trait from. At least that man was a stranger so I could divorce him, but I really don’t know what to do with you.”

The harsh words flew at him without restraint.

Though he listened calmly, something deep in Joo Han’s chest churned unpleasantly. He clearly remembered his mother arguing with his father with the same expression and tone when he was only six or seven years old.

“Don’t do anything, just watch. You may be subjectively disappointed, but objectively I won’t be a child you’re ashamed to show others.”

What? Don’t do anything, when I’m spoon-feeding you things others are desperate to get?

Instead of swallowing her words, Ja Kyung let out an obvious sigh. Was he spoiled by good fortune, or did he still not understand the ways of the world? Either way, it was equally frustrating.

‘I saw her once at the graduation ceremony, I think.’

Her face was hazy in Ja Kyung’s memory. She had been a bit surprised when her son introduced a girlfriend for the first time, but nothing else about the situation was particularly impressive or appealing. Though she had held her tongue, thinking a relationship at that age wouldn’t last long anyway.

But they dated longer than expected, and towards the end the girl even caused delays in the plans to go to America, causing frustration. She had felt relieved when she heard they finally broke up and hadn’t given it much thought since then.

Ja Kyung lightly touched the tips of her well-manicured nails.

‘So she’s been by his side all this time.’

[This is the timeline separator]

“Oh my… it’s chaos.”

Eun Soo plopped down in a chair set out in a corner of the backyard, letting out a heartfelt mutter to herself.

A few days had passed since visiting Writer Hwang’s studio. Fortunately or unfortunately, those days had been so busy she barely had time to breathe. Busy enough to mostly cover up the subtle atmosphere lingering between her and Joo Han.

Joo Han didn’t press for an answer. Maybe he didn’t even really expect one, Eun Soo concluded after some thought.

Knowing Sun Eun Soo’s personality, Joo Han would realize she’d need to settle things one way or another to be at ease, so he seemed to have decided to wait.

‘You’re passionate about everything else, but only cold towards me, you know?’

It was fine when she was busy, but in quiet moments like this when she was alone, Joo Han’s words from that day kept coming back to her.

‘But why do you keep trying to throw me away? Is it because you don’t want me that much?’

Every time she ran into Joo Han, she felt the urge to grab him and tell him that wasn’t true at all. Of course, she didn’t actually do it. It was clearly wrong, but when she tried to correct it, it was hard to find the right words.

I did want you. I wanted you more than anything else.

But it was the first time that “it” was a person, that the reason was love.

I’m confident in ruthlessly grasping things like the grades I want, the university I want, the job I want, but when it comes to things like people or feelings or relationships… things that aren’t guaranteed to be mine forever just because I grasp them once…

Eun Soo buried the words filling her mind for now.

There were only about 5 days left of filming for . Joo Han would be leaving for a business trip to Denmark on the last day of filming, so she decided to talk to him after he got back.

It would be about 2-3 weeks this time too, so that should be enough time for things to get sorted out, she thought.

A ding sounded, alerting her to a new message. Eun Soo picked up her phone from the desk.

[Bokdol is recovering well!]

A photo of a gentle-eyed dog appeared in the group chat the four female cast members had made. An “aww” of adoration automatically escaped Eun Soo’s lips.

Two days ago, they had their third group date hosted by Yeon Seop and Jena, a veterinarian couple who run an animal hospital. They spent time volunteering at a shelter for abandoned dogs.

Yeon Seop, Jena, and four or five other vets gave vaccinations and simple treatments, while the rest of the cast members helped with cleaning and walking the dogs.

The dog named Bokdol in the photo Jena sent was the one that received the biggest treatment on the day they volunteered.

He had been rescued recently and was in very poor health. He was a Siberian Husky so he was big, but they said he wasn’t even 1 year old yet. Eun Soo had been particularly worried about him, and it seems everyone else felt the same.

[That’s a relief… Thanks for letting us know, Jena. I was worried about him.] [Me too! It was my first time playing with so many dogs, but I keep thinking about them. I guess I got attached already.] [My boyfriend and I decided to go again separately.]

After various chatter, Mi Rae brought up a suggestion.

[By the way, let’s all have a meal together after we finish filming! Even if it’s hard to get all 8 of us together, at least just us girls. What do you think?] [Sounds good. Or should we get together to watch the first episode?] [That would be fun too!] [No, that might be a bit embarrassing, haha]

As she watched the chat window filling up rapidly, Eun Soo was suddenly struck by an odd feeling.

It felt unfamiliar to be part of a group chat where such friendly but meaningless words were exchanged. The days when belonging to a group was natural were too long ago to be clear.

Only the memory of being suddenly pushed out of such relationships was still vivid, making her hesitate again and again.

[Eun Soo unnie must be really busy. If unnie responds, we’ll go ahead with this plan!] [Call. Eun Soo, let us know when you have time~] [Sorry for the late reply. That day works for me too. Let’s have a meal together.] [Great! Then I’ll look into places. See you at Eun Soo unnie’s shop the day after tomorrow, unnies!]

When Eun Soo tapped out her reply, the chat window filled up again with excited emoticons. Feeling strangely uplifted, Eun Soo lightly scratched her cheek.

After leaving an appropriate greeting, she saved Bokdol’s photo and was about to get up when suddenly a large hand gripped her shoulder and a familiar weight pressed against her back.

“Who are you texting that you didn’t even notice someone coming?”

Joo Han’s voice sounded right below her ear. Before, she would have treated it as a back hug done for the camera, but now she could feel the sincere affection using the camera as an excuse.

Trying to calm her racing heart, Eun Soo showed him the photo she had just saved.

“Oh, it’s Bokdol.”

“Yeah. Jena sent a photo. He’s recovering well.”

Eun Soo glanced at Joo Han’s profile as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Seeing his gently upturned lips, she muttered without thinking.

“You look a bit alike.”

“What does?”

“You and Bokdol.”

It was just an idle comment, but after saying it she really did see the resemblance. Joo Han straightened up and Eun Soo turned her body, holding up her phone screen with the photo closer to Joo Han.

“Look. Big and scary-looking, but actually gentle and a bit silly when you get to know him.”

“That might be a compliment for Bokdol, but not for me.”

“Why isn’t it a compliment? It is a compliment.”

“How is being called dog-like a compliment?”

“What kind of broken translator are you? How did you get that from what I said? Someone listening might think I said you look good at pulling sleds.”

They’re fighting well again today. I should just cut it at the back hug scene from earlier.

PD Park muttered to himself as he watched from a distance.

[This is the timeline separator]

Two days later, the final group date took place at .

After much deliberation, the activity Joo Han and Eun Soo chose as hosts was a woodworking experience. Joo Han had machines he’d bought for his woodworking hobby, and they could get raw wood materials from So Min’s father’s woodworking shop.

Thanks to this filming, the employees got a day off.

“I’m late. There must be a lot of people already.”

Around the same time she’d usually go to work at , Jae Rim was walking quickly through an unfamiliar alley.

She was on her way to a cafe she’d found online recently. It was supposedly a hot spot where you’d have to line up even if you arrived well before opening time.

So she had planned to go early, but ended up oversleeping. The location was somewhere in the middle of a neighborhood market, so she got lost too.

“Ah, as expected.”

Jae Rim’s shoulders slumped as she saw people lined up in front of the small sign she’d finally found. She got in line at the end, but it didn’t look promising at all.

Trying to gauge roughly how many people there were and how many hours she should prepare for, Jae Rim craned her neck. Wondering what time the person at the very front had arrived, she scanned the line with her eyes and suddenly spotted a familiar profile, her eyes widening.

“Huh?”

A gray t-shirt, loose pants, and short hair. The person standing about 10th in line was definitely So Min. Jae Rim immediately called So Min.

“What’s this. Are you looking at my name on your phone right now, debating whether to answer or not?”

She shot laser beams with her eyes at So Min, who was just staring down at her phone. Whether that had an effect or not, So Min pressed the answer button.

“Hello…”

“So Min, where are you?”

“Me? I came to have coffee at a neighborhood cafe I often go to.”

“By yourself?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Okay.”

Seeing the abruptly ended call, So Min furrowed her brow.

“What the heck, is she crazy?”

Just then, someone suddenly came up beside her and retorted.

“That’s too harsh. What did I do wrong?”

So Min blinked in bewilderment at Jae Rim who had appeared out of nowhere. Jae Rim lightly tapped So Min’s arm and winked.

“Sorry I’m late.”