Between Us is X (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1

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“I’ll do a test first.”

The camera director called out loudly, his eyes still fixed on the monitor.

“Just stay natural, both of you.”

In the center of Vida’s showroom—where vintage furniture pieces were harmoniously arranged—two chairs sat side by side. A man and a woman seated there were framed within the square monitor screen.

The man wore a simple short-sleeve T-shirt and ripped jeans. His hair fell naturally over his forehead, showing no signs of styling. Despite the seemingly careless look, he stood out instantly—thanks to his striking features that were impressive individually and even more perfectly matched together.

The woman beside him wore a silk blouse and tailored slacks. Every detail, down to her small earrings, revealed a carefully considered sense of style. Her wavy brown hair and round eyes gave off a soft impression at first glance, yet her sharp gaze and upright posture radiated an unmistakable aura of distinction.

PD Park Jin Won, watching the oddly mismatched yet strangely harmonious duo, smiled with satisfaction.

‘Well, visually, they’re already guaranteed to stir up buzz.’

The show about to begin filming, titled , was a reality variety program subtitled “Work and Love, Love and Work.”

It aimed to vividly capture the everyday lives of four ordinary couples who were both romantic partners and coworkers.

Among them were the very two sitting before him now.

Kim Ju Han and Seon Eun Su.

A same-age couple working together at a vintage furniture shop known for its unique yet cozy atmosphere.

PD Park tore his eyes away from the monitor and looked directly at Ju Han and Eun Su.

“No need to be nervous. Just speak and act exactly as you normally would.”

“Yes.”

“Alright, let’s start filming!”

The surroundings grew quiet, and a crisp clapboard sound rang out.

Beside the camera, PD Park, seated facing Ju Han and Eun Su, spoke.

“Could you two look into the camera and greet us once?”

At Ju Han’s subtle nod of encouragement, Eun Su gave the faintest nod and opened her mouth.

“Hello. I’m Seon Eun Su, head of operations at Vida.”

“I’m Kim Ju Han, the owner.”

“First, what does the name ‘Vida’ mean?”

Ju Han, sitting cross-legged with his hands folded calmly on his lap, answered evenly.

“In Spanish, it means ‘life’ or ‘living.’ My father chose it because he believed furniture is art you can actually touch and experience in daily life. He ran the shop himself until two years ago, when he passed away suddenly, and I inherited it.”

A brief silence followed. The camera zoomed in on Ju Han, and PD Park asked again.

“I see. And how did you end up working together, Eun Su?”

“Since I’d been doing something completely different, I was initially short on both experience and preparation. Still, I didn’t want to hand it over to someone else, so I asked Eun Su to help me out. She used to work at an interior design magazine and knew a lot about this field.”

“What was your reaction when you received that offer, Eun Su?”

‘Are you out of your mind? Why on earth would I work with you?’

Recalling the harsh words she’d once hurled at Ju Han, Eun Su’s lips trembled slightly. But she quickly composed her expression.

“At first, I refused. I’ve always preferred to keep work and personal life separate. But I’d always been interested in vintage furniture, and at that time, I’d just quit the magazine for other reasons—and, above all…”

Eun Su turned slightly and gestured toward the showroom.

“As you can see, it’s just so cool. I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to work somewhere I could see things I love every day.”

At that moment, Ju Han leaned subtly toward Eun Su.

“Do I count, too?”

“Huh?”

“The things you love.”

Ju Han grinned as he met Eun Su’s eyes.

“You see me every day, too.”

Are you insane…? Dropping that line without even turning on your blinker?

His remark, nearly as sharp as a surgical strike, almost made her blurt out something vulgar. Eun Su tightened the corners of her mouth and lightly thumped Ju Han’s thigh.

“Oh, haha… What’s with him saying stuff like that in front of the camera…?”

“Oh, come on now,” PD Park quickly interjected with a laugh.

“That’s exactly the kind of thing we need you to say on camera.”

The PD laughed, the crew laughed, and Ju Han laughed too. Feeling she couldn’t be the only one not laughing, Eun Su gritted her back teeth and forced a smile.

PD Park asked again.

“So you’ve been working together for about two years since then?”

“Yes.”

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“As colleagues, do you get along well? How would each of you evaluate the other professionally?”

Eun Su answered first.

“I think he’s a dependable and responsible owner. As I mentioned earlier, he struggled a lot at first—but anyone could see how hard he worked to get to where we are now.”

“Eun Su is absolutely essential to Vida in so many ways. She’s the one who keeps everything balanced, maintaining the big picture and overall direction. The company runs smoothly even if I disappear for a month on business trips, but it simply wouldn’t function without her.”

Ju Han finished with a smile and turned to look at Eun Su. Sensing his gaze, she turned her head as well.

Their eyes met briefly—then both quickly looked away and back to the camera.

“Since we’ve talked about work, let’s touch a bit on love. How long have you two been together?”

Ju Han replied.

“We were in the same class during our second year of high school. We stayed friends all along, and I think we decided to try dating differently around the summer when we were twenty-two.”

“Wow, so if you’re both twenty-nine now… that means you’ve been together for almost seven years?”

“Well… we did break up once for a while.”

Ju Han awkwardly rubbed the space between his jaw and neck. Eun Su added with an uneasy smile,

“It’s been about a year since we got back together.”

“I see… That makes me curious about your story.”

Ju Han naturally reached out and took Eun Su’s hand.

“If there’s a chance to talk about it during filming.”

Eun Su, who had stiffened imperceptibly at the touch, stayed silent but smiled faintly.

All her attention was now focused solely on their joined hands. It felt so strange to be holding hands so casually like this—and yet, his hand’s size, warmth, and texture were still painfully familiar, leaving her confused.

‘Was this really a mistake?’

A deep wave of regret washed over her. But it was already done—the cameras were rolling.

‘I must be insane. Why did I agree to pretend I’m in a couple with the guy I broke up with three years ago!’

It was all true—they’d first met in high school, started dating at twenty-two, and had broken up afterward. Only one detail was false: they hadn’t actually gotten back together a year ago.

Their relationship had ended completely—at age twenty-six, on a certain day.

And yet… they had no choice but to stage this act.

Memories from two years ago flashed through Eun Su’s mind.

[This is the timeline separator] [Two Years Ago]

Ugh, yesterday’s me really did something awful to today’s me again…!

The moment she woke up, Eun Su clutched her throbbing head, drowning in bitter regret.

Last night, she’d gone out with her best friend Sol Hee and gotten completely wasted for the first time in ages. The beer they’d started with, the soju they’d followed up with, and the wine they’d finished with were now sloshing inside her stomach, pounding her skull like ocean waves.

“I’m sorry… I’ll never live like this again…”

Mumbling a repentance to no one in particular, Eun Su fumbled for her phone—then froze.

Just past 10 a.m., an unread message glowed on her screen.

[Thanks for saying that. Sleep well.]

Huh? Saying what?

Her blood ran cold instantly.

She blinked rapidly and checked the screen again, desperately hoping her hangover was playing tricks on her—but the sender was unmistakably Kim Ju Han, her ex-boyfriend from a year ago.

“What on earth…?”

Did I see him yesterday? Did we talk, and I just don’t remember?

No, no—I’m sure it was just Sol Hee and me. I remember leaving the wine bar, getting into separate taxis, walking through my front door… Everything’s clear until then. That’s exactly where the blackout started.

So does that mean…?

With trembling hands, Eun Su unlocked her phone and checked her call log. Then she screamed.

“AAAAH! What is this?!”

Just a few hours earlier—at precisely 2:13 a.m. this morning—she’d made a call to Ju Han. And not only that: the call had lasted a full seven minutes.

Even worse, she couldn’t remember a single thing about it.

“Am I losing my mind…?!”

Eun Su sank to her knees, clutching her aching head with both hands, straining to recall anything.

‘Why did I call him? What on earth did I say?’

The only clue was Ju Han’s two-line reply:

Thanks for saying that. Sleep well.

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‘What did I say that made him thank me? Was he genuinely grateful—or being sarcastic? And “sleep well”—was that just a polite farewell, or him telling me to just go to sleep already? I have no idea!’

Nearly on the verge of tears, Eun Su reached the point of blaming Ju Han himself.

‘Seriously, why would he even answer a call from his ex at this hour? And talk for seven whole minutes?!’

While she agonized over how to fix this mess, her phone suddenly buzzed violently and blared with a loud ringtone. Startled, she checked the screen—relieved to see it wasn’t Ju Han.

“Yes, hello?”

— Hey, Eun Su. Can you talk for a sec?

It was Yoon Gi Woo, her former student council president from university. Back in school, he’d been so well-connected there wasn’t a single person on campus who didn’t know him—and even after graduation, he maintained an astonishingly wide circle of friends.

— Didn’t you quit that magazine job?

She’d handed in her resignation at the interior design magazine just a week ago after working there for barely over a year. She’d only confided the whole story to her closest friend Sol Hee yesterday—so how on earth did he already know?

“Senior, where do you even hear these things?”

— Oh, you know how it is. Anyway, got anywhere lined up to start right away?

“Nope. Got any leads?”

— Did you assign me the job of finding you work? How shameless can you get?

“Call it confidence. Anyway, I didn’t assign you anything—but you’re calling because you’ve got something for me, right?”

— Ugh, you really are something.

Chuckling, Gi Woo got to the point.

— It’s not a permanent role, just temporary part-time work. If you’re okay with it, could you help out? It’ll probably wrap up within two weeks to a month.

“What kind of work?”

It was for Gi Woo’s movie PR agency. Having recently moved from a small office to a much fancier location, they still hadn’t transferred all the old documents left behind.

— Everything’s just dumped there randomly. I figured now’s a good chance to sort through and organize it properly.

After hearing the rough explanation, Eun Su readily agreed. Since all the staff had already moved out, she’d be alone, leisurely organizing documents—an easy enough task.

After hanging up, Eun Su slowly dragged herself out of bed. The suffocating anxiety she’d briefly forgotten during the call came rushing back.

‘Given the timing, I definitely didn’t just misdial and hang up. What did I even say? What nonsense did I blurt out, me of all people!’

But even after showering, opening a delivery app, and ordering hangover soup, her mind remained utterly foggy. She scoured her phone records again, hoping for anything useful—but found nothing.

She couldn’t very well call him to ask.

What if he thought she was pretending not to remember when she actually did?

After staring at Ju Han’s message for a long while, Eun Su finally gave up and shoved her phone far away.

“Fine. Whatever it was, I’ll just bury it. We’ll probably never see each other again anyway.”

But as always…

The world wasn’t about to make things that easy for her.

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