During the two hours with her, she hadn’t laughed once, but now that she smiled at someone like Director Hong, Taeseok felt empty.

“Hey. I haven’t eaten either.”

Not hoping he would come even later, Director Hong, who appeared now, not only took away Yeoreum’s laughter but also took her milk.

“I’ll eat this.”

“Are you crazy?”

Director Hong snatched it back and handed it to Yeoreum.

“I know you like sushi, but there’s no sushi place nearby. Let’s fill our stomachs with this for now.”

“Yeah. Okay. Thanks.”

“Shall I warm up the milk?”

“No.”

As Yeoreum inserted a long straw into the milk and sipped it, Director Hong smiled and patted her head. It was a straightforward attitude like dealing with a younger sister, but a flame ignited in Taeseok’s eyes.

He thought of breaking the wrist of a friend or something. Feeling the uncomfortable gaze from Hong, Taeseok turned to look at him.

“Pathetic kid. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking of killing you.”

Director Hong pretended to squeeze Taeseok and glared at him. Then he addressed both Yeoreum and Taeseok.

“Listen to me, you two.”

“Yeah.”

“No.”
Taeseok’s counterargument was casually ignored by Director Hong, who spoke up.

“The director is on the way to inform Yeoreum about the accident.”

“Yeah.”

“For now, Taeseok’s shoot has been postponed to tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

“But there was no way to explain why Taeseok is here in this hospital. So, the three of us just said we were originally close friends, let’s go with that if anyone asks.”

“Do you believe that?”

“I don’t know. What else can we do? Just say that Yeoreum and I became friends because we were university classmates. Let’s stick to that story if anyone asks.”

Suddenly, they became close friends.

At the expression ‘stick to the story,’ Yeoreum’s face turned red for no reason. She tried to soothe the embarrassment by drinking milk more diligently, but Taeseok stared at her face for a while.

“But no one will believe that.”

After a brief moment, Yeoreum quietly countered.

To anyone, it sounded like a strange excuse. Taeseok had been sharp and abrasive toward Yeoreum from the production presentation to the recent embarrassment at the public shooting location.

Taeseok seemed to have thought the same, nodding his head, but Director Hong dismissed it at once.

“Just say you had a brief fight. There was no other way!”

“Oh, okay. Don’t shout. Then, you can leave now.”

Taeseok waved his hand as if annoyed.

“And you?”

“I’m going to sleep.”

Yeoreum raised her head in surprise.

“Senior! Please take me out of here.”

“Hey, crazy guy. You still need to settle today’s work. The office is in an emergency because of you. Follow me.”

Director Hong sent a wink to Yeoreum and dragged Taeseok away.

“Yeoreum, since things turned out like this, get some rest. I’ll come tomorrow.”

A chaotic morning began in the VIP room. Nurses and bodyguards were a bit flustered as famous celebrities visited one after another.

The first visitor was Yoo Young.

Yesterday, Taeseok could rush over immediately as he was on standby for shooting, but it was different for Young and Jihyuk. They had been busy with filming all day, so they only heard about Yeoreum’s accident late at night. Young woke up early and rushed to Yeoreum.

“Unni, are you okay? You’re not seriously injured, right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry for worrying you.”

“But still! You said there was no need to come yesterday, why did you come and get hurt? I thought my heart was going to drop.”

Young lightly scolded Yeoreum and took out her luggage to organize. It was towels, toiletries, and a change of clothes. Despite not asking, Young had picked out only the necessary items, impressing Yeoreum.

“Wow. Yoo Young is meticulous too.”

Young chuckled.

“I need to go right away. Eat well and rest well. When are you getting discharged?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask the nurse when she comes later.”

“Rest well. I’m off.”

“Yeah. Take care.”

The second visitor was Jihyuk.
Yeoreum recognized Jihyuk’s presence just by the sound of his footsteps. The bustling, somewhat reckless steps approaching were undoubtedly Cheon Jihyuk’s, making her laugh. Thanks to the unlocked door code, he immediately opened the door and came in.

“Nuna!”

Jihyuk, with a restless expression, first checked Yeoreum’s complexion.

“Are you okay?”

“I guess.”

Yeoreum faintly smiled. However, Jihyuk didn’t. After helping Yeoreum up, he lifted her slightly and looked around, asking if there were any injuries.

“You didn’t get hurt much? Your hands? Head? They say you can get a concussion from a traffic accident.”

Yeoreum’s body responded weakly.

“Hey! Stop it. I feel dizzy.”

Yeoreum smiled while protesting.

“Don’t touch me so easily like this. My fans get excited for no reason. A younger guy.”

Even though Yeoreum made a joke, Jihyuk still didn’t smile. He lifted Yeoreum back into a sitting position and looked around to see if there were any injuries.

“Was the shooting tough yesterday? Your face seems quite damaged.”

Yeoreum asked in surprise, but Jihyuk, seemingly indifferent, shrugged his shoulders once. Then Jihyuk asked another question.

“I have something I want to ask. Nuna.”

“Yeah.”

“…Yesterday. Taeseok hyung was here, right?”

Jihyuk couldn’t keep his hands still for a moment, sweeping his thigh. He seemed to be surrounded by an odd tension.

“Don’t lie. I know you’re not excited about me at all.”

When Jihyuk asked with a slightly sharp tone, Yeoreum was surprised.

“Yeah, that’s how it happened.”

“Why?”

Jihyuk asked somewhat sharply.

“Yeah?”

“Well, then, why did Taeseok hyung take care of you? It’s strange.”

Jihyuk, who had gathered his forehead slightly, raised his head again and said.

“Are you curious about what kind of relationship the two of you have?… Can I ask?”