Come Back

Choi Hong-seo snatched the bag from Park Dong-ha’s hands.

“You don’t need to do that. Yong-jae will be here soon. I’ll go ahead.”

Once she was completely outside the gate, her legs gave out from the tension. She leaned against the mansion’s gate and sat down on the ground.

It would take at least another 20 minutes for Yong-jae to arrive. Still, it was better than staying inside that house. Taxis were hard to find in Pyeongchang-dong. If she could hold on until Yong-jae arrived, she’d be fine.

Her lips were dry from the fever. She licked her lips and wiped the sweat from her arms with the sleeve of her t-shirt.

Had she come here just to attend the after-party? Had she said she would be as active as possible in the production process? Or… had it been to monitor and observe Yoon Hye-an?

Thinking back to his unfamiliar expression and voice as he relentlessly pushed her, without even flinching at the tear stains or her fearful expression, tears quickly welled up again.

“Why are you crying over something like this? When have you ever been pampered?”

She cursed herself and roughly wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. She rubbed the back of her hand across the side of her t-shirt, wiping away the remnants.

Even if he shouted at her to stop imitating Choi Hong-seo, she wasn’t clever enough to live as someone other than herself.

If she couldn’t even hold onto the memories of him to avoid imitating Choi Hong-seo, she wasn’t sure she could maintain her sanity and live this life as Yoon Hye-an.

His warning… even though she wanted to listen, it was just too difficult.

“Why did this happen… I didn’t ask to be looked after… I didn’t ask to be loved… why, why like this… sob…”

The tears didn’t stop; now she was sobbing with sorrow. She buried her face in her knees, unable to stop.

She waited for her tears to subside before Yong-jae arrived.

Crying was hard, but trying to stop herself from crying took energy too. So, she just let it be.

She thought it would take 20 minutes, but Yong-jae, being an efficient manager, arrived even earlier. After confirming Choi Hong-seo’s condition, he seemed to have a lot of questions, but he didn’t ask a single one. That was the part she was grateful for.

Yong-jae helped lift Choi Hong-seo and helped her into the back seat. In times like this, his large build was a comforting presence.

“Hyung, should we go to the hospital right now?”

Choi Hong-seo shook her head.

“Can we go home? I just want to sleep.”

She barely managed to say those words before pulling the blanket Yong-jae had given her up to her head. The car slowly started moving.

She hadn’t asked to be seen or loved, but she understood why he had pushed Yoon Hye-an so hard. How could she not?

It was because Choi Hong-seo was precious to him.

Just like the memories with him were the only driving force for her to live this life now, perhaps it was the same for him… He couldn’t see the series of coincidences surrounding Yoon Hye-an as mere coincidences. If he had investigated Yoon Hye-an, it would only confirm his suspicions, making it seem even worse. There was never any good rumor about Yoon Hye-an, neither before nor after she woke up as him.

So, Lee Hye-seong was not to blame.

He wasn’t hating her; he was loving her deeply, very deeply. Even now, still.

“I’m sorry for speaking like I resent you… You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry.”

The hot tears spilled out from under the blanket, soaking her temples and mingling with her sweat-soaked hair.

■

Lee Hye-seong stood motionless in the reception room where Yoon Hye-an had just left.

He buried his hands deep in his pants pockets and looked down at the floor, lost in thought.

Why was he crying here?

Was it because of some personal problem, and he had come here to find a quiet place, and by “chance,” ended up in this reception room…?

That couldn’t be it.

So many coincidences stacking up on top of each other—it couldn’t be called a coincidence anymore. He wasn’t willing to accept it as such.

The problem was, where, how, and through whom had Yoon Hye-an obtained that private information?

He had ordered an investigation into Choi Hong-seo’s past and Yoon Hye-an, but nothing particularly new or special was uncovered. The only thing confirmed was that Yoon Hye-an had lived a rather messy and immoral life.

It wasn’t just about his private life. He had caused several problems with his colleagues and staff, and there were numerous incidents where his behavior had been disruptive. His attitude toward his work was quite poor, and it seemed the producers had a lot of trouble with him. There were also traces of him being caught for drunk driving but somehow getting off the hook through the intervention of someone higher up.

“I will try to be more sincere in understanding the work and the character, now that I’ve joined late.”

Remembering Yoon Hye-an’s greeting at the dinner gathering, Lee Hye-seong couldn’t help but shudder and let out a hollow laugh.

Such a person talking about “sincerity”—it was absurd, to say the least.

If one were to compare, Choi Hong-seo and Yoon Hye-an were the most distant people in the entertainment industry. Choi Hong-seo had fought tooth and nail, developing his talent with sincerity and perseverance, struggling to seize opportunities even in the most dire circumstances. On the other hand, Yoon Hye-an had opted for an easy path, focusing on finding sponsors rather than honing his abilities, quickly gaining popularity and using it for his own advantage.

What chance would Yoon Hye-an have of imitating Choi Hong-seo?

Lee Hye-seong slowly walked to the window.

Through the tall windows, the darkened garden and the sparkling city lights of Seoul below seemed to shimmer like stars, oblivious to the dirty secrets lurking in the shadows.

It was clear that there were limits to investigating from the outside. He needed to gather more detailed information through direct interviews.

He took out his phone from his jacket and dialed a number.

On a quiet weekend evening, after a few rings, a bright voice answered.

[Hyung.]

“Jin-ssi, I haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been?”

[Since the project ended, I’ve been jobless. I’ve been doing fine. You’ve been busy with the movie, right?]

“Being an investor, all I do is meddle in things and annoy people.”

[You’re not the type of investor, I know that.]

Behind his laughter, Lee Hye-seong could hear someone ask, “Is it Hae-seong hyung?”

“Han-i, is he with you?”

[Yes, he just came back from running an errand to the convenience store.]

The image of Han Seo Group’s Lee Han, going on a convenience store errand for his lover, brought a silent smile to Lee Hye-seong’s face.

They were still such a beautiful couple. So… enviously beautiful.

[There’s not much time left until the separation is finalized, so I bet you’re feeling quite overwhelmed with that, right?]

“That’s something I’ve been preparing for gradually over a long time, so the only thing left now is just the signature.”

Once the greetings were mostly out of the way, Lee Hye-seong moved on to the main topic.

“Jin-ssi, today it’s not about that…”

[Yes.]

“Hong-seo…”

[……]

As soon as he mentioned the name, an awkward silence hung between them for a moment. For both Lee Hye-seong and Jeong Ji-in, the name Choi Hong-seo was still not something that could be spoken about smoothly, without resistance.

“Do you think there’s anyone other than you, Jin-ssi, who Hong-seo might have talked about me with?”

[About the vice president?]

“About our relationship, or the little memories we had together.”

[……]

“Like the movies we watched together, the places we went to…”

[As you know, hyung, that guy isn’t the type to confide in anyone or rely on others. He didn’t even tell me that he was meeting you…]

The response he expected came back, and Lee Hye-seong felt a tightening in his chest.

“Still, just in case, if he did tell anyone, is there anyone who comes to mind?”

There was a hint of impatience and desperation in his voice. It was rare for him to sound like that.

[Well, other than me, it would probably be Hyun-su. At least, as far as I know.]

Hyun-su. Song Hyun-su.

Of course, Lee Hye-seong knew who that was. He had absorbed every bit of information that Director Kang had investigated about Choi Hong-seo.

“I see, thank you.”

[Is something going on?]

“No, nothing like that. I was just wondering if I had missed something regarding Hong-seo’s situation. There’s no work issue. Since the movie is starting again, I’ve been thinking about that kid more… That’s all.”

[Even if you’re busy, please make time soon. I’ll arrange a dinner with Han-i.]

“Sure. It’s always nice to meet the two of you.”

After finishing the call, Lee Hye-seong suddenly felt a deep fatigue. He walked away from the window and made his way to the sofa.

He collapsed onto the long sofa where Yoon Hye-an had been sitting earlier. It was right next to the spot Yoon Hye-an had been.

Sitting side by side on this sofa, Choi Hong-seo had said:

“You’re so nice to me, how could I not like you?”

He could have just said he liked him. But it was such an innocent, shy way of expressing it, like a child.

Still, it was better that way. He never said anything insincere in front of me, always with a slightly serious expression, as if a bit nervous. If he knew how cute that was to me, he’d tease me. “I didn’t make any cute expressions,” he’d probably say in his stiff voice.

Looking down at the spot where Choi Hong-seo had sat, Lee Hye-seong chuckled softly at the memory. He tilted his head back, resting it on the back of the sofa, and raised his arm to cover his eyes.