Chapter 91: Where Secrets Begin to Echo

“Who’s on duty?”

“It’s Jaehee~”

“Wasn’t it Jaehee last time too? Anyway, Jaehee, clean up the rest of the balls and put them in the storage.”

At the PE teacher’s words, the girls in the class quietly giggled, and Jaehee closed her mouth with an expressionless face.

“Jaehee, please~”

“We’re leaving first.”

“Come back safely!”

As soon as the teacher left, the kids swarmed out of the gym, and before I knew it, I was left alone in the wide gym.

Now, I was used to this time of being left alone, and I didn’t hate it. Because it was always during this time that I could see him.

Jaehee picked up the scattered volleyball balls and approached the gym storage, and from inside, keyboard sounds flowed out.

‘He’s there.’

Jaehee leaned against the small side door of the storage. 

The soft melody entering her ears erased all thoughts in her mind and became the only breathing hole in her stuffy school life.

“Haaa.”

It was always during this time that sounds came from the gym storage, and she waited only for this time every week.

‘I wish time would stop like this.’

It was when she was quietly closing her eyes.

“What are you doing there?”

At someone’s voice, she looked beside her in surprise, and there stood one person.

‘Lee Kang Ha.’

To describe Lee Kang Ha in one word, he was a person whose very existence was dazzling, as if all light was directed toward him. 

I could say he was always in the opposite place from myself, who was melancholic and lonely.

“I asked what you’re doing.”

Kang Ha had his shirt buttoned up to the neck and his tie neatly tied, but his sleeves rolled up to his wrists showed that neatness wasn’t everything about him.

“Ah…… I was going to clean up the balls and put them away…….”

Jaehee showed the ball in her hand slightly in panic.

“I-it’s true…….”

In case he didn’t believe her and treated her like a weird person, she quickly added.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“S-sorry.”

Apologizing unconditionally had become a habit, and the word sorry popped out automatically.

“It’s not because of me that you couldn’t clean up? Yet why are you apologizing.”

“That’s…….”

“You have ears, so hearing it is unavoidable.”

He was right. 

She was just standing here; it was Kang Ha who was skipping class and secretly bringing a keyboard to the gym storage to play.

“Sorry.”

However, from Jaehee’s mouth, words of apology popped out again.

“Apologizing again.”

“Sor…… Ah!”

She barely blocked the apology that was about to come out with her hand, and seeing that, Kang Ha smiled at the corners of his mouth.

“Is playing piano here a secret?”

At his words, Jaehee nodded slightly.

“I’ll trust only you.”

“Ah…….”

Her heart thumped at the word “trust” that she had never heard from anyone until now.

“But your hair.”

Kang Ha pointed at Jaehee’s hair, and Jaehee swept her hair in surprise.

“Not there, the side.”

She kept sweeping her hair, and Kang Ha, watching her, approached Jaehee.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

As he approached, Jaehee forgot to breathe and froze, and after a while, a soft touch was felt on her head.

“I won’t eat you.”

Kang Ha’s voice came from above her head, and since it was the first time facing him this close, she couldn’t lift her head due to embarrassment.

“See you next time. Han Jaehee.”

At the sound of him calling her name, she lifted her head sharply, and Kang Ha smiled at her and left the gym.

Jaehee, left there, tried to cool her burning face.

Without even thinking that she was wearing gym clothes and had no name tag.

***

da.

“Cut! Good. We’ll move to the next scene~”

“Yes~ Quitting time!”

My portions to shoot today were all done.

“Envious…….”

Haewon, who had a shooting schedule until evening, looked at me leaving first with envious eyes.

“Noona, don’t be envious. I have to come back at 6 AM tomorrow.”

“Sorry. I misspoke.”

Having gone through various things together even before shooting, Haewon and I had become quite close despite it being the early stages of filming.

“Hahaha, go in quickly.”

“Yes! Good work~ Good work!”

“Hyunjae, let’s go.”

While greeting the staff, Hayoon came to my side.

“Good job.”

“Huaam~ I have to come in at dawn tomorrow, so I’ll go home and sleep right away.”

“Today, the CEO said to come to the company…….”

“Ah! Right.”

I didn’t know what it was about, but Hyungkyu called me to the company. Since he didn’t say to rush over immediately, it didn’t seem urgent.

da.

“Mr. Hyunjae, your shoes here.”

“You can change there…… Thank you.”

And one more family member was added to me.

“The size doesn’t fit, so your feet hurt. Next time, I’ll bring a slightly larger one.”

As the male lead in name, he said I should have at least one stylist, so Hyungkyu got one for me.

“Thank you~”

He said he came from handling idols, and he was quick on trends and fast at work, which I liked a lot.

‘As expected, the CEO’s eye.’

He slipped a bit with Gongjun, but excluding that, everything was perfect.

da.

“Let’s go quickly.”

Like that, I moved to the company with Hayoon.

“CEO~”

“Yeah, Munchi.”

“Yes?”

There was only me in the CEO’s office, so naturally it was to me, but Munchi?

“Trouble Munch. This guy!”

“Ei~ What trouble munch. So childish.”

“You cause accidents like this and expect not to be called that? A reflection letter came to the company today.”

“It did?”

The company also sent a lawsuit to that stalker. Fortunately, it was possible to sue for spreading false information.

“Yeah, I read it, and it’s just the usual story.”

Hyungkyu put down an envelope on the table, and I immediately took out the envelope and read the contents.

“Study stress?”

“She said it was because of study stress. Isn’t it really funny?”

How can someone come up with such nonsensical excuses. 

Humans are really incomprehensible.

“Shameless.”

“But still…… since she won’t appear in front of you again, let’s go with leniency.”

“Leniency?”

From what I heard from Taewoon, these days they don’t give leniency, and he said absolutely not to.

“Yeah, these days they don’t, but…… the parents seemed pitiful, sending a letter asking to believe just once that they absolutely won’t send her to Seoul again, it tugged at my heart a bit.”

For Hyungkyu, who is cold in work, to say this, it must really be tugging at him.

“The parents?”

“It’s behind.”

Behind the roughly scribbled reflection letter, there was a man’s handwriting that seemed pressed hard letter by letter.

From the beginning starting with ‘Hello’ to the part ending with ‘I apologize.’ It was perfect without a single useless phrase, as if written after much thought.

“Let’s just let this one go.”

Seeing this letter that felt sincere, I couldn’t not give leniency.

‘Is this what parents are?’

To think even someone like this has such devoted parents. 

It made me think again about the existence of parents that neither I nor my owner had.

“I knew you’d think that. Instead, I’ll nail it down properly so this doesn’t happen again.”

“Yes, got it. Then I…….”

“Where are you going?”

“Yes? Wasn’t this what you called me for?”

I thought he was showing the reflection letter and wrapping it up?

“If you caused an accident, you have to clean up after.”

“Clean up?”

“Yeah. You boasted nonsense, so take responsibility.”

“Ah…….”

Drama promotion was a perfect excuse, and since that account had served its purpose, it was naturally discarded.

“Thanks to plotting well with Taewoon, the drama promotion is perfect, and the fans are in an uproar.”

“Ahaha…….”

“Because of him, they’re making a fuss saying to throw bait that no posts are up on the fake account, and incidentally, the production company is getting deliciously cursed for promoting the drama this way.”

I hadn’t thought this far. 

I thought it would wrap up without big issues, but to think others would be in trouble.

“Ah…… Should I upload some photos now?”

“That’s fine, the production company said they’ll spur on promotion because of this and are sharpening their knives.”

“Promotion is fine…… but will there be time? I have drama shooting and variety to film too.”

Even if Countryside Three Meals shooting was just one day, still, shooting schedules were set steadily every two weeks.

“We’ll adjust as much as possible.”

“Got it.”

It was promoting the drama I was in, not anything else, so I had no complaints.

“No issues on set?”

“Of course.”

“The lead creates the set atmosphere. I gave Hayoon the corporate card, so if the atmosphere seems bad, shoot tasty things for the staff.”

“No need to worry. The atmosphere is too good.”

Haewon has such a lively personality, and I’m not quiet either, so the set had a strong vibe of everyone uniting and cheering.

“That’s a relief, now go.”

“Got it. But what’s this script?”

The moment I was about to leave, I spotted a script under the table.

“Ah…… that’s nothing much.”

“What is it? A script that came to me?”

I reached out to pick up the script, but Hyungkyu’s action was faster.

“Sssup!” 

This isn’t yours? 

Go quickly.

“What is it? Why hide it like this?”

Rolling the script and stuffing it into his back pocket looked very suspicious.

“What hiding. Go~”

Hyungkyu pushed my back.

“What script is it that you’re like that?”

“You said dawn shooting tomorrow, go in quickly.”

“Hiding it like that makes me more curious!”

The desperate hiding made me more curious.

“It’s another person’s script, so not showing, what hiding.”

“Tch, got it.”

“Don’t be greedy, focus only on current works.”

Saying it like this made me think it’s really not my work.

“I’ll go.”

***

“Don’t cause accidents!”

Even in that, he didn’t forget to remind not to cause accidents.

‘Hmm~ What was that script?’

Curiosity arose, but soon forgotten with the busy schedule.

“Phew~ Almost a big deal.”

Hyungkyu took out the script hidden in his back pocket.

[Clash]

The handwriting that seemed hastily scrawled on the black cover gave a dark feeling. 

It was an independent film, but the raw feeling matched the work’s color well, and the artistry was quite high. 

That’s why he desperately prevented Hyunjae from seeing the script.

‘He looks gentle but is stubborn, if he says he’ll do it, it’ll be a headache.’

Because of the contract and such, he absolutely planned not to show the script to Hyunjae.

“This isn’t it.”

Just starting and still a long way to go, couldn’t be held back by this. 

Hyungkyu walked to the desk and opened the lower drawer full of miscellaneous items.

The moment he was about to put the script there, the director’s desperate appearance saying it was the last chance in life came to mind again. 

But he quickly erased it from his head and put the script between other documents and closed it.