Chapter 09…
Because It’s Mine
“Excuse me! Is there really no one home?”
“This is a really expensive coat. I can’t afford to lose it. No one’s going to steal it, right? Sigh, I don’t know. I’m leaving the coat here! I definitely delivered it properly!”
Dahee peered through the front gate, but when there was no sign of anyone inside, she hung the bag containing the coat on the gate’s handle.
“Well, goodbye, then.”
Dahee stepped back, bowed politely toward the unresponsive gate, and turned around.
Geonwoo, who had watched the entire scene, let out a quiet chuckle. Then, a strange thought crossed his mind. Was this really the same woman who had thrown herself into the river just a few days ago, intending to end her own life?
Click.
Geonwoo stepped out through the opening gate. The coat he had never intended to retrieve was indeed the one he had been wearing on the day of the accident.
He gazed at Dahee’s retreating figure, which was already some distance away.
He was relieved to see that she seemed to have recovered safely, but he didn’t think he should simply let her leave after she had come all the way here by herself to return his coat.
More than anything, he had grown curious.
Just what kind of person was Do Dahee?
Carrying the bag, Geonwoo began following her at a leisurely pace.
Meanwhile, Dahee, her head bowed low, had no idea that Geonwoo was following her. Now that she had finished delivering the coat, her mind was entirely occupied with what she would say when she met Han Jun-sang.
‘Do Dahee. How could you leave the company without even consulting me? I was the one who discovered you and helped you grow. You can’t do this to me. This is outright betrayal! Turning your back on the person who raised you is a violation of basic professional ethics! Do you have any idea how much influence I have in this industry? Do you want to throw away your career in entertainment?’
Dahee had debuted at fourteen and spent eight years with her first agency, remaining there until she was twenty-two. That chapter of her career had ended when her contract expired. Even while actively working, she had spent a long time agonizing over the decision before finally choosing to transfer to a new agency.
An amicable farewell and a fresh start.
There had been no particular problems with her transfer, so the news articles had presented it in a positive light. However, at the farewell party her agency had arranged, Han Jun-sang had hurled all sorts of harsh insults at her.
Even if he had been drunk, there was no way she could have remained unaffected after being subjected to such vicious remarks in front of everyone.
In the end, Dahee had distanced herself from Han Jun-sang after that incident. She had drawn a firm line between them, so there had been no reason to meet or contact each other privately.
And so, today’s encounter would be their first in several years.
She had decided to meet him because she wanted to hear firsthand about Yu Min-ah’s condition and the circumstances behind the recent incident. Even so, the prospect of meeting Han Jun-sang one-on-one was undeniably intimidating.
“Was this a mistake?”
Just as she let out a deep sigh, as though the ground beneath her might collapse—
Vroooom—HOOONK!
“Watch out!”
At the shout that accompanied the blaring horn, Dahee began to turn around, only to suddenly lose her balance and tumble to the ground. In the process, her sunglasses flew off and landed beneath a passing motorcycle, which crushed them to pieces with a loud crunch.
“Are you all right?”
“……Ah! I’m sorry!”
Snapped back to her senses by the unfamiliar male voice beside her, Dahee hurriedly got to her feet. The man, who had nearly fallen on top of her, also stood up, casually brushing himself off as though nothing had happened.
Dahee quickly surveyed her surroundings. Then, as she bent down to pick up what appeared to be the man’s bag, she paused and tilted her head.
“This is……”
The crumpled bag looked exactly like the one she had just hung on the gate.
She took out the coat to check, and her eyes widened in surprise.
“Why do you have this?”
“It’s mine.”
“Pardon?”
“That coat is mine.”
“……Pardon?”
Geonwoo snatched the coat from Dahee, who stared at him in utter bewilderment, and looked down at her with a relaxed expression.
Dahee stood rooted to the spot, staring back at him as though she had forgotten how to look away.
Tilting his head slightly to one side, Geonwoo slowly let his gaze travel down from her dazed expression. Despite the cold weather, the slender line of her neck was exposed. Below it, her chest rose and fell rapidly, almost as though her heart were pounding audibly.
That was the spot where he might have left bruises from performing vigorous CPR.
The fact that it was moving was proof that she was alive and well.
Relieved by the sight, he raised his eyes again and met her clear, unclouded gaze.
“……”
So this is the man who jumped into those deep waters and saved me? Jang Geonwoo?
It was as though time had stopped.
Dahee stared at Geonwoo with a dazed expression, her lips parting slightly. She had spent years in the entertainment industry and had seen countless stars in person, but this was the first time she had ever experienced the feeling that an actual halo was shining around someone.
“How much?”
Geonwoo was the first to break the prolonged silence.
Dahee’s eyes widened as she looked at him, seemingly unable to understand what he meant.
“The express delivery fee. How much should I pay you?”
At Jang Geonwoo’s question, Dahee’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
What is with this man? Even if I’m wearing a mask, surely he can’t be so clueless that he doesn’t recognize me.
I’m Do Dahee, for goodness’ sake!
Whether he knew what was going through her mind or not, Geonwoo watched her expressions change from moment to moment. Gradually, a smile spread across his face.
His gaze settled on the small scratch across the bridge of her nose. It seemed to have been caused when her sunglasses were knocked off moments ago.
His smile quickly faded, and he asked, “Doesn’t it hurt?”
“What?”
“Is anything bothering you? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
“Me? No, not really……”
Geonwoo’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Even that tiny change in his expression caused Dahee’s gaze to shift.
“By the way, those are beyond repair.”
Following the direction of his chin, Dahee turned to look at her completely shattered sunglasses.
Only then did she realize that this man had saved her from being hit by the motorcycle, too. She bowed deeply to him.
“Thank you for saving me. Are you hurt anywhere?”
Geonwoo shrugged as though it were nothing and draped the coat over his arm before answering.
“If you’re grateful, does that mean we can call it even on the express delivery fee?”
“I never intended to charge you for delivery in the first place.”
“Then it was free delivery? I don’t know which company sent you, but delivering packages on foot without even a vehicle is impressive. Is this the latest delivery trend in Korea?”
What on earth is this man talking about?
His tone was perfectly polite, but there was something strangely teasing about it. Dahee’s brows drew closer and closer together. Now that she thought about it, the corners of his mouth had been turned up ever so slightly for a while.
She had come all this way for a clear reason: to meet Jang Geonwoo in person, return his coat, and thank him for saving her the other day.
But now that she was standing right in front of the man himself, she found it surprisingly difficult to bring herself to say those words.
On top of that, he seemed to have absolutely no idea that she was the celebrity Do Dahee.
Even if he knew next to nothing about celebrities, how was she supposed to react to a man who saw her—someone at the center of a media controversy—as nothing more than a delivery worker?
Feeling a little insulted despite herself, Dahee replied with a sulky expression.
“I didn’t walk all the way here. I took a taxi.”
“Where is the taxi now?”
“It already left.”
“Then I’ll have to get you another one. Follow me.”
“That’s all right. I’m supposed to meet someone around here later.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I’m not lying. I really do have an appointment at two.”
Perhaps worried that he wouldn’t believe her, Dahee even mentioned the exact time before lowering her head again.
Geonwoo checked his wristwatch. There was still some time before two.
“Just follow me for now.”
“……? Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out if you follow me.”
Geonwoo strode toward the entrance of the alley. The wind was cold, so he slipped the coat on over his shoulders.
She had already thought he was tall, but the sight of him from behind in the coat was particularly impressive.
Dahee hurriedly gathered the fragments of her sunglasses and stuffed them into the empty bag before following him. Then, all of a sudden, she let out a strangled gasp and pulled the tablet computer from her pocket.
“Oh, I’m doomed.”
The damage wasn’t quite as catastrophic as that to her sunglasses, but the sight of the cracked screen instantly made her face crumple in despair.
A short while later, they arrived at a convenience store. Geonwoo had already gone inside.
Unlike the quiet, upscale residential alley, the area around the convenience store was bustling with pedestrians.
Dahee glanced around. Suddenly, she made eye contact with a group of high school girls. Worried that they might recognize her, she quickly looked away and hunched her shoulders, but it seemed she was already too late.
The girls whispered among themselves before heading straight toward her.
“Excuse me, are you perhaps……?”
“!”
Just as one of the girls began speaking, Dahee’s vision was suddenly blocked by something dark.
“Ladies, can I help you?”
Geonwoo had emerged from the convenience store at just the right moment. He firmly pulled a cap down over Dahee’s head before addressing the high school girls.
Intimidated by his imposing presence, the girl hesitated. One of her friends grabbed her arm and said, “Hey! It’s not her. Come on, let’s go,” before pulling her away.
Having dismissed the group with just a single sentence, Geonwoo finally turned around.
Dahee was still hunched over, looking as though she were terrified of something. Geonwoo narrowed his eyes as he studied her.
“Have you committed some kind of crime?”
“N-no. But what’s with this hat?”
“A substitute for your sunglasses. You seemed unhappy about having only your mask to hide behind.”
“Oh……”
“Sit here for a moment.”
Dahee obediently sat down on the plastic chair he pulled over for her. While she quietly kept her head bowed, Geonwoo busied himself with something.
“Could you lift your head a little?”
“……?”
The moment she raised her chin slightly, the man’s hand reached toward her face. Dahee flinched in surprise, then immediately felt the edge of a bandage attached to the bridge of her nose.
“What are you doing?”
“I put a bandage with ointment on it over your wound.”
“Oh……”
“Take this with you and use it if you need to. You can throw it away if you don’t.”
Geonwoo placed the ointment and bandages in Dahee’s hands, then straightened up as though he had finished everything he came to do.
“Well, I’ll be going.”
“Excuse me! Wait a moment!”
Geonwoo turned back and glanced down at the hand gripping the hem of his coat.
“I’m sorry, but could I borrow your phone for a moment?”
