Chapter 5
The Main Character of a Cursed Fairy Tale
“I’ll make you the top actor in South Korea. All you have to do is enjoy it.”
“If you want love from me, that is impossible. I cannot love…”
“Love? I’m not asking you for something like that. Just exist perfectly as myĀ lover. That’s the only condition you have to keep.”
That was how Se-hee and Ji-han made their contract.
She really did make Ji-han into the country’s top actor, and he became her public lover, appearing with her everywhere.
But Ji-han had been the first to break the agreement, so he had no excuse.
Still, he was sick of the media praising him and Se-hee as if they were the greatest lovers of the century, endlessly talking about romance. On top of that, Se-hee had gradually become obsessed with him, treating him as if he were her possession. He had already reached his limit.
Maybe this was the right time to tell her he was done pretending to be her lover.
Ji-han slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Se-hee.
As always, she looked cold and proud.
But…
Why did she seem so uneasy?
Se-hee was not someone who felt anxiety.
She always did whatever she wanted. If there was something she desired, she always obtained it. Someone like her had no reason to feel insecure.
Concluding that he must have imagined it, Ji-han closed his eyes again.
Silence filled the waiting room.
It felt just likeĀ that house.
The house where silence swallowed every corner.
The memories he wanted to forget slowly began to take over his mind. One thought led to another, spreading like darkness.
Then Se-hee suddenly stood up.
“Get up. We have somewhere to go.”
“…I have another schedule.”
“I canceled it.”
Like always, she gave no explanation.
She was the kind of person who never needed to explain herself.
Just as she was about to leave the room, she stopped at the door.
Without fully turning around, she spoke.
“Your father passed away.”
Ji-han’s heart started pounding violently.
His mind couldn’t even process her words.
“W-What…?”
He had never spoken casually to Se-hee before.
But this time, the word escaped on its own.
“I said your father died. He took his own life at home. Manager Sun will take care of the funeral…”
He could barely hear her voice.
It sounded as though she were speaking underwater.
Your father died.
How did Se-hee know about the father he hadn’t visited in almost ten years after leaving home?
And why was she arranging his father’s funeral on her own?
Am I sad?
If I am…
…why can’t I cry?
Countless thoughts crashed over him like a waterfall.
His head pounded as if someone were striking it with a hammer.
Se-hee kept saying something beside him.
But he couldn’t hear a single word.
After that, he remembered very little.
He shook Se-hee off, got into a car, and drove without thinking.
When he finally came to his senses, he was standing in front of a mansion.
Has it really been ten years?
Ji-han quietly stared at the dark house without a single light before slowly walking toward the large gate.
The house of endless silence.
He had sworn never to return here.
Yet here he was.
As he pushed the gate open, the rusty hinges let out a long, creepy squeak.
Manager Sun must have left it unlocked.
Well…
Who would willingly enter a house that looked like a haunted ruin?
Trying not to think too deeply, Ji-han stepped into the darkness.
If he stopped distracting himself, reality would crash down on him.
The reality that the father who had long been dead to him…
…had truly died.
Click.
He felt along the wall and flipped on the light switch.
Bright fluorescent lights flooded the room.
After spending so long in the darkness, the sudden brightness made him squint.
Slowly, he looked around.
It’s exactly the same.
The house had remained frozen exactly as it had been when Ji-han lived there.
The very place he had desperately wanted to escape.
Seeing every familiar corner exactly as before made it hard for him to breathe.
Father…
Were you still living in the past all this time…?
Bitterness.
Sadness.
Anger.
All those emotions mixed together into one heavy lump that rose in his throat.
Forcing it back down, Ji-han walked toward the room he had once used.
The bed.
The desk.
Everything remained untouched.
Sitting at the desk again after ten years felt strange.
It was as if he had become nineteen-year-old Yoon Ji-han once more.
Back then, he used to sit at this very desk with a notebook open, making plans to escape this suffocating house.
The notebook should still be here.
He opened the first drawer beneath the desk.
Inside were his notebook and writing supplies, neatly arranged.
Just as they had been when he left.
But…
“…What’s this?”
A small piece of paper.
No…
Looking closer, it was a business card.
Ji-han picked it up and read the purple letters printed on it.
“The Way Research Institute?”
He turned it over.
On the white back was a golden key.
What is this?
Everything else in this house was exactly the same as when he was born.
So perfectly unchanged that it was almost frightening.
Yet this single business card didn’t belong.
It had been placed inside the drawer as if someone wanted him to find it.
Suddenly everything felt unreal.
The interview.
Se-hee telling him his father had died.
This house still buried in silence.
And…
This strange business card with a golden key.
Bzzz… Bzzz…
While Ji-han was lost in memories from a few days earlier, his phone suddenly vibrated.
He took it out of his jacket pocket and looked at the screen.
Han Se-hee
The moment he saw her name, he let out a deep sigh.
Whenever she called, he was expected to answer.
Instead of picking up, however, he lowered his eyes to the business card still in his other hand.
Above the shining golden key, he remembered the eyes of the woman who had said that someone incapable of love was an unfortunateĀ Love Syndrome patient.
He looked back and forth between the constantly vibrating phone and the mysterious card.
Then he suddenly stood up, having made a decision.
…If everything goes well, I might be able to solve both of my problems at once.
***
“Yeon-hee, try this.”
Wearing a white apron, Do-yoon placed a plate on the table in front of Yeon-hee.
Soft ivory-colored cream filled with Earl Grey tea powder was spread between fluffy cake layers.
A gentle Earl Grey fragrance drifted through the air.
“What’s this? I’ve never seen this cake before.”
“It’s our new menu. Try it and tell me honestly what you think. Don’t just say everything tastes good!”
Do-yoon reminded her seriously as he sat down across from her.
He currently ownedĀ D. Fle, a cafĆ© that sold desserts and flowers.
He had originally learned baking as a hobby, but the reason he eventually opened a cafĆ©…
…was Yeon-hee.
The day she tasted one of his cakes, she declared that she wanted to eat only his cakes for the rest of her life.
His cakes truly were that special.
As a result,Ā D. FleĀ became famous for its desserts.
Combined with the fact that the handsome owner ran the cafƩ himself, customers were always lining up outside.
“Okay!”
The moment Yeon-hee saw the cake, her face brightened.
She smiled and picked up her fork before suddenly asking suspiciously,
“…By the way, what’s this cake called?”
“Hehe?”
“…Hehe? Are you talking to me?”
“No, that’s the cake’s name.Ā Eolssigu!Ā It’s short forĀ Earl Grey Chiffon Cloud Cake!”
Do-yoon proudly explained.
Yeon-hee simply shook her head.
Ignoring him as he asked whether it wasn’t a great name, she cut off a piece and placed it into her mouth.
Such a delicious cake…
…and he named it “Eolssigu.”
His naming sense really is something…
The fragrant Earl Grey flavor spread through her mouth, while the fluffy cake felt as light as a cloud.
As expected, Do-yoon’s cakes were so delicious that she would crave them even in her sleep.
“It’s delicious!”
“Oh? R-Really? That’s a relief.”
Normally, Do-yoon would be smiling from ear to ear whenever Yeon-hee praised his baking.
But today he looked distracted.
He kept glancing over his shoulder as if something were bothering him.
“Yeon-hee…”
“Do you happen to know the people sitting back there?”
Leaning closer, he whispered quietly.
Still eating her cake, Yeon-hee looked over his shoulder.
Two men she had never seen before were staring directly at her table.
The moment she looked back, they quickly turned their heads away.
“No. I don’t know them at all. Aren’t they customers waiting for you? Is it okay for you to stay here? I can just call you later…”
“No, it’s fine! We’re closing soon anyway.”
It was eight o’clock in the evening.
Closing time was ten.
Afraid she would leave, Do-yoon hurriedly waved both hands.
Then, before she could say anything else, he quickly changed the subject.
“So… what was it you wanted to tell me that couldn’t be said over the phone?”
Yeon-hee set down her fork.
“Do you know Yoon Ji-han? The actor.”
“Of course. You don’t really watch dramas or movies, but he’s incredibly famous.”
“Really? I met him.”
Do-yoon, who had been pretending not to care with his arms folded, straightened in his chair.
“What? How? Where?”
“He came to Damcheongwon as a customer. He didn’t have a reservation, though…”
“I see…”
He thought for a moment.
“But you’re not the type to come all the way here just because a celebrity visited. Did something happen?”
“…Yes.”
Yeon-hee gently bit her lower lip as she remembered that moment.
Those deep, dark eyes that had stared at her seemed to appear before her again.
When she remained silent, Do-yoon urged her on.
“What happened?”
“I asked him…”
“…to teach me how to love.”
“W-What?!”
Crash!
Do-yoon jumped up so suddenly that he knocked the table over.
The cake and plate crashed onto the floor.
Fortunately, the plate didn’t break.
But the carefully madeĀ Eolssigu CakeĀ was completely ruined.
“I’m sorry! Don’t touch it! I’ll clean it up.”
Panicking, Do-yoon grabbed a handful of napkins from the nearby table.
Yeon-hee calmly crouched beside the fallen cake.
“Was asking Mr. Yoon Ji-han to teach me about love really that shocking?”
“Mr. Yoon Ji-han? …No, that’s not it. I just…”
“…Would someone that famous really agree to something like that?”
“Yeah… probably not…”
Bzzz…
Shaking her head, Yeon-hee took her phone from her pocket.
While she checked the message on the screen, Do-yoon pretended to wipe the floor.
Keeping his head lowered, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Why…
Why didn’t you ask me?
I’m right here.
Close enough to reach out and touch.
Swallowing those words that nearly escaped his lips, Do-yoon slowly stood and walked toward the back of the cafƩ.
“Ah! I have to go! Do-yoon, I’ll call you later!”
Looking at her phone, Yeon-hee suddenly stood up.
Before Do-yoon could answer, she rushed out of the cafƩ, her wavy brown hair fluttering behind her.
He silently watched her leave.
It felt as though he had become the main character of a fairy tale trapped under an inescapable curse.
The curse placed upon a lover…
…of loving someone withĀ Love Syndrome.
That was the name Do-yoon gave to his unrequited love.
Even so, he vowed never to stop loving her.
Because love was his entire life.
One day, when the Love Syndrome virus was finally cured…
When Yeon-hee could finally feel love…
He promised himself that he would confess his feelings to her.
But for the first time…
It seemed that an obstacle had appeared in the path of his one-sided love.
