CH 104

Even though he was fairly new to the industry, he was a singer after all. The items in the room seemed to interest him greatly. Woorim picked up a broken CD and asked, “Did you fight with the manager? Although it did seem like you two would end up fighting at some point.”

He finally asked the question I expected, but his tone was understanding and empathetic instead of scornful.

“Is that so?” I replied.

“What did you fight over?”

I grinned bitterly and lifted my head. “Because I refused to sleep with him.”

“…What?” Perhaps he didn’t expect that I would answer that way. Woorim made a surprised face as he turned around to me. It was quite interesting. It was dark all around, but I felt like I could see his eyes open wide. It was similar to when he reacted and said that I was a lot more reckless than he thought.

I folded the chocolate wrapper in half and muttered, “If I had known things would turn out this way, maybe I should have just slept with him once.”

Maybe if I had done that, I wouldn’t have had to go through this. So what if I had to see more things than others? I was an idiot who couldn’t see what was truly important. If I hadn’t avoided what I had seen and responded properly, maybe I wouldn’t have come this far.

“You’re not even someone who could do that,” Woorim mumbled. He dropped what was in his hands and walked toward me. His subdued voice was smooth and melodious. “You can’t do it with anyone unless you’ve opened your heart somewhat.”

“That’s true,” I agreed—he wasn’t wrong.

I felt uncomfortable when someone acted like they knew everything about me even though we’d only just met. That should have been the case, but since I went through that with Yeonseon already, the situation now wasn’t the most unpleasant thing. Rather, I felt comfortable to continue talking without any restrictions.

“You’re right,” I said and slowly nodded. “Besides, he probably wouldn’t even listen to my request.”

“What request?” Woorim asked, and I turned my head to him. Before I knew it, Woorim was standing right next to me. His face looked blue in the darkness.

I looked at him as I answered in a low voice, “If I could call him Yeonseon while doing it.”

He looked stern for a moment then chuckled softly as if enjoying himself.

“You’re right. That manager would probably never listen to a request like that.” He seemed to be pleased with my answer and seemed to muse over it for a while. “That manager would never listen to such a request.”

I wasn’t sure if that reaction came from his hatred toward Hyehyun or because Yeonseon was in my answer.

What did Yeonseon think of Hyehyun before he died? I was suddenly hit with that question. The only things I knew about Yeonseon’s accident were the clothes he was wearing, the extent of his injuries, Hyehyun’s lie, the taxi driver’s outfit, and the depth of the driver’s resentment.

I was staring at the other so intently, so my eyes inevitably met his. As if pulled by my gaze, Woorim lifted his head, bent his head into mine, and nibbled my lips. I didn’t turn away. A faint heat bloomed in the short gap between our lips.

“…Then what about me?” Woorim asked.

Perhaps because we were blanketed with darkness, his breath and warmth reached me before I could see him. My heart that Woorim had managed to calm down started to accelerate once again. Woorim stood in front of me. I was leaning against the wall, so my head was against the hard wall, and Woorim’s face approached mine swiftly.

A grin spread across his face as he rubbed his thumb over my lips that he had just bitten. “I want to get closer to you, Haeseo.”