After Story 256

After Story 256

It had been a while since she woke up early in the morning. She looked at the sleeping Maru’s face that was in front of her for a while before quietly leaving the bed. She put on the hoodie she hung on the chair and then the socks that had fallen off the bed while she was sleeping.

“Shh.”

She left the bedroom with the two cats that had woken up from her presence. Her body shook because of the chilly air in the living room. She raised the temperature on the boiler and also turned off the air conditioner.

It was 6:20 and was rather quiet. Haneul looked at the door to the bedroom before boiling some water in the coffee pot. Worried that he may wake up from the sound of boiling water, she powered off the coffee pot the moment air bubbles started appearing in the water.

She put some black tea leaves that Suyeon gifted them in a mug before pouring the water. A warm smell wafted up, driving away the chilly air.

She stood in front of the curtain in the living room while holding the mug. She could see the cars moving along the side of the Han River. After watching the rows of cars rushing through the early morning air, she sat down on the sofa. The mug that had warmed up just the right amount made her feel pleasant.

She turned on the TV, put her legs on the sofa, and watched the news with her legs curled up.

The things she mainly watched were about what the stock market was like, what the current situation was with the FTA, real estate, and whatever else. She inputted the fragmented information the news gave her and looked them up.

If she had Gaeul, she would definitely have her study finances, even if she didn’t like studying. There were too many things in this country that would take your stuff if you didn’t know better. It was especially worse when it came to money.

Gaeul. She thought about her young daughter staring at her with those cute eyes. She thought about the daughter who chased her around everywhere, saying that mommy was the best. She thought about the girl who holed herself up in her room, saying that mom doesn’t know anything about me.

How would she be this time? Haneul smiled as she sipped on the moderately cooled tea.

“You woke up early.”

Her husband opened the door and came out. There was a huge mess above his head. She pressed down on her own head as a gesture. Maru smiled and scratched his head.

“I happened to wake up.”

“You excited to go to a wedding?”

“I’ve been to too many weddings to be excited about going to someone else’s wedding.”

Her husband nodded, saying that she was right.

“Tea?” she asked as she stood up from the sofa.

“I’ll have one once I come back,” he said as he put on his jersey. “Wanna go together?”

She looked outside the window, which was still not completely bright, and shook her head.

“It’s cold.”

“You really hate the cold, alright.”

“It’s just like how you hate heat, sweetie. Going to the gym?”

“No, I’ll just be going for a lap around the park.”

“Your snot will freeze, you know? The news mentioned a cold wave warning.”

“There’s a pretty lady who jogs around this hour. That’s more than enough of a reason to go to the park.”

“While you’re there, you should get her number and introduce her to me too.”

He put on his trainers and opened the door. Cold air seeped inside through the opening.

She crossed her arms and waved her hand, not forgetting to tell him to close the door quickly.

“Should I leave it open for a little more?” Maru said as he opened the door widely.

That guy... she walked over to the entrance and pushed her husband’s back. Then, she quickly closed the door.

She turned the TV volume up and went into the bathroom. She took a shower and wrapped her wet hair with a towel.

She went inside the bedroom and neatened the duvet before putting on her pajama pants. She also put on a thin vest.

When she opened the window, eye-opening chilly air came inside. She also opened the window in the veranda. The cats inside the living room snuck into the small room.

While she was ventilating, she prepared breakfast. She cut up some dried pollack with scissors and dipped them in some whisked eggs before adding some salt. She put the ingredients inside a pot of water and started boiling it. She also took out some side dishes and warmed up the rice.

Meanwhile, her husband came back.

“You should get washed. Let’s eat.”

He got washed in no time and she ate with him. It had been a long time since they ate breakfast together.

Her husband was a morning person deep into the bones, and she was innately a night owl.

Normally, actors would usually turn into night owls after spending a long time in their careers, so in that sense, her husband’s lifestyle was rather shocking.

“I’ll go to the laundromat for a bit.”

She put on her hood and left the house. She went to the laundromat in front of the apartment complex and received some clothes that she left for dry-cleaning. It was her husband’s suit and her blazer.

“It looks like it’s going to snow soon,” she said as she came inside the house.

The sky was cloudy, and it wouldn’t be strange if they spat out snow at any moment.

“The forecast just said it’s sunny, though,” her husband said as he washed the dishes.

She hung the clothes she got from the laundromat on the chair at the dining table and sat down on the sofa.

It was time for the morning drama that she always downloaded because she couldn’t watch the original airing.

“The stepmother is definitely up to something.”

“Honey, that’s too old-fashioned. In this situation, it’s more likely that the daughter is the one behind the curtain.”

“You know that morning dramas are better the clearer they are.”

“But it’s more stimulating for the daughter to be the culprit.”

She watched the drama while talking to Maru. She looked outside around the time the drama ended, and the cloudy sky was beginning to clear up.

“That’s good. I was wondering if they were going to have a wedding in cloudy weather.”

She stood up as she stretched her arms out. While her husband used the vacuum cleaner, she called Daemyung.

“How was the meeting with director Na yesterday?”

-I’m not sure. It was the first time I heard compliments like that.

“That’s good. It means he acknowledged you. How long do you think it’ll take to finish up the script?”

-I just have to polish two more scenes. There are a few lines that are still on my mind, but this can be changed by the actors throughout the shoot.

“Good work. I guess you don’t have many days left to come to the office.”

-That’s true.

“If it’s okay with you, you can continue using it. I have some things to do there from time to time, too.”

-Can I? The rent here should be pretty considerable.

“I had some help from director Na with that, so it’s not that big of a burden. Also, if you can focus there and write a good scenario, then that’s more beneficial for me.”

-Director Na also asked me if I had any thoughts about writing a drama. He told me I should definitely try if I can do it alongside writing my novel.

“You know that dramas and films are different, right? There are many cases where you just write the plot beforehand and write last-minute scripts. The types of investors are very different.”

-It’s not like it’ll be adapted into a drama for sure, so I’ll just take it as practice. Thanks to privately owned channels, there are a lot more places accepting scripts lately.

“Try anything you want.”

-Okay. But are you cleaning right now?

“Maru’s using the vacuum machine next to me.”

-I still can’t believe that his personality changed to be a clean freak. It surprises me even more than the fact that he became an actor.

“People are bound to change. Oh, right. You can make the time to visit once the shoot starts, right? I want to listen to your opinion on the set.”

-But you’re the director.

“And you’re the one who wrote the script. It’s been a long time since I last did this, so rather than trusting my senses entirely, I want to do it while listening to other people’s opinions.”

-I don’t mind. I wanted to visit and watch as well. But when you say it’s been a long time, does that mean that you were a director before?

“Don’t pay attention to that. Anyway, see you in the afternoon. Maru will be coming too.”

-Buy something on your way here.

“Now you are making us run errands, huh? I’m your boss, you know?”

-I’m only making fair demands as an employee.

.

Haneul smiled and hung up.

“Looks like we should buy something to eat when we visit Daemyung later today.”

“Sounds like the person who said he was going on a diet is nowhere to be seen.”

“My words exactly.”

She looked at the clock in the living room. It was about time they got ready.

She dried her hair and sat in front of the makeup table. She put on her foundation and put some emphasis points with a lighter tone. Today, she had to be a guest.

“I think it’s a little tight because I gained weight,” Maru said as he stood in front of the door.

She scanned her husband, who was wearing a semi-formal suit, up and down.

“Looks okay.”

She finished up her makeup and put on her accessories. As she didn’t need to decorate too much, she didn’t put too much thought into her outfit. She just put on beige slacks and a checkered blazer.

“There might be journalists there,” her husband said as he got in the car.

“That can’t be helped,” she said as she pulled the seatbelt.

Although it was a quiet wedding, it was a marriage between two superstars, so it was possible that information was leaked somewhere. It wouldn’t be strange if some crazy journalists formed a fortress around the wedding venue.

When they arrived at the wedding venue in Sejong City, they couldn’t spot any journalists. She went to the wedding hall with her husband. As they had only called for close acquaintances, there weren’t many people here.

“We’re here.”

She called out to Ganghwan who had just finished welcoming some elders. Ganghwan welcomed them with a big smile.

“Thank you for coming.”

“It’s your wedding, so of course we had to. But oppa, it looks like you’re nervous.”

“I thought I wouldn’t feel anything, but I guess I am.”

Ganghwan and her husband started talking. The two of them talked and laughed together like real brothers.

“Where’s the bride’s waiting room”

“Over there.”

“I’ll go see unni for a second.”

Haneul walked to the bride’s waiting room by herself. She saw that there were visitors inside and waited for a moment. She went inside only after she saw that the elders inside had left.

“Unni.”

Suyeon, clad in a wedding dress, greeted her with a bright smile.

“You’re here. Wasn’t the traffic bad?”

“There was no traffic at all. Unni, the wedding dress suits you a lot.”

“Thanks. It was worth going through all the trouble choosing it.”

Haneul sat down next to Suyeon and took a photo together. Suyeon, who had a soft blush on her face, looked cute even to a woman like her.

“But didn’t you say you were going to get married around April? I was surprised when I heard that you were getting married in January.”

“That was the plan, but we got one.”

“What?”

Suyeon, who had a slightly indifferent expression before, smiled and told her to come closer. From how Suyeon, who liked to put things simply, was so hesitant, this had to be no ordinary matter.

“A baby.”

Hearing that word, Haneul put on a dazed expression before grabbing her hands.

“Really?”

“It’s been a month. When I got pregnant, I thought that we had to hold the wedding as soon as possible. It’s not that we’re wary of the gazes of the people around us, I just wanted to hold one early.”

“First of all, congratulations. Second of all, Ganghwan-oppa needs a beating.”

Suyeon laughed while covering her mouth and said that it wasn’t his fault.

“I just wanted to meet one early; a child that looks like me. The child won’t hate me for being a hasty mother, will they?”

“If the kid ever throws a tantrum, tell me about it. I’ll give them a solid scolding.” Haneul grabbed Suyeon’s hands. “Congratulations, unni. I’m glad to see you happy.”

See you later — she added before leaving.

A child that looks like me — when she heard those words, her heart tightened. Haneul went over to Ganghwan, who was talking to Maru, and poked him on the side. Ganghwan made a dazed expression before grinning as though in understanding.

“You should treat her well your whole life.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.”

Haneul took her husband, who looked puzzled, and went inside the venue.

Not long later, the ceremony started. The emcee was Geunsoo. As a long-time friend, he asked a lot of nasty questions to Ganghwan.

“I’m off.”

Maru stood up. He was going to sing a song to congratulate them. She looked at the two people being congratulated as well as her husband and applauded.