TPLTW Chapter 11

Chapter 11

At that moment, the words he had been about to say caught on the tip of his tongue.

“… … .”

They were close—very close. Even through her dark sunglasses, he could clearly see the eyes beyond them.

He stared straight at those unfamiliar, large eyes, which trembled uneasily behind the black lenses. His gaze flickered downward, stopping briefly on the blanket that covered the entire desk.

‘Even she couldn’t control her body, which was shaking so fast.’

The slender wrist which was still in his grasp trembled as if in a convulsion.

Taegeon looked back at the eyes behind the sunglasses. Something shimmered in them, fragile as if they would shatter at any moment.

What on earth is this woman hiding?

Just then, noise crackled from the phone in his hand.

—”Hello? What is it? What’s going on? Sir? Where are you? Hello?”

Hae-In’s eyes widened as she looked down at her now-empty hands. The voice of someone familiar reached her, but she looked flustered.

Without taking his eyes off her, Taegeon raised the phone to his ear.

“I will call again.”

Thump. He snapped the phone shut and held it out to her. As she quickly reached for it, he pulled it back, concealing it in his large hand once more.

Her eyes, shimmering with unshed tears, glared at him as if demanding an explanation.

“Do you realize how suspicious you look right now?”

Hae-In bit down hard on her trembling lips, forcing out a shaky voice.

“…Give it to me. Now.”

Taegeon stared at her rapidly blinking eyes beyond the dark lenses.

“I’m sorry for coming in without permission.”

“… … .”

“But how do you expect to hide anything when your reaction is this obvious?”

Her large eyes, filled with resentment, glared up at him. She didn’t seem to realize that her emotions were laid bare, despite her efforts to conceal them.

She had no idea how futile her flimsy shield was at this distance.

The moisture clinging to her eyes finally spilled over, disappearing beneath her mask.

Taegeon’s face twisted in discomfort. The unexpected tears left him both bewildered and exasperated. Letting out a breath, he chuckled.

“Ha.”

What the hell is going on with her?

When she’s out of sight, I don’t know what she’s thinking because I can’t see her. But even when she’s right in front of me, I still don’t understand her at all. Why does she try so hard to hide herself?

At a glance, the only thing on the desk seemed to be stacks of books. But why? And what exactly was she hiding?

He had the urge to kick away the blanket covering the desk—but something told him she would grab him by the collar and shake him if he did.

Instead, Taegeon loosened his grip on her hand and handed her the phone. His gaze swept over her sneakers— it was so small that they could fit in his palm.

“Take off your shoes.”

As he passed her, her shoulder brushed against his lightly. He felt her body twist slightly before the door slammed shut behind her.

Only then did Hae-In let out a deep, trembling breath.

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“Ah….”

Hae-In held her burning forehead. She hadn’t even taken off her sneakers yet, and the blanket covering her desk remained untouched.

After he left the room, she sat down right where she stood, unable to move for a long time. Her body kept trembling against her will, refusing to calm down.

Finally, after what felt like ages, she managed to steady her breathing. Reaching for the edge of the blanket, she weakly pulled it down. The scripts tangled in the fabric tumbled to the floor.

She picked up the top one and ran her hand over the sky-blue cover. The title was written in large, bold letters, a heart drawn neatly in the corner—too clear to ignore.

<♡ Actress Lee Hae-In ♡>

Did he see it? Or did he not?

When she had first spotted him through the open door, she couldn’t even remember where his gaze had been fixed. All she saw was a large man standing in the middle of her room—then, her vision had gone black.

Her breath caught in her throat. It felt as though fire had erupted inside her, engulfing her whole body. Sweat trickled down her back in an instant. The moment she dropped the basket that Grandma Mokrye had given her, her senses had gone numb.

The flood of thoughts that had rushed through her mind in that split second had shattered her completely.

Had he seen everything? Was that why he made that phone call? And if the person on the other end was a reporter…

“Do you know that you look quite suspicious right now?”

She couldn’t remember what expression she had made or what words she had thrown at him. She had no idea how she looked in that very moment.

She had foolishly believed that the sunglasses and mask would be enough to hide her anxiety, not realizing how obvious her panicked behavior must have been.

With a dejected expression, Hae-In absentmindedly fiddled with the thick cotton blanket.

But then again—what was she thinking? Covering the desk so suddenly must have looked suspicious enough on its own.

So, in the end, did he see it or not?

“Uhhh….”

She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in the blanket.

Why had she thought of this room as her sanctuary? Why had she convinced herself that no one would enter without her permission? She felt foolish and embarrassed by her own carelessness.

“…No, why?”

Digging herself deeper into guilt, Hae-In suddenly lifted her head.

Yeah, why should I feel pathetic? That guy was the one who barged into someone else’s room without permission.

Even the owner of this house—Grandfather—had never stepped foot in here since she moved in. And Soo-Cheol? He didn’t even come close.

But what about him?

“Calm down. Why are you so excited? You are acting as if I am stealing something from your room.”

He was the shameless one. He had the nerve to act like he was right.

And on top of that, I told him not to speak informally—so why is he talking so casually?

Now that she thought about it, the whole thing was ridiculous. Her head had been spinning too fast for her to react properly, but the more she replayed the scene, the angrier she became.

“What the heck was that…?”

Her sharp gaze drilled into the next room, as if she could burn a hole through the wall. The anger she had barely managed to suppress flared up again, completely swallowing the fear she had felt towards him earlier.

With a frustrated grunt, she yanked off her sneakers.

Seriously.

“What is this? I can’t even take off my shoes properly.”

Her nose stung with frustration at how disheveled she had become. It felt as though she had tripped just when the path ahead had finally smoothed out.

Rubbing her nose out of habit to push down the emotion, she started cleaning up. She folded the fallen blanket, stacked the scattered scripts neatly, and placed them back on the desk. But then, her eyes swept over the room once more.

Without hesitation, she shoved the stack of scripts in front of the wooden dresser, opened the bottom drawer, and pushed the clothes aside. Sliding the scripts deep inside, she carefully covered them with fabric.

Did she really have to go this far?

A deep sense of doubt crept in. But the moment she shut the drawer tightly, her mind felt a little more at ease.

Of course, none of this would matter if he had already seen it.

“Ha….”

Letting out a long sigh, she collapsed onto the spread-out blanket. The brief commotion had drained her energy completely.

How long is that guy going to stay here, anyway?

At least now he walks around normally.

—Hello? What is it? What is it? Sir? What is going on? Hello?

The call he had been waiting for had come, which means…

Muttering under her breath, she suddenly froze mid-thought.

Her lips pressed together tightly. A strange, inexplicable feeling crept up, making her cheeks flush red.

I don’t know. No matter what, it was still rude.

Shaking her head to rid herself of any lingering guilt, she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to escape into sleep. But less than five minutes later, they flew open.

“Ah!”

Only now did she remember the basket of vegetables she had carelessly tossed into the yard.

She bolted up and swung the door open—only to stop in her tracks.

The cucumbers, carrots, and sweet potatoes that should have been scattered across the yard were now neatly packed into a red basket, abd was placed right in front of her door.

“… … .”

Hae-In bit her lower lip, staring blankly at the basket for a long moment.

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