Chapter 14
I, Hae-bom, had noticed that Do Eun-seok didn’t look happy when Cha Yuk was picked to be the main guy in <In the Summer>.
I had just thought he was worried that it might mess with the group’s schedule.
“Maybe you should practice acting a bit more before doing this.”
Do Eun-seok’s words, which I hadn’t paid much attention to back then, came back to my mind.
‘Of course, I know I’m not good enough yet…’
I knew very well that I couldn’t even compare to Do Eun-seok, who had been acting since he was a kid. But still.
‘Even if he’s the leader, that was a bit much…’
The thought that the filming could have been called off because of him made me feel dizzy.
We had been getting lukewarm reactions for years. Every day, I worried about how much longer the group could last.
What finally ended that uncertain time was—though it feels weird for me to say it myself…
‘It’s all thanks to my pictures.’
A wave of upset feelings washed over me.
“There must be a reason for it. Let’s just ask him when we get back.”
He, Cha Yuk, said to himself quietly, his voice flat. How long had he been staring angrily at the script? Someone made a noise in the quiet waiting room.
“Yuk! They’re starting the reading again! Hurry up and come out.”
There was no time to think anymore. Cha Yuk stood up quickly, like he’d been pushed.
Do Eun-seok gently touched the title <In the Summer> that was written over the poster. The poster showed Heidi smiling brightly and Cha Yuk looking at her like he loved her.
He kept touching the smooth poster for a long time before finally sighing. Then, he picked up his phone to check the time.
It was 2:42 in the morning.
He rubbed his forehead because he was really tired. Just then, the door lock clicked open. A person stumbled in under the light.
“You’re late.”
A voice, rough and quiet, came out.
“Yeah.”
A short answer came back to his kind question. Cha Yuk took off his shoes carelessly and quickly walked past the couch where Eun-seok was sitting.
“Filming starts soon. Shouldn’t you be resting?”
Cha Yuk finally stopped and turned to look at Do Eun-seok after he asked that.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason. It’s just… funny that you’re worrying about me like that, hyung.”
“…What?”
“I’m tired. I’m going inside now. I need to rest.”
Cha Yuk looked at his leader’s confused face for a moment, then grabbed the handle to his room door.
“Eun-seok hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“You know how much I wanted to do this, right?”
“…I know.”
Cha Yuk ran his hand through his hair. The dim light showed how tired he really was.
“So. Don’t worry.”
Cha Yuk looked away with a cold expression and then went into his room.
“……”
Do Eun-seok stared at the closed door for a long time before sinking back into the couch.
He closed his eyes, his long eyelashes falling down. Then, he leaned over and picked up his phone. He quickly looked through the messages he had, and then stopped.
-Manager Hyung: The boss said they’re going ahead with it. You’re right, the timing isn’t great, but it’s a good chance for him.
-Me (Do Eun-seok): I’ll call the boss.
-Manager Hyung: Don’t bother! I know you’re upset about the fan signing, but do you think it’s easy to cancel a drama? Yuk is trying hard too.
-Me (Do Eun-seok): I told you, doing solo stuff right now is risky.
-Manager Hyung: Yuk would be really sad if he knew you wanted him to not do the drama. Honestly, I don’t understand why you’re against it.
Do Eun-seok thought about the messages from a month ago, and his forehead furrowed. Even though he was worried, the drama casting and getting ready for filming went smoothly.
Eun-seok agreed that being in <In the Summer> was a good opportunity. But he was worried because the person who had caused trouble at the fan signing was still missing. And also…
“Ha. Escape.”
Escape?
Thinking about that made him angry again.
Do Eun-seok went into his room and turned on his tablet. He carefully looked at each of the recent photos he had saved.
They were pictures taken from a video of the fan meeting. He zoomed in on one person in the photos.
It was the woman who had thrown down the album she was getting signed and run away.
“Jeon Hae-bom… was that her name? And…”
Do Eun-seok’s face showed confusion for a moment as he looked at the next photos, which showed the terrorist attack.
“Bodyguard Kim Ja-hye.”
Eun-seok sighed, staring at the blurry figure he could barely make out.
He was frustrated that things weren’t going the way he wanted, but what frustrated him even more was how Cha Yuk’s attitude had strangely changed.
Cha Yuk had been acting nervous and easily annoyed for a month now, ever since they started seriously getting ready for filming.
Do Eun-seok clicked his tongue softly and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.
He picked up his phone again and typed a message.
-Me (Do Eun-seok): Hyung. Where is the first day of filming?
-Manager Hyung: A week later. Yegeurina High School. Why?
‘The filming place is the old, separate building at the school.’
I, Hae-bom, glared at the words I had written on my well-used textbook, then pushed the book away and pulled the keyboard closer.
[How celebrities date.]
I searched because I was frustrated, but of course, I couldn’t find a clear answer.
Even if I knew what the next bad thing that would happen was, it wasn’t like I could watch Cha Yuk and Heidi all the time.
I didn’t really understand how things worked in the entertainment world, and I had no idea how they would get close, so I couldn’t get rid of the vague worry I had been feeling for days.
‘When did those two start getting close…?’
Thinking back, the two of them seemed especially friendly in a behind-the-scenes video that came out around the middle of the drama.
I remembered that they seemed awkward around each other at the beginning of the drama, so that meant something must have happened early on, either at the filming location or somewhere else, that made them closer.
“Hae-bom-ah. I’m going inside now.”
I quickly pressed the Windows key and D key to hide what I was doing when I heard my mom’s voice. Even though my mom always said that studying wasn’t everything, she would definitely be angry if she saw her daughter searching for ‘how celebrities date.’
“Eat this while you work.”
A plate full of delicious-looking apples covered the textbook that had ‘The filming place is the old, separate building at the school’ scribbled on it.
“Honey. Should Mom get her hair done? It’s a mess because I haven’t done anything with it lately.”
“Why? It looks fine now.”
“A new salon opened in the neighborhood next door. It’s called Lee Tae-oh’s shop. I heard the main stylist there is famous, so I was thinking of going. They say celebrities go there. The owner used to be in Cheongdam…”
I, Hae-bom, bit into a crisp apple and nodded along to my mom’s explanation without really thinking, while wondering.
Come to think of it, which salon does Heidi go to?
The outside of the building looked fancy at first glance, like it had been recently fixed up. I admired the simple outside walls and went inside. A nice, soft smell filled the air.
While I was looking at the white walls and the wooden decorations inside, all arranged perfectly, a staff member came up to me.
“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”
After quickly checking my reservation, the formal guiding began.
“Hae-bom-ah. It’ll take a while. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It’s fine. Have a good time!”
“Wait a little. Mom will come back looking pretty.”
I, Hae-bom, nodded and went to the waiting area. While walking across the clean marble floor, I also looked around the salon.
‘This is the salon Cha Yuk goes to.’
That wasn’t the only reason I had bothered to follow her to a place I usually wouldn’t care about at all.
‘Heidi goes here too, apparently.’
A post I had accidentally seen online popped into my head when I found out that she had decided to switch salons only while filming the drama.
[How celebrities date.]
