WWBU - 57

“What are you trying to do?”

“...”

“Kim Hyun-soo, get up.”

“...”

“If you’re not trying to piss me off, stop it. I don’t know what I’ll do next.”

Having her lying defenselessly on his bed in his room... Guk knew all too well how it felt to hold her, how intoxicating and maddening it was, from that night at the villa. That’s why he was even more parched. Her lying there with an innocent face felt like a test thrown at him.

But Hyun-soo, regardless, curled up and pulled the blanket over herself. It was like a declaration that she wouldn’t leave easily. Guk, unable to suppress the curse that slipped through his teeth, yanked the blanket off.

“You...!”

Just as he was about to put his arms under her and lift her upper body,

“Kim... Hyun-soo?”

“...”

Guk finally noticed something strange. Her eyes were blank. Even though she was looking at him, she seemed to be looking at something far away, not at him.

Guk felt a chill run down his neck and recalled a past memory. The image of a girl wandering the streets in her pajamas, without shoes, in the early morning.

Sleepwalking. Now he understood the situation and Hyun-soo’s behavior. Guk carefully laid her down and pulled the blanket back over her. Hyun-soo, who had been looking up with blank eyes, slowly closed them.

Guk watched the sleeping Hyun-soo for a while.

As Hyun-soo slept soundly, the night passed, and dawn began to break.

Hyun-soo, who had been sleeping curled up like a ball on the wide bed, slowly opened her eyes as she gradually regained consciousness.

“...”

Hyun-soo blinked her dry eyes a few times. She was still half-asleep, but what she saw in front of her was very unfamiliar. The dark and calm tone of the room was not that of her own, and the bookshelves filling the wall in front of her were also unfamiliar. Moreover, the large object on the floor was a strange shape she had never seen before, and she didn’t know what it meant.

“What...”

What is this? Is it a dream?

It could have felt like that. The only light in the dim room was the bluish light from the brightening window and the stand lamp.

But she soon realized that it was all real. It was thanks to the rough feel of the bedding on her skin and the instinct that screamed for her to wake up. Thanks to that, Hyun-soo kicked off the blanket and sat up as if she had been thrown up. Huh, where am I?

Sitting alone on the excessively large bed, she looked around. The painting hanging above the head of the bed was so overwhelmingly large that it caught Hyun-soo’s attention.

“You’re awake.”

“Mom!”

Just as she was staring blankly at the painting, Hyun-soo shuddered at the voice from behind. Turning her head creakily, she saw Yoon Guk there. He was already dressed in a neat suit, looking down at her with a blank stare. Hyun-soo was greatly flustered.

“Why, why are you here...”

He, who had been looking at Hyun-soo asking with a blank face, immediately looked away and moved.

“I think it would be more logical to think about why you’re in my room.”

My room? This is Yoon Guk’s room? But why am I in Yoon Guk’s room?

Hyun-soo frowned at the confusing situation and looked up at him again. She hoped Guk would give her an answer. But he was just moving busily, not giving her an easy answer.

“Don’t you remember what happened yesterday?”

Guk, standing in front of the bed, stood crookedly and tied his tie. It was a quick and clean gesture. Hyun-soo, watching him as if possessed, swallowed the saliva that had gathered in her tension.

“Did I do something wrong...”

Guk chuckled at Hyun-soo’s answer. It was as if he had expected it.

“It was a mistake. You crawled into someone else’s bed without even remembering it.”

She had nothing to say. And she really didn’t remember anything. She remembered lying down on her bed because she was tired, but after that...

She searched her memory under Guk’s blanket on his bed, but couldn’t find anything. Looking at him with a troubled expression, he looked indifferent. It seemed like he didn’t expect Hyun-soo to remember much in the first place.

Guk, who had finished tying his tie, put his hands in his pockets.

“Go back to your room before everyone wakes up.”

“Okay.”

“Get a checkup at the hospital when you have time.”

“Hospital? Why?”

“It seems like you’re showing symptoms of sleepwalking again.”

“Ah...”

Now she understood why she was in Yoon Guk’s room. And why she had no memory.

It had disappeared after she graduated and became an adult, but why did it suddenly start again? Is it because of stress? Hyun-soo’s heart became troubled. The fact that she might do something she couldn’t control at any time, anywhere, felt like a horror.

“Are you worried?”

“Huh?”

“Are you worried about what you might do without knowing?”

He seemed to be clairvoyant. It was scary how he could see through her so clearly.

“A little. A little bit.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you wander around outside at least.”

Guk’s mind flashed back to a past incident. That incident when he caught Hyun-soo, who was wandering the streets alone in her pajamas, drunk with sleep, and sent her back home. Hyun-soo still didn’t know about it. It was an ironic memory only Guk had.

Guk shook his head at Hyun-soo, who was looking at him as if asking what he meant, and lifted his wrist to check the time. As if it was time to leave, Guk turned around.

“Wait a minute!”

Guk stopped again at Hyun-soo’s call.

“Are you going to work now?”

“I have to go to the Samcheok Resort site. And I have things to check at the office before that.”

“Oh, okay...”

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

“It’s not that.”

“It is. It’s written all over your face. You have something to say.”

Is that so? Hyun-soo rubbed her cheeks awkwardly.

The reason Hyun-soo stopped him was actually because she felt sorry. He was getting up and moving so early, and it seemed like he couldn’t sleep comfortably because of her.

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s sudden.”

“No, it’s just. You couldn’t sleep well because of me, and...”

“And?”

“Just, just everything...”

Guk waited for a moment for Hyun-soo, who was stammering, to continue, then took a step. Just as Guk was about to turn around and leave,

“Are you very busy?”

Guk turned to her again at the question that grabbed the back of his neck. He couldn’t ignore the lingering voice.

Hyun-soo couldn’t see the emotion in Guk’s indifferent eyes, but she was grateful that he had given her an opening. Guk lifted his wrist and checked the time again.

“I still have time. Talk.”

“That’s...”

“I didn’t say I had a lot of time. Don’t hesitate.”

“The madam keeps saying strange things.”

Guk’s eyebrows twitched at Ji-young’s story. He turned around completely.

“What did she say?”

“I’m embarrassed to say it, but she asked if you and I... would get married. It’s funny, right?”

Hyun-soo moistened her dry lips with tension and continued.

“It didn’t seem like she was joking, so I’m a little troubled. If you could talk to her...”

“Handle it on my end?”

His voice was still monotone, but Hyun-soo felt a subtle sarcasm in his tone.

“Huh? No, it’s not that...”

“Then you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. What are your feelings? Do you have any thoughts of getting along with me?”

Hyun-soo was flustered by the unexpected question. She rolled her eyes, not knowing where to look.

“Well, you know. How can we... It’s too sudden, and...”

“Why, after we’ve mixed our bodies so thoroughly?”

“That was...!”

Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden? Hyun-soo, her face flushed, raised her voice.

“Why again? Are you going to pretend you don’t remember?”

“...”

“Let me tell you one thing. Don’t even think about lying anywhere. Especially in front of me. Your acting is terrible.”

“Then Yoon Guk, do you agree with what the madam said?”

Unlike the flustered Hyun-soo, Guk just shrugged indifferently.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous?”

“Yes. How could we...”

Hyun-soo’s gaze wavered, her words trailing off. She unconsciously chewed on her lip and repeatedly grasped and released the blanket.

“That one word is your true feeling, isn’t it? I understand.”

His expression was indifferent, but there was a subtle chill, a completely frozen face. Hyun-soo realized that something was slightly wrong, that something had gone awry.

“Wait, Guk. Yoon Guk! If you leave like this...!”

But it was already too late. Guk didn’t turn back or allow himself to be stopped.

Bang.

He slammed the door shut loudly. She had been told to be quiet before waking anyone, but now he was waking everyone before she even left. Hyun-soo, her shoulders trembling, stared blankly at the spot where he had disappeared.

‘That’s ridiculous. How could we...’

‘That one word is your true feeling, isn’t it? I understand.’

It wasn’t a word she meant to wound with, but it seemed to have caused a wound, even to herself.

Hyun-soo buried her face in her hands, feeling a strange bitterness and soreness. She couldn’t understand what was happening.

Guk, sitting in the back seat of the sleek sedan, let out a long breath. The conversation from moments ago lingered, stubbornly digging into his mind.

“We’ll be departing.”

The car started, and Guk leaned his head against the headrest. He watched the monotonous scenery passing by the window, tapping his thigh with his fingers as he sank into thought. Then he immediately pulled out his phone and made a call. The other person answered after a long time.

-Calling at this hour? You’ve woken an old lady. Your filial piety is impressive.

“Stepmother.”

-You wouldn’t have called if you knew the chairman was here, would you? You sly fox.

“What’s all this talk about marriage?”