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Dojun had a unique power of attraction.
Just having his hand touch hers filled Haejoo with an indescribable feeling.
Heat rushed through her in an instant.
She wondered why holding a mere hand could do this to her.
‘This is acting. Let’s think of it as being in front of a camera.’
Once she composed herself as an actress, she felt much more at ease.
Haejoo closed the distance with Dojun and walked straight ahead.
Just then, the elevator doors opened, and people got off. Despite the pouring gazes, the two boarded the empty elevator.
As the doors closed, Haejoo let out a sigh.
“There’s no one around now.”
She was about to let go of his hand, but Dojun didn’t budge.
He stared blankly at the ascending elevator numbers as if he hadn’t heard anything.
“You can let go of my hand now.”
“You touched me first.”
“……!”
“At home.”
The elevator doors opened quickly.
A long corridor of private rooms stretched out.
“There’s a reason why we need to go to Father looking like this.”
Dojun took Haejoo’s hand and started walking.
Stopping halfway down the corridor, he knocked and opened a room door.
Bright lighting revealed a stylish studio apartment-like space.
The caregiver who had been brushing CEO Park’s hair recognized Dojun and greeted him.
“You’ve arrived?”
“How is Father?”
“He ate well and is in good condition.”
As the caregiver stepped aside, CEO Park, who looked older than before, came into view.
In that moment, Haejoo’s heart welled up.
Seeing her, CEO Park smiled brightly and immediately raised both arms.
“My daughter-in-law is here. Caregiver, this child is my daughter-in-law.”
“You’ve been boasting so much about your daughter-in-law, you must be happy.”
In that instant, Haejoo felt like she had been struck on the head.
She was surprised that CEO Park remembered her as his daughter-in-law even with his dementia.
Haejoo couldn’t readily answer.
Dojun gave CEO Park a curt greeting.
“I’m here, Father.”
“As expected, our eldest son Yijun is the best. How wonderful it must be to be with such a lovely wife.”
A series of shocks washed over Haejoo’s mind.
But Dojun showed no change in expression, as if it were a common occurrence.
Just then, the caregiver excused herself.
Only then did Dojun release Haejoo’s hand and check the condition of the storage and refrigerator.
“Are you eating well?”
“The food here is tasteless.”
“You mustn’t only eat snacks like last time.”
“What’s Dojun been doing lately that he doesn’t even show his face?”
“Dojun is busy these days.”
CEO Park thought of Dojun as Yijun, who had passed away.
It was somehow sad that he seemed happier than before, even though he was trapped in his own world.
Nevertheless, Dojun faithfully played the role of his deceased brother.
“Excuse me……”
Haejoo approached CEO Park. She calmly lowered her head and then greeted him.
“Uncle, it’s me, Haejoo. Do you remember me?”
“I’m not dead yet. Aren’t you my daughter-in-law?”
“Y-yes, that’s right. Then the person who came with me is……”
Just in case, she pointed to Dojun and asked CEO Park an obvious question.
But an unexpected answer came back.
“Oh? Dojun, when did you get here?”
“Just now.”
Haejoo was bewildered, wondering what was going on.
This time, CEO Park looked very apologetic towards Haejoo.
“Is Dojun treating you well?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. So-so.”
Dojun pulled over a chair and sat Haejoo down before sitting himself. He crossed his arms and explained CEO Park’s condition.
“Father’s memory keeps going back and forth.”
During their conversation, Dojun straightened CEO Park’s crooked patient gown.
CEO Park accepted his gruff touch with a beaming smile.
She had preconceived notions about Dojun until now. That he was arrogant, rude, and crazy about money and ambition.
But the man before her now was just an ordinary father’s son and caregiver.
“Since when has Uncle been staying here?”
“He was moved here at the beginning of the year when his condition worsened. Just a moment.”
The entrance door was fitted with glass, allowing a view inside.
Only now did he realize that people had gathered to watch, drawn by the news of Haejoo’s arrival.
Dojun got up, made eye contact with the people, and then drew the curtains.
Before Haejoo could even feel embarrassed, CEO Park opened his mouth in a serious tone.
“By the way, when are you two going to have a grandchild for me to hold?”
It was when Dojun and Haejoo were stammering without answering.
Someone knocked on the door, and they both turned at the same time.
“It’s the doctor’s rounds.”
At the caregiver’s words, the two got up. A middle-aged doctor, appearing through the crowd gathered in the hallway, entered with a bright smile.
“The handsome son is here again. And this time, with his daughter-in-law.”
Haejoo quietly greeted him and took a step back. The doctor, returning her bow with a nod, first checked CEO Park’s complexion and then began the examination.
“Blood pressure is fine… it’s difficult for his memory to improve. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
Dojun answered briefly.
The doctor had CEO Park move his hands and feet and meticulously recorded his notes.
Just then, CEO Park suddenly started boasting.
“My daughter-in-law will be giving me a grandchild soon, ha-ha!”
“Oh my, really?”
A surprised Haejoo grabbed Dojun’s arm.
He, however, remained unfazed.
“If a child is born between such a handsome and beautiful couple, they must be stunningly good-looking, wouldn’t you say?”
“Ha-ha, our daughter-in-law is exceptionally lovely, you see.”
The door happened to be open.
The people who had crowded in to watch stirred at CEO Park’s words.
After the doctor left, Haejoo questioned Dojun as if demanding an answer.
“Why are you just standing there if people believe I’m pregnant?”
“If rumors spread, we can just clarify then.”
“Don’t say it so easily.”
“Others know we’ve been married for three years. Wouldn’t it be strange if we didn’t have a child yet?”
“Even so, what if rumors spread even though it’s not true?”
Haejoo was anxious. She was worried that she would become too entangled with Dojun to handle a divorce in a year.
She had never even considered dating until now.
For Haejoo, success as an actress was a priority over dating or marriage.
“Let me say again, I have no intention of pretending to be a real married couple.”
“Dojun-ssi.”
“The one year I promised you is as a real married couple.”
The two left the nursing hospital around sunset.
Thanks to the pregnancy talk, the car was filled with a cold atmosphere.
“I have a place to stop by, so go home first.”
“Where are you going?”
“The office.”
Dojun’s car, having dropped off Haejoo, quickly drove away.
Left alone, she went inside the house.
Meanwhile, Dojun briefly stopped his car before entering the main road.
He took out his phone and made a call. Soon after, the other person answered.
-Yes, CEO Park.
“Let’s have lunch together tomorrow.”
-I do have a prior engagement tomorrow, but would you like to join me, CEO?
“Who will be there?”
The person on the other end detailed the individuals who were supposed to meet.
Dojun nodded at the expected answer.
“Very well. It would be good to expand my network at this opportunity.”
-Then I will contact you through Secretary Song tomorrow.
After the call ended, Dojun arrived at the office.
He took the sports bag he always kept in the car and went to the gym set up in the office. There were still some employees working out even though it was the weekend.
Changing into workout clothes, he decided to shake off the desire that had been tormenting him all day.
“It’s not the cigarettes that are the problem.”
At first, he thought he was struggling with nicotine addiction, but that wasn’t it.
After being touched under the guise of script practice, the desire for Haejoo was the problem.
His healthy body was being punished for no reason.
To keep Haejoo by his side, he had to control his overflowing energy, so he ran and ran.
________________________________________
After dinner, Haejoo looked at the script and then closed it.
She couldn’t shake off the thought of CEO Park mentioning grandchildren.
“If that spreads as a rumor too, the agency will have something to say.”
Just as she was feeling troubled, her phone rang. Jinhan’s name appeared on the screen.
“Director!”
-Haejoo-ssi, are you free to talk?
“Yes, of course. Please go ahead.”
Haejoo’s heart was in turmoil.
She wondered what Jinhan had heard in the meantime that made him call, and she felt uneasy.
-Director Kwak might be joining us for lunch tomorrow.
“That’s good.”
-He might be bringing a guest. Should only you and I go from our side?
“Let’s do that.”
-After the guests leave, let’s have a cup of tea in a quiet place.
“Do you have something to tell me separately?”
-Do we only see each other when we have something to say? See you tomorrow.
After the call ended, Haejoo lay down, thinking of going to bed early.
While lost in various thoughts, a text notification popped up.
-Hello. This is Choi Inho from Real Fact. I am contacting you to formally request an interview.
It was Reporter Choi Inho, notorious among entertainment reporters.
He had requested an interview with Haejoo through the agency but was rejected, so he sent her a direct message.
She didn’t even reply and blocked his number.
“Rude.”
Her marriage with Dojun was like a ticking time bomb in Haejoo’s hands. Since there was no devoted romance with him from the start, she had to carry this unease in her heart.
Perhaps because she was anxious, she couldn’t fall asleep and headed to the bathroom. She filled the round bathtub with water and added a suitable amount of bath bomb she had brought.
A sweet fragrance richly filled the bathroom.
She slightly opened the bathroom window and pushed the clothes she was wearing down to her toes.
“Warm.”
She parted the thick, puffy bubbles and sat down. It was early summer, so the lukewarm water was pleasantly cool and sometimes warm.
“Good.”
It was a bathtub large enough for two people to fit comfortably.
But Dojun didn’t seem to use it often, as everything looked new.
Slowly, drowsiness washed over her.
Just as she was about to doze off, she heard the sound of someone walking up the stairs outside.
“Dojun-ssi?”
Only then did Haejoo remember that she hadn’t locked the bathroom door.
She hurriedly tried to get up, but the doorknob rattled.
“I’m here!”
“Yeah.”
It was Dojun after all.
Haejoo got out of the tub while wet, locked the door, and then submerged herself in the water again.
She heard him going down the stairs.
There was a bathroom on the first floor as well, so it seemed he was going to wash up.
About ten minutes later, Haejoo sat up, lifting her upper body. Just as she was slowly getting up, thinking of finishing her bath, the light flickered.
“Huh?”
In the moment she thought ‘no way,’ the lights went out.
Trapped in pitch-black darkness where she couldn’t see an inch in front of her, Haejoo’s heart nearly stopped.
“……!”
This was a secluded residential area, and there were no streetlights in the direction of the bathtub.
She lost her sense of direction in a space with absolutely no light, covered in bubbles.
She groped around blindly, but even finding a towel in the storage was difficult.
“I don’t like this…….”
Haejoo still had a trauma she hadn’t overcome.
When Kyung-ae raised Haejoo, she often locked her in the dark bathroom under the pretext of discipline if she cried even a little. Some days she was locked in all day, and she had even fainted several times.
Until just a few days ago, she had lived alone, so she showered with the bathroom door slightly open. Only after coming to Dojun’s house did she have to close the door.
Even then, locking it was still difficult.
But Dojun, being with her, had caused her to do all those difficult things.
“Scary……”
An indescribable fear overwhelmed her.
Her whole body trembled, and her chest tightened as if she would stop breathing any moment.
Haejoo, huddled in the bathtub, squeezed her eyes shut.
Unable to overcome the pitch-black night, she finally screamed.
“Dojun-ssi!”
The only name that came to her mind at that moment was Dojun’s.
At her almost instinctive cry, she heard the sound of someone running up the stairs as if breaking them.
“Lee Haejoo, I’m here.”
Fortunately, Dojun came to the door. Haejoo stroked her chest and asked for help in a trembling voice.
“H-help me. I think the light went out.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of. It’s a power outage.”
Dojun had just finished showering and was coming out when the power went out.
Seeing that even the streetlights were off, it didn’t seem to be a problem with the house.
“Please, just get me out of here.”
“Open the door. That’s the only way I can get in.”
Of all times, she had locked the door.
Haejoo had stiffened so much that she couldn’t move at all.
“I can’t. I’m scared.”
“Wait a moment.”
“Don’t go!”
The bathwater had also gone cold. Haejoo, huddled and trembling, already had blue lips.
Clunk, clunk.
Fortunately, Dojun, having found the key, opened the bathroom door.
Haejoo was in such a state of panic that she couldn’t even hear the sound.
At some point, a warm towel covered her shoulders above the bubbles. Haejoo barely opened her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
Seeing Dojun, tears welled up. She had cried in her sleep this morning, and now this at night – she was embarrassed.
“The power will be back on soon. I’ll leave a flashlight, so rinse off and come out.”
“Don’t go.”
“Lee Haejoo!”
“Please don’t go!”
“Look at me properly.”
“When I was little, my mom locked me in the bathroom. To die like that……”
Just then, the lights flickered and then turned on brightly.
Haejoo, opening her damp eyes, lifted her head.
What entered her darkened vision was not the brightened light, but Dojun himself.
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