Small and Fragile Things - Chapter 39

Wearing a cap, sunglasses, and a mask inside the house, how could anyone not stare?

She didn’t know what kind of relationship he had with the man asleep in that room, but one thing was certain—she needed to stay far, far away from this mess.

“It was just a one-night stand. He said his place was closer than a hotel, so we came here.”

“You’re not underage, right?”

“Me? No, I’m not.”

“You just said it yourself. One-night stand. It wasn’t forced, and it was consensual, right?”

It didn’t sound pleasant, but whatever. In her situation, the smartest thing to do was run before anything worse happened.

“Yeah. I’m not planning to contact him again, so don’t worry.”

“Okay. You can go.”

The man waved his hand like he was swatting a fly, shooing the uninvited guest out. As soon as she was gone, he pulled off everything covering his face and threw open the door to the bedroom.

“Hey! Kim Soohwan!”

When the lump under the covers didn’t move, he stepped over him lightly and flung the window wide open.

Cold air and sunlight poured into the room, and the naked man curled up under the blankets.

“What the hell… Go away…”

“That girl just now? She took a picture of your naked ass.”

“…What?”

His voice, still thick with sleep, came out cranky.

“Seriously?”

“What do you think? You think I’m joking? What’s there to see anyway? And that thing from last night—did you even use it properly? The girl walked out just fine on her own.”

“Ugh… Shut up and get out. Unless you want the entire world to know about actor Kim Sejin’s sleazy s3x life, I suggest you disappear.”

Kim Sejin, the actor—and also his high school classmate—grabbed his friend’s hair and shoved his face back into the pillow.

“Go ahead, spread it. See what happens to you. You do know my agency CEO used to be a gangster, right?”

“Oh really? Does he know my dad is the chief prosecutor?”

“Hah! This is my place, you know. What kind of manners is it to bring girls over to someone else’s house?”

“You’re acting like you own the Ritz, over one tiny officetel. Seriously, you’re so dramatic.”

“If you don’t like it, then move out. Aren’t you embarrassed to be living with your mom at your age, you damn kangaroo?”

At that, Soohwan’s face twisted in rage. He shoved Sejin off and sat up. But after splashing water on his face and checking the time, he calmed down and mumbled an apology.

“Sorry about bringing the girl. I thought you were out of the country. You said you had a shoot.”

“It got pushed to next week. But what about you? You’ve been saying you’re not feeling well lately, and now this? Are you out of your mind?”

“Cut the nagging. It’s not like you actually care.”

They had gone to the same high school, but they hadn’t become close until they reconnected in adulthood.

One was a rookie actor constantly chasing auditions. The other, a first-time CEO launching his own brand. They clung to each other, each filling a need the other had.

“Wow. And here I thought I was the only one worried about our dear CEO Kim. The man who practically raised me.”

“Drop the fake acting. How the hell did someone with your skills make it to Cannes? That had to be pure luck.”

“Well, luck is part of talent. Not that you’d know, Mr. Trust Fund.”

As soon as Soohwan turned on his phone, it buzzed non-stop with missed calls, voicemails, and texts—from his mom.

“…Ugh.”

“What? Your mom?”

“She’s driving me crazy. I just stayed out one night. Isn’t this a little much?”

“It’s natural for parents to worry. And your situation is kind of… special. Honestly, I think you’re the one being unreasonable.”

Soohwan scoffed and shot him a look.

“You just told me to move out, called me a kangaroo.”

“Stop whining and grow up, man. Some people…”

He’d been about to say, some people don’t even have moms, but he shut his mouth when Soohwan suddenly got up.

Scars covered his pale body—like someone had scribbled all over it. Some were from surgeries. Others were clearly from self-harm. Sejin could still remember the shock of seeing them the first time, and the calm expression his friend wore while explaining his medical history. That face was burned into his memory.

“…Whatever. Fine. Live however you want. It’s your life.”

Knowing Soohwan would keep brushing him off anyway, Sejin grinned and slid into his shirt.

“Got food? Wanna order bl00d sausage soup?”

“Pay your motel fee first, customer.”

“I heard you bought a building with your last commercial gig. Can’t believe the great landlord won’t even buy me soup. What the hell, man.”

Sejin muttered under his breath as he walked off. He ducked into his room and picked up his phone from the charger. He had a missed call from his manager.

“Hey, hyung. I’m at the officetel in Seocho.”

—“Hey, Sejin. You’re alone, right?”

“Huh? Yeah. I’m alone. Why?”

The serious tone caught him off guard. He stepped further away from the door.

—“You need to be honest with me, okay?”

“What’s going on? What’s with the sudden drama?”

He could hear the coffee machine whirring outside the room.

Bl00d sausage soup, my ass. With your espresso palate? Always yapping about wanting working-class food.

Sejin shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed. His laptop caught his eye.

—“Did you… ever get sponsored by Choi Jihyun, CEO of Samun Hotel?”

The moment those words dropped, a video file on his laptop flashed through his mind. The money she demanded using that as blackmail. The threatening texts. All of it.

But like the actor he was, he kept his face blank.

“What are you talking about? CEO Choi Jihyun? Samun Hotel?”

—“It’s not true, right? Tell me it’s not true. You’ve never even met her, right?”

“I might’ve bumped into her somewhere… maybe. Hyung, seriously, what is this about? Did something hit the gossip sites?”

The face of actor Kim Sejin, often called a sculpture soaked in melancholy or the ultimate ‘90s flower boy upgrade, now showed its first crack.

—“Have you ever heard of Director Choi? The janitor of Samun Group.”

He’s looking for you.

***

Meanwhile, Irang had been waking up happy these days.

She was so excited about learning new things, she couldn’t even tell where the day went. She wanted to wake up early every morning just to start again.

First thing after washing up, she’d walk around the house reading the flashcards stuck everywhere and trace the words into the air.

“Table. Chair. Re…frig…erator. Air… puri…fier.”

Hangul was surprisingly easy.

Once she memorized the consonants and vowels, putting them together wasn’t too bad. Jung-pal had enthusiastically plastered the whole place with word cards, and now she could read and write every single one.

Her chest swelled with pride. Was “proud” spelled with one s or two again?

“Okay, time for homework!”

She poured herself a full glass of milk and brought it to the living room table, opening her pink spiral notebook—one that Gi-seon had bought her.

“What should I write today…”

Irang nibbled her pencil, thinking hard. Gi-seon gave her a writing assignment every day—just one page. But holding the pencil was the easy part. Starting was always the hard one.

“Mmm…”

Still, thinking back to those empty days when she’d stare into space doing nothing… this kind of problem was almost a luxury.

Sometimes, she even forgot she was technically trapped in this house. She didn’t feel like leaving. Everything she wanted was already inside. Delicious bread. A soft bed. Notebooks, pencils, erasers. And… that person.

“Ah!”

Irang suddenly began to write. The soft scratch of pencil against paper filled the quiet house. As sunlight quietly slipped in, the bedroom door creaked open.

“Oppa!”

Muk-hyun stepped out, running a hand through his damp hair. His brow twitched.

“…Tsk.”

She practically threw her pencil down and skipped over to him, tailing him like a baby duck.

He didn’t even glance at her, but she beamed and kept following, her fingers wiggling happily as she trailed him, watching every little thing he did.

At this point, it was hard to tell who was keeping whom under surveillance.

“…Why the hell is this here?”

He scowled at the flashcard stuck on the fridge, then scowled again when he saw her tracing the word in the air with her finger. Two frowns in a row. Muk-hyun shook his head.

Was it just him, or did this all feel less like captivity and more like daycare?

“What were you doing?”

“Studying!”

She grinned, her upper lip still white from the milk.