Episode 110: Anniversary (2)
Zia, wearing a slightly damp T-shirt and shorts with a towel draped around her neck, plopped down onto the sofa next to me as if throwing herself there.
Her still-wet hair glistened in the sunlight, and the faint scent of shampoo tickled my nose, making me smile without realizing it.
“Ah, so refreshing.”
Zia looked around with a satisfied expression.
It wasn’t dirty before, but the house definitely felt much cleaner now, welcoming us warmly.
It was our couple’s routine.
After cooking something with a strong smell, we’d throw open all the windows and doors to air it out—and while we were at it, do a big clean-up.
A long-standing tradition that had continued since our rooftop-room days couldn’t just be skipped over because it was an anniversary, so after finishing the meal and letting our stomachs settle for a bit, we immediately dove into the deep clean.
“Still, it’s a little harder than before, right?”
Zia took the kitchen and bathroom; I handled the bedroom, living room, and studio.
Even though the house had gotten bigger—way bigger—the parts we divided ended up taking much longer than expected. It was only now, approaching 3 p.m., that we finally finished.
But the sense of accomplishment from completing one big task so well was enough to leave both our faces refreshed and content.
“Good job.”
“You too, Yujin-ah.”
Smiles of mutual appreciation passed between us.
Tap tap.
“Lie down.”
I patted my thigh, making a shameless proposal to satisfy my own desires.
“Why? What are you gonna do?”
Zia narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she spoke,
“What else? I’m going to dry your hair. Come on, lie down.”
When I continued nonchalantly without a care, she let out a short scoff,
“Fine. Let’s see what you’ve got. But if you try anything weird…?”
Leaving that menacing warning, she rested her head on my lap.
It really was tremendous progress.
In the past, a suggestion like this would have turned her face beet-red, but now she even had room to joke about it.
Seeing her so accustomed to my displays of affection—accepting them naturally—made her incredibly lovable. I couldn’t help but chuckle softly,
“What? What are you laughing at now? You’re making me nervous.”
Zia immediately started squirming to get up when she saw it.
“No, I’m just happy. Stay lying down.”
“Hey, Han Yujin!”
Of course, I wasn’t about to let that resistance slide. I gently pressed her forehead down, easily subduing her.
Even as she grumbled, Zia soon let her still-damp hair settle fully onto my thigh following my hand.
Saruk, saruruk.
No fancy mood-setting hair dryer here.
I took the towel from around her neck, draped it over my thigh, and gently ran it through the hair spread across the sofa.
“Mmm.”
Before I could even ask how it felt, a contented hum slipped from between her slightly parted lips, deepening the smile already lingering on my face.
We spent a peaceful moment like that, bathed in the sunlight pouring through the window.
“Okay, now spill it.”
Zia turned slightly toward me and asked.
“Spill what?”
I had a rough guess what she was getting at.
Pretending not to know, I asked innocently. Zia opened her eyes—previously half-closed in satisfaction—and gave me a light glare before burying her face in my chest again and repeating,
“3000 days—you must have prepared something, right? Tell me.”
Who could look at this and not find it utterly lovable?
The smile I thought couldn’t get any wider turned into a full-blown grin. To take in even more of her expression, I gently tucked the stray strands of hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear and asked back,
“Why? Is there something you want me to do for you?”
At that,
“I knew it! There is something, isn’t there?”
Zia shot upright and pointed a finger at me.
“Don’t do anything weird. Seriously.”
“Weird?”
Her slightly stiffened lips made it crystal clear what she meant, even if I didn’t want to admit it. Still, I tilted my head again, feigning ignorance,
“Like… scattering flowers everywhere and lighting candles? Or stuffing the car trunk with balloons and hanging up a banner? That kind of thing. If you prepared anything like that—absolutely do not do it. I really hate it.”
Zia seemed completely oblivious to the teasing lilt in my voice as she shouted.
Her reaction wasn’t some roundabout way of asking me to do it—she genuinely looked horrified at the idea.
“Hahahahaha!”
In the end, I couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.
“Yujin-ah, just in case—don’t do any of those dramatic things from dramas or movies just because it’s 3000 days, okay? Seriously. The best thing is just spending quiet time together, you and me. Got it?”
Even Moon Sook-hee had said,
“Yujin-ssi. You didn’t prepare any big event thing, right? In my opinion, it’s better not to. Just go to a nice restaurant for dinner in the evening? If you don’t know where, ask me—I’ll recommend one. Actually, just go to the place I recommend.”
And Lee Ah-jeong too.
‘Everyone said the exact same thing?’
No matter what, did they really think I wouldn’t know?
Sure, some people love that kind of event, but Zia absolutely isn’t one of them—I knew that better than anyone.
‘Well… I’ve heard stories of guys mistaking a girl’s strong dislike for just being shy and embarrassed.’
But at least I’m not one of those guys.
Me—someone who stood at the very forefront of the “pseudo-romance” business model that boy groups run on—lacking that much awareness?
“I’m not doing anything like that. I can obviously see you’d hate it, so why would I go out of my way to earn a scolding?”
“Really? You’re not?”
Even after I said that, Zia asked again, double-checking.
‘Do I really seem that untrustworthy?’
The thought crossed my mind for a second.
‘Well… this is the first time we’re actually properly celebrating an anniversary, after all.’
Even Zia would naturally feel that much anxiety.
I gently pulled Zia closer, laid her head back on my lap, and slowly ran my fingers through her still-cool, damp hair as I honestly told her today’s plan.
“Really, I’m not. I got a quiet restaurant recommendation from Ah-jeong sunbaenim. I already made a reservation, so let’s head there in a bit for dinner.”
“Really really?”
“Yeah, for real.”
Hm. A little hurtful.
She didn’t drop her suspicion when I said no—but the moment Lee Ah-jeong’s name came up, she immediately relaxed.
‘Well… serves me right, I guess.’
If it were the old me, who was so bad at expressing affection, this kind of misunderstanding wouldn’t have even happened in the first place.
Come to think of it, back then I might have gone ahead and pulled off one of those awful events without hesitation—which is probably why Zia could even have this kind of doubt now.
Realizing that made the slight sting of hurt fade quickly.
‘Wait… is this just mental gymnastics?’
The thought flashed for a second,
“Seriously, don’t do anything like that…?”
But when I saw Zia burrow shyly into my chest, hiding her face as she mumbled those words, none of it mattered anymore.
Lee Ah-jeong, whatever.
Who cares what she says?
The fact that I’m the only person in the world who gets to see Zia like this was more than enough to fill my heart with pink.
***
“Yujin-ah…”
Zia’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
“Is this really the place…?”
“Yeah, it is.”
It was the classic baby pug mode—the same one she’d shown the first time we stepped into Grace Salon, the hair shop that had a cooperative relationship with MyWay, back last fall.
Zia had seemed somewhat accustomed to places like Grace Salon after going through the Aejeong-un music video shoot recently,
‘But it can’t be helped.’
A restaurant with a dress code was probably still outside the expanded world she’d gotten used to.
Even by my standards, this place felt a bit overwhelming—so how much more for Zia?
Still,
‘Can’t be helped either way.’
There was also a very clear reason we had no choice but to come to a place that deserved not just “luxury,” but “top-tier luxury” for our anniversary.
More precisely—the reason Lee Ah-jeong had chosen this place.
“Zia’s new look has been kept perfectly under wraps so far. Since we’re going out anyway, might as well go all in, right? I haven’t seen any place that has this romantic of an atmosphere while also protecting customer privacy so thoroughly. Zia might feel a little burdened, so Yujin-ssi, you handle smoothing that over.”
Yes—after all the effort we’d put into hiding Zia’s face until now.
After Hylliy’s wish fulfillment and Orion’s successful takeoff, the attention pouring toward me wasn’t small. If Zia and I walked into some ordinary restaurant right now?
It was 100% guaranteed that my name would plaster the entertainment sections of tomorrow’s news.
‘In that case, I might as well just hand Zia’s photo over to Kwak Sun-bin myself.’
Even if MyWay’s legal team would make sure her face got blurred out of fear, the problem was her face appearing in the media at all.
In just one month, that face was going to become famous whether she wanted it or not.
What were the odds that countless reporters wouldn’t notice that the female lead from the music video for Aejeong-un—the pre-release single and one of the double title tracks from Lee Ah-jeong’s mini 6th album—looked exactly the same as the woman smiling happily next to Han Yujin?
For the same reason we had decided to hide the fact that Zia and I were dating for a little while after the Aejeong-un music video dropped, Lee Ah-jeong had recommended this place to me, saying she often used it for her own dates.
No matter how much I said I wasn’t preparing any special event, there was no way we could let a day like today pass without at least going out to eat once.
“Haa… Can’t be helped, right…?”
Fortunately, Zia gave up quickly.
She’d already experienced something similar last fall when we visited Grace Salon, and I’d explained in detail on the way here why we had no choice but to pick this place.
To avoid causing trouble for Lee Ah-jeong, Zia’s only option was to go inside quickly.
“Han Yujin-nim, right? This way, please.”
Still, it was definitely different from last year.
Zia had already erased her baby pug mode in an instant. She lifted her chin slightly and walked beside me with perfect poise.
‘She can switch like that?’
Right now, Zia was acting.
I was 100% certain it was all an act.
Because from the moment she took that deep “suuu-haaa” breath, I’d watched her eyes change right next to me.
Back when she was sending me practice videos religiously before the music video shoot started, she hadn’t reached this level yet.
What on earth had happened on the Aejeong-un music video set for her to undergo such a perfect transformation? I was suddenly dying of curiosity.
‘There has to be at least a making film, right…?’
Of course, even though I was the one who asked first, she told me not to come—so I barely held back. But if they hadn’t filmed the process of Zia leveling up like this, even Lee Ah-jeong would have to brace herself for me grabbing her by the collar, right?
I stuffed the mix of shock and laughter—which didn’t quite fit the restaurant’s atmosphere—deep inside and followed along until we arrived at a room that emphasized privacy: a space where the two of us could enjoy the stunning panoramic night view of Seoul all to ourselves.
Even Zia’s mask almost cracked for a second when she saw a place so clearly designed for VIPs,
“Haa… This is so burdensome I could die…”
But she only let those words slip after the staff member had left.
“Our Actress Woo is amazing, huh?”
It was only natural to applaud this level of dedication—was this really the pro spirit of an actress who’d only been acting for less than half a year?
“Wanna die?”
“Zia-ya, look over there—wow, the night view is insane. There was a place like this in Seoul?”
“Don’t change the subject right now?”
Of course, the response to my applause was quite intense,
Knock knock.
“Excuse me.”
But at the knock and the voice that followed, Zia immediately put her mask back on.
Even that was so cute and lovable that—
I realized a little too late that the voice sounded awfully familiar.
“Here are your hors d’oeuvres. Canapés with salmon and caviar as the main. For aperitif, we’ve prepared a sweet vermouth.”
Of course, once I actually saw the face, there was no way I could keep pretending not to recognize it.
‘Huh?’
You… why are you here…?
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