The atmosphere around Jung Se-yeon was very different from usual.
To Kim Si-woo, she felt a little more seductive.
Perhaps because he was seeing her relaxed at home—unlike her always perfectly made-up, polished appearance—Kim Si-woo didn’t quite realize it himself, but one thing was certain: it felt a little dangerous.
“U-um…”
“What is it?”
As Jung Se-yeon rose from the sofa and took one step closer, Kim Si-woo instinctively took one step back.
“N-no, just a second…”
“Move aside, please. I’m thirsty…”
Kim Si-woo kept retreating until his back hit the refrigerator. He squeezed his eyes shut.
Then Jung Se-yeon gently pushed him aside, and Kim Si-woo made a flustered face.
“What’s with that expression? Were you thinking I was going to eat you or something?”
“Ah… no, that’s not it.”
Kim Si-woo felt embarrassed realizing he had completely misunderstood.
“Since you’re here, want to take a look at my studio?”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
After taking a sip of water, Jung Se-yeon led Kim Si-woo into her studio.
The room, filled with various equipment and a soundproof booth, looked no different from the production studios he had only ever seen on TV at entertainment agencies.
“It’s… a bit messy, right? When I’m working, I tend to spread things out everywhere…”
“I know.”
“You always seem to know everything, Writer-nim.”
“You’ve said it all on YouTube and TV. I just have pretty good memory.”
Kim Si-woo was telling the truth.
Having been her fan, he remembered most of what she had said on YouTube or TV appearances.
“And yet, for someone with such good memory, how come your situational awareness is so bad…”
Jung Se-yeon muttered under her breath at his words.
“More importantly, is this a new song?”
“Ah! Wait a second!”
Jung Se-yeon quickly snatched the sheet music Kim Si-woo had picked up.
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s not that…”
In truth, the sheet music Kim Si-woo had just touched was a song Jung Se-yeon had written while crying during the time when Kim Si-woo and Lee Hae-soo were dating.
The lyrics and melody were filled with nothing but sadness, so she hurriedly took it away, afraid he might notice.
“Anyway! Shall I sing for you?”
“Suddenly?”
“We usually sing at fan meetings too, you know.”
“Well… if you’re offering, I’m not going to refuse.”
At Kim Si-woo’s reply, Jung Se-yeon stepped into the recording booth, familiarly turned on the track, and began to sing.
She performed one of her title tracks, “October Man”—a song she had written while thinking of Kim Si-woo.
As the accompaniment flowed out, Jung Se-yeon’s voice poured into Kim Si-woo’s ears.
She wasn’t making an intentionally pretty face—her brows were furrowed, her mouth wide open in a natural singing expression—but to Kim Si-woo, she had never looked more beautiful than she did at that moment.
When the song ended and she took off the headset, stepping out of the booth, Kim Si-woo stared at her in wonder.
“What?”
“You look beautiful.”
“Huh?”
Caught off guard by Kim Si-woo’s blunt honesty, Jung Se-yeon stammered.
“I said you’re pretty.”
“Ah… thank you. I-I’ll be right back, just going to the bathroom for a sec…”
Jung Se-yeon awkwardly hurried out of the room toward the bathroom, her movements stiff.
Once she reached the bathroom, she saw her flushed ears in the mirror and quickly splashed cold water on her hands to press against them.
“What’s wrong with me today? I’m never like this usually… suddenly…”
After cooling her face, Jung Se-yeon put on her poker face and walked back to the living room where Kim Si-woo was sitting on the sofa.
“What do you want for dinner tonight?”
“Anything’s fine with me.”
“How about pasta?”
“Sounds good.”
At Kim Si-woo’s answer, Jung Se-yeon suddenly put on an apron.
She was planning to cook for him herself.
She often cooked at home anyway, so she was confident.
The ingredients in her house were all top-quality, after all.
And pasta was surprisingly easy to make.
“All right…”
Chop chop chop.
The sound of Jung Se-yeon chopping ingredients echoed through the kitchen, and Kim Si-woo watched her from behind.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Jung Se-yeon—who had been about to boil the pasta—shouted in embarrassment.
“W-watch TV or something!”
“Ah… yes.”
Seeing Jung Se-yeon getting embarrassed, Kim Si-woo obediently turned on the TV and looked away.
About thirty minutes later, a delicious aroma began to spread, tickling Kim Si-woo’s nose.
“Smells good.”
While making pasta, Jung Se-yeon had ended up preparing steak and several other dishes as well.
“It’s all ready. Come eat.”
“Yes!”
Kim Si-woo approached the dining table at her call. On it were the dishes along with a single bottle of wine.
“We’re having wine too?”
“Yes. It’s a one-on-one fan meeting, after all.”
At Jung Se-yeon’s reply, Kim Si-woo smiled and asked back,
“Is a fan meeting usually supposed to include home-cooked food and alcohol? I don’t remember seeing that on your YouTube.”
“Because it’s a one-on-one fan meeting. So… are you not going to drink? This one’s really expensive.”
“Really? Then I guess I have to.”
Jung Se-yeon poured wine into Kim Si-woo’s glass, and the rich fragrance of the wine quickly filled the air among the food.
“The aroma is intense.”
“Of course. This bottle costs over 100 million won.”
“cough”
Kim Si-woo, who had been smelling the wine, choked when he heard the price.
“Wait, this is worth 100 million won?”
“Yes.”
Hearing the price again, Kim Si-woo looked at Jung Se-yeon with a slightly envious gaze.
“As expected of a top star… the class is on another level…”
“What? Writer-nim, if you really wanted to, you could buy it and drink it too.”
“But I’m already perfectly satisfied with ordinary liquor.”
“Ugh! Now I sound like some extravagant woman!”
“Let’s just say I’m the one who doesn’t spend money. Cheers.”
Kim Si-woo quickly held out his glass to calm her down, and she reluctantly clinked it with a helpless expression.
After taking a sip of the wine, Kim Si-woo made a genuinely surprised face.
The moment the wine touched his tongue, the fragrance that rose into his nose felt completely different from any alcohol he had tasted before.
After savoring it fully and swallowing, Jung Se-yeon asked him about the taste.
“How is it? Delicious, right?”
“Yes…”
“Then hurry up and try the food too.”
Urged by Jung Se-yeon, Kim Si-woo took a bite of the pasta and then the steak salad.
“It’s really good.”
“How about it? Do I look a little different now?”
“I didn’t know you were this good at cooking too. That’s unexpected.”
“What do you mean ‘unexpected’!”
Jung Se-yeon glared at him, bristling at the word “unexpected.”
“Thank you. For cooking all this for me personally.”
“If you’re thankful… then next time, you cook for me.”
“Shall I? I’ll invite you over soon.”
And so the two spent time eating dinner accompanied by wine.
After about two hours, the wine had somehow turned into whiskey, and the number of empty bottles kept increasing.
“Writer-nim!”
“Yes?”
Jung Se-yeon’s tongue was slightly slurred as she called him; her eyes looked a little unfocused.
“Se-yeon-ssi, you seem pretty drunk… maybe we should stop here…”
“No, so why do you hate me? Hmm?”
“I never said I hated you…”
“Then why am I the only one still using formal speech… I like you too, Writer-nim.”
“What does that have to do with dropping honorifics…”
“Ahhh, I can’t hear you~”
Seeing her being so stubborn, Kim Si-woo let out a helpless chuckle. Jung Se-yeon smiled back at him.
“Oh? You laughed. So, Writer-nim. Want to date me? You said you’re my fan. Doesn’t that mean you like me too?”
“Let’s talk about that later when we’re both sober. For today, let’s just sleep.”
“Ahh, let go!”
When Kim Si-woo picked up the drunken Jung Se-yeon to carry her to the bedroom, she flailed wildly.
“No, stay still… ugh.”
In the end, they tumbled onto the bed, and Jung Se-yeon ended up pinned beneath Kim Si-woo.
Startled by his suddenly close face, Jung Se-yeon hiccupped.
“Hic.”
“I told you to stay still…”
Just as Kim Si-woo was about to scold her, something soft touched his lips.
After that, their lips intertwined and lingered.
In reality it was only a brief moment, but to the two of them, it felt endlessly long.
“To stop hiccups, you have to hold your breath, they say.”
After pulling away from the kiss, Jung Se-yeon spoke in a sultry voice, then immediately collapsed and fell asleep.
***
The next morning.
Jung Se-yeon woke up clutching her throbbing head and opened her eyes.
“Ugh… my head. This is why you shouldn’t mix drinks…”
As fragments of the previous night came flooding back while she held her aching head, Jung Se-yeon found herself speechless.
‘What the hell…’
The memory of getting drunk and kissing Kim Si-woo had resurfaced.
‘I must be crazy. Jung Se-yeon… But why… why can’t I remember what happened after that?’
She hurriedly checked her clothes and, seeing they were perfectly intact, made a complicated expression.
‘Ah… how am I supposed to face Writer-nim now… More importantly, his lips were surprisingly soft… Does he take care of them or something?’
Recalling the events of last night in detail, Jung Se-yeon stepped out into the living room—only to find Kim Si-woo already cooking there.
“You’re awake?”
“Ah… yes.”
Kim Si-woo glanced at the somewhat awkward-looking Jung Se-yeon and was convinced she remembered what happened last night.
“From now on, drink in moderation. You know why without me having to say it, right?”
“Yes…”
Having realized her mistake, Jung Se-yeon was noticeably more subdued than the day before.
“I made pollack soup. Come eat.”
At his words, Jung Se-yeon approached the table and saw the bowl of white pollack soup.
“This is the one thing I’m actually good at. Even if it gets boring, just eat it, okay?”
“It’s not boring.”
Replying curtly again, Jung Se-yeon began eating the soup.
“It’s refreshing.”
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
While eating the pollack soup, Jung Se-yeon cautiously spoke to Kim Si-woo.
“So… what are we now?”
“Hm?”
“I mean… even if it was the alcohol talking, we still kissed…”
Kim Si-woo hadn’t expected her to bring it up so directly while sober, so he looked at her in surprise.
“Why? Do you hate me?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then why aren’t you answering? After I’ve gone this far…”
Under her persistent and bold advance, Kim Si-woo lowered his head and answered quietly.
“Right now… I don’t have any thoughts of dating anyone.”
“Until when?”
“I don’t know… Probably after the next movie wraps, I think it’ll be okay.”
Although he had broken up with Lee Hae-soo, Kim Si-woo hadn’t fully sorted out his feelings yet.
The breakup had been too sudden.
It had ended unilaterally without any proper closure, so he planned to use this current movie—made for Lee Hae-soo—as the final period to completely close that chapter.
“Sigh… Fine. Then give me your answer after the new movie ends.”
“Understood.”
“But if you start dating someone before this movie is even finished… you better be ready.”
Seeing the murderous glint in Jung Se-yeon’s eyes, Kim Si-woo thought to himself that—no matter how much he might reject her—he absolutely could not date anyone until this film wrapped.
After finishing breakfast and returning home, Kim Si-woo ran into Arimura Noa, who had been waiting.
“Where did you sleep last night?”
“Huh? Well… at Jung Se-yeon-ssi’s house…”
“No way? You two…”
“It’s not like that, so don’t worry about it. More importantly, are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah… I’m fine. It’s just a movie, after all.”
Kim Si-woo felt a pang of concern seeing her like that, but knowing it wasn’t his place to interfere anymore, he changed the subject.
“By the way, have you been looking for a place to live?”
“Huh? Ah… haha.”
***
A few days later, at Siwoo Film’s office, Kim Si-woo came face-to-face with someone he really didn’t want to see.
That person was none other than Choi Do-hyun.
“Director Lee Yoo-jin, what is this?”
“Ah… well…”
Kim Si-woo had clearly heard that Lee Yoo-jin, after much deliberation, had called in candidates for the male lead in the movie <An Unfortunate Girl and a Lucky Boy>—yet the person who actually showed up was Choi Do-hyun.
**************
TL Note:
This novel is now translated and finished at Chapter 176
If you’d like to continue right away, the remaining chapters are available on My Patreon Premium tier and Plus Tier, but if you want to read my other 5 translated novels, join the Premium Tier
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Genius Writer”
**************