Chapter 167: Cleanup (2)
With <An Unfortunate Girl and a Lucky Boy> entering post-production, the main and supporting actors began appearing on promotional broadcasts in earnest.
Jung Pil-gyu, who had appeared in two consecutive Kim Si-woo projects, was running himself ragged.
Of course, he himself seemed absolutely thrilled about it.
His character—despite his burly physique—had a timid personality, which surprisingly made him quite active and entertaining on variety shows.
Additionally, a few actors who hadn’t received invitations managed to secure spots thanks to Kim Si-woo’s influence.
As time passed, Kim Si-woo’s mind grew increasingly complicated.
After all, this film had been made for the struggling Lee Hae-soo. If she didn’t see it, there was no meaning.
“Sigh… I have to give her the preview tickets somehow… Should I just mail them?”
Sitting in his office, Kim Si-woo buried his face in the desk and let out continuous sighs.
In the end, to hand over the audience preview tickets, Kim Si-woo arrived in front of the Blue Law Firm building.
“Phew… Just hand over the tickets and leave.”
Even though time had passed since they broke up, the tension was unavoidable.
Recalling old memories, Kim Si-woo entered the building as if on autopilot.
The receptionist recognized him after so long and sent him straight upstairs.
“Phew…”
Arriving on the floor where Lee Hae-soo should be, Kim Si-woo took one more deep breath before walking forward—toward her office.
“Huh?”
But where Lee Hae-soo’s nameplate should have been, there was someone else’s name.
“Did she move offices?”
Spotting a lawyer walking down the hallway, Kim Si-woo called out.
“Excuse me… sorry to bother you, but did Attorney Lee Hae-soo move offices?”
“Huh? Attorney Lee Hae-soo left our firm a while ago…”
“Ah… do you happen to know where she went?”
“That… I’m not sure…”
“Ah… thank you.”
Upon hearing that Lee Hae-soo had left the law firm, Kim Si-woo asked a few more people before trudging back down.
Even her fellow attorneys didn’t know where she had gone.
“Where could she have gone…?”
Kim Si-woo tried to think of places she might be, but he couldn’t get any sense of it.
“One mountain after another.”
For now, he decided to return to Siwoo Film’s office.
When Lee Yoo-jin saw Kim Si-woo’s expression upon his return, she followed him into his office.
“Writer-nim. Did something happen?”
“Huh? Ah… no, it’s nothing.”
Kim Si-woo couldn’t bring himself to say he’d gone to give preview tickets to his ex-girlfriend.
“Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“I’m just… a little tired, I guess. Anyway, how’s the editing going?”
“Yes. I’m actually quite satisfied with it so far.”
“That’s good. If you’re satisfied, it’ll be a good movie.”
Lee Yoo-jin talked with Kim Si-woo for quite a while longer before leaving the office.
That night, Kim Si-woo pondered deeply, trying to think of places where Lee Hae-soo might be—but still came up with nothing.
“Should I just call her?”
Of course, there was a way to meet her.
He could call Lee Hae-soo directly or send a text to arrange a meeting.
But asking an ex to meet up wasn’t easy, and for several days Kim Si-woo agonized over it.
Until he happened to see Lee Hae-soo by chance.
On his way home after stopping by his family home, Kim Si-woo spotted a familiar back view.
“Huh? That silhouette…?”
He quickly turned the car around and watched as she entered a building on the side of the road.
And on the building’s signboard was a familiar name.
“Lee Hae-soo Law Office?”
The moment he learned that Lee Hae-soo had opened her own law office, Kim Si-woo realized just how pathetic his actions had been.
“More importantly… this is crazy… this is straight-up stalking…”
Kim Si-woo lowered his head in the stopped car, lost in thought.
“In the end, I have to call her.”
Showing up unannounced would just make him feel like a stalker.
The next day, Kim Si-woo dialed Lee Hae-soo’s number.
Ring ring ring.
After two rings, the call connected.
– Hello?
Hearing Lee Hae-soo’s voice through the smartphone, Kim Si-woo felt tense, but he slowly spoke.
“Hae-soo-ya.”
– …
She must have recognized his voice instantly—silence filled the line.
“If you have time today… can we meet for a bit?”
At Kim Si-woo’s suggestion to meet, Lee Hae-soo replied in a slightly hesitant voice.
– It’s probably going to be late tonight… around 11 p.m. maybe…
“Okay, then I’ll come to the front of your office around that time.”
– Got it.
The conversation ended more smoothly than expected, and Kim Si-woo let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew…”
After hanging up, he gathered the audience preview tickets, made a reservation at a sushi place, and prepared to meet Lee Hae-soo.
Meanwhile, after receiving Kim Si-woo’s call, Lee Hae-soo was breathing heavily.
“Haa… haa…”
She tilted her head back, trying desperately to hold back tears.
Her first love. The person she had loved the most.
Even now, just hearing his voice made her heart tremble.
The person who always took care of her when she was lacking, who became a wall she could lean on.
Knowing that all of that was Kim Si-woo made her guilt even heavier.
Because she was the one who had hurt him and left.
“More importantly… how did oppa know I was working at the office?”
Lee Hae-soo recalled the last part of the call—when Kim Si-woo said he’d come to the front of the office—and felt puzzled.
“Anyway… what do I do until 11 p.m.…”
In truth, her law office wasn’t as busy as she had hoped.
If anything, it was rather quiet.
Most of the people who came were asking for free help.
The clients she had carried over from the big law firm also turned their heads away from “Lee Hae-soo of Blue Law Firm” toward “Lee Hae-soo of a small private office.”
“Well… handling cases alone is bound to feel a little lacking…”
She was barely covering the rent by taking on occasional cases from people who came after seeing her win rate.
“Maybe I should move to a more remote location?”
Lee Hae-soo had used the money she recovered from her mother—who had bought an apartment with Lee Hae-soo’s own earnings—to open this office.
“Sigh…”
Her usual closing time was 6 p.m., but because she didn’t want anyone to see how shabby her current situation was, she pretended to have work until 11 p.m.
“What am I going to do for five hours?”
“Noona! Who was that call just now? New case?”
“Huh? Ah… no.”
“Tch… too bad. Another dry day?”
After being discharged from the military, Lee Hae-soo’s younger brother Lee Hae-shin had bounced between part-time jobs, vowing to support the family in her place, until he eventually ended up working at the law office she opened.
Whether it was her earnings or his, the money still went to the family—but the weight on her shoulders had changed.
Her little brother, back from the army, had grown surprisingly mature. The little brother she once had to protect was gone.
Now she only had to take care of herself, and it felt like the heavy burdens that had pressed down on her for so long had finally lifted.
“Hae-shin-ah.”
“Yeah?”
“Shall we have jjajangmyeon for lunch today?”
“Ooh~ I want jjamppong.”
“Okay. Order it for lunch. And tangsuyuk too.”
“Got it.”
To Lee Hae-soo, these small everyday moments felt like happiness.
And so 11 p.m. arrived. She waited for Kim Si-woo.
“He should be here soon…”
Knock knock knock.
Right on time, there was a knock.
“Come in.”
At her response, the door opened—and sure enough, it was Kim Si-woo.
“Long time no see.”
Seeing him enter awkwardly, Lee Hae-soo’s vision blurred.
She had sworn not to cry, but seeing his unchanged appearance made tears threaten to spill at any moment.
“Want something to drink?”
Quickly turning her head away, she went to get something to drink.
“No, I just came to give you this.”
“Huh?”
When she saw the audience preview tickets Kim Si-woo was holding out, she looked back at him.
“It’s the movie I made this time… I really hope you’ll come see it.”
“Ah… okay.”
“Well then. Take care… You look brighter than before. I’m glad.”
Having accomplished his purpose, Kim Si-woo turned to leave the building and was about to get into his car when someone grabbed his wrist.
“W-wait a second.”
“Huh?”
“Want to grab a drink nearby?”
When Kim Si-woo turned around, there was Lee Hae-soo—head bowed, still holding his wrist.
Seeing the teardrops falling to the ground, Kim Si-woo roughly understood the feelings that had driven her to run after him and grab hold.
“Um…”
Just as Kim Si-woo was about to say “Sure,” someone came charging over while shouting.
“Hey, you bastard! Who the hell are you touching my noona?!”
The man was none other than Lee Hae-soo’s younger brother, Lee Hae-shin. He swung a rough fist straight at Kim Si-woo.
“Noona? Hae-soo’s little brother?”
“Hae-shin-ah, stop!”
Kim Si-woo instinctively started to counter the incoming punch, but realizing it was Hae-soo’s brother, he leaned his upper body back to dodge.
“Huh?”
Lee Hae-shin, who had expected his fist to land, was thrown off balance when it passed through empty air. Immediately after, he got pummeled by Lee Hae-soo.
“What the hell are you doing right now?! A little brother with a lawyer noona trying to assault someone on the street?”
“No—I came because noona wasn’t coming home and I thought something happened, then I saw some guy holding her hand! I thought he was harassing her… More importantly, who is this guy…?”
Even while getting hit by Lee Hae-soo, Lee Hae-shin kept staring at Kim Si-woo. Kim Si-woo gave a polite greeting.
“Hello. I’m Kim Si-woo, Hae-soo’s ex-boyfriend.”
“Uh… what?”
Hearing that he was Lee Hae-soo’s ex, Lee Hae-shin was greatly flustered.
“And it wasn’t oppa who grabbed me—I grabbed him!”
“Aaah! No, it was dark, I couldn’t see clearly…”
After receiving about twenty more hits from Lee Hae-soo, Lee Hae-shin finally gave Kim Si-woo a proper greeting.
“Ah… Hello. I’m Lee Hae-shin, Hae-soo noona’s younger brother. I’m really sorry about swinging at you. It’s not like this has never happened before…”
“It’s fine. I can understand why you would.”
Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Lee Hae-soo quickly pushed her brother away.
“You. Go home now. I have something to talk about with oppa.”
“What?”
Lee Hae-shin gave Kim Si-woo a suspicious look.
“Hey! I said go!”
“Ah, okay, okay. Don’t push.”
In the end, Lee Hae-shin kept staring at Kim Si-woo until the last moment, then left behind one final warning: “Bring her home by 2 a.m. at the latest,” before stepping aside.
“He’s different from the other siblings. Seems like a good kid.”
“He’s a bit willful, but yeah… he’s kind-hearted.”
And so Lee Hae-soo and Kim Si-woo headed to a quiet nearby bar.
Once they arrived, the atmosphere was heavier than expected.
Before the snacks even came out, he tried to start with light conversation, but the very first question turned dark.
“How have you been all this time?”
“Just… fixing the things I did wrong. As you can see, I left the firm and opened my own office… What about you, oppa?”
“Me too… just writing scripts, making movies, that kind of thing.”
“Ah…”
Once they actually started talking, both tried to avoid the painful memories, but silence kept creeping in.
Back then, they could talk about anything and feel happy. Now, every word felt stifling and nauseating.
When the snacks and drinks finally arrived, Lee Hae-soo downed her liquor to ease the awkwardness and discomfort even just a little.
“Phew…”
One sip of the strong liquor sent a burning warmth swirling through her chest.
“Eat some snacks too. You’ll ruin your stomach otherwise.”
Her ex-boyfriend, looking worried, placed food on her plate.
Seeing that, Lee Hae-soo decided to smile instead of cry.
“Thanks.”
After that, Lee Hae-soo—who was relatively weak to alcohol—spoke first about her own story.
She told him that after breaking up with Kim Si-woo, she had worked like crazy, cut ties with her mother and all her siblings except Hae-shin, and started over.
Of course, she didn’t mention collapsing from overwork, but the tone of her voice and the atmosphere alone made it clear how hard it had been.
“Are you happy now?”
“Yeah… Hae-shin helps out too. It’s not bad.”
Kim Si-woo quietly nodded at her words.
“What about you, oppa? How have you been?”
Now it was Kim Si-woo’s turn to share what happened after the breakup.
He told her that he had spent over a month living like a wreck, then started writing scripts again and eventually made a movie. During production, there had been some friction with the actors.
Of course, he didn’t mention that he had written those scripts while thinking of Lee Hae-soo.
Once they shared their painful stories, the heaviness in their hearts eased, and they were finally able to move on to lighter topics.
Time passed like that, and the day of the audience preview arrived.