Chapter 29
- Where is this?
2023.05.29.
Kim Tae-joon carried Han So-eun on his back and climbed to the third floor of the villa where So-eun's studio apartment was located.
His breaths, deeply inhaled and exhaled, grew increasingly labored. He wondered if this woman was doing it on purpose. Was she taking revenge for making her work overtime? Was she venting her frustration over the failed blind date on him?
Even after shaking her awake, So-eun didn't wake up. Only the sound of her snoring could be heard intermittently. He considered that she might be doing it on purpose, but since it was true that he had made things difficult for her, he decided to accommodate her to some extent and carried her on his back. It was Kim Tae-joon's own form of atonement.
Climbing the stairs to the third floor was quite tiring, but So-eun was a light person, so it wasn't overwhelming. He just hoped that she would open her eyes, pretending she couldn't resist, when they reached the third floor.
Room 304. He didn't hesitate because he remembered Han So-eun's personal information that he had checked long ago. Tae-joon, who had caught his breath in front of the door, called So-eun again.
"Han So-eun, Assistant Manager."
"......"
"We're here. Enter the password."
Since she still didn't seem to want to wake up, Tae-joon shook her vigorously on his back.
"Wake up already."
"......"
"I won't get angry, so wake up."
He tried coaxing her and even spoke gently, wondering if she was being cautious, but there was no response.
He wanted to put her down and shake her, but he couldn't just put her down on the bare floor.
"Hey, Han So-eun. Wake up."
The moment his voice rose, the door of the next-door neighbor opened, and a man who had come out to throw away the trash glanced at him and went down the stairs.
Tae-joon, who had been groaning inwardly, eventually had to go down the stairs again.
He returned to the car and deliberately dropped her into the passenger seat, but So-eun didn't wake up.
He had never seen anyone sleep so soundly. What kind of woman sleeps like a drunk person? Or did she secretly drink alcohol? Or did the injection she received at the hospital contain a sedative? That couldn't be it, could it?
Or is she unconsciously rejecting waking hours due to the shock of breaking up with Yang Hee-wook? Or is there something else wrong with her body?
He thought about how tired she must be since she hadn't slept for two days, but he also worried that she might have another illness since she couldn't wake up this easily.
Why am I worrying about you? I'm tired too.
He was overwhelmed with fatigue, thinking that he had done too many things he didn't usually do.
"Let me sleep a little too. Huh?"
Still, she'll probably wake up soon like she did at the hospital.
"I'll give you an hour."
"......"
"If you don't wake up by twelve o'clock, I'm just going to take you to my house."
Tae-joon firmly warned her and went to the back seat to close his eyes. He couldn't fall asleep at all. So-eun's soft, sleeping breath disturbed his mind.
And exactly one hour later.
"Han So-eun. Wake up."
He thought that after some time, her fatigue would be relieved and she would wake up from her sleep even for a moment, but what should he do with this woman who seemed to have fallen into an even deeper sleep? Tae-joon, with a troublesome Sleep spirit in front of him, fell into deep thought.
Should I leave the car?
But he was worried about the situation that would unfold when this woman woke up.
Should I really take her home?
Do you trust me?
I don't trust myself.
"I've waited long enough."
Tae-joon, who had been watching her for another 10 minutes, started the engine as it was.
\
So-eun didn't wake up even after arriving at Tae-joon's house in Seoul. Inevitably, Tae-joon once again carried So-eun on his back.
Carrying a woman here and there, here and there.
Is she taking revenge for making her work like this?
Tae-joon, who got on the elevator, chuckled a few times at the thought that his situation was ridiculous.
He became self-deprecating, wondering what he was doing, and he was also very curious about what kind of expression this woman would make when she woke up.
Unlike when he was rushing to the hospital in a daze or when he was lingering in front of her house, he could clearly feel the presence of the woman on his back. Although his whole body was tense, he felt a soft sensation from behind. Perhaps there was an unconscious fear of falling from him even while she was sleeping soundly, as sometimes the arm around his neck would tighten.
Han So-eun. You are the first woman I've ever brought to my house in my 30 years of life.
No, that's not right. You've been living in my house from the beginning.
You lived as you pleased, left as you pleased, and then came back like this.
What if I don't let you leave?
Tae-joon took off So-eun's shoes and headed straight to the bedroom.
Now that he had come this far, he had to reset his goals as well. Until now, he wanted Han So-eun to wake up quickly, but now he hoped she wouldn't wake up. He just wanted her to sleep comfortably and wake up in the morning. So that she wouldn't cause any more trouble.
Tae-joon gently laid So-eun on the bed, covered her with a blanket over her shoulders, and placed the cell phone that she would look for first when she woke up on the bedside table. Then, he turned on the air purifier, turned on the air conditioner to a refreshing sleep wind, and moved with hushed steps to turn off the lights. Only after closing the door carefully without making any noise did he exhale the breath he had been holding in.
Haa.
I have to be careful in my own house.
But he couldn't blame anyone. It was something he had deliberately started.
After finishing all the work, Tae-joon took a cold shower and lay down on the sofa to sleep. It was a large house, but it was a space where he didn't bring people, so there was only one bed. He couldn't sleep properly in an uncomfortable place, so even when he closed his eyes, he couldn't fall asleep. It seemed that Han So-eun, who was possessed by a Sleep spirit, was taking away his share of sleep and sleeping.
He began to blame himself for the first time, thinking that he had been reckless.
But, wasn't this what he was going to do someday?
It was funny that he was suddenly acting conscientious now.
He thought Han So-eun was a fool, but he felt even more foolish for doing something even more foolish.
\
8 a.m.
Ah... I slept well! So refreshing!
It feels like I've slept soundly for the first time in a long time!
So-eun opened her eyes, feeling the soft texture of the soft goose down comforter. She didn't remember what kind of dream it was, but she seemed to have had a happy dream.
"Uh...?"
But just three seconds after waking up, the smile disappeared from So-eun's face.
The world changes drastically every time I open my eyes.
Yesterday, I woke up in the hospital. Where am I now?
A hotel?
- This is Kim Tae-joon's house.
It was a memo that Tae-joon had left the night before. He had anticipated that So-eun would be confused about where she was as soon as she woke up, so he had attached a large memo to the front of So-eun's cell phone screen.
"Heo-eoeo. No way."
Still, she couldn't help but be surprised. Since the circumstances of how she got here were not explained, she also had scary thoughts.
And now it's 8 a.m. on Saturday.
The last time she looked at the clock was a little after 10 p.m. The fact that about 10 hours had disappeared made her heart flutter and then churn.
So-eun immediately went out of the bedroom. After passing through a short hallway, a living room as wide as a stadium unfolded.
Tae-joon was clattering in the kitchen.
"Are you awake?"
It was a morning greeting that a friendly couple in their second year of an arranged marriage would make. Although she had never been married.
"D...Director, good morning."
So-eun greeted him in a frightened voice.
Was it because her vision was blurry? Director Kim Tae-joon, wearing a light T-shirt, seemed like a different person. Perhaps because he didn't look strict, he seemed like a friend of the same age. Still, So-eun made an effort to bring out the feeling of finding him difficult and spoke carefully.
"I'm so sorry to bother you from the morning, but yesterday..."
"I took Assistant Manager Han in the car and took her to her house, but she wouldn't wake up, so it ended up like this."
Tae-joon kindly explained the circumstances first.
"I've never seen anyone sleep so soundly like Assistant Manager Han in my life."
So-eun also couldn't believe it. She was someone who could open her eyes when someone woke her up. She not only had a light Sleep spirit, but she also wasn't the type to sleep deeply for a long time in an uncomfortable place.
"...You didn't put me to sleep on purpose, did you?"
"Do you think I used some kind of drug to put you to sleep? Do you want to go get tested?"
"No, that's not what I meant. ...You made the car warm and cozy, covered me with a blanket, and made the seat comfortable."
Maybe this person didn't wake me up on purpose. But why?
No, how did I get here? Did I walk here in my sleep like a sleepwalker?
"Do you know that I carried Assistant Manager Han on my back and went all the way up to your house?"
Tae-joon again gave her an answer to the question that So-eun had in her mind first.
So-eun's mouth opened wide.
"I couldn't enter because you didn't tell me the password, so I was going to leave you in front of the door, but I brought you here."
Tae-joon carelessly continued his remarks in a tone that clearly conveyed that he didn't want her to have any other suspicions. So-eun's face flushed with heat.
"Um, excuse me, Director..."
So-eun's voice became small and unsure.
"Could it be that you carried me to the hospital as well, Director?"
Tae-joon chuckled and replied.
"Then who else would do it?"
So-eun's voice was trembling more and more with each syllable.
"...And you carried me up to my house, that is, up to the third floor..."
"I told you."
"Then you carried me down like that?"
"I regret that."
"......"
"I should have rolled you down."
It was meant to be a joke to make her laugh, but So-eun couldn't shake off her surprised expression even at Tae-joon's joke.
"...Did you really go up and down?"
"Should I show you the car's black box footage?"
"...And you carried me up here again?"
"The elevator was broken, so I carried you up the stairs to the 30th floor."
"Gasp."
Now So-eun's expression was close to shock.
Tae-joon swallowed his laughter and asked.
"You're a fool, aren't you?"
He found her innocence, which seemed like she would be fooled even if he said 100 floors, amusing. Her innocence, which was directed towards another guy, was frustrating, but it became so interesting when that direction changed to him.
"Director, I'm really serious. I would appreciate it if you could tell me properly."
"What? Whether I came by elevator or stairs?"
"Yes..."
"Is that important?"
"Well, there's the issue of my guilt..."
"It says here, 'Please tell me you used the elevator,' so what should I answer?"
Tae-joon, who had come a few steps closer, pointed to her forehead.
Her pupils rolled in the direction that the tip of Tae-joon's index finger was pointing. Every reaction was so funny that Tae-joon kept laughing, but even so, So-eun never laughed along.
No, rather, her tone became even more cautious.
"...Actually, I wasn't feeling well, but I guess I overdid it and it turned out like this. I'm sorry."
Tae-joon passed over So-eun's polite greeting as if he wasn't even looking at it and placed a bowl on the table. It was Seolleongtang that had been delivered early in the morning.
"I will never cause such a thing to happen again in the future."
"Eat your food."
So-eun glanced at the bowl placed in front of her and shook her head. She felt that she shouldn't cause any more trouble to Tae-joon than this.
"No. I'll go right away."
"Eat and go."
But Tae-joon was also stubborn, as if he wouldn't give in either.
"Listen to me since you made me suffer so much."
It was a tone that felt both kind and stern.
