BT 13

Chapter 13

Dangerous ‘Miss Mayonnaise’

Eun-chae had gone to the movie theater at eight o’clock on Saturday morning, just as she had said she would.

But she was already regretting it terribly.

Why had she blurted out that she would show him a movie at that exact moment?

She could have simply said, “You’re annoying,” and left it at that.

If Do-hyeok didn’t show up by eight, she planned to assume that he had broken their promise and simply leave.

So she kept repeating it to herself like a mantra.

Don’t come.

Don’t come.

Don’t come…

But then the people who had come to the theater early that morning began whispering while looking in one direction.

“Isn’t that an actor?”

“I think he kind of looks like Gil-jun too.”

Gil-jun was an extremely handsome movie actor.

Since she’d made the effort to get up early, Eun-chae wondered if she might get lucky and spot a celebrity.

Following the direction of everyone’s gaze, she walked over.

But the famous star she’d been expecting was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, Do-hyeok was walking toward her wearing sunglasses.

So Kwon Do-hyeok was a man who had plenty of money, and a man who could somehow look like a movie star just by putting on a pair of sunglasses.

“You really came.”

At her words, Do-hyeok slightly furrowed his brow.

“Are you regretting spending your entire fortune on me now that the moment has arrived?”

It wasn’t quite that petty.

Her feelings were more complicated.

She was happy that Do-hyeok had come.

And, at the same time, she was a little troubled by it.

“I’ll go get the tickets. Wait here.”

In any case, she’d promised to show him the movie, so Eun-chae walked toward the ticket counter.

But after taking a few steps, she felt uneasy about leaving Do-hyeok alone.

When she turned around, she saw some children approaching him and talking to him.

Not only adult women, but even little kids were drawn to him.

He really was something.

Then one of the children asked Do-hyeok,

“Mister, are you a celebrity? What have you been in?”

She couldn’t see his expression very well because of the sunglasses, but she could tell Do-hyeok looked utterly bewildered.

“No.”

He was talking to children in such a scary manner.

He was probably hopeless when it came to becoming a good father someday.

“But why are you wearing sunglasses in a movie theater? Only celebrities wear those.”

Apparently, something about those words had gotten on Do-hyeok’s nerves.

He took a step toward the child.

It certainly wasn’t because he thought the kid was cute.

Before Do-hyeok and the little boy, who looked like a devoted member of an idol fan club, could begin round two, Eun-chae needed to pull him away.

She approached Do-hyeok, slipped her arm through his, and tugged him away.

“Let’s go together.”

Surprisingly, Do-hyeok obediently let himself be dragged away.

“Mister, you really are a celebrity!”

Whether the little boy was upset because Do-hyeok hadn’t played along with him, or whether he genuinely believed it, he shouted after them.

His loud voice drew everyone’s attention in the theater.

“Huh? Isn’t that Gil-jun?”

This time, people weren’t merely saying that Do-hyeok resembled him.

They were convinced he actually was Gil-jun.

Absurd rumors had a way of spreading farther and faster than the truth ever could.

Suddenly, people began shouting Gil-jun’s name and shoving their phone cameras toward Do-hyeok.

Watching the chaos, Eun-chae thought there really was a reason so many people ended up developing ulcers from unfair treatment.

“Who’s Gil-jun?”

Once they had escaped the crowd and entered the theater, Do-hyeok asked in an irritated voice.

“There’s a movie actor who’s really handsome.”

He was a rising star who was incredibly handsome but constantly criticized for his terrible acting.

Eun-chae had assumed Do-hyeok would be pleased if he were told he resembled someone handsome.

Instead, he looked even more displeased.

Apparently, he was offended at being treated like a knockoff.

“If you don’t want to be mistaken for him, take off your sunglasses.”

In any case, Do-hyeok didn’t really look that much like him without the sunglasses.

Those sunglasses were the real culprit.

Only then did Do-hyeok take them off.

Looking at his bare face, Eun-chae thought he might actually be even more handsome than Gil-jun.

This time, she was apparently the one whose eyes had gone bad.

Handsome, my foot.

He just looked mean.

“Have you ever been to a movie theater?”

“No.”

“What on earth have you been doing with your life?”

“Mostly things you haven’t been able to do.”

Right.

Kwon Do-hyeok was from another world entirely.

“So the only thing you and I have in common is a psychiatric hospital.”

Eun-chae giggled to herself as though she found the fact amusing.

Do-hyeok looked at her with expressionless eyes.

From his perspective, the India Red album was probably a much more significant connection between them.

But he couldn’t tell her that.

For all he knew, she might be hiding her relationship with his father.

From his experiences with her, he knew she wasn’t particularly calculating.

But that didn’t mean he could completely trust her.

Trusting another person was never something that should be done carelessly.

“So were you really seeing my brother-in-law because something was wrong with you?”

“Why should I tell you that?”

Do-hyeok’s voice suddenly turned cold.

Eun-chae flinched.

She wondered if she’d been too thoughtless in asking.

But still, why did he have to suddenly build an icy wall right in front of her?

Eun-chae was hurt by his attitude.

She had been angry at him countless times before.

But this was probably the first time he’d actually hurt her feelings.

And the stark difference made the wound feel even deeper.

In the end, the two of them didn’t exchange a single word until the movie began.

Once the theater darkened and she could no longer even see the face of the person sitting right beside her, Do-hyeok turned his head slightly and looked at Eun-chae.

She was watching the screen.

Seeing her expressionless face with her lips pressed tightly together made him wonder if he had been too harsh.

But even having that thought irritated him.

Was she expecting him to casually reveal his weaknesses to someone else?

He even kept his psychiatric consultations hidden from Manager Park.

Do-hyeok turned back toward the screen.

He decided to simply watch the movie.

But throughout the entire film, the quiet person sitting beside him continued to bother him.

Unlike him.

Pointlessly so.

“I have to go straight to the hospital because of my father. So let’s go our separate ways here.”

As soon as they left the theater after the movie ended, Eun-chae told Do-hyeok that they should part ways.

She turned around without hesitation.

But Do-hyeok grabbed her hand.

Eun-chae looked back at him with an expressionless face.

Her expression clearly asked why he was stopping her.

Do-hyeok had grabbed her first and thought about what to say afterward.

So he simply said whatever came to mind.

“Someone who ate samgyeopsal from early morning isn’t hungry?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Of course she was supposed to be hungry.

That was Eun-chae.

But seeing Eun-chae pretending not to be Eun-chae was frustrating him.

“I’m hungry, so just eat with me.”

Do-hyeok pulled Eun-chae along by the hand, opened the door of the restaurant right in front of them, and went inside.

He was worried that if they went somewhere farther away, she’d simply leave.

But once they entered, something seemed strange.

Instead of sitting at tables, people were lined up at the counter.

“Are you really going to eat here?”

Eun-chae looked up at Do-hyeok in surprise.

Do-hyeok looked down at her suspiciously.

“Do they sell something strange here?”

“It’s McDonald’s.”

It was a fast-food restaurant.

A place that sold food that was the fastest, cheapest, and most damaging to one’s health.

Why had I chosen a place like this?

Why?

While Do-hyeok was descending into chaos, Eun-chae told him she was going to have a bulgogi burger set.

And just like that, he’d lost his chance to suggest going somewhere else.

Do-hyeok didn’t know how to order, so he eventually ordered two of whatever Eun-chae had chosen.

He unwrapped the hamburger and frowned at the pitiful meat and vegetables between the buns.

For someone who had only ever eaten food prepared by chefs, this wasn’t even something that could be called cooking.

“Since you’re the one who suggested eating here, finish everything. Don’t leave a single bite.”

At Eun-chae’s words, Do-hyeok lost his appetite before he’d even eaten.

Her words were practically torture to him.

The woman who had claimed she wasn’t hungry was eating even more than he was.

Do-hyeok asked suspiciously,

“Is it good?”

“Of course it’s good. It’s a hamburger.”

Eun-chae put her mouth to the straw in her Coke and took a long sip.

For a moment, Do-hyeok’s gaze was drawn to her plump lips.

“Are you asking if the Coke is good too? It’s freaking delicious, so drink it.”

She noticed him staring and scolded him.

Do-hyeok took a sip of the Coke first.

It was the least intimidating item on the table.

Watching him drink nothing but Coke, Eun-chae leaned forward and said,

“Why did you come in here if you can’t even eat a hamburger?”

As if to prove that wasn’t the case, Do-hyeok finally took a bite of the hamburger.

He seemed to chew a few times.

Then his expression gradually hardened.

He looked as though he were chewing spoiled meat.

His expression was even worse than when he’d eaten samgyeopsal.

As Eun-chae watched, Do-hyeok covered his mouth with his hand.

A moment later, the color drained from his face.

His mouth stopped moving, as though he were trying to swallow it without chewing.

When she’d ordered the food, Eun-chae had mostly wanted to get even with him.

But seeing him suffer like this made her regret ordering the hamburger.

It was wrong to torment someone over food.

Without saying a word, Eun-chae held out a tissue to Do-hyeok.

Do-hyeok immediately spat the un-swallowed hamburger onto it.

Maybe people really should live according to what they were accustomed to.

Forcing yourself to do something that didn’t suit you clearly caused trouble immediately.

<PRIVATE_PERSON>

When Eun-chae returned to the hospital, her father was looking through the family photo album again.

Apparently, even a herniated disc surgery counted as surgery in his mind.

After setting a date for the operation, her father had ordered her to go home and bring the album.

And then he’d spent the entire day looking through it in his hospital room.

Almost like someone preparing for the end.

Eun-chae had grown tired of looking at him like that, so she spoke bluntly.

“You should read a comic book instead. It’s more fun.”

“Then aren’t you ashamed to look at pictures of your mother?”

“Then don’t look at pictures of Mom.”

At Eun-chae’s cool response, Man-deok became so emotional that he grabbed the album as though he were about to throw it.

But pain shot through his back, and he groaned before his shoulders drooped.

“Please, you need to get your act together and live like everyone else. Then I can close my eyes in peace.”

Maybe hospitals really were scary places.

Her father was talking about dying first.

Normally, an ordinary daughter would have burst into tears at this point, apologized, and begged for forgiveness.

But did Eun-chae not know her own father?

She knew perfectly well how stubborn and physically tough her father was.

His back was hurting a little, and already he was acting like this.

It was obviously an exaggeration.

“If you’re lonely, Dad, don’t look at pictures of the dead. Get remarried instead. You’re in your prime right now.”

“Am I a fish?! What do you mean, I’m in my prime?!”

She simply wished her father would think about his own happiness and live for himself.

Then she would be more comfortable, and her father might be happier than he was now.

But because he refused to do that, Eun-chae found him incredibly frustrating.

“I heard loud voices all the way down the hallway, so I came to check. You two aren’t fighting, are you?”

Suddenly, the hospital room door opened, and Tae-kyung poked his head inside in his white doctor’s coat.

Eun-chae was about to say no when her father suddenly pulled the blanket over himself and pretended to be exhausted.

“I need to rest now, so you should go.”

“I just got here. Where am I supposed to go?”

If that were really the case, she wouldn’t have left Do-hyeok behind with the expression of someone who had just tasted hell after eating a hamburger.

“While your father sleeps, why don’t you take a walk, Eun-chae? Isn’t it frustrating staying inside all the time?”

“I’m fine.”

Eun-chae intended to stay quietly beside her father for as long as she was at the hospital.

But the father who had supposedly been going to sleep suddenly poked her in the butt with his foot.

“If you’re going to sleep, then sleep properly! Why are you poking people with your foot?”

Man-deok had been secretly coaching her to follow the doctor outside.

But when Eun-chae cluelessly complained instead, he snapped again.

“Get out! Go with the doctor!”

“The doctor is busy! He doesn’t have time to play with me!”

“I have time.”

At Tae-kyung’s words, the two people who had been bickering simultaneously turned their heads toward him.

Tae-kyung was wearing a clean, gentle smile that suited his white doctor’s coat perfectly.

At the sight of Tae-kyung, her father looked even more enchanted than Eun-chae did.

He seemed more moved than when he’d seen his wife’s photograph for the first time in ages.

“I have time.”

He really shouldn’t have.

Eun-chae pressed her lips tightly together and merely stared at Tae-kyung’s face.

Then her father blatantly kicked her in the butt and pushed her toward Tae-kyung.

Why was he doing this?!

He already had a doctor for a son-in-law!

Why was he getting greedy again?!

Somehow, she’d gone on a date with a chaebol in the morning and was taking a walk with a doctor in the afternoon.

I never realized I was such a popular woman.

She marveled at herself for a moment.

But there was absolutely nothing substantial about it.

The chaebol was someone she’d be saying goodbye to in a few weeks.

And the doctor was someone she wouldn’t see again once her father was discharged.

In the end, she had no man at all.

And neither of them was her type.

Neither of them knew much about music.

Eun-chae liked men who made music.

She was simply drawn to them without any particular reason.

“When is India Red performing?”

If anything, she should have been more attracted to the doctor, who at least showed an interest in her music.

But whenever she was with him, she kept thinking about Do-hyeok.

It must have been a reaction to being around someone so different.

When you’re with someone this proper and respectable, someone as nasty as him becomes strangely fascinating.

He’d been cursing mayonnaise earlier.

I wonder if he’s okay now.

<PRIVATE_PERSON>

Glug.

Glug.

After returning home, Do-hyeok kept drinking water.

The unpleasant feeling coating his mouth was unbearable.

He had made the mistake of thinking that, at worst, it would be something like a samgyeopsal wrap.

He was so particular that he didn’t even keep food in his house because he disliked the smell.

And yet he’d gone and eaten some random thing.

Of course he wasn’t going to be fine.

The mayonnaise inside the hamburger had been by far the worst thing he’d ever eaten.

No matter how much water he drank, the greasy sensation wouldn’t disappear.

After finishing an entire bottle of water, Do-hyeok glared at his silent phone.

He was even annoyed that Eun-chae hadn’t called him once after they’d parted ways.

By now, she should at least have sent him a message asking if he was okay.

His father’s back wasn’t the only important thing in the world.

Do-hyeok abruptly picked up his phone.

His finger was already entering Eun-chae’s number when he suddenly stopped.

What am I going to say if I call?

He was the one who had suggested going into the fast-food restaurant in the first place.

And was he seriously angry over a hamburger?

Do-hyeok put his phone down as though it were a dangerous substance and moved away from it.

He couldn’t behave like an idiot.

He had tied Lee Eun-chae to him with a contract because he needed her.

He wasn’t dating her.

So it wasn’t right to get angry just because she hadn’t called.

Stay calm.

Stay calm.

“Ugh.”

The greasy feeling returned, and Do-hyeok hurried into the bathroom.

He needed to brush his teeth again.

He couldn’t stand it.

This entire disaster had happened because he’d tried to accommodate things according to Lee Eun-chae’s way.

If he’d led her according to his own methods from the beginning, he never would have ended up looking this foolish.

After brushing his teeth for a long time, Do-hyeok came out and called Manager Park.

“I’m going with my father for his health checkup tomorrow.”

[Excuse me?]

He’d already had his health checkup last year, so there was no need for him to go this year.

Nor was he normally the kind of son who took particularly meticulous care of his father.

The purpose was so obvious that Manager Park asked uneasily,

[Do you really need to go that far?]

The hospital where Chairman Kwon was scheduled to have his health checkup was Sejin Hospital.

The same hospital where Eun-chae’s father was staying.

“Is it wrong for a son to care about his father’s health?”

It was a question that clearly meant something else entirely.

But Manager Park wasn’t in any position to scold Do-hyeok and tell him not to do something bad.

So all he could do was say he understood and hang up.

After ending the call with Manager Park, Do-hyeok stared at his phone.

His finger tapped Eun-chae’s name, and her number appeared.

Do-hyeok stared at her name for a moment before changing the caller ID.

Miss Mayonnaise

Don’t forget.

Remember the taste of today’s mayonnaise.

Do-hyeok thought he absolutely had to remember today’s taste.

That way, he wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

All he had to do was make Eun-chae follow his lead.

There was no need for him to like her.

And he shouldn’t.

He was just making that resolution when his phone suddenly chimed.

It was Eun-chae.

Or rather, Miss Mayonnaise.

<Are you feeling okay?>

Do-hyeok stared at Eun-chae’s message.

Asking now wasn’t going to make the taste of hell he’d experienced disappear.

He’d already suffered enough.

<I’m not okay.>

Do-hyeok sent the message as though the whole thing were her fault.

Then he waited for her to make some kind of excuse.

But the reply he received wasn’t even made of letters.

<ㅠㅠ>

Do-hyeok stared blankly at the alien language he couldn’t even read.

…

Miss Mayonnaise was crying.

A quiet laugh escaped him.

Do-hyeok hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand.

Don’t laugh. If you do, you lose.