AVSH 11

Chapter 11

The Real Hell

Bang, tap-tap-tap!

— Is she there?

— No. There’s no one here. What about the bathroom?

— Not there either. Damn it. Where did she hide? She definitely couldn’t have gotten out.

— But are you sure it’s really Do Da-hee?

— I’m telling you it is! I’ve been chasing Do Da-hee for over ten years doing coverage—you think I wouldn’t recognize her?

— Where on earth did she disappear to? Could she have gone out the window?

— Let’s check over there for now!

Again, bang—the sound of a door closing. Tap-tap-tap, the sound of multiple footsteps faded into the distance.

Only then did the firmly closed steel door open.

Geon-woo and Da-hee, who had hidden themselves in the basement boiler room at a miraculous timing, emerged covered in dust.

“Everyone’s gone somewhere else now, right?”

“They probably haven’t gone far. They’re likely still somewhere nearby.”

“Then what do we do? Should we hide again?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t think that’s a particularly good option.”

They had hidden in a hurry, but looking back, the space seemed too cramped even for one person to fit inside. It was a tremendous relief that the people chasing them hadn’t opened this door even when they’d come right up to it.

“I’m sorry. It’s all because of me…….”

Geon-woo, seeing Da-hee apologizing, let out a soft chuckle.

“By any chance, have you ever had that, Jang Geon-woo? That feeling of being miserable from the moment you open your eyes to the moment you close them.”

“Isn’t living painful for everyone?”

“Actually, ‘painful’ isn’t enough to describe it. The most painful part of all is that there’s nothing I can do. For me, it feels like I’ve been dropped straight into hell overnight.”

Geon-woo took off Da-hee’s crooked hat and lightly dusted it off as he spoke.

“So is that why you jumped into the river that day? Because living was painful?”

“No. That’s a misunderstanding. What happened that day was really an accident!”

Geon-woo nodded as if relieved and put the hat back on her.

“Do Da-hee, do you know what the real hell is like?”

“?”

“The real hell is a place where you can’t even think that you’re miserable.”

Even at her blank stare, as if asking what he meant, Geon-woo turned around as if he’d said his piece and went up the stairs. Da-hee let out a long breath and quietly followed behind him.

With Geon-woo’s help, Da-hee safely escaped the building and returned home rather than to the hospital. And since she hadn’t been able to wash properly during her hospitalization, she went straight into the bathroom.

As she undressed, Da-hee was startled when she looked in the mirror. The traces from the day of the accident a few days ago remained intact on her body—the moment she saw the large bruise spread across her chest, a gasp escaped her on its own.

“All that fuss over a hat.”

If she hadn’t reached out her arm to grab the flying hat, she wouldn’t have fallen off the bridge. If that hadn’t happened, neither today’s events nor meeting Jang Geon-woo would have happened, right?

“I should never wear a hat again…….”

Da-hee, who had paused, picked up the hat she’d set on the sink. It was the hat Geon-woo had bought and put on her, saying it was a substitute for sunglasses.

‘The real hell is a place where you can’t even think that you’re miserable.’

“Why say something like that there? Like someone who’s actually been to the real hell.”

‘That kind of approach—how should I put it. Isn’t it a bit old-fashioned?’

“And he even treated me like some woman trying to score his number. Wow, seriously!”

Looking back, that smirk and those twinkling smiles were annoying, and his low voice and calm tone that didn’t get flustered even in emergencies were utterly infuriating.

The consideration of riding the taxi with her and seeing her home was appreciated, but he closed the door and drove off before she could even thank him—he was heartless to the very end.

“I’m sure that man Jang Geon-woo is 99% T and a sadist. Hmph!”

Da-hee, who had plopped down the hat he’d bought her, finished undressing and turned on the shower.

A short while later, Da-hee came out after washing and turned on her laptop to message Ju-young. And not long after, the front door burst open.

“Da-hee! What on earth happened?”

“I was going to contact you, but this ended up like this because…….”

When Da-hee held out the broken tablet PC, Ju-young let out a sigh and came over to hug her.

“Do you have any idea how worried I was? I thought I was going to lose my mind thinking something else had happened to you. I seriously almost reported it to the police, you know. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m sorry. I was going to go to the hospital, but the situation wouldn’t allow it. I had a hard time shaking off the reporters.”

“What? Reporters were on you?”

“CEO Han Joon-sang had a bunch of reporters planted at the meeting place. So I ran away before I could even meet him.”

Ju-young was appalled at Da-hee’s words.

“I knew CEO Han was a nasty person who just pretended to be a gentleman, but to even call in reporters—what on earth is his scheme? You were going to meet a man like that alone? What were you going to hear from him? What were you planning to let happen to yourself!”

“I just wanted to hear why Yoo Min-a did what she did, whether there was some circumstance I didn’t know about.”

Ju-young let out a sigh, wondering how frustrated Da-hee must have been to do that.

Honestly, the reason things had blown up this much was largely due to the flood of articles and news pouring out.

Before Da-hee could say anything, the media had already been spreading rumors about her as if she were a murderer or an attempted murderer. It was truly helpless. Her agency had taken a hard line, demanding that malicious reports be refrained from, but it was no use.

“Speaking of reporters being on you—I’m thinking the one who blew up the Yoo Min-a case might be CEO Han.”

“What do you mean?”

“CEO Han has a tight grip on the media. Making someone the target of a witch hunt has always been his specialty. This time, that target became you, Da-hee.”

“Surely not, there’s no way…….”

She answered that way, but the spark of doubt gradually spread.

“Anyway, I’m glad nothing serious happened. From now on, if something like this happens, consult with me. Right now, every eye is on your every move, Da-hee. You have to be careful with every single action.”

Da-hee nodded with a sullen expression.

“But Da-hee. I’ve been wanting to ask since earlier.”

“Ask what?”

“What’s that bandage on your nose?”

“Ah…….”

The bandage Jang Geon-woo had put on was a character bandage with a pink rabbit drawn on it.

Thinking of him made her irritated for no reason, but that bandage—she didn’t want to take it off.

Carefully washing her face so it wouldn’t get wet, she stroked the edge of the bandage she’d protected, and instead of answering, Da-hee gave an awkward smile.

Meanwhile, Geon-woo, who had returned to the mansion, tilted his head at the expression on his servant’s face upon seeing him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Young master. Your clothes are…….”

“Ah. This—I put it on right after getting the quick delivery and it got dirty. Could you send it to be laundered?”

Geon-woo immediately took off the coat and handed it to the servant.

As soon as he went up to the second floor, he grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom. Then he suddenly recalled Da-hee, who had been pressed completely against him when they hid in the basement boiler room.

She had been trembling so violently all over. If Geon-woo hadn’t been holding her tightly, they might have been discovered by the reporters who had come down to the basement to search.

In truth, Geon-woo’s daily life had been spent on battlefields where life and death crossed, seeing people crying out to be saved. So why did the expression of a woman begging for help to shake off a mere handful of reporters look so much like the faces he’d only ever seen on battlefields?

“Is she normally that fearful? Or…… is it panic disorder?”

Geon-woo’s eyes twisted slightly as he chewed over her words about living being painful, like hell.

After news of Do Da-hee’s discharge spread, reporters once again began swarming around her agency and home. In the midst of that, when it became known that Do Da-hee’s accident had occurred right after a meeting with the drama production company, the production company came under heavy criticism.

In the end, they removed Do Da-hee from the lead casting, and fearing casting difficulties, the production company announced they would indefinitely postpone production of the 30-billion-won blockbuster fantasy romance drama.

Da-hee, who read in the articles that even her last remaining next project had been canceled, sat blankly with a hollow expression all day.

“Da-hee. You have a visitor.”

“A visitor? Who…….”

“Da-hee.”

The person Ju-young brought in was none other than Park Je-min. Da-hee’s eyes went wide upon recognizing him, fully disguised to avoid the reporters’ eyes.

“I’ll be outside, so talk amongst yourselves.”

As soon as Ju-young considerately stepped aside, Je-min approached with a worry-filled expression and pulled Da-hee into a tight hug.

“Ugh.”

Da-hee flinched as she felt a pang of pain in her chest. Startled, Je-min quickly released his arms and examined her.

“Did you get badly hurt somewhere? Does it hurt?”

“No. I’m fine. But Je-min oppa, how did you get here…….”

“When I saw you at the police station last time, you looked so spirited that I was relieved. But not long after, I heard you’d jumped into the Han River—do you have any idea how shocked I was? I couldn’t reach you and I thought I was going to lose my mind.”

Come to think of it, Park Je-min’s face was utterly haggard.

After getting Da-hee out at the police station, he had returned to the filming site, and when he heard the news of Do Da-hee’s accident, he nearly fainted. It was only natural that the overseas staff were whispering, with controversy arising over Do Da-hee following Yoo Min-a.

Since he couldn’t afford to miss filming days in succession, Je-min barely managed to finish all his filming schedules and hurriedly returned home. It was already many days after the accident.

“I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“Seeing you now, I finally feel at ease. You’re alive, so that’s what matters. Don’t ever think about dying again. Got it?”

Da-hee, who had been about to pour out the whole story that it really wasn’t a suicide attempt but an accident, soon closed her mouth and nodded.

“But the person who saved you—I hear he’s the youngest son of a chaebol family. Did you meet him separately?”