AVSH 9

Chapter 9

Because It’s Mine

“Excuse me! Is there really no one there?”

“This is a really expensive coat—it can’t be lost. No one’s going to steal it, right? Haah, I don’t know anymore. I’m leaving the coat here! I definitely delivered it properly!”

Da-hee, who had been peering around the gate that gave no sign of anyone, hung the bag containing the coat on the gate’s handle.

“Well then, goodbye.”

Having taken a step back, Da-hee bowed politely toward the unresponsive gate and turned around.

Geon-woo, who had watched the whole thing, let out a soft chuckle. Then a strange thought occurred to him. Was this really the same woman who had thrown herself into the river to end her life just days ago?

Click.

Geon-woo stepped out through the opened gate. That coat—which he had no intention of retrieving anyway—was indeed the one he’d been wearing on the day of the accident.

He gazed at Da-hee’s retreating figure walking away in the distance.

He was glad she seemed to have recovered safely, but he didn’t think it right to send her back just like that after she’d come all the way here alone to return it.

More than anything, he’d become curious. What kind of person was Do Da-hee, really?

Carrying the bag, Geon-woo slowly followed after her.

Meanwhile, Da-hee, her head bowed deeply, had no idea Geon-woo was following behind her. With the coat delivered, her mind was now filled with thoughts of what she would discuss when she met Han Joon-sang.

‘Do Da-hee. How could you leave the company without even consulting me? I’m the one who discovered you and raised you. This isn’t right. This is, plainly, betrayal. Abandoning the loyalty you owe me for raising you—this goes against business ethics! You—do you not know how significant my standing is in this industry? Do you want to quit the entertainment world?’

Debuting at fourteen and continuing until twenty-two, the eight years with her first agency ended when her contract expired. Moving to a new agency was a decision made after long deliberation while still active.

A beautiful farewell, and a new beginning.

There was no particular problem with the transfer, so the articles ran favorably, but at the farewell party the agency had arranged, Han Joon-sang hurled harsh words at Do Da-hee.

Even if the other party was drunk, she couldn’t just let such harsh words said in front of everyone roll off her back.

In the end, Da-hee had kept her distance from Han Joon-sang since then. She had drawn a firm line, so there was no reason to meet or contact him separately. Which meant today’s face-to-face was the first in several years.

Though her decision had been made because she wanted to hear directly about Yoo Min-a’s condition and the reason this incident had happened, it was true that a one-on-one meeting with Han Joon-sang was burdensome.

“Was this a pointless thing to do?”

Just as she let out a sigh so deep it felt like the ground would cave in—

Vroom—Beep—!

“Watch out!”

At the horn and the shout that followed, Da-hee turned—and in an instant, she was knocked over and sent tumbling. In the process, her sunglasses flew off and were crushed to pieces under a passing motorcycle with a loud crash.

“Are you all right?”

“……Ah! I’m sorry!”

Startled by the unfamiliar male voice near her ear, Da-hee hurriedly got up. Soon the man, who had been lying almost flat, also got up, dusting himself off as if nothing had happened.

Quickly surveying the surroundings, Da-hee picked up a bag that appeared to belong to the man, then tilted her head.

“This is…….”

The crumpled bag was identical to the one she had just hung on the gate. Da-hee’s eyes went wide with surprise as she opened it to check the coat.

“Why do you have this?”

“It’s mine.”

“Pardon?”

“That coat—it’s mine.”

“……Pardon?”

Geon-woo snatched the coat from the bewildered Da-hee, who could only repeat herself, and looked down at her with a relaxed expression. Da-hee stood there blankly, meeting his gaze as if she’d forgotten how to look away.

Tilting his head slightly, Geon-woo slowly moved his gaze from Da-hee’s dazed face downward. Below her clearly exposed neckline—despite the cold weather—he could see her chest heaving as if pounding with each heartbeat.

The place where bruises might have formed from the intense CPR was moving—proof that she was alive and well.

Thinking it fortunate, his gaze traveled back up and met her clear eyes.

So this man—this was Jang Geon-woo, who had dived into that deep water to save her?

It was as if time had stopped. Da-hee’s lips parted slightly as she stared at Geon-woo with a dazed face. Though she had seen countless stars during her long career in entertainment, this was the first time she had actually experienced the feeling of someone radiating a halo.

“How much is it?”

It was Geon-woo who broke the long silence first. Da-hee’s eyes went wide as she looked at him as if asking what he meant.

“The quick delivery fee. How much should I give you?”

At the words Jang Geon-woo brought out after a long silence, Da-hee’s eyebrows twisted slightly.

What’s with this man? Even if I’m wearing a mask, surely he can’t not recognize who I am?

I’m Do Da-hee, you know?

Whether he knew her inner thoughts or not, Geon-woo, who had been staring intently at Da-hee’s ever-changing expressions, slowly began to smile.

Geon-woo’s gaze settled on the scratch on the bridge of Da-hee’s nose. It seemed to be a scrape from when her sunglasses had been knocked off just now.

Quickly wiping the smile from his face, Geon-woo asked.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“What does?”

“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Me? No. Not particularly…….”

Geon-woo’s eyebrows twitched slightly. Even at that small change in expression, Da-hee’s eyes shifted.

“Anyway, those are no good now.”

Following Geon-woo’s chin gesture, she saw the completely shattered sunglasses.

Only then did Da-hee realize that this man had saved her once again from nearly being hit by the motorcycle, and she bowed deeply.

“Thank you for saving me. Are you hurt anywhere yourself?”

Geon-woo shrugged as if it were nothing and answered while draping the coat over his arm.

“If you’re grateful, does that mean you’ll waive the quick delivery fee?”

“I never intended to charge a delivery fee in the first place.”

“Then free delivery? I don’t know which company sent you, but walking a quick delivery without a vehicle—impressive. Is this the delivery trend in Korea these days?”

What is this man saying?

His tone was certainly polite, but there was something subtly teasing about it, and Da-hee’s brow furrowed more and more. Come to think of it, the corners of his mouth had seemed slightly upturned from a while ago.

The reason she had come all the way here was definitely to meet Jang Geon-woo in person, deliver the coat, and thank him for saving her last time.

But now that the person himself was right in front of her, it was surprisingly difficult to bring those words out. On top of that, the man before her seemed to have no idea she was the celebrity Do Da-hee.

Even if someone doesn’t know much about celebrities, really. How was she supposed to deal with a man who saw her—currently at the center of controversy in the media—as nothing more than a quick delivery worker?

In the midst of that, her pride slightly wounded, Da-hee unconsciously answered with a sulky expression.

“I didn’t walk all the way here. I came by taxi.”

“Where’s the taxi you came in?”

“It already left.”

“Then I should catch one for you. Follow me.”

“It’s fine. I’m supposed to meet someone around here a bit later.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I’m not lying, really. I have an appointment at 2.”

Da-hee, who had even mentioned the appointment time just in case the man wouldn’t believe her, bowed her head deeply again.

Geon-woo checked his wristwatch. There was still some time before 2 o’clock.

“Follow me for now.”

“……? Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out if you follow.”

Geon-woo strode toward the alley entrance. The wind was cold, so he immediately put on the coat he’d been carrying.

He was already a man she’d thought was tall, but his back view in the coat was quite impressive.

Da-hee hurriedly picked up the shattered sunglasses pieces into the empty bag and chased after him. Then she suddenly swallowed a gasp and pulled out the tablet PC from her pocket.

“Ah, I’m doomed.”

It wasn’t as bad as the sunglasses, but seeing the tablet PC with its cracked screen, her face quickly turned tearful.

A short while later, they arrived at a convenience store. Geon-woo had already gone inside.

Unlike the sparsely populated wealthy neighborhood alley, there were many people passing by around the convenience store.

Glancing around, Da-hee’s eyes suddenly met a group of high school girls. Worried they might recognize her, she quickly averted her gaze and hunched her shoulders—but it seemed she was a step too late.

The girls whispered among themselves, then began walking precisely toward Da-hee.

“Excuse me, are you……?”

“!”

Just as one of the high school girls was about to speak, Da-hee’s vision was blocked by something black.

“Students. What’s the matter?”

Geon-woo, who had just come out of the convenience store, firmly placed a hat on Da-hee’s head and asked the high school girls. Intimidated by the man’s aura, the girls faltered, and another of their group pulled them away, saying, “Hey! It’s probably not her, let’s just go.”

Having dispersed the group of high school girls with a single word, Geon-woo finally turned around. Seeing Da-hee still hunched over, as if terrified, Geon-woo’s eyes narrowed.

“Did you commit some kind of crime?”

“N-no. But what’s with this hat?”

“A substitute for sunglasses. You seemed disappointed about only being able to hide with a mask.”

“Ah…….”

“Sit here.”

Da-hee obediently sat on the plastic chair he pulled over. While she quietly kept her head down, Geon-woo busied himself with something.

“Could you lift your head a bit?”

“……?”

As soon as she slightly raised her chin, the man’s hand approached and startled her—she felt the end of a bandage being smoothed onto the bridge of her nose.

“What are you doing?”

“I put a bandage with ointment on the scratch.”

“Ah…….”

“Take this with you and use it. You can throw it away if you don’t need it.”

Having pressed the ointment and bandages into Da-hee’s hand, Geon-woo straightened up as if his business was done.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

“Um, just a moment!”

Geon-woo, who had turned around, glanced down at the hand gripping the hem of his coat.

“Sorry, but could I borrow your phone for a moment?”