MWFL 9

9. Is She Trying to Kill Me?

What is wrong with me all of a sudden? Shin-woo narrowed his eyes at the sudden, out-of-nowhere reaction from his body.

And it wasn’t just his heart acting up.

A wave of heat flared out of nowhere and spread through his veins to every inch of his body in an instant. A searing sensation scorched his entire frame, giving him the illusion that he was struggling for breath.

He was clearly lying still, yet his body felt as spent as if he had just attempted thirty consecutive stolen bases.

While he remained frozen, unable to even let out a breath, the woman kept taking deep, heavy breaths in and out against him.

Every time she did, the faint rise and fall of her body hit his senses with vivid clarity.

He understood she was trying to calm her startled heart, but at this rate, it felt like his own body was going to burn to a crisp.

Keeping the back of his head pressed to the floor, he slowly took a deep breath.

“Hey, Ju Ha-rin…”

“What were you thinking?! What if you got hurt?!”

He barely managed to open his mouth, only to be cut off by Ha-rin’s voice once again.

Hey. At least let me get a word in.

With heavy creases pinched between his brows, he lifted his head up sharply.

“…”

The moment his eyes met the woman’s—who had lifted her face from where it was buried in his chest—Shin-woo froze up all over again.

Though her trembling had subsided, a wet sheen glistened in her black eyes, making it look as if a single blink would send tears streaming down her face.

“H-Hey… W-Why are you acting like this?”

Genuinely flustered, his voice came out stuttering.

“I was terrified you were hurt! Are you really okay?!”

The faint quiver at the edge of Ha-rin’s voice signaled that her emotions were still far from settled.

“I’m not hurt. What about you? Are you alright? Anyone watching would think I just died.”

The woman, who had been staring at him reproachfully with her pretty eyes furrowed, suddenly blinked rapidly.

It was a reaction that suggested she was finally coming back to her senses a bit.

“Also, are you planning on living on top of my chest? Why don’t you get off now?”

He kept talking to calm Ha-rin down, but the sensations—which felt increasingly overwhelming—were absolute agony for him.

“Ah… I’m so sorry!”

Startled out of her mind, Ha-rin bolted her upper body straight up. She then frantically tried to shift her body off to the side.

“Wait a second, that’s dangerous!”

In that split second, Shin-woo stretched his arm all the way out in the direction Ha-rin was moving. Blocked in her path, Ha-rin’s body froze right in its tracks.

…Ah. Damn it.

Shin-woo swore silently under his breath.

As the woman sat up, the spot pinned beneath her turned out to be the exact location of his most sensitive area.

Is this woman trying to kill me?!

“The other way! You have to go the other way! Can’t you see that?!”

Fuming, Shin-woo pointed at the construction materials scattered across the floor.

Only then grasping the situation, Ha-rin quickly shifted her body to the opposite side and got off Shin-woo.

Shin-woo immediately sat up.

Although the press of her body had vanished, a scorching heat still hovered throughout his entire frame.

“Are you really okay? You landed on your back. Is anywhere hurt?”

“I said I’m fine.”

Stop asking. Speaking with that exact nuance, Shin-woo pushed himself up to a stand. He then extended his hand down toward Ha-rin.

Instantly catching on that it meant to grab hold and get up, the woman overlapped her hand inside his large palm.

Shin-woo swallowed a slow breath in that instant. The soft touch that had cupped his cheek earlier tickled his palm.

Once Ha-rin was standing firmly on both feet, Shin-woo released her hand first.

He then picked up Ha-rin’s bag and coat from the floor, lightly dusting them off.

“Here.”

Quietly taking her things back, Ha-rin locked eyes with Shin-woo for a long moment.

“Thank you. And… I’m sorry.”

The collision was mutual fault, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that Cha Shin-woo had moved to keep her from getting hurt.

“I wasn’t looking ahead properly, so I didn’t see anyone coming.”

She thought it was only proper to apologize first.

The man—who had been quietly taking in Ha-rin’s face under lowered eyes—suddenly whipped his gaze away.

“Forget it. Let’s go.”

He then spun his body around quickly, striding ahead with his long legs.

Why is he walking so fast all of a sudden?

Moving her feet busily to catch up with Shin-woo, she stared at the back of his head.

Through the strands of his thick, well-textured hair, the man’s ear—partially revealed—was burning bright red. It wasn’t just his ear; even the nape of his neck was undeniably flushed.

Ha-rin slowly closed her eyes, opened them, and tilted her head in confusion.

Aren’t you going to keep your eyes open when you walk?! Were you planning on killing someone?!

Considering how Cha Shin-woo had treated her up until now, a reaction like that would have seemed normal.

Yet just a moment ago, he had turned around abruptly as if he didn’t want to say a single word to her.

Is he really angry?

Just as she was trying to gauge Cha Shin-woo’s likely state of mind, her phone rang. Ha-rin pulled her gaze away from him.

. . .

Dong-goo, who was waiting near the parking lot entrance, flinched when he spotted Shin-woo appearing in the hallway.

“Why is he walking so fast?”

Shin-woo was approaching at a pace twice as fast as usual.

“Why are you standing out here instead of sitting in the car? Let me in.”

Stopping right in front of Dong-goo, Shin-woo flicked his chin toward the parking lot entrance.

“Wait a sec. Let’s go together once Director Ju gets here.”

“She’ll make her own way.”

“I heard reporters came all the way into the employee parking lot this morning and security had to kick them out. Just in case there are reporters around…”

Shin-woo—who had taken a long step toward his destination—froze in place.

“Hyung, are you hot?”

“No.”

“Then why is your face so red?”

Shin-woo had only thought heat was surging through his whole body; he hadn’t actually thought of himself as being “hot.”

“Yeah. I’m hot. I’m dying of heat.”

Staring blankly at the man switching back and forth, Dong-goo kept his mouth shut.

It seemed like the guy was in a much worse state than usual today.

In times like this, staying quiet was the smartest path to keeping his own mood from getting ruined.

A moment later, Ha-rin appeared down the hallway while on the phone with someone.

“Let’s go.”

Shin-woo immediately swung the parking lot door open and marched toward the car.

“Hyung! Wait for me! What is up with him today?”

Hurrying out after Shin-woo, Dong-goo checked their surroundings first. Fortunately, the parking lot was completely empty.

Wrapping up her call as she entered the parking lot, Ha-rin picked up her pace to catch up with the two of them.

“I’ll be traveling separately. Another staff member is coming here because I have other business to attend to.”

Shin-woo—who was pulling the car door wide open to get in—stopped moving.

“The player you’re managing is right here. What other business could you possibly have?”

Ha-rin’s gaze—which had been fixed on Dong-goo—was dragged over by Shin-woo’s voice.

The man waiting for an answer wore an indifferent expression.

“I manage multiple players besides you, Player Cha Shin-woo. I just don’t handle manager duties for them; the rest of the work is identical.”

“How many?”

She had answered assuming it was a question out of simple curiosity, but he was digging into the details.

“Roughly about five.”

“If it’s five, it’s five. What do you mean ‘roughly five’?”

Why is he suddenly picking a fight?

Gently biting down on her back teeth, Ha-rin forced the corners of her mouth up and spoke again.

“Exactly six.”

“Including me?”

“If we include you, Player Cha, that makes seven.”

Shin-woo—who had been eyeing Ha-rin closely with narrowed eyes—gave a light nod.

“Let’s go.”

With that, he got straight into the car.

“Great work today, Director Ju.”

“Yes, you too, Manager.”

After exchanging farewells with Dong-goo, Ha-rin headed back toward the stadium.

. . .

Upon arriving home, Shin-woo immediately changed his clothes and headed back out the door.

After completing a one-hour run along the Han River connected to his apartment complex, he went straight to the fitness room.

There, he spent two hours focused on weight training and core exercises.

Before he knew it, it was past 10:00 PM. Refreshed after taking a shower, he climbed into bed.

‘Cha Shin-woo! Are you okay?!’

‘Are you okay? Did you get hurt?!’

Lying still while staring up at the ceiling, the scene of his collision with Ha-rin suddenly floated into his mind.

Seeing how informal speech had slipped out of her mouth so naturally, she really must have been terrified.

“I mean, did she really have to make a face like that, though?”

He quietly revisited the memory of the woman’s face as her eyes quivered frantically before staring at him like she was about to cry.

Shin-woo crumpled his normally indifferent brow and took a sharp breath in. A sudden tightness filled his chest, as if choked by acrid air.

With the strange physical reaction flaring up once more, he recalled the moment he had held Ha-rin in his arms.

Was holding a woman for a brief moment supposed to make his heart pound like it was going to burst and set his entire body on fire?

“Am I sick or something? Why on earth am I like this?”

Muttering in annoyance, he pressed his hand here and there across his chest and stomach.

“Ah. Am I still not adjusted to the jet lag?”

Having found the most plausible reason yet, he gave a firm nod.

“Stop overthinking and just sleep. Right. This is all from a lack of sleep.”

Erasing Ha-rin’s face and those bizarre feelings from his mind for the moment, he closed his eyes tight.

. . .

Knock, knock.

Shin-woo—who had drifted into a light sleep—slowly opened his eyes at the sound of knocking.

The dark room was quiet, lit only by a faint blue light seeping through the window.

Did I mishear?

Knock, knock. Just as he was about to close his eyes again, another knock sounded out.

The moment he turned his head toward the door, it slowly opened.

Shin-woo’s eyelids—which had been half-draped over his eyes—shot open.

The person visiting his room at this late hour was none other than Ju Ha-rin.

“What’s going on? Why are you here at this hour?”

Shin-woo bolted right up into a sitting position.

“May I come in for a moment?”

“Yeah. But why did you come here?”

Swallowing her answer, Ha-rin walked closer to the bed before coming to a stop.

Fixing her clear eyes on him even in the darkness, the woman slowly opened her mouth to speak.

“Because there’s something I need to confirm with you, Player Cha.”