Chapter 27: A Cosmic Awakening

A languid feeling settled over me, perhaps an after-effect of the meal. As the gentle strains of classical music filled the air, I barely managed to suppress a yawn.

‘Oddly, the driving feels a bit rougher now.’

‘Was it just my imagination?’

I glanced at Kang Hae-il’s profile, watching him deftly maneuver the steering wheel with one hand. “How long will it take us?” I asked.

“It’s quite a distance, so it should take a little less than an hour.”

Nodding, Lee Dohwa, who now felt considerably more at ease in his presence, reclined the chair’s backrest a little.

‘He wouldn’t tell me where we were going, even if I asked.’

I blinked, watching the ever-changing scenery outside the window. Even with the glass rolled up, the vibrant street scenes and bustling crowds were remarkably clear.

“The weather’s lovely, so there are a lot of people out.”

“That would be because it’s Sunday.”

For a freelancer, weekdays and weekends held little distinction, so the observation didn’t resonate.

But for regular office workers, it must be a world of difference.

“Kang Hae-il, are you working tomorrow too?”

“Unless there’s a particular reason not to, I believe so.”

Listening to his indifferent, low-voiced reply, it suddenly occurred to me that he had probably never been late for anything in his life.

“You’ve never been late, have you?”

“As it’s not something I’m required to do, I haven’t specifically experienced it.”

“You live so diligently… You must be busy.”

On the contrary, I lead a life far removed from such diligence.

Although I wasn’t entirely sure what an executive director did, working straight from Monday after filming all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday seemed incredibly demanding.

As they drove in silence, the car eventually stopped at a red light. Kang Hae-il then turned his head fully towards Lee Dohwa and spoke.

“Dohwa, do you have any plans for tomorrow?”

“My deadline just passed relatively recently, so I don’t have any pressing work. I’ll probably be brainstorming ideas for a new project… or reading books.”

I fudged the details, letting my voice trail off.

After all, I couldn’t exactly declare my ambition to laze around in bed without moving an inch.

As if he had eyes on the side of his head, Kang Hae-il immediately refocused on his driving the moment the light changed.

Since neither of them initiated conversation, the inevitable silence that always settled between them returned.

Having grown accustomed to it during their meal, I blankly gazed out the window. Before long, my eyelids grew heavy, struggling to stay open.

I tried closing my eyes for a moment, then opening them again, finding temporary relief. I repeated this action several times.

However, at some point, I lost my grip on consciousness entirely, slowly drifting into a deep slumber.

“We’ve arrived. Please wake up.”

“…N-yes.”

Startled by the unfamiliar voice so close by, I abruptly opened my eyes. As I suddenly pushed myself up from my reclined position, my head swam for a moment.

‘Where am I?’

Believing understanding the situation was more urgent than the dizziness, I looked around. I was still in the car, and Kang Hae-il was sitting next to me, watching.

Within ten seconds, my mind cleared, and I realized I had drifted off to sleep due to post-meal drowsiness.

“You can rest in the car a little longer before getting out, if you wish.”

“…No, it’s fine. Let’s go.”

He had clearly said the estimated arrival time would be less than an hour, but checking my phone, I saw that an hour and twenty minutes had already passed.

It seemed traffic had been heavy due to the weekend, with many people and cars on the road.

‘I thought the person in the passenger seat wasn’t supposed to sleep.’

The seat, which had only been slightly reclined, was now halfway tilted back.

Ignoring the intense gaze from beside me, I returned the seatback to its original position. A mix of embarrassment and apology washed over me, and to escape the situation, I opened the car door.

“Ah.”

Moving suddenly, my legs felt weak, causing me to stumble slightly.

Presuming he hadn’t seen it from his side, I took a deep breath, then exhaled. Casually, I closed the door, approached Kang Hae-il, and, looking at his tie, spoke.

“Ahem, thank you for driving. You must have had a tough time.”

“Not at all.”

“…I’ll get my license soon.”

Without a license, I couldn’t even offer to drive instead.

I widened my stride to keep pace with Kang Hae-il, who moved with a brisk confidence. Upon entering the elevator, he pressed the seventh floor button without hesitation.

‘It’s not written down.’

Glancing around the elevator’s interior, one thing was clear: this was a luxurious building.

Ding—

“Let’s step out.”

“…Where are we?”

“It’s an exhibition.”

There was no one at the counter.

Nevertheless, I followed quickly behind Kang Hae-il, who seemed unfazed. As I turned my head to look around, a vast space came into view.

Though I had only been a few times, it reminded me of an art museum or gallery.

“Don’t get distracted. Follow closely.”

“…Yes.”

Mid-stride, Kang Hae-il suddenly stopped, turning to look back at me as he spoke.

I nodded instinctively, but it struck me that with only the two of us here, there was no chance of getting lost.

Still, his words bothered me, so I stopped looking around and simply followed his retreating back.

‘He walks incredibly fast.’

His current silhouette seemed to overlap with the one I remembered from Blue Swan.

And so, without buying tickets or being guided by any staff, they arrived at the exhibition hall entrance.

“Can we just walk in like this?”

“It’s fine. This space has been rented for filming.”

Lee Dohwa called out to him, sensing he was about to walk right in if not stopped. Kang Hae-il replied nonchalantly.

‘The production team’s capabilities are truly impressive.’

I marveled inwardly.

“It says here to be careful when entering, as it’s dark inside.”

I stepped closer to see where he pointed, and indeed, there was a notice that looked exactly like a warning.

‘I’m not fond of darkness.’

I always slept with a mood light or a small lamp on, so my expression stiffened slightly.

Just then, a large hand suddenly appeared beside me, extending forward into my vision. Raising my head to look at its owner, my gaze met a pair of deep black eyes.

“You might trip, so let’s hold hands just for a moment as we go in.”

I hesitated for a moment at Kang Hae-il’s renewed offer of kindness.

Yet, it would have been awkward to refuse outright, and Lee Dohwa, unable to find a reason to do so, was left with only one choice.

Nodding, I carefully placed my hand over Kang Hae-il’s.

Unlike my own hand, which was as cold as ice from the air conditioning, his was warm. His warmth enveloped my entire hand.

“Let’s go in.”

Immediately, I was gently led by his hand past the entrance, which was covered by a black curtain, and into the interior.

Truly, I could see nothing, and my body naturally tensed. In the absolute darkness, I relied solely on the hand I held, applying a slight pressure, lest I lose him.

‘Can he see ahead?’

I followed carefully behind Kang Hae-il, who moved with ease even in the pitch-black space, where not a single ray of light penetrated.

I certainly didn’t want to step on his foot.

“…What’s the theme of the exhibition?”

When he suddenly stopped at a particular spot, Lee Dohwa squeezed his eyes shut.

‘I’m scared.’

Receiving no reply, I tightened my grip on his hand, urging him.

Surely not, but…

“What’s the theme? It’s not darkness, horror, or ghosts, is it?”

“You can open your eyes now.”

I heard a soft chuckle, and with a nervous heart, I cautiously opened my tightly shut eyes.

Unlike before, when I could see nothing, now glittering stars—no, constellations—were intricately woven, shining brightly in the darkness.

The floor, the ceiling, the entire space was blanketed in a night sky, and I gazed around, utterly mesmerized.

“The exhibition’s theme is ‘Space.’ I thought you might have seen it earlier, but it seems not.”

“…I didn’t see it.”

Space was, in fact, one of Lee Dohwa’s favorite themes and settings.

His very first published work, and the only one to win an award, was an SF genre novel set in a universe themed around space.

Before I knew it, I had released his hand and was wandering, looking around. Moving from one section of artwork to another, my spirits began to soar.

There were enormous installations that filled entire rooms, as well as tiny, intricate details to be discovered within a single painting.

“Personally, I really like these asteroids.”

“I see.”

“This one seems to depict exploration…”

I recalled saying my next work would be a romance, but inspiration was now flooding my mind.

Even though I had researched intensely, this was my first time at an exhibition of such grand scale, and I couldn’t contain my excitement.

‘I should look for places like this in the future.’

I regretted not having thought to visit such places before. My usual slow pace, adopted to conserve energy, now felt as light as if I could fly.

“The atmosphere here matches Shannon’s work that I read the day before yesterday so well. If there were a setting for the third episode, I imagine it would be something like this…”

“The day before yesterday?”

“Ah, I read it in the early morning. If Ma Won-ho had come along, he’d say the exact same thing, I bet.”

Still unable to tear my eyes away from the artwork, I added a small explanation in an excited voice.

As they moved through the sections, Kang Hae-il followed Lee Dohwa, stopping before a painting where Lee Dohwa had paused. He crossed his arms and spoke.

“This one, I think, suits the atmosphere of your work, Dohwa.”

My eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed, as I looked back and forth between the artwork and Kang Hae-il.

After all, that was precisely why I had stopped, as if drawn to it.

“…You’ve read my work?”

“Yes, I read it some time ago.”

Embarrassed, I bowed my head, looking down at my toes as I asked.

I couldn’t bring myself to ask what he thought of it. But for the rest of their time in the exhibition, the fact that he had read my work kept swirling in my mind.

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