Chapter 13 : A Double-Edged Mask

“……What is this?” Yeseo looked down at the two of them, her face shocked.

How did it get so late? Flustered, Yehyun pushed Jeong away firmly and called out to Yeseo. “You’re early.”

“Minjeong’s mom gave me a ride… No, that’s not important…” Yeseo, still in her school uniform, stiffened, her eyes fixed on the man who had been pushed away by Yehyun’s hand.

“Hi.” Jeong stood up and greeted Yeseo with a bright face. Then Yeseo, as if broken, creaked toward him and suddenly bowed ninety degrees. “Oh, hello!”

Was our Yeseo always this polite? Yehyun looked at her with a sullen face.

“Umm, excuse me…” Yeseo stared intently at Jeong’s face and called out to him. Unlike Yeseo, who was trembling like a leaf, Jeong answered with a relaxed expression. “Yeah, Yeseo.”

“Eeek!” Yeseo let out a strange sound and buried her face in the table. It seemed she really was a fan. Her face bright red, Yeseo showed how nervous she was, unlike her usual lively self, her hands shaking.

“Are you really dating my brother?” Yeseo asked with her head down. Answer well, Yehyun signaled to Jeong, and Jeong smiled mischievously.

“That’s right. I wish I could have come and greeted you sooner, but the article came out too fast, so I couldn’t. Sorry. You must have been really surprised.”

“No! Please don’t apologize. I was surprised, but… Well, it’s an adult thing, so I don’t need to interfere…”

That phrase “adult thing” wasn’t really for this situation. Yehyun shook his head behind Yeseo.

“If I’d known you were doing that, I would have come in later…”

“What are you talking about?” At Yeseo’s suggestive remark, Yehyun quickly covered her mouth. Where did she learn such strange things? Yehyun’s face flushed bright red, but Jeong just smiled indifferently and looked at him.

“But really, it’s so amazing. My brother isn’t interested in anyone else… I mean, he doesn’t care much about other people, and even less about celebrities. So to hear he’s dating someone as famous as you…” Yeseo stammered. Well, it was a natural reaction.

Her brother, who had never paid attention to anyone except the person he’d been dating for seven years, had become a celebrity topic overnight. And the reason was that he was dating one of the most famous celebrities in Korea. To sixteen-year-old Yeseo, it must have felt like the world had turned upside down.

Yehyun sat across from Yeseo, then walked behind Jeong, who was drinking the tea Yeseo had brought out. “I didn’t know it would turn out like this, but that’s how it ended up.” Yehyun casually walked over and sat next to Jeong. Yeseo, eyes wide, alternated between looking at Yehyun and Jeong.

“You’re really dating, right?”

“Would it be fake?” But it was fake. Yehyun pretended to be nonchalant and turned to Jeong. “Right?”

Yehyun met Jeong’s gaze and smiled. His tone and look were completely different from just before Yeseo arrived.

“Ahaha. That’s right. I got to know him through my manager hyung. I saw him a few times, and he’s such an attractive person.” Jeong played along, looking at him with affectionate eyes. He even went so far as to stroke Yehyun’s hair. “Before I knew it, this happened.”

Yehyun didn’t reject Jeong’s touch but instead held his hand. Smiling again, he said, “Yeah. Before I knew it, this was how it was.”

Witnessing this affectionate display between her brother and his partner, Yeseo trembled. “W-what’s so good about my brother?” Thanks to Yehyun and Jeong’s excellent acting, Yeseo accepted that they were dating, but she still didn’t understand.

“What’s good about him?” Jeong stared at Yehyun. What was good about this person? He recalled the carefully memorized script for their relationship and his personal information. “He’s cute. Like a squirrel.”

“What?” Squirrel? Caught off guard, Yehyun made a stupid sound.

“He’s cute when he’s surprised like this, and it’s cool that he says what he needs to say…” Jeong poked Yehyun’s cheek as he spoke. “There’s no reason not to like him.”

Yehyun, who had been making a foolish sound, remembered that Yeseo was there and composed his expression. “Ahaha, it’s a bit embarrassing to hear that in front of my sister.”

Seeing her brother’s shy smile, Yeseo blinked in shock. A squirrel… well, her brother did have a cute face. But he was an adult. Calling a 28-year-old man a squirrel? Was this the power of love? Lost in useless thoughts, Yeseo nodded. “R-right…”

Just this morning, she had been clamoring for her brother to introduce her to Jeong or let her talk to him on the phone, but now that Jeong was right in front of her, she couldn’t do anything.

“It looks like we’ll see each other often. Take care.”

“O-often?” Yeseo’s eyes widened. She could see this face again?

“Since I’m a recognizable face, it might be hard for us to go out. Ah, if it’s an inconvenience…”

“No! It’s not an inconvenience! Not at all!” Yeseo jumped up and made a fuss. Kang Jeong coming to her house, and not only that, but coming regularly? “I’ll clean up thoroughly next time you come…” Excited and unaware of the truth, Yeseo whispered her ambitious resolution.

“Bye.”

“You came out to see me off?” After a while, Jeong, who had chatted with Yeseo and taken a few photos, left Yehyun’s house.

“I had to. Did you come to get photographed just to walk out alone sadly?” Yehyun said with a small laugh.

“True.” Jeong lowered his head slightly and gently touched his forehead to Yehyun’s. “This is a goodbye kiss.”

Yehyun was so earnest despite being a civilian, while he was an actor. If he didn’t match that enthusiasm, it would be embarrassing. Thinking that, Jeong smiled lightly. “I’ll contact you.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t mess with my contact info.”

“I won’t.” With that final remark about not changing the saved name, Jeong boarded the van waiting in front of the house and waved goodbye.

“I wonder what will happen tomorrow.” Yehyun sighed quietly to himself after a tumultuous day. It was clear he would be hassled for at least a week because of his relationship with Jeong.

“Thinking of the two million a month, what can’t I do?” He just had to think of it as a sweet part-time job. Where else could you get paid and get revenge? With that thought, he could even put up with Manager Kim’s nonsense and Assistant Kim’s complaints.

Plus, the other person’s face… ‘Why? I should get a closer look at that handsome face.’

“……Are all celebrities that sly?” Yehyun shook his head to erase the sudden image from his mind. No matter how he looked, he was ultimately from a different world. What did it matter? Get a grip, Shin Yehyun.

After cooling off in the cold wind for a while, Yehyun went back inside, and no trace of anyone could be felt in front of his house. But long after he went in, someone hidden in the darkness watched his house with sharp eyes, as if expecting someone to appear.

“It’s not that I’m against you getting close to Yehyun-ssi since it’s already like this, but you should at least tell me. How could you say you’d just drop by and end up going to his house? Lucky I had no plans today, but if I had…”

“Oh, noona.” On the way back from Yehyun’s house to Jeong’s, Juseok unleashed the nagging he had stored up, but Jeong ignored him and picked up his phone.

“Ugh, can’t live.”

[What? What is it?] Jeong called his older sister, Kang Yujeong, the granddaughter his maternal grandfather cherished most. Knowing that Jeong didn’t call without a reason, Yujeong spoke irritably. [I’m busy, so get to the point.]

“You know Park Gyujin from NW Group, right?”

[Ah, that bonehead.] Yujeong expressed her opinion without a filter. [What about him?]

“Can you look into him? I’ll give you that limited-edition S-brand watch you said you wanted before.”

[I don’t need to refuse something offered… But why him? He’s a guy with no substance or value.] At the mention of the watch, Yujeong licked her lips and showed interest.

As she said, Gyujin was a man with no substance or value. He had outstanding brothers who surpassed him, and he was far less capable than them. But since he was connected to Yehyun, information about Gyujin was not useless to Jeong. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster. That saying existed for a reason.

“Something came up that I need to know personally.”

[Is it related to the article about you?]

“You don’t need to know that. You wanted the watch, didn’t you? Don’t you need it?”

At that, Yujeong clicked her tongue. She was more interested in the coveted watch than her brother’s personal life. She spoke casually. [If it were Park Gyuhyeok or Park Gyuseong, maybe, but for information on Park Gyujin, I’d be getting it for free. Why would I give that up? Would tomorrow work?]

“Take your time. I’ll even give you until the day after tomorrow morning.” Having gotten what he wanted without difficulty, Jeong smiled brightly.

“……Kang Jeong, if you’re going somewhere the day after tomorrow, tell me.” Juseok, who had long given up on stopping him, sighed while holding the steering wheel.