Chapter 124: The Distance Between Them

Eventually, fans began leaving posts on the viewer board, asking for the two to be cast again, or for unreleased footage to be made public.

Not only that, they started insisting that they wanted to see the two together so badly, asking them to at least do a vlog or even a live broadcast.

While Wooju wasn’t very active on social media, Jitae did run an official account, and whenever he posted something, the comments were mostly like this.

• This photo angle is kind of weird… did Kang Wooju take it?
• Do you still meet Wooju oppa sometimes?
• Please do a live together with Wooju oppaㅠㅠ
• What do you have Wooju saved as in your phone?!

Little by little, his comment section was getting filled with people looking for Wooju.

• I want to see the two of you together

The moment Jitae saw that comment, he almost pressed “like,” but stopped himself.

Because he had the absurd thought that if he did, maybe something like that would actually come true.

If someone asked what dating was or how to do it, Jitae might not be able to answer easily.

For someone who had only ever loved one person his entire life, it was an incredibly difficult question.

But there was one thing he did know.

• So that means we can’t meet again today, right?

“…Yeah, probably…….”

That it wasn’t normal to not see each other like this in the early stages of a relationship.

It had already been weeks since they decided to date.

But Jitae had only seen Wooju a handful of times.

“I can really rest once my reading schedule ends and before the drama filming starts.”

Actor Won Jitae was extremely busy right now.

He was in the middle of preparing for a new drama, living a hectic life.

Because of that, even when he met Wooju, they couldn’t spend time leisurely together, and if they wanted to go on a proper date, they had to either squeeze in time or meet late at night.

• Okay, I get it.

In response to Jitae’s hurried explanation, Wooju’s voice came out surprisingly calm.

“Are you really okay? I canceled on the same day…….”

Originally, they had planned to meet today after his afternoon schedule and have dinner together.

It had been a while since they last ate together, so he had been excited since morning—so much so that his manager even asked if something good had happened.

He never expected the filming to be delayed.

The schedule he had now was a talk-show-style variety appearance, and he should’ve been filming by now, but due to circumstances, it had been pushed back.

It wasn’t common, and the production team repeatedly apologized, but that didn’t make him feel any better.

• Of course I’m okay. It’s work, what can you do? We can eat next time. We’ll just match our schedules again.

“Yeah… that’s true, but…….”

He was almost too calm, to the point it made Jitae uneasy.

This wasn’t the first time plans had been canceled.

And every time, Wooju simply said it was fine and told him to focus on work.

• Just make sure you eat well. And keep in touch regularly.

“I will.”

Haah.

After confirming the call had ended, Jitae let out a deep sigh from the depths of his chest.

These things kept happening, making him feel endlessly sorry toward Wooju, but at the same time, a little disappointed.

Was Wooju really not upset about not being able to meet?

Or did he just not care if they didn’t see each other?

Now that he thought about it, whenever Jitae said he missed him during work, Wooju would just reply, “Me too,” or “It can’t be helped because of work.”

At some point, Jitae even started wondering if he was the only one who missed the other.

“…Hmm.”

His thoughts began to spiral, and Jitae suddenly fell into deep contemplation.

Or maybe there was another possibility.

For someone who claimed to like him so much, could Wooju already be getting tired of him because he couldn’t even manage a proper date due to work?

Wooju was kinder and more considerate than he looked, so it was possible he was deliberately hiding such feelings.

What if it ended up like this……

‘Dating a celebrity doesn’t seem like a good idea. I barely get to see you. Let’s just forget about this.’

What if he suddenly said something like that?

Jitae bit his nails, sitting in the waiting room with a gloomy expression, when the door opened and Seola walked in.

“Oppa, they said filming will start soon, so I’ll touch up your makeup.”

“Okay.”

Jitae stopped his trembling legs and quietly sat in front of the mirror.

As Seola carefully checked his face, she tilted her head, noticing his expression looked much worse than before.

“Oppa, did something happen? Are you upset? Is it because of the delay? Honestly, that was too much. Delaying it this much isn’t professional.”

“No, it’s not that…….”

Well, technically, it was because the delay meant he couldn’t meet Wooju.

But right now, Jitae was facing something more fundamental.

“…Seola, your job has an irregular schedule too. Doesn’t your boyfriend dislike that?”

“Oh, we broke up recently.”

Despite the shocking content, her tone was calm, making Jitae widen his eyes in surprise.

Meeting his gaze in the mirror, Seola added that it had been a while since they broke up.

“Why? Didn’t you say you got along well?”

Jitae remembered her casually mentioning before that he was the best person she had dated and that they were very compatible.

“That’s true, but he was just a regular office worker. Like you said, my schedule is irregular and plans change suddenly. Our lifestyles didn’t match.”

For some reason, it sounded eerily similar to his own situation.

Jitae swallowed nervously.

“So we started meeting less and less, and I could tell his feelings were fading, so we broke up cleanly.”

At this point, Seola had completely stopped her makeup work and was focused on talking.

“…Really?”

Jitae muttered weakly.

Then Seola, smiling, firmly added that she would never date someone with a different lifestyle again.

Without realizing it, she drove a nail straight into Jitae’s heart.

Unaware of how pale he had become, she cheerfully continued, saying people who are obsessed with work should just marry their jobs and not date.

“Uh, oppa, you don’t look well… are you sick?”

“No… it’s nothing…….”

At that moment, the manager entered the waiting room and called Jitae.

Hearing that filming was about to begin, he slowly stood up and walked out.

After that, he couldn’t even remember how he got through the shoot.

He missed questions, stumbled over answers, and acted unlike himself.

His manager looked worried, asking if he was okay, but the conversation with Seola kept replaying in his mind.

Eventually, the filming ended somehow.

But Jitae’s heart had sunk deep into a pit.

Even on the way home, he was overwhelmed with countless worries.

He wasn’t a workaholic, nor someone obsessed with work, but he was undeniably busy.

When surpassed ten million viewers, he barely slept two hours a day due to constant schedules.

Idols, actors, and other celebrities often said the downside of this job was having no personal time.

But Jitae had never felt that as a disadvantage.

Even if he had time, he had no hobbies to relieve stress and no friends to spend it with.

But now that he was in a relationship, he realized it could become a problem.

What if Wooju got tired of him?

It might sound ridiculous to worry about that when they hadn’t even been dating for a month.

But after hearing such a raw, real experience from someone close, he couldn’t ignore it.

Even as he went up to his apartment, despite how late it was, Jitae resolved to at least try making a video call to Wooju.

He quickly entered the door lock code and opened the front door.

The house was bright.

Did I leave the lights on when I left?

As his self-esteem sank further, thinking how careless he was, he suddenly noticed a pair of unfamiliar sneakers neatly placed by the shoe rack.

And then, the sound of something clattering in the kitchen.

“Hey, you’re back?”

“…….”

The moment he saw Wooju walking out of the kitchen, Jitae dropped the phone in his hand.

“You’re going to break your phone again. If you’re here, come in already—why are you standing there?”

“K-Kang Wooju?”

“What.”

That blunt, rough tone—it was definitely him.

“You’re not mad that I came in without telling you, right? You’re the one who gave me the door code.”

Not long after they started dating, Jitae had given Wooju his door lock password.

He said it might be useful someday, though Wooju had acted indifferent, saying there was no reason he’d need it anytime soon—yet still gave Jitae his own in return.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

I’m Your Star

Beautiful SemeLow Self-Esteem UkeModern Setting

Read Now →
Not interested