Chapter 45: A Confession in the Grove

“H-Help me!”

The man, whose arm was twisted, screamed so loudly the entire parking lot seemed to reverberate. Though onlookers began to notice the commotion, he showed no signs of releasing his grip.

Instead, his hold tightened, threatening to snap the man’s arm clean off. A sudden surge of fear prompted me to grab Seon Woo-jung’s arm. Only then did he loosen his grasp.

“Are you alright, Senior?”

After practically flinging the man aside, he turned to scrutinize my face. I was about to assure him I was fine when I noticed one of his cheeks was swollen and crimson. It was then that I understood.

He had taken the man’s blow in my stead.

“But Seon Woo-jung, you’re the one who—”

“I’m fine. More importantly, Senior, are you—”

Before his hand could even gently touch my cheek, a shriek echoed from behind us. “Aaah!” The man was screaming.

Startled, I looked towards the sound, finding the man clutching his wrist and writhing on the ground.

“Oh, I’m dying! I’m dying!”

“Are you alright, sir?”

A few onlookers, sensing the sudden gravity of the situation, approached to help the man to his feet. As the crowd grew, the man theatrically displayed his supposedly bruised wrist, pointing an accusatory finger at Seon Woo-jung.

“That bastard tried to break my hand!”

It was clearly an act of exaggeration, yet the man’s audacity only intensified. Amidst the escalating commotion, he meticulously scanned my face, then let out a relieved sigh, sweeping a hand across his chest.

He even managed a gentle smile, expressing relief that I hadn’t been hurt.

‘How strange it was. I had thought we were complete strangers now, so why was he protecting me? He took a blow meant for me, yet showed no sign of pain, only concern for my well-being. I knew it wasn’t true, but this made it seem as if he… liked me.’

“I’m going to sue you!”

The man, still pointing an accusing finger, raised his voice at Seon Woo-jung, who seemed utterly unfazed. The hand that had been resting on my cheek dropped. In an instant, his expression turned frigid as he finally looked back at the man.

“Seon Woo-jung?”

Only then did recognition dawn in the man’s eyes, which gleamed with a sly malice. Shaking off the people who had been helping him, the man strode purposefully towards Seon Woo-jung.

His voice, as if amplified by a megaphone, boomed through the entire parking lot.

“You’re Seon Woo-jung, aren’t you? I saw your face! Is it right for an actor to just throw people around like this, huh?”

As the man’s rant grew increasingly aggressive, patrons from inside the restaurant had spilled out to observe the unfolding spectacle. It was clear that if this commotion continued, Seon Woo-jung would suffer the consequences, regardless of the truth.

“Just you wait. I’ll leak all of this to the media! I’ll tell them Seon Woo-jung tried to kill someone! I’ll send you straight to hell—”

“Oh, sir.”

Seon Woo-jung’s manager, arriving belatedly, swiftly wedged himself between the two men. It seemed he considered calming the situation his top priority, despite likely wondering what sudden disaster had interrupted their company dinner.

“Please, calm down first and tell me what happened.”

“Who are you!”

“I’m Seon Woo-jung’s manager. Let’s just calm down a little and discuss this over there—”

While the manager tried to placate the man, I led Seon Woo-jung away from the scene. Initially, he resisted leaving, but when I pleaded with my eyes for him to come with me, he quietly followed.

Searching for a place away from prying eyes, we ended up in a small grove beside the restaurant. I stopped at the end of a dimly lit path, where streetlights were sparsely placed, and surveyed our surroundings. Fortunately, no one else had ventured this far.

“That man, he’s your father, isn’t he, Senior?”

He finally spoke, his voice hushed after a long silence. Turning to face him, I nodded honestly. In this industry, everyone knew I had sued my parents, so it seemed likely Seon Woo-jung was aware of the situation.

‘That must be why he asked so cautiously.’

“Why did he come looking for you?”

“Why else would that man come looking for me?”

A hollow, weary laugh escaped me. I had thought I finally escaped, but blood ties, it seemed, weren’t so easily severed. Incidents like today would repeat themselves countless times.

They would continue to torment me until they got what they wanted.

“You’re alright, aren’t you?”

“Me? What could possibly be wrong with me? You’re the one in more trouble, Seon Woo-jung.”

If the manager managed to soothe the man, it would be a blessing. Otherwise, he was precisely the type to immediately seek out reporters and exaggerate the situation beyond recognition. Once the story broke, people would undoubtedly condemn Seon Woo-jung, regardless of the actual facts.

Even if a correction was issued, his antis, ever vigilant for an opportunity, would endlessly dredge up the incident throughout his acting career, claiming there’s no smoke without fire.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry, Senior?”

“Because of me… this happened.”

An actor’s image was paramount. If he were branded a violent person because of me, it would undoubtedly be a significant blemish on Seon Woo-jung’s career. ‘Who was I, to warrant him enduring such immense damage?’

“I’m truly sorry, because of me—”

My words were cut short. He suddenly pulled me, and my body, tilting sharply, was drawn into his strong embrace as if by an irresistible force. His firm arms wrapped around my shoulders and waist, holding us flush against each other without a gap.

“I wish you would be honest with me, at least. If you’re struggling, say you’re struggling. If you’re not alright, say you’re not alright… Can’t you just tell me the truth? I want to hear your genuine feelings, Senior.”

His voice, trembling slightly, was imbued with profound sincerity. It wasn’t mere superficial comfort; I could feel that he worried for me, cared for me, even more than I did for myself.

“If you want to cry, you can.”

As soon as I heard those words, tears burst forth as if by magic. I rarely cried unless I was acting. It was both surprising and, at the same time, a realization that I had, in fact, been grieving.

‘How had he known my feelings, feelings I hadn’t even recognized myself?’ Though I had many questions, my tears, once unleashed, wouldn’t stop, and I clung to him, weeping for a long time.

At first, pride made me bite my lip and stifle my sobs, but the gentle patting on my back shattered my resolve, and I wept like a child. He silently continued to comfort me.

After crying for what felt like an eternity, a wave of embarrassment washed over me. I idly rubbed his tear-dampened clothes with my hand, then attempted to wipe my own disheveled face.

But his hand reached out first, gently smoothing my tangled hair and wiping the dried tears from my cheeks with his sleeve. I accepted his touch without protest. It wasn’t familiar, yet it wasn’t unpleasant either.

“Feel a little better now?”

When I nodded honestly, he smiled beautifully. Then, he began to prattle on about how crying was good when one felt stifled, and how he watched sad movies in such moments—unsolicited advice, yet endearing.

“Shall I recommend a few movies?”

“No, I’m alright. I’ve cried enough for one day.”

My voice was thick and hoarse from all the crying. Releasing me from his embrace, he turned towards the restaurant, seemingly ready to leave. By now, the situation should have been mostly resolved, and he needed to meet his manager.

“Shall we go?”

“W-Wait, just a moment.”

I urgently grabbed him as he began to turn away. He paused, then looked back at me. It was somewhat impulsive, but I felt that if not now, I might never be able to say these words to him. This was my only chance.

“Seon Woo-jung, I know it’s incredibly selfish to say this now, but… could you still hear me out?”

“Huh? What—”

His eyes, meeting mine, wavered noticeably. Countless words swirled in my mind, yet there was only one that truly needed to be said. However, it was a phrase profoundly difficult for me to utter, one I couldn’t bring myself to say easily.

‘Even the family who should have been closest to me had never loved me. On the day I finally escaped their foolish exploitation, having only been seen as a source of money, they cursed me as I left.’

‘That curse—that I would never be loved by anyone—had plummeted my self-esteem, causing me to deny my own worth. Later, when I finally regained my senses, I found that even I couldn’t love myself.’

‘I had erected an invisible wall, never allowing anyone close. I feared being exposed as broken, believing it would be utterly miserable, so I packaged and repackaged myself, concealing my true state. I tried to live that way, oblivious to the festering wound within me.’

‘I like you, Senior.’

‘But one day, he appeared and began to shake my world. My heart was leaning towards him, the one who had become a warm spring day in my perpetually cold winter, yet I desperately tried to deny everything.’

‘Perhaps my feelings for him had been there all along, unbeknownst to me.’

“I like you.”

‘If I had known it would come to this, I wouldn’t have hurt him.’ A belated regret mingled with the selfish hope that he would accept me now, even at this late stage.

They said love had an expiration date. So, I didn’t know how long this love would last, but I wanted to experience his warm affection, at least until then.

‘I wanted to live that way too, now.’

“If it’s not too late, will you date me?”