Chapter 48: I Am Your Mother Today

Because she was in such a sensitive stage, his mother had meticulously taken care of even the smallest details regarding what she ate.

When she watched TV, she made sure not to turn the volume up too high.

And whenever there was an exam, like a mock test, she made sure seaweed soup was never served at the dinner table, as if even the tiniest distraction might affect her.

Woo-joo remembered following along without a word of complaint, knowing that since the eldest son had neglected his studies from the start, his parents’ expectations for college were placed entirely on the second daughter.

In the meantime, Ji-tae came out, having finished his preparations.

“Kang Woo-joo, let’s go.”

Woo-joo rose solemnly and strode toward Ji-tae, firmly placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I am your mother today.”

He patted his shoulder several times and then headed outside.

Ji-tae, naturally having no idea what he meant, had no choice but to ask what that was about.

Waiting outside was the car Ji-tae usually used for his schedules.

It seemed the production crew and Ji-tae’s manager had coordinated and brought it over in advance.

“What’s this? Why are you getting in the passenger seat?”

“Ah, right. Out of habit…….”

Ji-tae, who had habitually tried to sit next to Woo-joo, moved to the back.

Getting into the driver’s seat, Woo-joo immediately started the ignition.

Fortunately, since he usually drove a large car himself, driving a vehicle like this wasn’t very difficult.

“Here, a neck pillow.”

Woo-joo rummaged through the passenger side and found the neck pillow Ji-tae used often, then handed it over.

This was also part of the information the manager had sent earlier.

He mentioned that Ji-tae usually caught up on sleep during transit, so it was best to always have it ready for him.

“Well, we’re off.”

Woo-joo made eye contact with Ji-tae through the rearview mirror once before starting to drive slowly.

There were a total of two schedules today, the first of which was a pictorial shoot.

By coincidence, the location for the shoot was the same studio where they had done the poster shoot last time.

Considering he might have been more nervous trying to find a place he had never been before, it was quite a stroke of luck.

The <Living as Two> filming vehicle followed behind them.

As he skillfully changed lanes and drove along the highway, he suddenly felt a gaze.

Ji-tae was staring at him intently.

As if he hadn’t expected their eyes to meet, the sound of him averting his gaze felt loud.

“Aren’t you going to sleep? You said you usually sleep in the car. Don’t you have no time to rest when you’re busy with your schedule?”

“That’s true, but… I slept soundly yesterday, so I’m not that tired.”

Ji-tae turned his gaze toward the window.

The way his fingers tapped the armrest made him look a bit excited.

Despite his words about not sleeping, by the time Woo-joo safely parked the car in the studio parking lot and looked back, Ji-tae was already in a deep sleep, wearing an eye mask.

It was likely a behavior born out of habit.

For celebrities with long travel times, it was usually more beneficial to get even a little bit of sleep in the car.

Woo-joo unfastened his seatbelt and reached out to lightly shake Ji-tae’s thigh.

Whether he really made time to work out separately or not, he could feel solid muscle even through the fabric of his pants.

The moment that thought occurred to him, Woo-joo flinched and pulled his hand away.

“Won Ji-tae.”

He chose to call his name instead of shaking him this time, but Ji-tae didn’t wake up.

He had clearly said himself that he was a light sleeper, but the Won Ji-tae he had seen lately seemed quite far removed from insomnia.

Woo-joo, about to wake him more forcefully, suddenly checked the time.

The time he had been told to arrive at the studio was 2:00 PM.

And currently, it was 1:30 PM.

Because Woo-joo had suggested they leave a little early in case he got lost, they had time to spare.

Ji-tae had said they only needed to arrive by 1:50 PM at the latest, and if it took roughly 5 to 10 minutes to get from here into the studio….

‘Should I let him sleep for about ten more minutes?’

He didn’t want to disturb him as he slept with his mouth firmly shut.

Since he’d have to work non-stop from now on, Woo-joo wanted him to get as much sleep as possible.

Moreover, Woo-joo was well acquainted with the pain of insomnia.

When he first entered the overseas league, he felt like he had the world in his hands, but reality was not that easy.

He suffered from feelings of inferiority and envy toward players who were far superior in skill, and the impatience of having to produce results somehow.

On top of that, due to the language barrier, he couldn’t even communicate well with his teammates at first, leading to many lonely days.

Suffering from such mental pressure, there was no way sleep would come easily.

The more that happened, the more his physical condition fell into a mess, and as he thought about the expectations from those around him slowly cooling, he would lose sleep again—it was a literal vicious cycle.

Back then, Woo-joo learned for the first time that long nights could be that lonely.

Well, he was able to overcome it quickly thanks to the team captain who recognized his mental distress, but if Woo-joo’s mentality had been even slightly weaker, he might have faced an even worse ending—returning home without even finishing his contract period.

Come to think of it, how did he survive back then?

As Woo-joo was reminiscing about the past, he heard a rustling sound from behind.

Turning his head, he saw Ji-tae blinking his eyes as he took off his eye mask.

“Ah, you’re awake?”

“When did we arrive?”

“About five or six minutes ago?”

“But why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Because we arrived a bit early. I wanted you to sleep more.”

“But since you’re up, let’s get out,” Woo-joo said as he grabbed the bags from the passenger seat and stepped out of the car first.

Ji-tae hurriedly followed him out.

Then, out of habit, he unconsciously reached out to take the bags Woo-joo was carrying.

“It’s the 8th floor, just like last time, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

At Woo-joo’s question, Ji-tae quickly withdrew his hand.

As he stared blankly at the hand he had reached out without realizing, they had already arrived on the 8th floor.

“Actor-nim, you’ve arrived.”

The staff member who spotted Ji-tae said.

The filming site they arrived at was, as expected, busy.

There were incomparably more people, equipment, and props than last time.

The thought that this was for a pictorial to be published in a famous foreign magazine suddenly crossed his mind.

“Ji-tae oppa, we’ll start your makeup right away.”

Naturally, this shoot was a schedule that Won Ji-tae was handling as an ‘actor.’

Last time, the staff were all related to the program since they were filming to use the shoot as material for the variety show, but that wasn’t the case this time.

Naturally, the staff responsible for Ji-tae’s regular management were present.

Only then did Woo-joo begin to truly feel like he had entered a completely different world.

Just looking around the surroundings right now made it clear.

During the poster shoot, most of the staff were familiar faces, but that wasn’t the case here.

Woo-joo once again mentally reviewed the information Ji-tae’s manager had given him earlier.

“Kang Woo-joo, I’ll be in the back.”

“Okay. I’ll be around here introducing myself to the people.”

Ji-tae kept looking back as he moved toward the waiting room.

He felt like a mother leaving her young child by the water.

Of course, Kang Woo-joo seemed far from being a child.

He had been secretly worried about what to do if Woo-joo got nervous, but seeing his expression look no different than usual, his worries were relegated to being utterly useless.

As Ji-tae let out a sigh and sat in the waiting room chair, hands immediately began to fly toward him.

“But oppa, I heard Athlete Kang Woo-joo is acting as your manager starting today?”

Park Seol-ah, Ji-tae’s makeup staff, asked the question excitedly.

“That’s right. Because of the <Living as Two> filming.”

“Wow, as expected of a variety show, you’re doing all sorts of things. But I think the viewers’ reaction will be great. Even now, the pre-release video is causing a huge stir.”

“Still, no matter how much of a variety show it is, it must be a bit uncomfortable. Having someone who isn’t a pro attached as a manager. And not just for a day, but for a whole week.”

The person who came over and added her piece this time was the Sil-jang (Team Leader) of Ji-tae’s makeup staff team.

“Gosh, hearing the Sil-jang put it that way, it really might be like that. Especially since Ji-tae oppa is so picky, there are so many things to cater to.”

As Seol-ah threw out a half-joking, half-serious remark, the Sil-jang agreed, saying that was true.

“I like it.”

“Huh?”

Normally, in a situation like this, the conversation would progress with him saying something like he had no choice since the broadcast made him do it.

That was how Ji-tae usually was.

It was very rare for him to joke along or respond sincerely even when staff members he had worked with for a long time teased him.

It wasn’t that he completely shut them out, either.

If it were like that, they would have just adjusted to him being that type of person, but Won Ji-tae always wore a characteristic, refined smile and offered gentle words.

Of course, the problem was that the meaning behind those words never included any intention of playing along with their jokes.

Because the smile he showed was almost entirely a fabricated mask.

“Why?”

Because of the smile Ji-tae had just shown, both Seol-ah and the Sil-jang couldn’t help but be surprised.

The words that came out of his mouth also carried a somewhat bright color.

It was perhaps natural that their busy hands froze at the same time.

“Oh? It’s nothing.”

Seol-ah and the Sil-jang laughed awkwardly and started working again.

Both of them were likely thinking the same thing right now.

So Won Ji-tae can make an expression like that too.