It was none other than Kang Seojin finally making it to her apartment floor.
"If I had just walked home, I would've gotten here earlier… that stupid jalopy of a bus," she muttered to herself, her voice laced with exhaustion. Then she sighed bitterly. "No, why am I blaming the bus? None of this would've happened if it weren't for that stupid director."
She kept grumbling under her breath. "I wasted four whole hours for no reason… he didn't even talk about anything serious."
She stopped in front of her apartment door, raising her hand to enter the password. But just as her fingers hovered over the keypad, she froze. Something clicked in her memory. Her eyes widened.
Frantically, she began rummaging through her bag. After a moment, a groan of pure frustration escaped her lips, followed by a small, sharp cry.
"Ah….my phone! I forgot it in the car!"
Her frustration quickly melted into helplessness. Her shoulders shook as hot tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks. "I've had enough of this..."
She whispered shakily to herself, "No… no way, Kang Seojin. You shouldn't be crying." But even as she scolded herself, she wiped at her tears with the collar of her blouse, unable to hold them back.
That was when the door next to hers creaked open.
Kim Taeha stood there, having heard everything. She turned to him, startled and embarrassed.
"Was I… too loud?" she asked quietly, bowing in apology. As she bowed, she tried to wipe the rest of her tears away with trembling fingers.
To her immense relief, Taeha said nothing. He just turned back into his apartment and closed the door behind him.
She let herself drop to the floor outside her apartment, her body too heavy to stand. Her chest tightened as fresh tears pooled in her eyes. She was still overwhelmed, trying to decide what to do, when his door opened again.
This time, Taeha walked past her silently. He was wearing a black coat, sunglasses, a cap pulled low over his head, and a face mask that concealed most of his face.
Seojin looked up at him in astonishment, still seated on the floor. She didn't even have the strength to rise. Her entire day had been too much.
Still, she didn't want to seem like a weirdo in front of him.
Taeha walked a few paces, then stopped and turned slightly. "Aren't you coming?"
"To where?" she asked, completely confused.
"Don't you want to get your phone back?" he said, with a blank face. "And… what are you even doing down there on the floor, by the way?"
She flushed in mortification. "Wait....what? You heard that too? I swear I wasn't that loud!"
He didn't respond. He just stood there, waiting, his was gaze steady and unreadable.
That made her scramble back to her feet.
Taeha silently turned and walked toward the elevator.
"Wait… you really don't have to do this," she called after him. "I can survive without my phone for a day. Or at least for a few hours."
"Just shut up and come," Taeha said flatly, motioning for her to follow.
Reluctant, but secretly thankful, Seojin ran a few steps and caught up with him.
The elevator arrived. They descended in silence.
When they reached the parking lot, Taeha led her to his car. As she instinctively reached for one of the back doors, his voice stopped her.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting into the car?" she replied, confused.
"I have no interest in becoming your taxi driver."
She blinked, clueless.
"Get in the front," he said.
"Ah… okay."
She gave him a small, awkward smile as she stepped into the front passenger seat. It was her first time sitting in the front seat with a man other than her father and it made her a little nervous.
Once they were on the road, Taeha asked casually, "What happened to your car?"
"It suddenly stopped working earlier when I tried to start it. It's still in the hospital parking lot," she explained.
After that, silence settled between them. Neither of them said a word. It wasn't uncomfortable, just… still.
Seojin gazed out the window, quietly admiring the night view as Taeha drove. The city lights blurred into glowing streaks, but her mind was tangled with guilt. She didn't like the fact that Taeha had gotten worked up because of her. In fact, it made her feel worse. The guilt weighed on her, pulling her thoughts into a sea of emotional chaos.
But then, something snapped her out of it.
Taeha casually removed his sunglasses and face mask, tossing them onto the back seat. Seojin's gaze shifted, almost involuntarily, to his face. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye and froze. Up close, he was even more breathtaking than in the media. The flawless skin, the sculpted features, the calm yet piercing eyes… It should've been illegal to look that good.
When Taeha turned to glance at her, she immediately flushed red and yanked her eyes away, her ears burning. Taeha smirked slightly, clearly catching her reaction, then returned his focus to the road.
Breaking the silence, his deep voice rumbled through the car.
"Thank you."
Seojin blinked. "Huh?"
He glanced at her again, more gently this time. "Thank you for taking good care of my father."
"Oh." Her voice came out softer than she expected. "Don't mention it. I was just doing my job."
She looked away again, feeling the heat crawl up her cheeks. Why did everything he say make her blush?
"I'm really sorry for dragging you into my mess," she added awkwardly. "I know you're a very busy person…"
"Not as busy as you," he replied smoothly.
The response caught her off guard, and she let out a laugh, a real one, light and warm. The tension in her chest began to ease. Her frustration from earlier melted away. It felt… nice, having someone like him beside her.
Then Taeha asked, "By the way, didn't you receive anything from your friend?"
"From my friend?" She tilted her head. "Um… not yet, I guess. Why?"
But he didn't reply.
Before she could press him, they arrived at the hospital parking lot. Seojin reached for the door handle.
"I'll go get the phone," she said, subtly hinting that he could stay in the car.
Of course, Taeha didn't listen.
He got out without a word and strode toward her car like it was his business. Seojin sighed and followed. When he gestured, she handed over her car key and the remote controller. Taeha slipped into her car and tried to start it. Once. Twice. Three times.
Nothing.
Then he leaned back with a sigh, stepped out, and pointed to the dashboard.
"Your car's out of gasoline. See that red light over there?" He handed her the phone.
Seojin stared at the blinking light, then at Taeha, then at the ground.
She felt like the stupidest person alive.
"I….I've been mentally enlightened these days," she muttered, forcing a sheepish smile. "Must've slipped my mind."
"I'll tell my manager to fix it…"
"No, no, no. You don't have to." She waved her hands frantically. "I already feel bad you came all this way. I'd feel worse if I made you do this too. I swear, I'll handle it. There's a gasoline station nearby anyway."
Taeha stared at her for a moment, then gave a small nod.
Finally, phone in hand, they headed back to his car.
The drive back was quiet. Not awkward but just quiet and peaceful.
After everything that had happened, Seojin was mentally and physically drained. Her eyelids grew heavier with every passing second, until sleep finally claimed her.
Taeha noticed the moment her breathing slowed into a soft rhythm. A gentle smile touched his lips.
When they reached the apartment complex, Seojin was still sleeping like a baby. Taeha parked the car and sat there, watching her for a moment. A few strands of her silky hair had fallen across her face. Carefully, he reached out and tucked them behind her ear.
Just then, Seojin jolted awake.
Startled, Taeha immediately retracted his hand and looked away, pretending to fiddle with something….anything….on the dashboard.
Was he… blushing?
Seojin blinked, still groggy. She stretched her neck and winced.
"Ow… My neck…"
She looked around and realized they had already arrived. "You could've just woken me up…"
She felt bad again. How much more trouble was she going to cause this man in one day?
As they reached the apartment doors, she bowed her head low…maybe too low. "Thank you so much for your help today."
"Stop it. You might break your spine at this rate."
Seojin raised her head, eyes wide. "What?"
"Good night."
And with that, he opened his door, stepped in, and slammed it behind him leaving Seojin completely ghosted.
She stared at the closed door for a second. "…Good night. No wait good morning now," she mumbled, checking the time.
It was almost 1:30 a.m. by the time she finally got out of the shower and collapsed into her cozy bed. Her body ached from head to toe.
"Oh my gosh. Everything hurts."
With a dramatic sigh, she pulled the blanket over her.
"Oh, wait….I forgot!" She shot up, grabbed her phone, and texted Minci.
[Hey, can you help me get some gasoline for my car tomorrow? I ran out… like an idiot.]
Then she placed the phone down, turned off the lights, and closed her eyes.
Sleep came almost instantly.