Chapter 223

After searching, the mention of a good place ultimately referred to a cafe that was famous on social media. Naturally, a cafe like that would be crowded. In fact, most of the girls I had met up until now preferred such places.

However, when I was with Seol-guk, going to such places felt a bit off, even just thinking about the restaurant we just visited. So I searched and found a decent spot, but one that had the least amount of reviews and people among the options.

Fortunately, as the reviews suggested, there weren’t many people around. It seemed like there was enough space, so I first placed my order at the kiosk. Seol-guk had changed a bit; he forced himself to order an iced Americano, which he usually didn’t drink.

After sitting down and taking a sip, he frowned and complained about the bitterness.

“Didn’t you hate it?” I asked.

“I’m not a child; how long am I going to dislike something that’s bitter?”

“That’s just a preference. Why are you worried about it?”

Honestly, he didn’t act like a child. I kept that thought to myself, wondering if he had truly become more childish. If not, he had definitely grown up.

“It’s a bit more tolerable now.”

“Why don’t you just relax and say it?”

“What’s wrong with my expression?”

“Looks like you’re sulking.”

“Bleh.”

Was he deliberately making those sounds, or was it just that the bitterness hit him at that moment? I didn’t know, nor did I need to.

Since there were no people around, we could talk more naturally. In truth, we didn’t have that many conversations. I complained about my younger sibling, and Seol-guk shared some minor concerns.

“Is your little brother that arrogant?”

“You remember when I got mad when he crossed the line before, right?”

“Yeah, I remember. What did your father say?”

“He told him to behave moderately.”

“That kid is sneaky. He went straight to dad to tell on you.”

“Exactly.”

Honestly, now that I think about it, considering the circumstances back then, I felt like I had lost my rationality. I should have held back. I don’t regret it. I don’t feel sorry for Kang Seon-hwa at all. However, the words I said to my stepmother were heartfelt but not something I should have let slip.

She was at least someone who fulfilled her duties and treated me well. Even after that incident, she treated me kindly. At least she was much better than any daughter could be.

Of course, Seol-guk probably had no idea to what extent I had pushed that girl. He would also feel a bit put off if he found out that I had treated her that way.

You’ve always been unusually generous to children.

“How’s your relationship with your step-mother? Is she bothering you?”

“She knows her place, so it’s fine. We got along well beforehand, and we’ve been fine since she treated that kid.”

“That’s good to hear. You should tell her to discipline your sibling a bit.”

That’s something you can only say because you don’t know what I said.

“It doesn’t seem to have any effect. But my dad should really like that kid.”

“Are you jealous?”

“I’m too old to be jealous of something like that.”

In the middle of our conversation, Seol-guk’s giggles interrupted the dialogue. Was it really enjoyable having such trivial conversations? It seemed that the comfort Seol-guk had felt when he was with me had now turned into a sensation of having an incredibly fun and enjoyable playtime.

“Still, introduce me to her later. You haven’t introduced me to your family before.”

“You haven’t introduced me, either.”

“I don’t have anyone.”

If it had been a normal case, Seol-guk would have just laughed at what could be considered a significant boundary violation. Actually, there was a slightly malicious intent behind those words. I wanted to know if he was really okay, if he had truly gotten over things. Right now, Seol-guk seemed to be doing quite well. I hoped it would stay that way.

“How have you been lately?”

“Oh, the same. Mira and Eun-a come to see me often. Occasionally, Ji Kang-hyeon visits, but he’s been tangled up in rumors about dating Eun-a.”

“What? Dating rumors? What do you mean?”

“It’s nothing serious; it’s just a bit of an issue. It was definitely just a gossip story from one insignificant photo.”

“So, it seems like they’re not actually dating?”

“Rather, it seems like Kang-hyeon and Mira have feelings for each other.”

“Even so, I don’t know much about that Mira girl.”

I had only seen her once before. You originally weren’t the type to talk about this kind of stuff, but now it seemed like that aspect had faded away. You used to say there was no gossip more useless than someone else’s love life.

“I’ve seen Professor Seo’s daughter a few times, so I know that much.”

“Mira is just an ordinary girl. She likes fairy tales.”

“Didn’t you say you lost contact with her for a while?”

“She must have been busy studying. She’s a repeat student.”

While he talked about Mira, something caught my ear that I couldn’t let slide.

“Wait, you’re providing her with living expenses for her repeat year?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“I told you before.”

“No, even if all that is true, it’s her fault for not managing it well. It’s not your fault. Why are you giving her money?”

It was an unfathomable act. From what I gathered, it didn’t seem like she was targeting him or anything. Why on earth was he doing that? Seol-guk was a published writer, and his earnings weren’t that stable either. Giving her living expenses during a repeat year made no sense. But,

“It’s for my own satisfaction.”

At that, I finally decided to drop all the questions I had been holding back. Right, that was who you were. You were the kind of person who donated more than half of your income to the orphanage where you grew up. Given that you talked about self-satisfaction, I couldn’t argue against it.

“I guess you should write hard.”

“Right?”

“How’s the writing going? Are you earning anything from it?”

“It’s a free serialization.”

“No… what? Why?”

“I never intended to earn money with something like this…?”

“Are you an idiot?”

I was losing my mind.

Naturally, our conversation about our main jobs, writing, was just as surprising as what I had heard. Was there really a reason to do a free serialization? It wasn’t like it wouldn’t earn anything, and the view counts would drop as well.

“Until now, I still want to keep the purity of my literature.”

“Shut up. Didn’t you say that calling literary work ‘pure literature’ isn’t necessarily a good thing?”

“True, but fundamentally, my literature is based on literary circles. It’s not about the purity of literature; it’s about the purity of ‘my’ literature.”

“If you could monetize that, wouldn’t you do it for 10 billion won?”

“Are you crazy? I would definitely do that.”

“Purity, sure! You’re completely obsessed with money!”

“Is 10 billion won laughable?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Must be nice to be from a rich family~.”

“Yeah, it’s really nice. Isn’t it great?”

“Idiot.”

Seol-guk chuckled again. Suddenly, he made a strange expression and began to ponder something deeply.

“…Could you buy your company with 10 billion won?”

“Absolutely not. Do you know how much your company is worth? Even a decent medium-sized business is worth several billion.”

“That’s a bummer.”

Was it a silly thought he came up with? His pouting as he expressed disappointment was pathetic.

“Really, what if someone gave me 10 billion won?”

“I wish that would happen.”

Still, he was smiling.

“By the way, why is Ji Kang-hyeon coming to your house?”

“I don’t really know since our connection was very random. At first, he seems to have come out of boredom, but now it seems like he just comes to see Mira. As I mentioned, he’s trying to restrain himself for now.”

“Even though you once mentioned connections with celebrities, don’t get too close. What if something happens again like last time?”

“That’s true, but considering he’s the son of the CEO, it’s hard to say anything about it.”

“Well, that can’t be helped. It seems your publishing house takes special care of you. You’re not some manager or anything. These days, it’s rare to have places that give that kind of attention.”

“I know that too.”

Still, I was worried. It would be easier if you publicly declared that you were dating that Mira girl.

“Did you eat anything delicious in America?”

“It was all fast food.”

“Didn’t you go to fancy restaurants?”

“I spent half of it like that, and the other half was just normal restaurants that locals visit. Seollin said she had never been to such places.”

“…You went together? Is she a rich girl?”

“She must be to go to such places.”

“Right…”

Don’t get unnecessarily gloomy. It’s just that you got caught up with a rich girl exploring the lives of commoners.

“I was even wondering if I should eat at Burger King after going all the way to America. I wanted to try the Iron Man cheeseburger.”

“Hasn’t she never been to Burger King? Do her parents not allow her to eat that stuff?”

“She must have just seen Iron Man recently. She had no interest until now.”

“What did she think of the cheeseburger?”

“She said it wasn’t that great.”

I didn’t think I could fully understand why I was so curious about that girl. Every time her name came up, his expression would darken. Yet, I kept bringing her up, and I didn’t even know why myself.

“…Did you sleep with her?”

“Are you crazy? Do you want to see me lose my head?”

“I’m just curious.”

Even so, I shouldn’t be asking that kind of question. Even if there was no one around to hear it, there could be someone listening.

“Shall we start heading back?”

“Uh… yeah.”

As we walked back to the car and rode toward Seol-guk’s house, we exchanged a bunch of pointless conversations and forced smiles. I acted this way simply because it was amusing, merely confusing, and I played my part.

Once we arrived, Seol-guk spoke up.

“…Wanna stop by for a minute?”

“There’s that Han-bom or whatever, right?”

“Maybe she’s already gone back by now?”

“It’s fine. I need to rest now anyway. Driving back right after arriving home is a hassle.”

“Uh, okay.”

Seol-guk watched me until I completely turned my back and left, not closing the front door. Even knowing that, I didn’t look back.

When I looked up in front of the parked car, I finally saw Seol-guk’s face in the window. He was waving, and I waved back.

On the way home, I desperately swallowed my confused feelings and forced down the unnecessary conversations. It wasn’t the right path. But I couldn’t deny that I had taken it.

The only person who welcomed me at home was my stepmother, who greeted me in the entrance. I responded with an appropriately smiling face and went back to my room.

It was exhausting.

I felt like I had been acting all day long.

I lay down on the bed, utterly drained.

If all of this was just a meticulously crafted play, was I a pretty good actor for you today?