LS Ch 37

As he wandered aimlessly, three days had already passed. Two days after the drama finished filming, Jewoo boarded a flight to London. It was a trip to Europe he had always wanted to take if he ever had the chance.

Starting in London, he spent two days there before taking the Eurostar to Paris today. Just as he was getting ready to head out and see the Eiffel Tower after checking into his accommodation, he received a call from Choi Jiyoo.

Are you doing well? It’s not the crack of dawn over there or anything, right?

Her greeting, along with her concern about whether she had woken him up, made him smile faintly.

“No, I’m fine. I moved to Paris, and it’s just past 2 PM here. It’s night in Seoul, right?”

Didn’t you say you were going to London?

“I was. I’m just traveling wherever my feet take me.”

When he mentioned that he planned to visit Switzerland, Italy, and other places as time and circumstances allowed, she couldn’t hide her envy.

I need to ask for some vacation time too. I want to travel.

“Being busy is a good thing.”

He advised her to work hard while the opportunities kept coming, but she shot back that hearing that from someone who was off having fun didn’t help at all.

So, how’s it been after a few days?

Her question didn’t seem to be just about how the travel experience was. After a brief moment of contemplation, he simply replied, “Just… okay.”

Traveling alone, he found himself lost in thought all day. Even while admiring beautiful scenery, a part of his mind kept drifting to Kang Yiwon. He was deliberately avoiding defining Yiwon with any particular words. Keeping his distance had certainly helped ease some of the previous turmoil and confusion.

More than trying to define Kang Yiwon, Jewoo was working on erasing ‘Haeyul’ from within himself. Perhaps he had immersed himself in that role more than he had realized. He had played countless characters before, but maybe because this was his first lead role, the emotions lingered far longer than any of his previous experiences. Once ‘Haeyul’ was completely erased from his system, maybe then it would become clear whether he was looking at Kang Yiwon or still seeing ‘Geonhwon.’

You seem to be doing ‘just okay,’ but the other side doesn’t seem to be handling things as well.

It was obvious who she was referring to, even without asking.

I was going to let him sort things out quietly on his own and avoid telling you anything if possible, but… well… how should I put this…

She hesitated, searching for the right words.

“It’s okay. Just say it however you want.”

At his reassurance that she didn’t need to choose her words carefully, she let out a small sigh before continuing.

He seems unstable. He left the group chat as soon as filming ended, and even when he contacted me looking for you, I just told him to wait and be patient. But… I think it’s been harder on him than I expected.

Jewoo remained silent, simply listening. He had anticipated that cutting off all contact and disappearing would make Yiwon come looking for him. That was within his expectations.

I heard this from a friend at his agency, and apparently, he’s been half out of it lately. It’s not like he’s missing work or anything, but you know when someone just looks totally spaced out? That’s how he’s been. The other people at his agency are even whispering behind his back, wondering if something’s wrong with Kang Yiwon.

And besides that—actually, you should see for yourself.

“See what?”

His SNS profile picture. And not just that. It’s gotten to the point where you have to wonder if it’s okay to just leave it like that.

At first, Jewoo wondered what Choi Jiyoo was talking about. Since he had blocked Yiwon, he hadn’t even noticed the profile picture had changed.

After the call, Jewoo hesitated for a moment before unblocking Kang Yiwon on SNS. The moment he clicked on Yiwon’s profile picture and enlarged it, a sharp breath escaped his lips.

“I’m waiting for you.”

The profile picture was of a book. And of all the books in the world, the title was I’m Waiting for You. What were the odds? Was it too much to think Yiwon had posted it just for him to see?

And that wasn’t all.

The most recent picture on Yiwon’s SNS was of a flower. It looked like a small white wildflower, with the name Hwangsaenaeng written underneath it. That was it. But the unfamiliar flower name nagged at him. On a whim, Jewoo searched for its meaning and let out a sigh.

“I dedicate this to you.”

“A longing that pierces the heart.”

Seeing those two phrases, Jewoo couldn’t help but think—What the hell is this guy doing?

The day before, Yiwon had posted the phrase I miss you in a dozen different languages.

Sure enough, the comment section was in chaos. Fans were freaking out, asking what exactly Yiwon missed so much. Some thought it was an ad campaign.

But with post after post like this, how could people not be suspicious? Jewoo finally understood why Choi Jiyoo was worried.

As he debated whether to leave it alone, a notification popped up—Yiwon had posted something new. Jewoo refreshed the page and, for a moment, couldn’t even sigh.

It was a scene from a famous drama. One side of the image had a line from the show written on it:

“Make a wish with all your heart. You never know—there may be a kindhearted god listening.”

Kang Yiwon… Seriously…!

Jewoo ran a hand down his face. His chest felt strange—like a tickling sensation, or maybe a heavy weight pressing down on him.

“Jewoo-hyung.”

For a moment, he could hear Yiwon’s voice in his head. And, of all things, it was that voice—the deep, husky tone he used when lost in desire, growling low.

Shaking his head, Jewoo walked to the window and threw it open. The warm air rushed in, but it was better than the heat rising inside him.

What the hell has he been up to these past few days?

Why wasn’t Yiwon’s manager stopping him? Or had they tried, and Yiwon just refused to listen?

Could they really just leave this alone?

Posting messages like this for days on end—at this rate, it was only a matter of time before the media caught on. The lucky ones were the fans assuming it was an ad campaign. Others were already speculating—Something’s off. Is he dating someone? If not, is he trying to court someone?

Why was he going this far? What if a weird rumor started and it hurt his image?

There probably wouldn’t be a full-blown scandal unless there was a clear target, but it was still concerning. Idols had it even worse than actors when it came to reputation damage. Just recently, an idol admitted to dating, and a huge chunk of their fans left.

Even though Yiwon had been focusing more on acting, his group hadn’t officially disbanded.

I should stop him, right?

But stopping him meant contacting him. And Jewoo wasn’t ready to hear his voice yet. If he did, he might start wavering again.

And besides, this whole thing reminded him of Geonhwon—just a little too much.

Maybe he wasn’t the only one confused. Maybe Kang Yiwon needed time to think things through, too.

Still, they couldn’t just let this go on forever.

If Yiwon kept posting things like this, it was bound to make headlines. Should he contact Yiwon’s manager and ask them to stop him?

But then again, wasn’t that kind of ridiculous?

Telling his manager to stop Yiwon would be the same as admitting that Jewoo was the target of all these messages.

Sigh.

He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling. Then, he sent a message to Sihyeon.

“Have you seen Yiwon’s SNS? Tell him to stop posting stuff like that.”

Sihyeon’s reply came in less than a minute.

“Do it yourself.”

Not unexpected.

“It’d look weird if I stepped in.”

“So you’re using me as a stand-in?”

“I’ll buy you dinner when I’m back in Korea.”

“Dinner? That’s it?”

“What do you want, then?”

“I’ll think about it. Fine, I’ll talk to him for now.”

At least Sihyeon knew the situation, so Jewoo didn’t have to explain everything. But would Yiwon even listen?

Please, just stop drawing attention to yourself.

Jewoo didn’t want his actions affecting Yiwon’s career.

All the emotions he’d barely managed to suppress over the past few days started rising back up. He set his phone down and tried to focus on something else. But no matter what, thoughts of Yiwon wouldn’t leave his head.

Finally, he grabbed his wallet and phone and left his place. Maybe walking around would help clear his mind.

He strolled along the Seine, wandered through the Louvre, and by the time he looked up, the sun had set. The Eiffel Tower lit up, visible even from afar.

“Can you see it? The Eiffel Tower?”

Back when Yiwon was in Paris for a commercial shoot, he’d sent a photo of the Eiffel Tower.

Of course, it wasn’t just the Eiffel Tower. Yiwon was in the picture, too.

Whoever had taken the shot had framed it like a scene from a movie.

The wind tousled Yiwon’s hair, and he looked incredible. The Eiffel Tower behind him was just as breathtaking.

Underneath the photo, Yiwon had added a caption.

“It’d be nice to come see it together someday.”

At the time, Jewoo had taken it lightly—If I have time, why not?

Now… He wasn’t so sure.

Thinking his feelings might not just be friendship, he worried.

Would traveling together really be okay?

Still… at least once, someday, he wanted to see the Eiffel Tower with Yiwon.

Someday.