LS Ch 86

“Hah! Are they playing with me or something?”

Jewoo’s mother practically threw her phone onto the bed. She had just seen Kang Yiwon’s SNS post celebrating Jewoo’s birthday, and Jewoo’s post thanking Yiwon for the coffee truck.

Her face contorted as she anxiously paced the room, biting her nails. She couldn’t forget how coldly Jewoo had dismissed her last night. Although they hadn’t been in contact for a while, she hadn’t expected him to push her away so harshly.

Still, I’m his mother. Jewoo had questioned her right to act like one, but she believed she had sacrificed a lot for him. If it weren’t for Jewoo, she might not have rushed into marriage, even with the scandal.

Because of Jewoo’s pregnancy, birth, and upbringing, the time when she should have shone the brightest had simply vanished. Therefore, Han Jewoo had an obligation to compensate her for her lost life. Was it so wrong to want him to fulfill the dreams she couldn’t? If Jewoo’s father, the agency’s CEO, had properly supported her after Jewoo’s birth, she wouldn’t have had to rely on him.

She had left home, but that was when Jewoo was in high school, old enough to take care of himself. Jewoo wasn’t a child who clung to his mother, demanding attention and things. When she announced she was leaving, no one tried to stop her. Neither Jewoo’s father nor Jewoo himself. They simply watched.

It was unfair that everyone blamed her. The breakdown of their marriage was clearly the fault of both parties. Yet, her husband refused her request for a divorce. He said she could live as she pleased, but he wouldn’t divorce her.

Pride, reputation. Those things always held her back. And yet, they all blamed her.

“Agh! This is so frustrating!”

Frustrated that Jewoo wasn’t complying with her wishes, she pounded the bed with a pillow. As she vented her anger, her hair, tied up in a bun, came loose. Then, her phone rang.

Sigh. She took a deep breath and picked up the phone, her eyes narrowing. It was a saved contact, but a number she hadn’t seen in years. She cleared her throat and pressed the answer button.

“Hello.”

She answered in a sweet voice. However, the other party remained silent.

“If you’re going to call, say something. You must have something to say.”

At her demanding tone, she heard a low sigh.

—I heard you’re in Jeju.

It seemed the report had reached him through Jiho.

“What does it matter where I am?”

She retorted curtly.

—Hanging around Jewoo won’t get you what you want. You don’t even know your own son’s personality. Jewoo won’t be swayed by you.

She pouted at the accusation.

Come back to Seoul. Come to the company as soon as you arrive. If you need money, I’ll take care of it.

He hung up abruptly after saying what he wanted to say. Looking at the call-end screen, she was so dumbfounded she almost cursed.

“He’s so frustrating.”

Grumbling, she picked up her bag. She decided to go to Seoul and meet him.

🎞️✮⋆˙

Thanks to Kang Yiwon, everyone on set learned about Jewoo’s birthday. Feeling it would be wrong to let it pass, the staff bought a large cake, sang happy birthday, and shared it with everyone.

“Do you need anything?”

Lee Jian, Jewoo’s co-star, asked. She played his lover in the drama, but in reality, she was three years older than him.

“It’s your birthday, we can’t just let it pass. I’ll buy you a belated birthday present.”

“It’s okay.”

Jewoo declined, saying there was no need for a gift, but she insisted she couldn’t ignore it now that she knew.

“I really don’t need anything.”

“I can’t let this go after having that coffee. Should I buy you clothes? Didn’t you say you liked that shirt we saw the other day?”

They had passed by a shopping mall during filming, and Jewoo had casually mentioned liking a shirt. Remembering this, she offered to buy it for him. Jewoo declined again, saying it was fine. It wasn’t something he desperately needed, and he could buy it himself if he wanted.

“Are you putting up a wall against me? That’s harsh.”

She playfully punched Jewoo’s shoulder. Although she played a very sweet and charming character in the drama, her real personality was quite straightforward. Aside from being older, she treated Jewoo like a close friend of the same gender.

“We’re supposed to be lovers right now, you know.”

She pulled Jewoo’s tie, closing the distance between them. She leaned in as if to kiss him, but her eyes were full of mischief. To the production crew watching, they just looked like a friendly, affectionate couple.

“You two might actually end up dating for real.”

The camera director joked.

“I wouldn’t mind.”

She replied casually.

“I politely decline.”

Jewoo gently removed her hand from his tie. She didn’t seem offended at all. Instead, she grinned mischievously and whispered to him.

“You have a boyfriend, don’t you?”

She asked quietly so others wouldn’t hear, and Jewoo just smiled. At his reaction, she narrowed her eyes and smiled back. She was the type who was easy to work with, friendly yet maintaining appropriate boundaries.

As Jewoo was about to laugh off her teasing, he felt a gaze and looked around. However, he couldn’t see any reporters or fans taking pictures. Was it my imagination? He tilted his head, and just then, the director called for the next take. Jian naturally linked arms with him. The easygoing demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by a sweetly smiling ‘actress.’ Jewoo chuckled at the swift transformation and stroked her hair.

He felt the gaze again. He looked around, but still couldn’t see anyone watching. He felt uneasy, wondering if it was his mother, but he couldn’t focus on it any longer as filming resumed.

🎞️✮⋆˙

After filming the same scene multiple times, Jewoo finally had a break and looked for Jiho.

“Did my mother come?”

He asked, bothered by the gaze he had felt at the beginning of filming. Jiho shook his head, saying he hadn’t seen her.

“She probably went back to Seoul.”

“Seoul? How do you know?”

“The CEO said he’d take care of it.”

Jewoo frowned at the mention of his father. He doubted his mother would comply so easily, but if his father was involved, he didn’t want to be caught in the middle. As long as she was gone from Jeju Island, that was enough.

“Why are you suddenly asking about your mother? Are you still bothered by her?”

“No. I felt like someone was watching me.”

“Ah…”

Jiho groaned as if he understood.

“What is it?”

When Jewoo asked what he knew, Jiho gestured towards a cafe across from the set. It was a two-story cafe with a rooftop terrace on the second floor. A lone figure stood there. Even with sunglasses and a cap, Jewoo recognized him instantly.

“Why is he there?”

He asked, pointing at Yiwon. Jiho shrugged.

“How would I know? I guess someone can’t wait patiently in a hotel room when they miss someone.”

“It’s cold, why is he outside…”

Even in Jeju, the winter wind near the sea was chilly. He wondered why Yiwon was standing outside when he could wait inside the cafe. Jiho gasped beside him. Jewoo turned to see him looking dumbfounded.

“That’s your first concern? Not the fact that he’s there at all?”

“Well…”

He didn’t think Yiwon would listen even if he told him not to. He couldn’t ask him to stay cooped up in the hotel room until filming ended, especially not now that he had come all the way to Jeju.

He had plenty of excuses, but he knew he’d only be met with disapproval, so he just swallowed his words and smiled sheepishly.

“Just live together, you two. Stop messing with people and just settle down already!”

Jiho exclaimed in frustration, not as his manager, but as a single person.

“One scene left, right?”

Jewoo asked about the day’s filming schedule, and Jiho checked his tablet and nodded.

“I hope it ends quickly without any NGs.”

He said, looking at Yiwon, and Jiho complained that it was sickeningly sweet.

“Tell him to go somewhere else instead of waiting there. He’s too noticeable.”

“So what? He sent the coffee truck, everyone knows he’s here in Jeju.”

When Jewoo replied that there was no need to hide it today, Jiho was speechless.

Jewoo waved at Yiwon, who seemed to be looking at him. As if he had indeed been watching, Yiwon waved back. A soft smile spread across Jewoo’s face.

“Skip the house hunting and just move into one of your places. Just do it somewhere out of my sight, please!”

Jiho’s exasperated cry, muffled so others wouldn’t hear, was carried away by the winter wind.