"Seo Haeyoung, you can go in now."
The assistant director wearing a headset gave her a signal. Haeyoung took a slow step forward.
Three large cameras captured her from afar, rolling backward in sync with her pace. For someone unfamiliar with filming, the setup might have felt overwhelming, but Haeyoung wasn't nervous.
Ahead of her stood an extravagant house, exactly where the AD had pointed. A yard decorated with soft lights and garlands, impossibly neat grass that looked almost artificial, and a picturesque red-brick home standing proudly in the center.
This is it.
Her stage.
The place where she would live a different life than the one she left behind.
Without hesitation, Haeyoung opened the door. A strong whiff of diffuser filled her nose first, followed by the sight of a fake wall set up along one side of the interior.
It looked like a simple mirror wall, but she knew dozens of cameras were operating behind it, ready to catch every flick of her hand, every twitch of her mouth, and spin it into a story to broadcast to the world.
Go on. Watch closely. Everything I do from now on.
Passing the entrance, she walked up the stairs slowly. Several people were already seated.
"Hello."
"Hello."
To the awkward greetings, Haeyoung replied with a bright smile.
"Is it okay if I sit in an empty seat?"
"Y-yes, over here…"
Haeyoung moved toward the empty spot, no, more precisely, the spot between Minji, whose eyes grew enormous with shock at the sight of her, and Seongjun, who sat next to Minji so naturally it was disgusting.
"I'm Seo Haeyoung. Nice to meet you."
She turned her head toward Seongjun. He stared at her, dumbfounded, disbelief written all over his face.
Haeyoung tilted her head slightly.
"Oh? Haven't we met somewhere before?"
With the kindest face she could muster, she lifted the corners of her lips. Seongjun only blinked, unable to agree or deny.
"Oh my, I guess not. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable. Sorry about that."
"N-no, it's fine…"
Leaving the bewildered Seongjun behind, Haeyoung turned to Minji. Minji, too, stared at her like she had just seen a ghost.
If you're already panicking this much, how are you going to survive? I've only just begun. Fix your expression.
❋ ❋ ❋
Tsss, The subway doors closed with a mechanical hiss, the train starting to move with a rumble.
Sitting down, Haeyoung anxiously fiddled with her phone throughout the ride.
[Haeyoung-ah, Seongjun said he'd be here at 11, right? He's not here yet… I think he's running late.]
She reread the message her mother sent minutes ago.
[Mom, please wait a little longer. He's probably driving. I'll call him again.]
After sending the reply, she tried calling Seongjun again. It was her fourteenth attempt.
Click.
Finally, the dial tone disappeared.
—"…What."
"Seongjun, why weren't you answering? Don't tell me you're still sleeping."
— …
"Seongjun? Hello?"
—"…Yeah."
His voice was thick with sleep. She could picture him perfectly, face buried in his pillow.
Haeyoung pressed her lips together.
"You can't still be sleeping. What about the appointment? You promised to take my mom to the hospital today."
—"Why are you nagging the moment I pick up?"
"Because the appointment time already passed… and you're still in bed…"
A person standing nearby glanced at her. Haeyoung grabbed her bag and quietly moved to a corner of the subway car.
—"Who said I'm sleeping? I'm up."
No one would believe that voice belonged to someone awake, but she let it slide. Seongjun had always been overly sensitive and irritable when it came to sleep.
Arguing over nothing would only keep her mother waiting longer.
"Okay. I'm sorry for snapping. Mom's still waiting. If you leave now, you might barely make it in time for her appointment. You know she'll have to wait forever if she misses this slot."
—"Haah…"
He didn't speak for a long moment.
Had he fallen asleep again?
Should she hurry him?
But if she pushed him, he'd get annoyed again.
Before she could decide, his voice returned.
—"Do I really have to go?"
"…What?"
—"She's not my mom. Why do I have to do your filial duties for you?"
"But…"
Her mom adored him.
It had already been six years since she started dating Seongjun. Over the years, her mother, Seongran, had grown to treat him like family.
'Seongjun-ah, don't skip meals just because things are tough. Tell me if you need anything. And Haeyoung, make sure he eats well.'
Even though she herself wasn't in good health, her mother always cooked food to send to him. Seongjun often asked for her braised short ribs with childish charm.
And yet now he was saying "She's not my mom"?
Even without all of that, if he wanted to refuse, he should've done so before she gave him the 200,000 won for gas money, which he accepted with a big grin, promising he'd take her.
"That's why I asked in advance. I have an important meeting today, I really can't go—"
—"That's your problem."
"…Okay. Then from now on, I'll handle it. Just… please, today. I don't have anyone else to ask."
—"No, it's not that. You just think I'm the easiest person to push around. You think I'm unemployed trash, right?"
"What? When did I ever say that? That's not—"
—"Of course it is. That's why you use me for errands."
"How am I using you? I know you practice your acting day and night. If this audition goes well, you'll debut soon. You're an amazing actor, I—"
—"Are you mocking me right now?"
"What?"
No matter what she said, he twisted it.
When did it start?
When did he stop listening to her words at face value?
Probably around the time she started working full-time, when he began comparing himself to her and feeling small.
Not that he was doing much to change his situation. After leaving the theater troupe four years ago, he barely attended auditions. When she suggested he try a part-time job, he snapped at her to shut up if she knew nothing.
Even his rent, Haeyoung was paying for that.
She didn't mind the money.
She only hated watching his time waste away.
"So… you're not going?"
—"Dunno. Minji asked me to replace a lightbulb for her today."
Her heart turned cold in an instant.
Minji again.
The oh-so-beautiful, oh-so-cute "ten-year best friend."
The constant source of trouble in their relationship.
"You're skipping the promise with me because of Minji?"
—"Did I say that? I said I'll go."
"…Thank you. After you hang up, leave right away, okay? You'll be late otherwise. Call my mom as soon as you—"
"For f***'s sake, I said I got it. Bye."
The call cut off abruptly.
Haeyoung stared blankly at her screen.
When did we end up like this?
Me, tiptoeing.
Him, snapping.
It wasn't like this in the beginning.
Her mouth tasted bitter. She erased the feeling.
He was stressed, preparing for auditions was hard. Once things worked out for him, he'd return to the sweet, gentle man he used to be.
They'd dated too long to give up now.
He even said they'd get married once he found stability.
[Seongjun, thank you. I'm sorry for getting upset when I was the one asking for a favor.]
She sent the message. Her whole body suddenly felt drained.
He'll go to the hospital, right? Yes. I should trust him.
Just then, her station flashed on the display.
Believing in Seongjun, Haeyoung stepped off the train.
❋ ❋ ❋
The hectic morning flew by. After finishing her meeting and stepping out of the conference room, her phone buzzed.
[Mom]
Just two letters.
But something about it felt ominous.
—"Is this Ms. Seo Haeyoung?"
A low, slow male voice came through.
—"Your mother was found collapsed on the street. We brought her to the ER. We need a guardian's consent before continuing with tests. Please come to S Hospital immediately."
Collapsed?
On the street?
Everything after that became a blur.
She ran out, hailed a taxi, and kept running even after arriving, breath burning in her lungs, until she reached the emergency room.
A man in a suit stood by her mother's bed. He rose when he saw her, but she didn't have the presence of mind to thank him.
All she could see was her mother, pale as a corpse, lying motionless with a ventilator attached.
"Is… is she okay?"
"It looks like she rolled down a slope. We brought her here right away, but the bleeding in her brain is already significant. They'll have to monitor her closely."
He continued speaking, but every word was a death sentence.
Her mother was taken away for more tests. Her limp body was wheeled off, looking frighteningly lifeless.
The examinations went on and on.
She was moved to the ICU.
The doctor warned that the worst outcome was possible.
Haeyoung's mind emptied.
She collapsed onto the cold hallway floor. The sharp smell of disinfectant filled her lungs as people walked past, glancing briefly at her grief-stricken form before looking away.
With trembling fingers, she called Seongjun.
The dial tone stretched on painfully.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
When the automated voice told her the call couldn't be completed, she lowered the phone.
A message arrived.
From him.
[I can't take calls right now.]
[Where are you.]
Her hands shook so badly she kept making typos. It took forever to send.
Maybe it was better he didn't call.
She wouldn't be able to force a single syllable out of her throat anyway.
[At home.]
[What about the hospital?]
[I called. Your mom said she'd go alone. Let her handle it herself. She needs to learn to be independent. You're overreacting.]
Overreacting?
If she hadn't "overreacted," her mother wouldn't have waited for him for so long.
She had tried to grab a taxi by herself, even though climbing stairs made her groan these days.
And now, because of his negligence, her mother was lying in the ICU.
Her hands and feet went numb.
Cold.
So cold it felt like they didn't belong to her anymore.
Like she was wearing someone else's plastic limbs.
(End of Chapter 1)
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— Translated by Prime Works —