UNO
In this humid summer evening, Lisa's back actually felt slightly cold. She really wanted to hold Irene's hand, but she had reached her hand out only halfway when she suddenly realized that she had long already lost that kind of right.
And so the only thing she could do was slowly retract her hand.
The video on that laptop had long already finished playing, but the image of Irene falling in that pouring rain kept replaying itself before her eyes. Lisa wasn't able to describe what her heart was currently feeling. It was just as if something was quietly slipping through her fingers, and she didn't know exactly what it was she was about to lose.
After that, she was somewhat preoccupied, unable to concentrate on anything.
In contrast, Irene had actually hit it off with Jun Cotton. The two people engaged in a battle of words, and each would throw out a piercing line at the other from time to time, but neither of them would actually get angry, and in the end, they both actually started smiling.
Even Jun Cotton's smile carried with it some coldness as he said, "How about it? Is original visual Bae interested in this movie?"
"In all honestly, I'm probably more suited to playing an eye candy type of character." Irene also didn't mislead him and straight to the point. It wasn't as if Jun Cotton wouldn't be able to tell the state of her acting.
"I don't care if you're innately talented in acting, had to practice acting, or even if you absolutely can't act at all. The only thing I want is for you to act well in my movie." Director Kim simply raised a brow, lifting a finger to tap on the table.
"Director Kim believes in me this much?"
"You're wrong, I believe in my own insight." Jun Cotton simply and decisively settled that question. "Go back and give a good look over that script, and then get in touch with me."
That carelessly cheerful appearance as if nothing was wrong looked as if he was sure that Irene would definitely accept the role.
Although Lisa was sitting on the side, not saying a word, she still couldn't help but frown, really feeling as if she couldn't muster up any good feelings for this person.
Perhaps it was just that their temperaments were too different, but she felt that this Director Kim was far too arrogant, even making that trouble-making Yang PD look more likeable in comparison.
Fortunately, Jun Cotton still had plans for the night, so right as the sun set, he got up and left first.
"Are you really going to work together with Jun Cotton?" Lisa asked on the way home.
"He's quite an interesting person. If the script is written well, then I really do want to try it out."
Lisa opened her mouth but wasn't able to say anything. In terms of work, she had always given Irene the greatest amount of freedom, allowing Irene to decide whether or not to take the project, so right now she naturally couldn't find any reason to object. She somewhat regretted how much she had feigned generosity and consideration in the past.
When they had almost reached Irene's house, Lisa once again thought of that scene in the rain and, for whatever reason, ended up blurting out, "When did you shoot that scene?"
"Hm? What scene?"
"The one that Director Kim specifically played for us to watch."
"Oh, I don't remember." Irene was a bit sleepy and so answered without much thought, "Anyway, it was a couple months ago, right around when the movie was about to wrap up filming."
Irene had fallen in the middle of that ice-cold rain, struggling while she was beaten and battered, revealing that expression of despair... Jun Cotton had said that expression was able to touch people's hearts, and that was actually true; Lisa felt as if her own heart had been torn in two.
"Your acting has improved quite a bit."
Irene couldn't help but laugh.
"As if. I NG'd who-knew-how-many times while shooting that scene. The director also scolded me to death. And I didn't even sleep at all the night before..."
Only when she had said this much did Irene realize that she had revealed too many details and sharply turned her head to stare outside the window.
But Lisa had already grabbed onto the most important point and insisted on asking, "Why didn't you sleep that night?"
"It's nothing, I remembered wrong." Irene was still looking out the window.
However, this kind of reaction actually made people more suspicious.
Lisa's thoughts turned, and she suddenly remembered. A couple of months ago was also the night of PD Kim's wedding, and Irene did indeed stay with her for the night.
She had once imagined countless times how she'd make it past that night—perhaps she'd drown her sorrows in alcohol, perhaps she'd find solace in pleasure, perhaps...
She'd never anticipated that she would actually fall right to sleep with Irene by her side. And she had slept very peacefully and steadily, sleeping straight through until the next afternoon before she finally awoke.
She still remembered how Irene's fingers had touched the corners of her eyes, how gently the tone the other had used while whispering in her ear, time will prevail over everything. Every time she suffered an emotional pain and was in a hurry to assuage that suffering, Irene was practically always there by her side.
Lisa hadn't known that Irene had rushed to film a scene the next day.
And she hadn't known that Irene had repeatedly fallen into that ice-cold rainwater, single-mindedly waiting for that person who would definitely not appear.
...Until that deep-rooted love also completely wore away to nothing.
How could this be acting?
Lisa was more aware than anyone else that Irene was always stiff and unnatural when acting; the only one Irene knew how to act as was herself.
So what she saw in that video was the truest Irene.
Lisa's hands tightly gripped the steering wheel. Even upon arriving at Irene's house, she didn't realize it, continuing to drive forward. Although Irene's eyes were staring out the window, Irene also didn't say a word.
After an unknown amount of time, Irene finally opened her mouth to say, "We've reached my house."
Lisa said an 'ah' and, with much difficulty, found her voice again, abruptly asking, "As we are now, what kind of relationship do we have?"
Irene turned around, supporting her chin and smiling.
"If Miss Manoban doesn't think it's presumptuous of me, then I suppose we can be considered friends."
These words were said very sincerely and gently, and if she had heard it a few days ago, Lisa would have definitely been very satisfied. However, right now, she wasn't the least bit happy about it.
She thought that it must be because the weather was much too hot today.
Irene, however, didn't feel anything like that at all. When the car stopped, she opened the car door and got off, saying goodbye to Lisa just like an ordinary friend would, as if all the previous tender longing that used to be in her eyes were all a trick of the imagination.
Lisa didn't have any reason to keep her.
She remembered that, for these last several months, Irene always had this same attitude, and it was only now that she had realized it.
That afternoon many months ago, she had even been pining over another person in her dreams. And her heart had already become ashes.
Irene's figure walked further and further away, the night wind blew against her clothes, showing how this summer was just about over.
Lisa leaned against the seat to rest for a while, feeling a faint pain somewhere in her body but also not knowing where exactly the pain originated.
She thought that it definitely must have to do with her work being too busy and the pressure too great recently, to the point that she hadn't taken a break in these last several months.
That's right, tomorrow, she'd arrange for some time off for herself and then find some random place to travel.
Just like that day they separated, when Irene didn't even turn around while walking out that door, she had bought a ticket out of the country the very next day.
There had been nothing to fear. When she returned a few months later, everything had returned to normal.
She and Irene were still able to continue being friends...
Tsk, what goddamn friends!
Lisa clenched and unclenched her fists before she once again started the car. This time, she drove at lightning speed, but her heart remained a complete mess. Just like that, her driving suddenly turned aimless in this dark night.
In the end, she didn't return home to sleep until midnight.
▒ ▒ ▒
Of course, the next day, she didn't go through her plans of taking time off. Instead, she did some consecutive days of overtime at the office. She endured, and endured, and endured for an entire week before she finally went to Irene's restaurant on a certain evening.
She had used the excuse of eating a meal to go there, but when she asked the waiters, it turned out that Irene hadn't even gone in that day. She couldn't say if she was disappointed or relieved, only that she didn't have an appetite because the day was too hot, so she decided to choose a few random dishes just to get by.
But before she could even find a place to sit, she saw someone waving at her from afar.
"Miss Son?" Lisa immediately put forth a gentle smile and walked over in long strides. "You're also here to eat?"
Lawyer Son was sitting in a corner seat by the window and was wearing a black suit, clearly having just come from work.
"My boyfriend had to work overtime tonight and canceled our date on short notice. I originally came here looking for that stinky brat Irene, but who knew that she wouldn't even be here." After a pause, she asked, "How about you, Miss Manoban?"
"I'm also by myself."
"Then why don't we eat together? Then we could order a few more dishes." Lawyer Son was a naturally familiar person.
As she spoke, she handed over the menu.
"I'm very honored." Lisa naturally wouldn't refuse the lawyer's invitation and sat down in front of her with a smile.
The two people's tastes were both very conventional, and so they ordered a few of the restaurant's signature dishes.
After ordering, it didn't take the waiters very long to bring out the dishes.
"It's a pity that Irene has gotten lazy since becoming a boss. Recently, she hasn't been willing to cook at all for me."
Lisa put down her chopsticks and deliberately, "Miss Son, could I consult with you about something?"
"Go ahead." Lawyer Son waved a hand, asking in a very friendly manner, "What is it? Do you want to ask me some legal advice? A divorce settlement? Or an issue with your business? Seeing as how we're so close, I can give you a discount on consultation fees."
"I want to ask... how long have you and Irene known each other?"
"Ah?" Lawyer Son was clearly very disappointed with this trivial question, "Irene didn't mention it to you? We're old neighbors, and we grew up in the same building. We were trainees in her old agency but an accident in Daejeon had to stop me from being an idol."
"How was she in the past? Did she always have this kind of quiet personality?"
"Uh-huh, she's never liked talking since she was little. When everyone else was playing around outside, she'd hide in the room by herself to read. She's also loved cooking since very early on. I remember when I first ate her cooking, it was..."
Lawyer Son's disposition was the exact opposite of Irene's; the moment she started talking, she could talk non-stop, and Lisa listened with rapt attention.
In the past, she hadn't been concerned at all with Irene's history; after all, Irene was only a bed partner, so it was fine as long as the other made her happy in bed. But now she was actually sitting in a restaurant that Irene opened, talking to a woman she wasn't that familiar with about everything that had to do with that person.
Lisa didn't know what had possessed her, but so long as it was about Irene, even if it was the smallest things, she listened with deadly earnest.
"Whenever Irene did something, she always had a plan, and she was always very clear on her goals. I even thought that she'd definitely become a chef, but who knew that those things would happen..."
"What things?"
"Her dad's business failed, and they ended up owing a large sum of money. From then on, I never saw her family ever again. I heard they fled overseas to escape the collectors. Irene was the only one who remained behind, and she had to earn money to pay back the debt, so she definitely suffered a lot in that time. But she's always loved to pretend at bravery; she changed her address and phone number, and only when her situation got better did she get back in contact with all her old friends."
Lisa had been vaguely aware that Irene's dreams hadn't come true because of some unforeseen circumstances befalling her family, but it was only now that she learned the entire sequence of events. When she thought back to all the pain that Irene had suffered, she couldn't help but sigh.
"She's never mentioned any of this before."
Lawyer Son nodded, "She's always been this type of person. The more important something is, the more deeply she hides it, not letting anyone else know."
She thought for a moment and then added an example, "Just like how, when she eats, Irene looks like she'll eat everything and that she's not picky at all, but actually she loves to eat things she hates first, and she always saves the things she truly likes for last."
"Really?" Lisa often invited Irene out to eat, but she had never noticed this small detail.
"If you don't believe me, next time you should steal some of the food left on her plate, telling her you'll help her finish them, and see what kind of expression she makes."
Lisa felt like that was too foolish a thing to do, "Miss Son couldn't have actually done that, right?"
"Haha." Lawyer Son candidly laughed out loud. "I was also giving her a valuable lesson. If you don't hold tightly onto the things you love, then other people will quickly steal it from you."
When Lisa heard these words, she suddenly felt as if her heart had been stabbed, and right as she was about to say something, she saw Lawyer Son look outside the window and call out,
"Irene's finally returned."
Following the direction of her voice, she looked out the window at the flickering streetlights.
Wearing a simple white T-shirt, Irene had just gotten out of a luxury car and was currently saying her goodbyes to the Kim Jun Cotton sitting within.
If you don't hold tightly onto the things you love, then other people will quickly steal it from you.
Those words suddenly sprang to mind.
Lisa's heart thumped, and she once again felt that irritable feeling rise. She couldn't help but stare at the figure outside the window, expending a lot of effort in order to maintain the smile on her face.
Director Kim didn't stay for long. Separated by the car window, she said only a few words to Irene before calling for his chauffeur to drive away.
Irene stood outside for a moment before she pushed open the door to enter the restaurant.
"Stinky brat, why did you come back so late?" The moment they met, Lawyer Son opened her mouth to complain.
Irene first greeted Lisa and then said with a bitter laugh, "Young lady, I'm also very busy with work, so next time, remember to first schedule an appointment with me."
"Busy with work?" Lisa gave her a glance, "Regarding the matter of the film, the company can help you discuss it."
"Isn't having a good relationship with the director also one of the aspects of work?"
"It's rare to see you so earnest about a project."
Irene could hear the fight hidden in those words, but she still said, in as calm a tone as ever, "Yes, the movie this time is very interesting."
Was it the movie that's interesting? Or was it the director?
― 22 ―
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