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Chapter 22
“Not answering?”
“Sis. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you earlier. Director Park called the day we had that meeting and said he’d invest if we switched directors… I saw how excited you were after meeting him, so I didn’t want to disappoint you.”
Sarah, completely deflated, spilled out the words she had been holding back.
“Really? If you’d been honest and told me about him saying he’d invest if we replaced the director, I would’ve been disappointed. I had high hopes. But I still would’ve said it was fine. I kind of expected it anyway.”
“……”
“But Sarah. Do you know how I felt when I heard people saying, ‘Sarah Seo has been going around production companies with Director Choi’s script’?”
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, sis.”
“I felt miserable. Just like that guy who left earlier said—I felt like some incompetent director who ruins everything I touch.”
“No, that’s not true. You didn’t do anything wrong. I was selfish. I wanted to make a movie with you, so I pushed things my own way. Sis, I’m sorry. I’ll never do that again. I’m sorry, sis.”
At some point, Sarah’s cheeks had grown wet with tears.
She clutched Eun-young’s hand desperately, begging for forgiveness.
Eun-young shook her head and gently pulled her hand free.
“It’s because of me. If I hadn’t insisted on becoming a director when I wasn’t cut out for it, you wouldn’t have had to go through all this.”
“It’s not because of you, sis. Really.”
“If you had just told me in advance… No. Forget it. I’m sorry, Sarah.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“I should’ve cut ties with it earlier. It’s just a movie, after all.”
Her calm voice carried deep resignation and pain.
Sarah tried to say something, but the words came out garbled, even to herself.
Self-loathing and guilt surged up, suffocating her chest.
“Stop crying. Your eyes will swell.”
“……”
“I’ll call a taxi. No—better to call your manager.”
“I’m sorry, sis. I’m really sorry.”
When Sarah tried to cling to Eun-young’s clothes again, she stepped back.
At that moment, Sarah felt like her heart had fallen off a cliff.
The empty air in her hands choked her throat.
Eun-young let out a short sigh.
“Sorry, I have to go first. I’ve got something to do. Call Joo-young and go home, okay?”
“…Yeah. I’ll get home. Go on, sis.”
At that moment, Sarah was grateful she was an actress.
Because even with a shattered heart, she could wipe away her tears and smile as if nothing had happened.
Eun-young didn’t ask again. She simply turned her back and left the room.
Sarah clenched her fists.
Her nails dug into her palms, but there was no pain—no feeling at all.
Her head felt hollow.
And then—
― I never should’ve given birth to trash like you. Disgusting bug. Ugh, you’re repulsive! You should’ve died in the womb. Why did you crawl out just to torment me?! If only you didn’t exist. If only you didn’t!
“…Miss Ra. Miss Sarah Seo.”
“……”
“Finally, you look at me. Did something happen?”
She didn’t know how long she had been standing there.
Sarah blinked slowly. It took a long time to even recognize the person in front of her.
“Yoon Seung-tae?”
“What’s with your voice? And your eyes… you’ve been crying, haven’t you?”
“How did you know I was here?”
“Does that matter? This is one of the stores a friend of mine runs. I came for a meeting and heard you were here, so I thought I’d just stop by to say hi… but what happened?”
“Sorry, but… could you call me a taxi?”
Her voice cracked, dry as a desert.
Even saying that much drained her of all her strength.
Seung-tae silently looked at her for a while, then picked up her coat from the chair.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”
“…No. Just call me a taxi.”
“With that face, if you get in a taxi you’ll be all over the news tomorrow.”
“I don’t care.”
“You asked for a taxi instead of your manager because you didn’t want people to know, right?”
“……”
“I won’t ask you anything. Just get in my car.”
He’d seen right through her worry. Sarah reflexively looked up at him.
Seung-tae held out her coat.
“It’s cold out. If we go out the staff back door, nobody will notice.”
After a short hesitation, Sarah took the coat and put on her sunglasses.
She kept her head down and followed Seung-tae’s back.
Thankfully, they ran into few people on the way out.
The chilly night air scratched across her dried cheeks.
His car was parked nearby.
Once Sarah buckled her seatbelt, the car glided forward smoothly.
“You’re not asking for my address?”
“Don’t you remember? I sent a car to your apartment parking lot before.”
“Oh, right.”
She nodded vaguely.
After that, Seung-tae said nothing more and just drove.
Sarah sank deep into the seat, staring out the window. The warped city lights spilled across her hand.
Eun-young’s face flashed across them, then vanished without a trace.
Traffic was heavy during rush hour.
As they waited at a light, Seung-tae drummed the steering wheel with his fingers.
“Rockstar was good. You played the villain really well.”
“Yes.”
“What are you going to do after this drama ends? Got plans?”
“No.”
“Night of Wishes was good too, but a few years back, what was it called? Ah, Emergency Exit. That thriller. I liked that one better. If you did another one of those, it’d be—oh.”
Just hearing the word thriller—a genre that had nothing to do with Eun-young—was enough to make Sarah’s tears gush like a faucet.
Realizing too late, Seung-tae quickly handed her tissues.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“……W-what if?”
“What?”
“Wh-what if Eun-young unnie… what if she says she doesn’t want to see me anymore?”
“Who’s Eun-young unnie? Did you fight with her?”
“Hhhuuuhh… What if she says she can’t stand the sight of me? I… I…”
The sobs she’d been holding back exploded all at once.
Sarah suddenly cried loudly, and Seung-tae, flustered, just kept pulling tissues and handing them to her.
Soon, her lap was piled high with crumpled tissues.
“All done crying?”
“Snf… yeah.”
After letting it all out, her heart calmed and her mind cleared.
And then embarrassment hit—realizing who she had been crying in front of.
“You don’t need sunglasses anymore. With your eyes that swollen, nobody will recognize you as Sarah Seo.”
“They’re not that bad!”
When he teased her, Sarah hurriedly pulled down the sun visor to check her face.
It was, in fact, badly swollen.
She could already hear Mirae nagging her about it tomorrow.
Seung-tae spoke calmly, eyes on the road.
“I don’t know what happened, but…”
“……”
“…after some time passes, meet this Eun-young person again and talk. She sounds important to you. Whether it’s apologizing or asking for forgiveness.”
“And if she refuses to see me?”
“Then call her. Or text her. Or leave a letter at her door. There are plenty of ways. Why give up before you’ve even tried?”
Every word he said was right. Sarah could only move her lips, unable to argue.
Before she knew it, they’d reached her apartment parking lot.
When the engine cut off, silence filled the car.
Sarah turned to him.
“Thank you for driving me home today.”
She meant it.
If it weren’t for him, things would have been much worse. And he’d appeared at just the right time to help.
“If you’re thankful…”
Seung-tae smirked with one corner of his mouth and, without hesitation, pressed a finger to her forehead.
“Ah! What are you doing?”
“Go upstairs, clear your head, and sleep. Don’t waste energy fretting over what to do about that person.”
“……”
“After a good night’s rest, think it over with a clear mind. It won’t be too late.”
Sarah opened her mouth to say something.
But then Seung-tae suddenly leaned in closer—so close his face nearly brushed hers.
Their breaths mingled.
