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Chapter 8
“Ah, I can’t see anything!”
“N-noona!”
“Seriously, isn’t tinting your windows this dark illegal?”
“Noona, please! Please have some dignity!”
“Hey, that’s funny coming from you! Weren’t you the one who said there’s no one more carefree than me?”
“T-that’s…!”
“Whatever, just let go of me already! Why did you even get out of the car when I told you to stay inside? You’re in the way!”
At Ah-rin’s irritated outburst, Jin-su finally snapped back with a resentful tone of his own.
“How am I supposed to stay in the car when you’re acting like this?!”
“Forget it! Are you absolutely sure nobody got out of that car?”
“Yes! You saw it too, noona! That car came in after we did!”
“Then maybe you mistook CEO Joo’s car for another one?”
“I’m telling you, I didn’t! How many cars this expensive do you think there are?”
“Then why is nobody getting out?!”
“They will eventually! So please, just step away from the window!”
As their voices grew louder, Jin-su finally came to his senses and hurriedly glanced around the quiet parking lot.
After confirming there wasn’t another soul nearby, he grabbed Ah-rin’s arm again.
“Noona, I swear on my hairline! Nobody got out, so please just go back to the car—!”
“Is your hair really that unimportant to you?”
“Huh?”
“You swear on it every chance you get.”
“Noona!”
For a moment, Jin-su felt hurt that Ah-rin wasn’t taking him seriously. But that feeling vanished when he saw her pressed right up against the pitch-black tinted window, trying to peer inside.
He could practically hear Yoo-ra nagging him somewhere in the distance about maintaining a top actress’s dignity.
Meanwhile, Ah-rin shrugged off Jin-su’s grip and leaned even closer to the window.
If only I had x-ray vision right now…
The ridiculous thought crossed her mind just as the window slid down with a mechanical whir.
“What is it?”
A man with a sharp expression glared at her while holding a woman wearing a white baseball cap in his arms.
His voice was cold and edged with irritation, but his face was unbelievably handsome.
Ah-rin stared blankly at him for a moment, completely captivated by his striking features, before Jin-su jabbed her in the waist and snapped her back to reality.
“Ah, um… I didn’t mean anything by it.”
What was she supposed to do now?
The man clearly looked annoyed that she had interrupted time alone with his lover, and Ah-rin awkwardly tried to gauge his mood. But the more she looked at him, the more familiar his face seemed.
Where have I seen someone this handsome before…?
“Ah! Are you perhaps CEO Joo Tae-wook?”
That was it.
The moment she said his name, the memory came flooding back.
Years ago, at an awards ceremony, she’d briefly crossed paths with him and remembered wondering why a man with a face like that wasn’t a celebrity himself.
But despite the brightness in her voice, his expression didn’t soften in the slightest.
The furrowed brows, the absurdly handsome face, the indifferent gaze—
There was no mistake. This was definitely Tae-wook, CEO of JT Entertainment and Winter’s husband.
Ah-rin pulled off her cap and mask and flashed him a bright smile.
“Hello, CEO Joo. I’m Kim Ah-rin.”
The steady thump of his heartbeat echoed against her ear.
Neither too fast nor too slow—it was calm, grounding, almost soothing against her frayed nerves.
Before she even had time to process the unfamiliar warmth of being held in someone’s arms, his large hand spread across her back protectively.
Her face burned against the firm, broad plane of his chest.
Startled, she squirmed slightly in his embrace, and his lowered voice came from above her head.
“I’m opening the window.”
“…”
“Don’t look up.”
As if warning her in advance, he slowly rolled down the passenger-side window.
A cold winter wind swept in through the opening, brushing against her tense body.
She instinctively flinched from the sudden chill, and he immediately pulled her tighter against him.
His embrace felt broad and dependable enough to shield her from any storm.
Her cheeks heated again.
Pressed tightly against his solid chest while sensing unfamiliar people nearby, her heart started pounding wildly.
“What is it?”
His low voice rumbled above her head, carrying a hint of irritation.
Outside the car, startled voices answered him.
“Noona, I told you not to—!”
“Would you shut up for a second?! Ah, um… I didn’t mean anything by it. Ah! Are you perhaps CEO Joo Tae-wook?”
The woman’s tone suddenly brightened.
Thankfully, they didn’t seem to be paparazzi trying to take compromising photos like Tae-wook had feared.
The tension in Winter’s rigid body loosened slightly.
“Hello, CEO Joo. I’m Kim Ah-rin.”
“…”
“You probably don’t remember me, right? We met briefly at an awards ceremony a few years ago, and recently at the broadcasting station too…”
The woman’s voice sounded strangely familiar.
If she’d seen him at awards ceremonies and stations, she must be an actress.
“Only if you and your wife are okay with it… could I talk to unni for a moment?”
“…”
“I wanted to go to the funeral hall, but because of reporters I tried to avoid the crowds and ended up arriving too late.”
“…”
“When I got there, the funeral was already over.”
“…”
“I was worried about unni, so I came all the way here hoping to at least see her face. I’m sorry for startling you.”
As the woman calmly explained herself, another memory surfaced in Winter’s mind.
A woman in a gray hoodie and black cap at the funeral hall.
Was it her?
While she searched through the hazy memory, Tae-wook answered in a cold voice.
“If you press yourself against someone’s car window like that, anyone inside would be startled.”
“Ah… yes, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
“You say you came because you were worried about Winter, but your actions don’t show any consideration for her at all, Miss Kim Ah-rin.”
Winter stiffened at the way he casually used her name so intimately.
Unable to hide her surprise, she tried to look up at him, but he only pulled her tighter into his arms, blocking her view of his expression.
For some reason, her heart pounded even faster.
“Yes. That part was definitely my fault.”
“If you know it was wrong, then there’s nothing more to discuss. Please leave—”
Winter grabbed the hem of Tae-wook’s clothes before he could finish.
He stopped speaking and looked down at her.
“I’m okay.”
“…”
“She came all the way here. I don’t want to just send her away.”
“Han Gyeoul.”
“I want to talk to her. No… I’d like to. Could you give us a moment?”
She smiled as she spoke, but Tae-wook frowned in displeasure.
Pretending not to notice his expression, she gently pulled herself out of his embrace and looked toward the woman.
Long straight hair. Gray hoodie. Black cap.
The woman standing there, smiling at her, looked exactly like the one from her memory.
“I… I’m really sorry about today.”
“…”
“My noona may be impulsive, but she’s not usually this inconsiderate…!”
“…”
“She just really wanted to ask Han Gyeoul something today. I’m truly sorry!”
“You don’t need to apologize for her.”
“Huh?”
Even when Jin-su questioned him, Tae-wook gave no further response and simply turned his gaze back out the window.
After awkwardly opening and closing his mouth a few times, Jin-su eventually followed his line of sight.
Though Tae-wook had sharply criticized Ah-rin and him for being rude, he had still willingly offered his own car so Ah-rin and Winter could talk privately.
The problem was that Jin-su now had to sit inside Ah-rin’s van alone with Joo Tae-wook—CEO of JT Entertainment and Winter’s husband.
The tension was suffocating.
He’d met countless broadcasting producers and entertainment executives before, but this was the first man whose mere presence made him shrink into himself.
Desperate to ease the oppressive silence filling the car, Jin-su fumbled for the box of chocolates near the driver’s seat.
“Um… would you like some chocolate?”
Tae-wook, who had been sitting with one leg crossed while staring out the window, slowly turned his gaze toward him.
The moment their eyes met in the rearview mirror, Jin-su swallowed hard.
There was something unreadable in that gaze, and the pressure of it made breathing feel difficult.
After what felt like an eternity of silence, the man finally answered shortly.
“No, thank you.”
“Th-then maybe some candy…?”
Jin-su wanted to smack his own mouth shut.
How many disasters had this loose tongue of his caused already?
As he imagined physically punching himself for offering candy right after being rejected, he squeezed his eyes shut.
“I don’t really like sweets.”
A moment later, Tae-wook’s calm refusal made a deep sigh escape from Jin-su’s core.
Oddly enough, he didn’t feel offended or embarrassed.
If anything, it felt strange—but nice—that Tae-wook still spoke politely to someone as young and insignificant as him.
Glancing at him again through the rearview mirror, Jin-su saw Tae-wook’s attention had already returned to the car where Ah-rin and Winter were talking.
The entertainment industry was full of people who threw insults and treated others horribly.
So why did sitting beside this man—who was perfectly polite to him—feel even more suffocating than that?
As Jin-su quietly observed him, he concluded it was probably because of the overwhelming aura Tae-wook naturally carried.
The silence inside the van felt heavy enough to sink like a ship.
Clasping his hands tightly beneath the steering wheel, Jin-su prayed inwardly.
‘Noona, please hurry up and come back.’
Even if the heavens wouldn’t grant his wish, he desperately hoped Ah-rin would.
