SRP 13

Chapter 13

Inside the elevator heading down to the first floor, Bom sighed as she looked at her phone.

[Lee Bom! You have to come to the get-together! We want to see Geon too!]
[Are you seriously dating him? Then why haven’t you introduced him to us?]
[When are we meeting? When does Geon have time?]

They were messages from middle school friends, people she’d trained with as a trainee, and acquaintances she wasn’t even sure how she still had the contact info for.

When the scandal first broke, they’d sent her article links and treated it like an amusing incident, not believing it even after Geon acknowledged the relationship.

Even to them, it had seemed like an impossible pairing.

But once a video was uploaded to Geon’s channel, they started to believe it.

“He really is good at acting.”

She’d met him when they were idol trainees and had assumed he dreamed of becoming a singer too.

If he’d spent the time he used for trainee life on acting instead, wouldn’t his debut have come even faster?

Even back then, Geon worked hard and enjoyed himself, but he never felt like someone who would stay in a small agency.

Even while saying the company was already preparing his debut, he was receiving business cards from other agencies.

So Bom had once wondered whether he was staying put because he was dating her.

In the end, that was why she—of all people—had dumped Go Geon first.

Maybe because of that past, even though she knew it was all fake, watching him act as her lover made her feel suffocated.

Does he really like me?

“Hey, what am I thinking.”

That could never be the case.

She’d said those words herself—there was no way he still had feelings.

‘We both know it. At our age, dating is just a nice memory. Did you really think we’d keep dating and get married like this?’
‘I don’t want to be tied down by someone like you, Geon.’

She’d broken up with him so harshly.

Even if some feelings resurfaced, thinking about the past would kill them again.

So it must be that Geon was just that good at acting.

As she neared the meeting spot, her phone vibrated when she came up out of the subway exit.

It was Geon.

The name she’d saved him under, just in case someone saw, was “My Actor Go Geon♥.”

Geon had insisted very strongly that it had to be that way.

On Geon’s phone, Bom was saved as “my lovely spring.”

She wanted to change it, but it was tolerable.

After all, she wasn’t the one who had to see it.

“Yes, I’m almost there.”

—Stay where you are. Nine o’clock direction.

Nine o’clock? Ninety degrees to the left?

She turned her head while holding her phone, and Geon’s face was right there.

So close their breaths almost touched.

He’d pulled his black mask down to his chin and was looking down at her with smiling eyes.

His face filled her vision, and for a moment Bom forgot how to speak.

“Uh… the meeting spot isn’t here, though.”

“I wanted to see you even a little sooner.”

She’d told him several times there was no need to stay in character when it wasn’t filming and they were alone.

“Ah, hyung! You can’t run over like that. Pull your mask up. People are watching.”

Geon’s manager, Gi-woong, who came running up late, greeted Bom.

“Hello, Bom-ssi.”

“Hello.”

Gi-woong led them to a van parked nearby and handed Bom a clip-on action camera.

They were going to film today’s date.

The response to the YouTube video had been explosive.

The creative team had strongly requested that they film real date scenes and audio.

They’d promised not to interfere with the date and that there would be no filming crew attached, so she’d agreed.

“It’s a small action cam—do you have a place you can clip it on?”

“Oh, this is how we’re filming? It’ll pick up all the noise.”

Bom happened to be wearing a shirt. She clipped the body cam between the lapels.

Having worked as a manager, Bom knew a few of the action cams used by filming crews.

“Isn’t the image quality bad on this? It’ll shake a lot, and the angle won’t be great.”

“They said not to worry about the visuals. They like it rough—said it feels more raw. I don’t know what the creative team is thinking.”

She could vaguely guess.

It felt like part of a virtual-lover roleplay concept.

“Just act naturally and ignore the camera. Hyung has a recorder on him, and even if his face isn’t on camera, they just want it to feel like a natural date.”

Gi-woong pulled up a map on his phone and explained the date course.

Beside him, Geon stood with his arms crossed, watching with an unhappy expression.

“Walk along the fortress path, enjoy the night view, then come down for dinner and drinks. After that, walk her home, and hyung goes to his shoot. I sent the good restaurants to you.”

“Geon has another schedule?”

“Yes, a studio shoot. The drama release is coming up, so today’s the only day he has time.”

“Then you’ll have to wait until the date’s over, Gi-woong.”

Working as Myeongjo’s manager had made waiting feel natural, but it still made her uncomfortable knowing someone was doing that because of her.

“He gave me a card and told me to eat beef while waiting.”

“Yes! Don’t worry about me at all. I’ll be enjoying myself.”

Ah, lucky.

I’m hungry too.

Gi-woong drove off cheerfully.

Once the noisy explanations were gone and she was left alone with Geon, things suddenly felt awkward.

How should she start?

The people hurrying along the street still hadn’t noticed them.

When she turned her head, she met Geon’s eyes. His smiling gaze made her body heat rise.

“Hand.”

Ugh… it’s still awkward.

When she held her hand out, he snatched it, squeezed tightly, then adjusted his grip.

After rush hour, the sky had grown dim, and streetlights shimmered in various colors.

The street was crowded with people out enjoying evening dates, heading home from work, or just starting their shifts.

Among them, Geon and Bom walked hand in hand.

Like an ordinary couple.

He wore a bucket hat and a black mask to hide his face, but his presence couldn’t be concealed.

Even without seeing his sharp jawline or nose, people sensed something different and glanced back at him as they passed.

Bom straightened her shoulders, fighting the urge to shrink back.

Filming had already begun.

“You haven’t had dinner yet, right? You must be hungry.”

She was hungry, but the places they passed were packed. She remembered what happened on their first date when Geon pulled his mask down inside a restaurant.

“Let’s eat after we see the night view. It’s dinner time, so everywhere’s crowded.”

Gi-woong had said to eat after the view. She tried to say it naturally, as if it were her own idea.

Actors really are amazing!

“But I’m hungry.”

“Should we buy a snack and eat it on the way up? Are you done with your schedule today?”

“No, I have a studio shoot tonight.”

With the drama about to be released, he was busy—and he’d be even busier once it aired.

When that time came, these inconvenient dates would probably become fewer.

“That sounds tough.”

“Are you worried about oppa?”

Op—pa.

He just called himself oppa!!

Ugh… we’re filming, Bom. Hold it together. Other people are going to watch this.

“O-of course.”

“Want some twisted doughnuts?”

Geon pointed to a shop where a few people were lined up for kkwabaegi.

“Aren’t you watching your weight? You said you’re filming tonight.”

“I’ll use you as my excuse.”

So he wanted to eat.

Bom glanced at the camera clipped between her lapels. Would holding and eating a doughnut block the shot?

“It’s fine. If you eat deliciously, you won’t gain weight. And you’re too skinny right now.”

In other words, don’t worry about the camera.

She took the doughnut he bought. The warm scent of fried dough made her mouth water.

Whatever. The editor will figure it out.

She took a bite, and sweet sugar spread as oil and chewy dough mixed together.

Before she realized it, she’d finished one. When her hand was empty, Geon offered her another.

Even then, he didn’t let go of her hand.

Like other couples, they climbed the fortress trail together.

Small houses along the path glowed with warm lights, adding to the atmosphere.

Even before reaching the night view, Bom was completely absorbed in the mood of a nighttime walk.

She’d been to many places thanks to managing Myeongjo, who appeared more on variety shows than serious dramas, but this was by far the best.

“I get why people come here on dates. The atmosphere’s really nice.”

“First time here?”

“I never had a reason to come. Have you been here before, Geon?”

“For interviews. The night view up top is worth seeing. It feels different from an observation deck.”

His words made her look forward to it.

Then she heard a voice—quiet, but clear.

“Hey… isn’t that Go Geon?”

“What? Why would Go Geon be here?”