Chapter 347 Extra (2)
“Wow, is this the office-tel where you live? You live here all alone in such a spacious place?”
Back in her first year of high school. Lee Soo-rim was still continuing her plot for the novel.
Soo-rim had come to visit Park Si-hu’s office-tel.
As soon as she walked through the front door, she was struck by the openness of the space.
It was hard to believe a high school student lived here. With multiple levels and three rooms, it was a brand new-style residential office-tel.
“Wow, what’s this? You have a puppy? Oh, and a cat too? Wait a sec… there’s a parrot? I feel like there’s even more in that room over there!”
Soo-rim was wide-eyed like a kid visiting a zoo, amazed by all the animals in the house.
There were not just mammals like dogs and cats, but also birds, and even reptiles…
Si-hu had a variety of animals living in his home.
“All of these are yours? How do you feed them when you’re so busy?”
“…The lady does it. I pay her extra for it.”
“Since there are so many kinds, the feeding and care methods must be different, right? Wow, working at your place must be super tough.”
“…”
Soo-rim stared blankly at Si-hu.
Si-hu let out a sigh, feeling slightly distressed that such a pathetic face had entered his territory, but he set down his bag first.
“I told you, it’s just for 2 hours. After that, I have to go to acting academy, so no more.”
“I know that. How many times do I have to say it? Anyway, I have to rush to my academy in 2 hours too.”
“You attend an academy?”
“What, did you not know that until now? What kind of friend doesn’t know anything about their buddy? Korean, English, Math… I’m enrolled in all of them.”
Si-hu seemed somewhat shocked enough to overlook the word “friend” in Soo-rim’s comment.
“…You go to so many academies and still had those grades?”
“…This jerk?”
Soo-rim pretended to be momentarily flustered but then remarked that not everyone could be as smart as Si-hu.
“If I could memorize everything completely like you after seeing it just a few times, my grades would have been great. What can I do if I was born with a naturally dull brain?”
“……”
When it came time to study, Si-hu made sure to do both previewing and reviewing, forcing concepts and formulas he’d memorized into his brain over and over again.
Si-hu was forcibly sticking her in.
For that reason, Su-rim’s words sounded absurd, but he decided not to respond because he was too annoyed.
What was bothering him more than those words was—
“…Ha.”
The very existence of Lee Soo-rim.
She kept making noise about coming over, and while he did bring her along, Si-hu wasn’t pleased with the situation.
He had piles of studying and acting to do, yet he had to spend two whole hours in this pointless situation with Su-rim.
“Don’t bother the animals, and don’t touch them. Some may be vigilant if a stranger comes.”
“Well, you can touch dogs or cats a bit….”
“The moment you do, I’ll kick you out.”
“You’re really uptight about this. Are you some kind of animal lover? Fine, I’m hungry, let’s order food. I want chicken.”
“……”
Si-hu genuinely thought about punching Su-rim as he watched her casually open the delivery app on her phone, but he concluded that eating at least would be a way to save time.
“Alright… it’s already a wasted two hours anyway. Might as well eat.”
“What did you say?”
“Let’s hurry up and order.”
“Then give me your address. I have a discount coupon, so I’ll order with mine.”
Si-hu hesitated to share his home address, but there was no reason not to tell someone who had already found her way to the yard.
As Su-rim tapped away at her phone to enter the address and find the chicken shop, Si-hu’s phone rang.
“I’ll take this call. You can order the chicken.”
“Why are you going out to answer? You can answer here.”
“…There are reasons for such things.”
“Alright, I got it. Go take it, I’ll order it.”
Si-hu closed the door, leaving Su-rim alone in the room and stepped into the living room. Looking at the vibrating phone screen, it read ‘Chairman.’
“Yes, Chairman. Ah, I see. You’ve checked the report card. No, you flatter me. As promised…”
While continuing his call with Bae Cheol-man, it felt more like reporting than catching up.
They verified grades, provided feedback, and discussed the progress of his acting.
Despite expressing affection for Si-hu in front of the media, Bae Cheol-man saw Si-hu as a business venture.
For him, business was conducted with emotions kept strictly out of it.
“…Yes, then I’ll contact you again later.”
After finishing the call with Bae Cheol-man, Si-hu remained still for a moment.
With his eyes closed, he cleared his mind. But even that was just for a short time.
Si-hu soon opened his eyes again, continuously activating his knowledge about his busy schedule, studies, and acting.
Although he judged that the two hours spent with Su-rim earlier were pointless, that was only his viewpoint.
Even while chatting with Su-rim, one side of his brain was intermittently chewing on learning and planning his schedule.
Park Si-hu, who fiercely lived by saving time at every turn.
That was him, struggling to climb the social ladder since his school days.
‘…It’s unusually quiet.’
Feeling an inexplicable sense of unease from Su-rim being quiet in the room.
I had to go check and see if I wasn’t just making a fool of myself or if I was bothering the puppy in the room.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw…
“What are you doing in front of the computer?”
Soo-rim was sitting in the chair, rummaging through the computer.
I had a feeling it was too quiet, and it turns out she was up to this.
“Seriously, how can you live such a boring life? Don’t you even have a game installed on your computer?”
For some reason, the one who should be getting angry was Si-hu, but instead, Soo-rim snapped at him in disbelief.
Soo-rim quickly opened a web portal and started rifling through his search history.
“Look at this search history. It’s all about studying or acting. Are you trying to give yourself an early death? Be careful.”
“…”
“I thought maybe there’d be something fun to find, but I got bored looking for it.”
“Are you crazy?”
It was rare for Si-hu to use rough language, but the words just slipped out.
However, Soo-rim, unfazed, turned her chair around and asked Si-hu.
“Si-hu, do you even like girls? You live so tightly wound that… have you forgotten all about instincts?”
“…Shut up and turn off the computer.”
“No, I’m really curious. Are you interested in the opposite sex or not? You don’t seem to like the same sex either… So, you just don’t find people particularly interesting?”
“……”
Si-hu looked into Soo-rim’s eyes.
Their relationship wasn’t very long, but he could tell she’d stick to him like a leech if he didn’t answer.
If that was the case, it would be better to just give her the answer quickly and move on.
That was the coping strategy Si-hu had recently picked up for dealing with Soo-rim.
“I’ve never really felt like I liked someone.”
“Wow, really?”
“But, even if I wouldn’t say I love someone, there were certain common traits among the people I’ve felt some interest in.”
“Oh? What is it? Tall people? Pretty faces? Or maybe really nice personalities? Hey, this just got interesting!”
Soo-rim looked excited, as if she never expected Si-hu to share anything personal about his feelings for the opposite sex.
Although uncomfortable with her reaction, Si-hu took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking again.
“Someone different from me.”
“Different from you?”
“Someone who can wrap around my sharp personality. I think I feel okay about those kinds of people.”
“Oh, so it’s all about the personality, huh? Someone different from you… Hmm.”
Soo-rim pondered Si-hu’s words, spouting off various ideas that came to mind.
“Well… definitely nice is a must, they should be kind… they should speak nicely… can’t lie well, and should be somewhat emotional… is that what you’re saying?”
Hearing Soo-rim’s list, it strangely sounded like she was indirectly mocking him, but Si-hu just shrugged and acknowledged it.
“I don’t think it’s entirely wrong?”
“Is that so… um…”
When Si-hu showed a positive reaction, Soo-rim tilted her body and started pondering again.
This time, I found myself pondering while tilting my body.
A woman who is quite familiar to Su-rim… and yet always occupies a corner of my memory.
“Ah! I got it for sure.”
Su-rim recalled a character she was conceptualizing for her novel. As the image formed, I felt I could clearly understand Si-hu’s preferences.
“So, Si-hu, you like someone like Alicia, huh?”
*
“…….”
I woke up.
The morning sunlight streaming through the window automatically opened my eyelids.
“Are you awake?”
The woman lying in the same bed spoke. Her voice, full of affection, tickled my ears.
Looking at her, a woman so beautiful it seemed like a god had sculpted her, I felt an illusion of re-entering a dream despite having clearly opened my eyes.
“You must have slept well. You look good today.”
Her blue eyes were fixed solely on me. Since it was morning, her hair, slightly tousled, flowed down along her body lines as she lay sideways.
Even though she wasn’t young anymore, she still seemed untouched by time.
Her snow-white skin and girlish voice remained unchanged from when I first saw her.
As I quietly blinked, the corners of her pale pink lips rose cheerfully.
“Did you sleep well, Si-hu?”
She gave me her morning greeting.
For a moment, I was confused about whether it was a dream, but it felt just like any other day in my life.
I nodded, my face half-buried in the pillow, and replied.
“Did Alicia sleep well too?”
“Yes, I did. Ever since living here with you, I feel like I always sleep deeply.”
I wondered what was so enjoyable that Alicia’s smiling demeanor never faded.
It is sometimes surprising that someone could care for me so much.
“Si-hu, do you really like me that much?”
“Hmm? Why?”
“You keep looking at me and smiling.”
…Oh dear.
It seems the blooming smiles aren’t just hers.
Feeling a bit shy even after saying it, Alicia chuckled softly, bowing her head.
I stretched out my slender hands and gently patted the two little lives that were sleeping peacefully between us.
“Children are truly amazing. They seem to grow bigger every morning when I wake up.”
“Do you really know that?”
“Of course, they are the three I love most in the world, so I can’t take my eyes off them!”
It seems that the two little ones and I occupy the top three beloved spots in Alicia’s heart.
Alicia carefully shifted her body so as not to wake the children and kissed each of their foreheads.
Immediately, the children’s brows twitched slightly at the sensation.
Seeing their reaction, Alicia chuckled again.
“Today, I think I’ll be a bit lazy. Si-hu, will you stay with me until the kids wake up?”
At her request, I nodded with a slight smile.
Today, two guests are supposed to come over…
Well, a little time in the morning wouldn’t hurt, right?
