episode_0082

“Excuse me, are you okay?!”

There is no answer to my calls.

All I can hear is the humming of an air conditioner on one side.

Thinking something was wrong, I approached the fallen Cha Seon-yeong.

“Wake up!”

“Ugh… .”

Fortunately, he was still breathing, but that alone was not enough to give him peace of mind.

Not only was my breathing rough, but I was also sweating cold all over my body even though I wasn’t hot at all.

The moment I took my phone out of my pocket to call an ambulance, I heard the voice of the goddess.

[You don’t have to do that. First, put Seonyeong on the bed…]

—

‘Are you suffering from air conditioning sickness?’

As I asked myself, the goddess answered.

[Yes. It’s not a serious illness, but I asked Do-hyeon for help because I thought it would be dangerous if Seon-yeong, who had lost consciousness, was left alone on the floor.]

‘ah….’

I turned my head and looked at Cha Seon-yeong.

She was moved to the bed and was sleeping with a more peaceful face than on the floor.

‘If you needed someone to take care of her, wouldn’t it have been better to bring Zia? She would have welcomed Zia more, too.’

[No. The person who can truly help Seonyeong right now is Dohyun.]

‘Me?’

I don’t quite understand.

Wouldn’t it be happier to be taken care of by your daughter, who you haven’t seen in decades, rather than by yourself?

[I have something important to do, so I think I have to take my leave now. I apologize for inviting you so suddenly, but I ask that you take good care of Seonyeong.]

‘It’s okay. Don’t worry and go to work.’

Anyway, Cha Seon-yeong is going to be my future mother-in-law, so I can’t say that she has nothing to do with me.

Since you’ve come this far, you should stay until you come to your senses.

I couldn’t hear anything as the goddess left, so I searched for air conditioning disease on my phone.

…turn off the air conditioner and ventilate?

After doing as the internet told me to do, I sat back down on the chair next to the bed.

Cha Seon-yeong is still asleep.

I don’t think air conditioning sickness is that serious, but judging by the fact that he lost consciousness, he must have had it badly.

By the way.

…what are those clothes?

Cha Seon-yeong was wearing animal pajamas when she was lying on the floor.

Judging by the overall color and the design of the hood on its head, it appears to be a squirrel.

It was a cute outfit that didn’t match her usual cold image.

…Do you like unexpectedly cute things?

That thought lasted for a moment, before I noticed the beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

… isn’t it bad if your body temperature rises too much?

Don’t they often say that people with a fever shouldn’t enter the sauna?

I reached out, thinking that I should at least take off those thick animal pajamas.

“Ugh… .”

“Huh? Are you okay?”

“Why are you here… .”

“The goddess suddenly brought me here. She said she was in danger and asked for help.”

“I see… . Ahh!”

As soon as he answered weakly, he pressed his forehead with the palm of his hand as if he was overcome by a headache.

“Do you have a headache? The goddess said it’s air conditioning sickness.”

“Air-conditioning sickness? Come to think of it… I haven’t been feeling well since I was on set today. I told them several times to turn off the air conditioner because it was cold.”

She asked, mumbling.

“But why is it so hot now? Did you turn off the air conditioner? I’m going to die from the heat at this rate… .”

“I turned it off because I collapsed from air conditioning sickness. And if you wear clothes like that, you’ll probably be hot even if you turn on the air conditioning.”

“What? … Ah!”

Cha Seon-yeong’s face turned red as she looked down at her body.

“Hey, go out for a minute so I can change. Ouch! ”

He tries to force himself up, but lies back down in pain.

“Ah, my whole body aches… . I feel like I got hit with a club.”

“Try it. I’ll help you.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of it, so go out. Aww! ”

“You two did it anyway, so why are you embarrassed?”

Unlike the bashful opponent, he calmly changed the animal pajamas into ordinary thin clothes.

Cha Seon-yeong, who had been groaning in pain the whole time she was changing, was frowning even while lying down.

“I thought I was going to die from the heat.”

“Then why are you wearing those pajamas?”

“… Jia bought me those clothes.”

“Jia? But it’s not something you’d wear in the middle of summer. Jia said to wear it?”

“That’s not it… My daughter bought it for me, so I want to keep wearing it. If it’s hot, I can just turn on the air conditioner.”

At one point, he said he would cut ties with his daughter for the rest of his life, but then he became a completely different person.

Anyway, I guess I know what happened.

I already had air conditioning sickness on set, and I think my symptoms got worse because I turned on the air conditioner at home to wear those thick pajamas.

“If you’re not feeling well, who should you call?”

“There’s no one to call.”

“There’s Jia, right?”

“… I feel bad for asking you for help after not being a mother for twenty years.”

It’s ambiguous, both understandable and not.

“Call a friend or another acquaintance.”

“I haven’t had a single friend since I became a Jia. My only acquaintances are people related to work, so there’s no point in contacting them.”

“Ah… .”

I’ve been without any friends for over twenty years.

“What do you do when you rest at home?”

There was a reason for asking this question.

As expected of a popular celebrity, the house was very spacious and only expensive home appliances and furniture were available, but there was absolutely nothing in sight that could relieve boredom.

It felt like they only had the necessities for daily life, without even a single computer or laptop.

“Just watch TV or memorize the script.”

“… Aren’t you lonely?”

Cha Seon-yeong answered while turning her head to the opposite side.

“… I’m lonely. But what can I do? I’m the type of person who builds walls around other people. ”

A deep sense of resignation is heard in the voice coming from the back of my head.

My heart ached as I imagined Cha Seon-yeong lying alone on the large bed in an empty house, absentmindedly watching TV.

Without anyone to comfort her, she must have suffered from loneliness and bad memories of her father.

Previously, when he used to curse at his own daughter, he only saw Cha Seon-yeong as a bad person, but now that he has reconciled with his daughter, he feels even more sorry for her.

“… Sorry, I need to sleep.”

“Yes. I’ll be here until you feel better, so let me know if you need anything.”

Ji-ah and Ha-eun lied about going to see their families over the weekend and stayed by Cha Seon-yeong’s side.

She was seriously ill with air conditioning sickness and couldn’t sleep well because of the pain all over her body and coughing, so I had to bring her water or go out and buy some painkillers.

The next day, Saturday morning.

I brought the porridge I had delivered to the bed.

I ordered this because Cha Seon-yeong said she had indigestion.

“Sit down, I’ll feed you.”

“Okay, I’ll eat it… Ugh!”

“How are you going to eat when you can’t even move your arms properly?”

I sat her down and blew on the porridge I was spooning for her.

Cha Seon-yeong felt embarrassed, but she couldn’t overcome her hunger, so she reluctantly accepted the food and ate it.

After eating everything, I filled my stomach with the porridge I also ordered.

When the cleaned dishes were placed on the tray, Cha Seon-yeong, who had been quiet, spoke.

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“How can you leave a sick person alone? He has no friends and no one to call.”

“… .”

“Do you need anything else?”

“No. I just want to sleep.”

“Just a moment. I’ll pour you some water, so take your medicine and go to sleep.”

“… Okay.”

—

“Umm… ”

I dozed off for a moment and then came to my senses.

When I raised my upper body from the bed I was lying on, I saw Cha Seon-yeong lying with her eyes open.

“How about it?”

“I feel much better. I still feel heavy, but I don’t feel sick. Thank you.”

Still, it was worth the hard work of caring for her from the Friday night when I found her collapsed until now on Sunday afternoon, as I am glad that she has improved.

“That’s good. Just in case, I’ll rest more.”

“Okay. I want to repay you, but if you need anything, just let me know. I’ll buy it for you.”

“I don’t really need anything, so just get along well with Jia. Don’t you need anything else besides me?”

“What do you need?”

“Would you like some water?”

“… .”

She suddenly becomes silent and lost in thought.

As I waited quietly without knowing what was going on, my closed lips began to move.

“You know, I’ll come back when I’m completely better, right?”

“Should I do that?”

“Then before you go… hug me.”

“Huh?”

I looked at her at the unexpected words, but her expression was earnest as if she was not joking.

“I know this will be difficult for you. That’s why I’ve been holding back from contacting you… . But this is the first time since I was little that I’ve been cared for by someone like this… .”

Cha Seon-yeong, whose words were trailing off, pleaded with her eyes this time.

She had asked for sex a few times before, but never with such intensity as now.

“It’s okay if we just fight once and it’s over… I want to feel a little more like I’m not alone… .”

I was in trouble.

Until I lost contact with her, I thought I would never have to worry about this problem again.

He also became conflicted between his conscience as Ji-ah’s lover and his sympathy for Cha Seon-yeong.

But maybe it was because I heard that Cha Seon-yeong had been living alone for a long time.

Or maybe it’s because the look in her eyes that reaches me right now looks so pitiful.

Even though I swore I would never have a private relationship with her again, I just couldn’t shake it off.

“Okay, I got it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, what.”

“Then… can I ask you one more thing?”

Since I had already decided to do it, there was no point in granting me one or two more requests.

“What is it?”

“Actually, I’ve seen you with Jia.”

“What did you say?”

As my eyes widened in confusion, Cha Seon-yeong continued speaking.

“Can’t you be as affectionate as you were to Jia back then?”