Side Story 60. The Story After (60)

After spending 24 hours with Rebecca, the next morning.

“Alright, let’s eat, everyone.”

Rebecca clapped her hands jjak jjak and sat down.

Liliana reacted to the sudden announcement.

“We’re already eating, though?”

“Are we? Hmm hmm. Eum hum hum.”

Rebecca hummed a tune from the morning, seemingly happy about something.

The warm and deep memories from yesterday put her in a good mood.

“…?”

Liliana, watching her, tilted her head, then focused back on her food.

Today’s main dish was jjimdak (braised chicken).

Since it was a dish for everyone to share, whoever got it first was the owner.

Liliana focused and stuffed the jjimdak into her mouth.

“Rebecca-nim.”

“Yes. Scarlet, what is it?”

“Were you happy all day yesterday?”

“… I, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Your skin looks so plump and healthy. Anyone would think you found and ate wild ginseng.”

“Well, hmm hmm. I did eat something as good as wild ginseng…”

“….”

Lee Hoyeon, who was eating breakfast with them, squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away.

Seeing Rebecca so pleased made him feel embarrassed just watching her.

‘Everyone knows except Rebecca-ssi.’

Everyone else was giving awkward smiles while looking at Rebecca; that was the proof.

“… Oppa. Eat this for me.”

Just then, Nam Dahee, sitting next to him, moved a carrot onto Lee Hoyeon’s plate.

She was the only pure girl at this table.

She had whispered it so Nam Daeun wouldn’t hear, but seeing it made him chuckle.

“Dahee-ya. Even if you speak quietly, Daeun can hear everything.”

“Huh? Ah, ahh. Unnie…!”

“Dahee, you. Come here. I told you not to be picky.”

Nam Daeun moved the carrot from Lee Hoyeon’s plate back to Nam Dahee’s plate.

Nam Dahee looked at Nam Daeun with dissatisfaction, but as soon as their eyes met, she pouted and put the carrot in her mouth.

“… Isn’t it okay not to eat it if you don’t want to?”

“Oppa!”

“I told you no. Hoyeon-ah. What if she develops bad habits later?”

“Ah, come on. You eat everything when you get older. I didn’t used to eat kimchi either, but I eat it well these days.”

Lee Hoyeon ruffled Nam Dahee’s hair and moved a few carrots onto his own plate.

In the end, Nam Daeun might be playing the bad guy while Lee Hoyeon just acts like the good guy, but sometimes you have to give carrots too.

‘But what should I do today?’

Lee Hoyeon pondered while eating the jjimdak, which had mysteriously diminished significantly.

He had taken a leave of absence from the Academy, so he couldn’t go, and he didn’t really have anything to do.

“Oppa. When are we going out to play?”

“Huh?”

“You promised you’d go out with me and Unnie.”

“Ah… right. We did, didn’t we?”

Lee Hoyeon nodded, looking at Nam Dahee.

Now that he thought about it, he had said something like that last time.

“Oppa. You forgot. Unnie was looking forward to it so much too!”

Seeing Lee Hoyeon’s expression, Nam Dahee poked his side.

“D-Dahee-ya. I told you not to mention Unnie.”

“Really? If you’re both looking forward to it, we should go soon. Shall we leave tomorrow?”

“Really?!”

“Yep. It’s Saturday. You said you wanted to go to the amusement park, right? Just trust me.”

“Yes! Unnie, let’s go shopping later.”

“Mm-hmm. Hoyeon-ah, are you okay? You don’t have to push yourself if you’re busy.”

“Busy? I don’t have anything to do anyway.”

After returning from France, he planned to take a break from work for a while.

Spending time for Daeun and Dahee wouldn’t be bad either.

*

“Honey, I’m heading out!”

“Yes. Have a good day. Rebecca-ssi.”

Lee Hoyeon waved at Rebecca.

He felt good, like a house husband greeting his wife off to work.

How nice would it be to live like this forever.

“I’m heading out too. Hoyeon-ah.”

“Oppa! I’ll be looking forward to tomorrow!”

“Don’t worry. Oppa will prepare everything.”

Lee Hoyeon smiled as he bid farewell to the Nam sisters.

After seeing them off, he planned to relax comfortably at home.

“Hoooh…”

Lee Hoyeon immediately threw himself onto the sofa.

The luxurious leather sofa, personally purchased by Scarlet, softly enveloped Lee Hoyeon’s body.

“Lee Hoyeon. Do I have to go out too?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Lee Hoyeon looked at Liliana, who had said something out of the blue.

“No, everyone else is leaving… I feel a bit left out, you know?”

“…?”

Liliana furrowed her brow, contemplating seriously.

It looked like a pointless worry, so Lee Hoyeon stopped paying attention to her.

“I can’t stand it. I’m going to prepare for my broadcast after a long time.”

“Okay. Earn lots of money, Liliana.”

Liliana had become quite famous now, so he was worried if she could do well on her broadcast, but he figured she’d manage.

Now, Lee Hoyeon could cover for Liliana even if she caused a major incident.

“Hoyeon-nim. You look like you’re in a good mood.”

After Liliana disappeared into her room.

Lee Hoyeon and Scarlet were left alone in the living room.

“I’m going to rest without doing anything for a while. Don’t try to stop me, Scarlet.”

“When have I ever stopped you, Hoyeon-nim?”

Scarlet sat beside Lee Hoyeon and smiled.

She had returned to the Iris Guild and officially started working at the Korean branch.

“Tell me if you need anything at all, Hoyeon-nim.”

Her job was Lee Hoyeon’s secretary.

Her role was to handle Lee Hoyeon’s official business through the Iris Guild.

“Does that mean you have to do that every single morning?”

“Because if I don’t, I have nothing else to do.”

“… So, I don’t understand why I need a secretary. I have no intention of working anyway.”

“Because even if you only act once a year, Hoyeon-nim, it’s incredibly important. To perfectly understand you, the information guild Iris Guild needs no one better than me.”

Actually, it was called a secretary, but there wasn’t much work.

The important thing was that she could now earn money just by being by Lee Hoyeon’s side.

“So, speaking of which, Scarlet. Could you do me one favor?”

“Yes. Just name it.”

“Get me tickets for the amusement park we’re going to tomorrow.”

“….”

Scarlet stared intently at Lee Hoyeon.

Faced with that gaze, Lee Hoyeon unconsciously avoided her eyes.

“… Why are you looking at me like that? You said to ask for anything I need.”

“Entrusting tickets for a trip with another woman to Girlfriend Number 11… You truly have no heart or tears, Hoyeon-nim.”

“Why are you Girlfriend Number 11? Please stop giving me weird names.”

“Because numbers 1 through 10 are all extraordinary individuals. A woman like me inevitably falls into the ‘Number 11’ slot.”

“….”

Lee Hoyeon didn’t answer Scarlet and let himself relax back into the sofa.

The moment he got drawn into her wordplay, his head started to hurt.

“Anyway, please get the amusement park tickets.”

“Hmm, understood. I am your secretary, after all.”

“… But why are your hands heading that way?”

Lee Hoyeon shook his head, watching Scarlet’s hands move towards his lower abdomen.

The secretary, even for a moment of carelessness, was aiming for intimacy with her boss.

“You had a good time with Rebecca-nim yesterday… And since no one else is here today…”

“Ha, fine. Do as you please. But can’t I just rest for a bit?”

“Don’t worry. Just stay still, and I’ll take care of everything.”

Scarlet chuckled softly and pressed herself against Lee Hoyeon on the sofa.

This kind of moment was a privilege of being a secretary.

“Aargh! Lee Hoyeon! Reporters swarmed in when I turned on my broadcast!”

Scarlet and Lee Hoyeon’s secret rendezvous continued until Liliana came rushing into the living room, causing a commotion.

*

The next day,

An early morning where warm sunlight streamed through the cold air.

Lee Hoyeon yawned while looking at the main gate of the amusement park.

“Dahee-ya. Did we really have to come this early in the morning?”

“Of course! It’s a day to play with Oppa and Unnie, so we have to use every moment from morning till night!”

He had promised to play with them on the weekend, but he never expected they’d do an amusement park ‘open run’.

“Hoyeon-ah. I’m sorry. Dahee had such high expectations…”

“It’s okay. You must have been tired from packing lunches too.”

Because Nam Dahee’s eyes sparkled at the thought of eating a packed lunch, Nam Daeun had to wake up even earlier to prepare it.

In the end, only Nam Dahee was excited, while Nam Daeun and Lee Hoyeon had a tiring morning.

“Oppa. We have to ride that first. The Y-Express.”

“… The Y-Express?”

He seemed to have heard of it.

He recalled it was said to be the most famous roller coaster in the country.

It was a ride Lee Hoyeon didn’t particularly like.

“Let’s go quickly. Quickly! If we’re late, we’ll have to queue!”

“We can go slowly. If we have a pass, we don’t have to wait in line.”

Lee Hoyeon smiled, holding up the tickets.

With the pass Scarlet had prepared, they could ride the attractions without queuing.

“There’s such a thing? That’s amazing…”

“Yep. But it’s quite expensive. Was it 10,000 won per ride?”

“…!”

Nam Daeun’s eyes widened at the exorbitant price of the pass.

‘10,000 won could feed me for three days…’

10,000 won for one ride.

Her sense of economics couldn’t possibly comprehend it.

“Oppa. Unnie. There it is.”

Where Nam Dahee pointed, the line was incredibly long, indicating its popularity.

“At that length, even a powerful person would get a headache.”

Lee Hoyeon shook his head, watching the rails spin round and round.

Paying money to ride that was something he simply couldn’t understand.

“It looks fun! It looks fun!”

“Still, since Dahee likes it, let’s go.”

“Yeah. We have to try it.”

Is this how it feels to have a child?

Lee Hoyeon and Nam Daeun held Nam Dahee’s hands and headed towards the Y-Express.