The Season I Loved You Without You - Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

It had been a while since Go-yeo had been to the boutique, and she’d gotten her hair done and also did her nails and pedicure. Although it was a bit bothersome to drive herself after a long time, she felt so good afterward that it offset that inconvenience.

This weekend, Ji-yeon didn’t come to work to take a break. As she followed Hee-kyung, she nodded her head as she entered the boss’ office when she was told that a customer was coming today.

“Boss, you look different today. What’s changed?”

Her sparkling eyes met with Hee-kyung’s.

“I lowered my bangs. How does it look?”

“Oh! It’s the bangs. You look more sophisticated. If you usually have an elegant and noble atmosphere, now it’s a bit more lively and cute, don’t you think? Anyway, whatever you do, you always look beautiful.”

Even though she always lived with the adjective ‘beautiful,’ hearing it always made her feel good, so she smiled.

“I’ve picked out some clothes to show Mr. Jung Seon-ki. Would you like to see them in advance?”

“Yeah. Because I have something to ask Mr. Jung. I have to pay attention.”

Hee-kyung and Go-yeo went down to the men’s clothing store on the second floor, near the fitting room, and checked each of the clothes hanging on the racks. They excluded the ambiguous ones and personally brought the ones that were missing by going around the store.

Before long, with a little noise, Mr. Jung came up. Although he was short and plump, stylist Mr. Jung, who wore a perfectly fitting black velvet suit, was a well-known figure in the industry. He decided to come to the boutique because he was going to sponsor Kang Seung-hoo, who was about to start filming a drama.

“Ms. Han.”

His characteristic way of prolonging the end of his words echoed in the store.

“Mr. Jung. It’s been a long time.”

Approaching Go-yeo, he lightly embraced her. Go-yeo also greeted him warmly by lightly embracing him.

“Really, it’s been too long. Why did you lose so much weight?”

“Just happened. As it is.”

“The outfit today is also very nice. My, my. Honey, I’ve never seen anyone who looks so good in a cream-tweed dress.”

There was no need to feel awkward about such greetings as usual. Go-yeo also led Mr. Jung to the rack while praising Mr. Jung’s style. Mr Jung nodded his head while carefully examining the clothes. While checking and discussing each piece of clothing, Hee-kyung called Go-yeo.

“Boss.”

When she turned her head, she smiled at the man.

“Hello.”

It was Kang Seung-hoo. Go-yeo also smiled slightly as she greeted him. Although the cultivated smile naturally emerged, she was a little surprised by his sudden appearance. Although it was not his first time visiting the boutique, she thought he was being cautious because of the rumors. Of course, he also came with his manager.

Mr. Jung seemed surprised by Kang Seung-hoo’s sudden appearance. He began to fuss, saying it was fortunate that Kang Seung-hoo was looking at the drama costumes, and started trying on various things. Kang Seung-hoo said he didn’t come for work but came to buy some personal clothes. Then, Mr. Jung accompanied him and picked out a few sweaters and coats to wear casually.

Seung-hoo entered the fitting room, and Mr. Jung arranged the clothes with the person he brought. It didn’t take long for Seung-hoo to come out. Go-yeo, who had stepped back a bit to see the clothes, approached him. She straightened the lapels of his double-faced coat and adjusted the wrinkles on his clothes.

“Jean Patou Joy?”

Go-yeo raised her head in confusion at what he said, meeting Seung-hoo’s gaze.

“Perfume.”

Ah, she nodded lightly. Standing next to him, she asked while looking at the full-length mirror together.

“How is it?”

“Good?”

“I think a size bigger would be better.”

“No, not that. Standing next to you, Ms. Go-yeo, feels good.”

She smiled at his subtle tone.

Bland. She’s heard that kind of thing once or twice. She smiled at him. A worn and tattered kid like him would know how fake her tear-streaked smile is.

“Mr. Seung-hoo, you deserve someone better.”

“Why? I think I’m quite alright.”

Arrogant guys like him were always full of confidence. She took the clothes he had taken off and handed him a size bigger.

“Really? I don’t think so.”

She looked at him casually.

“Why not? Am I not okay?”

“You’re more than okay. But it doesn’t feel right?”

He chuckled softly, tilting his head.

“Already had my share of scandals, so what?”

“If you’re a thirty-six-year-old actor, you still have a long way to go, right? Meeting just average people around.”

Go-yeo said mockingly. Asking lightly and responding lightly was a way not to hurt each other’s feelings. He tried on a few more clothes. He joked around, and she laughed it off.

Meanwhile, she asked Mr. Jung for the next season’s catalog styling. Since the atmosphere could change a lot depending on how the styling was done, borrowing the hands of a stylist yielded good results. He readily agreed, and they decided to coordinate the details later. And Seung-hoo left, leaving behind a message to think about it till the end.

Feeling suddenly drained of energy, Go-yeo entered the office and sat down heavily on the sofa.

“…Do I seem too light?”

What’s the point of saying that? His reputation is already in the gutter. Of course, he must have thought she’d fall over if he touched her. Well, wasn’t that why she easily fell for Yoon Ga-eul?

Go-yeo couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief. Ah, why did she even bother? She felt self-loathing.

‘They’re using me.’

His voice seemed to ring in her ears. A name he called out softly, repeatedly. Han Go-yeo. It echoed in her ears like a curse. Goosebumps rose as she turned on the music.

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. A troubled heart dispersed in the tear-jerkingly beautiful melody. She pressed her temples and leaned her head back.

That night, instead of being tormented by Moon Ji-hyuk, who was clinging to her like a ghost, she fell asleep exhausted and filled with fulfillment. By now, maybe it’s best to just do as she wants. Such irrational thoughts crossed her mind. But Yoon Ga-eull, more than anyone else, wasn’t someone who deserved that treatment. A person who was earnest and sincere in everything. So, there was a distance between her, a mere feather, and him.

She didn’t want to hurt someone like him.

The reason for the inexplicable aversion she felt from him from the beginning might have been because he seemed to blindly reveal the most vulnerable ‘sincerity,’ which was unnecessary to display to the world and the most easily damaged. His unusually upright and clear eyes.

She didn’t want to harm him. She didn’t want to crush him as Han Go-yeo.

She woke up to the vibrating sound breaking the useless thoughts. Go-yeo furrowed her brows unexpectedly at the figure on the other end of the line.

“Hello.”

-What’s up?

“I came out to work today.”

-Boutique?

“Yeah, what’s up?”

-Just bored.

It was Jin-yu, whom she had met at the trunk show not long ago. If there was a purpose for meeting, who knows? Were they in touch because they were bored? Although they occasionally met, they didn’t have much personal contact.

“….”

She heard Jin-yu’s laughter, understanding the meaning of the silence.

-Yeah. Wanna go play tennis?

“So suddenly?”

-What’s the matter? Will you or won’t you?

“Okay.”

It was a suddenly decided schedule, but she didn’t have much resistance. She thought it would be better to do something rather than go home.

After receiving coaching for tennis several times, Go-yeo’s skills improved a lot. She was a bit excited at the thought of stretching her body after a long time.

Jin-yu was already at the indoor tennis court. Seeing Go-yeo’s tennis attire, Jin-yu jokingly raised her thumb. Frowning, she approached her.

“You’re here early.”

“Yeah, I’m all warmed up.”

“Sister.”

As she turned her head, Se-jung approached Go-yeo. Jin-yu also greeted Se-jung lightly. Jin-yu said she only knew Se-jung’s face because she was receiving coaching from Hyun-joo. Se-jung looked around and searched for Ga-eul, who always stayed by Go-yeo’s side.

“It’s the weekend, he should rest.”

Se-jung decided to warm up Go-yeo’s body and first started by hitting balls. Starting slowly and gradually feeling her body loosen up, she began to hit the ball a little faster, sending the ball back and forth to the corners. It wasn’t a bad time to move her body. Because she could focus solely on this action.

But in the meantime, seeing Se-jung’s unaffected laughter without even losing his breath annoyed her. Instead of feeling competitive against him, who was a former athlete, it was only unpleasant to be trained as if she were being ridiculed due to the overwhelming gap in skill.

“Ah!”

Several rallies continued. She leaped for Se-jung’s clean and honest flat shots but failed to calculate the distance and the ball hit the racket’s edge and bounced off the net.

Go-yeo was a little frustrated that she couldn’t handle the flat shots as well as she wanted. Taking a short break, she entered the court with Jin-yu. Their skills were uneven. When two unskilled players played against each other, they exchanged points quickly. Since she didn’t hit the ball nicely like Se-jung did, it was even more difficult.

Before long, her stamina hit rock bottom. The game ended with Jin-yu’s mistake. There was nothing she could do about her physical limits. Go-yeo drank the water Se-jung handed her and faced Jin-yu. Yet, she still seemed less exhausted than her.

In the end, they ended up playing a dinner bet tennis match, with Hyun-joo joining in. It was mixed doubles, but since Se-jung was on the team, they gave him points to start. Although Se-jung was outstanding, Go-yeo’s legs were already wobbly, so Hyun-joo and Jin-yu won.

As they headed to the shower room, Jin-yu observed Go-yeo as if she were a perfect sculpture.

“Wow. How do you have such a beautiful chest and hips?”

“I was born with them.”

Go-yeo shrugged as if it couldn’t be helped, and Jin-yu chuckled.

“I’m jealous, envious.”

Go-yeo watched Jin-yu silently for a moment, then smirked. She wasn’t the type to say such things. It felt strangely awkward and downcast. And considering the sudden contact, this was the only reason she could think of.

“Did you break up with the person you were seeing?”

Jin-yu’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yeah.”

“You’re advertising it outright.”

“It’s not like we were anything serious enough to call it breaking up, but I could tell I was becoming a burden.”

Go-yeo wondered why she contacted her if it was so hard for her.

‘She probably couldn’t talk about this with her family, and since our relationship is just about the same, I must have been the only person she could talk to.’

“Your family doesn’t say anything about dating. Your brother and sister-in-law got married after dating, right?”

“It’s true, but… I guess he doesn’t think like that.”

“Maybe he’s just not your type?”

Jin-yu’s wounded expression at Go-yeo’s indifferent expression cut deep. An apology didn’t come readily. Human relationships are created by two people, but sometimes an objective perspective is needed. Wasn’t it now? Thinking of Jin-yu, they decided to have drinks together instead of dinner and headed to the club.