<h4>Chapter 23</h4>


    Lee JiHan


    The y had ended and the audience was gone. By the time Na AhJung arrived at her dressing room, she had returned to her normal self. With a cold soda can held to both cheeks, she was sitting crouched in the tiny dressing room. She propped her chin on top of her knees and closed her eyes. When she realized I had arrived in front of her, her eyes fluttered open.


    “Oh? I thought you went home,” she said in surprise.


    “I was in the audience. Did you not see me?”


    “Ahh! You were? You were watching!”


    “You’re telling me you didn’t see me in this tiny theater? Are you kidding me?”


    “It’s hard to see the audience when you’re on stage...


    Looking like she might be in trouble, AhJung nced hesitantly over at me.


    “Yes, this is the Na AhJung I know,” I identally said out loud.


    A few momentster, I crouched down in front of her. Sitting at eye level with her, I ced my hand on top of her head.


    “Not bad,” I said.


    “What?”


    “Acting. I think you can continue doing it.” I patted her on the head while I said this. “Of all the things my brother said to you, I think at least this one thing was the truth.”


    “What things?” AhJung asked confused.


    “You can keep following this path. It’s not toote. It will work out,” I repeated word for word what my brother had supposedly said to her.


    The best of this girl is when she is on that stage. My brother and I agreed on that.


    At my words, AhJung looked back at me as if she had been hit on the back of the head with a hammer.


    “Really?”


    “You believe my brother but when Ipliment you it’s fake?”


    “No, it’s...the opposite.”


    “Opposite?”


    “Ah, no.” AhJung closed her eyes and shook her head to get back to her senses. Her mind must have gone numb.


    She held the soda cans to her forehead. “Pull yourself together, pull yourself together, pull yourself together,” she muttered under her breath almost too quietly for me to hear.


    The time this girl is on stage may be the only time she is at her best, but this was cute in its own way. Ovee by a whim, I grabbed AhJung by the arm. Her eyes flew open in response to the action.


    “Stop sitting there and stand up.” I stood up and pulled Na AhJung up with me.


    Now that I had her up, I realized that she still had not changed out of her costume.


    “Change ande out. I’ll bring the car from the lot and pick you up in the front.”


    Because she still looked shocked by the situation, I took the cans and held them to her two cheeks. At this, AhJung jumped in surprise and her eyes became as big as tes.


    “Pull yourself together, and don’t leave any pieces behind,” I said.


    Even though the cold cans were resting on her face, it grew redder.


    ***


    While exiting the theater and heading to the parking lot, I called the fortune-teller we had met earlier that day.


    “That girl, theke, is her future that bleak?” I asked.


    [Lake? No, that girl only holds the water in a te. I was trying to be kind because she was sitting in front of me, but her future is worse than I originally predicted. What could she do with that water on a te? There’s nothing that will work out for her.]


    “It doesn’t seem that way, can you try looking at her fortune a bit more carefully? This girl, don’t you think that the te could grow? Perhaps it could be an enormous te.”


    [Do you think that looking it over again will create something out of nothing? Her fortune is that of a te.]


    “Then please make me a new talisman.”


    [Talisman? I gave you onest time. Did you lose it?]


    “No. Not one that makes her feelings fade but one that makes things work out for her. Please.”


    [Really? Well, that’s not difficult, but like I’ve said before if she meets her man of gold, everything will work out in her favor. That will have a far better effect than a talisman.]


    “That wasn’t something you made up?”


    [What are you jabbering about? I may have tricked the girl into taking the talisman because you begged me so much but I never mess with my fortune reading. Thepatibility and future I read were all real. I thought that was the deal?]


    “That’s true, but the thing about the man of gold was a bit disturbing.”


    [Why? Because you thought I was talking about you? Because you are gold, you thought I was making fun of you?]


    “Yes, that is what I thought.”


    [Well, I’m not able to say whether that is you or someone else. All I did was read you the fortune I saw. The rest is up to you two.]


    “Well, if that’s the case, I just have to find a guy that has the same fortune as me.”


    [Do as you please. I’ll have another talisman ready soe over and pick it up. I have another customer. I’m hanging up.]


    The phone went silent. What was this nagging feeling? I put the cellphone back in my pocket and shook my head. I had already reached the parking lot. I sped up to get to my car faster but stopped when I saw a flower shop across the street.


    ***


    Na AhJung


    After changing back into my regr clothes and passing by the ticket booth, I saw HeeKyung cleaning up her area. She hurried over and handed me an envelope.


    “Thank you so much for today, you did great! It’s not a lot, but here’s your pay.”


    “Oh, don’t worry about it,” I said. “The y doesn’t even make that much, just buy me a drinkter.”


    “Last time you did this y, it made no money so you didn’t get a dime. I should be giving you more but it’s not doing all that well now either. There’s just enough here to buy a drink.” HeeKyung forced the envelope into my hands and winked.


    I put the envelope sheepishly into my bag. “Well, if it’s just enough for a drink...what are you going to do about the y tomorrow?”


    “We got a call back from the lead a few minutes ago. She said she’lle out tomorrow.”


    “What is wrong with her?” I asked.


    “She has no desperation. She has a sponsor and got the lead with such ease. The y’s reaction is not all that great so she is just getting toozy to do it. From what I hear, she’s already poking around other directors to get a part in a different y.”


    I pouted, feeling cheated hearing about the life of the younger actress who had pushed me out of the spotlight.


    “AhJung, that man you introduced to usst time as your future brother-inw, he was here today. What’s your rtionship with him?”


    I was a bit taken aback by her suspicious tone. “What do you mean rtionship? What are you talking about?”


    Did she see something in the dressing room when he had made me blush? My face blushed red again as it had in front of JiHan earlier. At my reaction, HeeKyung raised her eyebrows.


    “When he came to the ticket booth and I greeted him, he imed he was neither your friend, nor your future brother-inw. What is he?” she asked doubtfully.


    “Oh, is that what he said?” I was relieved to find out this wasn’t because of something she’d seen. “To tell you the truth, he doesn’t like me. He said his brother is too good for me. That’s probably why he said it like that.”


    “That’s the reason?”


    “Yes. That’s the reason.”


    “But why does he follow you around? Especially when he says he doesn’t like you.”


    “Well, he says he wants to observe what I’m like. He is my future brother-inw,” I said nodding.


    That was the truth,Lee JiHan would soon be my brother-inw, but even so I felt diforted by the fact. The thought of JiHan as my brother-inw made me feel unnerved for some reason.


    ***


    I said my goodbyes to HeeKyung and exited the theater. It was already dark outside.


    I looked around the entrance to find JiHan’s car but he wasn’t there. Had he parked far away? I checked the time with my cellphone and searched for him again. When Lee JiHan shows up, I will act like I normally do. I will not start blushing likest time. All of a sudden, I heard a raspy voiceing from behind me.


    “Lookie here, isn’t it Na AhJung?”


    I swung around in fright and found DaeChul sunbae standing in front of me.


    “Oh my God!” I fell backward as I screamed.


    “What? Why are you so frightened? Did you see a ghost?” Lim DaeChul crept over next to me.


    “Sunbae, what are you doing here...”


    “Why else would I be here. I came to see you.”


    “Huh? Me?”


    “Yeah. I came all the way here to see you.”


    “How did you even know I was here?”


    “Hey, I have no way to contact you so I have to do this sort of thing.”


    “This sort of thing...what thing?”


    “Why do you think that other actress didn’t show up today?” Lim DaeChul looked me up and down strangely. Thanks to him, my whole body felt as cold as ice.


    This jerk had nned all of this to get me here! Scared, I grasped at my heart, barely able to respond.


    “So the reason the lead didn’t show up...”


    “Yep, that was me. I had to give her another part just so I could get you here, AhJung.” Lim DaeChul slightly kicked my knee with the tip of his foot. “Do you know why?”


    I did know, this was all because of Lee JiKyung, but I had to pretend I didn’t know, so I shook my head.


    “I don’t know, but I...I don’t have time. I’ll talk to youter.” I shuffled backward slowly to try to avoid the situation, but Lim DaeChul grabbed my arm.


    “Notter. Now. I have something very important for you to hear. Let’s go talk somewhere quiet.”


    “I...I have nothing to hear.” I avoided his gaze and tried with all my might to remove my arm from his grasp.


    Lim DaeChul, however, had no intention of letting me go and twisted it more painfully.


    “Na AhJung, if you don’t want to get a beating, you’d better follow me.” His brutal voice made me tear up.


    I continued to fight him off, even under the threat of getting hit.


    “Quit getting on my nerves!” Lim DaeChul let go of my arms and grabbed me by the hair.


    I cried out with my eyes closed as he attacked me violently. It was as if he was determined to pull out all my hair by its roots. He continued to drag me with him. Was this why being with JiKyung would stop me from living up to my full potential ? Because of this thing with Lim Daechul? I was in so much pain that my eyes were watering, but I still resisted. Unfortunately my actions were useless because my feet faltered beneath me as he dragged me away.


    Should I scream? No, what if he reveals to everyone here that the man I am about to marry is gay? If he said that in front of everyone and Lee JiHan heard...is it be better to just follow him now and try to escapeter?


    As I was weighing my options, I heard a screech so loud that even Lim DaeChul stopped. Tires squealed and a car came to a halt in front of us. I opened my eyes and looked at the car. JiHan burst through the car door.


    Oh no! Lee JiHan can’t get involved! He can’t hear what DaeChul will say!


    As the rms went off in my head, JiHan started to run toward Lim DaeChul who still had me by the hair. JiHan extended his arm and grabbed Lim Daechul by his hair!


    “Huh?” I said out loud in confusion.


    Lee JiHan lifted Lim DaeChul by his hair, causing him to let me go as he moved his grip to JiHan’s wrist and screamed in pain. Released from Lim DaeChul’s grip, I stepped back massaging my still aching scalp. DaeChul stood on tiptoes as JiHan pulled harder.


    “Ow, who are you? Let go!”


    As Lim DaeChul yelled, JiHan shook him back and forth. Lim DaeChul, unable to say anything else, continued to scream. I blinked, not knowing how the situation hade to this. JiHan dragged DaeChul and shoved him into the back seat of the car. In the blink of an eye, JiHan got into the driver’s seat and locked the door. He whizzed past me and drove out of my sight.


    What just happened? I blinked rapidly. Gathering my thoughts, I picked up my phone which had fallen to the floor. Worried that Lim DaeChul would reveal JiKyung’s secret, I called JiHan. He JiHan didn’t pick up the phone for ten minutes. I chewed at my fingernails nervously as I was overtaken by anxiety.


    After about 20 minutes, JiHan’s car appeared in front of me. My heart was beating fearfully as he opened the car door and got out. Peering inside, I found that Lim


    “Your poor head.” JiHan wrapped his hands consolingly over my scalp.


    Looking up at him, I saw that he was checking to see if there was anything wrong.


    “If it still hurts, we can go to the hospital,” he said.


    “No, no it doesn’t hurt now,” I insisted. Who goes to a hospital for getting their hair pulled? I shook my head, dumbstruck. “What happened to DaeChul sunbae?”


    “I threw him away.”


    “What?”


    “He won’t be able toe back, so don’t worry about it.” Lee JiHan patted my head with one hand.


    “Howe he can’te back?”


    “Because humans have a survival instinct.”


    I stood speechless at his roundabout way of exining what had happened. He gave me no opening to ask further questions, only wrapped his arms around mine and lead me to the passenger’s seat.


    When JiHan opened the car door, I turned to the back seat and checked that Lim DaeChul was really not there. After massaging my numb legs, I sat in the passenger’s seat. JiHan closed the door, headed to the back of the car, and returned with arge bouquet which he handed to me. The bouquet held blooms of varying colors and was almost as big as I was.


    “Hold onto this for a second,” he said as if it wasn’t for me.


    “Oh, okay.” As if it was a job he’d assigned me, I hugged the humongous bouquet.


    He headed to the trunk again and returned with another enormous bouquet, ced it on myp without another word and closed the door. I heard the trunk close behind me and when JiHan returned to his seat, he had yet another basket of flowers.


    “This you can wear over your shoulders,” he said.


    “What?”


    “If you can hold on to it then go ahead. If you want to leave it at your feet you can do that too. It just seems like it will be ufortable to do that, so I’m telling you to wear it over your shoulders.”


    “But what is all this?”


    “I didn’t know which one you would like so I bought all the flowers left at the flower shop. I figured at least one would be your favorite.”


    I stared at him in silence. Did the flower fumes gone to his head? I think he’s lost it. As I questioned his sanity, Lee JiHan started his car.