Become A Star

Chapter 14

Cha Hyun-Seung stood in the street on a rainy night, looking up longingly at the five-story building. From the look in his eyes, one could tell that he was very worried. He could not take his eyes off the light emitting from Na Mi-Yeon's studio apartment, as though he missed looking at her face, which he had not seen in days.

"Cha Hyun-Seung?" As Park Ji-Hyuk came out of Na Mi-Yeon's apartment, he found Cha Hyun-Seung standing there and called out to him, tilting his head to one side with a puzzled look.

"Are you here to visit Mi-Yeon? She hasn't been admitted to the hospital, so there's no need for you to come here," said Park Ji-Hyuk.

In other words, none of her classmates or friends had come to visit her. They had only told her to take care of herself after finding out that she was down with a cold. The image of Cha Hyun-Seung standing there with a takeout box bearing the logo of a porridge restaurant in his hand, in the middle of the night, looked rather strange.

"Mi-Yeon is sleeping right now, so even if you go to her apartment, you can't even see her. Did you buy that for Mi-Yeon?" asked Park Ji-Hyuk, pointing to the bag with the porridge in it.

Cha Hyun-Seung nodded. He had bought it for her, but he did not buy it thinking that he could actually give it to her. Feeling embarrassed, standing there pointlessly by himself with numb feet, his face turned visibly red even though it was dark at night.

"Hmm, I'm sorry, but I can't give that to Mi-Yeon. You can't give cheap porridge with unknown ingredients to a sick patient."

Cha Hyun-Seung was at a loss for words upon hearing Park Ji-Hyuk speak without malice. He was only a man who was concerned about the woman he loved. For the first time, shame could be seen on his face that was already bright red.

Park Ji-Hyuk stared at Cha Hyun-Seung and asked innocently, "Did you fall for Mi-Yeon? Well, it's not surprising, because she's a lovely girl."

He spoke casually, as if he had just learned a fact that was neither ridiculous nor jealousy-inducing. The confidence he had that Cha Hyun-Seung's feelings had no effect on their love turned into indifference, which soon led to disregard.

"Mi-Yeon is sleeping, so please leave. I have to go back in after smoking a cigarette." Park Ji-Hyuk smiled brightly as he took out his pack of cigarettes from his pocket and shook it. Even though he seemed rather spiteful, one could also argue that he was just a naive, sheltered rich boy.

Cha Hyun-Seung turned around and left with the porridge that he was unable to give to Na Mi-Yeon. As he walked away, Park Ji-Hyuk was busy lighting his cigarette while holding an umbrella, and did not even shoot him a glance at all. A small speck of light shone over Cha Hyun-Seung's shoulder as a thin wisp of smoke began to rise.

At the end of the alley, Cha Hyun-Seung suddenly looked back after standing at the corner of the alley for a while, staring blankly. Before he knew it, Park Ji-Hyuk had finished smoking his cigarette. He did not see the latter going up to the studio apartment. When he looked up and looked for Na Mi-Yeon's unit, the light in her apartment had already gone out. He had to put the cumbersome umbrella behind his back in order to look up, as it was blocking the view of her apartment. Without the umbrella sheltering him, Cha Hyun-Seung lifted his head, allowing the rain to fall on his face.

Raindrops ran down his hair and forehead, pooling around his eyes before dripping down his face. It looked as if he were crying, but the droplets were not tears. He had no expression on his face. He simply looked indifferent. At that moment, he started revealing one emotion through his eyes. Up until now, Cha Hyun-Seung had only loved Na Mi-Yeon silently from afar. The very first emotion he showed in a long time was despair.