Meanwhile, they were not the only ones listening to Hyunseung’s story.
“Well, that’s just how it ended.”
Through the slightly ajar door of the CEO’s office, someone else was listening in.
It was Sarah Stewart.
‘Has he still not gotten over his first love?’
She had heard from Michelle that Hyunseung had arrived in Korea and visited the company building, so she had rushed over immediately.
She didn’t know why Michelle had contacted her first, but her desire to see Hyunseung had outweighed everything else.
And yet…
The moment she arrived, what she heard was the heartbreaking tale of Hyunseung’s first love.
It was a story poignant enough to tear at one’s heartstrings, but Hyunseung concluded it calmly, as if reading someone else’s story aloud.
Not only that.
As the conversation between Vincent and Hyunseung continued, Sarah secretly clutched her chest, swinging between heaven and hell.
“You’ve fallen for a girl, haven’t you? That’s why you’ve been flying back and forth to Korea on a private jet so often lately, right?”
Her heart plummeted at Vincent’s remark about him flying back and forth because he liked a woman in Korea.
“Did you set this whole mood today just to hand us a wedding invitation?”
It plummeted once more at the mention of a wedding invitation.
“It’s nothing like that.”
Then, at Hyunseung’s flat denial, her heart soared into the sky again like a rollercoaster.
Still.
Why on earth had he brought up romance out of nowhere, completely out of character? Sarah pressed her ear close to the gap, waiting quietly for what would come next.
“It’s just… I thought we were seeing each other on pretty good terms, but Jayble said absolutely not, that I shouldn’t get the wrong idea…”
Sarah wanted to fling the door open and scream, demanding to know who it was, but she couldn’t.
She was eavesdropping, after all.
Besides… they weren’t in a relationship where she had the right to ask.
‘On good terms…’
For some reason, Sarah felt all the energy drain out of her.
She had thought they’d grown significantly closer lately.
Which was why she felt as though they had drifted apart all over again.
And she was envious of the woman who was on “good terms” with Hyunseung.
“Yeah. I gave her a necklace, and she accepted it, and she wears it whenever we meet up. Shouldn’t that be considered dating?”
Hyunseung’s subsequent words brought a brief silence to the room, followed by a burst of laughter, but Sarah alone could not laugh.
Instead, her eyes widened in shock, and she clamped a hand tightly over her mouth.
If she hadn’t, an unrefined gasp would have escaped her lips.
Wait, hold on.
A woman who exchanged a necklace with him… could he possibly mean me? Was the woman I was jealous of… me?
“Hyunseung, go to her right now and make things clear.”
Kim Woohyun patted Hyunseung’s shoulder gently with an all-knowing expression, continuing:
“Tell her you want to start dating for real.”
“How could I say something like that…?”
“Are you just shy about saying it to her face?”
Way to go, Director Kim! You’re the best! Awesome!
Sarah cheered him on inwardly.
Then again, Hyunseung simply wasn’t the type to say such things face-to-face. That was why she had been waiting.
And if waiting bore no fruit, she had planned to confess herself.
Right.
He was just hesitating because he lacked certainty.
‘Min Hyunseung, you dummy!’
Since it’s come to this, I guess I’ll have to take the lead and confess first.
It was right when Sarah was indulging in such happy imaginations.
“More than that, you all know the condition of my ear right now. To be honest, I don’t even know when it’ll fully recover. As a man, how could I be so irresponsible as to ask her out right now?”
At Hyunseung’s following words, Sarah doubted her own ears.
What did that mean? The condition of his ear? Recovery?
“What does your ear have to do with dating?!”
“Exactly, you brat! Besides, it’s not like you’re getting married tomorrow—what’s this nonsense about being irresponsible! And even if you did get married, so what?!”
Judging by the way the two of them leaped up and barked in outrage, it didn’t seem to be a simple issue.
‘Wait a minute…’
Sarah had to catch her breath and think calmly.
Not long ago, when she visited Hyunseung’s house, his father’s hearing had recovered to a certain extent. But why was Hyunseung having trouble with his ear? Were the two connected?
“Still, thank you for the advice. Once my nerve fully recovers and things get better, I’ll definitely talk to her then.”
However, she was given no time to sort out her thoughts.
“I’m feeling tired, so I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Hyunseung suddenly strode toward the office door.
“How long have you been standing there?”
Because she was caught red-handed, leaning awkwardly against the door.
“Uh, w-well, that is…”
Sarah’s train of thought ground to a halt, and she stammered while avoiding his gaze. She hadn’t anticipated running into him so abruptly.
“How much did you hear?”
“I-I just got here.”
“If you just got here, when exactly?”
“Uh, well…”
She could have easily lied with a straight face, claiming she hadn’t heard a thing and had only just arrived.
Unfortunately, Sarah was completely incapable of lying, so she could only look around nervously like a fool.
Right then, the people behind Hyunseung’s back were whispering among themselves with amused expressions.
“Let’s go to the studio and talk first.”
Sensing their watchful eyes, Hyunseung grabbed Sarah by the wrist and led her away.
Hyunseung had no idea that even a small gesture like this made Sarah’s heart plummet.
Usually, shouldn’t the person caught having that kind of conversation be more embarrassed?
Yet for some reason…
It felt like the tables were turned.
“Wh-Why are you looking at me like that?”
Hyunseung stared at Sarah relentlessly, like a detective interrogating a suspect, while Sarah busied herself dodging his gaze.
Click.
Unlike his usual habit, Hyunseung engaged the double lock from the inside, making her think something major was about to happen.
Or so she thought, but the reality was the exact opposite.
Because Hyunseung kept his mouth firmly shut, Sarah was practically dying of frustration.
She’d rather he pestered her with questions about how much she had heard, like before!
That way, she could use it as an excuse to ask if the woman he was on “good terms” with was really her!
And what on earth he meant by the condition of his ear! And what this whole “recovery” business was about!
Yet Sarah couldn’t bring herself to speak first.
She was afraid he’d say it wasn’t her, not to get the wrong idea.
That it was none of her business.
That he’d give her a song, so she should stop nagging.
She was terrified of hearing such dismissive words.
And she was scared to hear directly from Hyunseung’s own mouth that he had lost his hearing.
It can’t be.
If…
If that’s true.
She might end up hating herself for ever harboring even a shred of resentment toward him.
Tick, tock.
After a brief moment where only the sound of the second hand ticking filled the air.
“Just in case you’re wondering…”
Hyunseung’s firmly closed lips finally parted.
“Whatever you heard, don’t misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand… what?”
“Whatever it was, just don’t get the wrong idea.”
The very words she had been dreading poured out.
“It’s absolutely not what you think, and there’s no reason for you to worry at all, so don’t have strange thoughts or waste your energy worrying.”
The fact that she had briefly wondered if she was the woman he was on good terms with, just because they exchanged a necklace… It made her want to crawl into a hole from sheer embarrassment.
“Ha!”
Lest Hyunseung notice how she felt, Sarah deliberately raised her voice in retort.
“I’m not misunderstanding, having strange thoughts, or worrying!”
She then hastily turned her head, trying to hide her face that burned red with shame, and added:
“From what I overheard earlier, it sounded like your ears aren’t in good shape, so I just wondered if I wouldn’t be able to get songs from you anymore, that’s all.”
She hadn’t meant to say that, but a petty contrariness surged up from within, making callous words tumble out against her will.
“I didn’t misunderstand anything else. Whoever you’re seeing, what does that have to do with me?”
Seriously, I’m pathetic.
Why?
Why do lies like this come out so easily?
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Truly?”
Even though I don’t mean a word of it.
“I said yes!”
Sarah felt like slapping her own mouth for spouting words so contrary to her true feelings.
“Phew…”
After a brief, tense standoff of back-and-forth retorts.
“I told you not to misunderstand.”
“I told you I’m not!”
“That’s why I’m telling you not to misunderstand.”
“I’m not! I said I’m not!”
Hyunseung pressed a hand firmly atop Sarah’s head as she snapped back sullenly, and added:
“I wasn’t talking about another woman, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
Sarah blinked slowly at his words.
Every time she closed and opened her eyes, the side of Hyunseung’s face seemed faintly flushed. Could that be a misunderstanding too?
Poke.
She reached out gingerly and prodded Hyunseung’s cheek.
A scorching heat met her fingertip, hot enough to wear away her fingerprint.
“Do you have a fever?”
“No.”
“You definitely have a fever.”
“I said I don’t.”
The more she interrogated him, the redder Hyunseung’s face turned, resembling a perfectly ripe seasonal tomato.
So he can feel shy, too.
Only then did the tension in Sarah’s stiff face melt away, giving way to a bright, clear smile.
However, the smile was fleeting. This was no time to be grinning happily. She still hadn’t heard the exact condition of Hyunseung’s ears.
“Then… that means we’re in a relationship where I’m allowed to worry, right?”
“I told you, you don’t need to worry.”
“How can I not worry after hearing something like that?”
At Sarah’s words, Hyunseung wore a rather troubled expression.
It seemed he had intended to hide it until the very end.
She understood how he felt.
For a composer, having an issue with their ears was no different than a singer damaging their vocal cords.
Perhaps… she wouldn’t have told anyone either if she were in his shoes.
However, she would have told Hyunseung. Even if she couldn’t tell anyone else, she would have confided in him. At least, that was how her heart felt right now.
“Haaah…”
Hyunseung let out a conflicted sigh before speaking.
“For now, I can’t hear well out of one ear.”
“Why? How? Did you get hurt? Did something happen?”
“To fix my father’s ears, there was no other way.”
“Ah…”
“Still, I’ll recover quickly, just like my father did.”
In an effort to reassure Sarah, he added in a calm tone:
“You saw for yourself that my father can hear just fine now, so you know. That’s why you don’t need to worry.”
“Let me say this again: what I’m worried about is not being able to hear and sing the songs you make. And above all else, I’m worried about your health.”
Then, lightly holding Sarah by both shoulders, he cleared his throat awkwardly before adding:
“I’m only going to say this once.”
“Say what?”
“You will never, for the rest of your life, be unable to hear or sing my songs. And I’ll never let you starve, either.”
Hyunseung’s words, past the point of being blunt and bordering on utterly direct, turned Sarah’s face crimson once more.
She knew this wasn’t the time to be flustered like an idiot, but who wouldn’t feel their heart flutter after hearing something like that?
‘Never let me starve…’
Isn’t that practically a marriage proposal?! How can he say something like that so nonchalantly?!
Thump, thump!
Just as Sarah’s heart was pounding frantically.
“And since you’re already here in the studio, let’s re-record just one take from what we tracked last time.”
“Huh?”
“No matter how much I tweak it, it feels lacking. I think it’d be better to track it again.”
In Korea, would they call this mood-killing situation “suddenly breaking into recording”?
Good grief.
He really didn’t have an ounce of romance in him.
“I’m going, I’m going!”
Snapping curtly as she walked into the recording booth, Sarah couldn’t help the pleasant smile spreading across her face.
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