Chapter 69
“The bandage is a bit loose. When you get home, change it to a better one, okay? It won’t be good if water gets in the wound.”
Sara stared at the bandage he had just put on her.
It felt strangely like his love —
A flimsy shield that merely covered the surface instead of healing the root.
Now she finally knew how fragile and cheap it really was.
“Thank you.”
Her tone was curt and cool. She opened the passenger door to get out, but at that moment, Hanseong suddenly turned, bringing his face close to hers.
“Sara… I really regret it. Letting you go.”
“Let go of me.”
“I’ve dated a lot of women, but honestly… you’re the only one I can’t stop thinking about.”
Since he was gripping her injured arm tightly, Sara couldn’t move.
“I was wrong. Let’s start over. This time, I’ll treat you right — like a princess. Sara.”
“I have a boyfriend. It’s too late to beg for forgiveness now. So could you let go?”
Sara jerked her wrist free and shoved him away.
Fortunately, he returned to the driver’s seat, but one of his hands still held her wrist.
“Seo Sara. You think I don’t know you’re making that up just to avoid me? Think about it again, okay? You were happy with me, weren’t you?”
Happy?
At that word, irritation flared inside her.
How dare Kang Hanseong — of all people — use that word?
“Wow. You really think you’re something, huh? You think I made up a boyfriend just to avoid you? Why are you turning my actual boyfriend into some imaginary creature?”
“Then call him. Right here.”
“…What?”
“Put it on speaker and call him. If he’s real, I’ll back off.”
He looked smug, absolutely certain she was lying.
“Fine. But add one more condition — if I’m telling the truth, you can’t talk to me privately until the movie’s finished filming.”
“Deal. But if it’s a lie, you go on a date with me.”
“Deal.”
Sara finally freed herself from his grip. Her wrist ached from how tightly he’d held it.
She silently prayed that Seungtae would catch on quickly to the situation, then dialed his number.
“Ha. You even saved his name as ‘Yoon Seungtae’? That’s supposed to convince me?”
“You want me to go public with my relationship? When I dated you, your name was saved as Kang Hanseong too.”
Since the call was on speaker, Seungtae’s voice filled the small car. Sara felt a little nervous — over something so ridiculous.
[Hello?]
“Baaabe~ I fell during filming today and hurt my hand.”
[…Really?]
Sara summoned every speck of her hidden aegyo and poured it into her voice.
There was a short pause, then Seungtae’s answer came — curt, almost flat.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hanseong smirk as if to say, I told you so.
“Yeah. My palm’s all scraped up. It was bleeding and everything… It hurt, so I thought of you and called.”
Please catch on. Please catch on, Yoon Seungtae.
[Put your hand close to the phone.]
“Huh? Why?”
[So I can blow on it and make it better.]
Sara nearly shivered. Did he just say something that cheesy?
She’d been trying to cue a line like that, but actually hearing it made goosebumps rise on her arms.
Still, as a professional actress, she kept the act going.
“Wow, now that you blew on it, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Thanks, babe.”
[Did you get hurt badly? Should I come pick you up after filming?]
“No, I’m fine now. I put on medicine, and you blew on it, so it’s all good.”
Sara glanced triumphantly at Hanseong.
His once-confident expression was now twisted with disbelief.
“Sorry for calling while you’re working. I’ll hang up now.”
[Wait, Sara.]
“Yeah?”
[That suit I left at your place.]
“Oh, right. I had it dry-cleaned, but I forgot to give it back.”
[No need. You’ll probably have to change clothes there anyway. Just keep it.]
“True. Okay, then. Love you.”
[Love you too.]
The call ended.
Hanseong’s face flushed red — he couldn’t hide it at all.
Sara, on the other hand, slipped her phone into her pocket with a satisfied sigh.
“All good? I’m leaving.”
“Wait — that was fake, right? You got some guy to pretend to be your boyfriend for the call, didn’t you?”
“You’re the one who told me to call. Did you forget already?”
“Hey! I’m not done talking— Seo Sara! Sara!”
She opened the passenger door and finally escaped that suffocating car.
Then she peeled off the cheap bandage covering her palm and tossed it onto the ground.
* * *
“Ah, that felt good. You should’ve seen his face, Seungtae.”
“I didn’t know you used to date Kang Hanseong.”
“Yeah, it’s one of those memories I’d rather forget. I dumped him after catching him cheating with his octopus arms all over the place.”
“Wow.”
Whether it was from the humiliation of that phone call or from realizing Sara truly had a boyfriend, Hanseong stopped pestering her completely after that day.
That alone made filming much more comfortable.
“But how did you realize what I was trying to do so fast?”
“It was obvious. You’d never call me ‘babe’ otherwise — you said it made you cringe.”
“Maybe you should try acting, Seungtae. You were shamelessly good at it.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment?”
“In this context, yes.”
Sara replied primly, and Seungtae laughed — realizing she’d just quoted something he’d once said himself.
“So where are we headed today? You told me to dress up, so I’ve been at the salon since morning.”
“Just a boring finance meeting.”
“If it’s boring, why drag me along?”
“Because today I’m planning to get under my father’s skin. Can’t let him bully my mom all the time, can I?”
“Wow…”
“Wow what?”
“You’re a perfectly equal-opportunity unfilial son.”
“Guess so. My father really failed at parenting.”
He said it casually, as if talking about someone else.
Sara couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
“So I just have to smile prettily by your side, right?”
“That’s enough. Though since it’s my first time bringing a woman to one of these things, they’ll probably try to tear you apart.”
“Well, we’ll just have to see who gets bitten first.”
Sara said confidently.
Seungtae glanced at her and smiled.
When they arrived at the hotel, an attendant rushed over to open the door.
The staff seemed a bit surprised to see a woman stepping out next to Seungtae, but they were professional enough not to show it.
“Shall we go in?”
“Sure.”
Sara linked her arm with his and walked beside him into the banquet hall.
Even though it was only a short distance to the entrance, several people recognized Seungtae — and soon, some recognized Sara too.
Murmurs spread.
But the one who reacted most strongly was none other than Seungtae’s father, Yoon Seokhun.
“Do you know where you are right now? How dare you bring her here?”
Seokhun’s face flushed red with anger as he glared at his son and at Sara.
If there hadn’t been people around, he might have shouted a hundred times over.
“It’s been a while, Father.”
“Didn’t I say I never wanted to see her again? Do you not understand plain Korean?”
“Family should see each other often, Father.”
“Family? Who are you calling family? Celebrities are just people you pay to show up on TV! What’s wrong with you? Going through a late puberty or something?”
Seokhun spoke as if Sara weren’t even human — as if his son had bought some cheap trinket at a market.
If this weren’t an act, his words would’ve hurt a lot more.
“Why else would I do this, Father? Because I love her.”
Seungtae said it calmly, pulling Sara close with an arm around her shoulders.
Seokhun looked ready to explode, but he kept it in, conscious of the crowd.
“Love? You think that kind of love lasts? All women are the same.”
“We’ll see about that, won’t we?”
The tension between father and son was so sharp that Sara barely dared to smile.
The conversation dragged on longer than expected.
While half-listening to Seokhun’s barbed remarks, Sara’s eyes wandered — and suddenly, she locked eyes with someone unexpected.
Someone she hadn’t imagined she’d run into here, of all places.
And worse — he looked delighted to see her.
“Noona!”
His voice was loud enough to turn every head — including Seungtae’s and Seokhun’s.
He approached her with a bright grin.
“What are you doing here? I heard you were busy filming these days.”
“Uh… Minhyuk.”
Sara greeted him awkwardly.
Minhyuk, hearing the unusually gentle tone she used, looked surprised — and then became even friendlier.
“Noona, noona! Grandpa and Dad are over there. Come with me!”
Ahem.
Seokhun cleared his throat sharply, his displeasure obvious.
Only then did Minhyuk realize who the two men beside Sara were, and he quickly bowed his head in alarm.
