CH 35

Wondering if he had entered the wrong place, Jeong-woo checked the sign in front of the door again and turned to look at Yoon Yi-seol with a perplexed expression.

‘I think I should say something in this situation….’

Jeong-woo, who was embarrassed after checking the sign again, fixed his gaze on her without her mask.

Her small face without makeup, with only reddened lips and stray hairs flowing over her forehead, looked so cute.

As much as her kind personality shown in the morning, her appearance was equally stunning, enough to leave him speechless.

Seeing Yoon Yi-seol’s blank expression without saying anything, Jeong-woo suddenly came to his senses.

“Yoon Yi-seol? It’s the first time I’ve seen you since last week’s stage, right?”

Faced with a question that indirectly avoids asking about the morning’s events, Yoon Yi-seol hesitated before nodding her head and saying, “Yes.”

And the counseling room fell silent.

‘I hope they’re not asking me to do the 4-hour program with Yoon Yi-seol’ he thought, and as he glanced at her, she seemed to be thinking the same thing. Yoon Yi-seol was more startled than Jeong-woo.

“Um, well…”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“What?”

“I came here to treat that.”

“Oh.”

As Jeong-woo spoke naturally, Yoon Yi-seol made up her mind to say something and swallowed her saliva before speaking.

“And I can’t sleep either.”

“Oh….”

“No, I mean, I can’t sleep… Ah, why do I keep saying that?”

Yoon Yi-seol turned her head sharply after hitting her forehead.

“I’m here, you know. I’m good at talking to fans, but not so much with Han Jeong-woo. That’s why I stumble over my words. Please understand.”

“I’m a fan too.”

“Since last week, right?”

“Does that mean it’s not okay?”

“It’s okay.”

Yoon Yi-seol nodded her head coolly, but her expression seemed to falter at something, giving her the look of a surprised rabbit as she looked at Han Jeong-woo.

‘Can entertainers really be this innocent?’

The more she looked, the more she could see her pure and naive side. However, as she felt that way, the burden that had arisen as soon as she entered the room melted away.

Han Jeong-woo suppressed a laugh and spoke.

“Please feel free to approach me as a fan. I won’t insist on asking for autographs or taking pictures with Yoon Yi-seol either.”

“… Why aren’t you insisting?”

“Do I have to?”

“Well, as a fan, you should.”

Yoon Yi-seol bit her lower lip and looked resentful. Jeong-woo matched his pace with her serious expression.

“I see.”

“Even though it’s only been a week since you became a fan.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not used to being a fan of such a great singer like Yoon Yi-seol.”

“Remember that. That’s how you become a regular member quickly.”

“Regular member… on a fan site?”

Upon seeing Yoon Yi-seol’s gaze that seemed to complain about him not joining, Jeong-woo coughed and first addressed the request he heard earlier.

“I got the autograph, and there’s a video of us taken with a better camera than that. But can we take a picture later?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I didn’t do my makeup today. I’m sorry.”

“If that’s the case, why did you say that…”

Yoon Yi-seol, who was pretty enough without makeup, avoided Jeong-woo’s gaze with a fresh expression.

Jeong-woo felt that she was shy and lowered his head inwardly.

‘No way.’

At that moment, the door opened with a thud and both of them turned their heads.

“Sorry, I’m a little late.”

Seong Mi-na came in holding the chart in her hand.

“Have you introduced yourselves? This is Han Jeong-woo, and this is Yoon Yi-seol. I heard that you’re mutual acquaintances…”

Yi-seol stood up abruptly, grabbed Seong’s arm and leaned in close to the door, whispering.

“You didn’t say anything like this.”

“Because you kept saying you’re ugly with that pretty face. I thought you might run away.”

Hearing this, Yi-seol’s face turned bright red, and she covered her forehead with her hand.

“I knew it, I should have called the stylist.”

“Are you going to participate in the program? You can be confident that it’ll help you with your insomnia.”

Yi-seol turned her gaze to Jeong-woo, who was sitting awkwardly at the table. Then, she nodded her head slightly.

Sitting down, Seong Mi-na handed a chart to each of the two.

“This is today’s schedule. Repeat machine therapy and individual tailored therapy.”

As the two read the details of the chart, Seong Mi-na spoke up.

“Let’s get moving right away. Two other teams are already working, so it’ll be difficult if we get behind. Please move to the machine therapy room up front.”

At Seong Mi-na’s rapid-fire instructions, the two hurriedly moved out.

Sitting in a massage chair that tightly wrapped around his neck, Jeong-woo became slightly tense. The device was so large that it felt burdensome as it tightly wrapped around his neck, going from the back of his ears to the end of his shoulders.

The machine switch was turned on.

As the sound of “ooh-oong” started to stimulate the back of his neck, Jeong-woo couldn’t help but groan.

“If you feel any pain, please let me know.”

“Well… it feels refreshing, but…”

Jeong-woo’s voice trembled in vibration with the machine, which sounded somewhat comical, but he managed to control his expression as he faced the serious expression of Director Seong.

“This treatment has a function of stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.”

“Are you going to keep doing this…?”

Hearing Jeong-woo’s vibrating voice, Yoon Yi-seol, who was grinning, finally realized that a device was also attached to the back of her neck.

“Just a moment…”

Yoon Yi-seol hunched over, feeling the vibrations already started by the machine. The sensation on the back of her neck was quite stimulating, causing her toes to curl involuntarily.

“I… I’m fine.”

Since her neck was fixed, Yoon Yi-seol had no choice but to answer.

“I’m… not… too fond of… the sound of my own voice…”

Jeong-woo chuckled at the sound and then looked sideways, but he immediately shut his mouth as Yoon Yi-seol, who seemed to be in a good mood, gave him a strong warning glance.

“We’ll proceed for about 15 minutes.”

After Director Seong’s words, the treatment room was filled with only the sound of the machine’s vibration. Jeong-woo kept looking at the person next to him.

It was amazing. It was unbelievable that the top star who he thought he would never see again was right beside him.

“Ouch.”

As Yoon Yi-seol groaned in pain, the director, Seong, immediately approached her.

“Do you feel pain?”

“That’s not…it’s my foot…a cramp.”

Yoon Yi-seol, who was aware of Jeong-woo’s gaze, spoke up.

Seong quickly took off her shoe and massaged her toes.

Despite trying not to listen, Jeong-woo closed his eyes as her groans kept ringing in his ears.

‘I don’t know. I can’t hear it. I’m a fan. I shouldn’t listen. I’m going to be a regular member.’

“Ah…”

After the strange 15 minutes ended, Jeong-woo and Yoon Yi-seol couldn’t look at each other for a while.

The next step was to wear a brainwave measurement device and sit in front of a light therapy machine that emits light similar to solar energy for 30 minutes.

“If you feel too excited, please let us know. We will adjust the light for you,” they explained, inducing the secretion of melatonin at night by shining light in an environment that feels like being outside.

Jeong-woo was sitting next to Yoon Yi-seol, pondering the treatment they just received. Due to the awkward situation, he couldn’t find the courage to start a conversation. Laughing would be impolite.

“When you said you were a fan, please erase the memory of the treatment from your mind,” she spoke up first during the treatment.

Jeong-woo looked at her in confusion while watching her hold her hands together like praying and pleading, “Please.”

“Isn’t this our first treatment?” he asked.

“Uh? Oh… Yes, it’s our first treatment.”

Yoon Yi-seol breathed a sigh of relief and nodded her head as Jeong-woo grumbled to himself.

The director, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation while sitting at the monitoring station near the entrance, had a faint smile on his lips.

It was a smile of confirmation that the desired synergy effect was indeed taking place.

After gazing at the cozy light pouring from the light therapy machine for a while, Jeong-woo heard his phone beep and picked it up.

[Hyung, I’m on my way to the restaurant. I’m so nervous.]

‘Kid, I’m so nervous I want to go back too.’

That girl and Yoon Yi-seol. They couldn’t be more different. After sending a word of encouragement to Chan, Jeong-woo quickly turned his head.

Yoon Yi-seol was also looking at her phone and sending a message to someone.

[Please don’t come until 6 o’clock, Director Ji.]

[Huh?]

[I’m receiving… treatment.]

[…!!]

After finishing sending the message, Yoon Yi-seol turned to look at Jeong-woo, and their eyes met. She didn’t feel as awkward as she did before, when their eyes kept meeting. But still, it wasn’t easy to start a conversation.

Jeong-woo, who had been staring silently, asked her a question.

“Ms. Yoon Yi-seol. You said you used to sing in Hongdae before your debut, right?”

“Yes, that was before my debut. But how did you…?”

Jeong-woo shook his phone.

“You’re a famous person, so I happened to come across it while searching.”

“That’s all well and good, but please don’t click on ‘Yoon Yi-seol Kwadang’.”

“Kwadang? Oh, it’s showing up as the third related search term.”

Somehow, Jeong-woo’s face lit up with a smile as if he expected to see a cute video.

“Don’t do it.”

“You shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Take your hands off the keyboard.”

“I’m not looking at it now. My younger brother is on an important first date with a girl, so I need to search for something else. I asked him earlier, and he said they’re planning to go to a famous cafe in Hongdae called Once. Is the atmosphere there nice?”

At this, Yoon Yi-seol’s eyes lit up.

“I know that place very well. Put your phone down.”

Yoon Yi-seol explained that it was a traditional music cafe that had produced many talented indie musicians, and added one more thing.

“I also perform there from time to time.”

“Oh really? This place will be crazy when you go there, then.”

“Not really. There are so many amazing senior musicians there. The place evaluates you based on your singing more than your popularity. But what about your brother’s first date? What’s the story?”

“Oh, it’s his first love in high school. You’ll be surprised when you see her. She looks like a bandit.”

“Aw, that’s cute. I also have a younger brother who just entered college…”

Before they knew it, 30 minutes had passed since they started talking, even though they had only exchanged a few words.

Whether it was because they were both receiving treatment for the same symptoms or because they were both being analyzed for customized sleep environments while lying on mattresses during brainwave recycling therapy, they continued to chat comfortably.

Like a fan who has met their favorite singer after a long time.

“…. Ikhyeon doesn’t even reply when I ask how he’s doing.”

“Maybe to people, you’re the nation’s sister, but to him you’re just his sister. How amusing.”

“And yet he keeps whining and asking for an allowance.”

“That’s the same as Chan.”

Ding, a message came in, and Jeong-woo opened his phone.

“My younger brother. He said he felt really awkward with the girl at the restaurant and asked for some advice on how to turn the atmosphere around. It seems like he’s uncomfortable because he hasn’t talked much with girls before, and he keeps sending SOS messages to his inexperienced older brother.”

Upon hearing this, Yoon Yi-seol turned her head from the mattress to look at Jeong-woo.

“You haven’t talked much with girls either?”

“That’s right. Since I went to an all-boys middle and high school…”

As Jeong-woo spoke, he turned his head and found Yoon Yi-seol staring at him with her round, black eyes shining brightly.

“Tell your brother to express his feelings rather than trying to come up with fancy words.”

“…Sent.”

A minute later, he received a reply.

“Ugh, I just threw a straightforward remark. I told her she looked pretty in her wool hat, but it only made things more awkward.”

“Ha.”

“I helped him out so much, but if he fails on his first date, it must be fate for him.”

“That’s not true. Feeling awkward is just a natural desire to want to look good in front of the other person.”

Jeong-woo looked at Yoon Yi-seol and exclaimed, “Oh!”

“It seems that Ms. Yi-seol knows a lot about dating more than meets the eye.”

“We picked it up as we were thinking about the lyrics. Our stylist, who is an expert in this field, also knows about it.”

“Come to think of it, we were really awkward earlier.”

“Uh, well….”

Yoon Yi-seol’s response was hesitant, realizing that there was a high chance of misunderstanding. As she tried to respond, a strange atmosphere flowed between her and Jeong-woo, who was also flustered by the misunderstanding he had caused.

Beep.

The timer went off, and the mattress automatically raised the upper body, interrupting their conversation.

“Analysis is over. Take a break for a moment. I’ll see you in the counseling room at 3:35.”

Director Seong said this and opened the door. Jeong-woo and Yoon Yi-seol came out to the hallway feeling a little awkward. Director Seong watched over them with a satisfied smile.