Chapter 25.2

Just like the chilly autumn morning, her heart sank coldly. Shivering, Miran pulled the cardigan up over her shoulders.

“Huh? When did I put this on? And why is it backwards—”

The cardigan was worn with the sleeves in front, leaving the back wide open. Tilting her head in confusion, she recalled the moments just before she fell asleep last night. Then, she grabbed her head as if she were about to tear her hair out.

“Ugh… Kang Miran, are you crazy? How could you just fall asleep like that…”

She gently pulled back the neckline of the cardigan. There were no traces left on her chest or stomach. It seemed André had cleaned up and even dressed her while she was asleep.

“André. André…”

Miran softly rolled his name around in her mouth. Then, letting out a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a wail, she twisted her body like a wriggling caterpillar.

Her face burned like red lights blinking on a Christmas tree. Rubbing her cheeks, she muttered in a voice full of regret.

“I didn’t even get to thank him for helping me.”

Entering the bathroom, Miran turned on the hot water boiler and picked up the showerhead. The reflection in the bathroom mirror was a sight to behold.

Her face was swollen, her makeup was a mess, and there were even a few small bruises on her chest. The skin between her thighs was slightly red, likely from friction. As the events of the previous night came back to her, her face turned beet red again, staring back at her from the mirror.

The script practice had been successful enough. Boldly undressing in front of a stranger and playing the role of Chorong from start to finish was a significant achievement and a personal victory. However, acting as if it were an actual shoot made her feel more frightened rather than more courageous.

Standing n@ked in front of someone, and allowing someone to touch her body in such a way, made her realize just how private and intimate those actions were.

“Haa, can I really do this job…?”

She felt increasingly unsure of herself. But it was too late to give up now. She would just have to close her eyes and push through.

With a determined expression, Miran sprayed the shower water at the mirror, erasing her reflection. Turning her back to the mirror, she let the water cascade over her head. As she closed her eyes, André came to mind again.

‘Did he find his bag?’

‘Does he often go to Cactus? If I go there, could I run into him by chance?’

‘Even though it was just a one-night encounter, does André ever think about me? I feel like I won’t be able to forget him for a long time.’

All she knew about him was his name, André, and that he was a soldier. Realizing how difficult it would be to meet him again made her chest ache.

After showering, Miran quickly changed her clothes. Today was her shift at the hotel coffee shop. As she left the attic room and walked briskly to the bus stop, she let out a chuckle.

She couldn’t stop thinking about André. Assigning meanings to his every little action and mulling over the events of the previous night felt like she was a teenage girl experiencing her first love.

Perhaps because she knew it was unattainable, it felt all the more poignant.

She also remembered a Harlequin romance novel she had quite enjoyed during her high school days.

In the story, a woman falls in love with a man after spending one night with him. However, the man disappears the next morning. Years later, the man, now hugely successful, returns to the woman who had cherished memories of him. Thus, the two reunite and fall in love again, a typical Cinderella story.

Back then, she thought it was foolish and unrealistic to remember and love a man she had spent just one night with for a long time.

‘But if that one night was intense enough to remain in my memory for a lifetime… perhaps it’s possible for him to stay in a corner of my heart as someone special forever.’

Miran felt she could faintly understand the protagonist’s feelings.

She pressed her warm forehead against the cold window glass.

‘So what if I never see him again? What does it matter if it’s unrequited? What if it’s just a crush?’

She knew that as she got older, this memory might fade, but for now, she wanted to cherish this strange and thrilling emotion.