“You don’t really have to be here, you know? You were so drunk last night that your assistant had to carry you to the car. I’m sure she carried you to your bed too. So go back, I ain’t a small kid who needs people to drop him off.” Joon-won commented as he looked at Hea-Jung, who sat beside him while clutching her forehead and groaning in pain. 

“Argh! Do not talk much. Just sit silently. It’s my wish if I want to come or not. Your train should be coming soon too, so just stay quiet.” As Hea-Jung clutched her head once again from the hangover headache. She went all out the day before and now is suffering for it. It’s no one’s fault except her’s. 

When Joon-won woke up early and got ready, he got a message and noticed it was from Hea-Jung asking him to come down. As he did, he noticed her in her car, driving.. There was no Han Ju with her like always. According to her, she didn’t want to wake up Han Ju and so just used another vehicle the crew gave them. 

He just sighed and continued to wait for the train. He was feeling very sleepy and wanted to just get on the train and sleep all the way there. It was a long journey, and so he would get enough sleep by the end of it. 

Eventually, the train came by, and taking his luggage, he walked inside the train before looking out. Then, he looked at Hea-Jung, who kept yawning and said, “Alright, drive back safely now. Text me when you reach your room. If you can’t drive back, just call that assistant of yours to pick you up. Don’t take risks.” 

Hea-Jung, in response, just snapped at him while clutching her head, “Ah! Alright, just go now, bastard. I’ll be back in the city after a few weeks and have an off for 2 weeks before we go on a promotion tour to a few cities. Alright then, bye.” And just walked away. Joon-won also got inside and searched for his seat. Finding it, he arranged his bags before falling asleep. 

The train journey continued as it came to a stop after a few hours, effectively waking Joon-won from his deep sleep. He looked out of his window and noticed his stop had come. Quickly getting out of the train, he opened his phone and noticed it was already 10. He also noticed Hea-Jung’s message and gave her a quick reply before walking out of the station. He was hungry and couldn’t wait to get back home to get fresh before having something to eat.

With so many cabs right outside the station, it didn’t take him long to find one and get back home. Paying the man, he just got inside his house and ordered some breakfast as he went into the washroom. Getting freshened up, he took a good look at his home and smiled. 

“Nothing better than home.” 

After that, he took the bags inside the room, got to unpacking, and as he finished, he heard the doorbell ring. It was his breakfast. Thanking the delivery guy, he just started chowing down his food, and as he was doing that, his phone rang. It was Min-Seok, probably about whether he was back home safely or not.

Picking up the phone, he didn’t give a chance for Min-Seok to rapid-fire with questions and just said, “I’m back home safely. I’m also having my breakfast right now. So now that it’s out of the way, what are you guys doing? Done with breakfast?

[Good to hear you reached safely. Take some rest today. Yes, we have already finished our breakfast. Yun-hee went out to spend some time with her friends here, and I’m alone at home.]

“Yes, yes, I’ll take some rest today. I have no plans today anyway. Let her enjoy today. She probably won’t meet her friends until winter break in December. You should also take some rest then. I’ll go now.”

[Alright then, bye.] And the call got cut.

After he finished eating his dinner, he got to work. The first thing he did was throw the few unwashed clothes into the washing machine, especially yesterday night’s clothes that were reeking of alcohol. The hotel he stayed in washed his clothes every day and so there weren’t many. 

After throwing them in and turning the machine on, he went to the kitchen and checked if he needed any groceries, he was going to have other people for a week, so it was better to get them stocked up. 

Taking note of all the things he needed, he wore his headphones before walking out of the apartment. He slowly made his way towards the supermarket he was very familiar with, and as he entered, he saw his partner or now ex-partner at work on the desk looking at her phone. She looked up and jumped when she noticed it was him.

“Ah! Joon-won, or should I say future film star Joon-won. Come take a picture with me, when I go to the film, I’ll show my friends when you come on the screen that I know you. You know what, give your signature on this paper too. If you become famous, I might even get quite some money from the signature.” As she pulled out her phone and then a paper from underneath the desk. 

Joon-won looked at her with a deadpan expression, not moving from the place. He knew she was doing it for the jokes, but it still ticked him off a little. So he just sighed and said with some irritation in his voice, “Stop the nonsense and keep them away.” And Gah Soo did so as she just sat back on her chair.

“So, how was the journey? Did you come here to help your poor partner you left hanging? It’s so tough for me right now.” 

Hearing her, he looked around the shop and asked, “Where is your current partner? I thought the boss already hired someone to take my place and help you out.” But, unfortunately, he could find no one in the entire shop except her. 

“Oh, the new girl went out on boss’s orders. She is such a dimwit. She is a very slow learner. I thought everyone would be like you, quick to learn and handle my stuff. But I am very wrong. This girl got into trouble twice already this week.” 

Joon-won walked around the store with a basket in his hand as he asked her back, “How young is this girl?”

“If I remember correctly, she said she was in her last year of high school now.”

Joon-won looked at her from behind a shelf and said with his eyebrows raised, “Then cut that poor girl some slack. It’s common for people to make small mistakes, especially young people, and it’s also not like people are lining up for jobs here, so if you don’t want to have the complete burden, just bear with it.” Before shrugging his shoulders and walking away to do his things. He only got a loud groan from her in response. 

As he finished his grocery shopping, he got back to the counter and kept it on the table as Gah Soo got to her work. As she was scanning the things, she asked him, “So, when is your sister coming? I see new freshmen already coming to the university to get in. I heard they will start the semester in 2 weeks or something.” 

“They’ll be here by this time tomorrow. So I think we will go to the university on Monday instead of tomorrow, and show my dad and her around the city a bit. Do you know any good places to look at in Arios?” 

She shrugged and replied, “Well, you can always take her to the boring stuff like the museum and shit, I guess. There aren’t really many things to sightsee in Arios. It’s a boring city if you take away the entertainment industry, which is more prominent in the inner core zone, and you don’t have a car to drive around the inner zone. So it’s a waste. If you had a car, you could go out of the city, there is a huge waterfall and bridge nearby. It takes you 30 minutes on the highway.” 

Joon-won hummed as he heard her and simply said, “I guess the only thing they get is the museum and some good food tomorrow. So it’s not that bad.”

Gah Soo was also done with his grocery as she handed him his bag and said, “Well, remember to call me when you come to register your sister on Monday. I’ll help you out with those troublesome things. I have a few friends helping out the teachers this year, so it’ll get done quickly. Ah! You are back. I was wondering how long you’ll be gone.” She exclaimed at the end while looking at the door.

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