1RomanceEB Chapter 70 Dangerous Heartbeat
Chapter 70 Dangerous Heartbeat
Park Jiyeon was at home memorizing her script when she received the call.
That was her second female lead in her new drama "Secret Forest," a role with many scenes and lines, which she spent four or five hours memorizing every day. But today she couldn't concentrate on a single word because a major problem had arisen on set.
The male actor who was supposed to be her co-star dropped out at the last minute.
It wasn't a leave of absence; it was a direct breach of contract. Rumor has it she was poached by a bigger production and doesn't care about the penalty for breach of contract. When the director called Park Ji-yeon, his voice was trembling; he said, "Filming might have to be halted if we can't find a replacement."
Park Jiyeon hung up the phone, walked around the room three times, and then called Su Yu.
I answered the phone after it rang twice.
"explain."
"Representative Su, something's happened to our production crew..." Park Jiyeon explained the situation, her voice growing increasingly urgent. "The director said if we can't find any actors this week, filming will have to be suspended. If it's suspended, all the progress we've made will be wasted, and the investors might withdraw their funding..."
"Okay," Su Yu said and hung up.
Park Jiyeon stood there, phone in hand, stunned. What did "I understand" mean? Did it mean she would take action or not?
She wanted to call again, but was afraid Su Yu would find her annoying. She paced around the room several times, but in the end, she didn't call.
That night she couldn't sleep, tossing and turning, thinking about what would happen if the drama flopped. She'd finally landed a good role, finally proven herself not just a pretty face in idol dramas, finally let directors see her acting skills…
At 2 a.m., she sent Su Yu a message: "Representative Su, is there anything we can do about that actor?"
No reply.
At 3 o'clock, she sent another message: "I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I'm really worried."
Still no reply.
Park Jiyeon placed her phone face down on her pillow, closed her eyes, and her mind was a complete mess.
She was woken up by the phone ringing at seven o'clock the next morning.
It's Su Yu.
"The actor has been found. Yeon Jung-hoon, he'll join the crew tomorrow."
Park Jiyeon thought she was still dreaming.
"Yeon Jung-hoon? Which Yeon Jung-hoon?"
"Yes. His contract with his previous company just expired, and he hasn't signed with a new company yet. I contacted his agent last night, and we talked for four hours. He agreed to take the role."
Park Jiyeon opened her mouth, wanting to say thank you, wanting to ask how she did it, wanting to ask if she hadn't slept all night, but the words stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say a single word.
"Feed?" Su Yu's voice was a little hoarse, indicating that he hadn't slept all night.
"Yes, yes." Park Jiyeon's voice trembled slightly. "Representative Su, thank you."
"Act well and don't waste this opportunity," Su Yu said before hanging up.
Park Jiyeon sat on the bed, her phone pressed to her ear, listening to the dial tone after the call ended, remaining motionless for a long time.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on the back of her hand. She looked down at her hand; her fingers were trembling slightly.
It wasn't because I was worried, it was because I was moved.
The feeling came suddenly, yet it also seemed premeditated. It was as if someone had planted a seed in her heart, one she hadn't noticed, and now it had suddenly blossomed.
Park Jiyeon took a deep breath and patted her face.
"Calm down, calm down. He's the boss, and he has a girlfriend."
She told herself it three times, but her heart was still racing.
At 10 a.m., Park Jiyeon went to the company.
She wasn't there to see Su Yu—she told herself—but to pick up the new script.
But after receiving the script, her feet seemed to walk on their own to the door of Su Yu's office.
The door wasn't closed properly; there was a crack.
She peeked through the crack in the door and saw Su Yu leaning against the sofa, holding her phone in her hand, her eyes closed.
Fell asleep.
On the table lay a folder, a coffee cup, and an ashtray. The ashtray contained seven or eight cigarette butts, and the coffee in the cup had long since gone cold. His brow was furrowed, a furrow that remained even in his sleep.
Park Jiyeon stood at the door for a few seconds, then gently pushed the door open and went inside.
There was a faint smell of smoke and coffee mixed together in the office, which didn't smell good, but she felt that was Su Yu's scent.
She took a blanket from the cabinet next to her, tiptoed to the sofa, and covered him with it.
Su Yu stirred, but didn't wake up.
Park Jiyeon squatted down and looked at his face.
The Su Yu I usually see at the company is always calm, composed, and in complete control. But now, asleep, Su Yu looks like a tired, tense 23-year-old who needs someone to take care of him.
She remembered that last night—no, early this morning—he had spent four hours on the phone trying to find an actress for her.
for her.
It wasn't just for her, it was also for the company and the project. But at that moment, Park Jiyeon felt it was all for her.
She couldn't help but reach out, wanting to smooth his furrowed brow.
Just as her fingers were about to touch his forehead, Su Yu suddenly opened his eyes.
Park Jiyeon was startled, her hand freezing in mid-air.
The two looked at each other. Su Yu's eyes were still a little dazed from just waking up, but they quickly cleared up.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Park Jiyeon pulled her hand back quickly, as if she had been burned.
"No, it's nothing. The blanket fell off, I'll cover you up."
Su Yu looked down at the blanket on her body, then looked at her.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Park Jiyeon stood up and took a step back. "Well, I'll be going now. I've got the script."
"Um."
Park Jiyeon turned and walked out of the office quickly. When she reached the corner of the corridor, she stopped, leaned against the wall, and clutched her chest.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of my throat.
She closed her eyes, her mind filled with the look in Su Yu's eyes when he first woke up—those eyes looking at her, so close that she could see her own reflection.
"Park Jiyeon, you're doomed," she whispered to herself.
At the other end of the corridor, Shirley stood there, holding a cup of coffee.
She looked at Park Jiyeon leaning against the wall and said nothing.
Park Jiyeon noticed someone was watching her, looked up, and saw Sulli.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds.
Sulli walked over and stopped in front of Park Jiyeon.
"you also……"
Park Jiyeon didn't speak, but her expression answered.
Sulli paused for a moment, then handed the cup of coffee in her hand to Park Jiyeon.
"Have a drink. An iced Americano, no sugar."
Park Jiyeon took the coffee and took a sip. It was ice-cold, and the coldness went from her throat all the way to her stomach.
"When did it start?" Shirley asked.
"This morning," Park Jiyeon's voice was muffled, "or maybe even earlier, I don't even know myself."
Shirley leaned against the wall next to her; the two women stood side by side.
"You know he has a girlfriend, right?"
"Know."
"You know he won't break up with you, right?"
"Know."
"So what do you plan to do?"
Park Jiyeon remained silent for a long time, looking down at the coffee cup in her hand.
"I don't know. Let's leave it at that for now."
Shirley didn't ask any more questions.
The corridor was quiet, and sunlight streamed in through the windows, falling warmly on the floor.
In the distant office, Su Yu woke up.
He noticed the blanket on him and remembered how Park Jiyeon had been squatting in front of him.
He frowned, but didn't think much of it, and stood up to pour coffee.
As he walked down the corridor, he saw Sulli and Park Jiyeon standing together.
What are you doing here?
The two of them turned to look at him at the same time, their expressions both a little strange.
"Let's chat," Shirley said.
"What are you going to talk about?"
"Let's talk..." Sulli glanced at Park Jiyeon, "about the weather."
Su Yu looked at the sun outside the window, then at them.
"The weather's nice today. If you're free, go to work."
He walked away with his coffee cup.
Sulli and Park Jiyeon watched his departing figure, neither of them saying a word.
After a long while, Shirley spoke.
"He can be incredibly slow-witted at times."
Park Jiyeon gave a wry smile.
"It might not be that you're slow to understand. It's that you don't want to understand."
That night, Park Jiyeon returned home, sat at her desk, and opened the script.
Yeon Jung-hoon's scenes need to be readjusted, and her lines also need to be changed. Filming starts tomorrow, so she has to memorize the new script tonight.
But her mind was filled with Su Yu.
She picked up her phone and opened her chat history with Su Yu. The most recent message was from last night: "Representative Su, is there anything you can do about that actor?"—He didn't reply.
It's not that I don't want to go back, I'm just busy. She knows that.
She scrolled through the earlier records, reading them one by one. Most were work-related, with only one or two in a less formal tone—"Have you eaten?" "Get some rest." "Don't work too hard."
She used to think these were just polite gestures from the boss to the employees.
Looking at it again today, it suddenly feels different.
Perhaps it was never the same. She just didn't realize it.
Park Jiyeon put down her phone and closed her eyes.
"Stop thinking about it," she told herself. "You're an actress, your job is to act. He pays you, you act for him. It's that simple."
She opened her eyes, opened the script, and began memorizing her lines.
But as I kept reciting them, the words became blurry.
It wasn't tears, it was just sleepiness.
She didn't sleep well last night, and today was another hectic day. She lay on the table, using her script as a pillow, and slowly fell asleep.
In his dream, Su Yu stood by the Han River, the wind blowing through his hair.
He turned to look at her and said something.
She didn't hear clearly.
I tried to get a little closer, but then I woke up from the dream.
It was already dark outside the window. The night in Seoul was eerily quiet.
Park Jiyeon sat up, rubbed her eyes, and picked up her phone.
There's a new message. Sulli sent it.
"Are you asleep?"
Park Jiyeon replied, "No."
"I can't sleep either."
"Thinking about him?"
"……Um."
The two people sent the same message at the same time.
Park Jiyeon posted: "Do you think he knows?"
Shirley's message read: "Do you think we're stupid?"
The messages arrived at the same time, and the two of them looked at the screen and smiled.
After laughing, Park Jiyeon cried again.
They either burst into tears or the tears just started falling on their own, and they couldn't stop them.
She lay on the table, her shoulders shaking.
The phone lit up again.
Shirley said, "Don't cry. You have to film tomorrow, and swollen eyes won't look good on camera."
Park Jiyeon wiped away her tears and typed, "How did you know I was crying?"
"Because I cried."
Looking at those four words, Park Jiyeon suddenly felt less lonely.
It turns out there are others like her.
It turns out she wasn't alone.
She replied with a hugging emoji.
Shirley replied.
The night view of the Han River outside the window is quietly illuminated. Two women, two windows, the same night sky.
Thinking of the same person.