Chapter 46. The Sound Youth Makes When It Drowns (2)

“Coffee’s here!”

As soon as they parked behind the central stage, staff swarmed like zombies and started unloading the trunk.

“Hey, long time no see!”

Haeda was already greeting familiar faces cheerfully. Meanwhile, Eunkyo felt completely overwhelmed by the explosion of energy and could only swallow nervously.

It was as if everyone had downed energy drinks—MCs, performers, and the thousands of students gathered around the stage were buzzing with excitement.

Watching Haeda casually chat with even famous singers, Eunkyo couldn’t help but feel he was a stranger today. What did he even do all this time? For someone with such a wide network, it made no sense that he was just running a little café, hidden away in some corner of Seoul.

Then again, if you own a building in Seoul… yeah, Kim Haeda had made it. She had no time to worry about him.

Eunkyo helped unload supplies. As she reached for a box of paper cups in the back seat, someone grabbed her arm and said, “You can leave that.”

“Hey, come help move this,” the man shouted, motioning to someone else. Then, turning to her with a kind smile, he added, “Fancy seeing you here. You’re Jung Eunkyo, right?”

The man looked like a textbook white-collar professional—well-fitted suit, neat hairstyle. Despite the heat, he wore leather shoes and even a blazer. Recognizing his face, Eunkyo’s eyes widened.

“Oh?”

“Wow, don’t tell me you didn’t recognize me? I’m Park Seungjoo. We were supposed to have a nice dinner yesterday, remember?”

“Ah… Hello.”

Of all places, she had to run into the man she was supposed to be set up with.

Looking around for Haeda to explain the situation, she caught Seungjoo’s easy smile as he handed her a business card.

“I run an event planning company. Our team actually organized today’s festival too. I’ve even seen you at the café before… That’s why I kept asking Haeda to introduce us.”

Her face flushed with embarrassment as she took his business card. She really hadn’t known. She hadn’t heard anything about this from Haeda, nor had she ever paid attention to the friends who came to the café with him.

“I see… I’m sorry. Things have been hectic lately, and I had to cancel our meeting.”

“I kind of prefer meeting like this, to be honest. You know the term ‘natural encounter’? Between the two meanings… I meant the original one.”

He was one of those upbeat types—smiling kindly, just light enough in tone without being pushy.

The only issue was that he gave off a vibe similar to Lee Dohyun. But she couldn’t keep letting herself be dragged around by the ghost of that name forever.

“Would you like some coffee?”

Trying to continue the conversation, Eunkyo turned toward where the coffee had been set up—only to catch sight of Jaeheon stepping out from a tent.

He wore his work clothes and gloves, soaked with sweat. The same girl from before ran over and leapt into his arms, clinging to him like a cicada to a tree, laughing brightly. With a sigh, he peeled her off and turned away. The girl’s smile quickly vanished into a pout.

She couldn’t hear their conversation, but somehow, Lee Jaeheon’s voice seemed to echo inside her chest.

It wasn’t real—it was her imagination.

“Aren’t you going to give me coffee?”

Startled by Seungjoo’s half-joking tone, Eunkyo turned back around and forced a smile.

“If you stop by the café, I’ll make you something much better. Though honestly, Haeda’s coffee is way better than mine. But sometimes I get lucky.”

“Can I really come by? To see you—not Haeda.”

“I do owe you one, and I am technically the owner. No one’s going to complain if I give out free coffee now and then.”

Her hands were trembling for some reason. Forcing herself to stay calm, she handed over a cup of coffee to Seungjoo. He nodded and pointed somewhere.

“Want to go watch the performance?”

“Now?”

“People will manage just fine with the coffee. That’s why I asked Haeda to help out.”

Seungjoo led the way toward a stone wall not far from the stage. The wall was covered in wild ivy and bright trumpet creepers. A few staff members were already lounging nearby, watching the show.

Hesitating for a moment, Eunkyo forced herself to follow, holding back the urge to look back.

‘Why had Jaeheon come out of the tent? Was he working as a staff member? Did he really start dating that girl after just one day? Then why—?’

To be honest, she regretted it too. Everything she had said to him that day.

A thousand thoughts boiled over in her mind, crowding out all else. The name she had tried so hard to erase drifted back in.

“Do you like festivals like this?”

Seungjoo asked. Leaning lightly against the wall, Eunkyo gave a faint, almost pained smile.

“Actually, I’ve never really thought about it. I tend to avoid chaotic places.”

“Oh… I heard you write.”

“Yes.”

“Then maybe next time we could go see something quieter—like a classical or jazz concert.”

His tone was calm, his offer considerate. It was the kind of adult conversation that included space for rejection.

“You must like performances. Well… I guess it makes sense.”

Her response was a subtle decline, delivered in a way that wouldn’t embarrass him.

“Yeah. I get a lot of energy from these kinds of events. But if you’re okay with it, I could send you a ticket. You might not have time to go with me, so take a friend.”

“How could I accept that for free? Concert tickets are hard to come by.”

“Just buy me dinner next time.”

She chuckled softly and lifted her head—only to see Jaeheon sitting sideways on a supply box, watching her. The moment their eyes met, he stood up without a word.

There it was again. Her heart pounded violently, in sync with the music thundering through the speakers. Jaeheon peeled off his gloves and walked past her without hesitation, brushing by naturally.

‘Ah…’

Someone called him. Someone grabbed his shoulder. Someone led him away.

For a moment, Eunkyo wanted to be that someone.

She wanted to be the one calling out his name. The ache in her chest tightened like a fist.

She dragged her fingernail across her trembling lips—when suddenly, a hand grabbed hers. She looked up in shock to see Jaeheon holding her hand.

She was speechless.

His long lashes trembled slightly as he looked down at her hand. She thought she heard Seungjoo say something, but her mind went blank, like time had stopped.

“What is this…”

Jaeheon stared at the large bandage on her hand with the expression of someone trying to hold back rage, his jaw clenched tightly as he muttered a curse.