29 Fiance

Jungsu pushed himself up and down, balancing in the air as he completed his daily rounds of exercises. By now, the rising sun was starting to cast beautiful shades of pink, purple, and blue onto the clouds, illuminating the sky akin to an elaborate painting. 

Jungsu had the luxury of the view of the city of Seoul from far up in his apartment building. While he might have preferred going outside to enjoy some fresh air, he didn't think Hyunwoo or Hyun-su would like him going outside unattended. What was worse, if they sent someone to follow him, Jungsu just knew that he would be forced to wait around for them to catch up to his speed. 

Still, he was content inside as well as here he could do whatever exercises he wanted to, and wear whatever he wanted to without anyone knowing. At the moment, Jungsu was sporting only sweatpants. 

The view outside the window was flipped back into place as Jungsu pushed himself upright, his feet no longer up in the air as he landed on the floor. 

Jungsu had already completed the rest of his workout inside his own apartment. His workout was a mixture of stretches, calisthenics, strength-building, and cardio. For the cardio, he'd had to use the apartment gym, only seeing one other person using the gym with him at the time. 

Heading to his bathroom, he got ready to take a shower. 

Meanwhile, inadvertently, a photographer capturing the sunrise from a building at a bit of a distance from Jungsu's, had captured Jungsu as he balanced his weight on one hand with his legs in the air. 

As Jungsu rubbed his head against his towel, he munched down on his breakfast, revelling in how quiet it sounded in his new apartment. His previous apartment was not only very noisy, but it was also very dark with the lack of windows. But because instead of walls there were windows in his new apartment, he figured that was to be expected. 

Today was the first shooting day for The Testament. Although Jungsu wouldn't be in the shots today, he figured, he should observe the set and the actors to gather more information on what was expected of him. 

He would probably only stay for an hour, as he'd been asked by Grandma to pick up Jiwoo from school as she would be out to catch a department store sale. Jungsu had of course agreed, especially after she offered to send him her special wonton soup the following week. 

As Jungsu threw on a sweatshirt, jacket, hat, and mask, he rode the elevator down and stepped out into the chilly air. It was nearly December now, which meant that it would only get colder from here on out. Jungsu appreciated the winters because it allowed him more leeway in disguising himself and blending in.

Though he had enough money now, actually, far more than he could have anticipated with the money from Double Shift and the perfume advertisement coming in, he didn't want to be spending freely. If there was ever a time when he would need to leave South Korea, he at least needed a supply of money he could use to flee. Though Jungsu would have to remember to withdraw money, and perhaps even exchange some to dollars. 

He was taking the bus today, as he knew that Jiwoo would have some demands from Jungsu. Jungsu felt better that way, as if he was saving money by taking the bus, he could allocate the money not spent for Jiwoo's demands. Whether that would be another doll or ice cream, Jungsu was not sure. 

After getting off the bus, he walked for about five minutes before he was at the shooting location. There were various cars, buses, and vans lined up outside the filming area.

Using the card that had been given to Jungsu by the director, he flashed the card at the security guards before they let him in simply by taking in his appearance. 

As Jungsu walked onto the set, he looked around at the setup and spotted Dong-ha sitting in what looked to be an interrogation room with Sujin sitting across from him.

This scene was the one in which the male lead, Seo-jun, was being interrogated by Detective Nabi for the murder of his boss, Haneul Kang. 

Seo-jun and Nabi went back and forth as Seo-jun claimed his innocence. What Seo-jun is unaware of however, is that the killer had set him up to be framed for the murder of Haneul Kang. 

Jungsu watched intently as both of them displayed their acting skills, with Dong-ha even crying in frustration at one point. 

He still hadn't taken off his mask or hat, simply standing by as he silently watched Sujin and Dong-ha, along with other background actors go back and forth, sometimes repeating the scenes in different angles and with different emotions under the direction of Beom Seok. 

The dynamics on set were more entertaining to him as he got to see the way Sujin was treated on set by both actors and staff members. The way they treated Dong-ha was also in a similar respectful manner, however, with Sujin, they treated her with not only respect but also admiration as they had held a high regard for her. 

Despite the rumours, while she appeared to be cold, Jungsu did not see her acting in a disrespectful manner towards any of the staff or actors. She simply seemed to be very distant and not very social. Jungsu could empathize with her. 

Glancing down at the watch that had been sent to him as a gift from the company, he checked that it was almost time for him to leave to pick up Jiwoo from school. 

Leaving the set, he hopped back on the bus, analyzing all he had witnessed at the shooting. He hadn't even bothered greeting anyone or letting them know he was there, as that way he would've been distracted from his true purpose. 

Glancing around, he took a seat at the back of the bus, near the back entrance to better allow him to assess any potential threats from a distance. As he sat down, his eyes were drawn to the windows, following the posters and advertisements along the buildings and streets through the popular downtown area in Seoul. 

His eyes drifted over one particular adverstisement on the large screen, moving onto the next one, before widening in disbelief. His head shot backwards to take in his own face as he sat on a chair, looking a the camera seductively. 

The scene passed far too quickly and Jungsu was left blinking, trying to process what he had just seen. He had expected for his face to be on a poster, but he did not think the poster would be so large, in such a busy location, and to not even be a poster, but rather a screen. 

Jungsu shook his head as he tried to calm himself down. He was feeling rather horrified at the moment, but he thought it would be best to put it behind him. Regardless of whether or not he could punch a hole into that screen, it would not be the right thing to do. Besides, he had already been paid for the ad. 

He sat there in silence for a long time, his eyes not quite foccusing on anything, until his stop arrived and he brought himself back to the present. Pressing on the stop button, the bus came to a jarring stop and Jungsu hopped off through the back exit. 

Walking towards Jiwoo's school, he glanced around at the small school, taking in the chalk lying on the floor, along with the playground at the front. It seemed to be a nice school, despite being rather small. Besides, Jungsu knew what it was like to be in a large school, and they were not always guarenteed to be a good experience. At least in his experience it wasn't. 

The bell for the school sounded and he heard the loud chatter of children packing up their bags as they headed for home. 

Jungsu was currently standing among a line of parents who were glancing at him tentatively. Jungsu could understand their wariness as he was still wearing a baseball hat and a black mask. He also looked too young to be a father. To them, he was probably looking like some kind of a stalker or creep.

Jungsu didn't remove his hat or mask, however, as he didn't know what would happen if he did. Instead, he thought that perhaps he could pass as an older brother who was shy or sick.

He could still feel curious eyes on him, especially from the lady standing closest to him. She was very blatantly looking at him as if she was trying to solve a puzzle. Jungsu simply avoided her gaze, instead, focussing on the doors of the school, watching as the little boys and girls walked out.

Finally, Jiwoo walked out and Jungsu smiled behind his mask, waving at her as she jumped up and down, her eyes lighting up in recognition.

Jungsu was moving towards her when, suddenly, she shouted, "That's my fiance!"

Jungsu froze, his smile dropping from his face. He felt sweat collecting on his brows as every single eye in the courtyard turned towards him in shock.