Heroine App 274

Chapter 274 – Episode 274 – The Protagonist Is Targeted (14)

The voices I heard belonged to two women. The sound came from the hallway opposite the one I had been walking down. Looking at the sign, it said that the area was for staff only and that non-staff were prohibited from entering.

‘Still.’

Hmm. I can’t stand not knowing.

Especially when it comes to watching fights.

I entered the hallway marked for staff only, pressed my body against the wall where it made a ‘L’ shape, and peeked my face out to assess the situation.

“I told you I’ll handle it myself!”
“Ha… are you really going to do this?”

At the end of the hallway, a woman was standing with her foot propped against a hotel door, looking inside and yelling.

‘Huh?’

I was watching the fight with an excited face, but upon closer inspection, the woman standing outside the hotel door looked a bit familiar.

‘Wait? That woman was definitely at the awards ceremony earlier…’

The woman who was shouting was the sharp-eyed woman who had briefly appeared at the Winter Cartoon Awards ceremony a few hours ago.

Wow, I knew it.

Her eyes looked incredibly sharp at first glance, and sure enough, she was terrifying when she was angry.

Still, she was very pretty, and I wondered who she was, but I never thought I’d see her again here. As I was admiring the woman, a voice came from inside the door this time.

“Any.way! Get out, quick!”
“This is really…! Ah!”

The woman who shouted from inside the hotel room pushed the sharp-eyed woman away with both arms and quickly slammed the door shut.

Bang-
Click-!

“Hey! Open this!”

Bang bang bang-

“Hey!”

Bang-

“You’re really not going to open it?”

Bang-

“I’m going to get a master key from downstairs!?”

The woman outside the hotel was furious at the door that had suddenly been slammed in her face, but there was no response from inside.

No, more than that. My eyes widened.

‘Was that Harin just now…?’

It was just a glimpse, but I was sure that in the process of chasing away the sharp-eyed woman, I had seen Harin’s face briefly from inside the hotel door.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling.

Come to think of it, her voice was exactly like Harin’s too.

So, Harin is living in that room? More importantly, who is the woman she’s fighting with…?

As I was thinking this.

“Are you a hotel guest?”

The sharp-eyed woman who had been fighting with Harin, who had somehow made her way over to me, spoke in an emotionless voice.

She had a cold expression, as if she was displeased that I was standing in the staff-only hallway, or perhaps because she was still angry from earlier.

I nodded, trying not to panic.

“Yes.”
“…Sir. There are no guest rooms in this hallway.”
“Ah, I see. I’m sorry.”

When I replied as if I didn’t know, the woman frowned slightly and said in a calm, even tone.

“You are not allowed to enter this area unless you are staff. It should have been written before you entered the hallway. However, I apologize for the disturbance. Then.”

She rattled off her words like a machine gun and then quickly passed by me.

She didn’t even wait for the elevator and disappeared from sight via the stairs. She was really something else.

I scratched my head with a slightly bewildered expression as I watched her, then turned my gaze to the hotel room door where Harin was presumed to be living.

‘But… it’s a bit awkward to go say hello, isn’t it?’

I knew which room Harin was living in, but after such a fierce fight, it didn’t feel right to go in and say hello so casually.

It was almost the first time I had ever seen Harin so angry.

“……”

Should I just text her?
Now?
Right now?

‘No, even so, the timing is a bit much.’

I shook my head and sighed.

I was hoping to say hello today and build up some goodwill, but it seemed like that was off the table.

‘It can’t be helped. Should I just go downstairs and take a walk before coming back up?’

Harin will be moving near the cafe with Eunju soon anyway. There will be plenty of opportunities.

I looked at her firmly closed door and then went down to the first floor of the hotel.

* * *

“Haa.”

Joo Harin’s parents were capable people.

Now that they own a hotel brand, it might seem like a given, but even when she was young, her parents always seemed larger than life.

They always earned people’s trust.

They would proceed with something with someone with a confident look on their faces, and Joo Harin found her parents very admirable and cool.

Perhaps that’s why she initially wanted to be like her parents.

However, her dream soon began to waver.

Her parents didn’t just give her admiration. They were also very strict. Even if she tried to listen to them and follow their instructions, it was too difficult for Harin.

It was hard enough to learn Korean, but she had to learn English and Chinese at the same time, and she was also taught culture. There was just too much to do.

If she finished reading a book and went to her father’s room with a smile, he wouldn’t praise her, but instead, he would give her another book with a blank face.

[ Ah, Dad, I’m done… ]
[ Hmm, okay. Try reading this one next. ]

There was no carrot, only the stick. So, she gradually became exhausted.

Her parents seemed to think it was natural. Her older sister, Joo Arim, was a genius who could do it all as if it were natural.

[ Mom, Dad, I hate you! ]

One day, she was so upset that she ran away from home.

It was almost the first time she had gone outside alone since she was seven years old.

Still, she ran and ran until she reached a park she didn’t know. She was scared, but she didn’t want to go home, so she sat on a swing and tried to calm her sad heart.

And then, a boy and a girl approached her.

[ ……? ]

It wasn’t often that she met kids her age, and she was nervous about even the smallest things.

She didn’t know what to say, but suddenly, the other kids told her that it was their spot and told her to get out.

[ Huh? Hey! That’s our spot! ]

It could have been just a normal conversation between kids, but Joo Harin suddenly burst into tears, thinking that she was destined to be scolded, whether she was at home with her parents or here.

The two of them were so flustered by her sudden crying that they frantically tried to comfort her. Well, she told them that she was upset because of her sister and parents…

Joo Harin could still not forget their reaction.

There was no special reason. It was the first time she had ever cried so freely since she was born. And it was also the first time she hadn’t been scolded after crying.

Normally, she would be scolded by her parents if she showed any weakness, so Harin had made it a habit to hide her expressions, no matter how upset she was.

Her father’s philosophy was that emotions and expressions should always be thoroughly managed and used only when necessary.

That thoroughness was first broken when she met the two of them, and it got worse as she went to the same elementary school and always hung out with them.

Even if her expression was closed off normally, when she was playing with the two of them, Joo Harin could reveal herself completely without having to hide anything.

It was so envious to be free. Inspired by Jinhyun and Eunju, who did whatever they wanted, Harin lived similarly to them for six years in elementary school.

However, they were separated when they went to middle school, and she was once again subjected to strict management.

Harin had no choice but to live like a machine again. Her grades never dropped from first place, and she entered the best university.

Six years of elementary school where she was somewhat free, and six years of middle and high school where she was like a machine. When she went to university, her body was bound to ache.

Other kids were going out and having fun freely, even in university. No, even after university, she wondered if she would have to continue living like a machine.

So, Harin made a deal with her parents. If she graduated early, she would do whatever she wanted for that one year, and if she could live well with what she had achieved during that year, she would live freely.

Of course, her parents didn’t accept the deal right away.

But after persuading them somehow, she was finally able to get their consent.

However, after graduating early and living freely for a year, they told her to come back if what she had achieved during that time wasn’t enough to move their hearts.

In other words, they wouldn’t agree to let her live as she pleased in the future, but if she studied hard and graduated early, they would let her play for just one year.

Still, Joo Harin was somewhat satisfied. She thought that if she achieved something, she would definitely be able to move her parents’ hearts.

So, she was planning hard on how to spend the next year and was preparing for it now.

That was until her sister suddenly barged in and yelled at her, saying that it was a waste of time and that she should throw away her trashy plans right away.

Of course, it was also true that the novel she was writing wasn’t doing well. But the promised year hadn’t even started yet, and there were so many things she wanted to do…

“Is it really not going to work…?”

Harin stared blankly at the ceiling.

Her sister’s words over the past few hours had pierced her heart painfully.

Frankly, her sister’s words were valid. As long as the goal was to make a lot of money and hold a high position, theoretically.

However, her sister’s words didn’t consider her feelings at all.

“Ugh, seriously.”

Joo Harin buried her face in the blanket and pounded the bed.

She couldn’t shake off this feeling no matter what she did.

“Puh… I’m going crazy.”

After a pointless struggle with the innocent blanket, she opened the window and looked outside.

“Should I go for a walk…”

Harin often went for walks, but she didn’t usually go out so late at night.

The streets were dark, and it could be dangerous.

But she had no choice. To purify her worn-out heart, she needed to feel the fresh breeze outside rather than the stuffy air of the hotel.

“I hope she’s not waiting for me…”

Harin put on her clothes and opened the hotel door, peeking her face out to look around.

Fortunately, she didn’t sense anyone nearby.

Well, if it were her sister, she would have gone into the hotel security room and gotten a master key rather than waiting around.

By now, she was probably muttering something like, ‘How could I have such a pathetic younger sister!’ while reviewing brand image-related work in the VIP room.

Joo Harin went down to the first floor of the hotel and walked slowly through the yard.

It was a walk without a destination.

Yesterday, it was just a walk because she couldn’t write her novel well, but today, it was different. It was just a walk because she was feeling so depressed.

After walking aimlessly for 10 minutes.

Joo Harin had reached a bench far away in the hotel yard.

“It’s quiet.”

The Royal Hans Hotel was built on a mountain, so the grounds were very large. If you wanted to take a walk, there were endless paths to choose from.

There was no one here, and it seemed like a good place to soothe her depression.

“Haa.”

She sat on the bench and stared blankly at the vending machine that was shining alone across from her.

Looking at it like this, it was like 15 years ago.

The memory of her childhood when she ran out crying, “Mom, Dad, I hate you!”

Now, she was out because she was in a bad mood because of her sister, and she wasn’t as young as she used to be…

But…

“Ugh…”

She still felt like crying.

She had come out for a walk to calm her heart, but it only made her eyes redder.

No, it wasn’t just red. She had actually shed a few tears.

But somehow, she managed to calm herself down, but it wasn’t as easy as she thought.

‘Come to think of it, there’s another difference between now and 15 years ago.’

Back then, she had Jinhyun and Eunju to comfort her when she cried, but they weren’t here now.

She wondered if she had actually regressed… That thought suddenly came to her.

No, it was at that moment.

“Why do you have such a ‘the world is ending’ look on your face?”
“……?”

Suddenly, someone’s voice came from behind her.

Startled by the sudden voice, Joo Harin looked behind her and was confused by the empty scenery.

Then, when something very cold touched the opposite cheek of the side she had turned her head to, she was shocked.

“Kyaa!? Ugh! Wh-what is it?”

Thump-

Joo Harin was startled and jumped up from the bench, taking a defensive stance.

It was such an unexpected action.

Who would suddenly come out and put a cold drink on a stranger’s face!

‘I had barely managed to hold back my tears, and now they’ve come out again… Ugh.’

Just as Joo Harin, who was determined to give them a piece of her mind, finally looked up at the person with a glare.

“What are you doing here at this hour?”
“Huh…?”

In her eyes, she saw the smiling face of someone she never expected to be here.