Leave the Hero's Ex-Girlfriend Alone! - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Leave the hero’s ex-girlfriend alone!
EP13
In the darkness the blackout had created, only breathing came through now and then.
Bodies pressed close, a shut door, and body heat I could feel right behind me.
I swallowed hard.
My heart pounded out of control.
“Haa…”
My whole body had frozen, unable to move, when his breath brushed against my ear, slowly and carefully, ever so gently.
The tip of my ear trembled.
“Are you okay?”
That single line slipped in along the curve of my ear and rang in my head like an alarm.
If this kept up, I was in danger.
No matter how loudly my mind screamed, my body refused to budge.
Everything I was feeling in this moment held me completely in its grip.
“Um… hold on—”
I tried to force my mouth open and say something, anything.
Just then.
“Alpha, are you in here?”
The door swung open with a bang, and a member of the set staff walked in.
He seemed to have come looking for this guy, who had gone missing.
In the dim Waiting Room, the two of us standing there locked in an embrace… there was no way this could look ordinary.
Startled, I flinched on reflex, and he slowly turned around and put me behind his back.
Then he spoke in a calm voice.
“Yes. I left something behind.”
“Oh, I see. The whole studio’s out of power right now, so I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but please wait a little longer.”
“That’s fine. Take your time.”
He was surely still wearing that faint smile, the kind that made him look like a nice guy.
I could picture it clearly without even looking.
The staff member nodded, shut the door, and was gone.
Click.
Only when I heard the doorknob turn did I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.
The tightness in my chest seemed to loosen a little.
I had been hiding quietly behind his back, and now I lifted my head slightly.
There were the shoulders that, until a moment ago, had completely shielded me.
“…So I can leave now, right?”
I asked in a low, murmuring voice.
He heard me but didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned his body slightly and looked at me.
And then, in that instant—
The lights flicked on with a snap.
The power had come back.
In the sudden glare, I found myself face to face with him, and we were far too close.
A tension thicker than the darkness passed between our eyes.
“That’s enough teasing.”
He raised both hands in a gesture of surrender as he said it.
It looked like a joke, but that subtle gaze was still sweeping over me.
“Haa… seriously.”
I looked away.
My heart was beating so hard it was grating on me, but somehow I kept my face composed, pretending to be calm.
Afraid some even stranger misunderstanding might arise, I grabbed the doorknob first and slipped out of the Waiting Room.
The studio was still bustling, everyone busy figuring out the cause of the blackout.
In a place where everyone was clearly busy and frantic, I alone felt strangely slowed down, out of step.
The feelings from just moments ago still lingered in my chest.
My head told me it was over, but my body wouldn’t listen.
A residual warmth still hung on my cheeks.
The lights had come back on, but…
My heart had not yet been restored.
* * *
The blackout incident itself had been nothing more than a simple power cutoff.
When filming resumed and his final shot was approved, applause broke out across the set.
“Good work out there.”
I bowed my head and exchanged greetings with the crew.
That guy was nowhere in sight, probably still doing an interview somewhere.
Good.
If we ran into each other, he’d just start talking nonsense again, so I decided to slip out before that could happen.
I grabbed my bag from where it lay crumpled in the corner, draped my coat over my arm, and was quietly making my way toward the back door.
Someone called out from behind me.
“Heading out?”
That voice. My spine reacts now, even before I’ve checked who it is.
“I… should.”
I hitched my bag onto my shoulder and let my voice trail off.
He’d closed the distance without my noticing and gave the strap of the bag on my shoulder a slight tug.
“You worked hard today, so let me drive you home.”
“No thanks, I can get home on my own. Besides, didn’t you say you had an interview?”
“It’s over.”
When did he even finish?
But today really isn’t the day.
Every nerve in my body is screaming it.
I avoided his gaze and pulled the strap tight again, settling the bag firmly on my shoulder.
I’d been on edge all day. My body felt stiff and my head throbbed. I must have built up a lot of stress.
“It’s going to rain soon, too.”
“So?”
“You didn’t bring an umbrella, did you.”
Why was he being so persistent today of all days?
I had no way out.
The feeling that he’d drag me along no matter what made me sigh and turn to face him.
“Seriously, why are you being so clingy today?”
He chuckled at that.
“It’s because you keep running away.”
Of course. If someone saw us together, they’d jump to the wrong conclusions again. That’s the whole reason.
I couldn’t explain it in words, and I couldn’t end this situation right here, right now either.
Frustration rose all the way to the back of my throat.
“Not today. I mean it.”
I didn’t look away. I met his eyes head-on as I said it.
“It’s been a mess all day. I just… want to go home and rest.”
His eyes wavered for a moment before he seemed to accept it.
“Okay, fine.”
Surprisingly, he gave way easily and held out the umbrella in his hand toward me.
“Take it anyway. The parking lot’s close for me.”
I looked at the umbrella for a moment, then shook my head.
“Giving it back is a hassle too.”
Then I smiled faintly and added,
“I’m really tired today.”
He rubbed his earlobe.
It was a habit he had whenever he was dissatisfied.
Still the same.
I brushed past him and slipped out of the studio.
The sky had dimmed a little.
Shaking my head side to side, as if to shake off the lingering feeling, I started walking at a brisk pace.
The shoot had wrapped up without much trouble, and the power outage had passed without any major problems.
That tense moment in the waiting room… well, it was just an accident. An accident.
By the time I reached the bus stop, the bus had already passed two stops back.
Why do the commuter buses always manage to miss you by just a little?
On days like today, it’d be great to catch one right away.
I dropped onto the bench at the stop.
I took my earphones out of my bag and put them in.
Two light taps on the earbuds, and some moderately sentimental music started playing.
I liked this moment.
Maybe it’s because I’m finally off work.
After sitting blankly for a while, I heard someone talking on the phone behind me.
“Ugh, I’m dying here. Overtime? Seriously…”
Without meaning to, I nodded along.
Right. Right now, every office worker in the world is probably hanging on in their own way.
That doesn’t really comfort me, but it’s somehow reassuring to know I’m not alone.
Going down together isn’t so bad, after all.
The bus I’d been waiting for arrived, and the ride, seated, was less tedious than I’d expected.
I leaned against the window and tilted my head back, and my mind began to feel emptied out.
‘Why am I this exhausted?’
Thinking about it, I seemed to have spent the whole day doing nothing but absorbing emotions.
A chaotic scene, and feelings that wouldn’t hold steady.
“Why on earth does he keep hovering around me…”
At this rate, nothing had changed since we parted.
As I got off the bus and walked, the scenery gradually shifted into the familiar look of my neighborhood.
Through the gaps between the streetlamps, an apartment complex began to come into view.
There was nothing special about the scene before me, but that very ordinariness brought a sense of relief.
Only now did I feel like I’d truly clocked out.
“Haah…”
I let out a small sigh and headed for the convenience store.
Lately, I’d fallen into a routine on my way home.
A few simple snacks, instant ramen, and a can of beer.
Today, too, I’d decided to soothe the weary day that had just passed.
I pushed open the door, slowly scanned the shelves, and picked up a pack of ramen.
I stared at the packaging for a while, trying to recall what flavor it was.
Was it spicy?
Still, I thought a tingling mouth might feel good tonight.
I tossed the ramen into my basket with a soft thud, muttering under my breath.
“I don’t want to go to work…”
But I’m a one-person household. If I don’t earn money, the whole household falls apart.
When I finished paying and stepped out of the convenience store, a torrential rain was pouring down.
I looked up at the sky, utterly dumbfounded.
Ah… I should have taken that umbrella when they offered it.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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