It snowed all the way to Tongyeong.

The sleet that had started in Seoul had turned into heavy, cotton-like snowflakes that pelted against the window. The snow was piling up on the road, so he could not pick up speed, and the journey took much longer than expected.

Taeyun’s face revealed nothing as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

Six hours already.

Even after the long drive, he showed no sign of disarray.

“You have arrived at your destination.”

As the car entered a narrow rural road, the navigation’s voice echoed in his ear. Taeyun pressed the brake firmly.

Click.

“Ha…”

He unfastened his seatbelt and took a deep breath. Only then did a flicker of impatience cross his face.

After staring blankly out of the window for a moment, he steadied his breathing and got out of the car.

Snow settled on his broad, suit-clad shoulders and his precisely cut, dark grey coat. Not a wrinkle in sight.

When he turned his head, the open winter sea spread out before him.

Perhaps because of the snowfall, or perhaps because the village had always been sparsely populated, there was not a single passer-by in sight. The hazy sky continued to scatter snow endlessly over the water.

He drew in a deep breath. The frigid winter wind burrowed deep into his lungs.

Taeyun began walking slowly along the shore.

‘Ignore it.’

It had snowed that day, too.

Her face, as white as the snow, was still vividly before his eyes.

Those sharply guarded eyes.

That wary expression.

That pale, flawless skin.

The image was etched into his mind, impossible to erase.

It was as if he had seen her only yesterday.

He had finally received news of her only yesterday — the woman he had searched for, without success, for years.

“We believe we’ve found her.”

Secretary Sung, who had worked under him for six years, delivered the report with a faint flush on his face.

“The name is different, so we cannot be completely certain. But of all the leads we have, this person matches them most closely. However…”

Youngmin hesitated, unable to continue.

“What is it? Go on. It’s fine.”

The moment Youngmin finally spoke, Taeyun’s expression turned to ice.

There was a chance that she was not the woman he had been desperately searching for. Youngmin therefore offered to go and confirm this himself.

However, after attending to the most urgent matters, Taeyun took the wheel himself that very night.

“I’ll drive you. It’s too late for you to go alone.”

“No. I’ll go by myself.”

He needed to see for himself whether Youngmin’s words were true.

He could not wait any longer.

Even after the satnav announced that he had arrived, it was difficult to determine the exact location. Low, old houses stood tightly clustered together, indistinguishable from one another.

The buildings looked as though they might collapse at any moment.

“Hanmi Restaurant…”

Murmuring the name of the place under his breath, he stopped abruptly. After walking for two blocks and turning into an alleyway, he saw a weathered signboard.

The horizontal sign, which had once been fixed above the shop, was in a state of disrepair and could only be made out upon close inspection.

“Ha.”

He drew in a deep breath and grasped the handle of the cloudy glass sliding door.

With only that door between him and the outside world, his heart, which had been calm until then, began to beat faster of its own accord.

As he slowly pushed the door open, it made a harsh scraping sound, accompanied by the sharp jingle of the doorbell.

“……”

Taeyun’s black eyes swept swiftly across the interior of the restaurant.

The cramped space contained no more than six small, round tables with stools pressed tightly together around them. He stepped into the empty dining area.

Then, a familiar voice pierced his ears.

It was a voice he could never forget, no matter how many years had passed. It was a voice he had longed for, even in his dreams.

“Welcome. What can I get you—!”

A woman wearing a faded orange apron emerged from the small door leading from the kitchen. When she saw Taeyun standing in the middle of the shop, she hesitated.

“Ha…”

A dry scoff slipped through his teeth.

Her hair was loosely tied back. White flour dusted parts of her face.

She looked the same as ever — so unchanged that it felt as though she had been there only yesterday.

His gaze turned glacial.

Unsure what to do, she hesitated, then wiped her damp hands on her apron. They trembled so badly that he could see it.

Ding—

“Mom! Uncle Jinho said—, ah!”

At that moment, a child burst through the door and collided with Taeyun, who was standing nearby. The impact sent the child tumbling to the floor.

Vanilla ice cream was smeared thickly across his leg.

Taeyun looked down at the child.

“Waaah! My ice cream!”

Seeing the scoop flattened against the floor, the little girl burst into tears.

Startled, the woman who had been watching from the front rushed over.

“I told you to be careful! I—I’m so sorry. I’ll dry-clean—no, I mean, I’ll wash—”

Holding the crying child close, she tried to wipe his trousers clean with her sleeve. However, the more she rubbed, the more the melted ice cream spread across the fabric.

It dripped down his trouser leg and onto his spotlessly clean shoes.

“So it was true.”

His cold voice echoed through the small restaurant.

Her frantic hands froze mid-motion.

“You had a child.”

“……”

“While I was living like a mad b*stard.”

Bloodshot eyes fixed sharply on her.

Still unable to lift her head until now, she gently set the child down at her side and finally met his gaze.

“Dahyeon, could you go to your room first? Mommy will come in soon.”

“Why…? I’m coming with you. Mom.”

Sensing the strange tension in the air, Dahyeon sniffled and cast uneasy glances at Taeyun, who was standing beside them.

The woman forced a smile to reassure the child.

As though nothing were wrong at all.

“Or would you like to wait with Doctor Jinho instead?”

“Mom…”

Ding—

At that moment, the doorbell rang again.

“Dahyeon, ah.”

A tall man bent slightly as he entered the small shop, then trailed off when he saw them.

“It looks like you have a guest. Seonwoo—”

“Doctor, could you please take Dahyeon for a little while? Just for a moment. I’ll come get her soon.”

“Uncle…”

Dahyeon sniffled as she ran over and threw herself into Jinho’s arms.

Taeyun’s sharp gaze shifted towards Jinho.

The two men’s eyes locked in mid-air.

Despite Taeyun’s chilling stare, Jinho did not look away.

“Doctor.”

The woman called him urgently.

Only then did Jinho turn to her with a faint smile.

“I’ll bring her back around dinner.”

“Th-thank you.”

“Let’s go to Uncle’s house.”

Jinho left the restaurant holding Dahyeon in his arms.

Once they had left, silence fell over the room.

Ina could feel Taeyun’s unwavering gaze on her.

After hesitating for a moment, she forced herself to move and pulled a small stool out from beside her.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Yoon Seonwoo?”

At Taeyun’s mocking tone, Ina’s eyes trembled violently.

“So you even changed your name.”

Youngmin’s report had been entirely accurate.

When he saw the situation for himself, he was overcome with an uncontrollable surge of fury. His jaw tightened sharply.

“There’s nothing to offer, but perhaps some water at least—!”

Thud.

With a loud crash, Ina fell forwards onto the floor. In her haste to walk, she had caught her leg on a stool. A sharp pain flared up in her palm, which had dragged along the ground.

“You shouldn’t be this nervous over something so small. Not after hiding for years like that.”

The twisted remark struck her squarely in the back.

As Ina furrowed her brow and began to rise, a sharp voice cut through the air.

“Yoon Ina.”

It had been far too long since she had heard her own name, let alone from Taeyun.

Fighting back tears at the rush of emotions, Ina slowly pushed herself upright.

Acting as if nothing was wrong, she poured herself a glass of water and sat down.

“……”

Taeyun remained silent. He stood there for a long time, his eyes fixed on her without wavering.

Unable to bear his intense gaze, Ina lowered her eyes and nervously played with her glass of water.

She wished he would say something — anything.

The silence inside the small restaurant became thick and suffocating, weighing heavily on her.

After what felt like an eternity, Taeyun finally moved. He walked forward and took the seat directly opposite her.

Ina drew in a quiet breath and slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.

The worn, shabby restaurant seemed out of place with him sitting there.

At 189 centimeters tall, his long legs could not fit properly under the low table and stretched out awkwardly in front of him instead.

Gathering her composure, Ina forced herself to speak in a calm voice.

“What brings you here?”

“What brings me here?”

Taeyun felt a surge of anger when she asked her composed question, as though she truly did not know why he had come.

How dare she pretend not to know when she did!

“You would know better than anyone why I rushed here like a madman.”

“……”

“Go on. Make your excuse. I’m willing to hear it—once.”

She could hear the anger he was struggling to control in his voice.

The tension made her lips go dry. After taking a small sip of water, she forced a faint smile onto her face.

All her determination to stay calm seemed futile. Seeing him again after five years made it difficult to breathe.

The instant their eyes met, the thoughts she had barely managed to steady dissolved into emptiness once more.

Taeyun had not changed.

Those deep, intense eyes.

That straight, finely carved nose.

Those red lips that had once whispered love.

That sharp, defined jawline.

Even his pale, flawless skin still seemed to glow.

But the face that had always been gentle with her was now hardened with fury.

“The only flaw in my son is you.”

That woman’s chilling words rang in her ears like tinnitus.

Forcing her racing heart to settle, Ina spoke.

“As you can see.”

Her voice trembled faintly despite her effort to steady it. She tightened her clasped hands in her lap to stop them from shaking.

“I’ve been doing well… It seems you haven’t.”

At her answer, Taeyun’s lips twisted coldly.

Meeting his wavering gaze head-on, Ina continued.

“Why come all the way here because of me?”

“What?”

“I’ve met another man. I’m living well. I even had a child.”

Sharp words spilled from between her reddened, bitten lips.

Each one struck like a blade, piercing straight into his heart.

“It seems she has a child. That may be why she deliberately changed her name.”

The troubled report from Youngmin resurfaced in his mind.

She had changed her name. She had had a child.

As though it had been planned, she vanished without trace after their final phone call, when she asked him to join her for dinner.

Taeyun had mobilized all his resources and searched the entire country.

And still, he had not been able to find her.

“I’ve seen you on TV sometimes.”

A bitter smile lingered on Ina’s lips.

Even when they stood side by side with their hands intertwined, he always seemed distant — someone who never truly belonged with her.

Now, he seemed farther away than ever.

“You’re not married yet, I suppose?”

“Yoon Ina!”

At last, unable to endure it any longer, Taeyun exploded, his voice ringing sharply through the small restaurant.