Yeongja told him everything.

She also lashed out, saying that she wanted to see the face of the man who had got her daughter pregnant.

But compared to what Ina had endured over the years, words like that were nothing.

He had expected things to be difficult for her, but even that assumption had been arrogant.

Taeyun leaned his head against the headrest and closed his eyes for a moment.

“She came into the shop looking like a beggar. Tsk. Her face looked like she hadn’t even had a bowl of porridge. Then she collapsed, bleeding heavily. That doctor picked her up and ran with her.”

Perhaps the shock had been too much for him.

His heart showed no sign of slowing down. It kept pounding erratically, and Taeyun furrowed his brow in pain.

That doctor: Choi Jinho.

The man who had always lingered around Ina.

Taeyun had sensed that the doctor’s feelings towards Ina were unusual, but he had helped her after she gave birth alone and taken care of Dahyeon too.

“….”

Even if he had ten mouths, he wouldn’t know what to say.

She had become pregnant.

She gave birth alone.

She raised Dahyeon alone.

While she endured all that hardship, he existed in a state of perpetual distraction, unable to pull himself together as he pined for Yoon Ina.

He was utterly pathetic.

“Even after hearing the baby had miscarried, she still didn’t believe it and sent people to watch her. That vicious woman.”

Namhee came to Tongyeong, but after hearing that Ina had miscarried, she left again immediately.

However, it seemed that she had never truly abandoned her suspicions, as she left men there to keep an eye on her.

Yeongja knew everything.

Because of the men guarding the shop entrance day and night, Ina hadn’t been able to step outside once.

To hide her pregnancy, she wrapped her stomach tightly.

Ultimately, the stress forced her to give birth prematurely.

“The labor was so severe. Seonwoo and Dahyeon were both in terrible danger. That’s why they had to perform emergency surgery.”

The long scar beneath Ina’s pelvis.

He had accused her of bearing another man’s child, cornering her mercilessly like a madman.

What on earth had he done to her?

Taeyun’s face was filled with regret.

“That’s why you’re not good enough. I won’t give you my daughter.”

Yeongja’s disapproving voice echoed in his ears.

Countless reasons told him the same thing: that he and Ina were never meant to be.

There was still one thing connecting them — Dahyeon — but Yeongja had firmly opposed this, saying it was impossible.

In his current state of turmoil, he couldn’t face her.

How could he ask her to start again, just as Yeongja had suggested, when he didn’t know how to approach her?

“We’ve arrived.”

The car stopped, and Youngmin’s voice broke the silence.

Taeyun still had his eyes closed.

Since leaving Yeongja’s house, he had remained in the car park for a considerable amount of time, attempting to organize the chaos in his mind.

Eventually, he told Youngmin to drive to Ina’s workplace.

He simply wanted to see her.

Her face kept appearing in his mind, over and over again.

It was suffocating.

Just then, the phone in his hand began to vibrate.

Taeyun lowered his gaze to the screen. The moment he saw the caller’s name, his brow twisted sharply.

“….”

Staring at the screen as if glaring at it, he pressed the blue answer button.

“Yes.”

The single word left his lips coldly.

—”Son, Mom is near the company right now. I was thinking of stopping by with Seungah, so I called before going.”

It seemed she hadn’t cared to listen to his intentions at all.

The hand gripping his phone tightened.

“You won’t find a ghost worse than that one. She chased all the way here just to kill her own blood.”

Yeongja had been right.

Despite disliking Ina, she was still pregnant with his son.

How could she do something like that?

The fact that Namhee had known about the pregnancy before he did was chilling in itself.

The thought of how meticulously Namhee had hidden everything from him while scheming behind his back made Taeyun grind his teeth in fury.

At that moment, as he looked out of the window, Taeyun’s gaze darkened.

Ina was walking out.

She looked utterly exhausted.

Taeyun clenched his teeth.

—”Son, are you listening? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I’m in a meeting. I’m hanging up.”

—”Taeyun, wai—”

Cutting Namhee off mid-sentence, Taeyun pressed the end button.

He opened the car door immediately and stepped out.

Striding straight toward her, he grabbed Ina’s wrist.

“Ah…! W-what are you doing?”

Still holding her wrist, Taeyun began walking.

No matter how much she resisted, she couldn’t overpower his strength.

In the end, Ina was pulled along and forced into the passenger seat.

“Drive.”

After giving a respectful nod to Youngmin, Taeyun slid into the driver’s seat.

When Ina tried to open the door again, Taeyun grabbed her hand.

Ina turned her head and looked straight at him.

“Let go.”

“We need to talk.”

Taeyun spoke firmly.

Their gazes clashed sharply in the air between them.

She twisted her wrist to pull free, but his grip didn’t loosen, leaving her unable to move.

Ina lifted her eyes and glared at him.

“Yoon Ina.”

“….”

“She may be your daughter, but she’s also mine.”

“No.”

Ina clenched her teeth.

“The moment I decided to give birth to her, she became only my daughter. So there’s nothing for you to worry about—and no reason for you to come looking for me like this.”

It was the reaction he had expected.

Once he knew she was his daughter, she had assumed Taeyun would never give up.

The look in his eyes as he stared at her was unwavering.

“I went to see your grandmother today. I heard everything. How you lived all this time. How you ended up going down there. How you gave birth to Dahyeon. I heard it all.”

So he had even gone to Yeongja.

Since Yeongja had already suspected that he was Dahyeon’s biological father, she must have told him everything.

In the end, everything had come to light.

The thought that he knew made Ina’s chest tighten painfully.

“You heard all that… and you’re still acting like this?”

Ina curled the corner of her lips in a bitter smile.

“So what if she’s your daughter? What are you going to do now? Are you planning to marry me or something?”

“Why can’t we?”

“You’re saying that even after knowing everything your mother did.”

Taeyun was left speechless.

When he thought about what his mother had done, he understood why she was reacting like this. But even so, now that he knew Dahyeon was his daughter, he couldn’t just walk away.

Even when he had believed Dahyeon wasn’t his child, Taeyun had still been willing to accept her.

He still loved Ina.

“I know I have no right to say this. It’s late, but… marry me.”

“Han Taeyun.”

“You know, don’t you? I’m crazy about Yoon Ina. I’ll spend the rest of my life atoning in my mother’s place.”

“….”

“I can’t give you up, Ina.”

As he spoke, the corners of Taeyun’s eyes turned red.

The large hand gripping her wrist trembled slightly.

Ina could sense the pain he was in at that moment.

If he knew what his mother had done, he would undoubtedly blame himself for everything.

And yet here he was, standing in front of her.

Because he still loved her.

Right now, she wanted nothing more than to take his hand and tell him everything she had kept hidden from him.

How frightened she had been.

How hard everything had been.

She wanted to tell him how much she had missed him while raising Dahyeon alone.

But she could not waver.

Not after what Namhee had done to her.

If she became entangled with him again, she wasn’t sure she would be strong enough to endure whatever might come next.

Steadying herself, Ina spoke.

“Brother.”

At that word, Taeyun’s lips pressed into a straight line.

His dark eyes, fixed on her, trembled dangerously.

It was the first time he had heard that form of address from her since they met again.

“No. Don’t say anything. Just listen to me.”

As if he already knew what she was about to say, Taeyun cut her off.

“Even if we had kept seeing each other… we probably would have broken up anyway.”

“That would never have happened. If you had just told me—”

“No.”

Ina forced the corners of her lips upward into a smile.

“I liked you without knowing my place. And you liked me because you couldn’t ignore someone like that. Just like you said before—I was pathetic. Pitiful. That was pity.”

Taeyun’s brow furrowed as he slowly closed and reopened his eyes.

Seeing her push him away so deliberately made a dull pain spread through his chest.

‘How can I change your heart?’
‘If you keep holding out until the end… what am I supposed to do?’

“You know that’s not true. You know how much I like you. You know that.”

Taeyun’s voice was desperate.

Even without saying it, Ina knew what he must be feeling—clinging to her despite knowing about his mother’s cruelty.

She watched him quietly for a moment before twisting her wrist free from his grasp.

“It’s already far too late.”

Her voice was calm.

“Just forget everything and live like you did before you knew. Get married. Have children. I gave birth without your consent anyway, so there’s no need for you to feel sorry.”

A faint smile rested on her lips.

But tears slid down her cheeks.