CHAPTER 68

Siyeon found herself waking up early in the morning on her own. Humans are adaptable creatures; now, her body has adjusted to the environment without anyone waking her up. Glancing at the time, she saw that it was 6 a.m. 

Turning to the side, Ijun was nowhere to be seen. Faint sounds of water from the bathroom suggested that he was taking a shower. 

She sat on the bed and stared blankly ahead. It was surprising to find that her head felt relatively clear and almost no signs of a hangover.

Last night, she fell asleep in Ijun’s arms. She used his complaining voice as a lullaby and had a deep sleep. Perhaps the lack of a hangover was due to this rare sound sleep.

“…I wish there was a hearty dried pollack soup with plenty of bean sprouts for breakfast.”

Muttering her wish for the morning menu, she swung her legs out from under the bed. Rather than waiting for Ijun to finish his shower, she decided to use the guest bathroom outside.

When Siyeon returned to the room after showering, Ijun was already in the dressing room. She went to the powder room to dry her hair and saw him wearing a white shirt through the open door. Ijun turned around at the sound of her presence.

“…Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. I have no hangover, so it’s good.”

“Good. Seemed like you slept well.”

 His expression was quite sour, but it wasn’t clear why he was irritated early in the morning.

“I’m planning to go to Yeongjin today. Can I drive?” 

“People often get caught in DUI checks driving in that condition.”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

“Can you guarantee that?”

“Of course.” 

As Siyeon turned her head and faced the mirror, Ijun passed by her and returned with something in his hand. As he approached her, she turned to look at him.

“What’s that?”

“Here, blow on it.”

“What?”

“It’s a breathalyzer. Blow into it.” 

He was holding a device in front of her face, a device she had never seen before. 

“Why on earth do you have something like this?”

“Someone gave it to me. I had it tucked away in a corner, but it came in handy.”

“Stop kidding around and go away.”

“You said you’re perfectly fine. Blow into it quickly.”

Siyeon made a gesture of refusal, but Ijun didn’t budge. She hesitated and then slightly lowered her head towards the device.

“Sigh. Is it done?”

“Don’t speak, just blow into it.”

She tried to play it off, but he didn’t let it go. This time, when she blew properly, a beep sounded, and the number appeared on the digital screen.

“0.03. License suspension.”

He turned the screen towards her with a serious look on his face, as if he had expected this outcome.

“This is ridiculous!”

“Imprisonment for up to 1 year or a fine of up to 5 million won.”

He pronounced the penalty to the dismayed Siyeon in a calm voice.

“I’m really fine.”

“That’s what people who get busted usually say.”

Watching Siyeon feeling unjust, he picked up the hairdryer instead of the breathalyzer. As if it were a routine, he started drying her hair naturally.

Whirring—when she heard the faint sound of the wind, her heart beat as if it were a signal. He gently ran his fingers through her wet hair and blew warm air in between. It made her heart melt.

“…”

In this situation, she couldn’t help but think about yesterday morning. As Siyeon sat quietly, allowing him to work on her hair, his gentle touch on the back of her neck made her ears turn red.

“I’ll send a driver to take you. You can take my car. Come to the office after you’re done.”

“To the office?” 

“You’ve never been to my office before. By the way, Kim Eunhye is no longer there.”

“Did she quit? When did she quit?”

Siyeon looked up at Ijun with a surprised expression.

“While you were away, she was transferred to another department and immediately resigned.”

“I see. I never thought that would happen.”

“Why? Are you upset?”

“It’s not that. I’m just curious how Gwihyeon-oppa will react when he finds out. He probably still doesn’t know about Dr. Kim Donghan’s work.”

“It’s not that. I’m just curious to see how things will turn out when she finds out that Gwihyeon-oppa woke up. She probably will rush to the hospital with joy. But she doesn’t know that the Suwon family knows already about Kim Dong-han’s past.”

Eunhye, who knew Kim Dong-han’s past well through her father, will probably continue to feign ignorance. They have no idea that the truth will be revealed soon. 

“It should be quite a spectacle.”

“You’re not actually looking forward to it, are you?”

“A little?”

As Siyeon made a surprised expression, Ijun raised one eyebrow.

“I mean, we were once in the same house together, but now you’re being so mean.”

“I’ve made it clear that I’ve disliked her from the beginning.”

“And yet, you exchanged phone numbers with Eunhye. Ouch!”

Suddenly, Ijun pulled the hair he was holding to the side, causing Siyeon to scream in pain.

“What are you doing?”

 She glared at Ijun.

“Don’t mock my past. I was just trying to find out if there’s a connection between you two.”

“You’re a bad person, Jeong Ijun! You were bad before, and now you’re even worse!”

“Now you’re using informal language… Ugh!”

Suddenly, he dropped the hairdryer he was holding onto the vanity. Then, he leaned against the wall with one hand and covered his face with the other, groaning in pain. 

“Um… are you okay?”

Siyeon looked apologetic, holding both of his hands. In her haste, she happened to hit a precious area of Ijun’s. It was said to be very painful if hit there. 

“Do you want me to… pat your back?”

With a slightly embarrassed expression, she started patting his lower back with her fists. She had seen someone tapping another person’s lower back on TV in a situation like this.

“Do you think it’s okay not to go to the hospital…?”

It was already a delicate situation in the Jeong family, and if a problem arose in continuing the family line, it would be a real disaster. Even his doting grandfather would never forgive her for that.

“…How are you going to take responsibility for this?”

It took a while before he finally spoke. His low, grumbling voice sounded bitter. The muscles in his back vibrated with pain.

Quickly withdrawing her hand from his back, Siyeon turned back and stood politely with her hands folded in front of Ijun. 

“If this doesn’t work properly, it’ll be a big problem, you know.”

Siyeon, who had committed a grave mistake, nodded faintly with a lifeless face. She had nothing to say, even if she had ten mouths. His agonizing groans just now were real.

“You called yourself the king of punches, but it seems like you were the king of foot punches.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been called… weak.”

“Your wrists and ankles are so fragile. Even though they’re just a handful.” 

Frowning, he stroked his fingers through his hair and walked toward the dressing room, returning to her with one tie.

“I don’t need a tie.”

When Ijun offered her the tie, Siyeon shook her hands and refused.

“Who asked you to take it? I’m asking you to put it on.”

“Why?”

“It’s hard to do it myself.”

“I’ve never tied one before.”

“I’ll show you how.”

Reluctantly, Siyeon took the tie. After hanging it around the collar of the buttoned-up shirt and pulling it down on either side, she looked up at him.

“Now what do I do?”

“After circling it once, tuck it in…”

Ijun took her hand and made a few moves, and soon the tie knot was formed. He pushed it up and finished tidying it, and it was truly complete.

“It’s not that difficult, is it?”

“It might not be, but I don’t think I need to know it.”

“You should be careful for a while since you never know where the after-effects might come.”

“… “

He was talking as if he had just been in a major car accident. Siyeon was puzzled, but as the 100% at-fault perpetrator, she couldn’t say anything.

* * *

She had been preparing to go out after doing some work in the morning when she received a call from Ijun’s grandfather. He had been in the hospital since yesterday.

[Can you stop by the hospital for a while?]

Grandfather said that this morning, Gwihyeon had been moved to a regular VVIP room, and as Ijun had mentioned yesterday, he had regained consciousness but had lost a lot of his memory.

[The doctor said to put the patient’s mind at ease, but Gwihyeon is looking for you].

“For me…?”

[Yes. Gwihyeon may seem unpleasant and resentful, but come and meet him once. I know it’s asking a lot of you. I’m sorry.]

His voice trembled slightly at the end. Ijun’s grandfather must have given considerable thought before making such a call. Knowing that he would willingly kneel to help Gwihyeon recover, even if it meant asking for help from Eunhye’s grandmother, Siyeon couldn’t refuse. 

“I was curious when I heard that he had woken up, so thank you for calling. I’ll head there now..”

Siyeon canceled her plans to go to Yeongjin and called a taxi. The statistic of 0.03% in the morning made her cautious and humble. She didn’t want to see Gwihyeon, but she wanted to alleviate the grandfather’s worry.

When she arrived at the hospital, both of Ijun’s parents and his grandfather were in the hospital room. His grandfather had been eating and sleeping in the room next to Gwihyeon’s room since yesterday, keeping watch over his grandson.

“I’m here.”

“Good. Siyeon is here.”

Siyeon greeted the adults and approached Gwihyeon’s bed. Considering that he had been lying in bed for over a year, he looked better than expected. Apart from his pale complexion, he didn’t look much different from before.

“Gwihyeon oppa.”

“…”

At her call, Gwihyeon turned his head slowly towards Siyeon.

“It’s been a while, oppa.”

He just stared at her silently. After staring at her intently for a while, he licked his lips.

“…I have something to discuss with Siyeon.”

His thin voice flowed softly. Hearing his weak, hoarse voice made her realize that he was indeed a patient. 

“Okay. We’ll go have a meal and come back, so you two can talk. Siyeon, I’m sorry, but Gwihyeon has a favor to ask.”

“Yes. Take your time.”

As the three people left the hospital room, Siyeon sat down on the chair next to the bed. It felt strange to see Gwihyeon open his eyes and look at her.

“People were really worried about you, oppa, even my family. It’s a relief that you woke up safely.”

“…Were you worried about me too?”

“…I hoped for you to wake up healthy.”

Siyeon spoke honestly, not wanting to lie. Gwihyeon’s face showed a faint smile at her response. However, his smile disappeared as she continued speaking.

“But when I heard that you wanted to meet me, I was honestly a bit surprised. Why did you want to meet me?”

It was honestly surprising that Gwihyeon, who couldn’t remember Eunhye, was seeking her out. They had never been close, so she wondered why he would want to see her.

“…come between us.”

“What’s between us?”

“I like you.”

“…What did you say…?”

Siyeon widened her eyes and doubted her hearing.

“I like you.”

“…”

“Since I woke up… I wanted to tell you this.”

Thud—A thunderbolt struck her mind.