“Let’s go somewhere together.”

“Where?”

“The main house. My father’s calling for me.”

“Get out.”

“Oh, okay.”

Hyunseo unbuckled her seatbelt and took a deep breath. Her face darkened as she stepped onto the ground.

“Nothing to be nervous about. We’ll just show our faces and leave right away.”

Gyeom’s expression was equally somber as he spoke matter-of-factly. Hyunseo silently followed behind him as he led the way. She had no leisure to admire the imposing grandeur of the massive estate, which operated on an entirely different scale.

They walked and walked. Even after driving through the gate, they’d already come quite far in. 

Having been sufficiently shocked when leaving Gyeom’s house earlier, she kept her eyes on the ground and tried desperately to calm her flustered heart.

“You’re here, Executive Director.”

“Where is he?”

The employee who greeted them politely guided Gyeom inside. A surprised gaze briefly touched Hyunseo before disappearing. She moved busily to keep up with Gyeom’s long strides.

Her mind kept spinning in chaos. 

‘Was it right to follow him here without thinking? Am I even allowed to be here?’ 

She felt confused. 

‘Would it count as a reason that Gyeom’s expression was too serious when he asked me to come with him?’

‘Because it felt like a request. Enough that I couldn’t bear to let him go alone.’

‘But still, even so…’

“I’m here.”

“You…?”

The confusion was quickly resolved. The moment they entered the extravagantly decorated reception room, Hyunseo realized her decision had been wrong. 

Director Seong Sujeong’s face, twisted in shock, was clear evidence. Moreover.

Two more people were in the room. Vice Chairman Sunwoo Guk, whom she’d only heard about, and that woman Jeong Jihee from yesterday. 

While everyone else turned pale, only Gyeom remained composed. Sujeong shrieked.

“What the h*ll do you think you’re doing!”

“You called for me. So I came. What’s the problem?”

“What’s the problem? Gyeom, you really!”

“That’s enough. I’m out.”

Vice Chairman Sunwoo Guk set down his teacup and left without hesitation. Though not as openly hostile as Sujeong, he too looked at Hyunseo with eyes that said she wasn’t worth another glance.

“Come outside for a moment.”

“Let’s talk here.”

“Come out. Unless you want to see me flip everything upside down.”

Sujeong clenched her teeth threateningly and left the reception room first, with Gyeom following shortly after.

A chilling silence descended over the spacious room, like the aftermath of a violent storm. Jihee broke that precarious silence that seemed ready to burst at the slightest touch.

“We meet again. I can’t say I’m happy about it—you understand, right?”

Jihee was dressed up just like yesterday. Hyunseo didn’t respond to the halfhearted greeting delivered while sitting on the sofa. 

‘It’s more accurate to say I’m not in the right state of mind to respond.’

She just blinked quietly. 

‘Is this a dream or reality? I can’t even tell if I’m breathing right now.’ 

Her rapidly pounding heart refused to calm down. Her fingertips began to tremble.

“You must have a lot of nerve. Impressive, how did you even manage to come here?”

“…”

“Why that expression? You didn’t actually expect to be welcomed, did you?”

Unlike yesterday, Jihee openly expressed her reproach toward Hyunseo. This made Hyunseo find even their encounter in the lobby yesterday suspicious. Jihee sipped her tea leisurely and said,

“You didn’t seem completely clueless. Did you not understand when I said we’re getting married?”

“Wait, yesterday…”

“That’s right. I went there on purpose. I was curious what you looked like, but.”

Jihee looked Hyunseo up and down and let out a scoffing laugh of disbelief. The contemptuous mockery didn’t particularly bother or hurt her. The explanation that followed was the problem.

“His mother said there seemed to be some fly clinging to him, and she needed to swat it away.”

“…”

“Of course, it wasn’t all fake. My foot really did hurt. Lucky for me though—I got to observe you well because of it.”

“…”

“But why are you still standing there? Do you have more to hear?”

Hyunseo turned around. Not because of Jihee’s rebuke, but because she couldn’t find any justification for staying longer.

‘I realized all over again that there never was any justification to begin with.’ 

It was only after she’d left through the entrance that this hit her. She hesitated for a moment. 

‘Should I tell Gyeom I’m leaving?’ 

She didn’t need to deliberate further on that. An agitated voice reached her ears.

“Are you joking? Do you think this makes any sense right now?”

“I told you it doesn’t matter.”

“Snap out of it! You’re doing something ridiculous with some ridiculous girl!”

It was right nearby. Even realizing she could see Gyeom if she just turned the corner, Hyunseo didn’t move.

“I’m speechless. I looked at the report I got from Secretary Ahn and I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t close my mouth. There’s a limit to rebellion! How much must you have disrespected me to pick some girl with no background like that!”

“You disrespected me first, Mother.”

“So you’re determined to pay me back for yesterday’s incident like this?”

“Think whatever you want. You’ve been doing whatever you want anyway.”

“Sunwoo Gyeom!”

“I’ll do whatever I want too. I’m going to keep seeing her. I’m even thinking about marrying her if possible, so what do you think…”

Smack!

At the tremendous sound that rang out, Hyunseo’s shoulders tensed. 

‘The scene drew itself in her mind’s eye.’

Gyeom’s voice cut off abruptly, replaced by Director Seong Sujeong’s harsh breathing. The silence didn’t last long. When Gyeom’s voice came again shortly after, it was much lower than before.

“I can’t be a good son anymore. I won’t do it any longer.”

Director Seong Sujeong let out a long sigh. Gyeom spoke word by word, enunciating clearly.

“You made me this way. When you drove that person to homelessness and they ended up hospitalized from the shock, when you embezzled money and hid it everywhere—you should have been prepared then.”

“I told you it was an unavoidable choice. Are you saying you’ll take revenge on me?”

“I’m not above it.”

“You, you really!”

“Don’t provoke me again. The truth you’ve been so desperate to hide—I might just spill it all myself.”

With that quiet warning, Gyeom turned. He paused briefly when he saw Hyunseo just as he rounded the corner. It didn’t take long for him to approach and grab her hand.

Hyunseo silently followed him.

She had to almost run to match his long strides, and by the time they reached where the car was, she was out of breath. As soon as she got in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt, the car surged forward.

Gyeom didn’t say a word the entire drive. Hyunseo kept silent as well. Neither of them took issue with the quiet inside the car. Their eyes, looking in different directions, were terribly cold.

Perhaps because it was the weekend, the roads were packed with cars. Just when they’d start moving, they’d hit a congested area, and even after driving for a while, they’d stop repeatedly at traffic lights. 

The more the drive was delayed, the heavier her heart grew.

“Um, just let me out here.”

“…”

When Hyunseo finally spoke up, thinking ‘this won’t work,’ Gyeom didn’t respond. With one hand on the steering wheel, he just kept his eyes silently fixed ahead, clearly having no intention of letting her out.

The light changed just then. Fortunately, as the car began moving forward again, she quietly sighed. 

‘With a still complicated but slightly more collected mind, she mulled over the situation.’

‘I was aware from the start that this relationship made no sense.’ 

Yet it seemed she’d been greedy without realizing it. 

‘I’m embarrassed at myself for getting excited, even briefly, when he asked me to go to the main house with him.’

‘What was I even expecting?’

‘Continuing to see Gyeom isn’t actually difficult. But that’s only if he has feelings for me.’

‘The more I like him, the more I’ll get hurt—that’s obvious. Because he chose me as just a light diversion from the start. Because he’s someone who casually talks about going through with marriage out of rebelliousness. Because his feelings are only that much. So.’

“Executive Director.”

“Later.”

“No, I’ll say it now.”

Hyunseo carefully spoke up when they arrived in front of her building. She deliberately didn’t look at Gyeom’s furrowed brow.

“I don’t really understand everything, but this doesn’t seem right.”

“What doesn’t?”

“Us doing this. I think we should stop.”

“…What?”

“Don’t come anymore. Please.”

Only after saying that much did Hyunseo turn her head. Despite the courage she’d gathered with all her might, the moment she saw Gyeom’s hardened face, her heart throbbed painfully. 

He ground out his words.

“Don’t come?”

“Yes.”

“You mean it? You really don’t want me to come? Is that it?”

“I’m asking you, please.”

“What if I refuse?”

She closed her mouth for a moment. 

‘Honestly, I don’t know if I could stop him if he insists on coming anyway.’

‘What would happen? Would Gyeom ignore my request and keep coming to see me?’

She noticed her own conflicted feelings—flustered yet not entirely displeased. ‘Even while saying let’s end this, I’m actually hoping it won’t end like this.’

‘I thought I was being foolish.’ 

Hopelessly foolish. 

‘For already holding him this deeply in my heart.’

“Get out.”

“…Executive Director.”

“I said get out since I understand.”

He spoke roughly and rummaged through his suit jacket. His irritation flared at the cigarettes that were nowhere to be found.

Hyunseo quietly opened the door and got out. She reached for the items in the back seat, but left the gift box and only grabbed her original bag. After hesitating, she carefully moved her lips toward him as he looked back at her questioningly.

“This… I don’t need it.”

“Ha…”

“I’m sorry. Drive safely.”

She bowed and closed the door. He let out a breath large enough to make his chest heave, then started the engine. The black sedan turned somewhat roughly and quickly left the alley.

She stood there in a daze, then slowly headed toward the studio building. Her steps wouldn’t come easily, like sandbags were tied to her legs. Somehow forcing herself not to look back, she climbed the stairs.

‘I messed up. I should have at least touched his slapped cheek. I should have at least asked if he was okay. I should have just talked about ending things later.’

Uncontrollable regret flooded in all at once. She kept getting choked up, hating herself for being selfish. 

‘In choosing to avoid getting hurt, I ended up hurting myself even worse.’

She hurriedly pulled out her keys. Her blurred vision made it hard to find the keyhole.

The keys she finally dropped fell to the floor with a clatter. She crouched down to pick them up and couldn’t get up for a long while. 

The inside of her chest, clutched tightly against her knees, felt frighteningly cold.