Chapter 4 (Part 7)

The two of them crossed the lobby in silence and exited through the back door.

He kindly opened the passenger door, and after watching Seo-hye fasten her seatbelt, he closed the door and moved to the driver’s seat.

He started the car without delay.

“We’ll go to the hospital, show the painting to your mother, and bring it back out, right?”

“……Are you really going to go through all that with me?”

“Of course. Besides, you don’t even have a car. How are you going to carry that big painting around? The painting is half the size of you, Ms. Seo-hye.”

“Um… thank you. But… my mom’s house is quite far.”

“It’s only a two-hour drive from Seoul, isn’t it?”

“……How do you know? Are you investigating me?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“Yes, it’s unpleasant if you’re digging into someone’s background.”

“Even if I ask, you won’t tell me.”

“Tell you what, my mom’s hometown?”

“That, or anything else.”

“……If you had asked, I would have told you. Instead of doing background checks, please ask me directly next time.”

He kept his eyes on the road, giving a subtle smile, and after a pause, he said,

“I’ll have Secretary Yoo give you a phone next week.”

Seo-hye slowly turned her head towards him.

“……What?”

“You said if I wanted to know something, I should ask you directly, Seo-hye. To do that, I need to be able to contact you.”

“Oh.”

She remembered blocking his number after Hwa-woong confiscated her phone last week.

“It… wasn’t intentional that I blocked you.”

“I know. If you had blocked me on purpose, you wouldn’t blush the moment you saw me.”

“I didn’t blush… though.”

“Sure, keep insisting.”

Seo-hye was at a loss for words, so she straightened her head and lowered her gaze. Her hands were sweaty from gripping her skirt too tightly.

“But, Ms. Seo-hye.”

She didn’t answer, but she listened more intently.

“What have you been doing all this time?”

His tone was quite gentle. Seo-hye almost misunderstood.

It felt as if he was genuinely curious about what she had been up to.

“Hmm? What have you been doing?”

“……I’ve been painting.”

“You’ve gotten prettier for someone who’s just been painting.”

Seo-hye’s pupils dilated significantly.

In truth, ever since she got in the car, she had been bothered by what Hae-mi had said at home.

“Ah, on a day like today, Do-jin should come and see you. No charm, no figure. He’d probably lose interest right away.”

So she tried not to make eye contact with him for more than a second. But he said she had gotten prettier.

Her heart felt unbearably itchy.

“There’s a saying, you know. They say you get prettier when you’re in love.”

“……”

“Looks like you’ve found someone you like.”

Her heart went still for a moment, then started pounding wildly.

As she glanced up, she briefly got caught in his gaze.

“Who is it, that person?”

His teasing question made her heart feel like it was melting.

The longer Seo-hye remained silent, the more anxious she became.

She needed to deny it, worried that her silence would make it seem true. But she was so caught off guard that her whole body froze, and she couldn’t even open her lips.

If only he would press her one more time, she could argue that she had been cooped up at home, so how could she have someone she likes.

But for some reason, he didn’t ask further.

Having missed the chance to respond, they arrived at the hospital.

Seo-hye got out of the car with a heavy heart.

Unlike her, Do-jin, with his usual indifferent expression, pressed the trunk release button.

As it slowly opened, a painting presumed to be Seo-hye’s was neatly wrapped inside.

Even while applying for a caregiver and heading to her mother’s hospital room, Seo-hye felt strange.

It really seemed like he had thought about seeing her today, as he had brought the painting with him to work so he wouldn’t have to stop by his house in Hannam-dong again.

The mere fact that he had thought of her at all that morning, when he was alone, was overwhelming.

It felt like no one, other than Hyo-young, had ever thought about her existence.

Her lips, which she had tried so hard to keep sealed in front of him, finally opened.

“My grandfather… he said he was meeting the Chairman today. He might suggest moving the wedding up a bit.”

“Well, that’s fine with me.”

Seo-hye clenched her fist tightly enough for her palm to be indented by her nails, answering sullenly.

“He probably means moving up the wedding with my sister.”

The sound of his footsteps, which had been echoing clearly in the corridor, suddenly stopped.

He stood still, tilting his head down to gaze deeply at Seo-hye.

“Are you anxious?”

Seo-hye almost immediately denied it but then closed her lips.

She realized that hiding her feelings was gradually becoming pointless.

No matter what she said, he could always see through her emotions, so what was the use of lying?

He stared intently at the silent Seo-hye and then spoke in an unwavering voice.

“No matter what the old people say, I’ll only listen to you, Ms. Seo-hye. If you come to me, I can take your hand and put you in a dress that very day.”

“……”

“So tell me as soon as possible.”

His voice was quite gentle at the end.

So Seo-hye wanted to say, “Actually, I don’t know either, but I’ve started to dislike the idea of you marrying my sister.”

“Shall we deliver the painting first?”

“Oh… yes. It’s that way.”

Seo-hye pointed down the corridor with her small hand and started walking first.

When he saw Seo-hye’s ears turn as red as an apple as she walked ahead of him, a smile spread across his face.

Creak—

As they reached the hospital room and opened the door, Seo-hye saw Hyo-young with an oxygen mask on.

Has her condition worsened in the two weeks? Last time, it seemed like she was breathing on her own.

She quickly forgot that Do-jin was behind her and rushed to her side.

“Mom.”

Hyo-young, who wasn’t asleep but just had her eyes closed, slowly lifted her eyelids at Seo-hye’s voice.

As soon as she laid eyes on her daughter, she smiled blindly.

Seo-hye forced a smile along with her.

“You must have been very sick. I wondered why you weren’t texting.”

The words “I’m sorry” were reflected in Hyo-young’s eyes.

In response, a transparent film filled Seo-hye’s eyes.

In truth, she was the one who should be sorry. Even if Hwa-woong had kept her from leaving the house, she should have sneaked out to see her mother.

“I’m sorry. I kept saying I was busy and couldn’t even visit.”

Hyo-young shook her head gently.

Then she shifted her gaze to Do-jin, who was standing behind Seo-hye.

Hyo-young’s eyelashes, which had seemed too weak to lift her eyelids, suddenly shot upward.

She suddenly appeared full of life.

Perhaps she thought of him as her daughter’s boyfriend.

“Mom. This is Won Do-jin. This time, Seonghan Hotel and the foundation are collaborating to offer a talent donation program for children. He made it possible.”

Do-jin bowed his head to her silently.

It was a more solemn greeting than when he interacted with Seo-hye.

Seeing him considerate towards her sick mother, Seo-hye smiled slightly and reached out her arm to him.

“Mr. Do-jin… I should show the painting to my mom.”

Do-jin moved a little closer and helped Seo-hye unwrap the packaging.

The meticulous wrapping, with corner guards to protect the painting, made her feel respected

She glanced at Do-jin once before focusing back on unwrapping the package.

Finally, the landscape painting she had painstakingly worked on in secret for her mother was revealed.

Seo-hye tilted the painting a bit more towards Hyo-young so she could see it better.

“Mom, it’s been so much fun trying to paint Oriental paintings again after such a long time. Do you like it?”

“…”

“This is a gift for you… I think I was really happy while painting it.”

The emotions she felt while painting were truly just ‘happiness.’

It was a painting she created for her mother and for herself.

However, instead of smiling with joy, Hyo-young’s eyes began to redden painfully, just from looking at it.

Seeing this, Seo-hye’s eyes shook with sympathy. When her own eyes filled with tears as well, Hyo-young managed a difficult smile.

For a moment, dew sparkled in the crescent shape of her eyes.

‘It’s the best.’

Though it was only mouthed, that one word of praise made all the hard work feel worth it.

The two continued to exchange glances for a while.

Just looking at each other provided comfort to their weary lives.

“But, Mom.”

Seo-hye, who broke the gaze first, looked around the hospital room.

Even though it was a private room, there was no suitable place to hide the painting.

“If Grandpa sees this painting, I think he’ll be upset. I’m sorry, but… can I leave it at your house in Okcheon?”

In fact, Seo-hye had told Hyo-young that Hwa-woong’s specialty was Oriental painting, but he couldn’t paint anymore after the accident, so she didn’t paint Oriental paintings, fearing it would upset her grandfather.

Hyo-young, who only knew this much, nodded her consent readily.

Seo-hye murmured a small thank you.

The landscape painting etched into Hyo-young’s eyes was likely to be deeply engraved in her heart as well.

It was a painting infused with sincere intentions.

At that moment, the phone in Seo-hye’s bag rang. When she took it out to check, it was Hwa-woong.

Feeling uneasy staying at the hospital, Seo-hye turned around and told Do-jin that they should leave.

Then she tightly held Hyo-young’s hand, leaned down, and whispered “I love you” into her ear.

“I’ll come again.”

Though it was hard to tear herself away, staying longer at the hospital and running into Professor Park would surely reach Hwa-woong’s ears.

For her mother’s treatment, she had to leave the hospital quickly.

“Do-jin, let’s go now.”

Do-jin took the painting from Seo-hye’s arms and bid farewell to Hyo-young.

Though it was a brief moment, seeing Hyo-young’s face and showing her the landscape painting she wanted to see seemed to relieve a long-standing burden.

As they walked down the corridor and headed to the parking lot, no conversation passed between the two.

After getting into the car, Do-jin asked for Hyo-young’s home address without saying much else.

Seo-hye offered to enter it into the navigation system herself, tapping the screen with her forefinger.

After setting the destination, Seo-hye naturally fastened her seatbelt.

“If you want to stay with your mother longer, that’s okay. I can take the painting there myself.”

“What? Oh, no.”

Seo-hye was grateful to Do-jin for offering, even if it was just a polite gesture.

“If I stay too long, it will only hurt my heart. I also want to visit my hometown after a long time. And… I think I’ll feel more at ease if I deliver it myself. That way, it will truly feel like I’m giving the painting to my mom as a gift.”

“Alright. Then I’ll tell Secretary Yoo to inform Lee Hwa-woong that you have a rehearsal and a dinner meeting afterward.”

“…Thank you.”

“I’m the one who’s grateful. It seems I’ve become a bit dull.”

Seo-hye couldn’t deny it.

He smiled faintly as he pressed the accelerator.

***

Before going to the dinner appointment with Chairman Won, Hwa-woong stopped by the hospital in Korea.

He intended to hear about Hyo-young’s condition from Professor Seong, an old comrade, and use it to threaten Seo-hye.

To tell her that her mother’s condition was this severe, so she should behave accordingly.

However, before even meeting Professor Seong, Hwa-woong completely changed his mind.

It was because he saw two familiar figures as he entered the hospital building.

None other than Seo-hye and Do-jin.

Fury quickly engulfed him.

That impudent girl. She said she wasn’t meeting Do-jin separately. She said Hae-mi would be the one to marry him.

Who would have known she was betraying him like this behind his back?

Moreover, if he loses Hyo-young to Do-jin, there would be no reason for him to hold onto Seo-hye.

There would be no one to paint for him, and the Chairman of Seonghan would no longer need him.

Hwa-woong called Professor Seong.

Saying they must hide Hyo-young immediately.