Chapter 9 (Part 4)

Due to the extended conversation between Hyo-young and Mr. Kim, the two ended up talking more in the car.

Do-jin repeatedly checked if Seo-hye was okay, assured her of the truth behind Hwa-jun’s accident, and reiterated several times that his death was not her fault.

He also carefully explained that Lee Hwa-woong would receive at least a 20-year prison sentence and that Mr. Kim could not escape the law’s judgment for evidence tampering.

“So, after talking with your mother, Mr. Kim decided to turn himself in.”

Seo-hye couldn’t say anything.

“He wanted to apologize to your mother before he left, so I brought him.”

Seo-hye slowly nodded, indicating her understanding.

And she made no judgment about it.

Watching her, Do-jin cautiously asked.

“Mr. Kim was complicit in dragging you into an unhappy life. Don’t you resent him?”

Seo-hye surprisingly answered without hesitation.

“Well, I don’t think I resent him… Maybe it’s because he revealed the truth of that day, even if it was late…”

“……”

“When I was really struggling in Cheongun-dong, he silently handed me a handkerchief, and when I really thought my sister would beat me to death, he saved me.”

“……”

“It was all because he felt sorry for me. I think Mr. Kim must have suffered the most, watching me live such an oppressed life right beside him.”

Do-jin found himself deeply empathizing with Seo-hye’s words.

“He must have suffered the same pain as I did. That’s enough for me.”

“Hold on.”

“What?”

“I hope I’m not mistaken about your age, Seo-hye.”

Seo-hye laughed lightly, asking what he meant by that out of the blue.

“It’s hard to believe that a twenty-five-year-old woman can have such a deep heart.”

As Seo-hye felt embarrassed, Do-jin looked at her with an even more intense gaze.

Even when Seo-hye lightly pushed his face to the side, telling him to stop staring, he didn’t budge and continued to take her in more clearly.

Then he moved his lips very slowly.

“What should I do?”

“What do you mean, what should you do?”

“Like the day I saw you crying over a painting.”

“Why do you keep bringing that up…?”

“I think I’ve fallen for you again.”

Silence flowed as if time and space had stopped for the two of them.

And within that silence, Do-jin’s sincere voice blended in.

“So I’m curious. Seo-hye, have you ever fallen for me, even just once?”

Seo-hye didn’t answer immediately and let the time drag on.

Do-jin seemed to be holding back the urge to urge her to speak quickly.

Seo-hye swallowed her laughter inwardly and told him the truth.

“The day I stepped into the hotel bar.”

Do-jin’s eyes widened for a moment and then returned to normal.

“Really?”

“Yes. So I secretly watched you, Won Do-jin.”

Do-jin laughed and said, 

“I think so. Whenever I looked, you kept glancing at me.”

Seo-hye frowned, telling him not to say such teasing things.

“Then our first time wasn’t a one-night stand.”

“Then what was it?”

“Romance?”

Seo-hye was so surprised that she grabbed Do-jin’s shoulder tightly.

“Do-jin, you know how to say things like that?”

“I lived in the United States.”

“No, I mean, that’s not what I meant.”

Seo-hye, flustered, replied and then burst into laughter.

“Come to think of it, do you know you’re really funny, Mr. Won Do-jin? You seem to have a knack for comedy.”

“I can confidently say that’s only because it’s in front of you, Seo-hye.”

The two of them chuckled simultaneously.

Their laughter was sweet enough to melt them both.

***

In the morning, people from the prosecutor’s office came rushing in to find Hwa-woong.

And at the moment he was taken away, Hae-mi realized that her marriage was completely shattered as well.

The group chat room with her friends, where Hae-mi was a member, remained silent.

With nowhere to pour out her heart, tears welled up suddenly.

Ding-

A message arrived.

It was from one of the classmates she had always ignored.

“Why suddenly send a message you never did before…”

Swallowing her anxiety, Hae-mi clicked on the link in the message.

It connected to a famous video-sharing site.

As she was about to play the video, Hae-mi screamed and dropped her phone.

Because she saw the name of the uploader.

The operator of this channel was famous for anonymously exposing incidents of school violence or drug cases involving celebrities, as well as the wrongdoings of well-known business people or artists.

Hae-mi recoiled as if she had seen a terrifying bug, staring at her phone, and then mustered the courage to pick it up again.

She pressed the play button.

After watching for about a minute, she threw her phone away again, crying.

The video was about the reality of a famous artist’s family, detailing how Seo-hye’s family continuously tormented Seo-hye since birth.

She gathered her courage once more, retrieved her phone, and looked at the comments section.

Everyone was viciously criticizing her family, making her shiver with rage.

Just like when she had relentlessly pushed Seo-hye into despair.

The future seemed so bleak that she couldn’t see any light ahead.

***

After Do-jin and Mr. Kim left, only Seo-hye and Hyo-young remained in the hospital room.

Hyo-young, having heard the whole truth from Mr. Kim, didn’t look very cheerful.

Seo-hye, thinking that showing a gloomy face would make Hyo-young even sadder, deliberately began unwrapping the bouquet Do-jin had brought.

“Mom, this is the first time I’ve seen such a big bouquet. Mom, you’re so lucky.”

She kept chatting away to prevent the silence from growing too long while arranging the flowers in several vases.

“Oh, I didn’t put the cake in the fridge. I wonder if it’s okay. Mr. Kim said you don’t like whipped cream cakes, so Do-jin asked them to make a different flavor. I’ll taste it and let you know how it is.”

Seo-hye took out the cake in front of Hyo-young.

“They said it was made in the kitchen at Do-jin’s hotel. Wow, Mom, your name is written in the lettering here.”

Seo-hye took a picture and showed it to Hyo-young.

And while eating the cake, she described the taste in detail.

“It kind of tastes like black sesame. It’s not too sweet and it’s delicious. Do you want to try some? A bite should be okay, right?”

When Hyo-young nodded, Seo-hye temporarily lowered the respirator and adjusted the bed.

As Hyo-young’s upper body was slightly elevated, their eyes met at a similar level.

“…I’m sorry… for… how… I lived…”

Seo-hye shook her head.

“I raised you up to eat cake, why are you saying that? I’m okay.”

“…Seo-hye… you are… my…”

“…”

“…reason… for living…”

A proud daughter.

With that alone, Hyo-young’s sincerity reached Seo-hye.

As long as they cherished each other, everything was fine.

***

A lot happened over the next few days.

The fact that Seo-hye had ghost-painted for Lee Hwa-woong was revealed to the world, resulting in a flood of interview requests from various broadcasting companies.

As Do-jin said, there were a few criticisms directed at Seo-hye, but the overwhelming public sentiment was sympathetic to the unfortunate circumstances that forced her to paint.

Of course, Seonghan’s efforts to prevent negative opinions about her from forming also played a part.

Thanks to this, although it would take some time, Seo-hye could now proudly create and present her own paintings to the world.

If it was a nightmare, it was indeed a long one.

However, with Do-jin guiding her by her side, she was able to wake up sooner than she would have on her own.

As a result, these days, Seo-hye’s face shone brightly like fruit in the sunlight.

Seeing Seo-hye’s radiant face, Hyo-young’s complexion also became brighter, regardless of her health.

“Mom, I’m off.”

Seo-hye kissed Hyo-young on the cheek and left the hospital room.

She said she would bring back the landscape painting she left in Okcheon today.

In fact, she was supposed to go with Do-jin, but since he got busy with hotel business matters, Seo-hye decided to go alone.

She left the hospital with a light step.

***

Upon arriving at the house in Okcheon, Seo-hye took the landscape painting that was neatly propped against the wall.

As she hugged the painting, which was as large as her upper body, and stepped out the gate, she felt a lump in her throat.

Last time, she had come to hide it to prevent it from being taken by Hwa-woong.

Now, she was taking it back to freely reveal it to the world without any reservations.

With eyes that held a mix of heaviness and relief, she glanced down at the landscape painting for a moment before shifting her gaze forward again.

“…Oh?”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

A familiar car was pulling up in front of the reed field by her house. Someone got out of the car, which had its engine turned off.

Even though it was quite a chilly day, as he closed the distance, it felt deceptively warm.

“Even though you’re busy, why did you come? Don’t tell me you came to carry the painting… because you thought it might be heavy?”

Do-jin, who had come right up to her, took Seo-hye’s painting and replied.

“I wanted to see you, Seo-hye.”

More than the painting, he wanted to see Seo-hye.

She smiled.

Just like a cozy spring day.

• Cozy Trap [Main Story End] –