Part 16

“Did you wait long?”

“I just arrived.”

As Seowoo got into the passenger seat, Jiwook fastened her seatbelt. Jiwook had come to pick her up at the time she was done.

‘I need to go to the company briefly today.’

‘Then I’ll take you there. I’ll pick you up when you’re done too.’

‘I can just drive myself.’

‘No, I’m anxious.’

He was quite firm about it. Though Inryul had offered to pick her up, Seowoo declined, saying she was fine.

Recently, because Seowoo had been resting, In-ryul had been managing the schedules of other actors. Upon hearing this, Jiwook took charge of picking her up, saying he couldn’t let her drive herself due to anxiety.

“What was the meeting about?”

Jiwook asked her as he slowly pressed the accelerator.

“They offered me an advertisement.”

“What kind of ad?”

“Some babies stuff. Probiotics, diapers.”

After the drama ended, various advertisements for clothing, cosmetics, etc., had come in, but since the pregnancy was revealed, proposals for baby-related advertisements had started to come in.

She had refrained from accepting any out of concern for any potential risks during pregnancy, but after the doctor assured her that everything was fine and the babies were growing well, Seowoo decided to muster up the courage.

“If you want, go ahead. Just don’t overdo it.”

“I was really thinking about it, but CEO Moon said I could always tell him……. Should I just take one?”

“One is fine, or even two. Do as you please, Seowoo.”

He replied with a small smile.

It took courage to make a comeback like this. She didn’t want to be forgotten by the public. Even if she returned after giving birth, it would likely take at least 2 years.

Still, having him cheering her on made her feel much more comfortable with the worries she had.

“They said they’ll shoot within the limit that doesn’t strain me too much because it’s twins. The advertisers have everything arranged.”

“That’s great.”

Seowoo seemed excited.

She had seemed somewhat down lately due to various things happening, so she felt relieved.

“So have you decided to do it?”

“I said I’d think about it until today.”

“What’s the point? Your mind is already made up.”

“Hehe.”

Seowoo smiled proudly.

He was right. She’d already made the decision, but she’d told Seung-min she’d think about it until today.

Their reconciliation was still a hot topic. Jiwook had first officially released the news, and afterwards, Seung-min, who knew the details, had tactfully blended and packaged the information.

[A fated love that bloomed despite family opposition]

It was the most memorable title. Briefly thinking about that article, Seowoo turned to him with a smile.

“Were you on your way home from work, Jiwook?”

“Yeah.”

While she had gone to the office, he had also briefly visited the headquarters.

She was curious about what he would do in the future, as she hadn’t asked yet. Whether he would continue to stay at the company as Hyeong-gyeong had hoped.

“How long do you plan to keep going to work?”

“I don’t know. I’m still thinking about it.”

Jiwook said with a wry smile as he held her hand tightly.

Today, once again, Hyeong-gyeong came by and recited a series of situations that Jiwook knew without him having to mention them.

As Seowoo sorted out her complicated thoughts, her slightly excited voice rang in his ears.

“But where are we going?”

“To have dinner.”

“What are we eating?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

Jiwook said, a faint smile forming on his face.

The red sunset outside the car window poured into the car. Seowoo’s lips also curved into a smile as she watched Jiwook driving.

***

“…This is the place.”

Seowoo trailed off as she looked out the window. She thought they were heading home after dinner at a nearby restaurant, but Jiwook’s car had arrived at an unexpected place.

It was the first time she’d been here again since she was 20.

She’d purposely avoided it because it reminded her of the way she used to cry whenever she came near her. She never thought he’d bring her here.

“Shall we take a walk?”

After parking the car nearby, he unfastened his seatbelt first.

“Let’s get out.”

Seowoo looked at him blankly, and Jiwook unbuckled her seatbelt for her. After Jiwook got out of the car, he opened the passenger door and extended his hand to her.

Seowoo’s gaze lowered slightly.

Even though over 10 years had passed, coming to this place again brought back the painful memories.

“Can’t have you catching a cold.”

Jiwook smoothed her outfit and slipped their joined hands into his jacket pockets. Seowoo walked alongside him, slowly looking around.

“It’s changed a lot.”

Jiwook murmured.

This was the lively commercial area near the university where they had planned to meet on Christmas Eve.

There were movie theaters, bars, and restaurants.

The night before the scheduled meeting, he had been too excited to even sleep. He had even bought a gift for her for Christmas Eve, but… in the end, he never got to give it to her.

“Did you wait long?”

He subtly asked, lowering his gaze to her. Seowoo quietly nodded.

The time they had agreed to meet was 6 o’clock.

At first, she thought he was just running late.

The hours passed – 7, 8, 9 o’clock. Eventually, it became a waste of time waiting, but Seowoo still stood there motionless until midnight.

Waiting for Kwon Jiwook.

And after that, all contact between them was completely severed.

“It’s a late excuse, but I wanted to say it anyway.”

He wanted to tell her about that day.

The circumstances had not been favorable. But his feelings for her were sincere.

If any resentment still lingered, he wanted to resolve it now.

“That day, I suddenly had to leave the country. My father said we needed to go out for a moment, so I thought we were just stopping by somewhere. But it turned out to be on our way to the airport to go to the United States.”

“…….”

“My grandfather had passed away, so I had to leave urgently. I was already planning to study abroad soon, so it was sort of decided on the spot, but my phone got broken that very morning, so I couldn’t even contact you.”

The perfectly functioning phone broke, preventing him from contacting her.

He had intended to take it to the repair center on his way to meet her, but couldn’t, as he had to leave for the United States. Since he didn’t have her number memorized, Jiwook had not been able to contact her.

Jiwook stopped walking and turned to face Seowoo. Seowoo slowly raised her gaze and locked eyes with him.

“I didn’t know how long the study abroad period would be, so I couldn’t even ask you to wait for me.”

There were many ways to find Seowoo’s number. At the very least, he could ask his colleagues. But even if he found out her number, he resisted the urge to contact her.

He thought he shouldn’t be greedy for something he couldn’t take care of.

But contrary to that feeling, whenever Christmas came, he would think of Seowoo unusually often.

“I wanted to ask you something on that last Christmas Eve date… but I couldn’t even do that.”

“…”

“It’s all just an excuse, really.”

A look of regret washed over his face. With a small sigh, he pulls a small box out of his pocket.

And from it, he took out a sparkling white gold bracelet, wrapping it around her wrist.

“This was what I had wanted to give you then, and now I can finally give it to you.”

Seowoo’s pupils trembled as she looked at it.

It took over 10 years for him to confess. If they had met then and spent Christmas together, she wondered if their situation would have been different. 

He had kept the gift he couldn’t give her all this time.

A heavy feeling weighed on her chest.

“Jiwook.”

“I’m glad I can give it to you now.”

It was thanks to her opening her heart again. For giving him one more chance. 

If not for that, this bracelet would still be sitting in his desk drawer.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

Jiwook gently caressed Seowoo’s cold cheek and smiled softly.

“I wanted to meet you and watch a movie,  and I even made reservations for a nice dinner…”

“…….”

“And if you don’t mind a long-distance relationship, I was going to confess.”

The excitement of making a date reservation with Seowoo welled up again. Just imagining her smiling made a smile involuntarily appear on his lips. Jiwook slowly looked at her lips and lightly traced them with his thumb.

“I had also wanted to kiss you.”

After saying that, Jiwook lightly pressed his lips to hers.

“It’s too late, but…… as late as it is, I’ll do my best.”

He vowed to never make her wait again.

“In that sense, I should make you miso stew tomorrow.”

“Haha.”

At his sudden remark, Seowoo laughed with teary eyes. Jiwook enveloped her small form in his embrace. Seowoo’s fresh and cute scent filled his lungs deeply.

“Let’s go on a trip this Christmas Eve.”

“Okay.”

Seowoo raised her arms and hugged him tightly. The hurt feelings dissipated like melting snow at his sincerity.

“Huh?”

Jiwook, who was hugging her, looked surprised and stared at her face. Seowoo’s eyes tilted nicely as if she knew why he was doing this.

“I felt like something moved.”

As Seowoo nodded her head, Jiwook’s lips stretched into a long smile. 

At around 17 weeks, the babies’ movements were finally becoming perceptible.

“Since when?”

“Since today. I just felt it too.”

Seowoo seemed moved by the dad’s sincerity. She hooked her arm through his and leaned her head against his shoulder, smiling.

“Let’s go. I still had a gift for you, you know.”

“A gift?”

“Yes. The gift I bought for Sunbae Jiwook.”

Jiwook’s face showed some surprise.

“Let’s go quickly, okay?”

Seowoo urged him on.

After taking such a long, winding path, she hoped they would no longer be misaligned going forward. Since being with him, this had been the happiest day.

This place, which had been filled only with sadness, was finally being painted with happiness. 

A joyful smile blossomed on Seowoo’s face.