Chapter 35 – You Entered My Heart  

When So-yeon entered the master room, Seo-jun moved with her to the mini-bar and sat on a standing chair.

“Were you drinking whiskey?”

“A little.”

“Can I have some too?”

“Do you think you won’t get drunk?”

“So what if I do? Sometimes it’s okay to enjoy it.”

“Go ahead.”

Seo-jun poured whiskey into a new glass and lifted the corner of his lips.

“…”

So-yeon brought the glass he offered to her lips and gulped down the strong alcohol.

“Are you really trying to get drunk?”

“Is this enough?”

A few drinks wouldn’t change anything.

Just because her throat felt like it was on fire didn’t mean she’d actually turn to ash, and even if she became temporarily incoherent, it wouldn’t erase the memories engraved in her mind and heart forever.

At most, her throat would sting, and her stomach would feel warm. Compared to her deeply scorched inner feelings, it was nothing.

What So-yeon needed now was alcohol, something to momentarily forget her complicated thoughts.

“Give me another drink.”

So-yeon asked for more, lightly shaking her empty glass.

Seo-jun observed her for a moment. Her small face, with its delicate features, seemed especially determined today.

“I won’t stop you.”

Seo-jun tilted the bottle into the crystal glass as if being generous. The liquid poured with a clear sound. Once the glass was filled, So-yeon took another sip and began to speak about what had been on her mind.

“This mansion, it’s a villa your family visits often, isn’t it? If a Korean owns such a vast estate and grand mansion in Spain, your parents must be incredibly wealthy.”

“How did you figure that out? I have enough wealth to own a mansion like this myself.”

Though it was an unexpected remark, Seo-jun asked in a calm tone.

It was somewhat surprising that she figured it out before he told her, but not shocking. After all, by bringing her to this mansion owned by his father, he had no intention of hiding anything about himself.

“I saw the portrait on the stairs. It’s of you as a child, and the background is this place. I knew you were cousins with Go Won-hoo, but I never imagined you were more extraordinary than I thought.”

Since arriving at the Malaga mansion, So-yeon had learned a little about Tae Seo-jun, whom she didn’t know well. Even without his impressive background, Tae Seo-jun seemed to have everything he needed.

By looking at the family portrait hanging on the central staircase, So-yeon could easily deduce who owned the mansion.

If Tae Seo-jun had visited this place since he was very young, then his parents’ wealth must be immense, meaning he was likely part of a rare conglomerate family.

However, she didn’t know that Tae Seo-jun’s family was the so-called top-ranking conglomerate.

Chairman Tae Seok-ho was a giant in the economic world, often appearing on TV news. So it wasn’t strange for So-yeon, who occasionally watched economic news, to know Chairman Tae, but the portrait was over 25 years old.

Therefore, while it seemed familiar, she couldn’t recognize that the person in the painting was Chairman Tae Seok-ho due to the significant changes in appearance over time.

However, feeling the stark difference between her and Tae Seo-jun’s family, So-yeon asked directly.

“Are your parents perhaps conglomerates?”

“Well, roughly. So.”

It was true.

Though she had vaguely expected it, hearing that he was truly from a conglomerate made Tae Seo-jun feel even more distant.

In her already complicated mind, another reason was added for why it was difficult to connect with him.

“Just knowing that makes it seem difficult for us.”

“We haven’t even started yet.”

“It’s not impossible to start?”

“What exactly can’t happen? Because I’m Tae Seo-jun? Because my parents are conglomerates?”

“Both.”

Isn’t she a peculiar woman? When people hear ‘conglomerate,’ they usually want to get closer. That’s why he hid his background and family thoroughly.

But Eom So-yeon showed excessive caution about him being from a conglomerate. Excessive usually means there’s another reason. So what could that be?

Seo-jun felt a strange suspicion.

“It wouldn’t be bad for you, so why?”

“There’s nothing good either.”

“So, because of that, it’s difficult to continue our relationship?”

“Probably.”

“Then, you only wants to see me as a colleague?”

“…I guess so.”

“Huh…”

Not if he could help it.

Seo-jun laughed in a low voice. He meant that he wouldn’t let it happen, feeling indignant that Eom So-yeon only thought of moving away from him.

“What should I do? I can’t see you just as a colleague.”

“Are you saying you don’t mind if a scandal breaks out with me?”

“What if I don’t?”

“Huh…”

He shouldn’t be a reckless person, but he was speaking strangely. So-yeon, unknowingly, widened her already red eyes.

“Why would someone as fearless as you, who even confessed about having a child, act like this?”

“I’m very scared. Sometimes I scream when a leaf on the ground looks like something else, and sometimes I get startled by my own shadow.”

“Hmm…”

Could that be true?

Seo-jun slowly opened and closed his eyes, gazing at So-yeon’s flustered expression.

What were these emotions he felt, fluctuating between cold and hot every time he looked at her? When he had thought of Eom So-yeon from afar, his heart had felt strangely at ease. But ever since their reunion, the throbbing in his chest had been uncomfortably persistent.

And when he had learned the unbelievable truth about the child, he had even felt an inexplicable sense of betrayal. After all, humans don’t reproduce through immaculate conception—there must have been a man involved.

But then she said there wasn’t.

The funny thing was, his own reaction had surprised him. The unpleasantness that had surged to the top of his head upon hearing her voice saying she had a child but no man—it had vanished in an instant. He might have even felt relieved.

Every time he visited that small beach in Malaga, where he had always gone alone, he saw her angelic smile. Radiant and pure, Eom So-yeon’s face sparkled, and he found himself wanting to see it again. Would she smile like that again if he spoke honestly about his feelings?

With a serious expression and tone, Seo-jun spoke.

“Eom So-yeon, you said before that people forget people with people. So take responsibility for what you said.”

“What… do you mean?”

“You entered my heart and got stuck. I’ve tried everything, but you won’t come out. It’s been quite a while since it happened. Since the day I first met you.”

“…!”

Her startled gaze wavered as if stumbling.

So-yeon, narrowing her brows, stared intently at Seo-jun with wide eyes. She couldn’t even blink. She couldn’t breathe. Her heart, which had been beating well, suddenly stopped, and her nose tingled. She couldn’t see clearly.

Why would he suddenly say something like that…

From her large eyes, uncontrollable hot tears fell like a sudden rain.

During the months when the baby grew steadily in her womb, she stroked and embraced her swollen belly, imagining what the unborn baby’s eyes, nose, and mouth would look like. Every time, that person, that face, inevitably came to mind.

She struggled to erase the ever-encroaching fears and bad thoughts by relying on the memory of one night.

She endured days when she desperately longed for a warm, comforting touch by thinking of him. Like a beacon in the dark, vast sea, he always became a light that brightly illuminated her dark heart.

And it was like an unstoppable natural order, a natural inertia, like a river flowing in one direction.

This man, who said she entered his heart on the day they first met.

That one statement was enough.

All the past days where pain and happiness coexisted were just moments of gratitude now.

But nothing changes.

If his feelings were sincere, she thought there might be a slight possibility. However, Tae Seo-jun was someone further away than she had imagined. The fact that he was from a conglomerate weighed heavily on her heart.

Though she already loved him, she shouldn’t love him again. She couldn’t hold onto the ankle of a man who lived in another world just for her own happiness.

Though she dared not become an obstacle in his solid life, she mustn’t be a hindrance like gravel scattered on a smooth road.

Moreover, she vowed that even if she fell into hell, she wouldn’t make any pathetic excuses for her choices.

To become an adult who can take responsibility for her own life. To become a strong mother who remains unshaken even in a storm. Above all, for the child she must protect till the end.

Those were the tears of that meaning.

***

‘Oh my, Eom So-yeon is a mother. Fine, proceed with that in mind. Keep the story as is but revise the skinship scenes back to their original form.’

On the day of the party at El Stella Hotel, Writer Kwon Eun-young instructed the assistant writer over the phone to revise the script.

Writer Kwon’s usual theory was that a strong love line was necessary to instantly capture the viewer’s attention. However, she had hesitated and deliberated a lot, believing that Eom So-yeon, who looked delicate and young like a flower in a greenhouse, couldn’t handle the high intensity.

But there’s a limit to deceiving people; she turned out to be a single mother. And three men, without exception, banded together to dismiss her opinion? If they weren’t all bewitched by her pretty looks, what was it? Fine, if everyone wanted Eom So-yeon so badly, she had her own ways!

With that thought, Writer Kwon revised the script with the intention of at least securing viewership ratings out of spite.

However, the lobby of El Stella Hotel had many ears listening to her words. And among them was Jo In-ha.

In-ha was so dumbfounded that if Eom So-yeon had been standing in front of him at that moment, he might have strangled her. The years he had spent waiting for her to see him as a man now felt utterly meaningless, and he felt like he was going to lose his mind.

But that was only Jo In-ha’s one-sided emotion. And the fact that he had been clinging on alone all this time made him even more resentful.

On the day he had resolved to meet Eom So-yeon no matter what, In-ha had gone to Dogok-dong. But when he couldn’t reach her by phone and wandered near her apartment, he ended up seeing her getting into a car with Tae Seo-jun.

Since that day, Jo In-ha had been so agitated that he didn’t even know how he managed to handle all his schedules.

And today, he had to go to the airport quickly for an overseas photo shoot. But he couldn’t move until he heard why Eom So-yeon went to Spain with Tae Seo-jun, so he stopped by the CN representative’s office without any plan.

“What are you planning to do?”

“Well, I know you care a lot about Eom So-yeon as a junior, but why would I divulge her personal affairs to you? Isn’t it her private matter? Have you ever considered that excessive concern might actually make things harder for the junior you care so much about?”

“No matter what, can’t I at least worry? And why did Director Tae take So-yeon to Spain?”

When In-ha questioned, even Won-hoo became curious.

“I thought your excessive behavior was strange, but was that the core issue? You’ve always liked her as more than a junior. Is that why you were so bothered that she went to Spain with Director Tae?”

“…”

In-ha clenched his lips at the straightforward question.

Since he wasn’t speaking, it seemed like the guess was correct, so there was one more thing to ask.

“If your feelings are mutual, I might be willing to discuss Eom So-yeon’s future steps with you. But my gut tells me that’s not the case…”

Twenty-six. By international age, she was only twenty-four. At that age, it wouldn’t be strange for her to still be a cherished daughter under her parents’ care. So, the fact that someone like her had a child was something even Go Won-hoo found surprising.

But regardless of the reason, Won-hoo was most worried about her. How much emotional distress must she have endured while harboring such a massive secret? Even after finally confessing it herself, he worried that she might struggle alone, fearing the consequences of what would follow.

However, Eom So-yeon, whom he saw again in Seo-jun’s room, was unexpectedly calm. Even wearing Seo-jun’s coat looked so natural that he briefly suspected there might be something between them.

Seo-jun, who had always been indifferent toward Eom So-yeon, had volunteered to be her practice partner. He had also dramatically assisted her on the day of the party.

Considering they had gone to Spain together, it wasn’t unreasonable for Go to feel suspicious. However, wasn’t this the same Tae Seo-jun who had been repulsed by women ever since Yoo Jung-hwa?

If there was anyone who knew how clean-cut Seo-jun was in that regard, it was Go himself.

There’s no room for doubt.

The real problem lay elsewhere.

“So, what is it? Are you worried about Eom So-yeon’s future, or are you afraid the woman in your heart might fall for Director Tae? Is that what’s bothering you?”

“Your words are harsh, CEO! Do you think I’m someone who would lose to Tae Seo-jun? I suppose it’s best to wait until So-yeon returns and calmly discuss things with her.”

His pride wounded, Jo In-ha jumped to his feet. Clearly, there was nothing between the two of them. Confirming that, Go let out a soft laugh.

“So, does that mean our conversation is over?”

“…”

Jo In-ha furrowed one brow as if to ask why Go would even pose such a question. Finding it amusing, Go chuckled again and rose from his swivel chair.

“Let’s leave together. I have an appointment, and you need to head to the airport to keep to your schedule.”