Chapter 12 (Part 3)

Jinwon melted softly, without haste or roughness.

It felt like carefully cradling something too precious to hold tightly.  

In-ah felt as if all her strength was leaving her body, becoming limp.

Her waist was embraced by his arm as she accepted him with her whole body.  

Then she suddenly opened her eyes wide in surprise.  

It was because she felt her body lift into the air.

Jinwon, lifting In-ah, walked towards the bed.

She inhaled sharply, unable to exhale.  

He gently laid her on the bed.  

“You were really surprised today, right? Let’s just sleep.”

What? After all this, just sleep?  

In-ah couldn’t voice her thoughts and only looked at Jinwon with wide eyes.

Despite her pleading gaze, he only smiled with his eyes.  

Say something!  

Whether he understood her frustration or not, he pulled the blanket up to her neck.  

Seriously? Is this how it’s going to be?  

With a pitiful expression, In-ah spoke.

“I want to sleep, but…”  

“But?”  

“I don’t think I can.”  

“Still, you need to sleep. I’ll stay by your side. Sleep.”

Would you be able to sleep? 

Annoyed, she mischievously suggested,  

“If you sing a lullaby, maybe I could.”  

Jinwon, with an awkward expression, seemed momentarily flustered, then hurriedly took out his phone.

He seemed intent on finding a music track.

In-ah reached out and snatched the phone from Jinwon’s hand.

He made the most pitiful face, appealing emotionally.  

“I’m not good at singing.”

Come to think of it, In-ah realized she had never heard Jinwon sing before.

Her eyes filled with anticipation.  

Reading her expression, a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead in nervousness.  

Looking at her with sparkling eyes, he cleared his throat.  

“Ahem. Ahem.”  

Finding it insufficient, he gulped down water.  

Watching him, she struggled to suppress her laughter. 

So cute, it’s driving me crazy.  

Then he began to sing a lullaby.  

His voice was so soft that she had to concentrate to hear it.  

“Sleep well, our In-ah… in the front yard…”  

“Sorry, but…”  

In-ah cautiously interrupted Jinwon’s lullaby with a careful expression and tone.

Jinwon quickly responded, sensing her discomfort.

“Better not listen, right?”  

“How about lowering it by a key?”  

At In-ah’s unexpected suggestion, Jinwon’s pupils lost their direction.

“A key? How?”  

In a slightly lower voice, she sang a line or two as a demonstration.  

“Do I really have to do this?”

At Jinwon’s pleading words, In-ah replied firmly.

“Yes, you do. Now, try it.”  

As he cautiously sang again, she was utterly charmed.  

Jinwon’s voice found its place.

His soft, low voice filled the room sweetly, like a whisper.  

Gradually, In-ah’s eyelids grew heavy.

As her eyelids, which she was struggling to keep open, finally began to close, Jinwon’s soft lips warmly touched them.  

Thus, despite a night filled with nightmares, In-ah miraculously fell asleep.  

***  

When she opened her eyes again, the room was already filled with the morning sunlight.  

“Oppa!”  

She called for him from the bed, but there was no response.  

Slowly getting up, she searched the room for Jinwon, but he was nowhere to be found.  

“It’s almost lunchtime, where did he go?”  

She picked up her phone and called him, but the phone rang from the living room.  

Following the sound, she found his phone ringing on the sofa.  

It seemed he had left it behind.  

She ended the call and looked down at the sofa with a smile.  

A pillow and crumpled blanket were pushed to one side, evidence of him sleeping there.  

I guess sleeping right next to me was too much for him too?  

Feeling oddly satisfied, her lips twitched into a smile.  

She slapped her own cheeks, as if telling herself to get a grip.  

***  

At Lysian’s cafeteria, Hye-yoon, who was eating with colleagues, suddenly stopped her chopsticks in surprise.  

Assistant Manager Jeong approached her with a tray.  

‘Don’t come, don’t come. Why is she coming to me?’

Unaware of Hye-yoon’s thoughts, Assistant Manager Jeong stopped in front of her.

Reluctantly, Hye-yoon looked up at him, and he cautiously spoke.

“Um… I don’t see Seo In-ah…”  

“She’s on vacation.”  

“Oh.”  

Fearing she might say more, Hye-yoon quickly stood up.

As she was about to turn away, she felt uneasy and added one more thing to Assistant Manager Jeong.

“She’ll be back tomorrow. Seo In-ah.”  

Then she briskly turned around and left the cafeteria with her gossiping colleagues.

Returning to the office, Hye-yoon paused at the sound coming from Jinwon’s empty office.

“Wasn’t Team Leader Lee on vacation?”  

Hye-yoon knocked briefly on the team leader’s office door, but there was no response.

“Team Leader?”  

Cautiously, she twisted the doorknob and entered.  

The office was empty.  

“Strange, I thought I heard something.”  

As she was about to leave, Hye-yoon froze in shock.

Someone’s foot was sticking out from behind the desk. Someone was definitely hiding!  

With trembling hands, she managed to pull out her phone and started dialing 112.  

Then, someone’s hand quickly snatched the phone away.  

Her mouth was covered by someone’s hand as she reflexively screamed.

The person who put a finger to their lips and said “Shh!” was Go Sang-wook.

As the shock faded from Hye-yoon’s eyes, Go Sang-wook slowly removed his hand from her mouth.

“Go Sang-wook? Why are you here?”  

“Just… something…”  

His vague answer seemed suspicious to her.  

She cautiously backed toward the door, keeping her eyes on him.

“Don’t misunderstand!”  

Startled by his shout, Hye-yoon clutched her chest and shouted back.

“You’re suspicious no matter who sees you! Go away!”

Looking wronged, he lowered his voice and confessed.  

“I was just looking for some information.”

“Information?”  

Her surprise grew, and he quickly explained,  

“No, not company information.”  

“Then what?”  

Avoiding her gaze, he muttered,  

“I thought Team Leader Lee seemed to be getting closer to Seo In-ah.”

Her expression turned to disbelief.  

“Wow.”  

***  

Waiting in the room for Jinwon, In-ah checked the clock as it passed lunchtime and decided to leave.  

She thought of waiting in the lobby.  

But upon reaching the lobby, it was in chaos.  

Sirens blared from just outside the hotel, and people gathered to watch.  

She overheard people passing by.  

“What happened?”  

“They say there was an accident up ahead.”  

In-ah thought that maybe Jinwon had gone out and got stuck somewhere because of the accident.

So she followed the crowd outside.

A little distance from the entrance, she saw a car overturned after crashing into the hotel wall.

There was smoke around the car, possibly from a fire.

As the smoke slowly cleared, the car became visible. It was a blue convertible with a rental car number.

Seeing the car, In-ah covered her mouth in shock.

It was the rental car she and Jinwon had rented and driven from the airport. This meant Jinwon was in that overturned car!

In-ah’s face turned pale.

She reached out to run over but found her legs wouldn’t move.

Her strength kept failing her, and she sank to the ground.

Her tear ducts seemed broken, as tears she hadn’t meant to shed kept flowing.

With a determined expression, she finally managed to brace her knees and clench her lips, trying to stand up.

“What’s going on, why are you like that?”

It was Shin-hye’s voice.

Seeing In-ah’s tear-filled gaze fixed on the accident scene, Shin-hye seemed to realize something serious was happening.

Shin-hye turned her head towards the accident scene and started running like crazy.

It was when In-ah managed to wipe away the tears blurring her vision and stand up.

“In-ah!”

It was Jinwon. The person who had hurried over to support her was indeed Jinwon!

Even seeing Jinwon, In-ah couldn’t believe it and staggered again.

Jinwon, holding her firmly, noticed the accident scene belatedly.

“Can you stay here for a moment?”

When In-ah nodded, Jinwon seated her to the side and ran to the accident scene.

Upon reaching the scene, Jinwon first noticed Shin-hye, who was causing a scene.

With mascara smudged from tears, Shin-hye looked like someone out of her mind.

“Jeong Shin-hye!”

Hearing Jinwon call her, Shin-hye turned with a dazed expression and threw herself into his arms.

Then she started crying loudly.

Jinwon detached her from himself and calmly tried to soothe her.

But Shin-hye kept trying to cling to him.

Even so, as Jinwon continued to calm her and pull her away, Shin-hye sat down and began to cry loudly.

After the accident scene was somewhat cleared up,

Shin-hye was sniffling, trying to control her tears in the lobby. In-ah, sitting next to her, handed her a tissue.

“No thanks?”

“Then don’t take it.”

Seeing In-ah trying to put the tissue back, Shin-hye snatched it away.

Watching Shin-hye wipe her tear-streaked, mascara-smeared eyes, In-ah spoke.

“Why are you here?”

“Is Jeju yours? I’m here for a trip too.”

In-ah let out a laugh of disbelief.

“Do you realize how childish you sound?”

“No, I’m not childish. I’m very mature. Is that something you say to a company director?”

In-ah kept her mouth shut instead of answering.

“What’s with you, why aren’t you answering? Hey!”

As the irate Shin-hye was picking a fight, Jinwon came over and sat next to In-ah.

In-ah asked Jinwon with a worried expression.

“Did the rental car employee get hurt badly?”

“They were taken to the hospital, but fortunately, it seems they’re not seriously injured.”