Chapter 15 (Part 4)

In the hallway, they came across a commotion. A group of people had gathered, creating a stir.  

A sense of dread washed over In-ah as she rushed toward the scene.  

Jinwon was being beaten by Seong-tae. Though others eventually intervened, In-ah ran to Jinwon’s side and helped him up.  

“Hye-yoon, record this.”  

At her words, Seong-tae hesitated. But his mouth didn’t stop.  

“Don’t mess with me. Know your place.”  

Jinwon’s expression changed. At least, that’s how it seemed to In-ah.  

Slowly, Jinwon released In-ah’s supporting hand and approached Seong-tae.  

Leaning in close, he spoke in a low voice.  

“Are you curious to see what happens when I know my place?”  

“What?”  

While Seong-tae looked startled, Jinwon’s face remained calm.  

Wiping the blood from his lips with his finger, Jinwon said,  

“So stop provoking me.”

Jinwon hesitated for a moment as he was turning away. He had spotted the Jinseong Group Chairwoman watching from afar.  

Avoiding the Chairwoman’s gaze, Jinwon re-entered the funeral hall. In-ah quickly followed behind him.  

Trailing after In-ah, the Chairwoman’s secretary approached Jinwon.  

“Excuse me, are you hurt in any way from the earlier incident? The Chairwoman instructed me to check on you.”  

“No, I’m fine.”  

“What do you mean fine?!”  

Seeing Jinwon’s face, bruised and battered, In-ah burst out in frustration.  

The secretary looked slightly startled by In-ah’s reaction, just as she was about to start berating him.  

Jinwon reached out his arm to stop her and gave her a subtle look. Then, in a calm voice, he addressed the secretary.  

“Please let her know that she doesn’t need to worry about it.”  

After the secretary left, In-ah glared at Jinwon, her dissatisfaction evident.  

“Look at your face! Why are you taking that guy’s side in all this?”  

“When did I ever?”  

Unlike the agitated In-ah, Jinwon remained composed. His calm demeanor only fueled In-ah’s anger further.  

“You’re covering for him right now!”  

“That’s not what I’m doing.”  

Jinwon gently patted In-ah’s head. Pouting, she grumbled,  

“Still, I don’t like it.”  

When Jinwon stood up again, In-ah grabbed the hem of his clothes.  

As he turned to look at her, her face had transformed into a cold, serious expression.  

“Oppa, take care of your friend today. But this is the last time.”  

***

At Jinwon’s summons, In-ah and Hye-yoon were called into the team leader’s office.  

After glancing briefly at In-ah, Jinwon began explaining to the two of them.  

“The kitchen design for the Jinseong Group Chairwoman’s residence will now be handled by another design team. Just letting you know.”  

Still reeling from the surprise, In-ah and Hye-yoon could barely react as Jinwon continued giving instructions.  

“A new designer will be assigned soon, so pass along the materials.”  

“What’s the reason for this?”  

Before Jinwon could finish, In-ah interjected with a question. Hye-yoon, standing beside her, also voiced her concerns.  

“But we haven’t even submitted the revised proposal the Chairwoman requested yet. Why all of a sudden…?”  

Cutting Hye-yoon off, Jinwon said,  

“This is per the client’s request. Please proceed accordingly.”  

As Hye-yoon left the room with a troubled expression, In-ah stopped at the door and turned around.  

“Did they mention any other reasons for this decision?”  

With a serious expression, she asked Jinwon as a team member.  

“No. They didn’t provide any specific explanation.”  

Wearing a conflicted look, In-ah left the team leader’s office.  

Even after returning to her desk, she aimlessly flipped through the files on her table.  

Staring blankly into space for a long time, she suddenly stood up and began packing her bag.  

Noticing this, Hye-yoon asked her,  

“Where are you going?”  

“Fieldwork.”  

***

At the Jinseong Group headquarters, In-ah stood in front of the reception desk, anxiously awaiting a response.  

“Without an appointment, it’s difficult to arrange a meeting.”  

Unwilling to give up, In-ah pleaded again.  

“Could you please just let them know that Seo In-ah from Lysian is here? Just once…”  

“I’m sorry. Please schedule an appointment and visit again.”  

Hearing the same response, In-ah slumped her shoulders and turned away.  

“Well, well. Isn’t this Lysian’s resident brawler?”  

It was Seong-tae. With the eyes of a predator spotting interesting prey, he approached In-ah.  

Before she realized it, In-ah was glaring at him.  

Unfazed by her reaction, which seemed all too familiar, Seong-tae continued speaking leisurely.  

“I heard I missed quite the show the other day. They said you were the star of the event.”  

Ignoring his words, In-ah started walking away.  

Seong-tae stepped in front of her, blocking her path.  

“You’re the second woman to upset our Chairwoman. I guess us in our family have a thing for feisty women.”  

Clenching her eyes shut, In-ah bit her lip, trying to suppress her anger.  

But whether oblivious or intentionally provoking her further, Seong-tae showed no signs of stopping.  

“I don’t know how the Chairwoman keeps finding women who can so perfectly get on her nerves.”

Finally, In-ah opened her eyes and spoke in a sharp tone.  

“Could you please move aside?”  

Raising his hands in mock surrender, Seong-tae stepped aside. Just as In-ah walked past him, he called out.  

“You’re here to see the Chairwoman, aren’t you? Want me to help?”  

In-ah stopped in her tracks and turned around.  

Seong-tae casually raised a hand and sauntered into the Chairwoman’s office.  

“Hi! Chairwoman! I brought a special guest for you.”

Following behind him, In-ah entered the office.  

The Chairwoman glanced at her briefly before returning to her work without a word.  

Seeing the Chairwoman remain focused on her papers, Seong-tae approached her.  

“Come on, at least acknowledge her presence. Seriously, Mother—”  

Without even looking up, the Chairwoman coldly said,  

“Get out. If you have nothing to say.”  

“Nothing to say, huh? I just came because I missed you. Well then, your son will take his leave.”  

Seong-tae gave In-ah a mischievous look and smirked as he left the room.  

“Why are you still here?”  

The Chairwoman, still not looking up, addressed In-ah, who remained standing.  

Taking this as permission to speak, In-ah stepped forward.  

“I have something to say.”  

Once again, the Chairwoman showed no reaction.  

Interpreting her silence as an invitation to continue, In-ah spoke.  

“I’d like to apologize if my previous remarks offended you. I was careless.”  

At this, the Chairwoman finally looked up and met her eyes.  

“No, you’ve never been careless. That’s the problem.”  

“What do you mean by that?”  

In-ah struggled to understand her cryptic words.  

At that moment, the phone rang, and the secretary’s voice came through.  

“Chairwoman, your meeting is in five minutes. You need to leave now.”  

The Chairwoman immediately stood and exited the office.  

Outside, Seong-tae, who had been eavesdropping, froze in place, startled.  

The Chairwoman shot him a disdainful look as she passed by, leaving Seong-tae to chuckle awkwardly.  

***

At the veterinary clinic where Haejeong worked, In-ah played with the hospitalized puppies.  

Watching her with arms crossed, Haejeong finally spoke up.  

“Are you just going to keep doing that?”  

Still petting the puppies, In-ah replied,  

“Yeah. It’s nice not having to think about anything.”  

Sighing, Haejeong pressed her further.  

“What’s wrong? Is Jinwon giving you a hard time?”  

Forcing a smile, In-ah said,  

“Statistics say couples who break up once rarely work out again.”  

“Who says that?”  

Seeing Haejeong’s indignant reaction, In-ah laughed.  

“I think I heard it somewhere.”  

Raising her voice, Haejeong scolded her.  

“Forget about useless statistics and focus on your own issues.”  

Turning to look at Haejeong, In-ah asked,  

“Did your husband have any close female friends? Like a girl best friend?”  

“Of course. He even met up with her after we got married. Claimed they were just friends.”  

Eyes wide with shock, In-ah quickly asked,  

“And? What did you do?”  

“I told him to go ahead and meet her all he wanted. I’d even divorce him if he wanted. Cool as a cucumber.”

Unable to hold back her laughter, In-ah burst out laughing.  

“Wow, that’s real cool. What more can I expect from you?”  

Laughing along with her, Haejeong waved her hand dismissively.  

“What do you mean? Just take it as a reference.”

***

Jinwon helped Shin-hye into her home and gently sat her down on the sofa.  

“Get some rest.” 

He said, patting her shoulder before turning to leave.  

But Shin-hye suddenly stood and hugged him from behind.  

“Don’t go, Jinwon. Stay with me.”  

Jinwon slowly removed her arms from around his waist without a word and began walking away.  

Panicking, Shin-hye ran in front of him and grabbed his arms.  

“You know I have no one else now. It’s just you.”  

Looking at her, Jinwon quietly said,  

“You know this can’t happen.”  

Shin-hye’s voice grew louder, tinged with desperation.  

“Why not? Why can’t it be me? Is it because you met her first? Loved her first?”  

Her voice cracked with emotion, turning into a near-cry.  

“Love doesn’t have a first or a last!”  

“Shin-hye.”  

Throwing herself into his arms, she whispered,  

“I love you.”  

“……”  

The next moment, she pulled him down, kissing him fervently.  

Stunned, Jinwon grabbed her shoulders and managed to push her away.

However, Shin-hye lunged at Jinwon again. Yes, “lunged” was the most fitting word to describe it.  

With her frightening intensity, Jinwon’s lips were helplessly drawn in.  

When Jinwon roughly pushed Shin-hye away, she collapsed onto the sofa.  

Then, glaring at Jinwon, Shin-hye suddenly began taking off her clothes.  

“Shin-hye! Don’t do this, Shin-hye!”  

Jinwon tried to stop her, but Shin-hye didn’t halt her actions.  

Just as she was about to remove the last piece of clothing, Jinwon, with his eyes tightly shut, shouted.  

“If you do this, we’ll never see each other again.”  

Shin-hye froze.  

Letting out a small sigh, Jinwon spoke in a low voice.  

“Get some rest. Try to sleep first. I’m leaving.”  

After Jinwon left, Shin-hye covered her face with both hands and began sobbing loudly.