Chapter 18 (Part 6)

Walking through the empty lobby, Shin-hye froze.  

She saw Jinwon entering the hotel, holding a bouquet of flowers.  

Jinwon walked straight toward her, and Shin-hye couldn’t take her eyes off him.  

Biting her lip to suppress her tears, she remembered her time studying in Finland. Back then, after being abandoned by the man she loved, she had wanted to give up on life.  

Jinwon had stayed by her side, protecting her.  

He had been her sole reason to live.  

Now, she didn’t know how to let go of the only reason she had ever had. But seeing Jinwon smile at In-ah, she resolved to try. 

When Jinwon reached her, he handed her the bouquet.  

Shin-hye buried her nose in the flowers and inhaled deeply.  

“They smell nice.”  

In his usual gentle voice, Jinwon said,  

“Congratulations on the new wing opening.”  

“You know you’re a terrible person, right?”  

Jinwon’s eyes widened in surprise at her sudden accusation.  

“Why were you so kind to me at first? When you weren’t planning to be my man?”  

Before Jinwon could close his gaping mouth, Shin-hye pressed on.  

“You knew I liked you. Why didn’t you stop me? You should have stopped me.”  

“Shin-hye.”  

Jinwon reached out to comfort her, but she slapped his hand away and shouted,  

“You’re impossible. No matter how hard I try, I can never have you!”  

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she continued,  

“You should have told me.”  

“I’m sorry, Shin-hye.”  

Jinwon’s voice was heavy with regret.  

Shin-hye glared at him with tear-filled eyes.  

“So don’t resent me or blame me for making things hard. I was just doing my best in love.”  

Jinwon sighed deeply and spoke slowly.  

“Yeah, it’s my fault. I wanted to be a friend to you, but in the end, I think I only hurt you…”  

“I don’t want that.”  

Shin-hye interrupted Jinwon’s words, shutting her eyes tightly.  

“What?”  

Looking confused, Jinwon stared at her as Shin-hye spoke, emphasizing each word.  

“I don’t want you to remember me as some girl who got hurt and left because of you. That’s not who I am.”  

Shin-hye spread her arms wide toward Jinwon, signaling for a hug.  

Understanding her gesture, Jinwon opened his mouth instead of his arms.  

“Shin-hye.”  

“Just once. Can’t you hug me just once?”  

Even at Shin-hye’s desperate plea, Jinwon shook his head.  

Shin-hye dropped her arms limply and snapped in a voice full of frustration.  

“You’re so cruel. Fine, go. Live well without me.”  

She took a few determined steps before suddenly stopping in place. Turning sharply, she shouted back at Jinwon.  

“If you ever want to come back to me, you can.”  

“Shin-hye.”  

When Jinwon called her name again in a scolding tone, Shin-hye flared up.  

“Stop calling my name already. Just remember this—I’m really leaving now.”  

Shin-hye didn’t look back at Jinwon again as she walked out of the lobby.  

She was afraid her endless tears would be seen, or worse, that she’d run back to Jinwon and throw herself into his arms.  

So she kept her gaze forward, walking steadily through the lobby.  

And just like that, Shin-hye walked out of Jinwon’s life.  

***

“What’s going on? What is that?”  

“What’s with that car? Why is it like that?”  

The commotion outside the company drew employees to the windows, whispering amongst themselves.  

In-ah approached the group of employees and stood on tiptoe to peek outside.  

There, a swarm of reporters surrounded a car, so many that it was impossible to count. The car was completely stuck, unable to move.  

It was Jinwon’s car.  

One by one, the employees recognized it as Jinwon’s car, just like In-ah had.  

Their reactions were as if a bombshell had finally dropped.  

The revelation that the Jinseong Group had a grandson, and that he was the son of their deceased eldest son, was shocking.  

Jinwon’s very existence was like a drama, sure to be the talk of the public for a long time.  

***

As lunchtime approached, In-ah stood in the company parking lot, anxiously waiting for the delivery of new furniture.  

When she finally spotted the arriving truck, she ran straight toward it.  

As soon as the truck stopped, In-ah climbed into the truck bed and flung open the wardrobe doors.  

Inside, Jinwon sat with an awkward expression.  

With an incredulous look, In-ah asked,  

“Did you really have to go this far?”  

“I couldn’t just not come to work.”  

Jinwon laughed awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.  

After thanking the truck driver, the two headed straight to the office.  

But with every step Jinwon took, whispers from the employees trailed behind him.  

He tried to act like he didn’t hear them, but it was no use.  

Scanning their surroundings quickly, In-ah followed Jinwon into the team leader’s office.  

“What are you going to do now?”  

“They’ll stop eventually.”  

Jinwon shrugged it off as he removed his jacket and sat down.  

“You’re so nonchalant.”  

Shaking her head, In-ah walked over to Jinwon.  

“Your problem is that you’re too indifferent to everything. You know that?”  

Jinwon looked up at her with a playful frown.  

“Why would anyone water down alcohol? That ruins it.”  

In-ah let out a hollow laugh, exasperated.  

“Are you trying to joke around with me right now? You can’t even drink alcohol.”  

At her provocation, Jinwon jumped up from his seat and retorted,  

“What? Did you just say I can’t drink? Is that what you said?”  

Hands on his hips, Jinwon glared at her with mock indignation.  

“Then what about you? What’s your deal?”  

In-ah glared back at him, rolling up her sleeves as if ready for a fight.  

“Your deal is that you’re so pretty, you test people’s patience every moment.”  

In-ah’s jaw dropped. Did he just make a joke like that in this situation?  

“What?”  

Before she could react, Jinwon leaned in and kissed her cheek.  

What now? A kiss on the cheek?  

Before In-ah could even process what had happened, both of them froze in place.  

It was Hye-yoon, who had entered the team leader’s office without knocking.  

Startled, Jinwon and In-ah jumped apart, pretending nothing had happened.  

Hye-yoon, turning her back to them, muttered,  

“Wow, you two are really something. Now you’re being this obvious?”  

She placed the documents she had brought on the desk and teased,  

“Team Leader, when you become the Director, are you going to seat In-ah right next to you?”  

At her words, Jinwon and In-ah exchanged surprised glances.  

“Are you really becoming the Director?”  

In-ah asked, and Jinwon looked between her and Hye-yoon with a dumbfounded expression.  

“Where is this nonsense coming from?”  

“Right? It’s not true, right? I thought so.”  

Jinwon couldn’t take his eyes off In-ah, who seemed relieved.  

Her reaction, as if she were reassured, lingered in his mind.  

***

Jinwon visited the columbarium where his father’s remains were kept.  

As he rounded the corner to his father’s resting place, he stopped in his tracks.  

There stood Seong-jun.  

Seong-jun’s gaze was fixed on Seong-ha’s photo. His eyes didn’t look sad or pained—they were blank, as though he wasn’t seeing anything at all.  

When Seong-jun exited the columbarium, he spotted Jinwon sitting on a bench outside. He stopped walking.  

Jinwon stood up slowly and approached Seong-jun.  

“You remembered. Father’s birthday.”  

Seong-jun stared silently at Jinwon.  

“Every year on his birthday, there were always flowers here. You were the one leaving them, weren’t you?”  

Still, Seong-jun didn’t answer. After a pause, he finally spoke.  

“Don’t hate Seong-tae too much.”  

Jinwon lowered his gaze. What could he say to that?  

“When did you find out? That we…”  

Seong-jun trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.  

Jinwon looked him straight in the eye and replied,  

“That we’re family? Does it matter when I found out?”  

Jinwon’s tone was casual, but Seong-jun suddenly erupted.  

“Of course it matters!”  

His eyes burned with fury.  

“If I’d known you knew everything, things might not have turned out this way!”  

Jinwon looked at him incredulously.  

“Are you blaming me now?”  

Seong-jun clamped his mouth shut again.  

Jinwon turned his gaze to the sky and said,  

“Since I was young, my mother always told me how much Father loved his younger brothers.”  

Seong-jun suddenly burst into laughter, loud and bitter.  

As his laughter subsided, tears filled his eyes.  

“That was his problem. He saw me as just a kid. That’s why he died.”  

Jinwon stared at him, unblinking.  

Seong-jun’s voice grew louder as he continued,  

“It wasn’t my fault! Loving someone like me, a monster—that was his fatal mistake!”  

He pounded his chest and cried out,  

“I was just a child. I didn’t know he would actually die. I didn’t…”  

Seong-jun collapsed to the ground, muttering,  

“I was wrong. I’ll never be forgiven, even in death, but I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”  

Jinwon stood there, watching as Seong-jun sobbed like a child.