Chapter 3.5

“Oh no, a woman collapsed here. I guess it’s my duty to help. If my fame can assist strangers, what could be more delightful?”

Could it be live?

Her spine tingled. Yoon-jae urgently covered her face. The woman opened the restroom door and shouted.

“Is anyone there? Please help!”

Through the haze of her dimming consciousness, she heard people gathering. Murmurs of voices, and smartphones thrust at her without hesitation. Yoon-jae trembled violently, her face still covered.

No one helped her. It seemed Cheong-o was unaware of what was happening. She was thoroughly isolated, exposed to people’s gazes and Rui’s intrusive attention.

Yoon-jae covered her face and tightly closed her eyes, wishing for the moment to pass. If she stayed silent. If she just endured.

“Oh my, you came to find me? Perfect timing. This person needs to go to the hospital. Can we go together?”

The heavy footsteps sharply caught Yoon-jae’s attention. Someone entered. She heard the woman saying it was her duty to help.

“What else could I do? Maybe being an influencer was meant for moments like this.”

The woman who spoke had only given a cardigan, claiming it was to help, though it was merely to avoid interference with her filming.

“So, you’ll help too, right, Baek-geon?”

The mention of that name snapped Yoon-jae into awareness. Surprise gave way to dismay, followed by fear, and ultimately bitterness.

Yoon-jae couldn’t bring herself to look at the man. Suddenly, her whole body trembled violently. She wished she could disappear into the ground right there.

“Seeing the bleeding, it seems like a miscarriage or something. We should take her to the hospital.”

Her heart sank at the woman’s words. The reality she didn’t want to acknowledge hit her hard. She covered her face and took a deep breath.

She was scared. The thought of the child vanishing broke her heart. But the man and woman seemed indifferent to Yoon-jae’s feelings, sharpening their words against each other.

“Why are you trying to handle this?”

The man’s voice was firm and clear. As always, he was uninterested and completely rejecting.

“Oh dear, if I don’t do it, who will? At least my name holds some weight. Don’t you know about noblesse oblige?”

The woman spoke petulantly, then suddenly changed her tone, theatrically.

“Oh, is it because I’m interrupting our date? That makes sense. But wouldn’t it be nice to help for a moment? Doing good and feeling great. Right?”

Her affectionate voice sent chills down Yoon-jae’s spine. She finally understood the woman’s intentions.

With her fine clothes and striking appearance, carrying a phone and constantly filming, she seemed to have influence on social media.

It was clear she wanted to use Yoon-jae to flaunt her influence. An influencer doing good deeds—what a perfect image to exploit.

Meanwhile, anger rose toward the silent man. The thought of them enjoying a meal and laughing during a date in such a place was infuriating.

She envied their fortune and luxury, contrasting her swollen hands from washing dishes and kitchen work. The woman could earn fame and money just by holding a phone and smiling.

Yoon-jae laughed bitterly inside. Their worlds and thoughts were so different from hers. It was astonishing and infuriating.

She felt sorrow for being used her whole life. Even after being foolishly used again, she would walk away on her own.

A wicked thought arose. Yoon-jae quickly covered her mouth. She almost shouted at the man.

That she was carrying his child. That he should take responsibility.

Her reason held her back at the last moment. As she swallowed her resentment, the man’s voice pierced deeply.

“What does your happiness have to do with me?”

*

Baek-geon’s mood hit rock bottom. Already frustrated, he wanted to abandon the date, but Rui fueled the fire.

Meanwhile, the trembling woman on the restroom floor was an added annoyance. He didn’t hide his irritation and spoke harshly.

“What does your happiness have to do with me?”

“Oh?”

Rui glared at him with displeasure. She turned off her phone, shook her head, and leaned toward Baek-geon.

“Is that even a question? Listen, Han Baek-geon. It’s not just for me. Do you know how much your company’s image improves with one good deed video?”

The scent of her perfume was overwhelming. Rui, feeling she had persuaded him, whispered while fiddling with her phone.

“Don’t see me as selfish and immature. Do you know how much my dad has benefited from me? The apartments built in Incheon wouldn’t have sold out without me. How many videos did I shoot with the show houses as backgrounds for promotion?”

Beyond the woman’s shoulder, Baek-geon saw the bowed head of Yoon-jae. He stretched his mouth in displeasure.

Damn it, he wanted to kick everything away. Everything was cumbersome and annoying. Why was he facing a situation with someone he didn’t want to see?

He didn’t even want to think about it, yet it persistently appeared before him. Baek-geon couldn’t understand why this kept happening.

He was tired. After confronting this, several nights would surely pass horribly. Sleep wouldn’t come, and his body would heat up restlessly.

“If you don’t want it, let’s part ways here. I need to take her to the hospital and submit the video. I’ll understand if you don’t want to come.”

Rui spoke softly, filming the woman again. Baek-geon looked at her with disgust.

“Oh, Yoon-jae! What’s going on… oh?”

Finally realizing what was happening, Cheong-o rushed in, following the manager. He sat beside Yoon-jae and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Are you hurt? What’s wrong? You need to go to the hospital… oh?”

Turning his face, he froze upon seeing Baek-geon. This caused Yoon-jae to falter and sit back down.

“Oh? Do you know each other? Are you together?”

Rui asked, and Cheong-o hesitated, shrugging his shoulders.

“Ah, yes. We are, but… what’s all this?”

“She suddenly collapsed and started bleeding. I’m taking her to the hospital now. Just wait a moment, I’ll call a car.”

Cheong-o waved urgently, glancing at Baek-geon.

“No, no. I’ll handle it myself. Please, just leave…”

“What are you saying? I’ll take responsibility and bring her. My car is bigger and more comfortable. I just upgraded to a limousine.”

Rui smiled broadly, looking down on Cheong-o.

“It seems like a tricky situation, but it’s better if I take her. It’s my regular hospital, and they have private rooms.”

“What? No, it’s not necessary. I’ll take care of it.”

Offering a renowned hospital and private rooms couldn’t appear sincere. Cheong-o sensed the tension and showed reluctance.

Rui furrowed her brows, clearly upset, and scolded Cheong-o with pursed lips.

“Unless you can take her to a better hospital, stay out of it. I’ll take good care of her.”

Her disdain for Cheong-o was evident. It wasn’t because she knew who he was. She judged him inferior based solely on appearance.

The same likely applied to the woman. It was simply a matter of bad luck. Baek-geon, aware of the unfolding situation, decided to see what Rui would do.

Honestly, he didn’t want to get entangled with Yoon-jae again. Last time was one thing, but he didn’t want to see her like this, at this time and place.

His gaze inadvertently fell to the floor. The scattered red drops brought a sudden, heavy realization.

Could it be?

Baek-geon looked down at the woman with sharp eyes. How terrifying would the consequences of his prediction be?

In a fleeting moment of agitation, he unconsciously observed the woman closely. Her round head and paper-like shoulders trembled intermittently as if in convulsion.

He paused, about to remove his jacket to cover her. The action he was about to take seemed no different from Rui’s cheap, self-serving sympathy shown to the woman.

So Yoon-jae owed nothing to Rui or himself. Yet seeing Rui demand noblesse oblige for a clear exchange felt pathetic and absurd.

Offering kindness in this situation would only make him seem like the same type. Even though he thought it might be the last chance to show kindness, he didn’t move.

“Yes, cover the seat with something. There’s blood. An ambulance? What? That’s inconvenient. I don’t want to ride in an ambulance. Hurry up.”

Rui’s voice could be heard instructing the driver to have the car ready. Baek-geon watched Cheong-o. He saw Cheong-o’s subordinate helplessly looking at Yoon-jae, who was sitting on the floor, unable to do anything because of Baek-geon’s presence.

“Are you upset? Then I apologize. I’ll make up for ruining our meeting. How about we meet again tomorrow? The new golf course is nice; let’s play and drive together.”

Rui spoke with a bright smile. Baek-geon was in no condition to listen to her. His mind was a tangled mess.

Finally, Yoon-jae raised her head. Without glancing at Rui or Baek-geon, she looked at Cheong-o and spoke.

“Can I borrow your phone?”

“Oh? Sure, sure.”

Watching Cheong-o hurriedly hand over his phone, Baek-geon impulsively intervened.

“I’ll take you to the hospital now.”

At those words, Yoon-jae finally looked up at Baek-geon. Coincidentally, he was also looking down at her.

Their eyes met. Yoon-jae’s pupils began to tremble. He wanted to tell her seriously, not impulsively.

It’s your child.

One phrase would suffice. Perhaps he would take responsibility for everything without a word. At least someone leading such an organization should have that level of responsibility.

But at the same time, she feared he might not. If he denied everything, it would be the most miserable outcome.

No, he would surely do that. A man with a woman to marry standing right there wouldn’t take such a risk.

His eyes seemed to say so. That he would never give her even a sliver of space. That the child wasn’t his either.

His smooth pupils and tightly closed lips still seemed to despise her. The cold, harsh gaze made her entire body shrink.

Suddenly overwhelmed by the chill, Yoon-jae curled up. Even in a brief glance, it was clear how Han Baek-geon viewed her.

The feeling of being a woman who threw herself around was filthy and terrible. She felt humiliated, as if she were a victim of his hatred and twisted anger.

Yoon-jae pressed the phone button to call an ambulance without hesitation. It was then that Baek-geon’s hand gently pressed on the phone she held.

Startled, she dropped the phone. Baek-geon spoke to Rui with a nonchalant face.

“Since you said the meeting was already ruined, let me finish it off.”

“…What do you mean?”

Rui looked dumbfounded. Baek-geon cruelly twisted his lips.