Chapter 3.6

“I don’t want to meet you again. So let’s say today’s meeting is ruined because of me. I’ll take this woman to the hospital.”

Yoon-jae’s eyes widened at his words. Rui’s face looked like it was decaying.

“What did you just say?”

“I said today’s meeting is completely ruined. Don’t you understand? I’ll take her to the hospital.”

Baek-geon spat out. At that moment, Cheong-o, who had been hesitating, quickly intervened.

“I’ll handle it, Boss. I just need to call a substitute driver…”

Yoon-jae gritted her teeth. She felt disgusted by the man who intervened despite despising her. Cheong-o, who couldn’t even care for her because he was watching Baek-geon, was no different.

While the three were at odds, she quickly pressed the phone. As soon as the call connected, she asked for an ambulance.

“Wait.”

Cheong-o looked at her with a troubled face.

“I’ll go with you as your guardian. Is that okay?”

Baek-geon also turned to look at her. Yoon-jae, calming her anger, turned away from him with cold eyes and shook her head.

“I’ll go alone. It’s fine. Thanks for the dinner and for caring.”

She turned to the woman with an angry expression and said.

“Please give me a business card. I need to return the clothes you lent me after washing them.”

The woman bit her lip. It was clear she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

“…Things got a bit tangled. I could have taken you.”

Even in this situation, the woman maintained a facade, which made Yoon-jae scoff inside.

“No, thank you for the offer.”

Before she finished speaking, a business card fluttered to the ground. The woman clicked her heels and stormed out. Yoon-jae barely caught the paper and asked Cheong-o.

“Can you bring my phone?”

“Oh? Oh.”

Left alone with Baek-geon, a heavy silence fell. Yoon-jae avoided his gaze, staring only at the floor. She didn’t want to exchange words with a man who didn’t care about her fate.

As Baek-geon was about to speak, paramedics entered. With their help, Yoon-jae climbed onto the stretcher and received her phone from the rushing Cheong-o.

“I’ll contact you later. Don’t follow.”

“Oh, but I should…”

“It’s fine. I don’t need anyone.”

Cutting off his words firmly, Yoon-jae closed her eyes. It felt like wandering through a distant hell inside her heart.

*

“Do you have a stressful job?”

“What?”

Yoon-jae blinked. The doctor, neither kind nor unkind, said in a businesslike tone that stress could be a cause.

“You haven’t miscarried, but you shouldn’t overdo it. The bleeding was a bit severe, but there doesn’t seem to be any other issues right now. It might have been some pooling blood, but it’s nothing now. You could stay hospitalized for a few days to observe.”

Yoon-jae shook her head. Even if she quit the restaurant, that wasn’t an option. The money earned from a few months’ work was barely enough for a small room.

Moreover, she had to do any work to pay the monthly rent. She needed to find something she could do sitting down, even a little.

Her heart was heavy, and her body felt sluggish. She finished calculating and slowly walked out of the hospital.

She felt overwhelmed, not knowing what to do. Why is living so difficult? The resolution to protect the child didn’t solve anything.

Yoon-jae felt foolish and angry at her own recklessness. Why did she keep acting foolishly? Yet she still couldn’t give up on the child, which made her feel pathetic.

But there was no choice.

It was amazing. To feel such affection for a life that had just begun to make its presence known in the world. She sat on a nearby bench, staring weakly into space.

The dark, cloudy night sky seemed to mirror her path, and she couldn’t hide her desolation. Sitting absentmindedly, she suddenly opened her eyes wide at the falling raindrops.

A midnight shower. She jumped up and started walking quickly, startled by the sudden misfortune. She wanted to run but was afraid of falling.

She quickly looked for shelter but couldn’t find any. Already soaked, she had no choice but to walk slowly.

The rain poured so hard she could barely see. Walking with narrowed eyes, Yoon-jae bumped into something.

It felt soft yet firm and solid. She looked up to see Han Baek-geon standing there, half-covering her.

“Ah…”

The color drained from Yoon-jae’s face. She had run into the man she least wanted to see in the world again.

The man, who had been standing silently for a moment, reached out his hand. As he grabbed her arm, Yoon-jae let out a sound as if she were screaming.

“Let go of me.”

The man didn’t respond. He held her arm firmly, as if choosing his words carefully.

Even in this situation, his face kept drawing her gaze. Watching the raindrops trickle down his straight nose, Yoon-jae snapped back to reality at the sound of his low voice.

“If I let go, are you going to try to run?”

His mocking tone made Yoon-jae speak without thinking.

“How did you know to come here?”

“Is that such an urgent question that you’d ask while getting soaked in the rain?”

There seemed to be a hint of laughter in the man’s voice. Of course not. Yoon-jae gave a bitter smile, knowing he would never show her kindness.

“Follow me. Don’t think about running away.”

Baek-geon turned around. She quietly followed him as he walked away. In truth, she didn’t have the strength to run even if she wanted to.

The man opened the door of a large car. Without asking, Yoon-jae got into the door he opened.

After seating her in the passenger seat, the man got into the driver’s seat. He started the engine, adjusted the heater, and reached behind the console box.

“Wipe yourself.”

A large towel fell onto her lap. Yoon-jae buried her face in the thick towel and took a deep breath. It smelled fresh and clean, as if just laundered.

Just wiping her wet spots with the towel in the warm car made her feel better. Only then did she realize how exhausted she was.

“Thank you.”

Realization always comes late. It was only after expressing her gratitude that she noticed how wet the seat was because of her. She added in a small voice.

“…I’m sorry for ruining your car seat.”

“Don’t pretend.”

Contrary to her hesitation, the man’s voice had no trace of consideration. It was clear, firm, and cold.

Yoon-jae swallowed a sigh inwardly. Yes, this was the man she knew. The icy eyes that showed no regard for her and the lips that uttered cruel words.

“You showed up there on purpose today too, right? How did you manage to manipulate Gong Cheong-o again? Well, at this point, that guy must be stupid.”

Her teeth clenched at his relentless accusations. His conviction that she appeared before him intentionally made her angry.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Yoon-jae firmly denied his words. But Baek-geon laughed coldly, as if he would never be convinced.

“You’re pregnant, right? And it’s my child. I just came from confirming it at the hospital, so don’t try to deceive me and speak honestly.”

Her vision went dark. So he found out. Yoon-jae bowed her head deeply. She couldn’t bring herself to lie to a man who already knew everything.

If she lied, she couldn’t even imagine where that snowball would roll. She had no choice but to admit it.

“Yes, but it has nothing to do with you, CEO Han…”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

The man dismissed her denial with one word.

“How shameless. You’re sorry about the wet seat? Don’t make me laugh. You manipulated Cheong-o to show up here.”

“….”

Baek-geon laughed coldly, as if he expected her silence.

“Aren’t you thinking about how to cling to me again? Anyway, your little brain is quite adept at scheming.”

“No!”

She shouted impulsively.

“It’s not like that… It was really a coincidence. I didn’t know I’d meet you at that restaurant, and I only went because Cheong-o called me. I accidentally ran into that woman there…”

Everything was coincidental. She only felt resentment for constantly running into him like this. But Baek-geon didn’t seem to think so at all.

“You know better than anyone that a series of coincidences is fate. It’s something educated people say.”

He questioned her with a mocking smile.

“Doesn’t everything fit together too perfectly? And why were you working at that construction site? Was that a coincidence too?”

Yoon-jae’s eyes widened at his absurd words.

“The business I’m doing isn’t something done in secret. It’s open enough to meet under the guise of coincidence. So isn’t your behavior too transparent? If you stayed there every day, we would have met eventually.”

“That’s not true. I had no such intention.”

“How do you know?”

Baek-geon blocked her words with an impenetrable logic. He seemed determined to unleash all his suspicions.

“Did you plan to get pregnant with that cunning brain of yours? Speak honestly. Do you think I’ll fall for that?”

“…”

In the end, Yoon-jae kept silent. The man was an insurmountable barrier, distant and high. It seemed better to be misunderstood than to explain to him.

Only then did Baek-geon stop speaking, as if it were only natural. Yoon-jae mouthed words that wouldn’t come out. Everything felt unfair, as if it was all her fault.

Wet hair fell forward. As it obscured her vision, she brushed it back and suddenly burst into tears.

“Hic.”

She bit her lip until it bled. She felt like he would scold her for crying. She didn’t want to hear him tell her not to act pitiful.

But she couldn’t stop the tears that fell. A few drops turned into a flood, silently wetting her cheeks and chin.

Baek-geon exhaled silently. The sight of her barely managing to wipe away her tears, unable to take care of her wet hair, seemed pitiful.

Don’t be fooled.

He had to hold himself together. He believed he was rational enough.

Yet, his hand kept wanting to reach out to the woman. He felt the urge to brush back her wet hair and tell her not to cry.

No, he thought it might be right to embrace her as she was. If it was his child, it seemed only natural to accept it.

A child. It was a word that still didn’t feel real. Baek-geon searched his pocket with complicated thoughts. He desperately craved a cigarette.

He pulled out a pack and put one in his mouth, only to remember the woman was pregnant. Annoyed, he crushed the cigarette in his hand.

“Is it true?”

The sudden question turned the woman’s face towards him. Baek-geon thought he shouldn’t ask like this but spoke again.

“Is it really my child?”

For a moment, a blue light flashed in Yoon-jae’s eyes. She brushed back her disheveled hair, straightened her posture, and glared at him.

“If you’re so doubtful, why don’t we go to the hospital together and check if there’s a baby in my belly, or do a DNA test?”

She didn’t know where that outburst came from. Yoon-jae didn’t hide her anger, which was full to the brim.

She opened the door and stepped outside. The remaining raindrops made stains on her wet clothes.

The sound of the door closing brought Baek-geon back to his senses. He sighed and put another cigarette in his mouth.

“Damn it.”

He couldn’t find his reason at all. Whenever that woman was in front of him, he found himself saying anything. He believed he wouldn’t regret it later, thinking it was a perfectly reasonable reproach, yet he existed in a state of hoping her words might be true.

He snapped the cigarette again and threw it away.

“Damn it, what am I supposed to do?”

The curse slipped out. Anger continued to provoke him, directed at no one in particular. He knew he was caught up in a bothersome situation but was frustrated with himself for not being able to handle it properly.

At this rate, he felt like he would overturn everything, reason or not. Baek-geon chewed on his curse as he roughly started the engine and set the car in motion.

He turned the car sharply and began to press the accelerator mercilessly. The car sped along the midnight road.

Continued in Volume 2