CHAPTER 65

Yeonseo entered the passcode at the entrance of the officetel. She had changed her mind because she was suddenly tired of an hour-long drive home.

Taeheon had allowed her to enter his own residence, but she refused and thought that he probably would still allow her to use the officetel. However, after entering the passcode, it was difficult for her to pull the door handle.

It felt shameless, like..she still felt like she was back under his shadow. The hand that had been entwined with Taeheon’s fell awkwardly fiery.

“Please come in.”

Hyunyoung added from the side. 

Yes, for now, let’s think only about the child.

Let’s eat and rest. Then, I might be able to participate in the funeral procession.

Although she had never seen Taeheon’s family, she wanted to be there for Mrs. Kang’s final moments.

A bit audacious, but she had to.

“Please have your meal here. Boss requested for you to eat everything.”

Yeonseo didn’t need to ask whose request it was. She accepted the meal.

“It’s abalone porridge and samgyetang. I remember that you ate it well before, so I thought I’d give it to you…… Are you okay?”

“Yes. Thank you. I’ll eat well. Thank you for bringing me here, Secretary Kim.”

The sooner Yeonseo heads inside, the sooner Hyunyoung could rest. After bidding farewell, Yeonseo stepped into the officetel for the first time in a long while.

The entrance and corridor lights glowed like the sunset. As Yeonseo passed through the somewhat desolate corridor, she was startled and took a deep breath.

“What… is all this?”

Frightened by what she saw at first glance, Yeonseo tensed up. She listened intently, but fortunately, she didn’t sense anyone else’s presence.

She cautiously pressed the switch. The living room, darkened by the curtains, brightened.

“How…?”

Broken items were scattered everywhere. There were even bloodstains on the floor.

No way. Had a burglar entered and fought with Taeheon?

Is that why he got those injuries?

Yeonseo exhaled sharply as she remembered the bruises on the backs of Taeheon’s hands and neck. She considered calling Hyunyoung immediately, but soon concluded it didn’t seem like a burglar.

If it were a thief, they would have stolen things. There was no reason for them to smash everything like this. Besides, only registered individuals could enter this officetel.

She calmly turned her attention to the kitchen. The situation was the same there.

“Hmm… What on earth happened?”

Careful not to step on the glass, she made her way to the bedroom, which was at least intact.

Approaching the bed piled with clothes, she realized something. The scattered clothes on the bed were the ones she had worn once.

She wondered what the clothes on the bed meant.

As Yeonseo calmly thought about it, she slowly clutched her chest and slumped down on the bed.

Woo Taeheon, did you do that?

Why?

Somewhere, her cell phone was ringing. She reached for her cell phone with numb fingertips. The caller was Taeheon. Yeonseo blinked away her stinging eyes and answered the phone.

“Hello.”

• I didn’t think you were going to the officetel.

“…It looks like a burglar came in.”

• Come out. You can’t rest there.

Taeheon’s sigh was deep and heavy. Yeonseo could feel a grim shade coming from him, just like the dreary office building.

“Why is it like this? Did you do this?”

• Because I missed you.

A sharp pain struck her chest as if someone had punched her heart. A thin thread inside her chest seemed to tighten and unravel. Unexplained pain was tormenting her.

It couldn’t be. She couldn’t be the one Taeheon wanted to see, Yeonseo briefly organized her thoughts.

But.

• I became crazy because I missed you, Han Yeonseo. So come out.

“Why did you… Why?”

• I don’t want things to get worse than this.

Yeonseo wiped the tears that had silently flowed.

What the hell does that even mean? He’s making it sound like he’s missing me terribly.

It was strange to hear Taeheon talk that he was on a rampage that could turn the whole house upside down.

Why? It was hard to believe that someone cold and composed like him expressed emotions in this way.

If the reason he couldn’t help but break things was because of her, if that were true, Yeonseo hoped Taeheon would hurt a bit more.

Even if it was just a temporary distraction for him, even if it was half as much as Yeonseo’s pain, or even one percent, she wanted him to feel some pain.

She honestly wanted to get back at him a little bit.

• I’ll send Secretary Kim to you, so come out.

“I’m tired. The bedroom is clean, so… I’ll just clean up …… and get some rest.”

• Please. Are you really trying to drive me crazy?

Taeheon’s impatience came through the receiver.

“I’m not going to drive you crazy. I’ll hang up.”

Yeonseo ended the call and pursed her dry lips. As she pushed aside the disheveled clothes and lay on the bed, she could smell Taeheon’s scent.

It was heavy and cool, nostalgic and haunting, like the door number.

***

Mrs. Kang’s funeral was over. The wind shaking the reeds was quite chilly.

She felt dizzy. Yeonseo washed her hands in the bathroom sink and took a deep breath. She hadn’t eaten or slept well because of her grief.

Staggering out of the bathroom, she couldn’t overcome the dizziness and leaned against the wall. It was a struggle to hold back the tears. She had used all her strength to calmly stay by Mrs. Kang’s side, wanting to send her off with dignity.

Today, Taeheon was with Yeonseo. Whatever he said, the people of the Sewon group only glanced at Yeonseo, not finding it strange.

Taeheon’s family was also present, but they only greeted her lightly and focused on preparing to send off Mrs. Kang.

Taeheon’s expression revealed no emotions. There was only a coldness that could not be attributed to the man who said he missed her.

“Ha…”

When Yeonseo lifted herself off the wall, she swayed again. She quickly reached for the wall, and the footsteps of two people approaching the direction of the bathroom quickened.

“Are you okay?”

It was Seonye’s voice. In Yeonseo’s blurry vision, she saw Seonye and Taeseon together.

They must have been wondering why she was with Taeheon. She didn’t know if they would question her attending the funeral procession.

Now she had to tell them she’s going back now….

Before she could open her mouth, her legs lost strength again, and Yeonseo collapsed, sitting against the wall.

“Oh my God, Yeonseo!”

“Yeonseo, are you okay? Can you get up?”

Both Seonye and Taeseon asked simultaneously, and Yeonseo’s head rang again.

“Look at her cold sweat. Taeseon, we need to call Professor Park. Do you have his contact?”

“No. It’s okay. I just need to stay like this for a while, I’m sorry.”

Yeonseo tried to push away their uncomfortable kindness with her parched lips. Seony held out her arm.

“There’s no need to apologize. Yeonseo, this isn’t the situation to say sorry for. Let’s move you to a better place. We’ll support you.”

“Yes, Yeonseo. Grab my arm.”

Taeseon and Seonye both bent down, guiding Yeonseo. Despite her reluctance and awkward feelings, Yeonseo tried to refuse, but the two were insistent.

“Take your time getting up.”

They successfully lifted Yeonseo to her feet.

“What are you all doing here?”

 Songhyun’s voice gave Yeonseo a headache and she slumped again.

“Yeonseo!”

The two women tried desperately to hold her, but Yeonseo had already lost consciousness.

Taeheon, who had spotted Yeonseo at the end of the hallway, approached fiercely.

“Get out of the way.”

Having pushed aside Seonye and Taeseon, he gently lifted the limp Yeonseo.

“Taeheon, take her straight to the hospital.”

“I’ll handle it.”

With that dismissive response, Taeheon left quickly.

He waited for Yeonseo, who went to the bathroom.He thought it was weird that she didn’t come back when some time had passed…….

He should have followed her from the beginning. It was unreasonable for Yeonseo, a frail person, to participate in the funeral arrangements.

Still, he wanted to give her a chance to see off Mrs. Kang off. He wanted to help, but it ended up like this.

It’s a miracle she didn’t collapse immediately.

Taeheon sighed under the weight and climbed into the waiting car.

“Let’s go to the hospital.”

He pulled Yeonseo’s tiny body into a full hug.

“Quickly.”

***

Yeonseo woke up on a spacious bed.

Where am I?

Yeonseo frowned, recalling her last memories.

The dark bedroom with black and gray tones. The spacious and sophisticated room reminded her of a certain man.

Taeheon’s house. 

Yeonseo sat up on the bed, momentarily stunned.

She was wearing a large t-shirt. It covered her mid-thighs, but she hadn’t changed herself, which meant Taeheon had taken care of it.

It felt embarrassingly late to feel shy now, but it was awkward to have shown such a vulnerable side to a man she had already been intimate with.

It was true that she received a lot of help from Taeheon. Without him, she would have crumbled even more. She probably wouldn’t have been able to bid farewell to Mrs. Kang either.

It was clear that Taeheon’s calm presence at her side during the funeral had given her strength.

“I miss her already.”

Grandmother. 

Yeonseo wiped a tear from her eye with the back of her hand and sobbed, unable to contain her grief. She didn’t hear Taeheon approaching her.

“How are you feeling?”

Startled, Yeonseo looked up at him with wide eyes and hiccupped. TTaeheon narrowed his eyes and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Crying is exhausting.”

Taeheon reached out and wiped her wet cheek with his thumb.

“What…what happened?”

“You suddenly passed out. Remember?”

Yeonseo gave a small nod.

“We stopped by the hospital for IV fluids and came here. They said it was anemia from overwork. You fell lost consciousness due to lack of sleep.”

“Is the baby… okay?”

Yeonseo asked, wrapping her arms around her still-unborn child..

“Safe and sound.”

Yeonseo breathed a sigh of relief. Although various tests were probably conducted without her consent while she had no memory, as long as the baby was fine, that was enough.

“It’s a boy.”

Yeonseo blinked.

“It would be awkward if he takes after me. Still, I’ll love him even if he does.”