Chapter 7.5

The next day, Hallstatt still boasted clear, sunny weather. However, Hae-soo’s mood was not bright at all.

Ever since the awkward dinner with In-wook the night before, she had remained in the same state.

She hadn’t been able to sleep all night. The tender confession In-wook had given her kept echoing in her ears.

He had never been anything but sincere. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen this side of him, but what felt especially unfamiliar was the fact that the words he delivered, in his usual way, contained something so difficult between them.

“Haa…….”

Hae-soo let out another sigh, just as she had all through the night. She didn’t want to, but her unsettled heart made it impossible to make an easy decision.

In-wook’s confession was something she had secretly hoped for. Not once, while she had been physically close with him, did she ever want to remain just a casual partner.

So it was clear this was a moment she had longed for and awaited, but even so, Hae-soo couldn’t give any answer.

The moment he confessed, what filled her heart was not excitement, but fear.

“I clearly told you not to ignore my feelings, Noona. Why did you keep disregarding me and let things get to this point?” 

Before she’d been advised to resign in Korea, a member of the boy group she managed came to mind at once.

“If you hadn’t ignored what I said, at least things wouldn’t have turned out like this.” 

His way of loving—so wrong in so many ways—was still as vivid as if it had happened just yesterday.

The ripple from his careless words was more than she could ever handle.

She couldn’t even show her face at the supermarket near her home. If the person who recognized her was in the idol-consuming age group, they’d immediately point fingers and hurl unspeakable insults. Even those outside that age group, though they didn’t curse, would still whisper about her as she passed.

Every day was a living hell. Countless people she didn’t even know, both online and in real life, tore her down.

Having lived more diligently than anyone, it was even harder for her to endure that time. Still, she thought she could make it through. She firmly believed that after a little time, things would quiet down, that her face would soon be forgotten from people’s memories.

But no matter how much she endured, the day she waited for never came. Instead, she was left with emotional scars and forced to accept the unfair treatment of being advised to resign.

“Still, Baek In-wook isn’t Choi Sun-ho. Baek In-wook is a completely different person, so why…”

Hae-soo shut her eyes tightly. She couldn’t believe how frustrated she felt with herself. She knew that In-wook wasn’t someone who would hurt her like that. She was already more than certain.

But she kept feeling scared. She kept feeling afraid.

If she returned to Korea with In-wook, she feared the fingers once pointed at her would now turn to him.

She was terrified that he, too, would become the subject of the rumors that once tore her down.

“Haa…”

A heavy sigh slipped from her lips again. Overwhelmed by frustration that just wouldn’t go away, she flopped back onto the bed. Just as she pulled the blanket over her head—

Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud bang.

“Hey, Yoon Hae-soo!”

It was In-ah who appeared.

Hae-soo pushed down the blanket and slowly sat up. But it seemed In-ah couldn’t see her properly, still unable to calm her excitement.

“Yoon Hae-soo! Did you hear the news?”

In-ah plopped down in front of Hae-soo and fired off a question right away. The sudden headache that came with it made Hae-soo feel even more tired, but she answered without showing it.

“What news?”

“Chief Kim is flying back to Korea tomorrow afternoon!”

Not Baek In-wook, but Chief Kim?

A wave of confusion hit her, but Hae-soo nodded. Since In-wook was scheduled to return to Korea tomorrow, it was only natural that his secretary, Chief Kim, would go with him.

But for some reason, In-ah seemed annoyed, and when Hae-soo said she already knew, In-ah just let out a dry laugh.

“Ha, so you knew too? But you kept it a secret from me?”

“It wasn’t a secret. I heard it last night from In-wook oppa.”

“Seriously, that guy is something else. Shouldn’t he have told me first? I’m his sister!”

In the end, In-ah didn’t hesitate to criticize In-wook. For Hae-soo, just hearing his name made her feel uncomfortable in a way she couldn’t describe.

So she just gave an awkward smile. Then she quietly wondered how she could steer the conversation so In-ah wouldn’t get suspicious.

“So who did you hear it from? Chief Kim?”

“Yeah, I went over to hang out and saw him packing. Without even telling me!”

“Why would Chief Kim tell you that? Like you said, if anyone should have told you, it should have been In-wook oppa.”

“That’s exactly it!”

As In-ah shot out her words, her eyes suddenly flashed with frustration.

“He should have told me too! No matter what, I’m Baek In-wook’s younger sister!”

Right away, In-ah began to make excuses, but for some reason, her reaction was not normal.

At other times, Hae-soo would have pressed In-ah to find out what was going on. But this time, she didn’t bother.

Right now, just thinking about In-wook made her head too complicated.

Fortunately, In-ah’s voice was no longer heard. She didn’t know why, but In-ah was clearly flustered.

Hae-soo, who was staring at In-ah in a way she usually didn’t, soon opened her lips.

“In-ah, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

In-ah looked at Hae-soo with a rather nervous face. She too seemed bewildered by Hae-soo’s unusual reaction.

Hae-soo felt sorry for making In-ah confused for no reason, but right now, she desperately needed someone’s help.

“Korea is probably still noisy with talk about me and Sun-ho, right?”

Hae-soo spoke with difficulty. At that moment, In-ah’s expression turned icy cold.

“…Why bring that up all of a sudden.”

“It’s just… I just suddenly thought about it.”

“So why did you suddenly think of that?”

Hae-soo tried to force an awkward smile in the suddenly cold atmosphere, but In-ah’s attitude didn’t change at all.

Instead, she pressed even more sharply, as if demanding that if there was anything Hae-soo hadn’t said, she’d better confess every last detail.

“I’m thinking I should go back to Korea now, but I’m still scared people will recognize me and point fingers… That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Hae-soo revealed her true feelings. In times like this, In-ah was pretty perceptive. Mixing in a lie would only make her more uncomfortable.

Still, she couldn’t bring herself to talk about In-wook. Fortunately, In-ah didn’t seem to think there was anything more Hae-soo hadn’t said.

“Hey, Yoon Hae-soo. Why are you acting so unlike yourself? I’m right here next to you, so what’s there to be afraid of? I know you’re blameless, so why care about the opinions of people who don’t even know you?”

In-ah snapped. Hae-soo knew this was her way of comforting her. But today, for some reason, it didn’t reach her at all.

“Yeah, I thought so too. I thought the whispers of people who don’t even know me didn’t matter. But, In-ah, I really did think that way. I tried to stand strong.”

“…”

“But when those untrue words kept piling up and stabbing me, it hurt so much. Before one wound could heal, they’d stab again, and again…”

“…”

“I was really struggling. That’s why I ran away here.”

As Hae-soo continued, her eyes filled with tears. She had never confided this much to In-ah before.

She knew that no one cared and worried about her more than In-ah, so she could never reveal her true feelings.

So she thought of course In-ah wouldn’t know. In-ah was so bright and pure, she assumed there was no way she could guess what Hae-soo hadn’t said.

But In-ah’s expression was strangely calm. As if to say, “Why are you only telling me now, when I already knew?”

“I know you got hurt a lot. But you didn’t do anything shameful. You didn’t do anything wrong to seduce that much younger guy. You were just a victim.”

“…”

“If anyone points fingers at you, I’ll take it with you. If anyone curses at you, I’ll listen with you. Only listen? I’ll return every word, twice, three times as harsh, with even more stinging words than what they said to you.”

In-ah didn’t hold back her anger at the faceless masses. She was relentless, as if she’d just been waiting for Hae-soo to open up.

It was surprising that In-ah had sensed what Hae-soo had never shown, and she was grateful that she waited until Hae-soo spoke first.

She’d never dreamed of being touched by Baek In-ah.

The tears she’d barely held back threatened to fall again. But Hae-soo knew that wasn’t what In-ah wanted.

So she gritted her teeth and endured. She was tired and sick of her own weak tears.

She tried her best to smile, so In-ah could feel at least a little relieved.

“That’s such a Baek In-ah thing to say.”

“I mean it. Who dares hurt my friend? If anyone makes Yoon Hae-soo shed a single tear, I really won’t let them off.”

In-ah even clenched her fist and shook it. The sincerity in her gesture made Hae-soo smile even more.

If there was ever a friend worth giving everything to, it was In-ah. She really was the kind of friend Hae-soo would give everything she had for.

That was why, in this moment, she thought of In-wook even more.

If he, who was born from the same womb and raised in the same environment as In-ah, could love her as much as In-ah, or maybe even more—

“In-ah, if there’s someone else who treasures me… would their heart be the same as yours?”

“What, you had another friend besides me? I only have you.”

Her words, which she’d barely managed to get out, were met with a teasing scold. It was probably In-ah’s way of trying to lighten the mood.

When Hae-soo shot her a playful glare, In-ah chuckled. Then, with a rare, serious expression, she looked at her.

“I don’t know if there’s anyone who’d say the same things as me. If there is, that person must be quite the oddball, too.”

“…”

“But their heart would be like mine. They wouldn’t leave you just because people insult you—they’d gladly take the blame with you. Even if it got to the point where it felt like they would burst from the pressure.”

With those words, In-ah plopped down beside Hae-soo. Hae-soo mulled over what she said.

Not leaving, but gladly staying by her side.

That part lingered in her mind again and again. And she felt, without any real reason but with unshakable certainty, that In-wook would truly do as In-ah said.

That was why, feeling a little more at ease, Hae-soo could lie down next to In-ah.

“Thank you, Baek In-ah.”

“For what?”

“For being my friend.”

It was a sudden confession. In-ah shuddered, saying it made her cringe, but Hae-soo just grinned.

She meant it. She was truly glad that her only friend was In-ah. That was why she had to think even more carefully now.

The man she was starting to want in her life more than ever before—Baek In-wook—was none other than Baek In-ah’s only brother.