The one fortunate thing was seeing the hotel building in the distance.

It felt like she could breathe again.

She had worried about being late due to rush hour traffic, but fortunately, the roads weren’t as congested as expected.

Seonjae’s car slowly reduced speed and stopped in front of the hotel. Yeonsu unfastened her seatbelt.

“Thank you for the ride. Please drive safely.”

Just as she was about to get out of the car with these words of thanks—

“So you’re really going to that arranged date.”

Seonjae’s low voice held her back.

Yeonsu, who had been about to get out, turned her body and met his gaze.

It was the first time their eyes had met since getting in the car.

Yeonsu’s hand gripping her handbag unconsciously tightened.

“Yes, it’s hard to refuse after all.”

Seonjae’s lips twisted at her words. Then a smile like a sneer flashed across his face.

“Team Leader Seo Yeonsu seems to have no will of her own. Accepting that obviously terrible arranged date just because Madam Kwon Sukgyeong suggested it.”

“……”

“Pushing you into a fire pit, is that what you call family?”

Each sharp word felt like thorns piercing her entire body.

Words that drove home facts she already knew.

“I think I’ve said enough.”

These would be painful words coming from anyone.

But hearing them through Moon Seonjae’s lips made it unbearably painful for Yeonsu.

Wasn’t he the man who had abandoned her and Huimang five years ago?

She didn’t want to hear this from him of all people. You don’t have the right to deny my life.

Yeonsu’s entire body trembled.

“Ah, Seo Yeonsu was uncomfortable hearing such things.”

Her emotions surged.

His continuing mocking tone seemed to scatter Yeonsu’s rationality.

“You don’t have these worries, CEO. You’ve always had everything you wanted before you even desired it. You wouldn’t understand the feeling of wanting to grab onto anything while being tossed about in waves.”

“……”

“That’s why you so easily tell me to quit, to not trust.”

Yeonsu’s voice, now moist with emotion, began to tremble finely.

Yeonsu became alone at just 15 years old.

At that young age, she had nowhere to sleep, no relatives to rely on.

Sehee’s family was like a lifeboat for her.

How could she let go when she would sink into the deep sea without it?

No matter how much someone said she needed to get off to survive, Yeonsu simply didn’t want to believe it.

“I’m different from you, CEO. I live in a different world. I won’t ask you to understand. You wouldn’t be able to anyway.”

Wanting Moon Seonjae’s understanding was just greed.

How could he understand someone born so differently?

So Yeonsu chose to accept it.

Accepting that they lived in different worlds made her heart easier. And acceptance made it easier to give up too.

His words had shaken her world.

She began to question things she had never doubted before, and even those who had always seemed kind now looked different.

Yeonsu was afraid.

Because the world she had desperately protected was being completely shaken.

The rapid changes since meeting Moon Seonjae had pushed Yeonsu into a corner.

She was terrified of how she was changing day by day.

“This is the path I’ve chosen. I’ll handle it myself, so please stop concerning yourself with me.”

Yeonsu got out of the car.

His gaze never left her until the car door closed and she disappeared into the hotel lobby.

※※※

The outdoor clay shooting range in the suburbs was filled with loud gunshots coming from all directions.

Seonjae loaded his gun when his turn came.

After aiming at the target, he slowly pulled the trigger with held breath.

Bang, his body was pushed back by the recoil before standing straight again.

He lowered the gun barrel he had been aiming.

Looking at the distant target, Seonjae immediately furrowed his brow.

“What’s wrong with you? You’re really off your aim today.”

“Moon Seonjae missed the target? Wow, we won the bet today!”

The approaching men looked at Seonjae’s target and chattered with giggles.

Gijun was among them.

“Want to play another game?”

Gijun asked, looking at Seonjae who seemed unusually poor today.

But having lost interest in the game, Seonjae removed the ammunition and hung up the gun. Then he took off his gloves.

“I’m done. It’s raining anyway, let’s stop.”

“Right. It is raining a lot. Looks like it’s not just a shower. Everyone, shall we go for a drink?”

They each packed up their shooting equipment.

The raindrops that had been falling since they started shooting had grown heavier.

“Yeah, let’s drink. I’ve posted the address in the messenger, so set your navigation and come there.”

At the organizer’s words, they parted in the parking lot and dispersed to their own cars.

Seonjae got into his sedan parked in a secluded spot.

Even as he started the engine, his mind was complicated.

Shooting was good for clearing distracting thoughts.

During those moments of held breath, one could focus entirely on the target.

But today was strange.

Even while aiming at the target, his breathing was rough and his mind was chaotic.

In truth, having business near the hotel was a lie.

It was something he had said unconsciously while looking at Seo Yeonsu, who seemed different today.

What could she be thinking?

Curious, he had given her a ride. And he had told her to quit, hoping she wouldn’t go through with the arranged date.

Yeonsu’s face, looking like she might cry at any moment, overlapped in his mind.

If he had shown her the wrong path, shouldn’t she be grateful?

He couldn’t understand at all.

Seonjae’s car, moving along the rainy road, gradually stopped at a red light.

Where was the location again?

Just as he was belatedly trying to operate the navigation—

“……?”

A strange object entered his field of vision. A small, white medicine bottle.

Seonjae reached toward the passenger seat and picked up the bottle.

He could immediately tell whose it was.

The woman who had been sitting in this seat just a few hours ago.

It must be Seo Yeonsu’s.

“Ha.”

A dry laugh formed as his smooth lips twisted.

They say you can’t tell where someone sat, but you can tell where they left. When did she ask him to stop concerning himself with her, yet leave her belongings behind like this?

〈About what you mentioned before, sir. There are no separate psychiatric records, but it seems she has been receiving treatment from Dr. Cho since five years ago. Dr. Cho also wrote the prescriptions.〉

〈The diagnosis is post-traumatic stress disorder. It mentions severe stress, but the exact cause isn’t in the medical records, so I couldn’t determine it.〉

Seonjae recalled what Secretary Shin had reported recently.

This medicine bottle was probably the psychiatric medication that Managing Director Hong Sehee had mentioned.

Stopped at the red light, Seonjae tapped the steering wheel.

He bit his lower lip.

Seonjae wondered if it might be a divided dose of medication. He could just give it to her at the next filming day. But what if she needed this medicine today?

Conflicts rushed through his mind even in that brief moment.

He rubbed his sunken eyes.

Despite the continuously moving windshield wipers, the pouring rain quickly obscured his vision.

Through that limited visibility, he spotted a building.

The destination was right ahead. He just needed to go straight and then turn right.

Take her the medicine. And why bother, just ignore it.

The battle between reason and emotion began.

The light changed. The cars stopped in front of Seonjae started moving.

He moved forward with them.

The navigation helpfully informed him to turn right.

He knew that already.

But with the destination right ahead, Seonjae suddenly turned the steering wheel.

Just then, Gijun called and asked. He must have seen Seonjae changing lanes.

—Brother, where are you going?

“Something urgent came up.”

Seonjae left this brief message and pressed end call.

The car gradually increased speed.

It was the moment when emotion raised the victory flag in the intense tug-of-war.

※※※

Even while sitting face to face with her arranged date, Yeonsu’s mood wouldn’t improve.

Even trying to force a smile, her mouth remained stiffly frozen.

Yeonsu drank from her water glass while scanning the man across from her.

Min Jeongho. He had shown up 30 minutes after the appointed time.

“You haven’t ordered yet? You should have ordered ahead if you arrived.”

There was no apology. Instead, he scolded Yeonsu for not choosing food.

When Yeonsu looked at him without selecting a menu, he took the menu from the server.

After briefly scanning it, he closed the menu.

“We’ll take the course meal. The most expensive one.”

Perhaps her displeasure showed, as the man belatedly added an excuse when he sat down.

An excuse that wasn’t really an excuse.

“I was late because it suddenly rained. In today’s world, men should arrive 30 minutes early and wait. I’m not that type, am I?”

Once one thing started bothering her, even his arrogant way of speaking irritated her.

The server who had retreated returned and began setting the table.

And so the meal began with the course dishes.

The initial discomfort she felt became reality.

Throughout the meal, Jeongho’s unpleasant remarks continued.

His constant “As the eldest son, I…” was standard.

Yeonsu chose silence instead of conversation.

When she closed her mouth, silence fell over the table. Only the sounds of utensils hitting plates and the rain could be heard.

As the meal continued—

“You heard I’m divorced, right? But I don’t have children. We separated after living together less than six months.”