Yeonsu’s lips trembled. It was the moment when what she believed was a delusion became reality.

With an appearance no different from five years ago. No, with even more intense masculinity than then, the man was Seungjae, who had once been Yeonsu’s lover.

Now a former lover with whom all contact had been severed, and the person who had made Yeonsu live in h*ll for the past five years.

The man still shone just as he had then. While Yeonsu was living in a mess.

A long silence passed.

Yeonsu’s constantly trembling eyes gradually calmed.

At first, she was so flustered she didn’t know what to do, but seeing Seungjae before her, she gradually composed herself.

Because he seemed unaffected by the sight of Yeonsu.

Was Seungjae the employee who was supposed to greet Yeonsu today?

Well, he must be that employee since he answered the phone. He couldn’t possibly be Moon Seonjae.

For a moment, a hollow laugh flashed across Yeonsu’s lips and disappeared.

Because even she thought it was an absurd speculation.

And whether he was a Taeseo employee or not, what did it matter? They were already over.

She just needed to hand over this shopping bag and leave. Just as Yeonsu resolved to do so and was about to speak,

The man’s lips curled up into a strange smile. As if he knew the confusion in Yeonsu’s mind.

And the moment his lips, which had been keeping silent, slowly opened.

“I am Moon Seonjae.”

The world Yeonsu had struggled to hold together was shaken.

Had she misheard?

Yeonsu closed her eyes and opened them again. But the situation before her hadn’t changed one bit.

This situation where her former lover Lee Seungjae was introducing himself as Taeseo Group’s representative, Moon Seonjae.

He was definitely Seungjae. She couldn’t mistake her former lover with whom she had practically lived together for half a year.

Moreover, he looked exactly the same as five years ago.

Yeonsu’s eyes trembled helplessly.

“You called me because you have business, right? Who sent you?”

“Ah, that, the wife of Chairman Hong Hyeonchul of Seungji Apparel sent me.”

Yeonsu’s voice trembled without her realizing it.

As she handed over the shopping bag, she observed him, but the man didn’t move at all.

He seemed indifferent both to the wine and to Yeonsu before him.

“They sent something expensive. I’ve been wanting to try it.”

Liar. You don’t even like wine.

He stroked his upper lip with his index finger. A habit that emerged when he lied.

Yeonsu became certain. This man was indeed the Lee Seungjae she knew.

And simultaneously, looking at his indifferent eyes, she intuited.

That the passionately loving Seungjae was gone.

He was just Moon Seonjae, treating Yeonsu like a stranger.

“Anyway, thank you. I’d like to offer you a cup of tea, but I have an appointment.”

Watching him continue speaking with a composed expression, Yeonsu felt confused.

She wanted to ask. If he had forgotten the Seo Yeonsu he had loved so passionately.

Or if not, if he was pretending not to know.

But once closed, her lips wouldn’t easily open.

Just then, Yeonsu was reflected in the stillness of his eyes.

“Well, goodbye.”

And with his next words, Yeonsu’s heart sank. It was clearly a farewell greeting.

Not even a “how have you been” to a lover he was meeting after five years…

No explanation for why they broke up, why he had to choose such a miserable and humiliating method of parting.

Soon after, he turned away.

Whether this man had forgotten her or was pretending not to know, she couldn’t tell.

But one thing was certain.

If not now, she didn’t know when she would face Moon Seonjae again.

Yeonsu parted her lips that she had been biting.

“……Seo Yeonsu.”

And her voice, uttered with difficulty, scattered into the air.

Though her voice trembled finely, it must have reached him as Seonjae turned around.

“I am Seo Yeonsu.”

Yeonsu stated her name again.

This time, her voice was clearer and stronger than when she first spoke.

And it was when she saw his brow twitch slightly.

“Director Moon Seonjae.”

The secretary who came out as the entrance opened called him.

Seonjae glanced at Yeonsu before answering the secretary.

“Are we leaving now?”

“Yes, the car is ready. You need to leave now.”

Seonjae handed the wine he was holding to the approaching secretary.

Then he passed by Yeonsu and boarded the elevator. Seonjae stood facing Yeonsu in the elevator.

Under the lingering gaze in the empty space, Yeonsu clenched her fist.

He had definitely shown a small change in expression at Yeonsu’s name. Though it disappeared quickly.

Their gazes continued until the door closed. And when the door closed completely, Yeonsu was left alone.

Whether he had no memory or was pretending not to know, she wasn’t sure.

But what was certain was that their connection was finally over like this.

Meeting the father of her child after five years—this reunion hurt her deeply.

※※※

Yeonsu rolled down her car window. The congested expressway was visible ahead and behind.

True to Sunday, the Gangbyeon Expressway was packed with cars lined up in a straight row.

Though little time remained before her appointment, Yeonsu’s mind was in turmoil.

All because of Seonjae, whom she had met yesterday.

‘Why… did he lie about his name?’

Regarding the name Moon Seonjae.

He had clearly said he came to study in America on a government scholarship.

Yeonsu, who came to study abroad with Chairman Hong’s support, felt a kinship with him and quickly grew close, becoming lovers.

They had loved each other with mutual understanding of their circumstances, but was everything he showed back then a lie?

Yeonsu had been sincere.

But did he not trust or love her enough to reveal his true identity?

She wanted to ask him. Why he hadn’t answered her calls back then.

That day when Yeonsu learned she was pregnant with Huimang.

The day she gathered courage to tell him about the baby, what she heard at the end of the call was……

〈The number you have dialed is not in service. Please……〉

Just the repetition of a cold, mechanical voice.

She wanted to ask why he chose such a farewell, hadn’t he said they would go see the aurora together?

But seeing Seonjae turn away yesterday, she realized.

‘Just a fling.’

That’s all she was worth to him. That’s why he must have met her under the false name Lee Seungjae.

In the end, she couldn’t tell him about the child’s existence as he walked away.

Yeonsu’s chest boiled with heat as she thought of Huimang.

Just as emotions she had been suppressing threatened to surge up and she wiped her mouth with her hand—

“Oh, it smudged.”

Yeonsu turned toward the voice.

She saw the mascara in Sehee’s fingers, who sat in the passenger seat. Along with the smudge that had spread jaggedly near her eye.

“Do you have tissues?”

Sehee asked while looking through the sun visor mirror.

“No. By the way, we’re going to be late. Is that okay?”

Yeonsu asked, looking at the congested road.

According to the schedule, Sehee should have exited the arrival hall at 5 o’clock.

Since the flight wasn’t delayed, they hadn’t expected to hit rush hour traffic like this.

Shopping bags filled the back seat. They must have been delayed due to customs declarations for those items.

She recalled Sukgyeong saying that Director Moon Gijun would join them for dinner today, so don’t be late.

Sukgyeong had repeatedly emphasized punctuality to Yeonsu.

She was slightly worried that she might get blamed for this.

“It should be fine. I don’t know why Mom wants to have dinner with someone who just returned to the country. By the way, starting tomorrow we’re working at the new headquarters, right?”

Sehee was Sukgyeong and Chairman Hong’s only daughter.

“Yes. Now we’re Taeseo Industries, not Seungji Apparel anymore.”

“When did our Seungji rise to the ranks of a major corporation?”

Sehee naturally shifted the topic to company matters.

Thanks to that, Yeonsu was able to escape from her deep contemplation.

“It’s all thanks to my marriage. My dad should be nice to me, but his daughter is completely sidelined. He only dotes on you.”

Sehee glanced at Yeonsu while speaking in a grumbling tone.

Seungji Apparel’s Chairman Hong. Yeonsu naturally pictured Chairman Hong, who had been in a deep sleep for three years.

When she visited Chairman Hong’s hospital room recently, she told him Sehee was returning to Korea, though she wasn’t sure if he heard.

The sale of Seungji Apparel had been decided because Chairman Hong hadn’t awakened from his prolonged brain-dead state.

To Taeseo Industries, where Sehee’s husband, Moon Gijun, was a division director.

The thought of starting work at a new place tomorrow made her uneasy.

Whether it’s because of meeting Moon Seonjae yesterday, or because of the new job, she wasn’t sure.

Yeonsu leaned back in her car seat, looking at the speedometer that didn’t even reach 20km/h.

It was too late to arrive on time. But worrying wouldn’t clear the congested expressway.

As Yeonsu stared blankly ahead—

“Did you hear me?”

She turned her head at the voice.

“No, I didn’t. What did you say?”

She seemed to have missed Sehee’s words while staring blankly ahead.

Tap, Sehee folded the sun visor back.

“I asked if you still don’t want to talk about your baby’s father.”

A heavy silence descended in the car.

Yeonsu’s lips stiffened at the sudden question, with no chance to avoid it.

Meeting Sehee after five years, she seemed more curious about the dead child’s father than about Yeonsu’s current situation.

Even though she knew, as always, that Yeonsu wouldn’t answer.

“It’s been five years. Isn’t it okay to talk about it now?”

Five years—the time that had passed since Huimang was stillborn.

From the moment she revealed her pregnancy to the family elders until now, Yeonsu had never disclosed who the child’s father was.

She had only conveyed that she was pregnant and wanted to have and raise the child.