“She really liked it. The bouquet was so exquisite that she said she’d dry it and keep it.

“Oh my! As expected…!”

“Tell us more. May I ask where in Russia you’re from?”

“Moscow.”

“Mo-Moscow? I have heard that it gets very cold there in winter. Is that true?”

As stories about Yuhyeon began to surface, the conversation became more and more interesting.

Moscow – as cold as ice, just like Yuhyeon.

“It is unimaginably colder than winter in Korea. The biting cold that penetrates your skin feels like it is tearing your flesh apart”.

As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Soo-min. Soo-min looked worried, as if his lips were burning with nervousness.

” Why do you speak Korean so fluently?”

“Because my roots are Korean.”

“Oh, really?”

Soo-min was taken aback.

‘A Korean, not a Korean-Russian? But then how did the rumour spread that he was the grandson of a powerful Russian figure? Could they not be related by blood?’

Soo-min was deeply curious as to how Yuhyeon, a Korean, had come to be associated with Vladimir.

He stared at Yuhyeon intently.

‘Even if they weren’t related by blood, if a powerful figure trusted him enough to entrust his wealth to him, he was no ordinary man.’

Although he didn’t know the details of Yuhyeon’s upbringing, he instinctively felt that it must have been the complete opposite of Junhwan’s. The commanding aura emanating from him was proof enough.

A moment later, the door to the room opened and Eunhyuk walked in. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Yuhyeon.

‘W-Wait, Beom… Beom Yuhyeon? Why is he here…?’

Eunhyuk’s eyes trembled slightly. He was clearly wary of Yuhyeon, but instead of being affected, Yuhyeon leaned back in his chair with a relaxed ease.

‘I left him alone for a while, but it seems that the pests started to swarm around.’

As Eunhyuk sat down next to Soo-min, he blocked Yuhyeon’s view. Finally free of Yuhyeon’s gaze, Soo-min should have felt relieved, but instead an even greater sense of unease settled over him.

It was as if an invisible war of nerves had begun between the two men.

‘The two of them… somehow look uncomfortable. Even Eunhyuk doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.’

When the music started again, the team members went out to dance. Taking the opportunity to slip out with them, Soo-min was finally able to catch her breath.

She went to the bathroom and washed her hands.

Looking in the mirror, she noticed that her lipstick had completely worn off.

‘Ah… could it be? Did Eunhyuk notice and think something was wrong because my lipstick was worn off?’

Worry consumed her. Soo-min scrubbed her lips roughly.

At that moment, someone stood next to her, washing her hands and staring at her intently.

“Hey, you’re Byeon Yedo’s ex-wife ….., right?”

“Who?”

“Don’t you remember me?”

“Ah.”

It was her.

The woman who had rolled around in her house like a piece of garbage with her ex-husband before their divorce.

The woman’s eyebrows arched as she quickly scanned Soo-min from head to toe.

“I almost didn’t recognise you. You look so different all dressed up. I’m really sorry about what happened. I didn’t mean to be rude, but Yedo insisted on bringing me along, so I had no choice.”

“It has nothing to do with me now.”

Soo-min didn’t want to say a word. Just as he was about to leave the toilet,

“By the way, have you heard from Yedo? He hasn’t been in touch…”

“Why don’t you try calling him directly?”

“I can’t get through to him, that’s why I’m asking.”

‘Ha, insane. What is this woman attempting to do to me?’

Soo-min’s usually gentle eyes narrowed sharply.

“If you really want to get in touch with him, I can give you the phone numbers of his family members.”

“No need to get so serious… ho ho ho.”

The woman laughed loudly and Soo-min felt a wave of anger rise from within.

“I don’t care if you two date or get married, so don’t pretend to know me from now on.”

“Oh, right. Could that rumour be true?”

“What rumour?”

“I heard that Byeon Yedo was half-dead but came back to life… Oh, that can’t be true, can it?”

“What?”

“Why would someone who’s perfectly healthy almost die? It doesn’t make sense, does it?”

‘What is this? Jungwook said something like that earlier… Could something really have happened to Yedo?’

Suddenly, Yuhyeon’s threatening behaviour came to mind. The way he had pointed the gun directly at Yedo’s head was incredibly intimidating.

Could it be…

‘It couldn’t be… I’m just letting my imagination run wild.’

Soo-min checked the time. It was 9pm – not too late. He left the club and dialled Yedo’s number in the quiet alley.

Rrrr.

-“Hello?”

“Ah… uh, mother…”

His mother-in-law answered.

– “You take so long to call. Even though you’re divorced, why are you like this? Don’t you ever think of checking up on him?”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been a bit… busy.”

“Yedo had brain surgery. He almost died.

“W-what? Brain surgery? Did something happen to him, like an accident?”

“Last week someone found Yedo collapsed on a building site and took him to hospital. He suffered severe head injuries and had to undergo surgery. He barely made it through the dangerous phase, but he still hasn’t woken up.

Soo-min’s hands trembled when he heard this.

“Something like that… what did the police say?”

“They brushed it off as a simple accident at the construction site. But I don’t understand why Yedo was there that night… It seemed like he was in debt, maybe he made some enemies… I’m so frustrated… huhuhu, sniffle…”

Soo-min could feel his mother-in-law sobbing. Although they had no affection for each other as a couple, they had lived together as a family. The sudden accident weighed heavily on her heart.

“Yedo is strong, he will wake up soon. Please don’t lose hope, mother.”

“When are you going to the hospital? I think I’ll feel better if you come.”

“I’ll visit soon.”

Soo-min stared at her mobile phone for a long time after ending the call. When did the accident happen? She hoped it wasn’t the day they met. But how did the accident happen? No matter how drunk he got, he was always strong enough to walk home. That’s why she was confused about how he collapsed.

With a crunching sound, a presence was felt. When Soo-min turned around, Yuhyeon was walking towards her.

“One more step and you’ll have a hole in your head.”

She remembers what Yuhyeon had said to Yedo at that time.

‘What am I thinking? There’s no evidence to suspect him right? And there’s no reason for Yuhyeon to hold a grudge against Yedo.’

But she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling. The warning Yuhyeon had given Yedo that day was too strong to ignore.

“What are you doing here alone?”

“It’s been a while since I had a drink, and I think I’m a little drunk. I should probably go now.”

“Then let’s go.”

As Yuhyeon signalled to the driver, the supercar stopped in front of them. Yuhyeon opened the passenger door.

“U-um, my bag…?”

“The head of my secretariat will bring it. Let’s go to my car.”

“Ah…”

“Get in.”

“Yuhyeon, are you drunk?”

“It was you who drank, Soo-min.”

Now that he mentioned it, Yuhyeon hadn’t had a single sip of alcohol. Since they were going to the same place, Soo-min got into the passenger seat. As he stared in awe at the supercar with its upward-opening doors, the seatbelt clicked into place.

Vroom!

The smooth sound of the engine could be heard and soon the car was on the four-lane road. After driving for a while, the car stopped not at the hotel, but at the bank of the Han River.

“Aren’t we going back to the hotel?”

“Isn’t it a bit early for that?”

He turned off the engine and looked around. The Han River, with few people around, had tall reeds hiding the back, while the front was wide open.

Ahead, the grass seemed soft enough to lay a mat on and sleep comfortably.

“You seem to know the geography of Seoul well. Foreigners probably don’t know places like this.”

“If you search the internet, it’s easy to find.”

‘What kind of man is he? Could he have lived in Korea before? It feels like déjà vu.’

Although she had noticed it earlier while talking to the team members, seeing him speak fluent Korean made her think that he might have lived in Korea, even if only for a short time.

She was very curious, but didn’t ask, just looked at the Han River. It had been a long time since she had looked at the river like this…

Sitting there looking at the Han River, she felt as if she had gone back five years.

She gently closed her eyes and remembered those times.

“I like it here. The full moon reflected in the river is so beautiful.”

“Come, lie down and look at the sky. You’ll see clouds near the moon.”

“Oh, you’re right. It’s amazing. It’s so dark all around and yet I can see the clouds floating… It’s so peaceful. I wish every day could be like this.”

“Come here.”

“What if someone sees us?”

“Who cares? We’re lovers.”

Startled by the strange feeling, she opened her eyes to see Yuhyeon’s hand coming closer.

With a thud, her body was suddenly laid back. Her heart was beating loudly.

“…!”

“If you open the sunroof, you can lie down and watch the sky.”

‘What was this? This man… Had he learnt to read my mind or something?’

As his eyes turned to the sky, she closed hers.

Back then, she had been lying on a mat with Junhwan on the bank of the Han River, but now she was lying on a luxury car worth hundreds of millions, but it didn’t feel comfortable at all; even though they were poor, even though they had nothing, they were truly happy back then.

She felt like she was about to burst into tears. She knew that the person lying next to her wasn’t Junhwan, but she kept trying to feel Junhwan through him.

“…Even if I woke up tomorrow and found out that all this was just a dream… I think I’d still be happy…”

She didn’t notice the tears streaming down her cheeks. Her chest hurt. The heaviness in her heart was filled with longing and regret for Junhwan. And then she sank into the guilt of being the one responsible for his death.

For the past five years, she’d been smiling on the outside, but inside, a huge lump had settled in her chest.

‘I am sorry. Junhwan… I’m sorry, please don’t forgive me…’

At that moment, a large hand calmly reached out and touched the tears streaming down Soo-min’s cheek.

“Isn’t it too late to be sorry?”

“…!!”

‘What had I just heard?’

Soo-min jumped out of his seat. Then he stared at Yuhyeon who was lying in the driver’s seat.

“It was just a feeling, right?”

“I’m surprised.”

“I don’t know whose tears you’re shedding, but if they saw this, they’d probably be disgusted. You shouldn’t have done anything you’d regret.”

Yuhyeon’s words pierced Soo-min’s chest like a dagger.

“Everyone makes mistakes.”
“If you call it a mistake, it makes you feel better.”
“Unless you’re a god, humans are imperfect. That’s why we regret the outcomes we didn’t expect. It’s too late now, but if you truly repented and asked for forgiveness, don’t you think the other person might change?”
“It seems like we have different values.”
“What kind of person are you,yuhyeon?”
Yuhyeon looked at Soo-min with a playful smile.