Chapter 9
“That was stressful for you?”
“Of course. It wasn’t just once or twice—it was every single time.”
“I honestly had no idea.”
“Well, I never told you.”
Normally, a person might have noticed before being told. But for Hae-in, it didn’t matter anymore. Somewhere along the way she had let go of all lingering feelings, and in return, she finally felt peace.
That was why she hadn’t searched for news about Jung-ho or the Jinseong Group for the past four years. Unlike in Korea, she had lived busily in England. She studied harder to strengthen her weak major, secretly debuted, and learned to shed her spoiled, childlike ways without the protection of her family.
“Honestly, I know what I did to you was wrong,” she admitted.
“It’s fine. Our engagement was never broken off anyway.”
That was the problem. Four years had passed, and yet the engagement still remained.
“Honestly, I was curious.”
“Say it. Whatever it is.”
“Why haven’t you broken off the engagement in all this time?”
A marriage arrangement with no real affection at its base.
“Why should I be the one to do it?”
“Because I—”
“Hae-in. Did you really want to break things off that badly?”
“……”
“Or is it just because it was arranged between our families?”
The barrage of questions left Hae-in biting her lower lip. She suddenly had nothing to say. After all, he wasn’t wrong—not about a single point.
She had assumed he would be the one to call off the engagement. Wasn’t that why she’d dragged Jung-min into it and fled overseas, just to give him an excuse?
“You never cared about this engagement anyway.”
“Who said I didn’t care?”
“Who was it making headlines with a new scandal every other day?”
And yet, despite everything, Jung-ho had never once moved to end it. If anything, his attitude seemed the opposite, oddly unfamiliar to her.
“Still… I have no intention of breaking it off.”
He treated her as though nothing had ever happened, as though she’d merely gone abroad for a while.
Whatever his reasons, he had no intention of dissolving their engagement. That much was clear.
It should have been a simple conclusion, but for Hae-in it only made the past four years of struggling to let go of her one-sided love feel meaningless.
Their conversation kept circling the same place. Perhaps, after all those years apart, they needed time to untangle everything again.
The first to yield was Hae-in.
Maybe it was the jet lag, maybe it was because she hadn’t slept all day, but the weight of exhaustion pressed down on her. She turned toward the driver’s seat and shook her head.
“Sigh… Let’s talk about it later.”
“You planning to run away again?”
“I’m tired. I’ve been running around all day.”
Her tone sharpened with irritation without her meaning to.
“Now you’re snapping at me openly.”
“I told you, I’m tired.”
It wasn’t a lie. She looked utterly drained, letting out a long sigh.
She hadn’t rested since her return. Counting from her flight out of England, she had been awake for over thirty hours. Sleep was finally catching up with her, and it was pushing her to her limit.
She tried to hold herself together, determined to at least promise she would visit him at the company tomorrow before leaving the car.
“So where exactly are you going?”
“To a friend’s. Just to see her for a bit.”
“Give me the address. I’ll take you.”
“No need. I don’t want to owe you anything.”
“As if you’ve never relied on me before.”
“Well, I won’t anymore.”
And she meant it. She wasn’t a child in need of constant care.
“Suddenly trying to prove you can stand on your own?”
“Something like that. I managed fine alone these past four years.”
But the change in her tone, the sharp line she was drawing now, struck him differently. He scowled as if he couldn’t believe her nerve, glaring at her from the driver’s seat.
“Pretty bold for the little runaway who disappeared with another man.”
The words shut her down instantly. He had thrown her past back in her face without flinching.
Jung-ho’s insistence on driving her was almost relentless, surprising even to her. In the end, she gave in, asking to be dropped a short distance from the rented house before walking the rest of the way.
Even as she unlocked the door, she couldn’t stop wondering how Jung-ho had found out she was back in Korea so quickly. He couldn’t have been following her—so how else would he know?
“Right. There’s only one explanation.”
Her mind flashed to her older brother, Hae-kyung, who had walked in earlier glued to his phone. Grinding her teeth, she remembered his casual chatter as he came inside.
The moment she reached the living room, she dialed his number.
—What’s this? Our baby sister calling so suddenl—
“Lee Hae-kyung! This is all your fault!”
Her outburst cut him off before he could finish.
—Huh? What are you even talking about?
“When you came home earlier—who were you on the phone with?”
—Oh, that? Work stuff. I was talking with Jung-ho—
“And you still don’t get why I’m mad?”
She collapsed onto the two-seater sofa, her voice full of exasperation. She hadn’t slept properly in days, and her nerves were raw.
Thankfully, her brother wasn’t completely clueless. Realization hit him quickly, and he panicked.
—Wait. Don’t tell me he already knows you’re back?
“Knows? We ran into each other right in front of the house.”
—Ah… crap.
“Do you even feel sorry about this?”
—…Sorry.
The half-hearted apology was so typically him that she could only sigh, long and heavy, into the phone.
“Sigh… I had my own plan, you know.”
Her voice brimmed with frustration. She had returned intending to face Jung-ho on her own terms, but thanks to Hae-kyung’s mistake, everything had been upended.
But life never went as planned anyway. This was just another reminder.
“Sorry. I shouldn’t be yelling at you.”
—It’s fine. It was my slip-up.
“I’m just on edge. Haven’t slept properly.”
—Then you should’ve just come home to rest.
He was half-chiding, half-concerned. She softened at his tone.
“I’ll come home soon.”
—Do it for Mom’s sake. Don’t make her worry.
The family hadn’t pressed her about why she wanted to stay at a friend’s for a while. They had let her go easily enough, but she knew the worry lingered behind the scenes.
“Well, of course. Mom’s always been like that.”
To her, the youngest daughter was the most fragile, someone who had to be protected at all costs.
With that thought, Hae-in let out a faint laugh.
But before she could drift further, Hae-kyung’s voice pulled her back.
—So? What happened with Jung-ho?
“We just talked a bit, then I left.”
—Strange. I wouldn’t expect him to let you off that easily.
“As if. I already promised to meet him at the company tomorrow.”
The silence on the line was brief before he pressed again.
—What on earth did you two talk about?
“There’s plenty to say. After all… I disappeared for four years.”
Holding the phone to her ear, she smiled faintly despite herself. Her brother could be clueless most of the time—but every now and then, like now, his instincts hit surprisingly close to the truth.
