Chapter 10 ….
“The first day you came to greet my family, my mom cooked galbi-jjim, japchae, and even freshly made kimchi in that scorching summer. She was drenched in sweat, making everything she knew you liked. I felt so sorry for her.”
Then Giuk shamelessly shot back without losing face.
“And what about my mom? My mom had to endure dating someone like you, who didn’t meet her standards. Are you going to take responsibility for her stress?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I work at a big company. Do you think anyone can just get into my company?”
“Ah, a so-called ‘big company’? For doctors, getting in is just a free pass. To me, your company is nothing more than a neighborhood corner store.”
By this point, he’d earned an extra sentence for insolence.
He had once praised me for being in the KU Group. He even liked getting allowance thanks to his girlfriend working at a big company!
“Hah, don’t you think you’re shameless? You barely passed the medical school entrance exam with your mentor’s help and still dare talk like that? I would’ve gone to Harvard in that time if it were me.”
“…What?”
“And let’s speak clearly. You’ve forgotten that I tutored you for free day and night? I’m the one who got you into medical school. Without me, you wouldn’t even have gotten close.”
Blushing with shame, Giuk slammed his fist on the table and jumped up.
“Is that it, have you said everything?!”
The commotion drew curious glances from the people around them.
Uju lowered her eyes quietly. There was a time when she genuinely cheered for him, seeing him go to the study hall every day for his dream of becoming a doctor.
“Sit down. There’s still more to say.”
“Confident, are you? If I sit back down, I might just slap you.”
“What?”
“I’m this close to snapping; nothing is in focus right now.”
Uju let out a small laugh.
So this is the kind of man she’d been dealing with all along.
“You won’t get a penny in alimony. I’ll just split the cancellation fees and the wedding invitation costs fifty-fifty. The things are yours to sell or throw away, whatever you want.”
“Why fifty-fifty?”
“Because the reason for the broken engagement lies with you.”
This damn audacious bastard.
As Uju clenched her fists, Giuk’s verbal assault shot at her like bullets.
“Forget the past. Are you in any position to compete with me now? I’m an ordinary salaried worker, over thirty. So what if I have a decent face? Can I even get pregnant at this age?”
Shim Giuk was worse than she’d imagined.
“And I wasn’t going to bring this up out of old affection, but you grew up in a single-parent household. Do you know how much your father’s absence affected your personality…!”
“Manager Yoo, you’re here.”
A pleasant voice called Uju.
Before she could turn around, a large hand gently enveloped her tightly clenched fist.
A warm breath, contrasting with the coolness of his skin, brushed her ear.
“Am I late? The meeting ran over.”
“Jihae…”
Uju murmured as if seeing a ghost, finally realizing she was at her company, and Haebum was her superior.
“What the…? That guy was with you that day, right?”
Giuk recognized Haebum too. He glanced back and forth between Uju and Haebum, then suddenly raised his eyebrows in suspicion.
“Why is he here? What’s your relationship?”
Haebum stood facing Giuk, as if Uju’s spokesperson.
“Do we look like we’re in a special relationship?”
Giuk was dumbfounded.
He’d thought their suspicious crouching together in front of the bar that day was strange… turns out they really did have that kind of relationship?
If so, the situation was completely in her favor.
Uju, who he assumed would meekly admit everything, was standing her ground instead.
“Hey, Yoo Uju. You think I’m easy, huh? You were having an affair with your boss, and when I suggested postponing the wedding, you thought, ‘Ah, let’s trap this sucker,’ right?”
“No.”
“Don’t lie. Then why are you two together again?”
“Because we’re friends first, not just boss and subordinate.”
Haebum stepped forward slowly, answering for her.
Instinctively, Giuk took a step back.
“They say you only see what you want—aren’t you the one trying to trap me?”
Giuk’s eyes twitched. The man in front of him was not only taller but had broad shoulders and chest, and a handsome face that could intimidate another man.
“W-What are you, stepping in for Uju? Some kind of lawyer?”
“Not a lawyer.”
Haebum closed the distance in a blink, leaning slightly toward the smaller Giuk and whispered,
“A friend.”
“….”
“I said, a friend. For now.”
Just as Giuk’s frown was about to sharpen, Haebum added softly, his lips still near his ear:
“Even so, you didn’t bring another woman with you when you came to meet Uju that day. Not like some alley stray dog.”
“What…!”
Giuk flinched noticeably.
‘D-Did he see everything?’
Haebum straightened, his gaze sharp and domineering.
“I don’t know how much Uju has endured from you, but it will be hard from now on.”
His dark eyes swirled like storm-tossed waves, ready to protect the sea even at the cost of himself.
“I won’t let it happen again.”
Giuk’s lower eyelids twitched as he realized everyone around them was gossiping about him.
Security personnel were running toward them from afar.
Cornered, he gritted his teeth.
“Do you have proof?!”
As if expecting this, Haebum smirked and put a hand in his pocket, as if retrieving something.
“Want to see?”
Giuk froze, then shouted, red-faced,
“Fine, fine! Let’s talk later, Yoo Uju!”
Haebum watched Giuk scurry away, phone in hand.
The day of the reunion, Giuk’s affair had been caught on a dashcam of a car parked in an alley.
Haebum had backed up the video immediately. He hoped never to use it, but if Uju ever faced a disadvantage, he was ready to step in.
“Director…”
Uju’s trembling voice finally pulled Haebum’s attention. He turned to see her face paler than before.
“Why are you here?”
“Just passing by.”
Uju felt her throat tighten with heat at his answer.
Should she thank him for showing up in this miserable situation, or just admit she was embarrassed?
“Why…”
Why did he have to show up at the absolute worst moment? Both in the past and now, he showed up unprepared, disturbing her when she was defenseless.
“I thought you might be crying alone.”
Haebum brushed her eyes gently with his thumb. The commotion around them escalated instantly.
Uju quickly turned her head to resist his touch.
“I’m not crying, it’s just irritation that made me tear up.”
“I know.”
His polished black shoes moved closer.
A large hand gently rested on Uju’s shoulder, which she couldn’t lift her gaze from.
Pat-pat. Uju unclenched her fists and raised her head, eyes reddened as if about to cry, yet Haebum’s gaze remained calm, serene.
“I heard earlier, I’ll take care of the alimony.”
More certain than any comfort.
“I’m pretty good at making people breathless.”
Haebum hadn’t changed a bit since childhood.
