Chapter : 52
Juhye’s tension finally loosened, and she staggered, bracing herself against the wall with one hand.
Eunjae was startled for only a moment before running over with a clearly delighted expression.
“Director! How did you end up here…? Have you been doing well all this time?”
“Ah… well…”
“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
It was Juhye who felt flustered by Eunjae’s reaction as she even grabbed her hand.
She had never thought Eunjae would be this happy to see her.
“It’s been a while, Ms. Eunjae. Have you been well too?”
Juhye calmly returned her greeting. Her face was flushed red like a carrot from running all the way up.
“Yes, I’ve been doing well! But…”
Eunjae, who had been studying Juhye’s complexion, finally looked puzzled.
“What brings you to the hospital, though?”
“Why did you quit the arboretum?”
The urgency in Juhye’s voice couldn’t be hidden. She knew it wasn’t very polite, but since she still didn’t know where Daehyun was, she had no choice but to hurry.
Eunjae gave an awkward smile and scratched her cheek.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you before leaving, but something came up.”
“What kind of situation?”
“Well… it’s difficult to explain in detail. It’s a family matter.”
After glancing at the hospital, Eunjae let out a deep sigh. A heavy sorrow shimmered in her affectionate eyes. Just thinking about her hospitalized mother seemed to bring sadness flooding back, as her expression darkened.
“Does it have something to do with your mother being ill?”
Juhye asked without hesitation.
Eunjae flinched at the precise question but soon looked as if she understood.
“It seems the team leader told you.”
She seemed to think Junhwi had explained her reason for resigning to Juhye. Since that was true, Juhye nodded.
“Yes… My mother hasn’t been well and has been hospitalized for a long time. I only worked at the arboretum because I urgently needed a large sum of money.”
Eunjae knew all too well how a single unrecovering patient could devastate an entire family.
Even Song Bitna had earned quite a lot as a celebrity, yet the money disappeared in an instant under hospital bills. If Daehyun hadn’t helped along the way, Eunjae might have lost her mother much sooner.
“It was such a good job—I wanted to stay for a long time—but for now, I can’t afford a caregiver. I’m sorry.”
Could that situation be related to her divorce from Daehyun?
Even after shaking her head to say there was no need to apologize, Juhye couldn’t bring herself to leave.
Sensing something strange in Juhye’s unwavering gaze, Eunjae tilted her head.
Seeing Eunjae start to read her mood, Juhye suddenly extended her right hand.
“I’d like to talk for a moment. Would that be okay?”
“Right now?”
Eunjae hesitated as she checked the time on her phone, as if thinking it was too late for a conversation.
“It’s about my husband… I mean, Seo Daehyun.”
In the end, Juhye decided to play the one card Eunjae couldn’t refuse.
The smell of the hospital never became familiar.
Juhye stood quietly at the ward entrance, watching people pass by—none of them looking at ease, some with red, swollen eyes from worry.
She had stayed in a hospital briefly not long ago, but she had disliked hospitals ever since childhood—ever since she learned her mother had died giving birth to her.
“This way.”
Eunjae led Juhye through the maze-like corridors with ease, clearly used to the hospital. When they reached the VIP ward, agents in suits were stationed along the halls.
They bowed politely when they saw Eunjae. A few recognized Juhye and widened their eyes but didn’t react further.
‘They must be people Daehyun hired,’ Juhye thought.
Even the fact that someone could stay alone in a hospital VIP room meant Daehyun’s influence was involved.
“There aren’t many people around, so it’s good for talking.”
“But when she wakes up…”
“She took her medication and is sleeping deeply. She won’t wake up for a while.”
Eunjae turned on the lights and explained as they entered the room. As a single room, it was perfect for avoiding prying eyes and ears.
“It’s still so hot these days.”
With a smile, Eunjae removed her baseball cap and placed it on the table. Beyond it, a woman lay sleeping on the bed. Despite her illness, she was strikingly beautiful, her serene face exuding an even more elegant and pure aura with her eyes closed.
“Your mother is very beautiful.”
“Thank you. If she were awake, she would have loved hearing that.”
Eunjae smiled bitterly as she gently wiped her sleeping mother’s forehead with a damp cloth, her affection evident in every movement.
Juhye looked around the room—fresh flowers in a vase, snacks placed on the refrigerator—items meant to be shown to Song Bitna whenever she woke up.
“How long has she been hospitalized?”
“Hmm… about two years.”
Eunjae quickly answered after counting the time in her head. It was the same length as Juhye and Daehyun’s marriage.
“You said you had something to tell me…”
Eunjae set canned coffee on the table. Juhye sat across from her, quietly opening her bag. She pulled out photos she had obtained from Manager Park—pictures of Daehyun and Eunjae together.
“Could you look at these first?”
Eunjae’s eyes trembled when she received them. She looked surprised—but not guilty.
“…Actually, I saw you a few months ago at Jinju Construction headquarters,” Juhye began.
“What?”
“More precisely, I overheard a conversation on the stairwell. You were wearing a baseball cap pulled low and had your face covered with a mask.”
She remembered the miserable feeling of hiding and eavesdropping—the heavy, gloomy atmosphere that still lingered painfully in her memory.
“I heard everything… even the conversation while you were in my husband’s arms.”
The woman smiling in gratitude. Her husband smiling as he patted her shoulder.
From that day on, Juhye began to doubt Daehyun’s heart and give up on his love—resenting her past self who had fallen for him at first sight.
“That was the first time. I saw you again even after you started working at the arboretum.”
“Ah… um…”
“I even saw my husband giving you money, saying it was for living expenses.”
Eunjae simply blinked, looking like someone unsure when to interrupt. Her restless gaze carried a subtle sense of injustice, though Juhye couldn’t understand why.
“I wanted to ask from that moment on, but I couldn’t until I gathered evidence. I was afraid you’d both deny it…”
Every time Eunjae greeted her cheerfully, it felt like a heavy weight pressed down on Juhye’s chest. Now that she was finally speaking out, she felt strangely relieved.
“So… since when have you been having an affair with my husband?”
Maintaining a calm tone, Juhye asked the question she had longed to ask.
“W-wait a moment, Director.”
“When exactly did you two become involved—”
“No! That’s not it!”
Just as Juhye continued calmly, Eunjae suddenly shouted and waved her hands frantically. Her face turned pale, beads of cold sweat forming.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
Juhye looked down at the photos on the table.
Eunjae hesitated before pointing at them.
“I can see why you’d misunderstand from these pictures… but I can say this for certain.”
“…”
“Between the CEO and me… I mean, we…”
She clearly struggled over whether to speak. Juhye assumed this was the moment Eunjae would confess to being the mistress.
But the truth Juhye faced was something she had never even imagined.
“Daehyun oppa and I are half-siblings.”
“….”
“So… we could never be in an affair.”
After delivering the shocking confession, Eunjae lowered her head deeply.
