Chapter : 56
After finishing a long recollection, she lifted her head, and the tears that had welled up in her eyes fell softly.
Joo-hye carefully wiped her tears with a handkerchief.
In addition to the clover embroidery at the corner, her name in English, stitched in thread, was visible.
This, too, was proof that Dae-hyun could not have been unaware of her all this time.
“Since when did he remember?”
She couldn’t even guess.
Before their wedding and even after it, Dae-hyun had never brought up the past.
Even when university came up in conversation by chance, the topic would quickly shift elsewhere.
So she naturally assumed he knew nothing.
He wouldn’t know about her university days, or about their chance meeting on Inwangsan…
“What a fool…”
No, the fool was herself, too.
When she suspected that Dae-hyun had an affair, she should have asked him honestly.
She should have confronted him, asked if he really didn’t remember her, accused him of only loving her while she loved him too.
If she had argued like that, maybe she would have realized Dae-hyun’s love for her.
“…Please, just pick up the phone.”
Joo-hye muttered as she nervously called Dae-hyun repeatedly.
She hadn’t realized that hearing the message that the call wouldn’t connect would hurt so much.
As she anxiously stared at her phone, it finally vibrated.
But it wasn’t a welcome call. The screen showed Su-kyung’s number.
“Brother Su-kyung? Why… now?”
The reason was obvious. He must have heard from Su-ha.
Joo-hye hesitated for a moment while looking at the phone.
Unlike Su-ha, Su-kyung could transform himself coldly if it suited his purpose.
This meant he might try to manipulate the situation to push the divorce forward.
“…Hello?”
But she had no excuse to avoid the call right now.
She steadied her voice, thick with tears, and answered.
The news he delivered was so shocking that it made her drop the handkerchief she was holding in her other hand.
- “Joo-hye, your father has fully regained consciousness. Can you come to the hospital?”
It was news that Chairman Jin Soo-chul had safely regained his awareness.
It was public knowledge that Chairman Jin was in recovery.
However, it had taken some time for him to regain full consciousness and mobility.
Now, the news was that he had fully recovered his mobility as well.
Joo-hye immediately left the villa and headed to the hospital with Director Jung.
However, she was informed that visiting hours had not yet started, so she went to the waiting room.
She was also told that Chairman Jin would need more time for final tests.
[“Joo-hye, I’ll be there soon. See you at the hospital.”]
She checked the message from Joo-young and sank into the deep, soft chair.
As she leaned back, long-forgotten fatigue slowly crept over her.
Struggling against the drowsiness and just getting up, someone suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Joo-hye!”
Startled, she turned to see Su-ha standing there, his face flushed.
“Brother Su-ha?”
“Why aren’t you answering your phone!”
Behind the yelling Su-ha, Su-kyung quickly approached.
Joo-hye instinctively pushed Su-ha’s hand away, and he recoiled, shocked.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Joo-hye, you…”
“I haven’t forgiven you yet.”
“Forgive? What kind of habit is that, speaking to your brother like that?”
Su-kyung, overhearing the conversation, scolded her sharply.
Just as she was about to argue, quick footsteps came from behind.
Turning, she saw Joo-hye and Kang-il standing there, breathing hard.
“Joo-hye, you… were here.”
Joo-young wiped the sweat off her forehead as she hurried up the stairs.
Kang-il wanted to greet her but sensed the tense atmosphere and stopped.
Joo-hye opened her mouth awkwardly.
“Joo-young unni… you came.”
“Why is everyone acting like this? And why is the mood so tense?”
Even with Joo-young’s late-arriving question, Su-kyung and Su-ha did not answer.
Seeing them mute, Joo-hye spoke sharply.
“Why haven’t you two apologized to me?”
“What do we have to apologize for?”
Su-kyung sharply responded in place of the frozen Su-ha.
“You chose the divorce. We only prevented problems caused by your marriage. That didn’t affect your divorce, did it?”
“Brother is right. But now I know everything. The situation has changed.”
“The divorce has already started; it can’t be stopped. You have to break up with that man.”
Su-kyung was confident she couldn’t stop them.
In the past, she might have had no way to stop Su-kyung and Su-ha.
But not now. Joo-hye stared at Su-kyung and threw the hidden bomb she had been keeping.
“Then, the child?”
Su-kyung frowned, caught off guard by the unexpected question.
Joo-hye pressed her hand to her stomach and spoke quietly but sharply.
“What are you planning to do about my child?”
She hadn’t intended to reveal it this way, but if she didn’t, they would keep interfering all day.
After this rationalization, Joo-hye met Su-ha’s eyes.
While Su-ha, in shock, tried to regain composure, Su-kyung came closer.
The distance wasn’t too far; he must have heard everything.
“What do you mean, child?”
“You’re saying you’re pregnant?”
The two stared at her in disbelief.
It had been news they’d never heard despite waiting, so it was natural they were surprised.
Watching from a distance, Joo-young stumbled and grabbed Kang-il’s arm.
As Kang-il supported her, Joo-young’s trembling questions now turned to Joo-hye.
“Joo-hye… are you… pregnant?”
Her composed question showed her concern.
Even now, Joo-young only cared about Joo-hye’s well-being, not the tension around them.
“Unni.”
“How far along? How many weeks… no, have you been to the hospital?”
Joo-young asked relentlessly, replacing the stunned men.
Kang-il held the bag Joo-hye had just tossed aside, staring at her blankly.
Apparently, he was astonished to learn that his friend’s girlfriend—whom he begged not to divorce—was actually pregnant.
“Not long. But it’s certain. I had a test at the hospital.”
“Did you tell your husband?”
Joo-hye bit her lower lip.
She couldn’t reach Dae-hyun, so there was no way to inform him.
“He isn’t picking up his phone, and I don’t know where he went…”
At her gloomy answer, Joo-young instinctively looked at Su-ha and Su-kyung, then approached them, loudly calling their names.
“Hey, Jin Su-ha! Jin Su-kyung! Is this your doing?”
“What do you mean, ‘your doing’… speak properly.”
Su-kyung stepped back at her threatening approach, while Su-ha crossed his arms, glaring.
“Really? I can’t even speak informally to you?”
Su-ha clicked his tongue, and Joo-young scoffed.
Being the same age, she often interacted with him casually, making her the only one in Jinju Group who wasn’t afraid of Su-ha.
Her bold personality also tended to intimidate Su-kyung.
“Stay out of our family matters.”
“Our family? Did you just say ‘our family’?”
It was a somewhat childish argument, but enough to calm Joo-hye’s racing heart.
While she watched calmly, Kang-il approached Joo-young anxiously.
Su-ha kept silently glaring, signaling him to take care of his wife.
“Why is someone who usually respects boundaries so anxious when I divorce?”
But Joo-young didn’t give him a chance to escape, continuing sharply.
The topic of divorce had clearly made Kang-il uneasy.
“That’s because…!”
“Oh, right. Were you worried that your deals with your ex-husband might fall through because of me?”
It was all true; there was no room for denial.
Su-ha flushed, muttered, and cleared his throat awkwardly.
Watching the scene, Joo-young sighed and turned to Joo-hye.
“Try contacting him again. You should also inform him that Chairman Jin has regained consciousness.”
As Joo-hye nodded, her gaze drifted to the window.
It overlooked the parking lot, sunlight scattering brilliantly.
Squinting against the glare, she noticed something that stood out.
A car in the hospital parking lot looked all too familiar.
“Ah…!”
It was her husband, Seo Dae-hyun’s car.
