I Love You Too.
“Do we really have to go through with this marriage?”
Yulri doubted her ears for a moment. The question he asked was extremely personal and private.
“That’s an unpleasant question.”
There was no need to hide her irritation. Helping her at the mall was one thing, but this question clearly crossed the line.
“If it offended you, I apologize.”
He apologized with his words, but his expression showed that he found her sharp reaction amusing. Fixing his gaze on her, Jeho whispered softly.
“We’ll see each other tomorrow. You know I only have you, right?”
Yulri frowned, caught off guard by the unexpected words.
Was he listening to my phone call?
The low whisper continued.
“…I love you too.”
Of course, it wasn’t a confession meant for her. He was only repeating what he had said to Hyun-kyung. Yet perhaps because the tone felt slightly different, her heart trembled for no reason. Had the word love always felt this heavy?
As Yulri took a short breath, a faint smile appeared on Jeho’s face. Both tried to keep their expressions under control, but the subtle tension between them couldn’t be hidden.
“From the way you mentioned some event, I doubt the person on the phone was Minwoo… wasn’t it?”
Jeho looked at her quietly, as if expecting an explanation.
“So what?”
Instead of explaining, Yulri shot back coldly. His attitude of crossing boundaries irritated her deeply. Just because he had an uncomfortable dinner with Minwoo didn’t mean he had to show his thorns to her.
“You seem to have the bad habit of eavesdropping on other people’s calls.”
She could have corrected him and said it was her boyfriend on the phone, but she didn’t. She felt no need to. At her cold response, Jeho curled his lips into a faint smirk.
“Well, rather than a bad habit, I just have good hearing. Anyway, whether you marry another man while having a lover or not, it’s none of my business. You’re not my fiancée anymore.”
So he wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t know until the end…
When he finally acknowledged it, her sunken mood lifted slightly. Still, Yulri kept her tone cold.
“Earlier you acted like we were strangers, and now you finally acknowledge me?”
“Sorry for realizing it late.”
Jeho nodded lightly, a lazy smile playing on his lips. Back then and even now, whenever she saw him smile, one side of her chest would feel strangely ticklish.
He was the first man who had ever shaken her heart—her first love that didn’t feel like a first love. It ended before it could even begin.
Back then, they spoke casually from the first moment they met. Now, the fact that he used formal speech showed how much farther apart they had grown.
“Anyway, thank you for earlier.”
“No need. I didn’t do it to be thanked… You still live in Hannam-dong, right? I’m heading that way anyway. I’ll give you a ride.”
Without waiting for her answer, Jeho started walking toward the parking lot. But Yulri didn’t move. When she didn’t follow, he stopped and turned around. Seeing his questioning look, she asked calmly,
“Didn’t you drink?”
It was phrased like a question, but her tone was certain. She had clearly seen a glass in his hand, and it was almost empty by the end of dinner. He wasn’t planning to drive under the influence, was he?
“Drink?”
Jeho frowned briefly, then let out a small laugh.
“Were you pretending not to look while actually watching me?”
“Watching? I was just—”
“It was non-alcoholic. My shoulder was torn and had to be stitched. I’m not stupid enough to drink.”
His shoulder was torn badly enough to need stitches?
The image of his white shirt stained red with blood flashed in her mind, and her own shoulder throbbed as if she had been hurt. As she stood still, Jeho strode toward her.
“If you don’t believe me, want to check?”
Before she could respond, he leaned down toward her. His face came so close it almost touched hers, and a sweet yet cool scent brushed against her nose.
Yulri’s eyes widened in shock. She had nearly fallen into his arms when leaving the mall earlier, but this felt completely different. As she caught the faint scent of him that she hadn’t noticed before, her cheeks flushed hot.
Why am I acting like this?
He had only leaned down so she could check for the smell of alcohol. There was no need to overreact. It must be because she was tired. It couldn’t be because the man was Kwon Jeho.
“I believe you.”
Yulri quickly returned to a blank expression and spoke stiffly.
“But I’m more comfortable taking a taxi. I’ll be going now.”
She turned around and walked away.
“…Hmm.”
Watching her retreating figure, Jeho slipped his hands into his pockets and tilted his head slightly.
Her attitude was definitely different from when they met at the mall. It didn’t seem to be just because of their past. More likely, it was because she had clearly realized at dinner that he was Minwoo’s rival. She was on Minwoo’s side, after all.
Though they were cousins, an invisible wall had always stood between Jeho and Minwoo. As time passed, the wall grew thicker, and thorns began to sprout. Eventually, the thorns sharpened enough to pierce each other. One day, they would stab through someone’s heart and draw blood.
It was a fate he had tried to avoid but couldn’t.
They had come too far to turn back now.
“Heh.”
A dry smile appeared on Jeho’s lips as he watched Yulri walk away.
“Yulri, didn’t you say you were going to Arcadia Mall today?”
As Yulri entered the house, Mrs. Ahn approached her as if she had been waiting. She must have seen the news, though not enough to call like Hyun-kyung did. Still, Yulri wasn’t hurt. That was simply the extent of their relationship.
Polite to each other—but nothing more, nothing less. Just a so-so relationship between a daughter of the first wife and a stepmother.
Of course, it hadn’t always been like that. There was a time when they were very close—sharing worries, leaning on each other, not much different from any other mother and daughter. Until twisted lies revealed themselves.
“Yes. I was meeting the wedding planner there.”
As she took off her shoes, Yulri answered calmly.
“I saw on the news it was chaotic. Were you there at the time?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not hurt, are you?”
Mrs. Ahn’s voice trembled slightly, as if worried. Whether it was real concern or just something she had learned to imitate over time, Yulri didn’t know. Honestly, she didn’t care.
“I’m fine.”
“Oh, that’s such a relief.”
Mrs. Ahn let out a sigh and pressed a hand to her chest. Anyone watching would believe she was truly relieved. Her acting was that good.
With that acting, she deceived my mother… deceived me… deceived everyone.
Once merely an aide, she had become Assemblyman Chae’s lover—and eventually his wife.
When Yulri first learned about their secret relationship, she had cried bitter tears of betrayal. Now, her eyes were so dry they didn’t even sting. She blinked slowly.
“Assemblyman Chae was worried too. He called.”
He was currently attending an emergency plenary session at the National Assembly and hadn’t returned home for days. He probably didn’t see the news himself; an aide must have informed him.
Did Father truly feel shocked when he heard? Or did he only pretend?
With a bitter smile, Yulri neatly arranged her shoes.
“But what about Minwoo oppa? Isn’t the mall his responsibility?”
Yuri, who had been watching TV, asked casually as Yulri passed through the living room. When Yulri turned her head, Yuri—three years younger—smiled brightly at her. But Yulri couldn’t return the smile.
“He’ll handle it.”
“That’s good then. Think of it as bad luck before the wedding.”
“Yeah.”
It had been a long day. She didn’t have the energy to deal with Yuri. Dealing with her required patience.
Yuri had once been more precious to her than anyone in the world. But not anymore. The day she learned Yuri was her half-sister, the promise she made to her mother—to protect her as an older sister—turned into scraps of paper.
She knew it wasn’t Yuri’s fault. She hadn’t chosen to be born that way.
Yulri didn’t hate her. But she couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable about Yuri’s existence as an illegitimate child. Sometimes she resented her mother for leaving without saying anything.
Today of all days—the accident at the mall, the unexpected reunion with Jeho, the suffocating dinner—it felt heavier.
Still, she shouldn’t resent her. The one who suffered the most was her mother.
Reaching her room, Yulri rubbed her dry eyes and headed to the bathroom. There, hanging on the wall, was the unfamiliar jacket Jeho had put on her at the mall.
It had been stained with blood, so she had rinsed the stained area with cold water and hung it to dry. She had planned to send it for dry cleaning on her way to work, but if his shoulder was stitched, the jacket must have been torn too.
“…Huh?”
Frowning, she searched for the tear—but couldn’t find any.
“My shoulder was torn and had to be stitched. I’m not stupid enough to drink.”
He had definitely said that.
Then why was the jacket perfectly fine?
She stared at it thoughtfully but couldn’t find an answer.
Fine. I’ll ask when I return it.
Folding the jacket carefully, she placed it inside a shopping bag.
The next day, after dropping off the jacket at the cleaners, Yulri arrived at work earlier than usual to review the tasks she had postponed.
The company she worked at, Bauhaus, was a small design studio with fewer than ten employees—often called an “atelier.” She had worked there as an interior designer for several years.
At first, Assemblyman Chae hadn’t been pleased that it wasn’t a large corporate firm. But once Bauhaus became known for renovating old houses for underprivileged communities, he proudly promoted it as his daughter’s workplace. Anything that boosted his approval ratings seemed fine to him.
Inside the office, she saw Sunyoung, who handled accounting and general affairs, glaring seriously at her computer screen.
“Sunyoung, you’re here early?”
Only then did Sunyoung look up. Her eyes were red and bloodshot.
“Yes. Actually, I came at dawn. The director contacted me last night saying something urgent…”
Glancing around, Sunyoung quickly pulled Yulri aside.
“You haven’t heard yet, have you?”
“Heard what?”
“The director finally found an investment partner.”
Bauhaus had struggled financially since its early days. Because they focused on repairing houses for underprivileged families, making profit wasn’t easy. They had managed with donations from KG Construction, but after rejecting a merger proposal two years ago, the support had stopped.
“The partner is coming to look around today. So I’ve been preparing materials…”
Just then, the office door opened, and Director Kim’s voice was heard.
“Oh, Yulri, you’re here early.”
“Yes, Director.”
Yulri turned casually—then froze.
Standing beside Director Kim was Jeho.
For a moment, she thought she was mistaken. But no.
The man standing there was Kwon Jeho.
Why are you here?
Her eyes trembled in confusion.
