Chapter 3
Hyun-ah frowned at Yoon-gyeom’s words.
It had been weeks after her father collapsed that she received a call from Jung Chan-soo—her father’s longtime rival and friend.
—It’s been over a month since your father lost consciousness. You had your graduation, so I told your mother not to contact you.
They had kept everything quiet in Korea until she finished her studies.
Knowing her father would have wanted it that way only made her heart ache more.
“It may not help my father’s condition… but you have no right to say something like that, Mr. Jung Yoon-gyeom.”
There was nothing she could do in this situation.
But to say she was merely her father’s weakness?
How cruel.
She tightened her grip on the handkerchief in her hand.
“Ms. Baek Hyun-ah.”
When Yoon-gyeom leaned closer, his breath seemed to brush her ear. The heart that had been racing now tingled painfully.
“Don’t trust anyone here.”
His warning sounded low and steady.
The kindness in it felt strangely chilling, draining the color from her face.
At the hospital’s VIP ward, Hyun-ah stepped inside the room filled only with the mechanical sounds of machines connected by tubes.
“Dad…”
She approached carefully and took Woo-sik’s hand.
Why had he grown so thin, nothing but skin and bone?
The time she had spent abroad, turning away from him, struck her painfully.
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
Her chest felt suffocated. The rasping sound of his breathing seemed to claw at her heart.
All through the flight, she had imagined it—his heavy eyelids lifting, his affectionate gaze resting on her as he said, You’re back.
But unlike her wish, his tightly shut eyes and lips made even breathing seem exhausting.
“You’re here? Was the flight tiring?”
Ji-eun approached and patted Hyun-ah’s shoulder.
“I heard you’ve been taking care of him. Thank you.”
“I may not be legally married to him, but we’ve lived together all this time…”
Ji-eun did not explain that she had agreed to nurse him herself while receiving living expenses from Chan-soo.
“If he never wakes up like this, it might actually be better for you.”
“How can you say that?”
“You know I used to work in this field. This thin thread of life… unless a miracle happens, it’s unlikely. He could become critical at any moment. While he’s still alive, just carry out your father’s wishes and get married safely.”
“…Mother. Tell me—did something happen before he collapsed?”
Ji-eun’s sharp tone made Hyun-ah feel that something was wrong.
“It seems your father caused some kind of incident at the company.”
“What?”
Ji-eun let out a long sigh.
“I don’t know the details, but his accounts have been frozen.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means we don’t have a single cent we can use right now.”
“That can’t be…”
Her father, as CEO of Hwamyeong Financial, had been a salaried executive—but with a generous salary. Hyun-ah, Ji-eun, and Soo-ah had all lived comfortably.
If his accounts were blocked, their livelihood was immediately uncertain.
An issue serious enough to freeze his accounts…
<Don’t trust anyone here.>
Yoon-gyeom’s cold warning resurfaced.
“If I weren’t desperate, would I be like this? If it weren’t for CEO Jung Chan-soo, what would we have done about Soo-ah’s tuition? Even the hospital bills are being covered by Hwamyeong. And you know they’re only doing this because you’re going to marry Jung Yi-chan. So when you see the Chairman, don’t upset him.”
Ji-eun’s eyes, filled with expectation about Hyun-ah’s marriage, felt heavy.
“At least we still have a place to live. Maybe that’s something.”
For some reason, even though Woo-sik lived with Ji-eun, he never married her. The only woman he had married was Yoo Joo-yeon—Hyun-ah’s biological mother.
Known for his integrity, Woo-sik had not set aside private wealth.
Unless they consulted a lawyer, they wouldn’t know—but perhaps the house they lived in was all that remained.
“Dad… you’ll get better.”
Hyun-ah bit her lip and tightened her grip on his hand.
“Hyun-ah, did your father tell you anything? There was a record that he called you.”
“…No. He called, but I didn’t answer.”
Before losing consciousness, Baek Woo-sik had called her.
The message he left in a slightly unstable, excited tone was only one sentence:
—Joo-yeon. Happy birthday.
When she heard it, Hyun-ah had assumed he was drunk and hadn’t called back.
If only she had heard his voice then…
Perhaps he had been heavily intoxicated—calling his daughter to wish his deceased wife a happy birthday. It wasn’t even her mother’s birthday. Nor was it hers. Just an ordinary day.
She couldn’t tell Ji-eun this.
How could she tell her that the man she loved still hadn’t forgotten his dead wife?
“I’ll go see the Chairman.”
“If you have gatherings like that, bring Soo-ah along. It’d be good for her to make an impression. With your father like this, I worry about her future. Mention her to the Chairman.”
Ji-eun wanted Soo-ah, who had just entered university, to somehow be taken under Hwamyeong Group’s wing.
Hyun-ah felt hurt that Ji-eun kept speaking as if her father were already gone.
Still… weren’t miracles possible in this world?
Like the miracle where an orphaned girl met her wealthy father and lived without worry for a few years.
“The Chairman valued my father greatly. I’m sure he’ll say something.”
Hyun-ah forced a faint smile.
“He valued your father—and you. Soo-ah and I have no legal ties. Don’t be the only one benefiting. Think about us too. With your father like this, what are we supposed to do about Soo-ah’s study abroad plans next year…”
Chairman Jung Young-woong believed strongly in fostering talent. He sponsored promising young people and raised them into key figures within the company.
Woo-sik, especially, had been intelligent and business-savvy—so much so that the Chairman favored him more than his own son, Jung Chan-soo.
He had even expressed the desire to adopt Woo-sik, but Woo-sik refused.
—Woo-sik, that’s what I like about you. One way or another, I’ll make us family. Ha ha ha.
The Chairman had first pushed for Hyun-ah’s marriage for his own satisfaction.
Even now, with her father’s recovery uncertain, he still intended to make her his granddaughter-in-law.
It was strange.
“The person the Chairman sent is waiting.”
“Oh… right. If it’s someone the Chairman sent, I shouldn’t keep you. Let’s have a meal together tomorrow.”
“Yes, Mother. I’ll contact you.”
Hyun-ah greeted Ji-eun and took her father’s hand once more.
The face reduced to bone and angles no longer resembled the father she knew.
It made her unbearably sad.
The man who once shielded them from harsh sunlight, who provided cool shade and protection, was nowhere to be found.
Only now did she truly realize how strong a pillar he had been for her these past eight years.
Dad… you’ll be okay, right? You’ll pat my head again and say, “Hyun-ah, you’re doing well,” won’t you?
Afraid tears would spill at the sight of his unmoving fingers, she quickly let go.
“I’ll come again.”
Until her father returned, protecting the household would be her responsibility.
She wrapped her arms around her heavy shoulders and walked down the long corridor.
As she stepped outside the hospital entrance, Yoon-gyeom’s car glided up from the parking lot and stopped in front of her.
“I’m sorry about your father.”
“Don’t speak as if it’s the end.”
Why did everyone talk as if he had no chance?
“I hope he recovers.”
He corrected himself, but her mood remained low. The frail sensation of her father’s thin fingers lingered in her palm.
Silence settled inside the car.
She felt guilty for snapping at him.
“I’m so—”
Bzzzz.
Just as she was wondering what to say, his phone rang.
“Yes. Jung Yoon-gyeom speaking.”
He reported to someone that Hyun-ah had arrived and that they were heading to the Chairman’s residence.
His low voice filled the gently swaying car. The cool air from the air conditioner. The reassuring scent of him.
For a moment, Hyun-ah forgot reality and simply looked at him.
As he slightly lifted his head mid-call, their eyes met.
Embarrassed at being caught staring, she quickly lowered her gaze.
The corners of his long eyes curved faintly.
Her pulse quickened uncontrollably. She fiddled with the handkerchief in her pocket, trying to distract herself so he wouldn’t notice the heat rising to her face.
All she could recognize was one truth—
She still carried the man she met eight years ago in her heart.
