Chapter 65. Not a Nineteen-Year-Old Kid Anymore
“How did you find this place…?”
Haeyoung blinked blankly in shock.
Yesterday, she had intentionally asked to be dropped off near Gangnam Station so he wouldn’t know where she lived or worked. She wanted her encounter with Joo Taeseong to end as a coincidence.
So how…?
Did he investigate her in that short time?
Suspicion filled her eyes.
“How did you know I was here…?”
“You dropped this in my car.”
Before she could finish, Taeseong smiled and pulled something out of his pocket.
“Ah…!”
Haeyoung let out a small groan and bit her lip.
It was the grip holder that had been on the back of her phone—a custom café product they had made the previous summer.
The café’s name was written right on it.
“It popped right up when I searched it. This café.”
He added with a smug grin.
“And it’s close to my office.”
He stepped forward, his dress shoes clicking against the smooth floor.
Just walking toward her made her throat tighten.
At thirty, Joo Taeseong had a presence that could overwhelm people with just his aura.
“So you went abroad…”
“……”
“Didn’t expect you’d be hiding right under my nose.”
He leaned in close and whispered softly in her ear:
“No wonder I couldn’t find you. You were hidden so well.”
His gentle voice made goosebumps rise across her skin.
Her hands, still holding the mop, began to sweat.
She had once thought…
If she ever ran into Joo Taeseong again as an adult…
She wouldn’t be nervous.
She wouldn’t still like him.
She’d believed that because, in her memory, Taeseong had remained a nineteen-year-old boy.
But she’d forgotten…
Time is fair.
As much as her time had passed, so had his.
“Still, I found you.”
And now, Joo Taeseong was no longer that teenage boy.
He was a man—a man capable of making any woman nervous.
Behind the counter, Dohyun, who was standing beside her, whispered:
“Who is that guy?”
“……”
When Haeyoung didn’t answer, Dohyun kept chattering.
“Noona, that guy is insanely good-looking. And rich too… I can tell.”
His eyes scanned Taeseong head to toe with admiration.
His styled hair, expensive custom suit, and the luxury watch shining on his wrist.
With a perfect body and face, everything on him screamed wealth and elegance. Even another man like Dohyun was impressed.
He wasn’t even jealous—just in awe.
“Seriously, how do you know someone like that?”
“Who knows…” Haeyoung mumbled, staring into space.
Why isn’t he leaving? He should’ve taken the coffee to go.
She glared at Taeseong like she could will him to disappear.
“Noona, come on, tell meee—who is he?!”
Still clueless, Dohyun pestered her again.
“He’s… someone I used to know.”
“My ex-husband,” Taeseong said at the same time.
Dohyun turned stiffly, shocked.
“W-wait. You were married?”
By then, Taeseong had walked over to the counter.
“Technically, we were. Not anymore.”
He said it to Dohyun, but his gaze never left Haeyoung.
“So you two… shared a family register?”
Annoyed by the weird way Dohyun asked, Haeyoung snapped:
“Yeah, we did. We had a wedding, signed the papers, shared the register—so what?!”
“Whoa, Noona… I didn’t think you had that many secrets. I thought we were close—how could you hide something like that?”
Still looking at Taeseong, Haeyoung answered firmly:
“Because it’s all in the past.”
She said it for Dohyun, but it felt like she was saying it to Taeseong.
“What’s the point of bringing up the past? There’s no reason to talk about it.”
At her cold words, Taeseong’s eyes dimmed, though his reply was calm.
“To me, you were never the past. You’ve always been part of my present.”
His words stirred something unnameable inside her—part frustration, part sadness, maybe even guilt.
A heavy silence fell between them, filled with ten years of things unsaid.
Dohyun, sensing the tension, quickly jumped in.
“Hey, well… you know, these days lots of people stay friends after divorce. Do you work nearby?”
He smiled awkwardly toward Taeseong, trying to break the ice.
“…Yes.”
When Dohyun called them “friends,” Taeseong’s brows twitched, but he recovered quickly.
He pulled a business card from his jacket and handed it to Dohyun.
“Hello, I’m Joo Taeseong.”
Just introducing himself sent out an oddly powerful vibe.
“Ch-cha… Cha Hyun Group? Executive Director?!”
Dohyun read the bold text, stunned.
Then his eyes locked onto the last name and he gasped again.
“Wait—Cha Hyun… you’re Chairman Joo Hakseok’s grandson?! The one from the news?!”
Taeseong nodded slightly, and Dohyun lit up.
A while ago, there had been a big news story:
Joo Hakseok’s grandson had joined the Cha Hyun Group and turned around its troubled Bio division. He signed a 500 billion won ($400M+) contract with an American pharmaceutical company, earning praise as a rising star.
Recently, it was also reported that he had been transferred to the company’s Strategic Planning Division at HQ.
Haeyoung had read that article too.
Just like Taeseong had said—she saw his name, clicked the article, and read it from start to finish.
“Wait… Noona, you were married into a chaebol family?!”
The question in Dohyun’s voice wasn’t jealousy—it was confusion. He was wondering why someone who came from a rich family was now living like this.
He didn’t mean anything bad by it. Dohyun was one of the few people who had always supported Haeyoung’s dreams—and even lent her money when she was struggling.
But right now… she couldn’t help but resent him a little.
She didn’t want Taeseong to see her looking so small and pitiful.
She’d rather be remembered as the girl he loved at nineteen.
Haeyoung stayed silent, and Taeseong stepped in.
“I’ll get going now.”
“Ah, okay.”
“The coffee was good.”
Dohyun was briefly dazed by Taeseong’s handsome smile.
Then Taeseong turned to Haeyoung.
“See you.”
He didn’t press her for a goodbye. He didn’t get upset or push her.
He simply turned and walked out of the café.
His calm footsteps faded, and the wind chime rang gently as the door closed.
That’s when Haeyoung snapped out of it.
She rushed out the door and strode straight toward him, just as he was about to get into his car.
“Joo Taeseong.”
His hand froze before pressing the unlock button. He turned toward her.
“What?”
“Don’t come here again.”
“And why not?”
“Because… like you said—”
She paused, then continued:
“You’re my ex-husband. It’s awkward for both of us to keep bumping into each other.”
“I’m not awkward.”
“…What?”
“I’m really happy to see you.”
He looked directly at her.
“You said yourself—you just think of me as an old friend now. So what’s the problem?”
“……”
“Let’s get along again… as friends.”
His cheeky tone left her speechless.
It felt like she was caught in her own trap—she had no comeback.
Or maybe… she didn’t want to argue.
Maybe it wasn’t that she hated seeing him.
Maybe it was that she wanted to keep seeing him.
At some point in adulthood, her lips had become more used to telling lies than telling the truth.
