Chapter 68. We Really Don’t Suit Each Other
Like everyone else, I forgot who I really was as I grew up over the past ten years.
Ever since I gave up my dream of becoming a movie director and decided to inherit the company, not once had life felt genuinely joyful.
Because from then on, life wasn’t something I did well because I loved it—it was something I had to do well.
Sometimes, I had to become someone without emotions. Other times, I had to be cold and cruel. That was the weight of the crown I chose to wear.
But being next to Cha Haeyoung… it made me put all of that down.
In this moment, I was reminded again why I had never been able to forget her, even after ten years.
“I missed you.”
Because only Cha Haeyoung makes me feel at ease. Only she makes me feel pure again.
She’s the only one.
The Weight of His Words
I can’t live without you.
When she heard those words, Haeyoung no longer needed to “solve the homework” Taeseong had left her.
His words didn’t need interpretation—they were direct.
And from that day on, Taeseong’s feelings became even more obvious.
It wasn’t enough that he came to the café every single day; he now brought a gift every time he came.
There was no predicting what he would bring—except that everything was expensive.
Do-hyun, who worked with Haeyoung, openly looked forward to Taeseong’s daily visits.
“Aren’t you curious what he’s going to bring today?”
“Not at all. Just get those cookies out of the oven; it’s beeping.”
Haeyoung refused the gifts at first. But with his childish comebacks and nitpicking, she ended up accepting them anyway.
She didn’t open them, though. She carefully stacked the boxes in her locker, intending to return them all at once later.
It seemed easier than rejecting gifts day after day.
But secretly, she began to look forward to his visits.
More accurately, it wasn’t the gifts themselves she waited for, but the reason Taeseong always attached to them.
“It was snowing today, so I bought snowflake-shaped earrings. I thought they’d suit you.”
“These are the J Hotel cookies all the female employees at my company love right now. And no, I didn’t have someone buy them—I stood in line myself.”
Every gift had a reason. And every reason pointed toward her.
Truthfully, she didn’t hate it.
She couldn’t accept his entire heart—it felt too heavy—but accepting these fragments of it in the form of gifts felt… okay.
Her resolve was slowly weakening.
“But noona… do you really not want to try again with him?”
“Since when was Joo Taeseong your ‘hyung’?”
“Noona, don’t dodge the question!”
Do-hyun pouted and gave her a sharp look.
Haeyoung stared at the air for a moment, then refocused and spoke clearly.
“…No. I don’t plan to.”
“Why? As a guy, I can tell—he’s 100%, no, 1000% serious about you. Honestly, don’t you still have feelings for him too? It’s obvious.”
“Feelings don’t matter.”
Her voice was calm but firm.
When you’re a teenager, you think love alone can conquer anything. But in your thirties? It’s not that simple.
Back then, at least they’d had the common ground of being students. But now?
She was a struggling, almost-thirty aspiring drama writer. He was a third-generation chaebol.
Could there be a more mismatched pair?
“You know, Do-hyun, not every relationship works just because there’s love. Practical things matter too. The older you get, the more that’s true…”
And she was the one who had asked for a divorce back then.
How could she now admit she still had feelings for him? What would she even say to his grandfather?
“He and I just don’t suit each other. We didn’t back then, and now… it’s even worse.”
“Noona! Straighten your shoulders!”
Do-hyun frowned and smacked her lightly on the shoulder.
“Why do you keep putting yourself down?”
He began ranting with rising energy.
“So what if he’s a chaebol? When people die, we all burn up into the same pile of bones. Why keep saying you’re from different worlds? What, chaebols don’t poop or something?”
“…People are staring, Do-hyun.”
“You’re going to be a superstar writer one day! Don’t lose confidence!”
“When did I ever say I lost confidence?”
“Right now. At this moment!”
Haeyoung pressed her palm to her forehead at his dramatics.
“Please, Do-hyun…”
“And who says love doesn’t matter? So what, people who have all the ‘right conditions’ but no love—do you think they’re happy?”
She had no answer.
“Noona, you write dramas! Where’s your sense of romance?”
Do-hyun’s words left her speechless because… she couldn’t find any part of them to argue with.
The Gift That Broke the Balance
That afternoon, Taeseong showed up again with another shopping bag.
But this time, the bag was larger than usual. Both Haeyoung and Do-hyun’s eyes widened.
He walked up to the counter and held out the bag.
“Take it.”
“…What is it?”
“A coat. I thought it’d look good on you.”
Her eyes widened further.
The bag bore the unmistakable logo of a luxury brand. She had heard these coats cost tens of millions of won.
Haeyoung’s hands trembled slightly as she took the bag.
This was no longer something she could justify returning later.
The box wouldn’t even fit in her locker, for one thing.
This was their gap.
She was the kind of person who would think about kneeling if she spilled coffee on an 8-million-won outfit.
Joo Taeseong could buy a coat worth tens of millions without a second thought.
See? We really don’t suit each other.
She came to the same conclusion all over again.
“Joo Taeseong.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s a stall nearby that sells hotteok (sweet pancakes). I want one.”
“…You… want hotteok?”
He blinked, then his face lit up as though he were thrilled she was asking him for anything.
“Yeah, I want one.”
“Wait right here, I’ll go get it right now.”
Taeseong immediately placed the black shopping bag on a nearby table, smiled brightly, and walked out.
Haeyoung went to the locker room and carried out every single gift he had ever given her.
Shoes, a watch, earrings—everything.
She neatly arranged all the shopping bags next to the one holding the coat.
If Do-hyun had been there, he would’ve scolded her again. But thankfully, he was out on a delivery.
It was finally time to return everything.
Including his heart.
Her decision was firm.
And yet, for some reason, her nose stung as if tears were about to fall.
“Damn it, what’s wrong with me…”
As she bit down hard on her lip, the café’s door opened with the sound of the little wind chime.
“Welcome to—”
“Excuse me, is our Executive Director here?”
A man in round-rimmed glasses rushed toward her.
She immediately recognized him as Park, Taeseong’s secretary—the same one who had nagged him to take his medication.
“You’re… Secretary Park?”
“Ah, yes, yes!”
He pushed up his foggy glasses and nodded, then spoke hurriedly.
“He said he’d stop by here and then head straight over, but he’s not back yet and he’s not answering his phone! He has a dinner meeting with the Finance Minister, and he needs to leave now!”
Secretary Park’s desperation was palpable as he pleaded with her.
“…He has a meeting?”
“Yes! I don’t know why he won’t pick up the phone!”
Haeyoung’s face hardened.
Why did he… Why did I tell him to go buy hotteok?
She pressed her hand to her forehead, frustrated, just as the café door opened again.
“Cha Haeyoung! I bought ten hotteok—oh. Secretary Park?”
Taeseong froze in the center of the café, holding a black plastic bag high.
“Why are you here?”
“Because you’re late and didn’t go back to the office! You need to leave now! You know the Finance Minister hates it when people are late!”
“I’ll just let that old man win at golf next time.”
“No!”
Secretary Park glared at him furiously.
“Executive Director!”
“Hold on. The Finance Minister isn’t what’s important right now. These hotteok will get cold—”
He brushed past Park and came straight to Haeyoung, holding out the warm bag.
“Here, eat. Hotteok.”
“Joo Taeseong.”
“They’re not good when they’re cold.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Haeyoung burst out, her voice trembling with anger.
Because… what was she, that he’d delay a dinner with the Finance Minister over her?
She took a deep breath and forced her voice to stay calm.
“Joo Taeseong. Don’t come here anymore. I’m serious this time.”
“No.”
“Then take all these gifts back.”
“Cha Haeyoung.”
Only then did he call her name, his eyes suddenly dark.
