CHAPTER 67………………………………………………
First Experiences on My First Trip
Haroo returned to Korea, leaving unforgettable memories behind in Italy.
She parted ways with the man whose name and contact she didn’t know—just like a fleeting dream of one night.
Yet he remained vivid in her mind. After all, he had been Haroo’s first, at the age of twenty.
But why, then, was his photo in Lee Han’s passport?
Haroo carefully examined the face in the photo once more.
Eyes, nose, lips. As she studied each feature, she realized something astonishing—it was exactly Lee Han’s face.
“Why didn’t I realize it until now?”
She couldn’t believe that the man she had longed to see even once, the one she had kept in a corner of her heart, was this close and she hadn’t recognized him.
Even now, seeing it with her own eyes, it felt unreal.
Her hands trembled as she held the passport.
“Ricordati di me.”
At the sudden voice, Haroo turned her head.
Those words instantly brought all memories flooding back.
The man who had saved her in a foreign place, the one night she had spent with him… and then.
“Remember me.”
The words he had whispered in Italian.
“I recognized you a long time ago.”
Hearing the soft words whispered into her ear, Haroo’s eyes widened even more.
“How did you know? Since when…?”
As her shaking gaze met Lee Han’s, he slowly approached her.
“From the moment I realized you were Dan Haroo.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“I wanted you to remember me first.”
Ricordati di me. He had never forgotten those words.
Tears welled in her eyes at the thought that she hadn’t recognized him sooner.
“What I said about love at first sight wasn’t just words.”
Lee Han repeated what he had said at the couple gathering.
“I really did fall in love at first sight—with you, Dan Haroo.”
Even though they had parted without exchanging names, Haroo had never forgotten him either.
“I wanted to see you.”
Her trembling voice slipped out like a confession.
“I wanted to see you too… my twenty-year-old Dan Haroo.”
Smiling, Lee Han pulled her tightly into his arms.
In that moment, it felt as though they had returned seven years into the past.
They embraced each other, savoring the reunion.
Without words, they both felt the same emotions.
After some time, Haroo slowly pulled back, alternating her gaze between the photo in the passport and Lee Han, astonished once again.
“How can this face… look so different? No wonder I didn’t recognize you.”
“I just cut my hair and shaved… how could you not recognize me?”
Lee Han brushed his chin with his fingers, and Haroo waved her hands indignantly.
“No, look! It’s so different. This photo is completely Italian; now it’s totally Korean.”
“That’s because I’m both Korean and Italian.”
“Huh?”
Haroo opened her mouth wide, baffled.
Seeing her expression change every second, Lee Han chuckled softly.
“I know you must have a lot of questions, but slowly… I’ll tell you everything, one by one today.”
He took the passport from her distracted hands and placed it back in the drawer.
“Trying to sneak away while I wasn’t around… that was a bit much.”
“Sneak away?”
“You were packing.”
“Ah…”
Haroo finally remembered she had been packing her things.
She had completely forgotten that she intended to leave the house after yesterday’s shocking events.
“I wasn’t sneaking away. I was going to leave tomorrow after telling you today.”
“Why leave the house?”
“I didn’t want anyone else to find out I was here, and I felt like I was making you uncomfortable. Besides, I was only supposed to stay for a month, right?”
Lee Han had noticed that Haroo had been particularly cautious ever since Byeolna barged into the house yesterday.
But to think she would try to leave just like that…
It seemed the anxiety that had consumed her yesterday and today was the reason.
“Let me repeat: I was never uncomfortable with you being here, Dan Haroo.”
“But the situation changed yesterday.”
“So, have you found a new place?”
“I just need somewhere temporary until I find a new place.”
“Then this is that place.”
Haroo hesitated, unable to respond, and Lee Han stepped first.
“Even if you leave later, you can’t leave like this. Unpack again.”
He entered Haroo’s room and bent down to retrieve the half-packed items from her suitcase.
“I’ll do it.”
Haroo rushed over to stop him.
Lee Han looked at her, holding her arm, and spoke softly.
“Promise me you won’t leave like this again.”
“I didn’t want to inconvenience you.”
“If you care about me, you shouldn’t do this. This isn’t what I want.”
This time, she couldn’t argue.
Haroo finally nodded.
“Okay.”
Only then did Lee Han seem relieved as he lifted the clothes and straightened up.
“Should I put these in the wardrobe?”
“I said I’ll do it. Give them here.”
When his eyes casually met her hand reaching for the clothes, Lee Han frowned.
“When did you get hurt here?”
“I got distracted while cooking yesterday…”
Lee Han sighed softly and guided her back to the dresser.
“I wondered why you found the passport—it was while looking for the first aid kit?”
“Yes.”
As Haroo nodded, Lee Han opened the first aid kit.
He removed the worn bandage, inspected the wound, and frowned.
“That’s a deep cut. Doesn’t it hurt?”
“It’s okay.”
“Okay?!”
Sighing as if he felt the pain himself, Lee Han carefully applied ointment and a new bandage.
“What do you think you’re doing moving luggage with this hand? Just supervise, Haroo.”
He had her sit on the bed while he returned the unpacked items to the suitcase.
Haroo tried several times to help, but Lee Han stopped her every time.
Eventually, she had no choice but to sit quietly, feeling guilty for causing extra work.
Once the luggage was organized and dinner finished, night had fallen.
Lee Han decided he needed to make sure she wouldn’t run away and pulled Haroo into his bedroom.
Though she knew it was just an excuse, Haroo lay next to him.
“Shall I finally tell you all the things you’ve been curious about?”
Haroo nodded, resting her head on his arm.
“I was born to a Korean father and Italian mother.”
Haroo, though trying to hide it, was quite surprised.
Now she understood his earlier answer when she had asked about the passport.
No wonder he spoke Italian so fluently.
“I lived in Italy with my mother until I was ten, then came to Korea.”
Lee Han began sharing his past.
He was raised by his mother until he was nine, then moved to Korea at the will of his father, vice chairman of GN Group.
He stayed in Korea until high school and returned to Italy at twenty.
Though he intended to live there, he had to return to Korea due to succession issues.
“So I’ve lived half as a Korean, half as an Italian.”
Haroo finally understood what he had told Hwaran.
“I also met Seungjae in Italy.”
“Seungjae was older than you?”
“By one year. He treated me like a friend, so I felt comfortable, and he accepted it too.”
Seungjae had been sent to Italy for school under his father, a construction executive, and ended up at a share house owned by Lee Han.
“Really? So you met your landlord like I did?”
“Something like that.”
Haroo’s eyes lit up at the story.
“He explained all the rules of the house. Most people looking to rent would give up at that point.”
“Makes sense.”
Living with Lee Han, she realized he was surprisingly neat and meticulous.
“But Seungjae promised to follow all the rules and was friendly about it.”
“That’s very like him.”
At first, they spoke only in English, without asking nationalities.
Then one day, Seungjae accidentally spoke Korean, and Lee Han naturally replied.
“We both understood what it means to live a life set from birth.”
Despite differences, the two opened up to each other and became inseparable friends.
“Tell me more.”
Haroo, intrigued, begged him to continue.
With a gentle smile, Lee Han continued sharing his story with her.
