Chapter 7
“Do you realize how heartbroken your father would be if he found out you broke the adults’ agreement in such a rude way?”
Hyun-a began to waver at Chan-su’s words.
“……”
Father…
If her father never regained consciousness, the fastest way for Hyun-a to take responsibility for the family would be marriage—one that could secure Chairman Jung Young-woong’s support.
“Yes.”
“Soon there will be good news in our family.”
Chairman Jung Young-woong lifted his glass high, clearly delighted.
“It’s late. How about staying the night in the guest house?”
Hyun-a was about to refuse, but if she went home at this hour she might wake Ji-eun or Soo-ah.
Besides, Ji-eun had been openly hoping that the chairman or CEO Jung Chan-su would sponsor Soo-ah. If they ran into each other, she would surely start pushing again.
Too many things had happened during the single day since she arrived in Korea. She simply wanted to rest.
“If it won’t be a burden, I’ll go back tomorrow morning. Thank you.”
She had stayed at the chairman’s guest house before when she visited with her father, so she accepted without much hesitation. Her father used to enjoy late-night drinks with the chairman, while Hyun-a would go to the room first and sleep.
When the slightly tipsy chairman finally ended the gathering, people began to leave one by one.
Hyun-a walked along the artificial stream on her way to the guest house. The lit decorations reflected off the water, scattering into colorful fragments.
“Ha…”
It had been a good idea to refuse the servant who offered to guide her.
Right now she wanted to be alone.
Her mind was still in chaos from the entire day.
Her father’s illness, the family finances that made her worry about basic living expenses, the pressure to marry from Chairman Jung Young-woong and Jung Chan-su… and Jung Yi-chan, who hadn’t changed at all.
“If I’m the only one who endures it, everyone else will be happy…”
The marriage had been a choice she made for her father—repayment for the eight years of love he had shown her.
If only she hadn’t met that man again.
Lee Yoon-gyeom… under the name Jung Yoon-gyeom.
The unfamiliar emotions inside her were confusing.
She fidgeted with the handkerchief in her pocket. It still felt like Yoon-gyeom’s scent lingered around her.
Hyun-a recalled the smooth feeling of his cheek under her hand.
<Should I get hurt again?>
Maybe that had been a clear temptation.
Maybe he was thinking about her too?
“I hate this. Seriously.”
Hyun-a slapped her cheek lightly and muttered.
“…Seems like you really do hate it.”
A voice she had never forgotten even once.
Hyun-a instantly knew who had approached her.
“You look like you’re being dragged to a slaughterhouse, not a wedding.”
“Ah!”
Startled by the sudden voice, her already tense body stiffened. She stepped on a stone beside the stream and lost her balance.
One foot slipped straight into the water.
Her foot, perched in a high-heeled mule, slid awkwardly as her body twisted. She flailed her arms, trying not to fall—but Yoon-gyeom didn’t move at all.
How stupid.
Embarrassed by her clumsy behavior, tears almost welled up.
She ended up sitting down with a splash in the shallow stream.
The mules she had bought for her return to Korea rolled inside the water, and her skirt clung wetly around her legs and hips.
Yoon-gyeom silently looked down at her.
If he had just helped her, she wouldn’t have fallen so miserably… His cold black eyes felt like they were mocking her again.
“…So embarrassing.”
Hyun-a muttered angrily.
“Need help?”
Now he asks.
“No thanks.”
Her pride spoke words she didn’t truly mean.
“Sleep well.”
Yoon-gyeom waved his hand and turned away toward the garden path.
His suddenly curt tone made Hyun-a’s heart stir.
Does he remember me?
Even in this humiliating moment, hope flickered inside her.
“Ugh…”
When she tried to stand to pick up her shoe, pain throbbed sharply in her ankle.
She sat back down, holding the mule in one hand.
The ankle pain itself wasn’t serious.
But the exhaustion of the entire day crushed her with a wave of sorrow.
“Jung Yoon-gyeom…”
His name slipped from her lips.
The most painful moment was when he turned his back on her.
Just like that summer eight years ago.
“Please help me.”
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
The sound of water flowing quietly through the night.
She knew calling out like this wouldn’t help.
What had she expected?
Just as she was about to give up, she heard splashing in the water and lifted her head.
“Hold on tight.”
Her body suddenly lifted into the air as his strong arm wrapped around her waist.
His shorter way of speaking reminded her of that summer.
He remembered.
The time he came to rescue the high-school girl who had been trapped in an abandoned building.
Hyun-a instinctively wrapped her arms around Yoon-gyeom’s neck.
His deep masculine scent made her heart begin to beat irregularly again.
One of her mules dangled from his long fingers as he carried her. With soft dripping sounds of water falling, he set her down on a nearby garden bench.
Yoon-gyeom wrapped her small foot with his handkerchief.
She shrank back slightly, watching him kneel on one knee in front of her and lift her foot.
If he was going to be this kind…
Then why had he left her behind?
The resentment swelled again, tightening her throat.
“It’s swollen.”
His fingers rubbed gently beneath her ankle bone.
Her cold foot tingled as warmth slowly returned wherever his fingers touched.
“Ugh.”
“We should call a doctor.”
“No.”
Hyun-a grabbed his hand and shook her head.
“I don’t want to make a scene. If I put a patch on it and sleep, it’ll get better…”
She added as if it were something common.
“I get hurt often.”
“Hah.”
Yoon-gyeom let out an incredulous laugh.
“I didn’t think you’d come back.”
“You called me.”
Did he really come back because she called him?
Really?
“…If I call you again, will you come?”
The bold question made Hyun-a’s face flush.
“If it helps my sister-in-law, gladly.”
“…We’re not even engaged yet.”
She hated the way he called her sister-in-law.
“Don’t want to be?”
“……”
Instead of answering, Hyun-a turned her gaze away.
“Don’t do it. You and Jung Yi-chan don’t suit each other.”
“…!”
Her eyes widened.
“You said earlier we suited each other.”
“I was playing the role of a good grandson.”
In the dim lighting she could feel him smiling, and her own lips curled upward without realizing it.
“Climb on.”
“…What?”
“Can you walk with that leg?”
She looked down at her mules.
With a 9-centimeter heel, standing again would strain her ankle.
“No matter what, being carried like that…”
She glanced at her legs.
Her wet skirt clung uncomfortably. Even her underwear was damp—it would touch him if she rode on his back.
Yoon-gyeom took off his jacket and placed it over her legs.
“At least this.”
“Ah…”
Hesitantly, Hyun-a wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Thank you.”
They didn’t speak at all while heading toward the guest house.
Every time she felt his large hands—or the mule dangling from his fingers brushing her hip—her face grew warm.
Feeling the warmth of his body through his skin comforted her.
All day she had felt like a cornered mouse, as if her breath might stop at any moment.
Only now did she finally feel at ease.
Leaning against his broad back gave her a strange, ticklish sensation.
It had been a long time since she entrusted herself to someone like this.
Moonlight swayed through the branches behind her, their shadows following them along the path.
Standing in front of Hwamyeong City Hotel, Hyun-a looked up at the tall building and sighed.
<Think of it as bridal training for now and take a look at Yi-chan’s house interior. It’ll be your newlywed home anyway.>
Hong Se-ra, her future mother-in-law, frequently summoned Hyun-a under the excuse of “bridal training.”
<In my time, my mother-in-law stayed by my side and taught me everything. You don’t have anyone to teach you these things.>
Until their house in the suburbs was finished, they planned to live in Yi-chan’s hotel penthouse as their newlywed home.
She said getting used to the place in advance wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Hyun-a wanted to delay the wedding somehow, but there was no real solution.
If she went against the elders’ wishes, her family’s livelihood would immediately be at risk.
<Bring someone you choose. If he’s even half the man your father is, I’ll allow it.>
Chairman Jung Young-woong’s joking words resurfaced, stirring her heart again.
And inevitably, one man’s face came to mind.
She shook her head.
Only now did she recall the feeling of being carried on his back.
Just imagining it made warmth rise from deep inside her stomach.
There was no way that man saw her like that.
And if the marriage continued as planned, she and Yoon-gyeom would become family.
These feelings were something she shouldn’t harbor.
“Where would someone like me find a man like my father…?”
Hyun-a pursed her lips and sighed deeply as she entered the lobby.
Why did Yoon-gyeom keep coming to mind when she thought of a man like her father?
“Huh… that man?”
