Chapter 63. Around and Around, Thirty

Because he was tired, Taeseong overslept and left the hotel later than expected.

He arrived in Guryongpo, found a parking spot after some effort, and began walking among the crowds.

It was nearly sunrise when he finally picked a spot to stand.

Though ten years had passed since he last came to Pohang, the sunrise viewing area by the “Hand of Harmony” looked mostly unchanged.

Maybe that’s why…

It felt like he was back to the moment he saw his first New Year’s sunrise at 19, or back to when he first drank alcohol at 20.

But it wasn’t just a feeling.

He was seeing things.

He was seeing Cha Haeyoung.

“…I must be seeing things because I miss her so much…”

He let out a bitter smile and blinked his eyes.

And then—he heard her voice too.

“This year… please let me forget.”

If he had only seen a hallucination or heard a voice, he might’ve laughed it off.

But both?

After that, he couldn’t remember how he moved.

It wasn’t like he drank or passed out—but his memory went blank.

When he came to, he was standing right in front of what he thought had been an illusion—Haeyoung.

He wanted to shout her name. He wanted to touch her shoulder and ask if it was really her.

But he couldn’t lift his hand or speak right away.

Could this really be Cha Haeyoung, the girl he had missed for ten years?

Finally, he gathered the courage to reach out and gently touched her shoulder.

And then, carefully, he said her name.

“Cha Haeyoung.”

“Joo… Taeseong?”

It really was her.

For a moment, Taeseong forgot how to breathe.

He stared at her with eyes trembling.

Then, he finally exhaled the breath he’d been holding and spoke:

“…Is it really you, Cha Haeyoung?”

Her round face, her wide-eyed surprised look—everything was just as he remembered.

Even though he was sure it was her, he asked again, needing to hear it from her voice.

Haeyoung didn’t answer right away. She asked a question instead.

“What are you doing here—oh…”

“It really is you.”

Before she could finish, Taeseong pulled her into a tight hug.

As everyone around them made wishes on the first sunrise of the year, Taeseong was living his wish.

Around and around they had gone… and now they were thirty.

They went to a small café nearby.

Most people ordered their coffee to go because of the cold, so it was quiet inside.

They sat across from each other with two steaming cups of Americano.

Haeyoung stared at her drink. Taeseong only looked at her.

After ten years, there was both awkwardness and tension.

Under the table, Taeseong clenched and unclenched his fist before he finally spoke.

“It’s been a while.”

His warm but heavy voice made Haeyoung look up and meet his eyes.

The boy who once stood at the border between teen and man had now crossed it completely.

Now, he was a mature and impressive adult.

“Yeah… it’s been a while.”

Suddenly, her heart fluttered—like she was nineteen again.

But now, at thirty, Haeyoung knew better. She knew she had to ignore that meaningless feeling.

With a soft smile, she asked,

“Have you… been well?”

She said it like there had been no ten-year gap between them.

But the calmness in her voice shattered with his unexpected reply.

“No. I haven’t. Not at all.”

“…What?”

The weight of his words caught her off guard.

A bitter look crossed Taeseong’s face.

“If someone says they haven’t been well, shouldn’t you ask why?”

“Oh… right…”

Blinking in surprise, Haeyoung repeated his own line like a parrot.

“Why haven’t you been well?”

“Because someone disappeared without saying a word.”

He answered bluntly.

“For ten years.”

There was a hint of blame in his voice. Haeyoung swallowed nervously and looked away.

She was afraid of what he might ask—afraid of digging up the truth.

So instead, she quickly tried to change the mood with a cheerful voice.

“Well, you look great! I mean, just looking at you, you seem to be doing fine!”

Like when she was young and immature at nineteen.

But then her expression turned serious again.

“But… you…”

There was a question she had always wanted to ask if they ever met again.

“Why did you give up on filmmaking?”

Actually, she would’ve been fine never seeing him again—as long as she knew the answer to that.

“Why did you join the company?”

At her careful question, a spark flickered in Taeseong’s eyes.

“So… you’ve been following my news?”

“No… I just saw an article by chance—”

“So out of all the words in that article, you saw my name, clicked on it, and read the whole thing. Spent your time on it.”

His teasing, annoying tone hadn’t changed in ten years.

“There’s the Haeyoung I know.”

When her eyes turned sharp, Taeseong laughed softly.

“That glare like you’re about to punch someone.”

“…I didn’t—!”

“I went to the U.S. I did try film.”

When she snapped at him, he calmly started talking about his past.

“But once I actually tried it… it didn’t fit me.”

That was a lie.

After Haeyoung suddenly told him she wanted a divorce, Taeseong fell into a deep slump.

He drank constantly, missing her every day.

He couldn’t accept that she really wanted to leave him.

He wanted to call her and beg—but he couldn’t.

Her words, that she’d only thought of divorce the whole year they were married—hurt too much to face again.

“So I just did what Grandpa wanted. I came back to Korea and entered Korea University’s business school.”

“…What?”

“Grandpa’s sneaky. He applied behind my back. And of course, I got in.”

That part was true.

Chairman Joo had allowed him to study abroad, seeing how heartbroken he was.

But one month into living in New York, Taeseong randomly ran into Cha Kyung.

She had been cast by a modeling agency and was visiting on a business trip.

“…Why are you here?”

“Why are you here…?”

They both widened their eyes in shock, and at the same time, brought up Haeyoung.

“How’s Haeyoung?”

“Cha Haeyoung…”

Kyung, sensing something was off, told him the truth.

“Haeyoung liked you. Even in the summer… when she gave you that four-leaf clover, I’m sure she still liked you.”

“Four-leaf clover?”

“The one she carefully wrapped and gave you. You didn’t get it?”

“Ah…”

“She denied it, but I really thought you liked her too. I thought you two would be happy together…”

Right after that, Taeseong booked a flight home.

Forget studying abroad.

He hadn’t wanted to go in the first place.

He only left to move on—but now that he knew how Haeyoung really felt, he didn’t want to stay.

When he got back to Korea, though, she had changed her number, and moved.

The neighbors said she left with her grandma to live with some distant relatives overseas.

But no one knew which country or who the relatives were.

So he couldn’t find her again.

Even though he came from a powerful family, just knowing she went abroad wasn’t enough to search the whole world.

He had lost her.

And with no leads, no contacts, there was nothing he could do.

He never returned to the U.S.

He told his grandfather he was giving up on film.

It was a dream only Haeyoung had supported—and he couldn’t chase it without her.

It had only been one year, but Haeyoung had changed his whole life.

After that, Chairman Joo handed him the acceptance letter for business school—he had applied secretly.

And so, Taeseong gave up his dream and began living a “normal” life.

“Turns out… I’m kind of good at business. Maybe I take after Grandpa.”

But he still told Haeyoung he just lost interest in film.

He knew that if he told the truth, she’d feel guilty.

But he still wanted to know her truth.

“And what about you, Cha Haeyoung? How… have you been?”

At last, the question she had been avoiding.