Chapter 66. Our Baby

“And no matter what you think of me, you don’t have the right to stop me from coming here.”

His voice was deeper and steadier than it had been ten years ago, resonating in the air.

“This time, don’t run away without a word. I know your tricks now. If you disappear again, I’ll use everything I have to find you.”

“……”

“I’m not a clueless twenty-year-old kid anymore. I have the money and the ability to track you down if I need to.”

“When did I ever hide—”

“You told everyone you left the country, yet you were quietly living in Korea. You work in Seoul, but your official address is in Gangwon Province.”

“……”

“And I bet you’re getting your salary under another name, aren’t you?”

“How do you…?”

“Finding out something like that isn’t hard. I only missed you because I thought you were abroad.”

Haeyoung let out a soft sigh.

How did things get so complicated?

Maybe wishing on the first sunrise of the new year wasn’t so mystical after all.

After all, here she was—entangled with Joo Taeseong again.

It had been five days since Taeseong started showing up at the café like clockwork.

Since that day, Haeyoung had ignored him completely, treating him like he was invisible. She figured if she kept it up, he’d get tired and leave.

She had no intention of being “friends” with Joo Taeseong now. If she had wanted that, she wouldn’t have left him in the first place.

Yes, maybe there was still a little leftover attachment in her heart, but that didn’t mean she wanted to rekindle anything.

Some first loves are beautiful precisely because they stay as first loves.

But one thing she couldn’t understand:

Why was Joo Taeseong doing all this?

And what happened with Jo Minjoo, that older woman he had been involved with?

Even if they broke up, someone with his looks and background surely hadn’t been single all this time.

“…Actually, it’d be stranger if he hadn’t dated anyone.”

Even though she was just stating the obvious, it made her feel irritated.

Taeseong still seemed to think of her as just a friend, yet she was the one whose feelings were swaying at the smallest things.

It felt unfair.

She might call him a “friend” on the outside, but in her heart, she still saw him as a man. And Taeseong, using their past marriage as leverage, was forcing his way back into her life as a “friend.”

If he thinks he can win me over as a friend, he’s wrong.

I was uncomfortable with him then, and I’m uncomfortable now. Because then and now, to me… he’s a man.

Haeyoung was washing a mountain of dishes with Taeseong sitting behind her, lost in these thoughts. She placed the last cup on the drying rack and turned off the water.

By then, her mind was made up.

She had to push him out of her life.

She couldn’t handle him.

She stepped out from behind the counter and walked toward him.

The café was empty except for the two of them.

Taeseong had placed a big group order to his company, so Dohyun had gone out for the delivery. It was late in the afternoon, and there were no other customers.

Sensing her presence, Taeseong looked up from his tablet, his eyes curving in a pleased smile.

“Finally, you’re acknowledging me. Guess sitting here for five days wasn’t for nothing, huh?”

“Joo Taeseong… I know what you’re thinking. But seriously, don’t come here again.”

Her fists were clenched tightly.

“Fine, I’ll admit it. I don’t think of you as a friend, I think of you as my ex-husband. And that makes me incredibly uncomfortable.”

She stopped for a breath, then spoke again.

“I’m not interested in laughing and joking with my ex-husband like nothing happened.”

After getting it all off her chest, Haeyoung’s eyebrows dropped, as if she felt a little relieved—without realizing that she’d just made a mistake.

Taeseong, who had listened silently, stood up with a strange look in his eyes. He grabbed her by the waist, lifted her slightly, and sat her on the table where he had been sitting.

Then he placed his hands on the table, trapping her in his arms as he leaned down.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

She pulled her neck in like a startled turtle, afraid their lips might touch.

But even pulling her head back as far as she could, all she could see was his firm chest. And then came his deep voice, brushing her ear.

And the scent—gone was the fresh cottony smell of their youth. Now, it was a sensual musk.

“Good. Because I don’t plan on being ‘friends’ with you either.”

Each word was firm, deliberate, like a declaration of war.

His words made Haeyoung’s eyelids flutter.

What…?

It was Korean, but it didn’t make sense. She replayed his words over and over in her head before finally lifting her gaze.

Her trembling eyes traveled from his strong neckline and Adam’s apple, up to his deep, black eyes.

Those sly eyes held a faint smile, but she couldn’t read what he was really thinking.

She had no choice but to ask directly.

“You… what do you mean by that?”

Taeseong didn’t answer. He just looked down at her from close range, as if he might devour her.

“Joo Taeseong.”

When she pressed him, he smiled softly—like a boy.

“Use that little head of yours and think about what I meant.”

But the words that came out of his mouth next were bold and direct.

“It’s homework.”

And just like that, he left her with “homework” and walked out.

The next day, Dohyun handed her a freshly made triple-shot iced Americano and asked:

“Noona, did you not sleep last night?”

“Huh? Oh… yeah.”

“Why?”

“Uh… well…”

“Because of your ex-husband?”

She had been about to make up another excuse, but Dohyun beat her to it. And she didn’t have the energy to lie again.

“Good. Because I don’t plan on being ‘friends’ with you either.”

When he had said those words, his eyes had been the eyes of a man looking at a woman.

Wanting. Desiring. Wanting to have.

But she still didn’t understand. Why did he look at her that way? Why did he say those things?

She had never been more than a friend to him. She knew that. That was why she couldn’t stay by his side. That was why she had disappeared so cleanly.

Back then, she had been nineteen—when dreams and first loves felt like everything. She truly believed that divorce was the only way to protect his dream and his love.

If she disappeared, his study abroad, his dreams, and even his first love would all be safe.

She hadn’t wanted to gamble with his life just to save her own.

Even from far away, she had wanted him to achieve his dreams, to have a safe and happy love.

If I divorced him so he could live well, then he should have lived well.

Why did he give up his dream? Why is he acting like this now, like a man who wants me?

Now, at thirty years old, she was finally determined to forget him completely.

As her thoughts tangled up to the point of madness, Haeyoung shut her eyes tight and muttered:

“Ugh, I’m going crazy.”

“Geez, Noona. Here, drink this.”

Dohyun clicked his tongue and handed her the pitch-black Americano.

Haeyoung took it with empty eyes and gulped it down.

The cold drink made her head ache sharply just as a stream of customers entered the café.

She glanced at the clock. It was just after lunch hour.

Good. Busy is better, she thought.

She wanted a flood of customers—enough to keep her too busy to think about the “homework” Taeseong had given her.

Because his “homework” was just too difficult.

Whether her wish had been granted or not, the café was unusually full today—not just takeout customers but people sitting down to drink.

After finishing a massive group order of around fifty drinks, only one couple remained in the shop.

The woman’s babyish voice, dripping with sugar, echoed through the café. Sometimes it was punctuated with loud kissing sounds.

They weren’t exactly the customers Haeyoung wanted, but on a day like this, anyone was better than no one.

She tried to focus on the positive when the man suddenly raised his hand and called out, his voice no longer sugary:

“Excuse me!”

Normally, in this café, both ordering and picking up drinks were self-service.

But the man boldly summoned her over.

He reeks of being a problem customer, Haeyoung thought, narrowing her eyes.

She was about to explain the café’s policy but closed her mouth instead. It wasn’t that busy, and she didn’t want to start a fuss.

“Yes.”

She put on a neutral expression and walked over to their table.

Before she even reached it, the man jerked his chin toward the table and ordered:

“Hey, ‘Unnie,’ clear this table. Then bring us a strawberry smoothie, another Americano, and all the cookies from the display case—one of each flavor.”

I’m not your unnie. I don’t have a little brother like you.

The words rose to the tip of her tongue, but Haeyoung bit them back hard.

“…Okay.”