Chapter : 19
Ju-hye’s gaze shook violently.
It was the expression of a boss caught off guard by a sudden request from an employee.
Jun-hwi, who had been staring down at her, let out a hearty laugh a beat later.
“Your reaction is way too serious. I was joking.”
Only then did Ju-hye finally calm her pounding heart.
Because of Jun-hwi’s serious expression and tone, it hadn’t sounded like a joke at all.
“You really do make jokes seriously… You scared me!”
At her hand slapping his side, Jun-hwi muttered an “Ow,” retreating a step.
“Did you check the layout plan?”
“Yeah. That’s actually why I came. I’ll show you.”
Ju-hye pulled out a rolled-up sheet of paper from her bag and laid it on the table.
Jun-hwi stepped closer and carefully unfolded it with her.
It was a detailed layout plan listing exactly which potted plants would be placed where on the day of the ceremony.
Since some invited guests had already sent plants as gifts in advance, placement was especially important.
The two of them bent their heads together, checking the plan for quite some time.
“What happened that day?”
Nearly two hours later, when they finally finished, Jun-hwi suddenly asked as he rolled the paper back up.
Ju-hye, who was handing him a rubber band, tilted her head.
“Huh?”
“I wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask, so I waited… Nothing happened, right?”
The day Dae-hyun had suddenly appeared and taken Ju-hye away.
As she’d asked, Jun-hwi had quietly stepped back, but he’d spent the entire day distracted with worry.
He had wanted to check on her sooner, but he feared causing some strange misunderstanding with her husband because of himself, so he waited.
“I wanted to contact you, but things were hectic. I’m sorry.”
Ju-hye finally realized how worried he’d been and made an apologetic expression.
Clicking his tongue to signal that she didn’t need to apologize, Jun-hwi tightly tied the layout plan with the rubber band.
“It’s not something you need to apologize to me for.”
“Still… I’m sorry.”
“I was worried you might’ve gotten some weird misunderstanding because of me.”
Judging by how she looked, it seemed nothing serious had happened—thankfully.
Jun-hwi let out a sigh of relief, then studied her face again.
For someone who said nothing had happened, her eyes were heavy with concern.
“Then why do you look like that?”
“My expression? What’s wrong with it?”
“You look like you’re drowning in worries.”
A troubled look flickered beneath her awkward smile, impossible to fully hide even with composure.
Ju-hye tapped the edge of the paper with her fingertips and whispered,
“It’s just… something I’m conflicted about before the divorce.”
“What kind of thing?”
“I realized I need a proper justification to demand a divorce from my husband.”
“And?”
The calm, steady questions only made her chest feel heavier.
She wondered if it was really okay to confide something like this.
But Jun-hwi was discreet by nature, and there was no benefit for anyone in him spreading this kind of story.
Trusting that, Ju-hye slowly parted her lips.
“The fact that he doesn’t remember me…”
It was a problem she had never truly considered before.
Up until now, she’d told herself it was okay that Dae-hyun didn’t remember her.
Or perhaps she’d simply rationalized it away.
In truth, it wasn’t okay at all—yet she’d clung to the hope that he might remember someday.
“I’m wondering if it’s okay to use that as grounds.”
“What do you mean? Your husband—no, that man—still doesn’t remember you?”
When Ju-hye remained silent, Jun-hwi’s expression darkened.
“You didn’t even ask him, did you?”
“……”
“No way. I thought you’d told him ages ago…”
At her silent confirmation, Jun-hwi looked stunned.
He knew she had met Dae-hyun before, and that he was the man she had harbored a long unrequited love for.
“I didn’t ask.”
“Why not?”
“Because I was scared.”
“Scared? Of what?”
Jun-hwi asked, frustration clear on his face.
Ju-hye bit her lower lip tightly before answering in a heavy voice.
“That he might truly not remember me at all.”
Back in college, Dae-hyun and Ju-hye had taken the same elective class together for half a semester.
Ju-hye had fallen for him at first sight, but their relationship never developed further.
Because Dae-hyun had drawn a very clear line.
“I was afraid he’d think I’d deceived him all this time… So…”
While working on a group project, the two had only exchanged email addresses, never phone numbers.
By the end of the semester, they still hadn’t kept in touch.
Then, when the next semester came, Dae-hyun had completely disappeared from campus.
Ju-hye graduated without ever knowing why he vanished.
“I just… couldn’t bring myself to ask.”
“I’ll give you the college thing. It was only half a semester, so it’s possible he doesn’t remember. But couldn’t you at least talk about what happened on Inwang Mountain?”
Ju-hye shook her head.
“I didn’t really want to talk about that.”
“Why?”
“Because that day… it’s not something my husband would want to remember.”
It had been a day of immense happiness for her—reuniting with someone she had once loved.
Even if he didn’t remember her, running into someone she’d had no news of for so long was rare.
But for Dae-hyun, it couldn’t have been a happy day.
“After running into me, I saw him fighting with his older brother.”
That day remained vivid, even if she closed her eyes right now.
* * *
After graduating from college, the place where Ju-hye ran into Seo Dae-hyun again was halfway up Inwang Mountain.
That day was also a Monday.
The forecasted shower had vanished, leaving behind clear, brilliant weather, and it was the first day Chairman Jin read her arboretum operation proposal favorably.
It was, in every sense, a day where luck had piled up one after another.
“Senior, can you slow down a bit!”
Jun-hwi shouted, climbing the trail in full hiking gear, gasping for breath.
Perhaps because they’d been climbing nonstop under the warm sunlight, his entire body was soaked in sweat.
“You’re not asking for another break, are you? We already rested for over ten minutes earlier.”
Ju-hye, who had been walking ahead with ease, stopped.
Unlike Jun-hwi, she showed no signs of exhaustion.
“Only ten minutes! How is that even—huff—enough…?”
“You finished military service just fine. What’s so hard about this?”
“Military talk is banned. I was forced to move back then, too.”
Jun-hwi grumbled as he came closer, and Ju-hye chuckled, handing him an ice-cold bottle of water.
After gulping it down, his expression finally relaxed.
“Wow, that’s really refreshing.”
“You’re the one who asked to come. How can you be more exhausted than me?”
They were participating in a forest recreation program hosted by the city.
Ju-hye enjoyed hiking regularly, but today’s purpose was to help Jun-hwi, who hadn’t graduated yet, with his thesis.
“I didn’t think it’d be this hard. How is this ‘recreation’?”
“There are lots of trees, and the air is good. That counts.”
“Recreation is supposed to be sitting around, enjoying the breeze, eating good food… That’s what deserves the name.”
While Jun-hwi wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, Ju-hye lifted her gaze toward the summit.
They still had a long way to go, and the people who’d started ahead of them were already out of sight.
Fortunately, there was still plenty of time before they were supposed to gather at the top.
“Jun-hwi, do you want to rest a bit longer? I’ll go ahead.”
She wanted to take her time, maybe take some photos along the way.
Seeing her earnestly holding up her camera, Jun-hwi waved her on without hesitation.
He clearly wanted to rest longer.
“I’ll text you when I reach the top.”
With that, Ju-hye turned and continued walking.
Inwang Mountain wasn’t particularly difficult to hike, and she visited often—but it looked different every time.
There were uniquely shaped rocks, spring flowers in full bloom, and even a pair of pine trees standing together like a married couple—something she loved.
She took photos continuously, then moved closer to observe the trees more carefully.
Eventually, she stepped into a rest area midway up the path to the summit.
I wonder when Jun-hwi will come up.
Just as she reached for her phone, she lightly bumped shoulders with someone.
“Ah—!”
She dropped her phone, but thankfully the other person quickly caught it.
“Ah, I—I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going—”
Ju-hye took the phone back, calming her startled heart, then lifted her head to apologize properly.
“It’s fine.”
The low voice pierced her ears.
A voice she could never forget.
Because of that, Ju-hye froze before she could even finish her apology.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Standing before her was Jin Ju-hye’s first love—
Seo Dae-hyun.
