Chapter : 20
“Yes, uh… no.”
Juhye stammered, flustered.
Daehyun was dressed comfortably in jeans and a white T-shirt, just like he had been in college.
His hair was noticeably shorter, and judging by his awkward way of speaking, he looked like someone who had only just been discharged from the military.
“Um, excuse me….”
Before Daehyun could leave, Juhye hurriedly called out to him.
There was no time to hesitate. Like a hunter facing a deer that might bolt at any moment, she swiftly stepped in front of him and spoke.
“Yes?”
Startled by her sudden approach, Daehyun sharply turned his head.
His jet-black eyes, his sculpted features, his sharply defined face—it was all exactly the same as back then.
He was still handsome. The only difference was the fatigue clearly visible on his face.
“Um… don’t you remember me?”
Her pounding heart felt like it might burst right out of her chest.
As her voice trembled with nerves, Daehyun’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He silently studied her face for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
“No, I don’t think we’ve met before….”
At the same time, Juhye’s heart crashed to the ground. The greater her expectation, the deeper her disappointment.
Seeing her lips tremble in shock, Daehyun asked cautiously,
“Have we met somewhere before?”
“Ah—no.”
Heat rushed to her face in embarrassment.
She hadn’t expected him to remember everything, but she never imagined he wouldn’t remember her at all.
It felt as though the difference between her and Daehyun perfectly reflected how different their feelings had been back then, and the realization made her feel ashamed.
With a face red as an apple, Juhye muttered weakly,
“I’m sorry… I think I mistook you for someone I know.”
Was it humiliation at being forgotten?
She even lied, saying it was just her mistake.
She regretted not being honest and asking outright, but the words had already been spilled like water on the ground.
“I see. I’m sorry about that, then.”
Daehyun apologized awkwardly as he looked down at her.
Juhye waved both hands, insisting it wasn’t his fault, and he gave a small smile.
“Do you come to Inwangsan often?”
Juhye refused to give up and asked another question.
Daehyun, unfazed by her acting as though they’d just met, answered calmly.
“No, it’s my first time. I’m meeting someone, so I came up for a bit.”
She had thought it strange that he wasn’t wearing hiking clothes—it seemed hiking hadn’t been his purpose.
Still, Daehyun standing alone on the lush forest path looked like a graceful ink painting.
“I don’t know the way very well. I heard there was a sign nearby, but…”
Daehyun glanced around and let out a sigh.
They had agreed to meet at a park, but he didn’t know the exact direction and had gotten lost.
The signs he’d been following on the way up had disappeared without him noticing.
“Where are you trying to go?”
Juhye stepped closer, clearly interested.
She knew Inwangsan well and had the paths memorized.
“I heard there was a park nearby…”
“The park’s that way. Follow me.”
With a bright smile, Juhye confidently took the lead.
After walking a few steps behind her, Daehyun casually asked,
“Weren’t you heading toward the summit?”
He gestured toward the direction she had come from and smiled slightly.
When he smiled, it felt as refreshing as a cool breeze brushing her skin.
“I have time anyway. I’ll walk you part of the way, then head back.”
Juhye answered cheerfully, as if she’d never been disappointed at all.
Daehyun didn’t refuse and quietly walked beside her.
I want to talk to him… but I don’t know what to say. My mind feels completely blank.
As they walked along the neatly maintained fortress trail, Juhye couldn’t help sneaking glances at his profile.
She desperately wanted to ask how he’d been all this time.
He seemed thinner than when they’d first met, and for some reason, his overall presence felt colder.
“Who are you meeting? A friend?”
There were so many things she wanted to ask.
But she couldn’t suddenly bring up the past, so she racked her brain.
Thankfully, he accepted her question without any sign of annoyance.
“No. My older brother.”
“Your brother?”
Ah—so he had a brother.
Learning something she hadn’t known back then made her a little happy. But unlike her brightening expression, Daehyun’s eyes darkened.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him, so I’m a bit nervous.”
“I have older brothers too, so I kind of understand.”
“Is that so?”
Daehyun turned his head to look at her.
Juhye’s expression, thinking of her brothers, was bright and innocent—like a child who dearly loved her family.
A storm of emotions flickered through Daehyun’s eyes as he watched her.
“My brothers are always busy, so it’s hard to see them. Sometimes it feels lonely.”
But when Juhye spoke again, those emotions vanished without a sound.
Daehyun let out a soft chuckle and reached out.
He gently removed a leaf stuck in her hair.
“I see.”
As he spoke calmly, his face drew closer.
Juhye sucked in a breath as his careful, gentle fingers brushed her hair.
Daehyun’s dark eyes, smiling faintly, were as beautiful as a deep night sky.
A breeze blew in from afar, lightly ruffling his short hair.
“To leave such a good little sister feeling lonely… your brothers are pretty heartless.”
At his soft voice, Juhye’s fingertips trembled.
Though the atmosphere had shifted, the Daehyun before her overlapped with the kind senior she remembered from the past.
The certainty that he was still a gentle person rose within her.
She wanted to reveal who she really was—but fatefully, their destination was just ahead.
“How much farther is it?”
Daehyun asked, and Juhye gathered her lingering regret.
She decided she’d ask for his contact information once they arrived.
“See that sign over there? If you go down this way, the park—”
That was when it happened.
After turning his head to look where she pointed, Daehyun suddenly stopped walking.
His expression hardened instantly, a chilling aura surrounding him.
Even Juhye, watching him, froze in surprise.
“Finally here.”
At the same time, a rough voice struck their ears.
Startled, Juhye turned toward the sound.
A man in a black suit stood up from a bench.
Seo Daehyun’s brother—Seo Woohyun.
“It’s been a while, huh? I didn’t think you’d actually come out when I told you to.”
Tsk. Woohyun spat blatantly onto the ground.
It looked like he’d been waiting there for quite some time—beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
“That shameless face of yours hasn’t changed.”
A jagged scar near his eyebrow made his menacing presence even stronger.
As Juhye faltered in shock, Daehyun shot her a look telling her to step back.
“Who’s that woman?”
But Woohyun was quicker to provoke.
Juhye, wary and confused, asked,
“Who… are you?”
“Me? I’m that worthless bastard’s older brother.”
The answer was brutally coarse.
If hostility could be gathered like a snowball and thrown, that gaze would look exactly like this.
His brother? That man?
Juhye reflexively looked at Daehyun. At first, she thought it had to be a lie.
Woohyun looked nothing like Daehyun, aside from being tall.
With thick eyebrows, vicious eyes, and a black suit, he looked more like a gang member.
“……”
But Daehyun didn’t deny it—he just stared coldly at Woohyun.
Seeing no reaction despite his provocation, Woohyun sneered and staggered forward.
Judging by his unsteady steps, he’d clearly been drinking.
“So this is what you’ve been doing, secretly keeping in touch with Grandma behind my back…”
Woohyun shot a savage glance at Juhye.
The hostility in his eyes made her flinch.
Naturally, Daehyun’s expression grew even colder.
“Playing around with a woman in a place like this? You’ve got that much free time?”
Woohyun pulled his hand from his pocket and waved it lazily.
His tone clearly showed he had completely misunderstood the situation.
“No, I—”
Juhye opened her mouth, intending to clear up the misunderstanding—
“Yes.”
Suddenly, a large hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her close.
In an instant, Juhye was awkwardly held against Daehyun’s side, gasping.
Whether it was the sunlight or the hot weather, the warmth of his palm was almost scorching.
“So don’t you dare talk recklessly to this woman.”
Completely at odds with the hostile situation, Daehyun’s fresh, familiar scent quickly seeped deep into her lungs.
