Chapter : 23
Joo-hye furrowed her brows and raised her right hand.
The moment Kang-il stopped speaking, she firmly contradicted him.
“No, it’s the opposite.”
It seemed that Kang-il had seriously misunderstood something.
Otherwise, how could he possibly think that Dae-hyun had been obsessive and bothersome toward her?
“I wasn’t satisfied.”
With a serious expression, Joo-hye pointed out where he was wrong and added a gloomy explanation.
“Excuse me?”
“I couldn’t be satisfied with the love Dae-hyun gave me.”
Surprise spread across Kang-il’s face.
It was clear he hadn’t the slightest idea that Joo-hye had been thinking that way all along.
Joo-hye, unconsciously letting out a bitter smile, responded.
“That’s why sometimes I hated feeling like such a petty woman.”
Even though their marriage seemed fine on the surface, she had felt an unspoken anxiety that made her feel small.
Seeing her husband meet with his mistress had only been the trigger.
Back when their marriage was just a transaction for mutual benefit, maybe the future had already been predetermined.
“But…”
“It may have been sudden news for you, Kang-il, but not for me. I had thought about it for a long time… Exactly how much have you heard?”
Kang-il cleared his throat awkwardly at the sharp question.
“I heard that you two decided to give each other a chance to reconcile.”
A chance to reconcile… It sounded like a very polite way to say they had set a period for reflection.
Still, perhaps Dae-hyun had objectively explained the situation, as Kang-il didn’t ask further questions.
He also didn’t show any strong opposition to the divorce.
“As a friend, I’d recommend reconsidering the divorce.”
He gently asked Dae-hyun for just one more chance.
“Of course, he has his flaws, but at least he must have been sincere with you, Joo-hye.”
“Do you have any reason to be so sure?”
“A reason…”
Returning to his usual composed expression, he smiled kindly, as he always did.
“I’ve never seen Seo Dae-hyun want someone like this before.”
He added the kind of remark that hardly inspired any trust.
After talking with Kang-il, Joo-hye’s mind became even more tangled.
She wondered what exactly Kang-il and Dae-hyun had talked about that led him to think so differently from her.
Or maybe Dae-hyun had pretended to love her in front of him.
It was hard to believe that the usually emotionless and calm Dae-hyun would perform such an act…
“Sounds like a lie.”
“He’s never been in a relationship before, so there’s nothing more to explain.”
To her surprise, she also learned something unexpected.
Joo-hye was actually Seo Dae-hyun’s first girlfriend.
Of course, since this came from Kang-il’s words, it wasn’t guaranteed to be entirely true.
Perhaps Dae-hyun had even asked Kang-il to say it that way.
“…Ah.”
After walking absentmindedly for a long time, Joo-hye finally stopped.
He had been leaning against a terrace pillar on the opposite side, as if he had briefly stepped away.
The dim lighting cast gentle shadows across his face.
Because of the contrast, his features looked even more sculpted than usual.
Someone had painstakingly carved every depth and line into him.
“Dae-hyun…”
As she called his name, she noticed people approaching from the other side.
They clearly recognized Dae-hyun but avoided looking at him and walked past.
Frowning, Joo-hye watched them go.
‘Why are they just leaving without even saying hello?’
Perhaps it was because many were guests from Jinju affiliates.
Looking closely, she noticed Dae-hyun was standing apart in the corner.
Unable to join the conversation, he looked like an isolated island.
Those who occasionally greeted him were all Jinju construction officials, while others pretended not to notice him.
“….”
Dae-hyun didn’t react to them at all, keeping his right hand in his pocket and staring blankly into space.
Joo-hye cautiously hid behind the curtain and approached him.
She worried that even him noticing she had been watching might hurt his pride.
“…Right. Even if he’s from a small-medium company, he only succeeded because he married well…”
Just as she moved quietly, she heard gossip beyond the thin curtain.
The voice was vivid in her mind; it was the head of the sales department at Jinju Construction.
“Tsk… He should know that himself.”
“He doesn’t, which is why he shamelessly pretends like he owns this arboretum, right?”
Even though they were close enough for Dae-hyun to hear, they continued without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Dae-hyun merely swirled the glass in his left hand, expressionless.
Even Joo-hye, not involved in the gossip, felt anger, yet Dae-hyun remained calm.
As if this wasn’t the first time he’d experienced it…
“How’s their marriage?”
One of them whispered, debating whether to stop.
The sudden sensitive topic froze Joo-hye’s face in place.
“Who knows… nothing good has been heard so far…”
“Seems like a problem in their relationship?”
Unaware that Joo-hye was hiding behind the curtain, they continued laughing and gossiping.
Her face flushed with shame at the blunt comments.
“The late madam wasn’t in good health, right? Maybe the lady isn’t either…”
They even started talking about Joo-hye’s mother.
“…Hey!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Joo-hye tore the curtain aside in indignation.
But when she saw the situation in front of her, she had to rush.
“D-Dae-hyun!”
Though she had seen him standing at a distance, Dae-hyun was suddenly right in front of her.
He had pretended not to hear, but when her gossip was revealed, he could no longer contain himself.
“Eek! L-Lady.”
The head of the department, who had been gossiping freely, was already grabbed by Dae-hyun by the collar.
The veins on Dae-hyun’s hand bulged, creating a fierce atmosphere.
The department head, seeing Joo-hye’s face, turned pale and trembled.
“Dae-hyun, stop it.”
Joo-hye placed her hand on his arm to restrain him.
Only after touching him did she realize her own hand was shaking violently.
Sensing it, Dae-hyun relaxed his fierce expression and turned away.
But only for a moment; unable to contain his anger, he glared at the department head again.
“Dae-hyun!”
At this rate, something could go terribly wrong.
Although there weren’t many onlookers nearby yet, a commotion would attract the guests downstairs.
Some of them also opposed Dae-hyun, making the situation more worrying.
“Let’s just go.”
“Joo-hye, you…”
“I heard everything too. It’s fine.”
At her words, the department head turned completely pale.
Dae-hyun tried to speak but furrowed his brows at Joo-hye’s urgent gaze.
“Ugh!”
The department head staggered from Dae-hyun’s sharp release of his collar.
Ignoring it, Joo-hye glared at him once and grabbed Dae-hyun’s arm.
Startled, Dae-hyun widened his eyes. It had been a long time since she had taken the initiative.
“Let’s go out first.”
Joo-hye carefully reached out her hand.
Still tense, Dae-hyun had been clenching his fists.
So tight that the nails had left marks on his palms.
“Joo-hye, just now…”
Seeing Joo-hye pale, Dae-hyun slowly unclenched his fists.
There was no excuse for trying to use violence on the department head.
If Joo-hye hadn’t intervened, he might have forgotten even that this was an arboretum and swung his fist.
“Let’s go out first.”
How lucky it was that there weren’t many eyes watching.
Joo-hye pulled Dae-hyun’s arm, and fortunately, he didn’t resist.
As they hurried down the stairs, people stepped aside to let them pass.
“Go and talk.”
Joo-hye muttered to herself as if making a vow.
Seeing that she was heading to the office, Dae-hyun nodded shortly.
Her relief at his calm response made her quicken her pace.
“Hmm…”
Unaware that Soo-kyung was watching this scene from afar with a meaningful gaze.
