Chapter : 36
Hello? Oppa?
After a brief silence, Eun-jae shouted, sounding frustrated.
Dae-hyun quickly regained his composure and muttered quietly to himself:
“I have to find her first before Seo Woo-hyun shows up and spouts nonsense.”
He wondered how Ju-hye would react if she found out he had deceived her from the start and married her under false pretenses.
The thought alone was terrifying—he couldn’t even imagine the outcome.
“I’m not going to divorce you.”
“No, we will. There’s no reason or purpose to continue our relationship.”
He didn’t have the courage to face Ju-hye’s cold gaze again, not after experiencing it once.
When the eyes that always spoke of love first spoke of parting, it felt like a pure, white pearl slipping through dense grains of sand and disappearing completely.
Its transparency and clarity meant that once it scattered among the sand, he would never find it again. His heart, unlike hers, was too dark and heavy, filled with possessiveness.
- Oppa, if you really love her…
Startled by Eun-jae’s uneasy breath, she spoke carefully.
- I think you need to tell the truth even more.
She knew exactly how her parents had fallen in love and how it ended.
Seo Nam-jae had deceived and betrayed Song Bit-na, yet she, knowing the truth, had turned a blind eye—and was ultimately abandoned.
At the very least, Eun-jae hoped that Dae-hyun wouldn’t experience such an ending.
- It’s true that I’m a burden to you, oppa. If she feels uncomfortable, I won’t appear in front of you anymore.
“Eun-jae.”
- You’ve already helped me enough. Back then… when I went to find you to try to put Seo Woo-hyun in jail…
Eun-jae drew a rough breath.
Chairman Seo Nam-jae treated Song Bit-na like a mistress, but she never treated him the same way. She loved him until the end and believed she was loved in return.
But as soon as she revealed her pregnancy, she was thrown away in an instant.
Seo Nam-jae only brought Eun-jae to the main house and didn’t even support her properly. Later, when Eun-jae revealed her mother’s pneumonia, he scorned and blamed her, claiming she was scheming to get money from Woo-hyun.
- It wasn’t just to help you, oppa. It was my personal revenge.
“……”
- Against my father, who ignored and abandoned my mother, and that bastard who threw me out.
So she boldly went to Dae-hyun and demanded money, promising to help with anything in return. Since he was probably unhappy about not being chosen as heir, she asked him to join forces with her.
- So if it’s out of guilt, don’t worry about me too much.
It had been Dae-hyun who had pulled her out of hell, so she felt a debt she had to repay.
Eun-jae ended the call by assuring him she would help him in any way.
Dae-hyun put down his phone and once again fiddled with Ju-hye’s ring.
The ring she left behind was so small that he suddenly realized how tiny her fingers must be.
“Ju-hye.”
He lightly kissed the surface of the ring and whispered, almost like a confession:
“…Don’t run anymore.”
If he could hold onto Ju-hye, this time he intended to bind her with chains so she couldn’t escape.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t anxious about when Dae-hyun would find her.
Since hearing about his return, enough time had passed that he would likely have discovered the wedding ring she left at home.
Would he be angry? Or sad? Or perhaps indifferent? She couldn’t be sure, as she wasn’t certain how much significance a wedding ring held for him in the first place.
“……”
Ju-hye sat on a chair in the villa yard, staring blankly at the sky.
All her duties at the arboretum could be handled remotely, so there were no issues there.
The only problem was the divorce documents she had to prepare with her lawyer.
“You’ve probably made up your mind, but if your feelings ever change, tell me. We’ll take enough time to think through the property division.”
Until leaving, Ju-young had shared personal experiences and given advice from multiple angles.
Thinking about property division now made her instinctively tense.
If she revealed the divorce, Su-ha and Su-kyung, and even Chairman Jin, would likely expel her without giving her a single share. Ju-young had used all law firms to seize everything from her ex when she divorced, even securing full custody, leaving the ex husband wailing miserably on the floor.
“I don’t want to see that. I just… don’t want to get hurt any further.”
Her heart remained unchanged—she still loved Dae-hyun enough not to publicly shame him for his affair.
But if he refused the divorce, she would have no choice but to bring up the mistress’s story to him.
“Then I really need that photo.”
The photo Woo-hyun had brought as evidence, showing Dae-hyun with Eun-jae.
While an outsider might not recognize them, Ju-hye and her family could unmistakably identify them from behind.
If she presented it as evidence, even Dae-hyun, who cared about his reputation, would react positively to a negotiated divorce.
So taking the photo from Woo-hyun would make negotiations more effective.
“Let’s just pretend I didn’t hear the recording. Even if I listen, it won’t help.”
Dae-hyun’s voice in the recording Woo-hyun had played kept replaying in her mind.
Especially when she lay in bed, trying to sleep, his expression would appear vividly behind her closed eyelids.
Even imagined, it seemed real, a hollow scene.
“If I could just ruin Woo-nam Construction, I’d do anything right away.”
“Even if it means marrying a woman I don’t love…”
Had the past few years of marriage truly been so unbearable for him?
What about the pressure from the in-laws to have a child with a woman he didn’t love?
Even when lying beside her, did his heart rot with regret?
“Stop… stop thinking like this.”
Her thoughts sank deeper like a tunnel, and her eyes grew redder.
She got up from the chair to wash her face and returned to the living room.
As she opened the door, her phone vibrated in the distance.
The phone on the table came into view immediately.
Rushing to check the caller, her brows furrowed.
“Seo Woo-hyun?”
She had hoped it was Manager Park, but it was Woo-hyun.
“Why is he calling all of a sudden…”
Though suspicious, she needed to answer to find out.
Ju-hye composed her tear-choked voice and pressed the call button.
- Hello. Is it okay to talk for a moment?
Woo-hyun sounded urgent, as if worried she wouldn’t pick up quickly.
Ju-hye sensed his anxiety and furrowed her brows.
Last time he had been so composed; why was he suddenly so nervous?
- I called because there’s something I didn’t say back then… don’t you want to hear it?
Despite her suspicion, Woo-hyun rushed to the point like a cornered rat.
Ju-hye responded carefully, yet with poise:
“Mr. Seo Woo-hyun.”
From observing Dae-hyun, she had learned a tactic: when the other party was flustered, that was the moment to strike harder.
“Just get to the point.”
A short click of the tongue came from the other side, surprised by her commanding tone.
He seemed to expect her to grovel, but her unexpected confidence unsettled him.
- Just the point, simply?
“We’re not in a position for personal conversations. Am I wrong?”
Of course, Ju-hye had no intention of doing as he wanted. Showing weakness in such a negotiation would only reveal her vulnerabilities.
As expected, Woo-hyun muttered quietly, as if tucking his tail:
- It’s nothing, just that Seo Dae-hyun seems to have started investigating me…
Hearing Dae-hyun’s name, Ju-hye’s body tensed silently.
Finally, he’s making a move… and the fear that he might appear to catch her immediately surged.
- He might catch my trail soon, so I’m thinking of changing the date?
Changing the date?
Ju-hye quickly read between the lines and snapped:
“Don’t tell me… you mean to ask for the money faster?”
- Sharp as ever. Yes, that’s what I mean.
Woo-hyun’s laugh sounded unpleasantly through the phone.
