Chapter : 58
“Apologize. Right now.”
Her fists clenched so tightly that they trembled.
The more she replayed what she had just heard with her own ears, the more her chest ached unbearably.
It wasn’t Daehyun who had been insulted, yet why did her own pride feel so shattered? She didn’t understand.
“You need to apologize… to my husband, Father.”
It wasn’t just Chairman Jin who needed to apologize.
If she could, she wanted to drag Suha and Sukyung over here too and yell at them to apologize.
She had never felt this way toward her family before—it was an almost foreign feeling, so strange it made her uncomfortable.
Thinking of Daehyun bearing all this resentment alone, tears welled up in her eyes.
“Juhyea…”
The sudden appearance of his daughter caused furrows to form on Chairman Jin’s forehead.
Surely he had warned Suha and Sukyung, so why had she run all the way here? He didn’t understand.
“….”
Meanwhile, Daehyun remained utterly silent, frozen as if dead.
Only his eyes, fixed on her, trembled violently.
The eyes she had once thought deep and beautiful, like the night sky, were now unbearably dark.
Realizing that Juhyea had heard everything from outside, his face turned pale as if drained of life.
For a man whose pride had always stood tall and unyielding, this was the moment it crumbled like a sandcastle.
‘I wished that at least you… you wouldn’t know…’
Somehow, Juhyea felt she understood Daehyun’s inner thoughts.
The desperate intensity in his gaze seemed to whisper directly into her ears.
She tried desperately to stay composed, but she couldn’t stop her vision from blurring.
At that moment, Chairman Jin, realizing the situation, reached out awkwardly with a smile.
“My daughter, when did you get here? Come closer.”
“Father…”
“It looks like the kids contacted you. You should have come with your brother—why the rush to come alone?”
He spoke with a tender, pleading tone, suggesting she’d want to see her father’s face after his recent recovery.
Her father, always so robust, had grown slightly thinner, which tugged at her heart.
“No matter how much you love me, or how worried you were about me… this isn’t right.”
Yet all Juhyea could see were the documents scattered across the floor.
They were likely the very papers Daehyun had handed to Chairman Jin after his final report, before she arrived.
They were proof that Chairman Jin treated all the achievements Daehyun had worked so hard for as if they were worth less than dust on the street.
“What is all this?” she frowned as she read through the pages near her feet, noticing references to the arboretum.
The documents proved that Daehyun had secretly supported Jinju Arboretum without her knowing.
Apparently, the deficit recorded in these papers had only fueled Chairman Jin’s anger.
‘It was you who egged him on to continue a business that couldn’t even deliver results!’
Chairman Jin’s enraged voice echoed in her mind like a persistent ringing.
He was the father who, in front of her, had always said, “It’s okay, stay strong,” leaving only words of encouragement.
Had she known he secretly pressured Daehyun behind the scenes, she wouldn’t have comforted herself by saying that poor grades didn’t matter.
The arboretum was her treasure, yes, but she could never bear to see it run at the expense of the man she loved, crushing his pride in the process.
“How can you do this behind my back? Is this always how you are?”
Her trembling voice carried the weight of betrayal.
Chairman Jin wiped his sweat nervously and studied his daughter’s wounded expression.
Throughout his marriage, no one had seen him belittle Daehyun, so he had no idea how to handle this confrontation.
“Juhyea, you’re misunderstanding. I was just talking with Seosap earlier.”
The formal title he had used for Mr. Seo suddenly shifted into a feigned tenderness.
But Juhyea didn’t fall for the charade and spoke firmly.
“I explained to my brother last time… I chose this person because I love him.”
She felt Daehyun’s gaze burn against her right cheek.
Instead of avoiding him, she deliberately stepped closer to him.
The sound of her heels approaching made his shoulders tense.
“I didn’t marry him because it would benefit me, or for any other reason.”
When she finally took his hand, her skin touched his, icy cold.
He looked up, his expression stiff as if he might faint.
Seeing his pale face, Juhyea gripped his hand even tighter.
“He feels the same way.”
Only then did Daehyun’s expression soften.
It was as if a ray of light had broken through the darkness of his troubled heart.
“Apologize for how our family exploited him all this time… for using him for every little thing when we had no right, while ignoring and rejecting his efforts, and treating him unfairly at work.”
All the hardships Daehyun had endured were for her—so he could stay by her side, become the husband she deserved.
Even when he was struggling the most, she had come close to him without hesitation, eyes full of affection, and he had fallen in love with her all the more.
“If you don’t apologize, I won’t stay silent either.”
The gentle, tender Juhyea had never been so cold since demanding a divorce.
And it wasn’t only Daehyun who was shocked.
“This isn’t something we need to apologize for, Juhyea!”
Chairman Jin jumped to his feet, trying to stop her.
“Signing the contract was your choice! You don’t need to feel guilty!”
“This person signed because he loves me! Don’t you understand yet?”
Juhyea’s eyes shone clearly as she explained that marrying had been entirely her decision.
Every word she spoke seemed to snap the chains that had bound Daehyun.
His mouth went dry as he moved his lips, unable to speak.
Amid this endless thirst, she was a sanctuary giving him breath.
“If you don’t apologize, I will leave the country with him.”
Her declaration, long held back until now, twisted Chairman Jin’s face.
His youngest, most treasured daughter, suddenly threatening to sever ties, left him dumbfounded.
“We’ll cancel the divorce, and we’ll be married again.”
“Cancel it?”
“Yes, because…”
Holding Daehyun’s hand, Juhyea stepped closer to Chairman Jin’s bedside.
Placing her left hand over her abdomen, she took a deep breath and delivered the news.
“I’m pregnant, Father.”
She heard Daehyun take a deep, surprised breath beside her.
Chairman Jin’s face mirrored the astonishment.
“A child? A… child?”
“Yes, literally. The hospital confirmed I’m about seven weeks along. Your grandchild.”
For a moment, the shock faded, replaced by joy—but then Juhyea’s next words froze him again.
“If you want to see your grandchild, please listen to me.”
“What…?”
“Please fully accept him as a member of the Jin family. That’s all.”
It wasn’t a difficult request; it was only natural.
If Daehyun had been honest, this would have been Juhyea’s first demand.
But he hadn’t spoken—perhaps thinking he had no right to ask for anything of her.
He had never regarded their social standing as equal.
‘Without even that excuse… I am not in a position to meet Juhyea lightly.’
Daehyun had hinted this long ago.
It was a truth one could not say without painfully recognizing their unequal status.
At the time, Juhyea had wanted to smack her chest in frustration at having overlooked that point.
“Please, Father. I’ll hear your answer later through Secretary Kim.”
Seeing Chairman Jin unable to answer immediately, Juhyea turned, playing her final card.
He would have no choice but to accept her demands eventually, so there was no need to hear an answer right now.
“Let’s go, you.”
“…Juhyea.”
“Let’s leave here together.”
Without waiting for Daehyun’s response, she clasped his hand and pulled him along.
He hesitated briefly but ultimately didn’t look back at Chairman Jin and followed her out of the hospital room.
The moment the door opened and they stepped into the bright corridor, sunlight poured over them.
