Chapter 5 …
Sunlight streamed through the pure white curtains.
A sparkling beam fell across Wooju’s face, still buried in the blankets.
“Mm…”
She stirred, letting out a soft groan, disturbed from her deep sleep by the dazzling sunlight.
Her brow occasionally furrowed as if she were having a rough dream, but all in all, it was a relatively peaceful morning.
Beep beep. Beep beep!
However, the weekend peace was shattered by the loud alarm.
The white blanket flew into the air. She tried pulling it over her head to block out the noise, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t defeat the increasingly loud alarm.
“Ugh… my head…”
A throbbing headache made her groan involuntarily. Her upset stomach painfully reminded her of just how recklessly she had drunk the night before.
Wooju finally reached out from under the blankets. Fumbling at the bedside table, she turned off the alarm, and peace returned once more.
But the blanket flinched again, restless.
“Hah!”
After only a few hours’ sleep, trying to get up with a hangover made her whole body feel like it weighed a thousand pounds.
Wooju barely managed to lift her heavy upper body into a sitting position.
Today, she had something she absolutely had to do.
Before leaving the bed, she habitually checked her phone—and immediately doubted her own eyes.
The group chat for her high school friends, titled ‘Daehan High Friends,’ was buzzing.
It wasn’t unusual for the day after a reunion, but what caught her attention were the photos interspersed in the conversation.
Seeing pictures taken in the bar, and especially at the karaoke, Wooju narrowed her eyes.
“When did I even go to karaoke…?”
Muttering to herself, she scrolled down the chat, stopping abruptly. Her classmates’ reactions were unusually animated.
Why does Yooju look like she has a sad story? LOL
In the photo, under soft lighting, she was gripping the microphone with her eyes closed, looking every bit the part of a girl burdened with the world’s woes. Anyone could tell she looked pitiful and forlorn.
“This is insane…”
Looking at the photo brought back fragmented memories, like puzzle pieces slowly coming together.
She remembered how furious she had been.
How unbearably miserable she had felt, and how hard she had tried to forget it all.
As she traced her memories step by step, a peculiar scene slipped into her mind.
Her brow furrowed in unease.
“What… memory is this?”
But only for a moment. Wanting to erase yesterday entirely, Wooju decided not to dwell any further.
She let out an ambiguous sound, somewhere between a groan and a sigh, and continued reading her friends’ messages.
Ji Haebeom:
I’m fine, though.
Ji Haebeom.
The message caught her eye—three simple characters, no profile picture, just honesty in its simplicity.
Wooju’s reaction was immediate. She dropped her phone as if burned and sprang upright, slapping her own cheeks with a sharp smack.
“Focus on what matters.”
Right now, the bigger problem was Giuk, who had suddenly suggested postponing their marriage.
“Let’s talk again tomorrow.”
That had been the best she could do yesterday. She had felt not just disappointed but heartbroken, and frustrated that the premonition she had sensed had become reality.
Yet, even now in the morning, there was no word from Giuk.
In the end, Wooju sent him a message first:
Can we meet today?
“Sweetie, are you awake?”
Suddenly, the door flung open without a knock.
Startled, Wooju quickly pretended to straighten her bed and turned away, unable to face her mother and Seon-gyeong directly.
“Why are you still in your room? I have an early gathering with my friends today.”
“Mom…”
Wooju gripped the blanket tightly, summoning her courage.
“Listen… I…”
“Oh, is Sim still busy these days? I want to cook something nice before your wedding, but you must be exhausted with the hospital work and the wedding prep too.”
Hearing Giuk’s name caused a lump to rise in her throat.
“…It’s fine. You don’t have to.”
“That’s not right. If you rest on the weekend, make him come over for a day. Weekdays are fine too, but you come home late then. Last time, he loved the braised short ribs and japchae. I wanted to make it again.”
“….”
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Though the confession that she might break up with Giuk surged impulsively in her mind, it wasn’t the right moment to act before anything had been settled.
Taking a deep breath, Wooju spoke:
“I don’t feel well right now. I don’t want to talk about food.”
“Tch, who told you to drink that much!”
Seon-gyeong’s scolding ended with the news that she had prepared bean sprout soup, and she left the room.
Wooju stood there, swallowing a sigh, enduring the storm raging in her chest.
She wished she were alone in a quiet mountain, where her tangled thoughts could clear and Haebeom would drift from her mind.
jj0
A sedan, bathed in dazzling sunlight, entered the parking lot.
Soon, a long leg stretched out from the driver’s seat, stopping in front of a valet who stood at attention.
It was Haebeom, gleaming even under the dim lights of the underground garage.
After leaving the car with the valet, he took the elevator.
P floor. Penthouse.
From the elevator, the entire Seoul skyline could be seen at a glance—his grandfather Ji Hyun-seop’s gift to his grandson who had decided to work in Korea.
From the moment Haebeom learned Wooju was the staff in charge of the new Malaysian factory, only one choice existed for him:
“Grandpa will watch over it.”
Ji Hyun-seop had even patted his grandson’s shoulder as he suddenly requested a display department assignment.
Thinking of his grandfather, Haebeom naturally shifted his thoughts to Wooju.
Her head resting on his shoulder as she dozed, mumbling in her sleep—it all remained like a dream.
Finally, he realized he had returned to her side.
Haebeom stepped out of the elevator and opened his mouth.
“Did you come back?”
Yet, someone was present in the house, contrary to his expectations. The weekend-off housekeeper greeted him.
“Madam is here.”
Reading Haebeom’s puzzled expression, she explained with an awkward smile:
“I wanted to contact you beforehand, but she told me not to…”
“So she called you over. You may leave now.”
Walking down the corridor from the entrance, Haebeom loosened his jacket and tie.
In the living room, Aeran sipped tea while watching economic news.
Haebeom entered the dressing room.
“Isn’t it a bit much to come to an empty house without letting anyone know?”
“Do I need permission even to visit my son’s house?”
“Of course you should.”
As expected, Aeran followed him into the dressing room, sitting on a stool with narrowed eyes.
“Do you even know what time it is? Did the display department have to work overnight before your formal appointment? So, just stay at headquarters for now. With time, you’ll rise naturally.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes. Do you think I would starve myself waiting for only you?”
“Then say what you need to quickly and leave. I want to rest.”
He had gone to the office earlier than his official appointment, checking all documents and materials overnight.
He had suppressed the urge to find Wooju’s seat several times and had not noticed the daybreak.
Listening to Aeran’s scolding was exhausting.
As he removed his jacket, putting down his watch, Haebeom paused.
“Hailey will be coming to Korea soon. I called her.”
