Chapter 13
Even Though I’d End Up Liking You This Much
There was no doubt something was wrong with her.
She didn’t know what exactly had gone wrong—only that it had.
Why…?
Even now, as she tried to convince herself it was strange, Gunwoo’s face kept flashing in her mind.
Before she could calm down, the heat on her cheeks flared even hotter.
“Phew…”
She fanned herself with her hand, trying to cool the burning in her face, but it was useless.
I’ve never seen him like that before.
Gunwoo had always been expressionless.
They’d known each other for quite some time, and yet she’d never once seen him smile.
But today, he had.
That gentle curve of his lips, the soft smile—it had been bright, radiant even. His dark eyes, which always seemed sunken like the depths of a still lake, had sparkled with life as he looked down at her.
Seeing that rare light in his gaze—it was unfamiliar, strange, and somehow new.
Something inside her stirred in that moment.
She didn’t know what it was, only that it was the first time she had ever felt something like it.
“So why am I… like this…?”
The moment she caught sight of her reflection in the elevator’s mirror, she froze.
“Get a grip, Kang Yeoul.”
To think she was flustered like some teenager just because Gunwoo smiled at her once.
“If I knew him better, maybe I could make sense of this.”
But she didn’t. She didn’t know what kind of person he was, what he thought, or what he wanted.
“All I know is that he’s not a bad person…”
There’s a saying that birds of a feather flock together—but that saying could never apply to Gunwoo and Seungtae.
Seungtae had pretended to be Gunwoo’s friend while secretly despising him out of sheer inferiority.
They couldn’t possibly be the same kind of people.
‘Seungtae’s a good guy.’
That was the first thing Gunwoo had ever said to her.
It had taken three whole years before he ever spoke to her.
‘Yes.’
‘He really likes you, you know. He’s always bragging about you to me.’
‘Really? Seungtae oppa… likes me that much?’
‘Yeah. You can trust him. He’ll make you happy.’
‘Thank you, sunbae.’
‘Be happy, okay?’
‘I will.’
‘And if by any chance…’
‘Yes?’
‘No, never mind. Just… live happily.’
That had been the same day Seungtae proposed to her.
“Even after everything that bastard Seungtae did to you, you still haven’t learned? Are you seriously losing your mind just because of one smile?”
Don’t be fooled by a man’s kindness—or his gentleness.
And don’t forget—Seungtae had been sweet and affectionate for the first few months, too.
He used to smile often, show concern for her daily life.
And stupidly, she’d believed that his growing indifference was just temporary.
She’d believed he still loved her.
That foolish belief had led her straight to a death sentence—and to death itself.
“Don’t forget, Kang Yeoul. You only got involved with Gunwoo to break up with Kim Seungtae.”
Don’t even think about what Seungtae said—that Gunwoo liked her.
Don’t question why he wanted to help her in every possible way.
She only needed to focus on one thing: her cello.
As long as she kept playing, nothing else mattered.
And she had to concentrate on ending things with Seungtae.
‘I’ll handle the rest.’
Gunwoo’s voice flashed through her mind.
“Ah, right. I forgot to ask him…”
She had been too flustered by his smile to even think of asking.
“What exactly did he mean by that?”
She couldn’t even guess.
Maybe he meant what I asked him to do?
That had to be it—the whole reason she got entangled with him in the first place.
Of course that was what he meant.
And yet…
Something feels off…
Why did it feel like there was more behind his words?
It had been only a month ago in real time, but for her—who had already died once—it felt like a distant memory.
Still, she remembered that first conversation with Gunwoo vividly.
Maybe because he’d always been so quiet, it stuck with her more than anything.
Come to think of it… he stopped himself that day. What was he going to say?
At the time, she hadn’t cared. She had been too annoyed that he’d tagged along during the proposal.
She’d been too focused on Seungtae’s words—on hearing that he loved her.
Though, even then… I wasn’t sure if I believed it.
Even she, as dense as she was, had sometimes doubted him.
Because whenever Gunwoo was around, Seungtae acted warm and kind—but the moment Gunwoo was gone, his tone turned cold, his face full of irritation.
There were moments when she’d wondered, Does he even like me at all?
And then Gunwoo—Seungtae’s best friend—had vouched for his feelings.
So of course she’d focused on that, instead of whatever else Gunwoo had wanted to say.
“Ha… Kim Seungtae, you really outdid yourself. You fooled even Gunwoo just to mess with him, didn’t you?”
Now she understood.
Seungtae had never liked her. Not even a little.
He had only pretended to love her to torment Gunwoo.
“Gunwoo wished me happiness because he believed Seungtae really loved me.”
He had believed that Seungtae, the man who “loved” her, could never make her unhappy.
“He wished me happiness… so he’ll never hurt me.”
Even if Gunwoo had been deceived, his sincerity had been real.
He had truly wished for her happiness.
And someone capable of that could never be like Seungtae.
Maybe that was why—no matter what Gunwoo was planning—she wasn’t worried.
Because someone who could sincerely wish another’s happiness… could never be a bad person.
Headquarters of Seodo Group, 13th floor.
It was nearly midnight.
Gunwoo had come to the office instead of going home.
He flicked on the lights, filling the dark room with brightness.
Then he quickly pressed the power button on his computer.
The faint hum of the machine filled the silence.
While it booted, he opened the bottom drawer of his desk.
There lay a black document folder.
His sharp dark eyes gleamed as he pulled it out and opened it.
[Seodo Group – New Business Proposal]
Bold black letters.
It was a project he had planned entirely for Yeoul.
But it had never seen the light of day—because he couldn’t afford to do anything for his best friend’s girlfriend.
“Not anymore.”
Whether real or not, on the surface, he and Yeoul were now in a relationship.
“From now on, I can do anything for her. Even more than this.”
When Yeoul had decided to marry Seungtae, she’d given up her dream of studying at the Royal Conservatory—a dream like a miracle.
She had never said it aloud, but her downcast eyes had told him everything.
So he’d prepared something. For the future.
He had planned to establish an in-house orchestra under Seodo Group, so Yeoul could join it—and with her skill, she could easily achieve global recognition.
But the proposal had been shelved, buried in the drawer.
“Royal Conservatory… I really hoped it would work out, but of course not.”
When he’d heard from the front desk that Yeoul had come looking for him, his first thought had been, What about your practice?
If the cello was what made her happiest, and she’d skipped practice to see him—then something serious must have happened.
So he’d gone to her school.
She had made up her mind to break up with Seungtae.
He had quietly hoped that meant she might revive her dream of studying abroad.
But no—she hadn’t said anything.
And that silence had told him all he needed to know.
If the opportunity to study at the Royal Conservatory had truly come again, she would’ve smiled brightly and told him herself.
‘I’ll take care of the rest.’
From now on, he would do everything in his power for her.
Just in case, while waiting for her, he opened the proposal file on his computer and began revising it—planning how to refine it for her sake.
Then—he froze.
Out of nowhere, the image of Yeoul rising on tiptoe to kiss him at the hotel flashed through his mind.
His body stiffened.
The fingers that had been flying over the keyboard slowly lifted… and touched his lips.
“My woman…”
Just thinking of her made his heart pound uncontrollably.
She made him feel alive. She made him look forward to tomorrow.
“To think I’d end up liking you this much…”
Until now, he had never shown it—never even hinted at his feelings.
Because if he revealed them, Yeoul would be in danger.
So he’d turned away.
He’d forced himself to hide it—to make sure no one ever noticed where his gaze lingered, or where his heart truly lay.
But now…
“No more running away.”
Only now did he finally understand—
Holding back when you could reach out wasn’t protection.
It was nothing but cowardice disguised as an excuse.
