CHAPTER 35,………………………………………….
At Park Jin’s words, Dowoon’s face hardened.
“Is that right? Hongwon-gak.”
“…I think you’ve mistaken the person.”
Hongwon-gak? Was that the place he went to a few days ago?
So that’s why he mentioned something about getting hit there?
Chohui suddenly recalled what Dowoon had said a few days ago. No wonder it had felt so out of context—he had gone to Giru.
Her mood sank without her even realizing it, like a dark cloud settling over her.
But why had Dowoon gone to Giru?
Businessmen said it was nothing unusual to go to such places, and it seemed he went there frequently.
Chohui understood in her mind that Dowoon must have had a reason to go there.
Still, she couldn’t stop her heart from sinking.
“Weren’t you talking to Yeonhong and then leaving?”
“I don’t know anyone like that.”
Dowoon’s voice had gone cold—so cold it felt like ice was dripping from it.
Startled by his angry tone, Chohui quickly grabbed his wrist. If she stayed any longer, something irreversible might happen.
“Oh my, it’s gotten so late! Let’s go, Dowoon. It’s really late. We’ll talk again next time, Boki, Park Jin.”
Interrupting Park Jin, Chohui held onto Dowoon’s wrist.
She hurriedly led him out of the inn.
From behind, she faintly heard Boki’s “Goodbye,” but it was drowned out by the sound of the door slamming shut.
Chohui led Dowoon outside, still holding his hand.
It was a relief. If she hadn’t grabbed him, she might have ended up grabbing the man by the collar herself.
Once they were out of the inn’s view, Chohui abruptly stopped and spun around to face him. Startled by the sudden movement, Dowoon instinctively leaned back.
But Chohui held his hand firmly and narrowed her eyes.
“Were you following me?”
“Following you?”
“Then how did you even know where I was?”
“Didn’t you say you were going to the inn today?”
“I never told you where the inn was. How did you know?”
“You know I’ve lived in Sinuiju longer than you, right? The old part of the city is all the same.”
“Oh, I see.”
Muttering to herself, Chohui then raised her head again, seemingly trying to meet his gaze.
“Well, you should’ve come in and greeted me first. How could you just push the child like that!”
“Child? You said child? That dark man?”
Dowoon was incredulous. If he was a child, then everyone in the world would be a baby.
But Chohui pressed on as if she disagreed.
“A man? He was still just a kid, not even fully grown.”
“The guy who goes to Giru is hardly a kid.”
“You went there too, Hongwon-gak.”
Chohui bit her lip tightly, as if she had said something she didn’t want to.
Hopefully, she wasn’t misunderstanding. She didn’t want that.
Dowoon’s pupils flickered as he quickly explained.
“I went to find out Minamoto’s whereabouts. You know him—he goes to those places often. That was all I wanted to find out. I had no other intention.”
“Wh-who said anything?”
“I was afraid you’d misunderstand me as a womanizer again.”
“Oh, it’s not a misunderstanding. I wasn’t unaware that you go to such places.”
“I went there for a reason! I won’t go again.”
“Who told you not to? I’m just saying…”
Chohui spoke curtly at Dowoon’s words, but her eyes had softened noticeably compared to earlier.
“Anyway, the next time you see Park Jin, you should apologize. Got it?”
Park Jin? Hearing his name again irritated her.
What is it about that guy that he keeps getting protected like this?
“Why should I? He goes to Giru too—why should I defend him?”
He called me a womanizer.
Dowoon swallowed his next words.
“That’s because Park Jin probably went to deliver some fabric. He works at Obokjeom.”
“You even know where he works?”
“I found out because he’s Boki’s friend. And calling him ‘that guy’—he’s just a kid. Maybe twenty years old?”
“Twenty?”
Twenty? Dowoon replayed the earlier incident in his mind.
He hadn’t been paying attention to the man’s face, distracted as he was holding Chohui.
Looking back, the young man’s flustered face did seem immature.
Only then did Dowoon realize the person he had been so ready to snap at was likely in his late teens.
At least ten years younger than him. Getting angry at such a rookie—he felt ridiculous.
Yet, seeing the man holding Chohui, none of that mattered.
“I’m really embarrassed. I don’t even know how I should face Jin from now on.”
“Jin? You even call him by name?”
Jin?
The calm feeling she had just regained suddenly turned harsh.
Calling someone by name so casually—are they really not close?
Chohui exhaled a helpless sigh, unaware of her own feelings.
Petty as it may seem, she couldn’t help feeling irritated that she kept covering for that man.
“Dowoon… are you—”
Chohui narrowed her eyes again.
“…Jealous?”
“Ha!”
Dowoon scoffed at her words. Jealous?
No way.
Jealousy requires a rational mind, doesn’t it?
The feelings he had for Chohui weren’t rational.
He needed her, being with her brought him joy, and when she wasn’t there, he missed her.
It wasn’t a pure, helpless feeling like love.
So, this was just…
Protective instinct.
He couldn’t let Sung Chohui get hurt. If she got hurt, his plans would be ruined.
So he protected her—from everything that could threaten her.
Dowoon calmed himself and replied nonchalantly.
“Jealous? Did it look like I was jealous?”
“Yes. You were jealous because I called Park Jin by name, weren’t you?”
Chohui was confident, acting as if she already knew everything. Dowoon was dumbfounded by her strange assumption.
Ah. She was upset because he hadn’t called her by name.
Chohui continued, as if soothing him.
“Dowoon, don’t be jealous. Park Jin asked me to call him that. No matter what, I’m closer to you than that kid.”
“Ha…”
Dowoon felt his entire body strangely weaken at her words.
“I got some help from Boki and Park Jin. Park Jin is just an acquaintance, but you, Dowoon…”
Chohui trailed off, as if trying to find the right word.
Should I think about it? How does she see me, us?
He was curious—how Chohui viewed him. They were bound by contract, yes, but maybe she thought of him more intimately than that.
“…You’re my colleague.”
“…Colleague?”
“Yes, a colleague! The closest colleague. A comrade who keeps each other’s secrets.”
Chohui snapped her fingers as she spoke, looking completely satisfied as if she’d found the perfect answer.
Dowoon, however, felt a strange deflation at that answer.
Colleague…
True, it wasn’t wrong.
Not a friend, not a husband, not a lover. Just a colleague.
Yet, strangely, it twisted something inside him. And Chohui smiled innocently, unaware of his twisting feelings.
Looking at that face, he wanted to tease her.
“The closest colleague, huh? From shameless and lustful, that’s quite an improvement. How honorable.”
“Of course, it should be an honor! You now have a dependable colleague.”
His blood boiled, yet Chohui was all smiles.
“Very good.”
Dowoon calmed himself and tried to get into the rickshaw.
Then he realized he was still holding Chohui’s hand.
Earlier, she had grabbed his hand and pulled him out.
The contact suddenly felt hot, like holding the sun in his hands, brimming with energy.
He helped her into the rickshaw while still holding her hand, then got in himself.
Only then did Chohui notice their hands were still clasped and stared at them.
“Uh… Dowoon.”
“Oh right, I’ve found out the next schedule.”
She’d probably tell him to let go.
Dowoon quickly spoke to divert her thoughts. Thankfully, her gaze lifted back to him.
“The wives’ meeting?”
“Yes. The formal wives’ gathering is scheduled for two weeks from now, but Minamoto Sakura will go to the Hiranishi household the day after tomorrow. Seems like a small meeting.”
“The day after tomorrow… then we have some time.”
Chohui muttered to herself thoughtfully, as if pondering something.
Dowoon continued.
“I know where the Hiranishi residence is, so I can take you there. The problem is whether they’ll actually meet you.”
“First, I’ll have to persuade Mrs. Hiranishi.”
“She’s not as easy as she looks. Clueless and silly at times, but utterly loyal to Minamoto.”
Chohui seemed slightly startled by the sharp critique.
“Hmm. I already have a plan in mind.”
“What plan?”
A plan? She didn’t have time to prepare—what could it be?
Dowoon pressed, but Chohui just smiled, as if to reassure him.
“Trust me this time.”
“I always do.”
“Yes… because we’re colleagues.”
Chohui turned her face outward, embarrassed. Their hands remained heatedly clasped.
Dowoon didn’t let go of her hand until they reached home.
He just… wanted to.
“Boki and Park Jin helped me a bit. Park Jin is just an acquaintance, but Dowoon…”
How should I put it? She thought for a moment, then remembered.
“…My colleagues died because of me.”
A few days ago, at dawn when Dowoon had a nightmare, he confessed this to Chohui.
That was why she first called him a “colleague.”
Perhaps she thought she could make up, even a little, for what Dowoon had lost.
Chohui looked down at Dowoon’s hand, which was holding hers tightly.
Breaking the silence, she spoke first.
“I hope we succeed and get the information this time.”
She could now somewhat understand how desperately he needed it.
She thought she could understand him a little better now—Lee Dowoon, why he clung to the independence movement so fiercely, why he could focus on independence above all else.
It must be for the comrades who had died.
They too were probably people who shared the same ideals.
If he succeeded in this mission, maybe Lee Dowoon wouldn’t have to be haunted by nightmares anymore.
Chohui recalled a conversation she had with Madam Na a few days ago before she left.
“Mother, I’m sorry for lying. You probably won’t believe me, but I didn’t intend to deceive you.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure it was our son who ordered it. Even if there was no contact, could a mother not know what her own child feels?”
Then suddenly, Madam Na grabbed Chohui’s hand tightly.
