CHAPTER 21……………………………………….
Not long after getting married, Hana received a message on her phone.
[Hana, long time no see. How have you been?] — Yoo Tae-oh
Hana was startled when she saw the name.
Yoo Tae-oh.
The man she had liked in college. The first person to whom she had given her everything. Her first love.
But after graduation, he had suddenly cut off contact.
At the time, she couldn’t understand why he had stopped reaching out. The time they spent together had been happy, and she had believed he loved her.
Hana hesitated for a moment, then replied:
[I’m doing well. What’s up?]
A reply came almost immediately.
[Just thought of you. How have you been lately? I heard you got married.]
[Yeah. That’s right.]
[I came back to Korea recently. I was working in the U.S., but I returned this time.]
[I see.]
[Is it uncomfortable for you to be in touch with me? If so, I won’t contact you.]
Hana stared blankly at the message.
Uncomfortable? No, she was rather pleased. Now that the feelings she had for him had faded, Tae-oh’s message felt like it was touching a warm memory from the past in her otherwise cold and monotonous life.
[No, it’s fine.]
After that day, Hana occasionally exchanged messages with Tae-oh.
They asked about each other’s well-being, shared daily life stories, and reminisced about old times. Hana enjoyed those moments. He listened to her, empathized with her, and spoke warmly.
[You seem to have had a tough day today.]
[Yeah… the meeting ran a bit long.]
[You worked hard. Rest well.]
Those short conversations were comforting to Hana.
Geon-woo was always kind. His words and glances carried sincerity. At first, that kindness felt burdensome, but over time it quietly stirred Hana’s heart.
Whenever his hand brushed hers, whenever she saw his smile, she felt a brief warmth.
But it wasn’t love—at least, not yet.
In fact, the closer Geon-woo’s sincerity came, the more Hana felt she didn’t deserve to accept that warmth.
Geon-woo was on a different level from her. Calm, mature, and considerate in every situation.
By comparison, she always felt clumsy with emotions and barely able to handle the feelings of others.
Moreover, this marriage had originally been arranged at Ki-hoon’s command.
It was not love, not a choice—it was a transaction.
That fact made her feel even more constrained.
So, despite Geon-woo’s kindness, she could never fully open her heart. For Hana, this marriage was a contract imposed by her father, and that reality always pulled her back.
She concluded that she must not expect anything more from this relationship.
The small things they had shared in college, the atmosphere back then, his gentle way of accepting her still-clumsy self—those stories felt like a rare space where she could catch her breath.
She only needed the familiar empathy of someone who had shared a brief past with her.
Clinging to that alone, Hana continued to keep in touch with Tae-oh without creating any deeper meaning.
Then one day, she received a message from Tae-oh asking to meet.
[Are you free Friday evening? Let’s have a meal after so long.]
Hana hesitated. Texting was fine, but meeting in person was a different matter. Yet Tae-oh kept sending warm messages.
[We haven’t met in so long. Just one meal. Comfortable, like old times.]
Finally, Hana met Tae-oh that evening. The hotel restaurant was quiet and cozy. Tae-oh looked just the same—no, even more polished. Life in America seemed to have changed him.
“Long time no see, Hana.”
His smile was still warm.
“Yeah… long time.”
Hana smiled awkwardly. The conversation flowed naturally, covering college memories, each other’s recent lives, and ordinary topics.
But he kept offering her drinks.
“Have a little tonight. It’s been a while.”
“I brought my car…”
“You can call a driver. Come on, just one drink.”
It became harder for Hana to refuse. One drink, then two—soon her face was flushed.
“Hana, can I be honest?”
Tae-oh asked cautiously.
“What?”
“I… really regret cutting off contact back then. Losing you was the biggest mistake of my life.”
Hana’s heart sank. She was completely unprepared for such words, and suddenly the situation felt unbearably awkward.
“Why are you saying that all of a sudden…”
“It’s not too late. Can we… start over?”
“Tae-oh, I’m married.”
“That was a contract marriage, right? Are you happy? Really?”
Hana couldn’t answer. How could she answer if asked whether she was happy? Happiness had always been a luxury in her life.
“Hana…”
Tae-oh took her hand. Hana was startled and tried to pull away, but he gripped her fingers even tighter.
“Let’s just go back to the past for one day. Just like it’s only us.”
“…W-why are you doing this all of a sudden…”
Yet Hana’s voice lacked strength. She was partly drunk and partly shaken in her heart.
“Want to go somewhere quiet to talk?”
“No, I should go now. It’s late.”
Hana shook her head and tried to leave.
“Wait. Go freshen up in the bathroom first. You look very drunk.”
Tae-oh said gently. Hana hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she looked at her flushed face and tried to calm her breathing. When she noticed her eyes loosening a bit, she quickly rubbed them.
Her reflection was unfamiliar. Why was she here? Why had she met Tae-oh?
“Go home. Quickly.”
Steeling herself, she came out. Tae-oh was pouring wine.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine. I should really go now.”
“Have one more. Who knows when we’ll see each other again?”
Tae-oh handed her a glass. Hana tried to refuse, but he had already lifted her glass.
“To us.”
Hana had no choice but to accept. After a sip, a strange dizziness swept over her.
“Tae-oh… I really need to go.”
Her vision blurred. Her body felt weak, and she braced herself on the table.
“Uh… what’s happening…”
“You must be drunk. Sit down for a bit.”
Tae-oh’s voice sounded distant. Hana opened and closed her eyes, but her consciousness faded.
When she opened her eyes again, an unfamiliar ceiling blocked her view.
Hana sat up in shock. She was in a neatly arranged hotel room. Seeing herself lying on the bed, her heart sank.
“What… what happened…”
She quickly checked herself. Luckily, her clothes were intact. Hana steadied her trembling legs and rushed to the bathroom.
She tried to retrace her memory while washing her face with cold water, but everything after drinking at the restaurant was blurry.
Hana quickly fixed her appearance and stepped out.
At that moment, the door opened with a card key.
“Awake?”
Tae-oh came in, holding a bottle of water.
“Why… am I here…?”
Hana’s voice trembled.
“I brought you here because you looked like you might collapse. Don’t worry. Nothing happened.”
Hana felt a complicated mix of relief and anger as she clutched her bag. She headed for the door, but Tae-oh grabbed her arm.
Hana instinctively tried to push his hand away.
