“30 minutes.”
Dajeong nodded. For a while, both remained silent.
“There are many pine trees here.”
“It’s a neighborhood known for its trees.”
“Ah.”
Jaeho chuckled softly.
“Is it awkward? Should I turn on some music?”
Without waiting for an answer, he turned on the radio. A ballad fitting for an autumn night began to play gently.
“We still have 28 minutes left. What should we do? I’m bored. Will you tell me about yourself, Yoon Dajeong?”
“About me?”
Dajeong was surprised. She rarely opened up about her life first, becoming overly defensive after her brother’s death. Very few people at the hospital where she worked knew her situation.
“There’s not much to tell about me…”
But thinking from Jaeho’s perspective, she realized it made sense for him to be curious. After all, Dajeong knew much about his job and activities, while Jaeho knew nothing about her.
She felt a bit sorry.
“Just tell me anything. Just don’t let me fall asleep.”
As the time neared midnight, Dajeong began.
“I’m a nurse at a university hospital.”
Jaeho smiled slightly.
“It suits you.”
“And my family… mother, father, and a brother.”
“Didn’t do a background check.”
“Ah.”
What should she talk about? What do people usually discuss in such situations? Hobbies? But Dajeong didn’t have any notable hobbies, except for the man sitting next to her, driving the car.
She decided to talk about her family.
“I had a brother two years older than me. His name was Yoon Woo-jung.”
Jaeho suddenly fell silent, so Dajeong continued on her own.
“My brother went on a school trip to Jeju Island during high school. The lodging caught fire. It wasn’t properly equipped with fire safety measures, and it was an illegally extended building, so the fire spread quickly. There were no emergency exits, and the windows were locked to prevent students’ misbehavior. Most of the students couldn’t escape and perished in the tragedy. It was a huge news story back then – do you remember it? The Jeju Resort Fire Incident, 13 years ago. That incident took my brother’s life.”
She was asking him if he remembered being there. Jaeho was speechless.
He felt as if flames from that devilish fire were filling his heart again. The sounds of fire trucks and sirens, the stinging smell, and the blinding smoke rose again, choking him. He took a shallow breath.
“I’m sorry. It’s a bit of a gloomy story.”
“It’s okay.”
“I didn’t understand much back then, but there were many strange things about the incident. A large number of alcohol bottles were found in the teachers’ lodging, separate from the students. None of the teachers were at the scene of the fire. They all managed to escape after missing the timing to report the fire. Moreover, the fire started at the entrance, and a substance resembling petroleum was found there. It was a reasonable suspicion of arson, blocking the exit from the beginning. There might be more, but that’s all I remember for now. Some of this might be distorted memories, but most of it should be accurate.”
Jaeho knew. An arrow of fire struck his heart.
The suspected arsonist was a first-year teacher named Ha Jaewoo, who had a history of setting fire to a friend’s clothes in high school. He was also intoxicated on the day of the incident. Incredibly, he was released without charges, and the case was hastily closed.
After the incident, Ha Jaewoo left the teaching profession and disappeared. Jaeho had been searching for him for several years.
“Now I have the power to find him and listen to the truth myself. If possible, I would even consider putting him back on trial.”
However, the man’s whereabouts remained elusive.
“My father…”
Dajeong continued.
“My father was a manager at a small software-related company. After that day, he stopped going to work. He gathered the families of the victims to sue the chairman and shout the truth to the media. But nothing changed. And my mother, she ran a cafe, but had to sell it for next to nothing as our family’s finances worsened.”
The weight of the years she must have endured as a victim’s family seemed like a huge mountain. It would have been painful and hard. She must have cried through countless nights, haunted by nightmares. Dajeong’s life as a high school student came to mind.
“…That’s what happened. My father grew increasingly exhausted, and on top of everything, he was defrauded by one of the victim’s family members. Forced to sell our house, he gave up on everything. He left a note saying he hoped my mother and I would live happily with the insurance money. But we later found out that his policy didn’t cover suicide.”
“…”
“We never intended to use the insurance money, but even that wasn’t on my father’s side. Afterward, my mother collapsed, and she’s been in the hospital ever since. The people who fed me, put me to bed, and kept me alive were Lee Kyung-jun and Lee Kyung-mi. Ah, Kyung-mi is Kyung-jun’s sister. She works at the same hospital as me.”
“That must have been hard for you.”
“Ah…”
Why She Is Still Unmoved (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: He uses various methods to seek her affection, but she remains unmoved.
Synopsis:
Si Qingyu is a doctor who has saved countless lives and enjoys tranquility.
Luo Shaoxuan is ruthless, deeply scheming, and the top young master in the capital. He admires Si Qingyu.
Luo Shaoxuan: I want to be the only one in your eyes and heart.
Features a cold and calm female lead vs A noble and scheming male lead.
There will be both sweetness and torture towards the male after their marriage.
