“No, I mean, so… so…”

So-eun held her throbbing head and stammered.

“So, the lawyer helped me break up with Yang Hee-wook, and the lawyer is actually Hee-wook’s enemy… Is that what you’re saying?”

“Enemy? That’s funny.”

Hyeonji, who had poured out her claims like a storm, chuckled.

“He might be my enemy, but I don’t know if I’m his enemy. That jerk probably doesn’t even know of my existence.”

It was a bitter aftertaste, a laughter tinged with sadness.

After being silent for a while as if recalling something, Hyeonji spoke again.

“One day, I saw Hee-wook whining. I heard everything from Hee-wook, about how Ms. Han So-eun is dating the head director of Ms. Han So-eun’s company, and I just came here because I needed a capable person to handle the materials I’ve collected so far. Now that I’ve handed over the documents, there’s nothing more to see.”

Her voice explaining the reason for coming here today was decidedly businesslike.

“If you still doubt my intentions, check the documents. All the misdeeds Hee-wook has committed in document forgery are summarized there. If you still find it suspicious, just live like that.”

So-eun’s heart was so unsettled by Hyeonji’s story that she had to regulate her breathing continuously. While organizing the information pouring in like a tidal wave in her mind, her pupils moved several times from one end of the office to the other.

She had a question.

“Did you know that I had a liver transplant?”

“I found out about the surgery about a month later. If I had known before the surgery, we wouldn’t have met like this.”

Unshed tears welled up in So-eun’s eyes. As if unable to bear the sight, Hyeonji turned her head. Hyeonji’s face, trying hard to maintain a poker face, seemed unfamiliar.

“Then why did you recommend drinking at that time? At Omo-te-san-do Hills.”

“I wanted Hee-wook and Ms. So-eun to break up quickly.”

“…….”

“But that drink, I diluted it a lot, so there wasn’t much alcohol in it.”

“I was very drunk at that time.”

“So, I said I was wrong.”

“It’s not because of lingering feelings… it’s not like that…”

Mumbling a response and thinking about it, So-eun had been almost silent in the bar that day. As she left the bar, she felt the alcohol rush to her head. And meeting Tae-jun, she seemed to have almost lost her senses.

Did I want to get drunk because I wanted to get drunk? Suddenly, that thought crossed her mind.

“… Did you think I was that foolish?”

“It’s just words. Why would I grasp at such things and corner you?”

Hyeonji’s eyes, once filled with passion, a burning gaze, now calmly settled. Her voice also seemed much more relaxed.

After a while, the door opened.

“Is the conversation over?”
Leaving only the two of them in the office, Tae-jun couldn’t endure for more than 10 minutes. It was as if he couldn’t withstand even a chin-up that he boasted about.

But now, there was no need to ask Tae-jun to leave since the conversation was over. Although she still needed to organize her thoughts in her mind.

While So-eun silently glanced at the two, Hyeonji spoke to Tae-jun.

“It seems like you’re scared I might bring up something strange, sir.”

“It’s not funny.”

Receiving Hyeonji’s teasing without any worth reacting to, Tae-jun stared at her with a terrifying expression, as if there was nothing uncomfortable or contemptible. After the misunderstanding was cleared, looking at the two again felt different. Their existence seemed pitiful, like looking at a pair of bad siblings.

As if reading So-eun’s mind, Hyeonji opened her mouth again.

“Sir, Han So-eun seems to have misunderstood our relationship. What do you think?”

Tae-jun glared at Hyeonji with a scary expression, as if there was nothing more unpleasant and contemptible. Hyeonji, amused by that sight, burst into laughter.

“Then I’ll leave now. It was nice meeting you after a long time.”

Finally, Hyeonji stood up from her seat.

“And I have ongoing work, so I’ll spend time dating Yang Hee-wook for a while, so don’t be surprised.”

“……. ”

“When things settle down, I’ll leave for the United States. If you have anything to say, say it now.”

“Excuse me.”

So-eun, who didn’t know what to say, stood up together as if pushed, but she couldn’t figure out what to say.

Did you pretend to seduce Yang Hee-wook?

From So-eun’s perspective, it was an incomprehensible situation. What kind of situation could lead to planning a fake relationship? How could someone easily kiss and say they like the person they hate?

She was too curious, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask. The intense feelings that planned a fake relationship seemed beyond her imagination.

Feeling awkward to apologize and say sorry, So-eun asked an irrelevant question.

“Is the refrigerator okay?”

“The refrigerator?”

She recalled that Hyeonji had asked her to fix her refrigerator. It was because fixing the refrigerator was something she could do.

Hyeonji chuckled before finally remembering what she had forgotten.

“Oh, that. A relic produced by K Electronics.”