Heewook didn’t respond to the employee’s greeting and left the store immediately.

The woman and the man had disappeared by now. Muttering curses, Heewook walked quickly, looking around, and then returned to his original place.

‘I must have seen it wrong.’

How could Hansoeun be with Kim Taejun?

Stupid Hansoeun could never entice Kim Taejun. A woman with no significance in education, occupation, or family background. Even if the two were playing around for a moment, would Kim Taejun, a man of high stature, be sincere with such a trivial woman? Except for her appearance, she was truly nothing.

‘Ah, let’s not care about useless things and focus on my worries.’

Fidgeting with the ring case, Heewook, upon returning to the car, immediately looked into where he could find a jewelry seller dealing with imitation products.

No matter how he thought about it, it felt like a waste of money. Spending five billion and five hundred million won on a proposal ring that you wear for a short time and not even a wedding ring was, in his opinion, nonsensical.
Even if there are many benefits to becoming Hyunji’s family afterwards, the ring seemed too precious to be left behind. Whether it’s a house or land, their value is increasing, but the ring, far from increasing in value, was a luxury item that could never fetch its original price even if resold later. Perhaps it would only retain the value of the gold used. It was disappointing for Heewook that Hyunji made him spend money on such a thing.

Having contacted the jeweler, Heewook immediately went to the jeweler’s store. He showed the proposal ring, and the jeweler, who examined it closely with a magnifying glass, spoke.

“The diamond cutting is solid. The quality seems good. It’s not something anyone can make. If you want the same quality, you’ll need to invest another five hundred in the diamond price.”

Heewook’s eyes and ears perked up at the jeweler’s words.

“So, you’re saying you can make a ring identical to this one for five hundred? Perfectly?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s why I’m a professional. I’ll make it exactly the same for you.”

With the jeweler’s confident assurance, Heewook’s lips seemed to lengthen, as if caught in his ears.

“If it’s five hundred, I almost invested five billion and five hundred million in making this ring.”

“Five hundred million is just inflated.”

“That’s right. It’s inflated. Well then, I’ll leave it to you.”

Heewook paid the deposit and left the store in a good mood.

From the department store to Taejun’s apartment, the distance wasn’t far, and the car quickly arrived at Taejun’s apartment. Taejun came out first to open the car door for Soeun, but she got out on her own.

Seeing Soeun like that, Taejun smiled when his phone vibrated. It was a call from Taejun’s aunt, Seokhwa. He ignored the first call but couldn’t ignore it when it vibrated again.

“Just a moment.”

Taejun took Soeun’s hand, pressed the call button while moving, and said, “Hello.”

“Yes. I’m on my way home.”

Taejun’s steps stopped where he was. Soeun also stopped.

Taejun looked at Soeun with hesitant eyes. He couldn’t let his aunt meet Soeun.

Knowing nothing, Soeun widened her eyes and licked her dry lips. Taejun quickly changed his steps and brought Soeun back to the car. The sound of a car approaching could be heard from the other side.

“I see a car, I’ll go to my aunt.”

After hanging up the phone, Taejun’s voice lowered.

“Just wait a moment. My aunt is here.”

Without checking Soeun’s intention, Taejun closed the door and hastily ran in the direction from which the car sounds were coming. Shortly, Seokhwa got out of the car and waved at Taejun.

“Taejun!”

“Aunt.”

The Taejun who ran to her greeted Seokhwa warmly. He was smiling, but inside, he was burning.

“I heard you broke the moon jar.”

“I’m sorry.”
“So, this time, I brought Joseon white porcelain. How about it? Doesn’t it give a sense of stability?”

“Sigh, Aunt. You can just stick the broken one.”

“How do you stick something that’s broken? And if you stick it, its value drops instantly.”

“We’re not going to sell it anywhere, and we’re not even going to pour water into it.”

“Still, take this too. I came all the way here to give you this. It’ll look nice next to the broken moon jar.”

Taejun reluctantly accepted the gift that Seokhwa handed over. He needed to send Seokhwa back quickly without much fuss.

“Thank you. I’ll take good care of it this time.”

“Sure.”

“But did Director Song Munkyung already talk about it?”

“How could that be? Director Song’s mouth is so heavy. You were looking for something like a moon jar, and when I was meeting the curator, Director Song contacted the curator without even asking me. It’s nothing special, but Director Song is quite cute when he sticks to things.”

“……”

“It’s a bit jealous that you asked Director Song first without asking me, but I’m still proud that you seem to be getting along well with Director Song.”

“He’s a good person. Very professional.”

“That’s right. I hope the two of you get along well in the future.”

Seokhwa, who encouraged him with a pleased expression, patted Taejun’s arm and opened the car door.

“I’ve delivered it, so I should go now.”

“Aren’t you coming up?”

“Yeah. I have an appointment.”

“Yes. Take care.”

Seokhwa got into the car. Taejun waved at Seokhwa and occasionally glanced at where his car was.

After a while, Seokhwa rolled down the window.

“Taejun.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll contact you and come next time. I’m sorry.”

“No problem. But it’s better if you contact and come. My aunt might take a wasted step.”

“That’s right. Take care.”

Taejun waved off Seokhwa with a gentle smile, and after Seokhwa’s car was no longer visible, he returned to the car.

“Sorry, my aunt came suddenly…”

While opening the front passenger door and offering an apology, he couldn’t finish the sentence. Soeun was not in the car.

Drdr. Soon, a text message arrived for Taejun. It was from Soeun.

Mr. Lee, I’m sorry. I’ll go home now.