I felt exhausted by the greed in her eyes, trying to pierce through me.

Moreover, above all, my head hurt from the perfume and the harsh scent of cosmetics emanating from Ms. Oh.

‘Jae Ha, you were surrounded by enemies.’

They were Ji Han and Ms. Oh, who had been looking for opportunities to usurp Jae Ha’s position all their lives.

Thinking about Jae Ha living with them made a part of my heart heavy.

I even thought that he might have lived a more precarious life than I did.

“Thanks to that, I fell hard for Jae Ha.”

As I thought of Jae Ha, the corners of my mouth naturally curved upward.

Conversely, Ms. Oh’s face, looking at my smile, gradually lost its light.

“Madam, you must be happy. You have two grown sons.”

Finally, the mask of Ms. Oh’s face, hidden under thick makeup, disappeared.

Ms. Oh rose from her seat, showing me her displeasure without hesitation.

“Enough!”

“……”

“I’m tired from coming back to Korea after a long time. Go home.”

As it was what I wanted, I got up from my seat without hesitation.

As I went to pick up my bag and head out to the terrace, I turned back to her.

“Oh, right. When I see Seo Rin, I think she goes well with Ji Han.”

At my final jab, Ms. Oh seemed to lose her energy, and she burst into a snicker.

Then, her trembling hand grasped the tablecloth.

“People are naturally attracted to those similar to themselves.”

“Yeo Jin, you!”

It was the moment when Ms. Oh, calling my name, was about to slam the table.

The sound of footsteps coming from the distant entrance gradually approached.

I widened my eyes at the sight of Jae Ha walking towards us.

From afar, he seemed to check on my condition and then came straight to me.

“Are you okay?”

“As you can see, I’m fine. But why did you come when you didn’t have to?”

It was Jae Ha, who had stubbornly come looking for me when I was about to finish my meal and leave.

“How can I leave you alone here? Ha……”

Only after confirming with his eyes that there was no injury did Jae Ha let out the breath he had been holding.

Then, he embraced my waist deeply and turned defiantly towards Ms. Oh.

“Long time no see, Madam.”

“Jae Ha, how did you get here? Don’t tell me, Yeo Jin, did you call him?”

Ms. Oh’s gaze swiftly turned to me, as if surprised by Jae Ha’s sudden appearance.

Then, her icy gaze fell on Jae Ha’s hand around my waist.

I nodded to her inquiry, accepting that there was nothing I could do now that Jae Ha had come.

“Yes. I called him. It seemed like a preengagement meeting.”

“Engagement? How could you do this… Are you both out of your minds?”

Without the permission of Chairman Seo, Ms. Oh couldn’t set foot in Korea.

That’s why Ms. Oh couldn’t participate in the formal engagement meeting with Ji Han that took place in her previous life.

She seemed to grasp the meaning of the engagement I was talking about, but couldn’t close her gaping mouth.

“What kind of rudeness is this! Jae Ha, how could you steal your brother’s woman?”

“Stealing? Madam, if someone hears you, they might get the wrong idea.”

Since Jae Ha was right behind me, I couldn’t see his face.

However, seeing Ms. Oh’s face gradually contort, I figured it wasn’t a good situation.

“Initially, I was his fiancée. I’ve just returned to my original place.”

“That’s a forced excuse. You were the one who rejected it.”

“Doesn’t it sound more forced to return to a fiancé who was messing around with a junior before the meal?”

Jae Ha pointed out Ji Han’s inappropriate behavior in a low, subdued voice.

At his sharp gaze, Ms. Oh flinched.

‘Why is he acting like this all of a sudden? Is it because of Jae Ha?’

As Ms. Oh’s face noticeably changed, she tried to turn towards Jae Ha.

Jae Ha put strength into the hand on my waist, preventing me from turning towards him.

“From now on, don’t casually call this person.”

“……”

“If such a thing happens again, I might want to reclaim that successor’s position.”

With those words, the strength of his hand, which had been holding me, was released.

Only then, turning around to face Jae Ha, he looked at me with rounded eyes and smiled.

“I’ll go now.”

Jae Ha gently wrapped my hand floating in the air and led me.

Ms. Oh watched us with fierce eyes until Jae Ha and I disappeared from her sight.

As soon as we stepped into the elevator, a mixed scream was heard from inside the house.

When Jae Ha came to his senses, he realized he was already in a moving car.

He had talked well in front of Ms. Oh, but the moment he realized he was alone with Jae Ha, he lost his words.

When he glanced at Jae Ha, he couldn’t read any emotion from his face while he was driving.

‘What could he be thinking.’

The thoughts he had been putting off gradually invaded his mind.

He didn’t know where to start the conversation.

Should he ask if there’s someone he really likes?

Or should he ask about the inauguration ceremony that happened today, and what was the meaning of the behavior shown in front of people.

‘No, how can I ask that?’

I was not yet ready to hear the truth.

I kept swallowing the sigh that was about to come out, and turned my gaze away from Jae Ha.

Beyond the car window, the sky was tinged with a beautiful sunset.

I had come to Hannamdong in the bright afternoon sunlight, but it was already getting dark.

That’s when Jae Ha’s car started to drive somewhere.

At first, I thought we would be going back to his house.

But at some point, I was startled to see us leaving Seoul and entering the highway.

No matter how much I thought about it, we were not on the way home.

“Where are we going right now?”

At my belated question, a soft smile appeared on Jae Ha’s lips.

“You’re asking that now. I think your question is a bit late.”

“Late? Where are we going right now?”

Without a specific answer from Jae Ha, looking at the scenery getting further away from Seoul, I was even more confused.

Every now and then, when I saw the highway signs passing by, it seemed like we were heading somewhere in Gangwondo.

No matter how much I thought about it, the distance we had covered so far wasn’t something we could easily return from.

“Is it a distance that we can cover in a day?”

At my question, he shook his head.

“Of course, it’s not a place where you can go and return in a day.”

“Wait a minute. Then what? I don’t have anything with me.”

All I had was the handbag I had brought when I went to the broadcasting station.

Moreover, if it was a distance that we couldn’t cover in a day, that meant I would have to spend the night with him.

‘Do I have to be with him in this state?’

The future was not just bewildering, it was so bewildering that I couldn’t even laugh.

With a perplexed look on my face, I stared at Jae Ha, who flicked a glance at me.

“Because I think the world is too noisy these days.”

“……”

“If we had gone home, we would have been photographed at least hundreds of times along the way. Thinking about that seems too exhausting.”

Throughout the day, the portal sites were heated with articles about Jae Ha and me.

Every little act of Jae Ha and mine was turned into a news article.

Not only the attention of the public, but also the constant inquiries from all over continued.

Just as Jae Ha said, the world was even noisier for us these days.

With that thought, a deep sense of fatigue washed over me.

“So, I’m trying to escape to a place where it’s just the two of us.”

With that, Jae Ha wore a faint smile.

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