The meeting was quickly arranged.

Fortunately, an opportunity arose as Do Ha had to go on an urgent business trip from the day after the Friday party until the Monday evening when he would start his first day at Dahllee Coffee. Hae Yeon could go to the promised meeting place with Yoon Ho without worries.

No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like Yoon Ho intentionally chose this timing, but she didn’t mind.

“The other person has already arrived.”

The place Hae Yeon arrived at was a secretive location often used when important people needed to have confidential meetings. As soon as Hae Yeon mentioned her name, the staff immediately led her to the arranged place.

After passing through a dimly lit corridor, a series of rooms appeared, where another staff member was waiting. When the door opened, the interior decorated like a traditional Korean house and an intricately patterned wooden table that matched well came into view. Across from it, under an Oriental-style lamp, sat Yoon Ho in a neat suit.

“Did you get home safely yesterday, Hae Yeon?”

As she approached the table set with neat Korean cuisine, Yoon Ho greeted her with his usual affable smile. Hae Yeon also raised the corners of her mouth.

“Yes, I got home well. How about you, Yoon Ho?”

“Thanks to what someone said yesterday, I had a sleepless night.”

Contrary to his words, Yoon Ho flaunted his handsomely shining appearance today as well. Hae Yeon, having nothing in particular to say in response, just sat down with a smile.

“So what exactly do you mean?”

Yoon Ho asked nonchalantly, even mischievously. Perhaps because she had already experienced it once last night, his questioning about Hae Yeon’s memory loss was as impish as could be, unlike yesterday.

Her heart kept pounding. Although not as much as yesterday, it was still a matter she couldn’t let her guard down about, so Hae Yeon tried her best to stay composed so as not to tremble. In fact, confessing that she had lost her memory was a great burden to Hae Yeon.

“It’s just as I said, Yoon Ho. A year ago, the accident related to Do Ha.”

At the mention of the accident, Yoon Ho frowned without trying to manage his expression. Silence followed briefly, and Hae Yeon deliberately paused before continuing.

“…I lost all memories related to that incident. Well, I didn’t even know that I had lost my memories.”

The words uttered like a sigh contained Hae Yeon’s hardships thus far. Hae Yeon had a rather cynical expression saying that she herself had lost her memories. Yoon Ho, who had been looking at her with furrowed brows, asked with a puzzled face.

“Then how did you find out?”

Hae Yeon nodded. It was a valid question. In fact, while talking with Yoon Ho, she had been worrying about what to do if such a question came up.

If she said she found out by chance, it would seem like an unsatisfactory answer. In reality, until Lee Su Rin told her, Hae Yeon herself had no idea at all. It was also impossible for Do Ha to have left his wife alone until she realized it herself. His old friend Yoon Ho would know that well too.

But if she tried to gloss over it, as she thought yesterday, lies wouldn’t work on Lee Yoon Ho anyway and would only lower his trust in her. The conclusion was that the direct approach, like yesterday, was the answer.

“Lee Su Rin.”

“…It can’t be the person I know, right?”

It probably isn’t, right? Hae Yeon brightly smiled and asked back with her expression. Realizing that his own question had little effect in this situation that didn’t match her bright smile, Yoon Ho let out a big sigh.

Lee Yoon Ho did not show his trademark smile except when he first entered this room. Hae Yeon also hoped for him to drop the pretense and take on this serious attitude.

“When I first met her, she said that. That she was Do Ha’s hidden lover. And when I didn’t fall for it after she told me to break up with my husband, she said it.”

“……”

“That I had caused a terrible accident to Do Ha.”

As she drove the point home, Yoon Ho sighed and rubbed his forehead. Hae Yeon spoke with a calm voice while maintaining her smile.

“After meeting her, I investigated on my own. And I found out. That I had lost my memories.”

As she said that, Hae Yeon’s eyes shone firmly with the smile gone. Yoon Ho, who had been silently watching her with furrowed brows, opened his mouth.

“What do you want to ask of me?”

“As I said, I have no memories of last year. All I know is that Do Ha has a large scar on his body.”

Even when mentioning the scar, Yoon Ho just listened silently with the same expression. Neither of them touched the food, and the dishes prepared for the special customer had been neglected at some point.

“So I want to know. About the incident that Lee Su Rin said I caused.”

Hae Yeon’s voice quietly resonated in the quiet room lined with hanji paper. Instead of answering, Yoon Ho grabbed a porcelain cup and took a sip of the now cold tea.

Slowly putting down the teacup, Yoon Ho lowered his gaze somewhere to the floor. After a brief silence, Yoon Ho finally parted his lips again.

“The fact that you came to me without directly asking Do Ha seems to mean that he doesn’t intend to tell you the truth.”

“…Yes, you’re right, Yoon Ho.”

As silence flowed again after those words, Hae Yeon felt a burning sensation in her throat. Drinking the lukewarm tea in the cup wouldn’t quench the thirst anyway, so she just quietly waited for time to pass. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Yoon Ho to speak.

“What about the price?”

As Yoon Ho brightly raised the corners of his eyes, Hae Yeon was momentarily dazed. It wasn’t because of the weight the word ‘price’ carried. Rather, the anxiousness inside her suddenly lifted with a pop. Until just before, Yoon Ho had an expressionless face as if he would give a negative answer.

She had expected him to mention compensation. Even if he was Do Ha’s friend, Lee Yoon Ho’s essence was a businessman who pursued profit. The grandson of the chairman of Mibon Group, a large corporation at that.

When making a deal with someone like him, one must be prepared to offer a price as a basic.

“I know you’re in a competitive relationship with Lee Su Rin for the succession.”

“We’re terribly entangled, indeed.”

As if he was a different person from the one who had been sighing and frowning the whole time, Yoon Ho retorted impishly.

Hae Yeon felt like she clearly understood why Do Ha didn’t let her meet Lee Yoon Ho. He resembled Lee Su Rin in this aspect. If Yoon Ho knew, he would shudder at the thought.

Feeling somehow invigorated, Hae Yeon immediately presented the compensation Yoon Ho wanted.

“Every time Lee Su Rin stands in front of me, she can’t control her emotions.”

Hae Yeon recalled Lee Su Rin, who couldn’t be rational whenever they faced each other. Even though she must have moved according to plan, there were times when she acted impulsively the moment she got involved with Hae Yeon.

Did she dream that Hae Yeon would secure evidence of such behavior, or did she dismiss it thinking that even if evidence was secured, Hae Yeon wouldn’t have the guts to use it?

In any case, Lee Su Rin had looked down on her initially. And that…

“I have a recording.”

…would catch her own ankle.

“Hmm?”

“A weakness that will make supporters hoping for Lee Su Rin to become the sole candidate for the next head of Mibon Group hesitate.”

Yoon Ho’s eyebrows twitched. Hae Yeon smiled slightly at him, who was looking at her with an intrigued gaze.

“Of course, with Lee Su Rin’s skill, she would quickly resolve it, but you, Lee Yoon Ho, wouldn’t miss that opportunity, would you?”

“Hahaha!”

As the corners of his mouth slowly rose, Yoon Ho finally burst out laughing loudly. Seeing Yoon Ho laughing, Hae Yeon, whose tension had finally eased, picked up the teacup and quenched her thirst.

Yoon Ho, who had been laughing for a while, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and spoke as if he was really enjoying himself.

“Ah−, why did Do Ha keep preventing me from meeting such an interesting wife?”

The reason was well known to both Yoon Ho and herself without having to say it, so Hae Yeon didn’t add to it. Yoon Ho narrowed his eyes slyly and added to Hae Yeon.

“Alright, Hae Yeon. I’ll tell you. About that incident a year ago.”

“Then, now−.”

“But.”

The moment she asked hurriedly as if being chased, wanting an immediate answer for something she had wanted so much, Yoon Ho cut her off. Hae Yeon frowned at the instantaneous disappointment that rushed in.

She was dissatisfied, wanting to know the truth as soon as possible, but the one in a hurry was herself, not Yoon Ho. Hae Yeon silently waited for his words.

Tick tock, even when the second hand barely moved once, it felt like an hour had passed, and the words that came from Yoon Ho were enough to disappoint Hae Yeon.

“I can’t tell you right now.”

“Why…!”

“Because of you, Min Hae Yeon.”

Ah. Hae Yeon let out a sigh inadvertently.

“If you hear the cause of the scar on Do Ha’s body in a situation like now, you won’t be able to bear it.”

“I’ll be fine, so….”

If that was really the reason, it’s okay. She had expected it to some extent and had also thought about how to act. Of course, even if she couldn’t forgive herself for hurting Do Ha, that was the karma Hae Yeon herself had to bear.

From the moment she saw the wounds on his body until now, the self-loathing that kept welling up non-stop was just retribution.

However, as if knowing Hae Yeon’s thoughts, Yoon Ho replied firmly.

“Hae Yeon. That incident is already in the past.”

Hae Yeon was seized by a strange feeling. Yoon Ho’s current appearance was the most serious one she had seen in their meetings so far.

“Whatever the reason for your memory loss, a lot of time and events have passed since that incident.”

Only then did Hae Yeon understand what Yoon Ho was saying, and she couldn’t add to his words.

“I think you should at least know about your actions for the several months after that incident. Don’t try to judge yourself just by looking at the cause, Hae Yeon.”

What could she say to those words considering her? Yoon Ho was being considerate of her. In case she got caught up in self-blame only for the incident where she might have harmed Do Ha, he was telling her about the time she and Do Ha had overcome after that incident.

It could have been just a formality. But…

Hae Yeon recalled the day she first got to know Lee Yoon Ho. On the day she was introduced to Do Ha’s acquaintances after returning from their honeymoon, someone approached Hae Yeon, who was alone while taking a short break after being introduced to a few of his acquaintances.

The person who silently stood next to Hae Yeon was none other than Yoon Ho. He kept looking straight ahead even when Hae Yeon turned her head to look at him. After a brief silence, he suddenly started talking, beginning with ‘As Do Ha must have told you’.

− You’ll face many difficulties too. Dealing with his family… It’s a selfish thing to say, but still, I hope you won’t hate Do Ha or give up on him.

He helped me a lot, you see. Hae Yeon looked at him with a surprised expression as she listened to Yoon Ho’s added words. All the acquaintances who attended that day were people Do Ha sincerely cared about, but he was the only one who said such things to Hae Yeon.

As if reciprocating that sentiment, when Hae Yeon answered with sincerity, Yoon Ho thanked her and mumbled as if talking to himself.

− I thought he would never have anyone by his side for the rest of his life…

But that wasn’t a monologue. Yoon Ho, who trailed off, turned his gaze that had been looking ahead the whole time to Hae Yeon and smiled.

− That guy Do Ha finally has someone he can comfortably rely on.

Only then could Hae Yeon realize. That the smile she had been seeing on Yoon Ho was fake. The smile he wore as if a heavy burden had been lifted, that appearance was his true smile.

Hae Yeon, stopping her recollection, stared at Yoon Ho across the table. Knowing his feelings for Do Ha, she had chosen him, but she didn’t expect him to say such things to her as well.

At a loss for words, Hae Yeon eventually lowered her head and struggled to hold back the rising sensation in her throat.

“Of course, if Hae Yeon gets caught, that quick-witted Cha Do Ha will find out and I’ll be dead.”

“…Hehe.”

At Yoon Ho’s mischievous words, Hae Yeon couldn’t help but let out a laugh. To Hae Yeon, who had a face with mixed emotions as if crying and laughing, Yoon Ho smiled back and changed the subject.

“Ah, it’s all cold from talking. Hae Yeon, hurry and eat. I specially reserved this place because it’s a famous restaurant, so I can guarantee the taste.”

“Yes, thank you. Yoon Ho.”

It wasn’t just a thank you for reserving a delicious place. Whether he noticed or not, Yoon Ho just smiled without saying a word, and Hae Yeon picked up the chopsticks while looking at him.

She was hungry. Very much so.