No, I wanted to say that I saw it wrong, but anyone could see it was her.

The woman who took all of Kang Mo’s heart and didn’t accept it, the woman who suddenly disappeared from his sight 4 years ago, the woman who turned Kang Mo’s heart into a dry desert, the very woman he still yearned for while searching with fiery eyes.

If time had passed, she should have changed, but she looked no different from how she did 4 years ago.

“S-Sir Kang Mo. That person is…”

Before Seung Ho could finish his sentence, Kang Mo moved his stiffly frozen legs. Taking icy steps, Kang Mo abruptly stopped in front of her.

The woman, who had been approaching while talking softly with the child, also stopped when a black shadow fell in front of her. Her small face slowly lifted up.

“…”

At the same time, the sound of surprised breaths being drawn in could be heard.

The woman’s eyes trembled slightly.

“Lee… Kang Mo, how are you here…”

It had been 4 years since he heard her voice, but her small and quiet voice was also unchanged.

Kang Mo firmly grabbed the remaining arm of the woman who was trying to quickly turn her back while holding the child’s hand.

“Baek Seo Hee!”

“Ah.”

A groan escaped from Seo Hee.

“Kang Mo, wait a moment. I’ll be back after taking the child.”

Kang Mo’s eyes, alternating between the woman and the child, were full of confusion.

“Ha… You expect me to believe that?”

“First, let go of this hand. It hurts.”

The wrist grabbed by Kang Mo began to hurt as if it would break. The fierce eyes glaring as if to kill her, the strong grip that couldn’t control its strength, the subtle vibrations felt through the wrist.

It seemed as if his reason was being consumed by anger. It was doubtful whether he was even aware that he was holding on so tightly.

Seo Hee smiled at the child’s trembling eyes, sensing the anxiety, and asked Kang Mo in a low voice.

“The child is getting anxious. Let’s let go of this hand first and talk.”

She tried to pull her arm to free the grabbed wrist, but his hand did not easily let go. It seemed as if he hadn’t even heard her say it hurt.

“I said my wrist hurts, can’t you hear me?”

For a moment, a crack appeared in his brow. Only then did the grip on the wrist loosen slightly, but there was still no sign of letting go.

Just as she was about to ask Kang Mo again, the sound of someone urgently running could be heard from behind.

A sturdy man who had approached next to Seo Hee grabbed Kang Mo’s arm that was squeezing her arm and shouted.

“Who are you?!”

At the same time, Seung Ho, who was next to Kang Mo, roughly grabbed the man’s collar with one hand and growled.

“How dare you grab him?! Let go of that hand right now!”

“Waah! Daddy. Don’t, it’s scary. Waah, Daddy don’t fight!”

In the end, the child burst into tears, and the surroundings were soon engulfed in chaos.

Surprised by the situation that had instantly turned into a mess, Seo Hee opened her mouth again to calm Kang Mo.

“Kang Mo…”

Before Seo Hee could speak, Kang Mo preempted her.

“This child, is she your daughter?”

Seo Hee’s mouth slowly opened in surprise at the completely unexpected question.

After quickly looking at the child who didn’t seem to be three or four years old, and then at Kang Mo who was fiercely glaring at her, Seo Hee kept sighing, not knowing what to say or where to start.

Kang Mo, looking at Seo Hee like that, felt his mind going blank to the point where he couldn’t think properly.

It was surprising enough to unexpectedly run into Seo Hee, whom he had been searching for for 4 years, in a foreign country, not Korea. But there was a little girl sticking close by her side.

The sight of them approaching while having such an affectionate conversation, along with their somewhat resembling appearance, was enough to give the illusion that the two were mother and daughter.

There was no room to reasonably think that Seo Hee, who disappeared 4 years ago, couldn’t have a child this age, or to gauge the child’s age.

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“Tell me! I’m asking if she’s your daughter!”

“Lee Kang Mo. A-are you sick or something?”

How could he ask if it’s her daughter while looking at a six-year-old child? The child wasn’t even small for her age.

Just then, when she was dazed for a moment by the question that she couldn’t understand no matter how much she thought about it…

“Yeon Woo!”

The urgent voice of her cousin, who came running late while calling the child’s name, pierced her eardrums.

Seo Hee’s wandering mind suddenly returned. Shaking her head to come to her senses, she saw that their appearance was literally a sight to behold.

The three of them, including herself, were grasping each other’s arms and collars in an unyielding wrestling match. In the midst of it all, the sound of the child crying and the child’s father’s firm voice were intertwined.

People around them, who had sensed something amiss for a while, began to gather one by one. In the distance, people who appeared to be hotel staff were also approaching.

The back of her head tingled at the seriousness of the situation.

Seo Hee, who usually had a calm personality and rarely raised her voice, spoke firmly to Kang Mo, given the situation.

“Lee Kang Mo, let go of this hand while I’m still asking nicely. And tell them to let go of my brother-in-law. Right now!”

“…”

“My niece is crying because she’s scared. Are you not going to let go? Do you want to get arrested?”

“…”

Kang Mo’s brow, which had been contorted with excitement, twitched.

“Lee Kang Mo. This child is my niece, can’t you hear me?”

“…”

As if he couldn’t comprehend the meaning of these words at once, Kang Mo’s eyes quickly went back and forth between Seo Hee and the child.

“Lee Kang Mo, get a grip. This child is six years old. How does it make sense to ask if she’s my child? You should know better than to say nonsense like that.”

“Seo Hee, you’re saying… she’s not your child?”

As Kang Mo asked back in disbelief, with his deeply furrowed brow relaxing, Seo Hee burst out in frustration.

“Ha… No, no she’s not. I haven’t been with anyone, so what’s this about a child out of the blue?”

A faint groan seemed to leak out from Kang Mo, and the hand holding Seo Hee’s arm finally loosened considerably.

Seung Ho, who had already let go of the man’s collar, began to clean up the surroundings on his own.

He politely apologized to Seo Hee’s brother-in-law and his wife, and briefly bowed his head to the people around who were watching, conveying an apology for the disturbance.

As people who had gathered began to disperse one by one, and the startled child calmed down, Eun Hye, Seo Hee’s cousin, hurriedly approached Seo Hee.

“What is all this about? Seo Hee, are you okay?”

Eun Hye’s eyes, which were examining Seo Hee’s complexion, widened like a basin.

“Oh my, look at this arm. How hard did he grab you?!”

The eyes of Kang Mo and Seo Hee, who had been staring at each other’s faces until then, simultaneously fell on her arm.

Kang Mo, surprised, hurriedly and gently held Seo Hee’s arm and sighed as he stroked it.

“Damn it…”

The arm was red. Kang Mo’s face alternated between red and blue as he caressed the arm.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry… I didn’t realize I was holding on so tightly.”

When her wrist was firmly grabbed at first, it was painfully throbbing, but the pain had been gradually fading since Kang Mo loosened his grip. A faint pain still remained, but seeing Kang Mo restlessly examining her arm with a more flustered expression than her, she couldn’t bring herself to say it straight.

Kang Mo, you’re really… you.

Seo Hee inwardly chuckled, feeling as if the unchanging appearance of Kang Mo made the long years seem meaningless.

“I’m fine. I have sensitive skin, so even a small irritation makes it look worse than it is. You don’t have to worry.”

Despite her reassuring words, the worried expression on Kang Mo’s face didn’t easily relax.

It seemed like he could let go of her hand now, but Kang Mo kept caressing the reddish wrist as if his hands had some healing power.

Feeling itchy for no reason, Seo Hee raised her other hand and lightly pushed Kang Mo’s hand away, then quietly opened her mouth to her sister who was closely examining her a step away.

“Sister, I’m okay so don’t worry and go in first. Brother-in-law, I’m sorry for startling you.”

“Seo Hee, just come with us. What are you going to do staying behind alone?”

“Yes, Seo Hee. It’s best to listen to your sister.”

“No, brother-in-law. Sister, Kang Mo is someone I know well. His actions were a bit extreme due to a misunderstanding, but he’s not a dangerous person. So don’t worry about me and go rest.”

In the meantime, a faint smile appeared on Seo Hee’s face as she looked at her niece Yeon Woo, who had fallen asleep crying in her brother-in-law’s arms. She nodded her head at her sister, who kept sending anxious glances, indicating that she was really okay.

Kang Mo, who had been watching from a step behind, let out a faint sigh as if embarrassed, and greeted the couple.

“I apologize for the rude introduction. I’ll see you again.”

As soon as the couple reluctantly left at Seo Hee’s insistence, Kang Mo’s gaze returned to Seo Hee’s arm.

“Lee Kang Mo, stop it. I’m fine.”

“What’s fine? It’s still red. You’re still soft-hearted as ever. You should have kicked me in the shin for grabbing you so hard. Why did you just take it like a fool?”

“It’s not too late, should I kick you now?”

Kang Mo, who had been looking at Seo Hee with a chuckle, suddenly turned his head to the side, his face flushed. Then, noticing Seung Ho still stuck close by his side, he spoke in a low voice.

“Ha… Aren’t you going to look away?”

Seung Ho’s pupils shook at the sudden scolding. Tilting his head at the sight of Kang Mo glaring at him again, Seung Ho glanced at the woman his gaze naturally went to, then hurriedly turned his eyes to a distant mountain with a belated realization.

Kang Mo’s face turned back to Seo Hee.

He had lost his mind for a moment because of the child he hadn’t expected at all.

Although he hadn’t been able to find Seo Hee for the past few years, he couldn’t erase the feeling that they were connected by an unknowable bond, as if no matter how many years they were apart.

Kang Mo had never forgotten Seo Hee, whom he had secretly cherished in his heart for more than a decade, and he had hoped with the belief that they would definitely meet again someday, that the day would not come too late.

But it was not only surprising to meet Seo Hee in an unexpected place, but she was holding hands with a child.

At that moment, he had to clench his teeth at the pain he had never felt before in his life.

The thought that there might be someone else besides him by her side, the devastating feeling when he actually faced the man approaching her, was a nightmare he didn’t want to recall.

The short time waiting for the answer that would come out of her mouth was more excruciating, more draining than the past 4 years he had lost her.

Fortunately, the heavens were still on his side.

As he slowly let go of his heart, feeling relieved that he had found her, and faced the reality of his emotions that he had unintentionally imprinted in bright red on her arm…

Damn it.

Only then did the sight of Seo Hee in a swimsuit fully register on his retina.