Tae Kyung went straight to the company as soon as he returned to Seoul.

Then he personally created a program proposal.

Tae Kyung wanted to get into Onnuri Kindergarten by any means. So he wrote the proposal with extra care, tailored for Onnuri Kindergarten.

After finishing writing the proposal, he let out a long sigh.

When he closed his eyes, he saw the image of Seo Ha smiling while holding a child.

And a man following her. Feeling his insides twist, he shook his head vigorously.

[I sent the proposal file to your email. Contact the kindergarten in advance tomorrow and then send it.]

Tae Kyung sent an email and text message to Kyu Won, then turned off his computer.

He felt like he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily if he went home like this.

He naturally headed to the bar he frequently visited.

“You’re here? The usual?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Tae Kyung sat on the bar stool without even greeting. Jung Hoo, the bar owner and Tae Kyung’s longtime friend, placed the amber whiskey bottle Tae Kyung kept there in front of him.

He poured the amber whiskey into a straight glass without a moment’s hesitation and downed it.

There were often nights when he couldn’t sleep even with sleeping pills, but it had been terribly difficult since meeting Seo Ha again.

Would he be able to sleep if he got drunk instead?

After drinking several glasses in succession, his face turned red as the alcohol took effect.

Even when he fell asleep, it wasn’t really sleeping.

No matter how much drowsiness overtook Tae Kyung, he couldn’t easily fall asleep. No, he was afraid of sleeping.

Because even in his dreams, the image of Seo Ha holding a child unfolded before his eyes, and he had to writhe in agony while watching that scene.

“How could you? How could you forget me and marry another man?”

Tae Kyung couldn’t believe it.

He wanted to believe that just as he couldn’t forget her, she had also disappeared unavoidably. She was the one who had ultimately betrayed his hope that she would still harbor feelings for Tae Kyung.

Jung Hoo clicked his tongue. He placed ice water and fruit in front of Tae Kyung.

“Did you hear that Seo Ha got married?”

“She even had a child. The child was quite grown.”

“You met Seo Ha? A child? Is it your child, Tae Kyung?”

Tae Kyung answered seriously to the casually thrown question. Jung Hoo’s eyes widened as he quickly sat down next to Tae Kyung.

Tae Kyung, now completely drunk, laid his forehead on the table.

Jung Hoo tried to shake Tae Kyung, but he just continued to pant heavily.

“Hey! Han Tae Kyung! Did you find Seo Ha? Come on, sober up and talk to me.”

“How could Kim Seo Ha do this to me?”

“Sigh, are you sure you got it right? I know you’re thirsty for alcohol, but no. Just keep drinking. I know how you’ve been.”

Jung Hoo had watched the two of them since Tae Kyung first met Seo Ha and started chasing after her. He could be called a witness to their love story.

Jung Hoo couldn’t take sides with either Seo Ha or Tae Kyung, but he knew well how much Tae Kyung had suffered. That’s why he couldn’t scold Tae Kyung either.

After all, Tae Kyung must be the one suffering the most right now.

“This guy, I wonder if he can go home in this state.”

“I can go. Don’t worry. Just call me a taxi.”

Tae Kyung said without even lifting his head.

Jung Hoo let out a long sigh and called for a taxi.

When the taxi arrived shortly after, Tae Kyung staggered to his feet, swinging his long arms and legs. Jung Hoo supported Tae Kyung and helped him into the taxi.

“Driver, please go to Hannam-dong. I’m counting on you.”

Jung Hoo instructed the driver while looking worriedly at Tae Kyung.

Tae Kyung sat in the back seat with his eyes closed, saying nothing.

As the taxi driver started to drive, Tae Kyung said in a low voice.

“Driver, not Hannam-dong. Please go to Yangpyeong.”

After driving for a long time through the pre-dawn darkness, they arrived at Onnuri Kindergarten where Seo Ha worked.

Tae Kyung, whose nerves had been on edge since meeting Seo Ha, seemed to have relaxed due to the alcohol and fell asleep in the taxi.

He groaned, his face contorted as if having a nightmare.

“Sir, we’ve arrived.”

The driver shook Tae Kyung awake. Tae Kyung slowly lifted his eyelids, trying to focus his eyes.

“Sir, are you alright? But it’s closed now.”

“Ah… Where is this?”

“This is Onnuri Kindergarten. Didn’t you say to come here?”

“Onnuri Kindergarten?”

Tae Kyung quickly sat up. Though his vision was still spinning from the alcohol, the scenery wasn’t unfamiliar.

No, it was a scenery he didn’t want to see again but also longed to see.

“Sir, is this the right place you mentioned? Please try to sober up.”

“Thank you for your service.”

Tae Kyung, still with unfocused eyes, took out bills from his wallet as they came to hand and gave them to the driver.

He staggered out of the taxi and walked towards the kindergarten.

The driver felt uneasy, but having received the fare, he got in his car and left Tae Kyung behind.

Tae Kyung leaned his back against the firmly closed fence of the kindergarten and sat on the ground. He didn’t care that his suit was getting covered in dirt.

One person he desperately wanted to see yet didn’t want to see.

After meeting Seo Ha again, the only thing he had barely managed to find out was that Seo Ha worked at Onnuri Kindergarten.

Though he resented and hated Seo Ha, he was also glad to have discovered this one piece of information about her.

When she first disappeared, worry had come first. He wondered if something had happened to her. It would have been good if he had at least known about her family home, but he didn’t even know that.

All he knew was her empty studio apartment and the face of her unscrupulous birth mother who occasionally came looking for Seo Ha to demand money.

As the days passed, he grew more resentful of Seo Ha who had disappeared without a word to him.

Was that all he meant to Seo Ha? His worry for Seo Ha turned into disappointment and dislike, which then changed into resentment and hatred.

Now he even doubted whether he had ever truly loved her.

However, what was clear was that whenever the image of Min Seop standing next to Seo Ha appeared in his mind, he found it hard to control the emotions bubbling up inside him.

He wanted to grab Seo Ha’s wrist right away and lock her up somewhere only he knew.

He thought his feelings for Seo Ha had completely cooled, but he was more troubled by the anger and resentment that were slowly emerging.

He became afraid that he might be a person Seo Ha found painful to remember, and that she might never want to see him again because of that.

His heart ached at the thought of the cold Seo Ha, not the gentle Kim Seo Ha who had been with him.

He wanted to writhe in his own wounds and return them to Seo Ha just as they were, but the person who would be hurt no less was Tae Kyung himself.

He was the one who should be angry, so why was Seo Ha the one getting angry?

Tae Kyung’s head didn’t want to see Seo Ha, but his heart kept running towards her.

He hated himself to the point of contempt for still harboring such feelings for Seo Ha.

A strong smell of alcohol mixed with Tae Kyung’s long sigh. Tae Kyung raised one knee and buried his face in it.

Tae Kyung, who had spent the night in front of the kindergarten, felt the day breaking.

But he didn’t want to get up. He wanted to see Seo Ha just one more time.

He wanted to tell her that he had missed her, that he had longed for her terribly.

It was also words he could never convey.

A long shadow fell over his head.

“Oh my, what are you doing here?”

A kind and gentle voice was heard. As Tae Kyung slowly raised his head, he saw a middle-aged woman looking at him with concern. It was a face he had seen somewhere before.

“Oh dear, you smell strongly of alcohol. Don’t tell me you’ve been here all night?”

She shook Tae Kyung, but he couldn’t lift his head. His head was splitting with pain.

“Ugh…”

“More importantly, you can’t stay here like this. Let’s go inside the building first. I’m worried you might catch a cold.”

Tae Kyung didn’t dislike this middle-aged woman’s kindness.

“I’m the director of this kindergarten. Somehow I felt like coming in early today. Your expensive-looking suit is ruined. Let’s go to the director’s office. You’re frozen. We need to warm you up first.”

Tae Kyung couldn’t understand why she, who called herself the director, was being so kind to him.

Surely she must have seen his fight with Min Seop yesterday.

Tae Kyung didn’t think of refusing and obediently followed Yoon Hee, the director, into the kindergarten.

The walls were full of colorful and cute bulletin boards. Yoon Hee led Tae Kyung to the director’s office and sat him on the sofa.

“Sit here for a moment. I’ll make you some warm honey water.”

“Thank… you…”

“What could be so hard for a young person to be like this?”

Yoon Hee took out a mug with a sympathetic face and put water in the coffee pot.

Tae Kyung just kept his head down without saying anything. The effects of alcohol had mostly worn off, but he still felt groggy.

“Here, drink some honey water and settle your stomach. Be careful, it’s hot.”

“Thank you…”

Tae Kyung’s frozen fingers gradually loosened with the warm temperature of the mug.

Yoon Hee, as if it was no big deal, brewed her own coffee and sat at her desk. She found and put on her glasses and started reading through a pile of documents.

As if Tae Kyung wasn’t there.

Tae Kyung quietly watched Yoon Hee for a while, then carefully opened his mouth.

“Director.”

“Yes. Do you need something?”

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“What do you mean?”

Yoon Hee slightly lowered the glasses she was wearing and looked at Tae Kyung over the lens of her glasses.

“Yesterday, didn’t you see everything?”

“Ah. You mean your fight with Teacher Kwak? Are you okay where he hit you? Well, looking at your face, you seem fine.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sure both Teacher Kim and you have your circumstances.”

Tae Kyung introduced himself in a husky voice.

“My name is Han Tae Kyung.”

“I see. Tae Kyung. Honestly, when I think of Teacher Kim, I don’t view you favorably, but it seems like you two aren’t just casual acquaintances. Moreover, the fact that you stayed here all night like this suggests that you, Tae Kyung, must have quite a history with Teacher Kim.”

“…”

Yoon Hee spoke calmly, whether Tae Kyung was listening or not.

As if she knew everything.

“When you get older, sometimes you can see tangled relationships. Relationships where people unnecessarily deceive themselves, putting up thorns against themselves and others, crying out, even when they don’t need to go back. Let’s say it’s out of concern. I think it would be good for Teacher Kim too if her relationship with you, Tae Kyung, is properly resolved.”

“Resolved?”

“That’s right. Resolved. What needs to be resolved should be resolved.”

Yoon Hee shrugged her shoulders and looked at Tae Kyung with eyes that seemed to pierce through him.

She added indifferently.

“Not like this disheveled appearance, but resolve it properly. For Teacher Kim’s sake, and for Min Joon’s sake too.”

Tae Kyung’s heart ached at the mention of Min Joon.

But he couldn’t erase his curiosity about the child.

What kind of child was he? Did she abandon him because of the child?

“How old is the child?”

“Min Joon? He’s five years old. The child has grown a lot, right? Some people even think he looks about 7 years old.”