Siwoo, who was about to run across the backyard to his mom, suddenly stopped and turned around with a slight jerk. Then, he bowed politely.
“Goodbye, pretty grandmother.”
“Oh, yes, dear. Go on.”
Watching Siwoo with affectionate eyes, Seongja waved her hand. Junghyuk, with a cold and indifferent gaze, kept a close eye on her, unable to understand her actions.
“Why did she come?”
“Well… it’s for Siwoo’s younger sibling doljabi.”
Seongja responded cautiously, smiling as if she knew something. Then, she glanced around with curious eyes to see Si-ah, who was in Junghyuk’s arms.
“Oh, she seems much bigger than last time.”
The more she said that, Junghyuk buried Si-ah deeper into his embrace.
He didn’t want to show his angelic daughter to that woman.
As she insisted that Si-ah had grown much since the last time, it was apparent that Seongja had seen Si-ah before. Junghyuk knew that Dajeong had occasionally met Seongja without saying anything, but he didn’t bother to stop it.
If he were to confront Dajeong about secretly meeting her birth mother and showing her their children, it would force him to pretend not to know about Dajeong’s meetings. He didn’t want to share or convey his emotions toward Seongja as much as the truckload of emotions he harbored for his wife and children.
If Dajeong had stepped forward to demand reconciliation between him and Seongja, it would have been an unbearable torment in some ways. But Dajeong didn’t, so he just let it be.
Seongja, who had been trying hard to see her granddaughter’s face, soon gave up and began searching through her bag.
“Well… I can’t do anything special as a grandmother. I bought a baby’s ring…”
Junghyuk just stared silently at the small box in her hand.
His son’s indifferent attitude hadn’t changed at all, as cold as ever. However, Seongja couldn’t treat her son as she used to.
His cold, resentful eyes always asked questions. Why did you do that to me and Mom? Why didn’t you come back sooner?
Facing those eyes was too difficult, and at times, he even dared to act arrogantly. It was true that money was good, and in his youth, he had feelings for another man.
But he wanted to say one thing was wrong.
He missed her for a lifetime. He never forgot her for a single moment.
As Saegi said, he never expressed his true feelings throughout his life, and now, he didn’t expect that it would become such a poignant regret.
When Junghyuk took no action, Seongja silently placed the ring case on a landscaped stone beyond the fence. Since she didn’t want to hand it directly from her hand to his, she hoped he would accept it this way.
“Hey, don’t linger around and make noise. Don’t run into an old person for no reason.”
Junghyuk coldly warned and turned away. There was no room for negotiation or compromise, then or now. Unexpectedly, words he had never thought of grabbed his attention.
“I’m sorry…”
Junghyuk stood still. He carefully pondered the words he heard from behind.
“I’m sorry. Mom is sorry.”
“…”
“The child insisted that you must hear the words ‘I’m sorry’ from me. I wanted to say it earlier, but I’m sorry for saying it only now.”
Junghyuk took a moment to breathe, forgetting to breathe for a while. Something hot and indescribable was boiling inside him.
He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. Something surged up to his throat, but he swallowed it down, pretending it was nothing, and turned away.
Quietly observing Seongja, who was sobbing with her mouth covered, he slowly walked towards her. Then, he picked up the ring case that she had put down.
The box in his hand was small and light. Although the contents were a bit obvious, being a bit of gold, for some reason, it didn’t feel trivial.
Turning around without saying a word, he, who had been walking away, stopped his hesitant steps.
“I moved Father’s memorial… It’ll be next year on his anniversary if you come.”
That was the last. Tears streamed down uncontrollably from Seongja’s eyes as she sobbed quietly, her eyes shining with warmth.
All the guests had left, and a quiet darkness settled. Company officials who had come out for the event were finishing up and preparing to leave.
Dajeong, who had roughly finished cleaning up, wandered around the spacious house and suddenly had a puzzled look on her face.
Where did he go?
Approaching the terrace window, Dajeong squinted her eyes, trying to see through the darkness outside. Eventually, a smile appeared on her face.
There, at the far end of the garden, a swinging chair was gently swaying.
“I found him.”
Heading straight through the garden, Dajeong approached the swinging chair and, for some reason, embraced his lonely shoulders with both arms.
“What are you thinking here? How long have you been looking?”
“Just… various thoughts.”
Murmuring a reply, Junghyuk entwined his fingers with hers, which were wrapped around his neck.
“But what is this?”
Sitting down next to him, Dajeong asked, looking at the glinting gold nugget in his hand.
“It’s a honeybee dol ring. Someone gave it to me.”
“Secretly from me? Who was it?”
“Honeybee’s great-grandmother.”
“…”
Dajeong paused for a moment. The words “Honeybee’s great-grandmother” that came from his mouth felt unfamiliar.
“Wow! Our Honeybee is lucky. She has more gold than Mom.”
Dajeong cheerfully snatched the ring from Junghyuk’s hand and forced herself to smile. Looking at her face, Junghyuk, who had been tense, softened his expression.
Dajeong gently leaned her head on his shoulder. In front of their eyes, the sunset spread with a deep pink hue.
Side by side with her, looking at the magnificent scene, Junghyuk thought.
Even today, as it fades away, it was truly a beautiful day.
-Thank you-
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
