Hyuk-joo and Seo Yeon-ji’s relationship was not as deep as Eun-soo had imagined. However, that didn’t mean that all the numerous wounds he had received before were completely erased.
The painful emotions he felt at that time would unexpectedly resurface now and then, making it difficult to breathe as if the air around him was blocked.
It was the same now.
When the name ‘Seo Yeon-ji’ came out of Hyuk-joo’s mouth, it felt hard to exhale, as if the surrounding air had been cut off.
“Seo Yeon-ji, what is that woman saying about me like this?”
Simultaneously, a sense of disappointment washed over him.
Seo Yeon-ji, who he had once thought of as his husband’s lover, was just a target of sympathy. The thought crossed Eun-soo’s mind that there was no need to be so confused about such a woman.
Eun-soo quickly regained her composure.
“Why Seo Yeon-ji?”
As if asking about the well-being of an unrelated person, she inquired with an expressionless face.
“She wasn’t the person I was looking for.”
“If she is the person you were looking for, is she the one you mentioned meeting at the hospital with your deceased mother?”
“Yeah.”
Hyuk-joo nodded.
The space between his eyebrows narrowed considerably. Eun-soo pointed to a bench by the roadside.
“Let’s sit there for a moment.”
It seemed like the conversation might take a while. So, she suggested sitting on the bench, but Hyuk-joo’s face became serious.
“Are you not feeling well?”
“No.”
Eun-soo shook her head. But the concern in Hyuk-joo’s eyes as he looked at her deepened more than before.
“Let’s go home for now. It seems like the evening stroll was too much. Especially when you’re not even using a cane yet.”
“That’s not it. It’s just that I thought the story you’re about to tell might take a while. I’ll sit to listen since my legs might ache if I stand.”
“Ah…”
Finally, the worry disappeared from Hyuk-joo’s eyes. However, he still seemed uneasy as he grabbed Eun-soo’s arm.
“Let’s go inside and talk.”
“Let’s just talk here.”
“The wind is cold.”
“It’s not that cold; it’s refreshing.”
Eun-soo smiled with her eyes slightly closed. Judging that he couldn’t break her stubbornness, Hyuk-joo held her hand and walked to the bench.
He took off the suit jacket he was wearing and covered the bench with it.
“Sit.”
“It’ll get wrinkled.”
“It doesn’t matter. Mrs. Sang-joo said pregnant women shouldn’t sit in cold places.”
“Mrs. Sang-joo said that?”
“Yeah. Every time I meet her lately, she tells me one thing after another about how I’m not looking so good.”
“Mrs. Sang-joo is quite something.”
With a bright smile, Eun-soo was seated on the bench, and Hyuk-joo followed suit beside her.
After gazing into the air for a moment, he slowly began to speak.
“She lied to me.”
“…Seo Yeon-ji?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what she was thinking, but she said the child I was looking for had confirmed that it was her. When I asked about her mother, she claimed to remember, and I believed it just like that.”
Hyuk-joo covered his wrinkled forehead with his hand.
Looking at him with a helpless and empty gaze, Eun-soo felt a sense of pity. Knowing that any words of comfort wouldn’t be helpful, Eun-soo simply held his hand quietly.
“There have been several times when my memories and Seo Yeon-ji’s stories didn’t align. But every time, I denied it. Human memories can become blurred as time passes. But if only I had thought a little more deeply about it, like a fool…”
“Don’t blame yourself.”
Eun-soo interjected, shaking her head.
“It’s not Hyuk-joo’s fault. Deceiving people is bad; being deceived doesn’t make you guilty.”
“I can only think that it’s all my fault.”
“Now that you know, consider it fortunate. You can now find the child your mother was grateful for.”
“Can I really find them?”
“Yes. If you find them, let’s go together and express our gratitude.”
“Together?”
“Do you want to go alone?”
Eun-soo asked, protruding her lips.
“No. Since you said that, I feel grateful.”
“It’s truly a blessing when someone is there to comfort you when you’re in pain. I’ve experienced that, so I understand how your mother might have felt towards that person.”
“You speak like a fortune teller. Tell that child thank you if you find them.”
Feeling the sincerity, Eun-soo’s heart tightened.
Then suddenly, she realized she had never seen Hyuk-joo’s mother’s face. There was no photo of her anywhere in the spacious house.
Eun-soo had mentioned once that all the photos had been removed because of the family’s deep wounds. She thought they wanted to erase memories of the pain and suffering their family went through, considering their family had faced torment and death.
She had occasionally seen her stepfather pull out something from his pocket and hastily hide it, guessing that it might be a photo of his deceased mother-in-law.
“Hyuk-joo.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t you have a photo of your mother?”
“…No.”
Hyuk-joo bit his lip with a bitter expression, then let go.
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.
_____
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