A dark shadow descended on Woo Gyeol’s face.

He had a secret that he could never reveal, even to his close friend Jeho.

It was…

“Claire is looking at you. I think she’s about to come over here?”

At Jeho’s words, Woo Gyeol startled and turned his back to face away from Claire.

Claire was surely about to propose with a bouquet now. But Woo Gyeol was not in a position to marry yet. Even though he loved Claire more than anyone else in the world.

Damn, what should I do?

If he rejected the proposal, it would be no different from ending things with Claire forever.

But he couldn’t get married, and he couldn’t break up with Claire either.

Woo Gyeol thought he should leave for a moment.

“Jeho, please stall Claire for me.”

After asking Jeho to cover for him, Woo Gyeol quickly left his seat. He ran past the corner of the antique mansion into an area thick with bushes.

Looking around for a suitable hiding place, he spotted a man crouched at the far end of the wall. The man was sucking on a lollipop with a bored expression.

“Mr. Hyun?”

He was the man once called Manager Jin and known to Jeho as Mr. Jin. But in fact, Jin was not his surname but his given name, and the man’s real name was Hyun Jin.

“Mr. Hyun, can I have one too please?”

Woo Gyeol said to Jin, who was licking the lollipop with his tongue. Jin glanced up briefly and pulled out a lollipop from inside his jacket, just like taking out a cigarette, and handed it to Woo Gyeol.

Unwrapping it revealed a red cherry-flavored lollipop. Woo Gyeol put the candy in his mouth and crouched down next to Jin.

For a moment, the two men sucked on their lollipops in silence. Woo Gyeol was the first to speak.

“You know, Mr. Hyun, you really seem to love lollipops.”

“It’s a substitute for cigarettes. Been about 5 years since I quit smoking? My girlfriend kept complaining about the ashtray smell when we kissed, so I quit with great determination.”

Woo Gyeol’s eyes rolled with interest at the first mention of a girlfriend from Jin’s mouth.

“So did that girlfriend become your wife now?”

“No.”

Jin shook his head quickly.

“I’m still single.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Always dashing east and west, what woman would understand that? Plus, my face changes slightly here and there… My ex-girlfriend probably thinks I’m addicted to plastic surgery.”

Jin sighed deeply and sucked on his lollipop again.

Jeho believes Jin is a former National Intelligence Service agent, but in fact, he was not just NIS. He was a somewhat more special agent who carried out multinational confidential work disguised as NIS.

He recently retired and now takes on jobs for countries, companies, and individuals as they come. He had entered under Minwoo with a forged identity as Manager Jin at Woo Gyeol’s request to take on intelligence and disruption work.

“Actually, that’s why I’m reluctant to get married too. Sigh, I don’t know what to do…”

Feeling a sense of kinship with Jin, Woo Gyeol shared his worries. Jin quietly listened to Woo Gyeol’s complaints while sucking on his lollipop.

“You’ve seen those CIA movies with Brother Tom, right? Where his fiancée gets kidnapped by the bad guys because of Brother Tom.”

He concluded by saying he wanted to marry Claire but couldn’t due to concerns about potential dangers she might face. Jin, who had been listening quietly, turned his head towards Woo Gyeol.

“But Brother Tom was a CIA agent. Not a plastic surgeon.”

“It’s still just as dangerous. In movies, the ordinary people helping on the side die more easily, don’t they?”

Jin nodded at those words and crunched up the remaining lollipop, swallowing it all.

“I was going to tell you this after the reception was over… But I should say it now.”

Jin stood up and held out his hand to Woo Gyeol as if requesting a handshake.

“Dr. Han Woo Gyeol. Your mission is now complete.”

“What?”

Woo Gyeol stood up with Jin, a surprised look on his face.

“Originally we were supposed to switch to a new doctor every 2 years, but Dr. Han’s skills were so exceptional that we extended it for 2 more years.”

“So am I fired?”

“Fired? No, you’re honorably discharged. You’ve done great work all this time. Many agents who were almost in danger were able to complete their missions safely thanks to Dr. Han’s excellent plastic surgery skills.”

Moved by those words, Woo Gyeol’s eyes welled up with tears as he grasped Jin’s outstretched hand with both of his own.

Woo Gyeol had been connected to the intelligence agency through an introduction from a university professor and somehow ended up taking charge of plastic surgery for special agents.

Even with perfect makeup, some plastic surgery was still needed. Woo Gyeol mainly handled surgeries on nostrils, the space between eyebrows, eyelids, and ears – areas where even simple procedures could dramatically change one’s impression.

“So don’t worry about anything and accept the proposal.”

Just then.

“Oppa!”

Claire, who had spotted Woo Gyeol, called out loudly while waving a bouquet. As Woo Gyeol hesitated while looking at Claire, Jin pulled his hand free from Woo Gyeol’s grasp and pushed him hard on the shoulder.

“What are you doing? Hurry and go.”

Only then did Woo Gyeol nod and run towards Claire.

As Woo Gyeol ran towards her, Claire smiled brightly and waved the bouquet.

“Woo Gyeol oppa, will you marry…”

“Yes, let’s do it!”

Woo Gyeol answered before Claire could even finish her proposal. As excited as Claire, Woo Gyeol shouted loudly with a reddened face.

“We don’t necessarily have to live together just because we’re married! I’ll keep living in Korea, and you keep living in America. But let’s still get married!”

“That’s exactly what I was going to say.”

“I love you.”

“I love you so much!”

Claire and Woo Gyeol’s lips met, neither one taking the lead.

Watching the two from afar with warm eyes, Jin took out a new lollipop and muttered softly.

“Actually, it’s not 2 years but 5 years…”

There was still 1 more year left.

But what’s the problem?

There are many patriotic plastic surgeons in Korea after all.

Jin smiled and put the unwrapped lollipop in his mouth.

[This is the timeline separator] [This won’t do. I think I need to step in.]

As Yuri’s belly became noticeably swollen, the number of calls from Aunt Miyeon increased significantly. Eventually, Miyeon decided to return to Korea.

“It’s okay, Aunt. I can handle it alone…”

[You’re not okay. With no mother to take care of you, I should at least go. I used to be an obstetrician. If I had become a doctor a little earlier, I could have delivered you myself. Instead, I only delivered other babies.]

Miyeon grumbled, as if talking to herself, having delivered Yuri herself.

[If I had been there to watch your mother’s postpartum care closely, I might have been able to see your sibling too.]

A fact Yuri had never known before slipped from Miyeon’s lips.

[After you were born, she neglected her postpartum care and went around helping with the election campaign… Yuri, you became your sister’s only child. That’s one of the reasons I stopped An Misook when she wanted to abort Yuri – because she couldn’t have children anymore, so that’s why she wanted to even more.]

“Mother did?”

Yuri asked loudly in surprise.

[Yes, your father knows too. Now that I think about it, that’s probably why your father told An Misook to abort the child more. For the sake of your sister who could no longer have children. Those two, really exasperating. If they cared for each other so much, why didn’t they just say so. Sigh, so frustrating.]

Sighing as if upset, Miyeon soon ended the call saying she would return to Korea to take care of Yuri.

Mother couldn’t get pregnant anymore?

Yuri murmured to herself while touching her swollen belly.

She felt her nose tingling as if she could feel the pain her mother had gone through.

A few days after talking with Miyeon, Yuri thought it was time to start buying baby items and went shopping. By chance, she ran into Congressman Jung Taehyuk at the Yeouido shopping mall.

“It’s been a while, Yuri.”

Recognizing Yuri from afar, Congressman Jung smiled warmly and approached.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, have you been well too, Congressman?”

Congressman Jung had recently been elected as the presidential candidate through an internal party election and was spending very busy days lately.

But he seemed reluctant to just let Yuri go after meeting her like this. He checked his schedule with his aide and then carefully asked Yuri.

“If you have time, would you like to have a cup of tea with me?”

If it weren’t for what she had heard from her aunt a few days ago, Yuri would have politely declined his offer.

But after hearing from her aunt that her mother could no longer get pregnant, she wanted to know about the day her mother met Congressman Jung on her father’s birthday, when her parents decisively drifted apart.

“Yes, of course.”

The two moved to a nearby cafe. It was a place Congressman Jung frequented, with a separate room reserved for him. The aide and bodyguard watched outside to prevent ordinary people from approaching.

Yuri and Congressman Jung engaged in casual conversation over tea. Then Yuri, who had been looking for an opportunity to bring it up, carefully broached the subject.

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask. Have you ever met my mother after she got married?”

“Of course. We bump into each other during congressional election activities or at gatherings.”

“I don’t mean that. Have you ever met her alone?”

“…Ah.”

At those words, Congressman Jung smiled awkwardly and brought the teacup to his lips. After slowly taking a sip of tea, instead of answering Yuri’s question, Congressman Jung brought up a different topic.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t told this story to Congressman Chae yet. I thought they had naturally shared it with each other…”

“Shared what?”

“About your mother and father, the two of them. I thought they had opened up to each other and were living very happily. Because she said she would follow my advice when we happened to bump into each other that day. I even thought that’s why she had Yuri.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Hm, I suppose not.”

Seeing Yuri’s expression turn confused, Congressman Jung let out a small sigh and called in the aide who was waiting outside. He then instructed all attendants to wait far away from the separate room.

Only after confirming that no one was around did Congressman Jung speak again.

“The person who blackmailed Congressman Chae about Yuri’s birth was once my aide. Somehow he had obtained a paternity test and brought it to me.”

“It was someone from your side, Congressman Jung?”

When Yuri asked again, Congressman Jung nodded with a troubled expression.

“I’m truly sorry. I fired him immediately, saying underhanded competition wasn’t necessary, but later he took that to Director Kwon and extorted money. But don’t worry. When I found out later, I gave him a stern lesson. It won’t happen again.”

“It would be fine even without that.”

When Congressman Jung showed a puzzled expression, Yuri continued speaking.

“Now that my father has stepped down from his congressional seat, it’s probably not very valuable information anymore.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Congressman Jung nodded with a bitter expression.

“Just like I ran into Yuri by chance today, I bumped into Soyeon at a bookstore that day too. She said she came to buy a birthday gift for Congressman Chae. She said she found a book in the original language…”

Congressman Jung closed his eyes quietly as if reminiscing about the past.

[This is the timeline separator]

Going back to the distant past…

That day when Soyeon and Congressman Jung bumped into each other at the bookstore.

“Father-in-law, what brings you here?”

When Prosecutor Han, his father-in-law, entered the office without notice, Hyungsik stood up from his desk with a startled look. Han surveyed the surroundings with an expressionless face before approaching Hyungsik directly.

“It’s your birthday today, isn’t it? Did Soyeon make you seaweed soup this morning?”

“No. I had some work so I left at dawn… Instead, Soyeon strongly urged me to come home early so we could have dinner together.”

“Ha, a wife who doesn’t even make seaweed soup on her husband’s birthday. It’s because you’re so lax that she still can’t let go of her lingering feelings.”

Han tossed the envelope he was holding onto the desk.

“What is this?”

“I don’t know, you look at it and judge for yourself.”

After finishing his words, Han left the office immediately.

Left alone, Hyungsik slowly opened the envelope. His expression soon hardened.

Inside the envelope were several photos.

Photos of his wife Soyeon and Jung Taehyuk smiling happily with teacups between them.

Soyeon’s eyes were filled with tears, as if she was so happy.

Hyungsik stared at the photos intently before sinking weakly into his chair.

His chest began to throb as if pierced by an awl.