It had been such a long day.

Being hit all day long, and as pain multiplies when struck repeatedly, everything that hurt Ba Ha struck her one after another, and Ba Ha, hit repeatedly, felt a pain like her heart was being carved out.

“What do you want from me…… really.”

She walked aimlessly.

Ba Ha left that terrible house and walked and walked. She hated it. She hated herself for still going to see Chairman Han even though he should have let her go by now, getting angry every time he called yet still going to see him.

It wasn’t just Chairman Han who couldn’t let go. Perhaps Ba Ha couldn’t let go either.

‘After raising you this much, now it’s time for you to repay that.’

“Ha…… what were you expecting from those people. It’s time to give up now. It’s time to stop hoping now. Ba Ha. Han Ba Ha! Get a grip.”

She felt empty.

As if something was hollowed out inside her, she felt empty. She wanted to be loved. When she first entered that house, there was a young Ba Ha who lived with unrealistic hopes, thinking ‘They’ll love me someday.’

As days, weeks, years passed, when she realized that hope was in vain, even if she couldn’t be a child showered with love, she wanted to receive even a fingernail’s worth of affection.

Every time she realized that even that tiny hope was not allowed, her heart felt so empty.

‘He’s the son of Yu An Group. I hear he’s returning from his business trip to China this week. He’s the one you need to meet.’

It was always like this.

He was the one who gave Ba Ha a new mother when her mother had barely died, the one who pushed a new man on his child when not even a week, no, not even three days had passed since she experienced a separation.

Without even a common word like “Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”, for his own benefit, he pushed another man onto his daughter who was grieving as if her world had collapsed.

It was futile.

“Ha…… I hate this. I hate it. Ha…… What should I tell Roo Mi. She’s surely worried.”

Ba Ha knew Roo Mi would be worried, but right now, she felt too pathetic to call and tell her everything.

Unlike herself, Roo Mi had grown up showered with love. Every time Ba Ha saw Roo Mi, who was always compared to her, she tried to tell herself ‘Don’t be envious’, but she couldn’t help being envious.

Because Ba Ha wanted to be loved too.

[ Rooming. I’m back. I’m so tired. I’ll call you tomorrow. Don’t worry too much and I love you♥ ]

She chose to send a KakaoTalk message instead of calling.

She didn’t want to say much.

She just wanted to go home, drink alcohol until it overflowed in her mouth, and then close her eyes exhausted.

She just wanted this shitty day to end quickly.

[This is the timeline separator]

Tok tok tok.

Tae Un tapped his fingers on the desk while resting his chin on his hand. It was strange. Lately, the document files in front of him didn’t register well, and sometimes his head would go blank and his thoughts would tend to drift in one direction.

“……Chairman! Vice Chairman!”

“Director Jang, your ears are going to fall off. What is it?”

“What are you thinking about so deeply? Do you know you’ve been strange since you returned to the country? You’re tired, aren’t you? I told you to rest a bit since it’s even before your inauguration ceremony……”

Joon Hwan looked at Tae Un with worried eyes as he spoke, but Tae Un couldn’t even hear those worried naggings.

“When did you say that was again?”

“The inauguration ceremony? It’s next week.”

“Ha…… Director Jang, I’m going to rest for a bit.”

“What? Vice Chairman! What about lunch? Aren’t you eating?”

“As you said, Director Jang, resting seems more urgent than eating right now. You go have your meal.”

Tae Un left his office and went up to the rooftop, feeling increasingly dazed. It felt good. He loved how the wind seemed to blow as if it had been waiting when he forcefully opened this heavy metal rooftop door.

“Now I feel alive.”

As he breathed in the scent of the wind brought by the cold breeze today too, his head felt like it was clearing completely. Tae Un stood there for a while with his eyes closed.

How much time had passed?

“Senior, you’re here again?”

He didn’t open his eyes even at the voice from behind. Even as the clicking sound of heels approached, Tae Un didn’t want to disturb this moment and kept his eyes closed.

“Why? It’s nice and refreshing, isn’t it? Don’t you know, Doo Na? The wind you feel here is different.”

At those words, Tae Un opened his eyes and looked towards the source of the sound. There stood not Ba Ha who had been crying, but her smiling as she felt the wind.

She kept popping up.

After coming down from the rooftop that day, she would pop up at every little opportunity. Ba Ha, who had been on his mind for some reason, who had been looking at the sky with tears, was now looking at the sky with the prettiest smile in the world.

“I’m not sure. Senior, can’t we just go inside? It’s too cold.”

“Already? I told you to dress warmly. Sigh. Doo Na, next time I’ll just come up alone.”

“I don’t want to. I’ll follow you up again.”

A laugh escaped Tae Un at the sight of Ba Ha’s retreating back. She was a strange woman. How often would he get to see the crying and smiling face of a woman he barely knew?

He was becoming more and more curious, but Tae Un knew that getting involved with someone at work rarely ended well, so he tried hard to shake off thoughts of Ba Ha.

Bzzzz−!

Just as Tae Un was about to leave the rooftop, his pocket vibrated incessantly, and when he looked at his phone, he frowned at the annoyance that washed over him.

It was Do Seo Ha.

Tae Un first met Seo Ha when he entered high school. Despite his delicate-looking face, Seo Ha had a fierce competitive streak.

Perhaps they had grown fond of each other through fighting? He was a rival who became close by competing throughout high school and is still the friend closest to Tae Un’s side even now.

“Ha…… Hello.”

− Why do you sigh as soon as you answer? Woo Tae Un, you know we’re meeting today, right? If you don’t come, I’ll barge into your house, so keep that in mind.

Tiresome bastards.

Tae Un’s head throbbed as soon as he answered the phone and Seo Ha mentioned the homecoming party. The homecoming party was clearly an excuse. He let out a deep sigh as he could clearly see them trying to use that excuse to just drink heavily again.

What good was the throbbing?

Since it was none other than himself who had kindly informed them of the date saying he was returning home, Tae Un couldn’t get angry at anyone. He had dug his own grave, knowing full well this would happen when he told them.

“Don’t you have to go to work at the hospital? Is it your day off today?”

− Yeah. It’s my day off. I arranged everything.

“You should be grateful. Do we really have to do this? I’m tired, so just……”

− If you’re too lazy to come out, say so now. For your sake, I can change the party venue to anywhere.

“Ha…… you tiresome bastards.”

He lost.

Tae Un’s brow furrowed immediately at Seo Ha’s words that if he didn’t come out, they would hold that so-called homecoming party at his house. Tae Un knew that everything he said was sincere.

Knowing that if he really didn’t go out, they would barge into his house as he said, just imagining them barging in and making a mess of his house sent chills down Tae Un’s spine.

Fine. Let’s just drink.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Woo Tae Un, you’re here?”

“Tae Un, it’s been a while.”

When Tae Un arrived at Ellis, the agreed meeting place, his friends’ attention shifted from alcohol to him, and as they all greeted him one by one, his head started throbbing again. In front of him, Seo Ha stood with his arms wide open, smiling mischievously with one corner of his mouth raised, oblivious to the mood.

“How is it? The homecoming party I prepared!”

“What kind of party is this? A party. It’s just gathering to drink heavily. Let’s just drink quietly.”

Seeing Tae Un’s not just lack of reaction but gruff response, Seo Ha pretended to kick him from behind. Tae Un smiled slightly, ignoring Seo Ha, and sat down, swirling the whiskey in the on-the-rocks glass with one hand.

“Oh, really.”

“Okay, just sit down quickly.”

Tae Un downed the whiskey in the glass in one go, frowning as if telling Seo Ha not to bother him anymore, and Seo Ha shook his head and poured alcohol into the empty glass with a faint smile, as if used to his tone.

“So you’ve decided to come back for good now?”

“That’s right. What choice do I have when they tell me to come back. I don’t think I’ll be leaving again.”

“That’s good. Then let’s meet often.”

“I’ll think about it.”

As it was a gathering after a long time, they exchanged formal greetings with each other, and after the formal greetings, as talk of women is inevitable when guys gather, meaningless chatter filled the surroundings.

‘The wind you feel here is different.’

The talk of women around him reminded Tae Un of Ba Ha. The image of her crying helplessly alone on the same rooftop and her smiling brightly, her two very different faces, flashed through his mind briefly, but Tae Un just kept emptying one glass of whiskey after another in front of him.

Still, smiling is better than crying, I guess.

“So Woo Tae Un, who are you seeing these days?”

“Who would I be seeing? I’ve been back in the country for less than a week. I’m not interested.”

At his words about not being interested, Seo Ha let out a laugh, and Tae Un sitting next to him furrowed his brow at Seo Ha.

“You? Say something that makes sense.”

“Do Seo Ha, can you shut that mouth?”

Meeting after a long time, Tae Un and Seo Ha bickered as they quickly emptied the whiskey in front of them again, and feeling comfortable after a long time, Tae Un could empty his mind quickly along with it without thinking about anything.

“Wow…… Amazing. Really.”

As Tae Un emptied his drinks using the meaningless chatter as a side dish, Seo Ha muttered while shaking his head with his gaze fixed somewhere, and Tae Un turned his gaze and frowned in surprise as a familiar face appeared.

“Did that woman just come here now?”