It hadn’t been long since Seol Ah hung up the phone with In Sook.

When she heard someone knocking on the door and went to check, surprisingly, In Sook was there.

“Lady, what brings you here at this hour?”

“Come out for a moment.”

Seol Ah, who came out as In Sook called, saw a beer can being placed in her hand.

“Take a walk around the neighborhood.”

“What?”

“You’re feeling frustrated now, right? Can’t sleep? At times like these, you need to move your body. I can’t sleep either. I’ll stay here, so take a slow walk.”

Tears welled up in Seol Ah’s eyes again.

She didn’t expect her to go this far. She thought the phone call alone had calmed her mind and she was going to try to sleep somehow.

Though as In Sook said, it didn’t seem like sleep would come easily.

“No, you should go to sleep too, lady.”

“Just go for a quick walk. Come back when you finish the beer. It’ll help clear your mind.”

With In Sook pushing her back, Seol Ah left the house.

As In Sook said, walking a bit calmed her mind.

Just then, she saw a playground. Seol Ah sat down on a swing. As she finished the remaining beer, her head started spinning.

Was I always this weak with alcohol?

As she sat there, she felt someone approaching.

“Where did you leave the child to sit here alone?”

Seol Ah looked up and widened her eyes, seeing an unexpected figure standing there.

“Why are you here again?”

After asking that, Seol Ah noticed Seung Jun’s gaze directed at her beer.

“Drinking alone. Is this how a child’s mother should behave?”

A feeling of shame suddenly washed over her.

Of course, she hadn’t left the child alone. In Sook had offered to watch him and told her to go out.

Still, Yu Min was the one who got hurt today, and Seol Ah felt pathetic for being out here instead of by Yu Min’s side.

Unable to control even her own emotions.

“What’s wrong with a child’s mother?”

Though her inner thoughts differed, Seol Ah asked in a pointedly sharp tone.

“Is a child’s mother not human? Can’t she drink alone? It’s funny. People always have something to say to a child’s mother. Yet they don’t even give time off work when the child is sick. What’s the point of breaking your bones to raise a child? You only get criticized.”

I just feel a bit miserable right now.

Yu Min is being treated unfairly, but I don’t have the strength to fight for him. It’s so frustrating that I’m not capable enough.

Seol Ah looked to the side. Seung Jun had already sat down on the swing next to her.

“What are you doing?”

To Seol Ah’s question, Seung Jun just shrugged his shoulders.

Only then did Seol Ah realize that Seung Jun was different from usual.

In his lowered gaze, there seemed to be a hint of regret that wasn’t visible before.

“Is it okay for a busy vice president to be out like this?”

Perhaps because of that look in his eyes. Seol Ah tried to provoke him unnecessarily. He looked down at the ground and chuckled.

“So this is how it feels.”

What feeling was he talking about?

As Seol Ah stared at him blankly, Seung Jun said,

“When I went on about ‘child’s mother’.”

“What do you,”

Seol Ah closed her mouth.

Seol Ah was a ‘child’s mother’, but that wasn’t all she was. There were clearly other parts of her that existed beyond being a ‘child’s mother’.

However, until now, she had learned that those other parts of her should only exist for the sake of her identity as a ‘child’s mother’. That’s what made a good mother.

Perhaps Seung Jun was in a similar situation. Had he been taught to subordinate all other parts of himself to the identity of ‘JK Vice President’?

If so, his mind wouldn’t be at ease.

Sometimes he must feel stifled and like he’s going crazy, to the point of wanting to come out with a beer can at night when he feels suffocated.

Seol Ah lowered her eyes. She felt presumptuous even trying to understand JK Vice President.

To Seol Ah, who had fallen silent, Seung Jun asked,

“Is Yu Min asleep?”

“Yes. Right now, lady In Sook, the convenience store owner, is looking after him.”

Seol Ah said, not wanting to be seen as a mother who left her child alone.

“I should go back. I can’t keep asking her to watch him.”

Seol Ah stood up then, as if finally coming to her senses. She didn’t have time to be here like this. In Sook needed to go home and sleep too.

Seung Jun, still sitting, spoke in a low voice.

“He’s quite clever and cheeky. Wonder who he takes after.”

“He’s different from you, sir.”

Seol Ah said, feeling stung for no reason.

“I know. He takes after you.”

But Seung Jun said something unexpected.

“You’ve raised him well. He doesn’t back down to anyone. When they said he didn’t have a father, he hit them on the head with his fist. It was satisfying. If he hadn’t, I was thinking of hitting them myself.”

He was talking about the fight between Yu Min and Shin Young.

Violence is not okay.

Seol Ah was about to answer but closed her mouth.

Because in that moment, she found herself sympathizing with Seung Jun’s feelings.

Of course, actually hitting someone wouldn’t be right, but Seol Ah felt that if she had been there, she would have wanted to hit them too.

Seol Ah suddenly felt like a lot of time had passed and looked at her watch.

“Then I really should go now.”

“Why did you leave?”

But as if he hadn’t heard Seol Ah’s words, Seung Jun asked with his head lowered.

Seol Ah stood still.

Seung Jun raised his head and looked at her.

“I’m just curious. It’s not an important question anymore, but.”

He had once sneered at her, asking if she had run away just because of the news of his marriage. There was no need to explain the reason to someone like him.

The strange thing was why it was ‘just curious’ now. And why now, when she was at her lowest point.

“If it’s not important, I don’t see why I should answer either.”

Seol Ah felt her voice trembling as she turned her head.

But then there was a swoosh sound from the swing, and she felt Seung Jun approaching.

He blocked her path as she stood frozen.

“Then, does that mean I can take Yu Min?”

Her thawed heart quickly froze again. Why suddenly here. Seol Ah’s brow furrowed.

“What did you say?”

Hostility flashed in Seol Ah’s eyes. Seung Jun met that gaze calmly.

“It seems you still don’t grasp the situation. With one word from me, you could be separated from Yu Min as early as tomorrow.”

She had sympathized with him. It wasn’t like before, but her heart had settled comfortably. But no. He was still, to her, the villain.

“Are you threatening me now?”

“You can think of it as a threat if you like. But it’s simple, isn’t it? Is it that hard to tell me why you left?”

Seol Ah closed her eyes tightly.

Emotions surged. Her mind, which had barely settled, was stirred up again, throbbing as if a volcano was about to erupt.

“Go ahead and try to take him. I won’t just stand by!”

As Seol Ah said this and turned away, Seung Jun grabbed her shoulders with both hands.

And he looked down at her excited face with indifferent eyes.

Seol Ah remembered this look.

The night of the company dinner. As always, he wasn’t drunk, and Seol Ah had been drunk but sobered up. He said he would take her home and called for a designated driver.

It happened to be a night of heavy rain. And the new driver happened to be less skilled than expected. It was a difficult night for even experienced drivers.

After finally arriving at Seol Ah’s house, Seung Jun gave the driver the taxi fare for the day and sent him away. He planned to sleep in the car. The rain was still pouring, and there were no suitable accommodations nearby.

Seol Ah told Seung Jun to come inside.

Rain, wet night, and alcohol.

That night, Seung Jun looked at Seol Ah with these same eyes as today. By the rain-streaked window. Seol Ah could no longer hear the sound of rain. His breathing seemed louder than the rain.

And soon, all her senses were numbed by the sound of his lips consuming hers.

“You’re telling me to try and take him?”

What was his gaze like then? He, who had seemed like a tall tree to her, that day looked just like a wounded young beast.

That day when he held her and they watched the dawn break together.

The vivid memory of that day felt like a curse to her.

“Do you think I can’t do it? Do you think I’m still that fool from before?”

Seol Ah tried to gather her wits. This was no time to be caught up in old memories. She could really lose Yu Min at this rate.

“Why are you curious about that now? Are you thinking of marrying me or something?”

Seol Ah raised one corner of her mouth mockingly.

It was meant to be a direct hit. This man would never have such thoughts.

But.

“It’s not impossible.”

He stabbed her heart once again.

As if backstabbing her then wasn’t enough.

“What did you say?”

Letting go of Seol Ah’s heaving shoulders, Seung Jun smirked.

“I’m in a situation where I need to get married anyway.”

His eyes stared intently into hers.

“So, tell me. The truth.”

His breath reached her ears. The breath on her nose was hot. She trembled her lower lip. As she took a step back, he stepped forward again.

His red lips and straight nose came into view. That face she had embraced warmly and kissed.

The night she was in his arms, the whispered words as they watched the dawn break. The days she buried her face in his chest and chuckled.

The only bright days in her life, days that made her unbearable when darkness came, flooded her mind like a tidal wave.

“I didn’t want to.”

That’s right. I didn’t want you. Not now, and not then. Seol Ah stepped back. He didn’t come closer. She saw his face contort.

“Do I really have to say it out loud? Marriage? Don’t make me laugh.”

She threw away the past in front of him. She would never experience being abandoned again. One memory of hanging on at the end of the world was enough. And now, she had someone to protect.

“Is that true?”

She saw his lips trembling.

“Then why did you do it? Why back then.”

“What could a secretary with nothing have done in front of the great vice president?”

Seol Ah said this and turned away.

Like a pitiful beast trying not to be caught in a lie.

You didn’t have to appear too. My heart was already sinking into the deep sea, crumbling as if it would never surface again.

Why do you have to appear and trample on me too?

A person with so much to do. A person with many others to meet besides me.

Why do you have to appear again and turn me inside out?

Reaching her house, Seol Ah looked back. There was no sign of Seung Jun.

Only then did her head start burning and her vision spin.

As Seol Ah was about to walk forward again, she stopped abruptly.

He definitely wasn’t there before.

Seung Jun, who had disappeared, was standing in front of her.