“Whenever I think of him, my heart still beats like the first time we met. Even after ten years, even after twenty years… I think it’ll be the same until the day I die.”
Si Hyun sat up straight in surprise.

“You had someone you liked too, Auntie?”
“Of course. Do you think I never had a relationship when I was young?”
“What kind of person was he? Why did you break up?”
Instead of answering, Su Yeon bitterly laughed and changed the subject.

“Sure, with time, you may become accustomed to each other. You may even feel comfortable. But if you feel neglected, isn’t that a problem?”
Su Yeon’s soft voice sounded like thunder to Si Hyun.

“Six years is not long enough for a person to change.”
With affectionate eyes, Su Yeon looked at Si Hyun with concern.

“He’s the person you’re going to spend decades with. I hope you’ll think it over, Si Hyun.”

((()))

After leaving Su Yeon’s store, on the way home, Si Hyun called Woo Jin. The man who had hastily hung up the phone earlier in the evening saying ‘I’ll call you back soon’ had not contacted her since.

Oh, Si Hyun.
As soon as Woo Jin answered the phone, Si Hyun stated her purpose.

“Let’s meet tomorrow evening, Brother. I have something to discuss.”
I’m sorry, but I have some work to do tomorrow…
She cut off his usual lame excuse in a flash.

“I won’t take up much of your time. Come out for a bit. I’ll come over after work and give you a call.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she hung up and took a deep breath. Right. Whether it was the truth or not, it was better to find out sooner.

((()))

[Let’s end this here.] After spending a sweet night in a luxury hotel, and then being dumped by Bo Ra the next morning, Woo Jin was half out of his mind.

[I don’t want to do something wrong to Deputy Manager Kang.] The fact that the reason was none other than Si Hyun made him boiling mad.

[What if we… met a little sooner?] The thought of Bo Ra’s lonely face made his heart ache. Now, Si Hyun felt like an annoying obstacle.

‘Kang Si Hyun, if it wasn’t for you!’
He made an excuse that he was busy for a while, because he didn’t want to see her. But strangely enough, Si Hyun insisted on meeting him today, and came all the way to the front of the company.

With no choice, Woo Jin met Si Hyun after work. The sight of her usual dull slacks annoyed him from the start. It was a sunny spring day, why couldn’t she wear something brighter, livelier, maybe a skirt. Just like Bo Ra.

On the way, Si Hyun naturally took his hand.

The moment he felt the rough touch of her hand, he was instantly reminded of Bo Ra’s smooth and soft hand, and he was irritated once again. How could there be nothing better about her compared to Bo Ra.

“Oh dear, it’s already getting hot.”
Woo Jin made an excuse to subtly let go of Si Hyun’s hand.

He reluctantly sat opposite her in the café, and as soon as he sat down, she urged him to speak.

“Now it’s your turn to pay a visit to our little father’s house. When would you like to do it?”
That damn wedding talk! Annoyed, Woo Jin retorted rudely.

“Do I really have to pay a visit to people who aren’t even my parents?”
Due to Si Hyun glaring at him with her mouth firmly shut, Woo Jin realized he had misspoken and quickly made amends.

“I mean, they treated you like a maid since you were little, those people. Why would I want to go see them and say hello? I feel like I would get mad just by seeing their faces.”
“Anyway, they didn’t send you to an orphanage and raised you, that’s true. They even paid for your college tuition. So, we should pay a visit before we get married.”
“Give me some time. I’m so busy these days, I can’t find any time.”
Of course, his mind was somewhere else. Woo Jin didn’t want to lose Bo Ra. He planned to postpone the wedding as much as possible, and somehow persuade Bo Ra to switch sides in the meantime…

“Oppa, do you not want to marry me?”
Si Hyun suddenly asked.

“If that’s the case, tell me now.”
Woo Jin felt a lump in his chest. Something was off about her today from the start. He thought she was naive, but did she suspect something?

Of course, if he could marry Bo Ra instead of Si Hyun, nothing could be better. Young, pretty, and even from a good family.

But unlike Si Hyun, the problem was that Bo Ra wasn’t a sure thing.

After declaring their breakup, Bo Ra had been avoiding his calls. If he broke up with Si Hyun under these circumstances and went to Bo Ra, only to be rejected with ‘I can’t do this because I feel sorry for Deputy Manager Kang,’ it would be a disaster.

Bo Ra might not be as good as Si Hyun, but finding a marriage partner like Si Hyun would be difficult.

Si Hyun was a woman who had a good personality, thrifty, with a good job, and never bothered with demands or expected anyone to commemorate anniversaries. She was flawless.

Woo Jin, now twentyfive years old, was inevitably thinking about marriage. But if he wasn’t careful, he might end up chasing two rabbits and catching neither.

After doing some calculations in his head, Woo Jin forced out a tender voice.

“It’s not like that. I’m really busy, so just wait a little bit, okay?”

((()))

What she really wanted to ask was different.

‘Are you seeing another woman behind my back?’
She couldn’t quite bring herself to say it, so in the end, Si Hyun didn’t ask Woo Jin anything.

“Let’s finish up quickly and get up. I have to go back to the office.”
In his hurry to finish his remaining coffee, Woo Jin accidentally spilled it. Luckily, it was iced coffee, so there were no burns, but his suit pants were wet.

“Ah, darn. I’m going to the bathroom for a bit.”
Grumbling, Woo Jin stood up and left the cafe. Perhaps because he was in a hurry because of his pants, he had left his mobile phone on the table.

Looking at Woo Jin’s phone on the table, Si Hyun hesitated for a moment. What should she do?

Her hesitation didn’t last long. It was better to see for herself than to keep suspicion growing. After checking, she decided to speak honestly and apologize, and Si Hyun reached for Woo Jin’s phone.

Luckily, the lock pattern was as she remembered it. It didn’t seem like he cared much about security, and she thought that maybe she had been overthinking it.

She checked the messenger first, but there was nothing suspicious.

All he had were group chats for his department at work, chats from his college days, and family chats, and all personal chats were with friends or colleagues.

Next, Si Hyun entered the text message menu. There was no evidence of contact with anyone here either. Instead, there were texts of credit card payment history.

The necklace he bought at the department store was the weekend before White Day, so it was a few days before March 14th…

There were continuous small payments at convenience stores and restaurants, then a large amount caught her eye.

[Web Send] 03/11 13:07 Approval Future Department Store Kim((()))Jin 2,000,000 Won Installment 24 months

As she confirmed, her heart sank.

Mi Joo’s words came back to her. ‘That necklace, even the small size, is worth two million won.’ If it was really an errand, would he have bought it with his own card? And on installments at that.

Faced with undeniable reality, Si Hyun closed her eyes.

“What are you doing?”
When she opened her eyes at the sound of the yell, Woo Jin was hastily snatching his phone from Si Hyun’s hand.

“Why are you looking through someone else’s phone without permission? That’s rude!”
Si Hyun looked blankly at the man whose face was red with anger. He seemed very different from the man she had known for the past six years.

“Brother.”
Si Hyun asked quietly.

“When did you start seeing her?”

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