Even with the man’s apology, Ra Jin’s face refused to soften.

“Don’t mistakenly think that killing someone and then saying sorry once will end everything. I believe that one must pay the price for their sins.”

“P-please…”

A Rin, who was watching the situation, felt suffocated. She felt dizzy and nauseous. It was difficult to breathe.

‘I can’t faint.’

Once again, the illness called vasovagal syncope made A Rin’s condition precarious.

Please…

Staggering, A Rin managed to lean against the wall.

‘Deep breaths… I need to take deep breaths. Haa. Haa.’

While A Rin was struggling, Jae Hyuk looked down at the man with a cold gaze.

“Apologizing to my wife comes first.”

Jae Hyuk purposely emphasized the word ‘wife’.

The man said again, banging his head on the floor.

“N-no. I, I was going to apologize. I’m sorry. Lady.”

A Rin looked down at the man.

‘He wouldn’t have done this if elder brother wasn’t here.’

In fact, the man had been arrogant and rude enough to be haughty until Jae Hyuk arrived. It was unimaginable looking at him now.

The man, who had been endlessly arrogant and haughty in front of powerless her, turned into a gentle lamb before Jae Hyuk, and A Rin felt a whirlwind of emotions.

‘If I stay like this, I think I’ll faint again.’

The situation itself was a huge stress for her.

The stopped people’s voices were heard right next to the pillar. And after a while, the sound gradually faded away.

‘Thank goodness…’

Perhaps because the tension was relieved that they weren’t caught.

A Rin plopped down on the spot.

At the sound, Jae Hyuk turned his head. After examining A Rin’s expression, he quickly approached her side.

“Breathe. It’s okay.”

A large hand slowly patted her back.

“Yes. Slowly. Easy. Easy.”

At that moment, perhaps thinking that Jae Hyuk’s attention had completely left him, the man ran away as fast as his tail between his legs.

“Slowly, inhale and exhale, yes. You’re doing well.”

As she followed his words, breathing became easier little by little.

“Phew.”

“Yes. You did well. Slowly, like now.”

The pounding heart sound that felt like it would burst also subsided, and her breathing wasn’t rough.

Only then did A Rin see Jae Hyuk’s worried face looking at her. For some reason, she felt strange.

Burning hot and desperate enough to explode…

“…Thank you.”

A trembling voice flowed out as if exhaling.

“Do you think you can stand up? Don’t overdo it.”

A low, thick voice was heard over her head. And after a while, a large hand was held out in front of A Rin’s face.

“It’ll be uncomfortable, but it’s better to hold on and get up.”

After a short silence, A Rin placed her small hand on Jae Hyuk’s hand. Then, he lifted A Rin up.

Muscular, firm arms supported her body.

A Rin’s heart fluttered.

“Do you want to go back? Or.”

“I’ll watch the wedding.”

“Okay. Then let’s go together.”

“…N-no. I can go alone.”

Jae Hyuk shook his head firmly.

“Just in case something happens. Besides, you’re trembling like this right now. I won’t do anything. I’ll just stay by your side.”

‘It’ll be fine if it’s just for a moment. As elder brother said, I’m afraid to be alone now.’

A weak mind made room for it to creep in.

“…Yes.”

Fortunately.

While walking to the wedding venue, he kept a proper distance.

‘Otherwise, he would have heard my loudly beating heart. He would have thought I was strange.’

The body scent mixed with white musk fragrance that tickled the tip of her nose kept making her mind hazy.

A Rin glanced up at Jae Hyuk.

The tightly closed thin lips, the high nose bridge, and the razor-sharp jawline made her heart pound.

If they had a conversation, she could have been caught with feelings that she herself couldn’t understand, so A Rin was grateful that he kept silent.

‘I wish we could continue not saying anything like this.’

Just a while ago, she hated Jae Hyuk so much, but it seemed her heart had weakened at the fact that he saved her in a crisis situation.

At that moment when A Rin was thinking about Jae Hyuk, his mind was also full of thoughts about A Rin.

Why was A Rin alone there?

Why did that bastard have to appear in front of A Rin?

‘Where the hell did Manager Seo go leaving her alone? It’s dangerous.’

Jae Hyuk gritted his teeth as he recalled the situation from a moment ago.

The moment he saw Sung Han grabbing her wrist and threatening her, he thought he was going crazy.

He ran and looked around A Rin’s surroundings. Ji Yun, who would usually growl and guard A Rin like a guard dog when approached, was nowhere to be found.

After a long silence, it was Jae Hyuk who broke it first.

“Wasn’t Manager Seo with you?”

“Ah… He said there was a problem at the company. Do you not know?”

“Know what?”

Jae Hyuk stopped walking and looked down at A Rin.

“…He said there was a problem with the public relations team event scheduled for today. The goods that were supposed to come didn’t arrive, so Ji Yun has been there since dawn to handle it.”

A Rin thought that even though Jae Hyuk was the person leading the VAN Group, he wouldn’t immediately know about every problem regarding the events held by the departments. So she calmly explained the problem to him.

Jae Hyuk, who had been quietly listening to her, opened his mouth.

“Are you talking about the Gangnam Station event?”

“…I don’t know the location.”

“Anyway, you should have waited. No matter what, why did you come here alone? If you were going to come, you should have come when people were around. Just in case something happened.”

‘How would I have known this would happen?’

She had been full of thoughts about avoiding meeting Jae Hyuk at the wedding.

She never even imagined that this kind of thing would happen.

Even though she thought he didn’t mean it that way, A Rin’s mood sank.

Jae Hyuk, who belatedly noticed that A Rin’s expression had drastically worsened, hurriedly spoke.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I just…”

But even with Jae Hyuk’s apology, A Rin’s mood, far from improving, plummeted into a deeper quagmire.

‘Why are you getting angry?’

Why the hell like this?

The emotions that had been swirling deep in her heart surged up.

“It’s not like… I did it on purpose, so why are you getting angry?”

A Rin bit her lower lip tightly and held back her tears, but then burst into tears.

Was it because she had a terrible experience just now, or was it because of the disappointment?

Or why was she doing this?

Once the tears started, they didn’t stop.

“A Rin ah…”

It wasn’t that he had any intention of reprimanding her. It was because when he imagined the worst situation that A Rin might have suffered if he hadn’t appeared there, he got angry.

‘Ban Jae Hyuk, you crazy bastard.’

Jae Hyuk hurriedly wiped A Rin’s tears. However, she didn’t allow his touch.

His hand that lost its place was left hanging in the air.

“I just thought that you might have suffered a terrible thing. Just imagining it made me feel like I was going crazy… So.”

‘Why are your thoughts so inconsiderate? You.’

Jae Hyuk never tolerated small mistakes when it came to work. He had never known failure since the moment he was born.

Naturally, he had never thought of himself as lacking. And people called him the perfect man without a single blemish.

But in front of A Rin, he was always an insufficient and clumsy man.

‘Nothing has changed. You, Ban Jae Hyuk.’

Jae Hyuk gritted his teeth at his own shortcomings and insufficiencies. He had no intention of hurting her, but as a result, he ended up hurting A Rin again.

It felt like he could do anything to stop her tears…

“You’re really too much. Really.”

“…”

“I really hate this. I hate you so much.”

Watching her cry her heart out, his heart crumbled.

‘You’re right, A Rin. I’m a bad guy.’

Even if it was for her, in the end, it was for his own heart.

What she needed wasn’t an analysis of why it happened, but comforting her heart.

Because the person who must have been the most distressed and scared in this situation was her, not him.

He should have hugged her first and told her it was okay.

“How scared I was.”

When she cries, he wants to cry. When she laughs, laughter naturally comes out.

Now… he wanted to cry.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blame you.”

It was selfish and foolish.

“Sob sob.”

It felt like no words could embrace her heart.

The thought that he had drifted further away from her made Jae Hyuk terribly resentful of his past self.

Jae Hyuk grabbed A Rin’s shoulders. Desperately hoping that this time she wouldn’t push his hand away…

Fortunately, she didn’t reject his hand.

“I’m sorry.”

With his surging emotions, Jae Hyuk deeply bowed his head.

He didn’t know how to express it because he was clumsy, but still hoping that his sincerity would reach her… he opened his mouth.

“I was wrong.”

“…”

Surprised by Jae Hyuk’s words, A Rin raised her head.

‘Wrong…?’

Because he had his head down, A Rin couldn’t see Jae Hyuk’s expression.

‘Is elder brother right now…’

His broad shoulders were trembling slightly. A damp voice lingered in her ears.

Even without seeing his face, A Rin felt like she knew.

“I’m sorry. Really.”

She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

However, the ‘sorry’ contained in his words was sincere.

“I’m sorry… for not being able to embrace your heart.”

My heart?

Now, or… in the past?

Jae Hyuk’s words created huge ripples in A Rin’s heart.

He leaned his body against her a little more. His hot breath touched her ear. A Rin knew what he would do next.

‘If you want to push him away, now’s the time. Now…’

But her body wouldn’t move.

While hesitating, he hugged her.

‘I can still break free now.’

Thump thump. His heart was beating fast. Maybe bigger and faster than hers.

He slowly stroked her back with clumsy gestures.

‘It’s too late. It’s too late…’

She had to say it, but her lips wouldn’t part.

Because his clumsy and awkward touch conveyed his desire to comfort her.

‘Fool, idiot. This dimwit.’

A Rin couldn’t push away the warmth enveloping her body.

At her contradictory actions, A Rin just tightly closed her eyes and pretended not to know.

After many twists and turns, A Rin entered the wedding hall with Jae Hyuk.

From the moment she entered with Jae Hyuk, she felt people’s gazes. Even in the midst of the ongoing wedding, people’s blatant stares and whispers didn’t stop.

She wanted to capture Yoo Jung’s happy appearance, but the constantly felt gazes were burdensome.

A Rin tried her best not to pay attention to her surroundings and only looked at Yoo Jung.

After a while, watching Yoo Jung greet her parents and shed tears, A Rin’s heart surged.

Although they weren’t biological sisters, seeing her get married made her feel strange and her eyes stung.

‘Elder sister…’

When Yoo Jung cried, A Rin unknowingly shed tears.

Just when she thought that, a familiar scented handkerchief was held out in front of her face. He said,

“I want to wipe them for you, but you’d hate it, so take it.”

A Rin’s large eyes looking down at the handkerchief trembled roughly. The initials and shape embroidered on the handkerchief were very familiar.

V.J.H

It was the handkerchief she had given to Jae Hyuk in the past.

The one she thought he would have thrown away was being held out in front of her.