A Rin didn’t know why she felt such a surge of emotions over Ban Jae Hyuk, who had nothing to do with her, getting hit.

‘I didn’t think his relationship with his mother-in-law was that bad.’

After the divorce, A Rin tried not to think about Jae Hyuk.

Thinking about Jae Hyuk made A Rin’s heart ache so much. It was to the point where she couldn’t breathe. It seemed like no matter what she did, she couldn’t get rid of Jae Hyuk’s presence that had lodged in her heart. She thought it might not be possible to erase him.

Ban Jae Hyuk and Choi A Rin were ‘ill-fated’, and she thought that tie should be severed with the divorce.

A Rin resolutely began erasing Jae Hyuk from her life. Instead, she filled the place he had been with other things, including Memoria.

Did A Rin’s efforts work?

As her troubled heart gradually found stability, A Rin even came to think that she had completely erased Jae Hyuk.

But… why was her heart throbbing so much now?

Occasionally when she thought of Jae Hyuk, it didn’t hurt as much as before. Even when thinking of him, she had recovered enough to vaguely wish him well, though they had once been ‘ill-fated’.

At some point, Jae Hyuk stopped coming to mind.

So naturally, she thought her feelings for Jae Hyuk were no longer the same as before.

However,

‘My name came up. Why… why is he still talking about me?’

‘I thought it was the same for you, elder brother. I thought you had erased me too.’

Jae Hyuk was the head of the VAN Group, responsible for the group. A Rin thought Jae Hyuk would eventually take a wife. A Rin believed that just as Jae Hyuk’s presence had faded within her with the passage of time, Choi A Rin’s existence would have disappeared from Ban Jae Hyuk’s life.

After all, he hadn’t truly loved her!

A Rin had thought Jae Hyuk’s love was just an obsession over something he had lost.

‘But you still love me? Why on earth…’

A Rin felt like she was floundering in a swamp of confusion.

With Jae Hyuk in front of her, A Rin couldn’t think of anything and didn’t know what to say to him.

A Rin took steps towards Jae Hyuk. No, it was more accurate to say that her feet moved on their own.

Looking closely, Jae Hyuk’s cheek was red and swollen, and the place where the ring had grazed left a deeper wound than she thought.

‘How can a mother hit her son to this extent? No matter how cruel, a mother shouldn’t hit her child, right?’

A Rin hated Lady Jung even more. She hurriedly took out a handkerchief from her bag and held it out to him.

“You’re bleeding.”

“…”

“Wipe it off, quickly.”

A Rin wondered if what she had seen was a hallucination.

Because Jae Hyuk’s eyes, which had been wavering a moment ago, were now calmly settled.

Jae Hyuk silently looked at the handkerchief A Rin held out.

“Don’t worry. There’s no one here but me. No one else was here, so it’ll be fine. Just wipe it off with this for now.”

When Jae Hyuk showed no intention of taking it, A Rin held out the handkerchief again. In the end, A Rin forcibly put the handkerchief in Jae Hyuk’s hand.

A Rin’s heart sank at the momentary touch of Jae Hyuk’s warmth. But that heat that had touched her disappeared in an instant like a mirage.

“It’s fine. Sorry for making you worry about something trivial.”

Taking the handkerchief, Jae Hyuk spoke in an indifferent voice as if nothing had happened.

“…No, it’s not.”

A Rin’s heart wavered at Jae Hyuk’s nonchalant appearance.

Jae Hyuk wiped his face with the handkerchief. The drops of blood that had gathered on his face were soon gone. Looking down at the blood-stained handkerchief, he said,

“The handkerchief is stained with blood. If it’s alright with you, may I send it back through Director Han? Of course, if you don’t like it, I won’t.”

Jae Hyuk tightly grasped the handkerchief A Rin had given him and spoke.

“The handkerchief isn’t the problem.”

“…Then.”

A Rin was curious.

Why was her name still coming up even now, a full year after the divorce?

No, to be precise, six years had passed since the time they had talked about divorce.

‘Is this feeling unpleasant? Or…’

A Rin was confused by the emotions swirling in her heart.

“I overheard your conversation with your mother-in-law, Mr. Ban Jae Hyuk. My name came up.”

A Rin looked up at Jae Hyuk and asked. It was to examine his expression. But Jae Hyuk was silently listening to A Rin’s words with eyes devoid of even a shred of emotion.

A Rin felt even more strange because she couldn’t tell Jae Hyuk’s feelings at all.

“You misunderstood. It’s because I’m not getting married.”

“Really?”

Was this feeling of disappointment? Or was she relieved that it wasn’t the worst-case scenario she had anticipated?

A Rin thought she had completely forgotten Jae Hyuk. She thought she had completely erased him and that he no longer came to mind.

‘But why do I feel this way when I actually face Jae Hyuk? Why is my heart acting like this?’

A Rin bit the soft flesh inside her mouth hard.

Jae Hyuk, who had been looking down at A Rin expressionlessly, said,

“Yes. I won’t harm you or cause you trouble like before. So don’t worry.”

She should be reassured, but A Rin’s heart fluttered at Jae Hyuk’s firm voice instead.

‘This feels somewhat unpleasant…’

A Rin had to painfully realize how arrogant her thoughts had been.

She had thought Jae Hyuk was someone she hated, despised and disliked so much!

A Rin couldn’t look at Jae Hyuk. With her head bowed, A Rin said in a very small voice,

“I’m not worried about that. I think you’re someone who keeps your word, Mr. Ban Jae Hyuk.”

A Rin’s heart somehow surged.

“Yes. I will keep my promise to you. Without fail.”

One thing was clear, Jae Hyuk drew a firm line with A Rin. A Rin clearly knew that Jae Hyuk didn’t want Choi A Rin involved in this situation, whether the issue Jae Hyuk was embroiled in was related to Choi A Rin or not.

A Rin also knew that she had no right to meddle with Jae Hyuk, as they had long become strangers after the divorce.

Until a moment ago, she thought she shouldn’t even face Jae Hyuk in passing.

Isn’t that why she avoided him?

When with Jae Hyuk, A Rin felt like a moth jumping into a pit of fire.

Even knowing that, even after bracing herself several times, she couldn’t pass him by.

Why on earth?

‘Because the wound on your cheek looks painful, elder brother?’

Or.

‘Because my name came up from both your mother-in-law and you? If not that, then… what on earth… is this feeling.’

It was Jae Hyuk who first turned his back on the confused A Rin.

“Go. It won’t be good to run into my mother now.”

Because Jae Hyuk had his back turned, A Rin couldn’t see what expression he had.

A Rin stood still for a while before finally squeezing out an answer.

“…Okay.”

“I’ll try not to let it bother you in the future, so don’t worry.”

A Rin bit her lower lip hard. She had to conclude what the surging emotion in her heart was.

‘I felt strange because I saw you getting hit, elder brother. It’s simply sympathy. I would have acted the same way no matter who the other person was.’

A Rin forcibly defined her feelings.

After all, even if you forcibly glue a broken bowl back together, you can’t erase the cracks or completely fill the gaps.

Unless it was completely shattered, melted down and made into something new… it was sure to break under a weaker impact than before.

So A Rin shouldn’t waver when she saw Jae Hyuk.

‘Former lovers can’t even greet each other warmly when they meet, let alone a married couple. It’s even more so if they parted on bad terms. So I just have to go back to my place. I have to try not to run into you and live as if I’ve forgotten, like back then.’

A Rin forced her feet that wouldn’t move.

“Then I’ll go first. Take care.”

“…Take care.”

Jae Hyuk raised his hand while still having his back turned.

A Rin turned around and walked to the car. Somehow, it felt like Jae Hyuk, who had turned his back, was staring at her with a gaze that clung to her.

So she couldn’t look back even more.

[This is the timeline separator]

Jae Hyuk took in the sight of A Rin leaving in its entirety.

“…A Rin.”

He didn’t want to show this side of himself to anyone.

But of all people, the one who caught him had to be ‘A Rin’?

Unable to hold back the surging emotion, Jae Hyuk bit his lower lip hard.

[I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.]

A Rin’s clear eyes were directed at him as she spoke hesitantly.

His heart was preparing to greet her with an intense dance the closer A Rin narrowed the distance.

He felt like his heart would burst. His mind was dizzy with her scent lingering at the tip of his nose.

A huge thudding sound rang in his ears.

[Are you okay?]

Finally, she stood in front of him. It was a distance close enough to touch if he reached out his hand.

He felt like he would mistake her worried gaze.

‘Don’t be mistaken. Ban Jae Hyuk, A Rin is a kind person. If anyone else had encountered a situation like this, she would have been just as worried as she is now.’

Jae Hyuk tried his best to grasp his heart that was shaking like a reed.

‘Get a grip. Ban Jae Hyuk. Get a grip. Are you going to make things difficult for A Rin again? A Rin is doing well. Don’t shake up someone who’s doing well. Do it right.’

The shock of A Rin finding out about the situation and the joy of seeing A Rin swirled together at the same time.

Jae Hyuk was flustered by the contradictory emotions.

When her white face and clear eyes turned towards him, his heart began to beat even faster.

He was suddenly afraid that she would hear his heartbeat and find out his feelings.

‘Don’t shake A Rin. Don’t forget that you don’t even have the right to do that.’

Since A Rin had already overheard the conversation with Lady Jung, he had to salvage the spilled water as much as possible.

Jae Hyuk clenched his fists so hard that his veins bulged.

He swallowed the surging feelings behind his throat. Jae Hyuk composed his expression.

The rapidly fluctuating emotions were erased from his face.

He grasped and re-grasped his uncontrollable heart.

‘Our A Rin is still kind. I really put such a kind person through a lot.’

At the thought that he had hurt such a kind person, Jae Hyuk hated himself to the point of going crazy.

With self-directed resentment, Jae Hyuk bit his lower lip hard. He spoke in the most calm voice he could muster.

Praying that she wouldn’t notice his lingering attachment…

‘I love you. A Rin. I still love you.’

At this rate, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to control his emotions and would mistake her sympathy.

That was all there was to it.

‘If you hadn’t seen my mother hitting me, you wouldn’t have approached me first.’

Choi A Rin had completely erased Ban Jae Hyuk and was living well.

‘I’m still someone who makes you uncomfortable, and if you don’t meet me, you…’

Wouldn’t have made such a troubled expression.

That uncomfortable truth seemed to have an eternal expiration date.

In a short time, Jae Hyuk filled his eyes with A Rin’s appearance. Because he wouldn’t be able to see her this close in the future, he had to take in as much of her as possible to endure the long time ahead.

His eyes grew hot with the surging emotions.

‘I must be really stupid, A Rin. I’m fine with you not passing me by.’

‘I like you so much, A Rin. I smile even in a situation like this when I see you.’

I must be really crazy about you.

The words he couldn’t utter lingered in his mouth.

Instead of the countless words, Jae Hyuk uttered different ones.

“Take care.”

Jae Hyuk gently grasped the handkerchief with A Rin’s scent.

He had gained a precious item that could remind him that she had been by his side.

Perhaps he would regret more while looking at this handkerchief…

But he could smile remembering the concern she had shown him.

Jae Hyuk looked at A Rin with a bright smile, trying his best to hide the surging words.

‘I’m fine. So don’t you be shaken by something like this either.’

Reminiscing about you is my role.

I’ll be more careful not to catch your eye in the future.

So don’t waver.

Jae Hyuk stood there for a long time even after A Rin left.