When I Reach You - Chapter 27

Sunwoo narrowed his brows as he looked down at Eun Jae, who kept glancing back anxiously.

“What did you just say?”

“Hurry! I think he’s noticed.”

Before Sunwoo could give permission, Eun Jae’s slender arms tried to wrap around Sunwoo’s waist but lightly grasped the sides of his shirt instead.

“What did he notice—”

Before he could even process what he had just heard. With that, Eun Jae burrowed into Sunwoo’s embrace.

“Just like this for a moment, until Tae Gyu passes by.”

Eun Jae whispered carefully, lest her voice leak out. That single voice greatly muddled Sunwoo’s mind.

“You said it yourself. That there was one more sharp person. It turns out to be that guy.”

When he regained some composure, Sunwoo also saw Tae Gyu walking leisurely towards the courtyard.

Several minutes passed like that, and Eun Jae’s lips, pressed against Sunwoo’s chest, slowly moved.

“Ah, is he still there?”

At Eun Jae’s words, Sunwoo looked up and scanned the house. Tae Gyu was no longer visible, having already passed by.

“Is, is he gone?”

Having impulsively hugged him, she seemed embarrassed now that time had passed in his embrace.

Eun Jae, her ears turning bright red, kept stumbling over her words. Seeing this, Sunwoo slightly raised the corners of his mouth in a light smile.

“No.”

Sunwoo buried his face even deeper over Eun Jae’s shoulder, as if telling her not to think of anything else. The sweet scent of skin lingered at the tip of his nose along with the sound of a steady pulse.

“Why does he keep wandering around like that? Is he monitoring? How about now…?”

Perhaps his senses were dulled by that fragrance.

“Mm, he’s still here.”

Sunwoo pulled Eun Jae closer into his embrace.

He didn’t want to let go.

[This is the timeline separator]

Embraced in the man’s firm arms, Eun Jae heard the urgent pounding of his heart.

Thump thump thump thump.

It was a very fast and fierce movement.

Only after several more minutes passed did Sunwoo finally release Eun Jae.

Slowly emerging from Sunwoo’s embrace, Eun Jae couldn’t look him straight in the eye for a while.

Eun Jae’s brown eyes wandered here and there, unable to fix on any one spot.

“Sh-shall we go?”

Eun Jae pointed to the courtyard door leading to the living room with an awkward smile. She felt like she would suffocate if she didn’t escape this place as soon as possible.

It seemed like the only way out of this suffocating situation where every second felt like an eternity.

Though she should be used to kindness with clear intentions by now, she still falls for the man’s gentle smile, is deceived by his affection, and is hopelessly swayed by useless emotions.

No, I already…

Eun Jae bit her lip hard.

“Yoon Sunwoo, I’m not sincere with you.”

Yes, it’s just an act, just fake emotions. The more she repeated it, the more a bitter smile spread across her face. Her head understood, but her heart kept saying no.

Get a grip. This is just a play, and the man is doing his best in his role. Don’t try to find meaning in the man’s trivial actions.

Looking at the man’s intense gaze that could fool anyone, Eun Jae collected herself again.

As Eun Jae, having barely organized her thoughts, took a step towards the door, Sunwoo, who was standing closer to the door, moved first and opened the glass door.

Sunwoo, who had crossed the threshold of the wide-open courtyard door first, naturally reached his hand back.

Why, when there’s no one around.

Eun Jae’s lips, which were about to part, closed again.

Was it because her heart felt a little lighter after resolving to think of it as kindness born of necessity? Contrary to her inner feelings, Eun Jae grabbed Sunwoo’s outstretched hand.

The moment their hands overlapped, the man seemed to smile faintly.

It must have been her imagination.

Eun Jae entered the living room first, and as Sunwoo turned to close the door, it happened.

Even knowing Eun Jae’s movement to twist her hand free, Sunwoo pretended not to notice and stubbornly held onto Eun Jae’s hand without letting go. Looking down at Eun Jae with a mischievous face, he belatedly noticed Seok Hee’s presence standing in front.

Seok Hee alternately looked at Sunwoo and Eun Jae, then lowered his gaze to their clasped hands.

Quickly noticing where his gaze had landed, Eun Jae pulled her hand from Sunwoo’s. Only then did Sunwoo willingly release Eun Jae’s hand. Eun Jae’s cheeks instantly turned pink.

Seok Hee passed by them without a word. As Seok Hee’s back disappeared completely around the corner, Eun Jae let out a deep breath she had been holding.

“I, I don’t think I’ll live to my full lifespan.”

“Why.”

While she was dead serious, the man was actually smiling. Annoyed by this, Eun Jae glared at Sunwoo with eyes full of strength.

Eun Jae approached Sunwoo closely with an expression as if asking if he really didn’t know why, and whispered.

“I’m going crazy with my heart pounding, afraid we’ll be caught.”

At this, Sunwoo chuckled, and Eun Jae frowned even more.

“Why do you keep laughing? I’m being serious.”

“You said it was fine earlier?”

“No, it’s not fine at all.”

Sunwoo patted Eun Jae’s shoulder soothingly and whispered in her ear.

“Just bear with it a little longer.”

It was on the way back after going out to the courtyard. He thought they wouldn’t be visible after wandering this far, but.

Tae Gyu, who happened to see again their intimate appearance of exchanging words in voices only the two of them could hear, frowned and turned his head away sharply.

Even Sunwoo’s casual touching of Eun Jae felt unfamiliar.

“Wasn’t the mysophobia a lie?”

Unable to contain his emotions, he walked aimlessly, passing by where he had originally intended to go. Thinking any place where they weren’t visible would do.

Walking like that, he eventually reached a dead end.

The afterimage of the two he had seen earlier wouldn’t leave his mind.

Tae Gyu drove his clenched fist into the wall. A loud bang echoed through the corridor. A frame occupying more than half of one wall rattled.

Just then, a passing housekeeper looked at Tae Gyu in surprise, but he paid no attention.

Yoon Sunwoo, who had been like an AI robot, had a smile consistently directed at Eun Jae.

Looking like a couple who had just started dating to anyone who saw.

[This is the timeline separator]

After the meal, Soo In, who was about to pick up a strawberry sitting at the dining table, paused and looked up at Sunwoo entering the dining room.

“Sunwoo, are you getting more handsome as time goes by?”

Soo In couldn’t take her eyes off Sunwoo, who sat down silently smiling as he pulled out a chair.

“We should have made Sunwoo an actor instead of a doctor. He’s too good-looking to be a doctor.”

Eun Jae strongly agreed with Soo In’s words, but for a different reason.

The man is too good at acting.

That gaze looking at me, those small gestures – they seemed too sincere to call them lies.

As if I had really become his woman.

I think he would have done very well if he had become an actor. He would have been a method actor.

“When Sunwoo was young, agencies contacted us too. Your aunt should have pushed hard for it then, but she made a mistake.”

Then Eun Jung, sitting across, chimed in.

“What about Tae Gyu? Our Sunwoo doesn’t have that kind of talent.”

“Come to think of it, the Yoon family men are so handsome. I actually fell for Chung’s looks and married him. I heard your elder brother was super popular in school too?”

Eun Jung and Soo In laughed for a long time talking about the Yoon family men.

“But Sunwoo looks more like his mother than his father. They say daughters take after their fathers and sons take after their mothers to live well, right?”

Then Soo In’s gaze naturally turned to Eun Jae.

“What do you think, Eun Jae?”

“Ah, I…”

As Eun Jae was choosing her words, Sunwoo quickly handed her the prettiest strawberry, cutting off the conversation.

“Try this.”

Eun Jae accepted the strawberry Sunwoo handed her with a slightly surprised expression.

“Yes, Eun Jae. I brought it directly from Nonsan. It’s very sweet and delicious.”

The topic smoothly changed with his effort. Eun Jung, who had added a word to Sunwoo’s, quickly gave Soo In a look.

“The strawberry is as big as Eun Jae’s face.”

Eun Jung rested her chin on her hand and looked at Eun Jae as if she found her fascinating. Sunwoo looked back and forth between the flustered Eun Jae and Eun Jung, barely holding back laughter as he stood up from his chair.

Ji Eun Jae, you’ll choke eating strawberries.

“We’ll be going now.”

“Why, stay a little longer.”

“We have plans.”

Sunwoo comforted Eun Jung, who looked visibly disappointed, with a smile as he picked up Eun Jae’s jacket and bag. It was like a silent urging. Having no choice, Eun Jae stood up following Sunwoo and greeted them with a bright smile.

“I’ll come visit again next time.”

“That’s too bad. Let’s see each other longer next time.”

It was when Soo In gave her final greeting. From behind, Sungsan Daek urgently called out to Sunwoo.

“Professor, the Chairman is looking for you, with your prospective daughter-in-law.”

“Pardon? Grandfather?”

As Sunwoo asked back seemingly flustered, Sungsan Daek urged him even more.

“Hurry and go, he’s waiting in the living room.”

With an ominous feeling, Sunwoo took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. The momentarily stiffened expression relaxed as soon as he faced Eun Jae looking up at him worriedly.

Sunwoo grasped Eun Jae’s hand tightly and gave a slight smile.

As if saying not to worry, as if saying to just trust him.

Seeing that, Eun Jae also responded with a smile.

Seok Hee was sitting in the center of the U-shaped sofa, reading a newspaper. Sunwoo stood to Seok Hee’s right, holding Eun Jae’s hand.

“Grandfather, you called for us?”

“Sit.”

Even Sunwoo, who had been calm all along, looked very tense.

Thinking back, it was strange. Asking the date was all, and the answer that came back was as concise as the question had been pointless to ponder over.

When Sunwoo and Eun Jae sat side by side on the sofa, Seok Hee, who had folded the newspaper and put it down beside him, silently looked at Sunwoo and Eun Jae over his glasses for a long time before speaking.

“You said you’d do it in June.”

To the relatively simple question, Sunwoo steadied his tense breath and answered.

“Yes, we’re thinking mid-June.”

Taking a moment after Sunwoo’s answer, Seok Hee took a sip of the tea placed in front of him and said.

“After the ceremony, stay at the main house.”

“Pardon?”

Sunwoo’s surprised voice grew louder. Eun Jae’s face, sitting next to him, also showed bewilderment.

“Why, is it difficult?”

“It’s a three-hour round trip to the hospital.”

“That’s a trivial reason.”

“There’s no room to stay in either.”

The main house was a single-story building. As it was a place where only Seok Hee stayed, built to suit him, the main house had no separate rooms except for Seok Hee’s bedroom, study, and the quarters where the live-in helpers stayed.

“The 3rd floor room of the annex where you stayed until college is still quite usable.”

He was referring to the 3rd floor of the annex connected to the back of the main house, that is, the house where Sunwoo’s mother and father were staying.

It was where Sunwoo had spent his childhood.

“No more, no less, just one month. Is it still difficult?”

“Grandfather, we’re newlyweds and—”

He tried attaching whatever excuses he could think of, but Seok Hee just frowned at Sunwoo. So Sunwoo couldn’t finish his sentence.

Seok Hee’s sharp gaze softened as it moved to Eun Jae.

“Your name was Ji Eun Jae, right?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“What do you think, Eun Jae?”

“Pardon? Ah…”

Eun Jae’s lips, which seemed to hesitate for a moment looking at Seok Hee, slowly moved.

“I…”

[This is the timeline separator]

After finishing their meal, Yoon Gang, returning to the annex, stared at Eun Jung for a moment before asking.

“You’re not acting like yourself today.”

“What do you mean, like myself?”

“You, didn’t you dislike Sunwoo getting married?”

“I didn’t dislike it, I just felt wistful. The baby who couldn’t even eat without me has already grown up so much and is saying he’ll get married.”

As Eun Jung’s eyes reddened, Yoon Gang pretended not to see and turned his head away sharply.

“Aren’t you thinking about your own age?”

“Why is the conversation suddenly going there?”

Yoon Gang joked, trying to match Eun Jung’s mood. Even after living together for decades, he still didn’t know what to do when he saw Eun Jung’s tears.

Seeing Eun Jung laugh despite knowing, Yoon Gang thought it was fortunate.

“Honey, did you see Sunwoo today? Is this why they say raising children is useless? Has he ever smiled at me like that?”

Saying that seeing the robot-like guy smiling in front of a woman made his stomach hurt.

“You know what? You’re saying exactly what my mother said 30 years ago.”

“I don’t know… I’m reminded of when Sunwoo was young. I feel like I’m going to cry.”

Laughing at the sight of her grumbling with eyes that looked like they would shed tears at any moment, Yoon Gang gently placed his hand on Eun Jung’s shoulder and said.

“You have me, don’t you?”

Eun Jung, who had stopped abruptly, looked up at Yoon Gang. Tears were still welling up in her eyes.

“I’ve never seen Sunwoo smile like that before. I thought our Sunwoo had lost his smile forever. I thought he would never smile again.”

“…”

“That’s enough. It’s because he’s happy, because he’s happy.”

Yoon Gang’s lips, which had wiped away the tears gathered in Eun Jung’s eyes with his thumb, gently settled on Eun Jung’s lips.

“Yes, that’s enough.”