When I Reach You (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 14
After showering, Seon Woo emerged into the living room, lightly rotating his neck, when the rumbling from his empty stomach finally reminded him that he hadn’t eaten dinner.
He’d left the table with food untouched, having only stared out at the night view, so naturally, he was starving.
Grabbing a single cookie, he flopped down onto the sofa, then paused mid-unwrapping and let out a deep sigh—today truly felt endless.
Though he’d deliberately avoided looking back as he left, the thought of Hye Ji sitting there alone left him unsettled.
If what I saw was real—if what I felt was real—then I probably couldn’t maintain this same relationship with her anymore.
Why hadn’t I realized it sooner?
Though I’d known her for thirteen years, I’d never recognized her feelings—always keeping things comfortably, appropriately distant.
And even when flickers of something else showed through, I’d rationalized them away: *No, it’s not like that—she must feel the same way I do.*
It was true I’d cared for her as a friend, or a colleague, but never—absolutely never—as anything more. Had I known it would come to this, I should’ve clarified my stance a bit sooner.
“Clarify? Clarify what, exactly?”
I don’t even recall doing one kind thing for her.
I’m confident I never acted in a way that could be misinterpreted.
“At least finish your meal before starting a conversation.”
Making people unnecessarily anxious.
Glancing up at the wall clock, he noticed the hands had nearly reached midnight.
Then, suddenly, his thoughts drifted to the room at the far end of the hallway—
to the woman he’d momentarily forgotten.
Had she eaten dinner?
“Of course she hasn’t.”
Recalling the motel room, devoid of proper cooking utensils, Seon Woo briskly strode toward Eun Jae’s room.
He lightly tapped on the guest room door.
“Ji Eun Jae, aren’t you hungry?”
Silence from inside. Wondering if she was showering, he turned—but the slightly ajar bathroom door revealed no light, and the floor was completely dry, showing no sign of recent use.
Seon Woo turned back and knocked again on Eun Jae’s door.
“Have you eaten dinner? You haven’t, right? Would you like something—anything?”
Still no sound came from beyond the door, even after two or three more knocks.
“Asleep?”
Just in case, he slowly turned the doorknob—and the door opened easily. Peering inside, he found Eun Jae fast asleep in an awkward position, clutching a bathrobe and towel, prompting a wry smile from Seon Woo.
Seriously—I can’t even remember the last time I worried about someone else’s meals.
Standing stiffly in the doorway, Seon Woo quietly murmured,
“Ji Eun Jae, lie down properly. Do you have any idea how much strain that sleeping position puts on your spine?”
He stepped closer to the bed and lightly tapped her shoulder with his fingers—but she remained completely unresponsive.
“Guess you were really exhausted.”
After scratching his brow, Seon Woo turned and quietly left. Before closing the door, he flipped the switch to turn off the light.
Carefully shutting the door, he lingered, hesitating in front of it for a long while.
She’s definitely going to wake up with a stiff neck if she sleeps like that.
“Why should I care?”
Drop it. Why try doing something I never used to do? Am I going to carry her and lay her down properly or something?
Trudging back to his own room, Seon Woo collapsed face-up onto his bed.
Strangely, although he’d definitely felt hungry just moments ago, his appetite had vanished.
He wasn’t hungry, he was exhausted—but for some reason, sleep just wouldn’t come.
He tossed and turned restlessly for a long while, unable to shake the image of that woman, sleeping so uncomfortably, from his mind.
[This is the timeline separator]Fresh out of surgery, Seon Woo headed toward the station. Nurses nearby bowed their heads in greeting as he approached.
“Good morning, Professor.”
“Good morning.”
As he drew closer while exchanging greetings, the nurses all simultaneously shifted to identical expressions—
eyes widening nearly twofold, mouths falling open in surprise.
Seon Woo nonchalantly moved in and began carefully reviewing the charts of patients scheduled for his clinic that day. At that moment, a male doctor—who appeared to be his colleague—approached from down the hall and asked,
“Nurse Lee! How did your blind date go?”
It was Jeong Hee Won, a neurosurgeon and Seon Woo’s university classmate and colleague.
“Oh—Professor Yoon’s here too?”
“Yeah.”
Seon Woo gave Hee Won a brief nod before returning his attention to the charts. Leaning against the station, Hee Won continued quizzing Nurse Lee about her date.
“He was so considerate. The main dish was spicy chicken stew, and he casually handed me an apron. My heart fluttered—I was wearing a white blouse, after all.”
“It’s natural—you notice more when you’re interested. Men never do such pointless things for women they’re indifferent to. It’s pure instinct. Clearly, that guy’s into you. Did he ask for a second date—”
Still quietly reviewing charts at the station, Seon Woo cautiously interjected,
“Excuse me for interrupting, Nurse Lee—but this patient didn’t experience dyspnea after VATS, right?”
“No, and they also reported manageable post-op site pain.”
“Please encourage deep breathing and early ambulation.”
“Yes, sir.”
After closing the chart, Seon Woo appeared to walk away—then suddenly spun around as if remembering something.
“A visitor will be coming to see me shortly. Don’t be startled—just let them in.”
“Yes, Professor.”
As soon as Seon Woo disappeared, the group eagerly huddled together.
“Did you hear what Professor Yoon just said?”
At Nurse Lee’s comment to a fellow nurse, Hee Won—who’d been flipping through charts—jumped in.
“What? What did he say?”
“It’s my first time seeing Professor Yoon smile since I started here.”
Faint as it was, the smile had unmistakably graced his face. Normally, his expression resembled a cold, emotionless grayscale palette.
So when that rare smile appeared, it seemed as though vibrant, indescribable hues had suddenly painted his features.
“What’s going on? People say you start doing strange things when death’s near.”
“He’s even more handsome when he smiles. Ugh, what do I do?”
“Wait—why am I the only one who doesn’t know? What did Professor Yoon say?”
Amid the nurses—giggling like teenage girls over a new resident—their chatter was suddenly interrupted by a man ducking his head in and asking,
“What’s so interesting you’re all laughing about?”
As the man crinkled his eyes and smiled warmly, the nearest nurse—Nurse Lee—blushed bright red.
“Oh! Professor Yoon! H-hello!”
“Let me join too—I’m curious.”
Yoon Tae Gyu’s weapon and specialty was precisely this smile—enhanced by his puppy-dog-cute appearance, which truly shone brightest when he grinned wide.
Unlike Seon Woo, Tae Gyu was playful, sociable, and easily got along with those around him—a trait bolstered by his youth and the many peers in the medical field his age.
“Well—just now, Professor Yoon walked by and actually smiled—*like this*—while saying, ‘Good morning.’”
Beside her, Nurse Jung mimicked Seon Woo’s earlier expression and chuckled.
“What? Yoon Seon Woo—I mean, Professor Yoon—*smiled*? No way. Nurse Jung, you must’ve seen wrong.”
Ignoring Tae Gyu’s skepticism, the two nurses continued excitedly.
“Now that you mention it, his complexion looked different too. Until recently, he always seemed somehow unwell.”
“Oh—now that you say that, yeah… Maybe he has a girlfriend?”
“Seriously? You wouldn’t tell me when *I* asked, but the moment Professor Yoon asks, you spill everything? I’m hurt.”
While Hee Won scowled and the nurses chatted gaily, Tae Gyu alone grew solemn. Straightening up from his slouch, he stared pensively toward Seon Woo’s office.
“No way.”
Nah—Yoon Seon Woo? With a girlfriend?
[This is the timeline separator]The moment he stepped into his office, Seon Woo pulled his phone from his pocket. After a brief pause, he dialed someone immediately.
“This is Yoon Seon Woo. Could you send a personal shopper to my home today? No, not for me—a 27-year-old woman. Though from her face, she looks early twenties.”
His faintly smiling counterpart asked for the woman’s clothing size.
“Oh—the size…”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Seon Woo scratched his head, recalling Eun Jae as he’d drawn her into his arms the day before.
She probably hadn’t been fed a proper meal in ages.
All he remembered was the fragile sharpness of her slender shoulders.
“She’s petite—around early 160 cm. Please pick bright colors, from mid-to-low-tier brands, nothing too heavy or overwhelming.”
After adding a few more requests and hanging up, Seon Woo immediately texted Eun Jae.
Placing his phone on the desk, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment.
He pictured the woman hastily packing her things the previous day—though “packing” was generous: only a small eco-bag, holding little more than a few clothes and toiletries.
Forced to flee constantly, she seemed like a shadow—her clothing, her cautious movements, all spoke of it.
That woman, who tiptoed around, tense and wary like a cat—perhaps, if freed, she might finally show a different side.
Snorting at his own random musings, Seon Woo straightened up and picked up a nearby paper, flipping its pages briskly for no real reason.
[This is the timeline separator]As expected, Kwon Seung Cheol arrived early to see Seon Woo.
Despite Seon Woo’s warning not to be surprised, his appearance caused a stir—and people were shocked all over again learning he was Yoon Seon Woo’s guest.
This time, Seung Cheol hadn’t brought his usual entourage. Guided to Seon Woo’s office, he strolled down the hallway with both hands tucked lazily into his pockets.
Through the slightly ajar door, he spotted a man seated on the sofa, wearing glasses and flipping through a book.
So this is how rich kids look just sitting there reading—born with effortless elegance, huh?
Annoyed at the sight, Seung Cheol glared at Seon Woo—then, when their eyes met, cleared his throat awkwardly and pushed the door open.
No formal greetings were exchanged. They both knew well enough they weren’t exactly pleased to see each other.
Seung Cheol wordlessly took a seat across from Seon Woo, who set down his book, removed his glasses, and placed them atop it, loosening his crossed legs.
Before Seung Cheol had even settled onto the sofa, Seon Woo looked up at him and said,
“Let’s start with the documents.”
“Impatient as always.”
The moment Seung Cheol finished speaking, Seon Woo deliberately placed his phone—recording button pressed—onto the coffee table. Taken aback, Seung Cheol’s expression froze—he clearly hadn’t anticipated *this*.
“It’s best for both of us to be thorough, don’t you think? No need for us to meet two or three more times over the same matter.”
Seung Cheol hadn’t realized he was this meticulous. Clicking his tongue, he pulled a crumpled sheet from his back pocket and unfolded the repeatedly folded A4 paper before Seon Woo.
“Twenty years ago, Ji Tae Gwang borrowed fifty million won from me. Back then, that was serious money. Look—here’s his fingerprint.”
He spread all five fingers wide to emphasize the sum, then tapped the red fingerprint and the handwritten name “Ji Tae Gwang” at the bottom.
The document itself bore only handwritten notes specifying the amount and repayment deadline.
The leading “50,000,000”—especially that hastily scrawled extra zero—made the flimsy scrap look even more amateurish.
“I’m not even asking for extra—just the legal maximum interest: 20%.”
“So how much, exactly?”
As if waiting for this, Seung Cheol leaned eagerly toward Seon Woo.
“We wasted some manpower trying to catch Ji Eun Jae—and, of course, my own precious time.”
*Here we go again—how much more is he going to inflate it?*
Seeing Seung Cheol’s transparent motive, Seon Woo smirked, leaned forward, and whispered quietly,
“I’ll pay. Whatever the amount.”
“Three hundred million.”
“Your account.”
This easy? Suspicious, Seung Cheol stared at Seon Woo—then, terrified he might change his mind, hastily handed over a business card with his account details, asking nothing further.
“So… when will the transfer be made?”
Without answering, Seon Woo simply refolded the paper precisely along its original creases.
He could’ve disputed every detail—proved conclusively that Ji Eun Jae’s father borrowed five hundred thousand, not fifty million—but that would’ve dragged them through mud, creating unnecessary mess and hassle.
Yet he chose not to question a thing, deciding instead to pay in full for one reason alone:
“Promise me—you’ll never appear before Ji Eun Jae again.”
He wanted to grant her freedom—however briefly—as soon as possible; he couldn’t bear to see that terrified expression on her face any longer.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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