As expected, immediately after returning to the lodging after breakfast, grandmother’s scolding began. Grandmother’s scolding was harsh.

“Do you know how ridiculous you looked? Do you enjoy being laughed at by people?”

Ga Eul had no memory of being scolded by her grandmother. Especially after her father passed away. But now grandmother was raising her voice at Ga Eul with a cold face.

“What’s wrong with you? What are you doing between President Ki, Attorney Jung, and Woo Jin!”

“Grandmother, I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

Ga Eul readily admitted her mistake. However, in one corner of her heart, there was a faint hope that if she explained well about the promise between Attorney Jung Se Hyun and herself, grandmother would understand.

“If you don’t behave properly, how can I face your mother later? President Ki, Attorney Jung, Woo Jin are all good people. You shouldn’t play with their hearts like a game!”

“I know. But this morning, it was because Attorney Jung asked me to. He said his uncle was trying to set him up with a strange woman, so he asked me to pretend we were dating.”

“There are requests you should accept, and requests you should refuse!”

Ga Eul thought grandmother would laugh it off if she explained the situation, but grandmother became even angrier. Ga Eul didn’t know what to do.

“In the neighborhood, there’s a rumor you’re dating the president, but you’re also meeting Woo Jin, and now even flirting with Attorney Jung. What do you think people will think of you?”

“I’m sorry.”

Grandmother’s words were a hundred times right. So she apologized first.

But you know, while there’s a rumor in the neighborhood that I’m dating the president, he says he’s going to America. He’s already preparing to leave. He says he’s not taking me. Because I belong to our neighborhood.

Ga Eul recalled the conversation between Dae Un and Se Hyun she saw in Dae Un’s car’s black box video.

She had a lot to say to grandmother, but it was also something she couldn’t tell grandmother.

“My thinking was short-sighted. I’ll tell Attorney Jung I can’t help him. And I’ll explain things clearly to Woo Jin when I meet him.”

As for the president…… I don’t know what to say to the president. I want to say I like him, ask if he really has to go to America. But I’m worried about father, and I’m not sure about the president’s feelings.

“Why is Woo Jin coming all the way down here? Tell him to meet in Seoul.”

Grandmother’s tone was tinged with disapproval.

“I know. It wasn’t Woo Jin, but Woo Jin’s mother who called. She said Woo Jin was coming down. She said he wouldn’t listen no matter how much she tried to stop him.”

“I hope Woo Jin would settle his mind now.”

So grandmother had made up her mind. That’s why she indirectly said she wished Woo Jin wouldn’t hang around her granddaughter.

The grandmother who used to like Woo Jin so much was now gone. To grandmother, Woo Jin was just a neighborhood young man she had known for a long time.

Ga Eul could understand grandmother’s feelings too. How much had Woo Jin’s mother tormented grandmother and her all this time?

At first, Woo Jin’s mother had only urged Ga Eul to break up with Woo Jin. Then, when that didn’t work, she later clung to grandmother and pleaded. Asking to separate Ga Eul from Woo Jin.

“I’ll meet Woo Jin today and talk to him properly.”

Woo Jin should understand well. That he was now an unwelcome presence even to grandmother.

It had always been painful to watch people who were once close drift apart. This time, she herself had to tear such a person away.

There would be wounds left from being torn apart for both Woo Jin and herself. Ga Eul already felt her flesh tingling.

She could only hope that Woo Jin would choose to part ways beautifully. If not, she would have to be even more harsh and cold.

Ga Eul was so lost in thoughts of Woo Jin that she had forgotten what motivated grandmother to scold her. So she paid no attention to the ripples her frivolous behavior at breakfast would cause.

However, there was someone who had not forgotten Ga Eul’s flightiness. It was Ki Dae Un.

* * *

“Why did you come here?”

Woo Jin, whom she hadn’t seen in years, was still handsome and much more manly. Now he exuded the aura of an adult man.

Ga Eul was very glad to see Woo Jin. Her old friend Sun Woo Jin! Even if she no longer liked him as a man, she was happy to see him. Still, cold words came out of Ga Eul’s mouth.

Woo Jin looked genuinely confused. The smile disappeared from Woo Jin’s face as he approached with a broad grin.

“It’s been 4 years for us, right?”

Woo Jin, standing in front of Ga Eul, asked.

“To be exact, it’s been 4 years and 3 months.”

Ga Eul’s answer was cold. They stood for a moment like strangers.

“Let’s talk.”

Ga Eul moved first. Ga Eul led Woo Jin to a bench on the walking path.

Ga Eul and Woo Jin sat side by side on a bench in a shaded spot.

“When did you come to Korea?”

“It’s been a while.”

Woo Jin paused for a moment before continuing.

“I wanted to contact you as soon as I arrived, but I couldn’t. I wanted to appear before you with pride. I’ve been appointed as a professor at a university in Daejeon. I came down wanting to tell you first after receiving the final acceptance notice.”

It seemed that how he appeared before her was still important to Woo Jin. To her, it wasn’t important at all.

“Not before your parents, I suppose.”

Woo Jin, think of your parents. Your priority is your parents, right? Your parents don’t approve of you coming here. Or our relationship, of course.

“Well, that’s true.”

Seeing Woo Jin feeling awkward, Ga Eul’s heart wavered too. It was hard to maintain her coldness. Her friend Woo Jin had become a professor. She wanted to hold his hands and rejoice together.

Instead, Ga Eul said the worst thing. It was because of her urgency to make Woo Jin understand the fact that they had broken up. The shadow of Woo Jin’s mother loomed in Ga Eul’s mind.

“Does becoming a professor make you proud before me?”

“Ga Eul, I wanted to show you that I hadn’t wasted the time we were apart.”

“What does that have to do with me? During the time we were apart, I went through hell. So much that I couldn’t even afford to be sick properly. So… I’m sorry. I can’t sincerely congratulate you on becoming a professor.”

It hurt Ga Eul to hurt Woo Jin. There must have been a better way to confirm their separation. But that’s not possible. Because of Woo Jin’s mother.

“Ga Eul, I’m sorry. You must have had a hard time, and I couldn’t be there for you.”

‘You were young too. Even if you had been by my side, nothing would have improved. We would have only made each other miserable.’ That’s what she should have said. That’s what she wanted to say.

“Don’t be sorry, Woo Jin. It’s ridiculous to be sorry after more than 4 years. I told you I’m seeing someone, right? I chose that person who was there for me when I was struggling, rather than you who’s sorry for not being there.”

Woo Jin hesitated for a moment before speaking heavily.

“I heard you’re dating your company president. They say he treats you well?”

“……”

“But, Ga Eul. How long have we been together? It’s only been a year with that person. I want to believe in the years we spent together. Can’t we think of it as coming back?”

“You, you’re so easy. I guess so. Because you’ve been moving forward for the past 4 years. Unlike you, I’ve been moving backwards for 4 years. Conscious of the growing distance between us. Constantly frustrated by that distance that couldn’t be narrowed at all. So I hated you. You who left me and went to study abroad alone.”

“You were the one who told me to go to America. You were the one who pushed me when I said I wouldn’t go. You said you would follow if I went first.”

“Did you really believe those words? Did you think I could escape that situation? Did you really think I could follow you if you went first!”

Ga Eul’s voice rose. Listening to Woo Jin’s words, anger surged in her heart. An anger she didn’t even know was there.

But I guess I really was upset with Woo Jin. I must have resented Woo Jin for leaving me behind. That’s how Ga Eul understood her anger.

“I thought our parents would help you. Because they knew I liked you. Because they knew I needed you. I thought our parents would inevitably send you to America.”

That was true. Woo Jin’s mother did say she would send her to America. It was just that she couldn’t leave Gyeo Ul and grandmother behind.

“Did you really think that?”

It was ridiculous that Woo Jin believed there was an option to leave behind Gyeo Ul, who was only in middle school, and the elderly grandmother. Woo Jin’s way of thinking, having lived a sheltered life. His naivety in believing that his parents would have no choice but to give in to what he wanted.

So Ga Eul said what she hadn’t intended to say. To see how the sheltered Woo Jin would take responsibility for what he had done.

“Someone sent me an email. Your photo was attached. It was a picture of you with your arm around some woman’s shoulder. There was also a photo of you in bed. That naked woman was lying next to you.”

Woo Jin’s face, which had been flushed in the heat of over 30 degrees, turned pale in an instant. Seeing that, Ga Eul felt she was being truly cruel.

“Ga Eul, that……”

“Don’t make excuses to me, Woo Jin. I didn’t say that to hear your excuses. I’m confirming that I can’t accept you.”

Ga Eul felt she would be disappointed in him if she heard Woo Jin’s excuses. So she cut off Woo Jin’s words. But Woo Jin insisted on making excuses.

“It was a mistake! Ga Eul, it was a mistake. She took me to her room when I was drunk. I thought she was a good friend. That’s all. I never had any feelings for her that would shame you.”

Is that how you take responsibility? Avoidance! Shifting blame!

“But you did something that would shame me!”

“Ga Eul, it was a mistake. Just one mistake!”

“Woo Jin, stop it! I don’t forgive you. We can’t go back to how we were.”

As Ga Eul was about to say ‘I have someone I like, and I want to share my future with that person,’ Woo Jin suddenly stood up from his seat and knelt on the ground.

Woo Jin grabbed Ga Eul’s hand. Ga Eul tried to pull her hand away, but Woo Jin wouldn’t let go.

“I’m sorry, Ga Eul! Really, sincerely sorry! Our relationship ruined by one mistake, I’ll make it right. I want to be with you for life. I came back from America dreaming of that.”

Ga Eul didn’t know if her breath was catching because of the heat or because of Woo Jin’s words. So she took a moment to catch her breath.

But, life is really…… When it decides to be awful, it mercilessly chokes you.

At that moment, Ki Dae Un and Jung Se Hyun walked over from the direction of the golf course. They passed by Ga Eul and Woo Jin wordlessly.

Gasp. Ga Eul tried to shake off Woo Jin’s hand. But Woo Jin gripped Ga Eul’s hand even tighter.

Ga Eul thought as she struggled to pull her hand away. Did the president hear my conversation with Woo Jin? From where did he hear? He didn’t hear Woo Jin say he came back to spend his life with me, did he?