Come Back

I was so shocked that my tears stopped on their own. I quickly turned my head to the left and wiped away the tears on my cheek, trying to look as natural as possible. Even though I knew I couldn’t hide everything, I couldn’t stay here until the tears dried.

“What are you doing here again?”

The emphasis on the word “again” in his voice carried a sense of intense anger. He seemed far more emotional now than when we had met at the memorial hall.

As soon as Choi Hong-seo stood up, he clasped his hands together and lowered his head. He didn’t even look directly at him, standing somewhere between the door and the sofa.

“I’m sorry. I was looking for the bathroom… I’ll leave right now.”

He bowed slightly, keeping his face down, and hurriedly walked, only glancing at the partially open door behind him. As he passed closely by, he heard him turn his head just slightly toward his shoulder and sharply say,

“I gave you a warning last time… didn’t I?”

“……”

“You were told not to imitate that kid.”

Since it was a VVIP speaking, Choi Hong-seo had no choice but to stop.

He felt the presence of him slowly turning his body behind him.

“Are you doing this on purpose to anger me?”

“……”

“Or do you want to get my attention?”

Although it seemed like he was joking, it was just a thin disguise. He probably said it like that because if he didn’t, his anger would overflow beyond what he wanted to handle, and it was just a way for him to control himself.

The footsteps grew closer. As he passed by Choi Hong-seo’s shoulder, he walked a few steps forward, turned around, and faced Choi Hong-seo—facing the person now known as Yun Hye-an.

“Why did you go to Sowol-ro?”

“……”

Choi Hong-seo didn’t answer. He was taken off guard by the unexpected question and couldn’t respond.

“I asked why you went to Sowol-ro after the Monday meeting.”

“My house… is near there. I just went to see the night view and take a walk. What… does it matter?”

He answered with a bit of reluctance, still speaking somewhat defensively. He thought that the person before him, who was hostile and believed that “Yun Hye-an” was imitating Choi Hong-seo with some ulterior motive, was mistaken. But that wasn’t the case. The “Yun Hye-an” standing before him now had no such intention. And that’s why he felt wronged.

Squeezing his hands in front of his lower abdomen, he waited for him to say it was okay for him to leave.

He could almost feel the unyielding gaze from his eyes, revealing the traces of tears that must still be visible on “Yun Hye-an’s” face. However, Yun Hye-an’s tears meant nothing to him, and they couldn’t stir any emotion in him.

Just like at the memorial hall, his cold, interrogative tone continued.

“You clearly left after me in Cheongdam-dong. But you, Yun Hye-an, arrived at Namsan before me.”

“……”

“You must have expected me to go there, and you were waiting for me, weren’t you?”

No. That wasn’t it. It was something Choi Hong-seo never predicted either.

If the Choi Hong-seo I knew were here now, he would know that the words being said were nothing but an accusation.

It meant that right now, he was angry—so angry that his usual judgment was clouded. And that was also because he meant so much to Choi Hong-seo. When it came to matters involving Choi Hong-seo, his judgment would become clouded.

“How could I know where the vice president would go and move in advance…”

Choi Hong-seo tried to sound as calm as possible, but his voice trembled.

But the trembling voice of Yun Hye-an seemed to him like a disgusting act.

After a sarcastic chuckle, the mocking tone continued.

“You don’t know. Who knows if you just made a guess based on the information you had, betting on the possible outcomes?”

“Information…?”

Choi Hong-seo raised his head slightly, glancing up at him. He couldn’t bring himself to look him in the eye, only stealing a glance. Just like Director Kang had said, the person standing before him now seemed terrifying.

“You chose Anton Chekhov’s works, you counted numbers while relaxing your fingers, a love story, Namsan Sowol-ro… and now, this place.”

“……”

“You believe all of that to be just a coincidence? I’m not that romantic.”

**Love story.**

It seemed he had heard about that from outside. It wasn’t that I was careless, but honestly, I hadn’t expected his wariness of Yun Hye-an to be at this level.

He, who had been standing with his hands in his pants pockets, suddenly straightened his posture.

“Where did you get this information?”

“Information? There’s no such thing.”

I shook my head vigorously, denying it. Even though he hated Yun Hye-an, I didn’t want to be hated any more than this. I just wanted to quietly watch from the side.

“As you mentioned, there is no connection between me and Choi Hong-seo, and I don’t know of any way to obtain information. It’s the truth.”

Despite Yun Hye-an’s desperate plea, his expression didn’t soften in the slightest.

I couldn’t believe the man standing before me.

The kindness, gentleness, and the wide embrace that had always been there when he dealt with Choi Hong-seo… the man before me now seemed like someone entirely different, with only his face resembling that of Lee Hye-seong.

His eyes, cold and unyielding, seemed to suggest that he would stop at nothing to get the answers he wanted, without a trace of hesitation or guilt. Looking at me with that chilling gaze, he spoke in a low, husky voice.

“I’ve heard many interesting stories about Yun Hye-an.”

“……”

“I’m not the type to believe everything I hear, but I’m also not the type to trust people easily.”

He exhaled deeply through his nose, looked down at the floor for a moment, then tilted his head upward. This time, he looked at Yun Hye-an with a piercing gaze, as if to provoke.

“I don’t know what kind of stories you’ve been hearing or where you got them from, but if you’re trying to get my attention by imitating that kid, you’re making a huge mistake.”

Now, his voice was low again, just like usual. The almost whispered tone still had the power to make the listener focus even more.

“I’m not the type to look for a similar replacement to soothe my longing.”

“……”

“You’ve got it all wrong.”

Even now, I couldn’t look away from him. My gaze was fixed on his, beads of sweat forming as I struggled to catch my breath between each word. Even though his voice was a warning, I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

“No… I really didn’t have that kind of intention.”

“If you can prove that everything I listed was just a coincidence, I’ll believe you.”

Even though I was desperate, feeling wronged and pleading for him to believe me, my forehead and the area near my ears were soaked with cold sweat. His eyes, as he looked down at Yun Hye-an, were still cold and unyielding.

He sneered, his tone growing even colder.

“Why? Are you going to collapse in front of me? Again?”

Choi Hong-seo raised his arm and wiped the sweat off near his shirt’s shoulder. He wouldn’t collapse. He swallowed hard, trying to steady his breath and keep his mind clear.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll take my leave.”

She hurriedly passed by him and left the reception room. Struggling to support her shaking knees, she relied on the railing and nearly stumbled down the stairs, dialing Yong-jae’s number with trembling hands.

“Yong-jae, I’m sorry. Can you come to Director Kang’s place right now? I suddenly feel really unwell…”

When she returned to the restaurant, drenched in sweat, all eyes were on her. The moment she said she wasn’t feeling well and needed to leave, everyone agreed without asking anything, as it was clear to them that Choi Hong-seo wasn’t in normal condition.

Director Kang kindly offered to send someone to take her, but she quickly made an excuse that her manager would arrive soon and hastily packed her things, rushing out of the restaurant like someone being chased.

“Hyung!”

It was an unwelcome voice. Before she had even completely left the hallway, Park Dong-ha caught up with her.

“I knew something was off earlier. Your manager, is it Yong-jae hyung coming? Give me the bag. I’ll carry it.”

Before Choi Hong-seo could respond, Park Dong-ha took the bag from her and tried to support her by hooking his arm under her armpit.

“But, have you seen Vice President Lee Hye-seong?”

“……”

“He just arrived a moment ago. He heard you went to the bathroom and then stepped away for a bit. I was wondering if you two met…”

“……”

Choi Hong-seo stopped dead in her tracks, glaring silently at Park Dong-ha, her forehead beaded with cold sweat. Park Dong-ha, realizing his mistake, quickly clamped his mouth shut.

Choi Hong-seo snatched the bag from his hands.

“There’s no need for that. Yong-jae will be here soon. I’ll go ahead.”