When Eun-Bi heard that Jeong-o Lee and Ji-Heon had left early to entertain clients, she hurriedly finished her work and headed to the meeting spot.
There were five people at the spacious table in the bar: two clients, the AE in charge, Ji-Heon, and Jeong-o Lee.
Hearing Jeong-o’s voice, Eun-Bi’s expression hardened.
*‘Did she attach a bell to herself? Why is she chirping like that?’*
She was deeply displeased to see Jeong-o Lee rattling off jokes for the clients, not to mention Ji-Heon, who was watching her with a quiet, lingering smile.
“We’re so late. Work suddenly piled up.”
Eun-Bi squeezed between Jeong-o and Ji-Heon to take a seat, greeting the clients as she did.
Soon, the empty seats were filled, and Jeong-o silently slipped away from the center to a spot at the edge. Only then did Eun-Bi feel her pulse settle.
The client, whom she had met at the office once before, was long-winded—and for some reason, insisted on telling truly unfunny jokes. After forcing a few laughs, Eun-Bi couldn’t take it anymore and escaped to the restroom.
*‘I should leave soon.’*
Since Ji-Heon also loathed anything dull, it was clear that staying this long would be suffocating for him, too.
*‘Should I call my brother?’*
She remembered that her brother, Eun-Yeop, had mentioned he had business nearby today.
Eun-Yeop and Ji-Heon were old friends. If she asked Ji-Heon to leave without a reason, he might refuse, but she was certain he would comply if she used Eun-Yeop as an excuse.
She loved the fact that Ji-Heon was her brother’s friend; it was a connection that couldn’t be easily severed.
Eun-Bi sent a text to Eun-Yeop, asking him to meet them nearby with Ji-Heon.
Eun-Yeop, quick-witted as always, replied that he would contact Ji-Heon himself.
Eun-Bi emerged from the restroom with a smug look on her face.
However, Ji-Heon’s seat was empty.
“Where did the Executive Director go?” she asked the employee sitting next to him.
“He went outside a little while ago.”
Her blood ran cold. The voice that had been grating on her ears until recently was no longer audible. Eun-Bi immediately turned her head.
Jeong-o Lee’s seat was empty, too.
Ji-Heon and Jeong-o Lee were gone.
*
In front of the convenience store.
The hands that had approached and touched her felt less like they were cupping her cheeks and more like they were massaging her very heart.
The fingertips touching her skin were burning hot.
Jeong-o Lee was very drunk.
Even though it was a game he had started, Ji-Heon no longer found it amusing.
His chest felt tight.
He felt a pang of pity for her mournful eyes, which seemed to truly believe he was the soul of her late father. He had wanted to empathize with that fragile heart, but his body was rebelling. He did not want to be dragged into the role of her father, nor into such noble, heavy sentiments.
And even in this moment of wanting to pull away, he felt a surge of anger, precisely because she had come so close—stained with tears and baring her soul—and looked chillingly beautiful.
The impulse to pull her close and kiss her was shoving his reason aside.
The idea of her father… he wanted to shatter that poignant illusion and take that place for himself.
Ji-Heon knew he had to end this game, and quickly.
“Jeong-o Lee. Get a grip.”
To be the one who started the game and then go cold like this—
“Your father is dead.”
“……”
“If you go around luring people like this, are you just going to fall for anyone who shows you attention?”
At his remark, the blood drained from her face.
Her hands slowly fell away. She seemed too shocked to even find words. Her eyes wavered painfully, like a lone leaf clinging to a branch in a storm.
“…What is wrong with you?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? I’m your superior, Jeong-o Lee.”
Ji-Heon forced himself to be even more shameless.
“I’m not your father. I’m just a man. A living person. Ji-Heon Jeong.”
“…Was this all just a prank to you?”
“Isn’t it more ridiculous that you actually believed it?”
He had ended up causing deep shock and disillusionment to the woman he had liked for the first time in his life.
Yet, his heart was still racing, as if the brakes had failed. The twisted desire to erase the word ‘father’ from her mind wouldn’t fade.
He turned away, clutching his fists tight.
“I’m sorry for your situation, but be careful. It’s a world where people will tear you apart if you’re as soft-hearted as you are.”
That was enough. That should do it.
He had tried to awaken her to how vicious reality could be. He was glad to have the excuse of ‘advice.’
“Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”
He took a slow step, but there were no footsteps following him.
After walking two paces, Ji-Heon turned around to see her retreating back as she strode away in the opposite direction.
“Jeong…”
Before he could even finish her name, she had already hailed a taxi and vanished.
*
Eun-Bi rushed out of the bar and called Ji-Heon. He didn’t answer.
Just in case, she called Jeong-o, but both attempts resulted in the automated message that the numbers could not be reached.
Eun-Bi was burning with anxiety.
“Eun-Bi Chae.”
Eun-Yeop approached from a distance, calling her name. Just as he had replied, her brother had arrived at the bar.
“Did you come out alone? Ji-Heon isn’t picking up.”
Eun-Yeop, knowing nothing, pressed her for answers.
“Uh… Ji-Heon oppa disappeared.”
“What? You called me out here without even confirming he was still there?”
“No, he just disappeared right after I went to the restroom.”
“He left without saying a word to you?”
Eun-Yeop furrowed his brow, looming over her. Eun-Bi couldn’t say a word.
Eun-Yeop lit a cigarette and exhaled a sharp, heavy sigh into Eun-Bi’s face.
“Eun-Bi Chae. Can’t you even handle that?”
“……”
“After all these years, you still can’t properly capture Ji-Heon’s heart? Even after I laid it all out for you?”
Eun-Yeop’s influence was significant in why Eun-Bi was so fixated on Ji-Heon. He wanted them to be together and spared no support.
Seven years ago, it was Eun-Yeop who had suggested Eun-Bi transfer while studying abroad in the U.S., and it was Eun-Yeop who had bought the apartment where Ji-Heon lived.
Eun-Yeop had put more effort into the relationship with Ji-Heon than Eun-Bi had even put into caring for Ji-Heon’s parents.
Eun-Yeop was a man with clear, cold-blooded goals.
“Father is preparing for the general election next year. You need to be married before then. That’s the only way Father will be at ease.”
“……”
“You need to do at least that much to be of help to him. Don’t you think?”
*I am investing so much into you, someone who is good at nothing.*
The reprimand hidden behind her brother’s words constricted Eun-Bi’s insides.
The only thing she could do—she who was not smart, could not study, and could be of no help to the family—was marriage.
That was why Eun-Bi had no choice but to be even more obsessed. She would marry. She *had* to marry Ji-Heon Jeong.
Eun-Bi clenched her fists.
“That’s the only thing I’m asking of you. Let’s do this right, Eun-Bi Chae. Okay?”
At the hollow encouragement that followed the harsh words, Eun-Bi nodded, her eyes brimming with tears.
*
*‘Bad guy.’*
Having returned home without even grabbing her bag, Jeong-o lay down beside the sleeping Yena and vented her frustration.
*Who is he to lecture me? He doesn’t know anything. Bad guy, bad guy.*
If she hadn’t been careful, she would have been completely fooled by him and spilled everything—what was true and what wasn’t. If he hadn’t sneered so quickly, she might have even mentioned Yena.
Still, though.
She told him her father had passed away, so he played at being her father? To make that a subject of mockery—how could he? His character was just that awful.
Disappointments kept piling up, day after day.
*Should I even show my daughter to a man like this? Wouldn’t it be better to just continue as I am now, acting as if her father doesn’t exist?*
Jeong-o fell asleep after whispering ‘bad guy’ to herself a thousand times, as if counting sheep.
The next morning, Jeong-o barely managed to lift her leaden body and walked out to the kitchen.
Between running in the rain yesterday and drinking such a volatile mix of alcohol, it seemed a hangover and a cold had hit her at the same time.
“Did you drink a lot? Sit down, quick.”
Guk-Sun said.
The scent of the clear dried pollack soup pulled her in, but Jeong-o didn’t have the strength to lift a spoon. Guk-Sun scooped up a spoonful and put it to the mouth of the swaying Jeong-o. To Guk-Sun, Jeong-o was still a thirty-year-old baby.
Like a baby bird, Jeong-o accepted a spoonful before finally picking up the spoon with her own hand.
“Just how much did you drink?”
“Just… a moderate amount.”
“As if you know how to drink in moderation.”
“Mom, please. Be quiet. Yena will hear you.”
“So you *are* ashamed in front of your daughter? Honestly.” Guk-Sun lifted one side of her lip crookedly and chided her. “Eat up! Do you think you’ll cure a hangover just by staring at the bowl?”
“No, it’s not a hangover. It’s a bad cold.”
“A cold in the middle of summer, of all things.”
“It rained yesterday, remember? I got caught in it a little.”
“Honestly. Great job!”
“…….”
“You’ve always loved getting handouts, and now you’ve even gone and ‘received’ a cold? Honestly.”
Jeong-o didn’t even have the strength to talk back to her mother’s nagging. Seeing how listless she looked, Guk-Sun’s voice softened slightly.
“Take the day off and just lie down.”
“I just started this new job, how can I take sick leave?”
“So you’re saying you’re going to go to work in that state?”
“It’s the weekend tomorrow, anyway.”
“Honestly!” Guk-Sun sighed heavily, as if her heart were about to burst, and stood up from her seat.
Jeong-o hung her head like a sinner and forced the dried pollack soup down. Thanks to her mother’s cooking, her nauseous stomach settled down a bit. As her stomach calmed, the events of last night flooded back into her mind.
Ji-Heon Jeong had tricked her. That bad man.
As the memory revived, her anger welled up along with it. But a moment later, she let out a hiccup.
“There was a couple who loved each other very much.”
*My god… I made such a mistake. I really did.*
Because Ji-Heon Jeong kept nagging her about “limits,” she had flared up and blurted out that nonsense. She’d wanted to say there are no limits for a mother, so she’d spilled her own story in the third person!
*I must be crazy!*
It was morning, and although the light filling every corner had washed away the darkness, the past refused to be erased. To think she had to face another day of work dragging this shame along with her—it was too horrifying.
Jeong-o roared internally.
*Ah! I don’t want to go to work!*
***
Ji-Heon had arrived at work early and scanned the office. Confirming that Jeong-o hadn’t arrived yet, he headed straight to the first floor.
After standing guard for a while, he caught sight of her. Somewhere along the way, he had become someone who could recognize her even from a distance.
Jeong-o, noticing him approaching, hesitated, stopped in her tracks, then averted her gaze and hurried her steps. But her gait and expression seemed unstable for some reason.
*‘Is she struggling because of the heavy drinking yesterday?’*
That was the only thing he could guess.
He followed her and boarded the elevator, but he couldn’t get close to her. The elevator was packed, and Jeong-o was trapped at the very back. Ji-Heon couldn’t move either.
The elevator stopped at the 9th floor.
Thinking he could at least speak to her briefly once they got out, he stepped out first to wait, but she didn’t seem to be coming out.
A moment later, a hand waved through the crowd. She had been fumbling sluggishly in the back. Somehow, she seemed even more drained than usual.
The people weren’t moving, so Ji-Heon had to firmly grab Jeong-o’s hand and pull her out of the elevator.
It was a movement beyond the control of his reason. It was always like that. Whenever he faced Jeong-o Lee, he would perform impulsive actions, acting as if he were hypnotized.
The moment a small gasp of “Eek” escaped her, the elevator doors slammed shut behind them.
*Thud.*
The Jeong-o Lee he had pulled out in such a hurry was suddenly in his arms.
Small, fragile, and soft… her hot body struggled while using him as a support.
*Thump, thump, thump, thump.*
His own heart felt just as out of control. An unknown emotion dyed his senses like spilled ink. It was a strange, unfamiliar flutter, but for some reason, it felt like a vague, aching longing for something…
*‘Is it because of that dream back then?’*
Looking up while leaning against his body, she stared at him with a flushed face.
It felt as if he already knew this heated, distraught expression. Somewhere within him, something ached. Every place they touched turned burning hot.