Chapter 17.1

But there were still questions lingering. If the woman was indeed Hae-gang River, why was Min Woo-jin cooperating with her?

Jae-Min, who had not yet left the room, hesitated and tried to calm himself by rubbing his sweaty forehead with his hands.

“Excuse me, boss. Have you heard the news?”

The transparent glass, which had been held in an attempt to control his increasingly agitated state, froze midair. He looked at Jae-Min with cold eyes, a clear indication to hurry up and speak before disappearing.

“CEO Charlie Min Woo-jin will be getting married before the year ends. The person he is marrying is the same one who was exposed last time–“

Suddenly, the veins on the back of the hand of “he” who was holding the glass bulged out.

“Who?”

Terrified by the intense atmosphere, Jae-Min closed his mouth, trying to form a response. He knew instinctively that if he repeated the exact words, the anger would be directed at him.

Jae-Min’s decision to remain silent was a wise one. As if trying to suppress his surging anger, the “he” breathed heavily and spoke.

“Get out.”

Jae-Min quickly bowed and left the office, relieved to escape the heavy weight on his shoulders. After he left, a glass breaking could be heard from beyond the door.

********

Hae-gang woke up early in the morning. It wasn’t until she sat up and stretched that she realized she was not in a hospital.

She had come to Woo-jin’s house after being discharged from the hospital the previous day. He guided her to a guest room, saying he had not yet set up a separate room.

Looking at the plain wallpaper, she briefly glanced at the pillow.

I could sleep a little longer.

But no matter how much she lay down, she couldn’t fall back asleep, so she put her feet in the slippers on the floor and stood up. Then she suddenly felt something loose beneath her and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Oh my god.”

Right, I fell asleep without wearing pants. It wasn’t just the room that wasn’t prepared here.

Last night, Woo-jin had called her to sleep in the same patient’s uniform she had worn for days.

“Are you going to sleep in that?”

She could tell from how he said it and the look on his face that he thought it inappropriate. He has a pretty neat personality.

The clothes she bought were just a T-shirt she was wearing now. As expected, the T-shirt, which seemed to be a generous fit even on Woo-jin, was huge on her.

Looking down at the white fabric around her waist, Hae-gang quickly ran her fingers through her disheveled hair and muttered to herself.

“I used to live wearing only slips, so what’s the big deal?”

Then, there was movement outside the room. Something was clattering, and footsteps were coming down the stairs. The sound of the coffee machine running twice was heard, and the footsteps got closer again.

“Are you awake?”

And a voice accompanied by a knock on the door. Hae-gang stared blankly at the door from which the voice came.

“He” always left the room before she woke up. Thanks to this, the only thing she was greeted with when she opened her eyes was the silence that seemed impenetrable by any noise and the loneliness that came with it.

Actually, she thought Woo-jin would do the same. He didn’t have to pay attention to her since they lived in the same house in a name anyway.

Hae-gang fiddled with the tips of her sleeves, covering her fingers. Her heart was pounding with hunger.

As she took a deep breath, her trembling exhales appeared on her lips. It was a sign that tears were coming.

She felt like she had been too burdened on him, so she held back her fluctuating heart and grabbed the doorknob. She saw Woo-jin, who seemed ready to go out, through the open door.

“Did I wake you up?”

“No, I was already awake.”

While talking to her, Woo-jin was fixing the clothes he hadn’t finished getting ready. Hae-gang reached out his hand after watching her struggle to fasten the twisted sleeve button.

When she slightly removed his wrestling hand and clicked the button, it went in smoothly as if it had been a problem. He said with a smile, perhaps embarrassed.

“It’s not easy to lock it with one hand. Plus, the left hand is awkward to use.”

Woo-jin looked down at her neatly finished sleeve and nodded satisfactorily.

“That’s certainly true. I made coffee, so let’s drink it together.”

Oh, I feel happy.

Until just now, the brows, which had been gathered to focus on the sleeves, became straight as if they were ironed out, and the lips bent finely like a crescent moon, which is shy.

Her lips curled up at the rare sight. 

How can I express this feeling? Oh, I see.

It was a ‘don’t want to die’ morning after a long time.

Following Woo-jin to the dining room, she sipped the coffee he had put down.

Woo-jin was fixing his eyes on the tablet, but it didn’t feel lonely. It felt like the quality of life had already gone up a notch just because there were people who drank coffee leisurely while facing each other.

“By the way, how old are you?”

“Why?”

“Even if you make a new name, your age doesn’t have to be like that. Tell me if your age is  more than mine.”

Hae-gang, who already knew Woo-jin’s age, shook her head and dismissed the possibility.

“Thirty-one. I’m 31 years old.”

“That’s a relief. If there were more than me, I would have been at a loss what to call it.”

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