Chapter 2.2

As she thought about that, she felt nauseous and groaned. The arms that wrapped her loosened, and Hae-gang ran to the bathroom. She threw her head down the toilet and vomited, feeling as if all her organs had been expelled from her stomach. Her face, which was physiologically drained of blood, reddened and tears fell from her eyes.

All of a sudden, sadness engulfed her. She regretted everything. 

Why did she survive the accident? Why did she love this person? Why did she hold onto this relationship? 

She blinked her eyes, her vision becoming clearer at the endless tears. She sobbed and moaned. She didn’t want to do anything that ‘he’ liked. She didn’t want him to see her cry too, so she wiped her tears and breathed heavily. 

But the tears did not stop immediately. She closed her eyes, but instead, she felt the heat of her tears. 

“Do not cry. You’ll fall again.”

She heard a voice not far away. She reflexively leaned back. As she crawled on the floor with her knees, the sound of footsteps approached quickly. Panic grew as the steps grew nearer. Unable to overcome her intangible fear, she opened her stubbornly closed eyes.

“Go away, go away!”

She yelled with almost nil strength, and eventually collapsed to the ground. In the end, as always, Hae-gang’s protest had nothing to gain. 

She looked at him, who was sitting in front of her with his knees folded, with resentful eyes, but even her hateful gaze didn’t hold out. Her world was constantly shaking and spinning. 

As ‘he’ reached out to grab her, Hae-gang murmured in quiet desperation, “Let me go, please…”

“He” whispered, while embracing Hae-gang’s body, “No way. I’m begging you, please give up.”

* * *

Woo-jin’s gaze turned to the old-fashioned clock hanging on the wall. This was the third time he found himself sitting in a cafe on the first floor of the hotel. The person he was supposed to meet never appeared. 

Ten minutes past the appointed time, he picked up his phone and called his secretary.

“Secretary Lee, turn the car around. And in the future, don’t accept appointments from Dae-sung.”

After ending the call, Woo-jin got up from his seat without further delay. At that moment, a woman who had just entered the cafe walked up and greeted him.

“Nice to meet you, Min Woo-jin. I am Dae-sung.” 

She stretched a hand toward him, but Woo-jin merely moved past her without acknowledging her. The woman called out his name in bewilderment, but he treated it as a noise. 

He left the cafe and crossed the hotel lobby. A thin crease appeared between his forehead when he checked the text from his secretary that it would take them five minutes to arrive at the hotel. He felt displeased at the thought of wasted time.

He thought about what to do. First, the meeting, which had been postponed for this purpose, had to be moved up again. It’s been a series of meetings lately. More than once a day, at most, he spent all day in meetings.

Aside from the non-stop paperwork, thoughts related to the newly launched app brand occupied his head. Cleaner design, uncomplicated system, and more. Thoughts and worries were not enough. 

“Min Woo-jin!”

While he was watching the snow fall, waiting for Secretary Lee, he heard a voice calling him from behind. 

Soon the sound of rushing shoes drew closer, and the woman she had left behind in the cafe stood next to him.

“Why are you just leaving?” she asked. 

Annoyance leaked from the woman’s voice. Woo-jin looked her, up and down. Make-up that must have been touched up by a professional. Fashion wrapped in luxury. Long colored nails. Then Woo-jin said indifferently, “I want to.”

The woman looked at him as if he was absurd, but he didn’t want to change his words. 

“Is it because I am late? That’s all? There is a reason.”

She might have waited for her nails to dry, or she might have wasted time choosing clothes, or perhaps she merely overslept. But whatever the reason was, it was not for Woo-jin to consider. The only thing that mattered was that she had arrived past their appointment. 

Woo-jin spotted a familiar car passing by the hotel entrance and took a step forward. The woman grabbed his arm impatiently and said, “Let’s go back in and talk.”

“It’s done.”

Secretary Lee came out of the car that had been parked in front of the hotel and opened the door to the back seat. Woo-jin stared at the arm held by the woman without a word. At his cold gaze, the woman’s grip loosened, and eventually, she removed her hand. 

Woo-jin immediately exited, leaving the woman behind without bothering to bid her farewell. With an empty face, he got into the car and waited for his secretary to drive, while announcing adjustments in his schedule.

“Advanced the design team meeting.”

“I will pass it on to them. What would you like for lunch?” asked Secretary Lee.

“Ah, lunch.”

Initially, lunch was planned with the woman he had left. Woo-jin stared blankly at the window and made up his mind. 

“Buy a sandwich on the way.”

“All right.”

The secretary nodded and concentrated on driving. The car with Woo-jin leisurely drove away from the hotel entrance.