Chapter 55
As Geon-ho entered the venue, the first thing he did was look for Hae-gang. Everyone wore similar masks, but finding Hae-gang was almost too easy for him. As long as she was somewhere in this space, he knew he would find her.
“Not here.”
Yet, she was nowhere to be found. Despite scanning every nook and cranny, Hae-gang remained elusive. The man standing in the crowd over there was undoubtedly Min Woo-jin, even though Geon-ho didn’t bother to look. While it could be considered wise not to blatantly take Min Woo-jin’s seat, impatience was undeniably creeping in.
Geon-ho lightly licked his lips with his tongue, and his eyes quickly darted around. Even with a crimson tinge in his eyes, he didn’t blink once. He was singularly focused on uncovering Hae-gang’s face hidden behind the mask.
As Geon-ho continued his search, someone approached him, offering a glass of champagne.
“Are you late?”
It was Sujin. Geon-ho recognized her effortlessly and replied with a calm voice.
“Representative Min. Did he come alone?”
“No way. Everyone around here is buzzing about that story. I tried talking to her earlier, but she’s not your average woman.”
“Where is she, then?”
“If it’s Representative Min you’re looking for, he’s over there, right?”
Sujin pointed, and sure enough, among the crowd, there was the man she referred to. Following her finger, Geon-ho’s gaze landed on Woojin, a man with a head taller than most.
Min Woo-jin seemed remarkably composed, with not a hint of haste or confusion, even with so many people showing interest in him. Slowly turning his head, which had been casually nodding to those around him, he paused as his gaze met Geon-ho’s direction. Though obscured by the mask, it seemed as if he were scrutinizing Geon-ho.
Without averting his eyes from Woo-jin, Geon-ho spoke.
“No. Where did that woman go?”
“Who are you talking about, Ms. Han?”
“Don’t act foolish. Just answer.”
The chill in Geon-ho’s voice didn’t escape Su-jin’s keen perception. Not wanting to further disturb his mood, she quickly spilled what she knew.
“She went outside. More precisely,”
Geon-ho didn’t wait for Su-jin to finish her sentence. The thought of Hae-gang being in the same vicinity sent shivers down his spine to the point of madness.
His eyes scanned the surroundings sharply. Hae-gang wasn’t the type to enjoy crowded places; there was only one exception: shopping. Regardless, if she sought a quiet place away from people…
Geon-ho’s steps were resolute and directed towards one place. Finally, he could meet Hae-gang. It felt like his entire body was pulsating with anticipation, not just his heart.
Passing by the restroom with unwavering steps, Geon-ho grasped the door handle leading to the smoking area. A stifled sound escaped his lips. He had considered seeking solace in a cigarette, but he quickly realized he didn’t have one.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if you just smoked another one? I swear, we’re getting a divorce.”
“A divorce?”
“Yeah! You need to write it all out in the divorce papers: unintentional secondhand smoke exposure.”
A long time ago, due to his increasing smoking habit, Hae-gang made it difficult for him to quit. It was absurd; whenever he wanted to smoke, he’d always maintain a reasonable distance from Hae-gang. Indirect smoking is nonsense.
He found it cute when she insisted with wide-eyed determination and quit just like that. It had been years since then, and now he was searching for a cigarette again. It was a testament to his lack of rationality.
Then a specific sound of footsteps caught his attention. Suddenly, all other sounds in the world ceased. Only the sound of the footsteps echoed in his ears, slower and more amplified than usual.
Geon-ho’s head stiffened, and unnaturally, like an unoiled machine, it turned back. The figure that entered his line of sight hadn’t changed a bit from his memory. Pale overall, from the skeletal frame to the transparent skin. Even the small hands and the graceful walk remained the same.
“Seo Hae-gang.”
Only after calling out her name did he realize that she was truly in front of him. Hae-gang, who had stopped walking, stubbornly refused to look at him.
“Turn around, Seo Hae-gang. Don’t provoke me more.”
Geon-ho couldn’t contain the anger that kept bubbling up. There were so many questions he wanted to ask when they finally met. How could you think of running away from me? Did you even consider how I’d feel left alone on the path outside the hotel? And did you plan to never show up in front of me again?
However, he found himself melting in front of Hae-gang. Overwhelmed by the desire to be closer to her than anything else, Geon-ho called out to her in the most affectionate voice he could muster.
“Come here, Hae-gang.”
Hae-gang couldn’t comprehend. How many times had she dreamed of this moment?
It had all been a nightmare, and in that nightmare, she always cried. He attempted suicide several times, and just as many times, she tried to kill Geon-ho.
Drenching the pillow with tears, her emotional turmoil was mixed with guilt for waking Woo-jin, who lay beside her. The number of times she had been awakened by Woo-jin exceeded the count of fingers on both hands. The frustration and despair she felt in the dream now mingled with the sorrow and apology she felt towards Woo-jin.
Yoon Geon-ho would soon die. How much she loathed this dream.
Hae-gang swallowed the overwhelming frustration with each breath, trying to quell the emotions. She tried to take deep breaths and closed her eyes multiple times, but despite all her efforts, this nightmare didn’t easily break. She couldn’t kill the emotions within; instead, she found herself drowning in them.
Of course, it was natural. This wasn’t a dream; it was reality. No matter how hard she tried, the Yoon Geon-ho behind her didn’t become an illusion.
Hae-gang, who had shed tears mixed with laughter, recalled Woojin’s words before they came here.
“Don’t react to that name.”
He had been wrong. The voice that had made her react wasn’t some forcefully injected into her head; it wasn’t the name Han Dawn.
She had to play Geon-ho’s recorded voice repeatedly to make her accustomed to it.
“Han Dawn should do one thing. Even if I’m not around, don’t let yourself be caught and run away well.”
Well, let’s see if she can run away.
Steeling his resolve and trying to take the first heavy step, his arm was seized before anything else. As if to say he would never let go, Hae-gang was dragged away by his forceful strength, unable to resist.
Then, the hand behind the mask untied the strap.
Helplessly gazing down at the mask that fell to the ground, Geon-ho’s voice, falling onto his forehead, was as painful as a rock.
“Hide and seek seems to have been quite fun.”
Hide and seek. Fun. Each uttered word ignored him.
Did she run out there just for fun? Did she rush out into the freezing winter night just for a game of hide and seek?
He couldn’t comprehend any of the frustration, yearning, or earnestness he felt.
“It’s over; let’s go home now.”
“Home…?”
Where was his home? That cramped hotel suite? In such a suffocating situation, she wondered if he could go back there just by imagining it.
Hae-gang exerted all her strength to shake off Geon-ho’s hand. However, it was not only useless but also had the adverse effect of provoking Geon-ho’s anger.
“Let go. Are you not letting go?”
“It’s noisy.”
With a cold gaze and a voice that silenced even Hae-gang’s words, Geon-ho grabbed her arm. Despite her feeble resistance, there was no hindrance to his determined pull.
Being dragged along by Geon-ho’s force, Hae-gang’s unsteady steps eventually faltered.
“Ah!”
With a heel that felt partially broken swaying loosely, and her balance disrupted, Hae-gang’s steps stumbled. Amidst this, the relentless force pulling her forward didn’t diminish, making this corridor as horrifying as Rudi’s suite.
Observing Geon-ho’s back, which remained unchanged from that moment, Hae-gang finally sank to the floor. Only then did he stop his steps, unable to bear the sight of her kneeling on the ground.
Compared to her desperation, this pitiful sight meant nothing. Even if I die, I won’t go there.
“What are you doing? Won’t you get up?”
Rejecting Geon-ho’s attempt to lift her with a harsh shove, Hae-gang pushed away his hands.
“Don’t hug me recklessly. I hate that. It gives me the creeps.”
Geon-ho’s eyebrows twitched at the voice that suppressed the feeling of disgust within. Hae-gang was thankful that this place wasn’t a hotel. If it were, she would have been thrown onto the bed immediately.
“Do you want to see me like this because you want to see me go crazy? If you’re doing this to find out how much I can endure and what I can do, then say it. Even if I don’t know how far you want to go, it doesn’t seem like it will take that long to get there.”
Geon-ho eventually blamed even his insanity on her, turning everything into her fault. With eyes full of resentment and anger, Hae-gang raised her gaze to him.
For a moment, Geon-ho, who had been maintaining eye contact, wiped his face with his hand and forcefully grabbed her again. Desperately twisting her body to avoid being dragged, Hae-gang fiercely resisted. A new, shrill voice emerged from her lips.
“Who do you think you are to do this?”
“Who? Well, who are you?”
“That’s right, who am I? I’m not your wife anymore. You submitted the death certificate with your own hands!”
At Hae-gang’s scream, which was more like a cry, the expression on Geon-ho’s face disappeared, and his eyes became darker and more intense.
“Then who are you?”
The heavy air felt like a boulder pressing down on her shoulders. Han Dawn, Min Woo-jin’s wife, is the owner of Charlie Company. There were so many things she could say, but her lips, tightly sealed by fear, were disheartening.
The toe of Geon-ho’s heavy shoe came dangerously close to her, and she involuntarily recoiled her fingers at its sinister presence.
“Speak. Who are you right now?”
Opening the heavy lips felt like they were trembling, making it difficult even to perform the basic tasks of breathing in and out. In the moment of fear, where tears threatened to fall, a familiar and clumsy voice pierced through the tense atmosphere.
“My wife.”
Geon-ho’s intense gaze finally shifted away from me. As the approaching footsteps broke through the tense silence, Hae-gang breathed a sigh of relief that lasted to her core. The voice, with minimal emotional fluctuations, once again addressed Geon-ho.
“The person you’re threatening so senselessly right now is my wife.”
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