Chapter 74
I’m going to clear my head
From that day on, Yoo Lee Yeon’s excuses began.
Yoo Lee Yeon scooped a spoonful of powdered hibiscus into the teapot.
She filled it with warm water and waited for the fragrance to steep fully.
“What are you doing?”
Ahn Do Hyun, having smelled the hibiscus from the kitchen, sniffed and approached Yoo Lee Yeon.
Yoo Lee Yeon smiled like a puppy at Ahn Do Hyun, who came over to smell it, and gently pushed him toward the table.
“Sit here.”
Yoo Lee Yeon carefully poured the brewed tea into a cup and placed it in front of Ahn Do Hyun.
It was a kind of calming trick she hoped would work, something like a herbal remedy.
Yoo Lee Yeon surprised herself.
She realized for the first time that, when pressed, she could say things she really didn’t want to.
Once she had Ahn Do Hyun sitting in front of her, her mouth went dry and she couldn’t speak.
Even seeing him again like this, he was so handsome—my man, she thought.
Yoo Lee Yeon vowed again that she would never be the fool who lost him.
“I actually have something I need to tell you.”
At Yoo Lee Yeon’s words, Ahn Do Hyun looked at her as if asking what it was.
He was inhaling the scent of the tea Yoo Lee Yeon had made.
“How is it? Do you feel calmer?”
“I’m not sure.”
Sigh.
Even if the tea didn’t work, nothing could be done now; it was time to speak.
“I actually haven’t been able to tell you something until now.”
As soon as she began, Ahn Do Hyun, sensing something wrong, slowly set his teacup down.
He stared at Yoo Lee Yeon’s lips as if waiting for the next words.
“Actually, the chairman…”
Just mentioning the chairman alone caused Ahn Do Hyun to bolt to his feet.
“Stand up.”
His voice, heavy with anger, was so cold that Yoo Lee Yeon felt goosebumps all over.
“Why? Why did you stand up?”
Ahn Do Hyun already seemed to have figured it out and turned his back to her as if there was no need to hear more.
“Sit down first. Please hear me out to the end.”
Yoo Lee Yeon calmed the highly upset Ahn Do Hyun.
Because Yoo Lee Yeon kept soothing him, Ahn Do Hyun—who usually listened when she did that—sat back down, though the furrow in his brow didn’t disappear; that much was enough.
“You don’t even need to hear it to know—old man told you to break up with me?”
Ahn Do Hyun seemed completely beside himself; he called the chairman an old geezer.
Yoo Lee Yeon had never seen him lose his composure before.
Ahn Do Hyun was more shaken than Yoo Lee Yeon had ever seen him; he seemed to have lost clear, rational judgment.
She wanted to hold and comfort him, but she had to finish this conversation without interruption.
“Promise not to cut me off and listen to the end.”
That was exactly why she hadn’t said anything from the start.
Seeing Ahn Do Hyun’s reaction, she felt glad she had kept quiet at first.
“The chairman said I tricked him three times. I disguised myself, we had a contract marriage, and I even lied that I’d give him grandchildren, so there’s nothing for the chairman to think well of me.”
Ahn Do Hyun’s tightly closed lips trembled; he bit them as if wanting to say something he couldn’t.
Yoo Lee Yeon continued without paying attention to him.
“We need to understand the chairman’s position. He cares for you the most and worries about you, so he spoke out of concern. And with your mother’s situation, he was extremely sensitive about that too. At first, he thought I approached you on purpose.”
“……”
“There’s not a single thing he said that was wrong. I understand his worry for you.”
“But… it felt unfair that he didn’t trust our love.”
Yoo Lee Yeon wanted Ahn Do Hyun to understand Gapsu’s situation rather than misunderstand it.
She could understand the hurt of being told to break up, but she also thought his concern came from a place of care.
Maybe it could be resolved; she didn’t want this to drive a wedge between them over something avoidable.
Family is the one place that understands and worries the most.
“But I feel it’s unfair to just give up our love like this, and I’ve been thinking about how to protect it.”
By now Ahn Do Hyun must be puzzled as to why she had been silent and upset, she thought.
When her mind went blank in that situation, she couldn’t think straight; she worried he might suffer even more.
She feared causing the chairman irreparable pain.
“I don’t understand why everyone tells us not to love each other. Aren’t we Romeo and Juliet?”
Yoo Lee Yeon tried to lighten the mood with a small smile, but Ahn Do Hyun couldn’t relax his serious expression.
“We were trying to find a way out while the sky was collapsing, and then the Jihoo incident happened.”
Hearing the name Jihoo made Ahn Do Hyun look down.
He felt remorse for having made Yoo Lee Yeon carry so much alone because of Gapsu, and for not stopping it earlier.
“So I thought we needed drastic action here.”
“Drastic action?”
Upon hearing the unusual phrase, Ahn Do Hyun’s gaze sharpened.
“You might resent me now that I’m finally telling you everything. I’m really sorry, but I want you to understand that this was a choice for us.”
“So what is it?”
“I’m going to take about three weeks to sort my thoughts out.”
Ahn Do Hyun tightened his eyes as if asking what she meant.
From the start, he’d been in a panic over her first words.
He felt like his heart was breaking for the Yoo Lee Yeon who had been rotting inside with worry over this without telling him.
He wanted to press her, to ask why she hadn’t told him, to ask if he wasn’t enough.
But then he realized Yoo Lee Yeon had suffered because of his own foolishness.
He had expected Gapsu to act somehow, but nothing indicated he would simply let it pass.
He regretted not stopping it sooner.
The idea that Yoo Lee Yeon would leave for a short time made him wildly anxious.
Was three weeks just temporary, or might she not come back after that?
“That’s what you mean?”
Explain properly, he thought, because he felt like he might go mad.
“I really just need a little time to clear my head. I want to figure out what we should do, but I can’t do that with my head full of junk. When I’m beside you, all I think about is you, and I can’t sort anything out.”
Even though this was a bad situation, Yoo Lee Yeon smiled calmly as if nothing were wrong.
Ahn Do Hyun’s heart, however, was so far from smiling that if a tear didn’t come it would be surprising.
“Don’t go. Don’t make me helpless. Don’t say you’ll bear it alone.
Now I know.
I’ll take care of it.
Let me share the burden and we’ll get through this together. For now, I’ll deal with that blackmailer who threatened you. Wait for me.”
Given Gapsu’s threat to break them up, Yoo Lee Yeon planned to handle it, and Ahn Do Hyun wanted to help, not let her shoulder it alone.
“You can look into ways to deal with the blackmailer, can’t you?”
“Blackmailer—yeah, that’s the right word,” Yoo Lee Yeon said with a clear smile, amused.
Seeing Yoo Lee Yeon’s peculiar charm made Ahn Do Hyun feel lightened despite himself.
He thought a smiling face was better than a crying one, though his heart already felt hollow as if it had been torn through the basement.
“Where are you going for three weeks? What about work?”
Ahn Do Hyun, whose expression had relaxed a bit, asked.
“Where I’m going is a secret! If you try to follow me, I’ll refuse! I’m taking leave from work!”
Ahn Do Hyun felt a little hurt, but since he had agreed to let her go, he hoped she would at least shake off some stress while she was away.
“When did you prepare all this? You’re so thorough, Yoo Lee Yeon.”
“You don’t need to worry. I’ll do occasional check-ins and call sometimes.”
“Occasional,” Ahn Do Hyun thought; three weeks would feel endless and he’d be dehydrated by the time she came back.
Still, he decided to trust her and endure.
“What about your grandfather?”
At Ahn Do Hyun’s mention of Gapsu, Yoo Lee Yeon put a finger to her mouth.
“Don’t mention the chairman for three weeks. You focus only on catching that blackmailer.”
Ahn Do Hyun said nothing and simply mouthed that he understood.
Yoo Lee Yeon had her reasons for being so resolute.
“Have you packed? Did you already pack?”
Ahn Do Hyun kept trying to fuss over little things, but Yoo Lee Yeon added one more request.
From now on, don’t interfere with me.
For Ahn Do Hyun, that was pure torture.
