Chapter 5
After putting down his glass, In-hyuk slightly raised his chin.
“May I ask why?”
After hesitating, Hae-yoon finally spoke.
“Because you already have someone you’re seeing.”
He slowly frowned.
“Even if you say you’ll end that relationship, I already saw everything myself. And… because of my relationship with Actress Si-yeon, I can’t accept it either.”
Hae-yoon could never forget what Si-yeon had done for her.
When she had been struggling to pay for her grandfather Tae-soo’s hospital bills, Si-yeon had given her a large amount of money without a second thought.
She hadn’t even called it a loan.
She simply said it was a gift.
No matter how wealthy someone was, giving away that much money wasn’t easy.
Yet Si-yeon had paid all the hospital expenses without asking for anything in return, simply because of her relationship with Hae-yoon.
Hae-yoon couldn’t betray that kindness by getting involved with In-hyuk.
“Wait… Didn’t… I mean, didn’t Hong Si-yeon explain everything properly?”
Seeing Hae-yoon’s serious expression, In-hyuk frowned.
Had she tried to silence her instead of explaining?
He let out a quiet sigh.
“Aren’t you two dating?”
“No.”
His answer came without even a second of hesitation.
“Then… what kind of relationship do you have?”
Honestly, In-hyuk didn’t mind if people found out Si-yeon was his biological mother.
But Gi-seop didn’t want the truth revealed, so Si-yeon had kept it secret.
If she hadn’t told Hae-yoon, In-hyuk couldn’t reveal it on his own.
He rubbed between his eyebrows and shook his head.
“Anyway, Hong Si-yeon and I are absolutely not in a romantic relationship.”
“You’re not dating, but you came out of Actress Si-yeon’s bedroom… and she was only wearing a robe…”
As Hae-yoon’s expression became colder, In-hyuk looked troubled.
“I can’t explain it right now, but it’s definitely not the kind of relationship you’re imagining.”
There’s seriously something wrong with this man.
Hae-yoon couldn’t even pick up her fork again.
Chairman Gi-seop had seemed like a decent person.
But his grandson clearly hadn’t inherited that.
Gi-seop had said he only looked good when he kept his mouth shut.
He was right.
Do In-hyuk should only be admired from a distance.
After actually talking to him, she decided he wasn’t someone she could get along with.
She even started feeling sorry for Si-yeon.
She couldn’t believe such a kind woman was involved with a man who openly declared in front of someone else that their relationship meant nothing serious.
“Miss Yoon Hae-yoon?”
Hae-yoon’s face had turned cold.
Not knowing what she was thinking, In-hyuk called her name.
Without answering, she picked up her bag.
“We’ve finished eating. I’ll be leaving now.”
She quickly stood up and gave a short bow.
She walked away without looking back.
“Isn’t he crazy?”
She muttered to herself while repeatedly pressing the elevator button.
Fortunately, the elevator arrived quickly.
Just before the doors closed, she saw In-hyuk coming out of the restaurant.
Their eyes met for a moment.
She immediately turned her head away.
“I’ll make sure I never see him again.”
She firmly decided this would be the end of their short acquaintance.
* * *
Hae-yoon had left home before sunrise.
Now she looked up at the evening sky painted by the sunset.
“Wow… It’s beautiful.”
She took out her phone and snapped a picture.
After hesitating for a moment, she opened the chat saved as “Oppa Min-gyu.”
She and Min-gyu had dated for two years.
They had broken up two months ago and had only gotten back together two weeks earlier.
Hae-yoon had been the one to end things because dating him had become exhausting after he seemed to lose interest in the relationship.
Min-gyu had been the one who came back, saying he regretted everything.
“…Never mind. I won’t send it.”
She had always liked sharing little things like this with him.
But somehow, their relationship didn’t feel the same anymore.
“Manager!”
Someone called her from the commercial filming set.
Hae-yoon quickly put her phone into her pocket and hurried inside.
About an hour later, filming finally ended.
“Actress, should we go straight home?”
“No. Take me to Place A.”
It was one of Si-yeon’s favorite restaurants.
The food was excellent, but more importantly, the private rooms made it perfect for avoiding attention.
“Should I wait for you? You don’t like taking taxis.”
“No. Someone’s picking me up.”
Hae-yoon glanced at Si-yeon through the rearview mirror.
Their eyes met.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be careful not to get caught.”
So she really is meeting In-hyuk.
Hae-yoon barely stopped herself from laughing.
Only a few days ago he had proposed to her.
Now he was meeting Si-yeon.
She truly couldn’t understand a man like him.
Still, it wasn’t her place to interfere.
Especially not in someone else’s relationship.
“You worked hard today, Hae-yoon.”
Si-yeon pulled her cap down low and got out of the car.
Only after watching her enter the building did Hae-yoon prepare to drive away.
“Huh? Oppa Min-gyu?”
Just then, a familiar face caught her attention.
It was her boyfriend, Min-gyu.
He looked around as though he was waiting for someone.
Hae-yoon picked up her phone to call him.
But before she could, Min-gyu happily waved at someone.
“…Ah.”
She slowly lowered her phone.
She even turned off the engine and got out of the car.
She knew that smile.
It was the same smile he had shown her from the day he confessed until their relationship started falling apart.
When Min-gyu walked into the building with an unfamiliar woman, Hae-yoon quietly followed them.
She didn’t even know why she was secretly following him.
But she felt she had to know.
“This place serves fusion cuisine. It’s really delicious.”
“Really? Hmm… It doesn’t seem like the kind of place men would come to by themselves. Who did you come here with before?”
The woman asked sweetly.
Min-gyu answered without hesitation.
“I came here with my family.”
A lie.
Hae-yoon herself had introduced this restaurant to him after Si-yeon recommended it.
They had come here on dates together.
Now he was pretending it had been a family outing.
Her tiny hope that this was just a business meeting disappeared.
“I’ve been saving this place so I could bring you here, Ji-seon.”
“Really?”
“Of course. It’s hard to get a reservation here. You can’t bring just anyone.”
That was enough.
Without hesitating, Hae-yoon walked over and grabbed Min-gyu’s arm.
“Huh…?”
He frowned as he turned around.
The moment he saw Hae-yoon, he froze.
“What are you doing here, Oppa?”
“Uh… H-Hae-yoon… I… I can explain…”
“What is this, Min-gyu? Who is she?”
Faced with the tense three-way confrontation, Hae-yoon looked directly at the woman.
“I’m Choi Min-gyu’s girlfriend.”
“…What?”
“I’m sorry. If I’m misunderstanding this situation, then I apologize first. But this doesn’t look like a business meeting.”
She looked at Min-gyu, then back at the woman.
“It doesn’t seem that way.”
“…Wow. That’s unbelievable.”
Ji-seon, who had been smiling politely until now, suddenly frowned.
She glared at Min-gyu.
“You told me you didn’t have a girlfriend. This is ridiculous. I don’t know who lied, but I’ll tell my father.”
“W-Wait, Ji-seon!”
Ji-seon quickly walked away.
Min-gyu reached out to stop her.
Then he bit his lip when he met Hae-yoon’s eyes.
“…H-Hae-yoon. Let me explain.”
“So… you cheated on me?”
“No… It’s not like that… Sigh… I’ll tell you honestly.”
Min-gyu scratched his head and sighed deeply.
“Why didn’t you tell me right away that your grandfather passed away?”
“…What?”
“It’s true that I regretted breaking up and contacted you again. I really did. I even meant it when I said I wanted to marry you. But you should’ve told me your grandfather had died.”
I wasn’t hiding it.
I just told him when the time felt right.
Hae-yoon frowned, unable to understand.
“My mom is against me marrying someone who has no family.”
“…”
“I’m still trying to convince her. But she said if I just went on one blind date with the woman she chose, she’d at least let me keep dating you.”
“…”
“I had to give her what she wanted first. That was the only way you’d have a chance to earn her approval.”
Hae-yoon laughed in disbelief.
So that’s why.
He meant she should have told him before they got back together.
Then he never would have considered marrying her.
He wouldn’t even have gotten back together with someone who was now completely alone.
A hollow laugh escaped her.
Min-gyu deliberately let out a loud sigh.
“You think I enjoyed coming here? I was forced into this.”
“You looked like you were enjoying yourself.”
“Hey, Yoon Hae-yoon. How can you say that? I did all this for you. I’m only doing this because of you.”
“For me?”
Now she couldn’t even laugh anymore.
She ran a hand roughly through her hair.
“Forget it. You don’t need to make sacrifices for me. Let’s just end this. I don’t need a boyfriend like you.”
“Hey! Yoon Hae-yoon!”
Min-gyu grabbed her before she could leave.
She shook his hand off.
But he grabbed her arm even more tightly.
His grip was so strong that her arm started hurting.
“Are you really going to do this? Try understanding my side too…!”
“Excuse me.”
A larger hand suddenly grabbed Min-gyu’s wrist.
The grip was so powerful it felt like his wrist would break.
Groaning in pain, Min-gyu immediately let go of Hae-yoon’s arm.
Holding her sore arm, Hae-yoon looked up.
“…Mr. Do In-hyuk?”
It was In-hyuk.
The very man she had decided she would never see again.
