Chapter 2
How should she put it? It felt as though her throat was tightly shriveling up, even though no one was strangling her. It was certainly meant as a word of comfort, but wasn’t it due to her long-standing guilt that she felt struck to the core?
Swallowing the lump of emotion burning in her throat, Hong-joo smiled pointlessly and answered.
“Then is it okay if I fail to bring Ji-hyuk back?”
“That won’t do.”
Secretary Song’s voice grew somewhat stern.
“You are the last hope.”
“…”
“Don’t push yourself too hard, but do your best to escort the Director back. Please.”
And with that, he hung up the phone.
What kind of warm iced Americano nonsense is this? How can I do my best without pushing myself too hard? How can I bring Seol Ji-hyuk back without pushing myself too hard? In the end, it just means I have to bring him back no matter what, even if I have to push myself too hard.
“Huu.”
Letting out a long breath, Hong-joo crouched down in her spot and pulled her knees close to her chest. Then, she quietly rested her head against the coldly shut door.
The touch of the cold metal added a chill to the cool air. Still, it wasn’t a bad condition to cool down her heated head. Thanks to that, she felt her mind clearing up.
“Anyway, Seol Ji-hyuk is still handsome.”
It was brief, and just a glimpse through the crack of the door, but all her senses immediately recognized Seol Ji-hyuk. Perhaps that was why. Even though she had been turned away at the door, one side of her heart fluttered and stirred like an adolescent girl’s.
To meet Seol Ji-hyuk. And after a whopping 10 years, at that. My first love. …Seol Ji-hyuk.
Gently lowering her eyelids, Hong-joo recalled Ji-hyuk’s face she had seen in passing and dragged out an old memory.
“He was a prince back then, too.”
A white shirt, a navy blue tie, a jacket in a matching tone, and grey trousers. Standing under the camellia tree neatly dressed in his school uniform, Seol Ji-hyuk tilted his head slightly and looked down at Hong-joo. Although his pretty brow was slightly furrowed, his dark eyes gleamed with curiosity. Soon, his finely lined lips produced a voice.
“What is this?”
That was how Hong-joo, who had been lying flat on her back in the snow-covered garden of the Pyeongchang-dong mansion with red camellia flowers tucked into her black hair, encountered her first love.
“That was already 20 years ago.”
Muttering in a hazy voice, Hong-joo firmly etched the Ji-hyuk in her memory into her mind and closed her eyes. Was it out of relief that she had finally met Seol Ji-hyuk? Or was it because, as Secretary Song said, she hadn’t slept for the past few days? The sleep she had been putting off rushed in like a wave.
Seol Ji-hyuk. Ji-hyuk. Ji-hyuk. Ultimately unable to fight off her drowsiness, Hong-joo fell into a deep sleep and met Ji-hyuk even in her dreams.
Eight-year-old Baek Hong-joo, running around immaturely, weaving through the grand and splendid Pyeongchang-dong mansion that was like a palace. Nine-year-old Seol Ji-hyuk, looking at such a Hong-joo as if she were pathetic. Ji-hyuk, who was slightly amused by Hong-joo climbing any tree she saw. Then, Hong-joo slipping and falling from the tree…
“…?”
In that moment, Hong-joo woke up from her light sleep. Her body tilted and she fell sideways.
“Uh, uh?”
The door she had been leaning her head against had opened. She bumped her head on the floor. Into Hong-joo’s half-asleep vision came a pair of black loafers. Followed by dark grey slacks, a white linen shirt. And… Seol Ji-hyuk’s insane face.
‘Seol Ji-hyuk?’
Her eyes naturally widened. Startled, Hong-joo scrambled up from her fallen position. Seeing Seol Ji-hyuk watching her with an apathetic expression, her childhood memory overlapped. Just like the day they first met, his handsome brow furrowed as if he were witnessing a bizarre sight.
Feeling embarrassed, Hong-joo quickly tidied her clothes and hair and smiled brightly.
“Ji-hyuk.”
Looking at her as if she were pathetic, he began to walk away without answering. Flustered, Hong-joo raised her left wrist to quickly check the time.
8 AM? ‘I only dozed off for a moment, when did time fly like this?’
By the way, where is he going when he told me to come in the morning? Curling her fingers like a hook to tidy her hair one more time, Hong-joo followed behind Ji-hyuk. Hong-joo’s eyes rapidly scanned Ji-hyuk’s attire. His comfortable resort wear did not look at all like attire meant for a funeral.
“Where, are you going?”
But there was no answer. Ji-hyuk, who had already walked quite a distance away, pressed the elevator call button. Hong-joo approached him with quick steps. Click-clack, her footsteps were as urgent as her feelings.
“Ji-hyuk.”
Digging her way between the elevator doors and Ji-hyuk, Hong-joo finally captured his gaze and asked.
“Where are you going?”
Ji-hyuk lowered his eyes slightly and looked down at Hong-joo. The way he raised one eyebrow was arrogant.
“Do I have to answer?”
Then he got on the elevator that had arrived just in time. Lest she lose Ji-hyuk, Hong-joo also quickly got on the elevator.
As the doors closed, Ji-hyuk’s face was reflected on the gleaming elevator doors. Her throat choked up at his expressionless, practically apathetic face.
“Ji-hyuk.”
She tried to hold Ji-hyuk’s gaze, but his coldly apathetic eyes allowed Hong-joo no opening.
“The Chairman passed away.”
“And?”
“You are the chief mourner, but what are you doing here…”
Pfft.
Letting out a laugh as if she were ridiculous, Ji-hyuk stared intently at Hong-joo reflected in the doors.
“Baek Hong-joo.”
She had finally gotten his attention, but it wasn’t the reaction she wanted.
“Who is the chief mourner?”
His coldly settled eyes twisted bitterly for an instant. But even that quickly died out like a blown-out candle.
“Stop wasting your time, and go.”
Ding.
Simultaneously with a dull chime, the elevator doors opened. Leaving Hong-joo behind, Ji-hyuk stepped off the elevator. Watching his back, which exuded coldness, Hong-joo steeled her heart.
She had expected this. And she thought it wouldn’t be easy. Which was exactly why she couldn’t feign ignorance even more. Because she, Hong-joo, held a fragment of responsibility for Seol Ji-hyuk, the youngest son of Myeongmun Group’s Chairman Seol Byeong-joo, ending up wandering the world like a gypsy.
“Ji-hyuk!”
Let’s go together. Steeling her resolve, Hong-joo hurriedly followed behind Ji-hyuk.
Turning the corner of the hallway where Ji-hyuk had disappeared, an outdoor swimming pool with an exotic atmosphere appeared. She saw Ji-hyuk approaching one side of the streamlined poolside. As if it had been prearranged, four or five men and women welcomed Ji-hyuk. Acknowledging them by lifting his chin slightly, Ji-hyuk joined the table where they were seated. As Ji-hyuk sat down, an amicable conversation soon blossomed.
He was blunt with me, but he smiles over there? Hong-joo tightly bit her lower lip. Somehow, the inside of her tongue just felt bitter.
A hotel staff member approached such a Hong-joo.
“Excuse me…”
As Hong-joo turned around, the staff member furrowed their brow in a troubled manner.
“This is a private pool only accessible to VIP guests, so…”
Only verified suite guests can enter. That was already confirmed when I came in anyway. But it would be a problem if she backed down now and lost Seol Ji-hyuk. Concealing her expression, Hong-joo smiled brightly and gestured towards Ji-hyuk with her eyes.
“I am his attendant.”
Taking out a business card and handing it to the staff member, Hong-joo added a troubled look over her smile.
“I have to escort him within a specific time frame, so I need to wait here for a moment.”
Then, she placed the handbag she was holding onto the table closest to the entrance.
“If it’s alright with you, I’ll just sit here and have a glass of iced coffee. I’ll pay with this.”
Finding her wallet in her handbag, Hong-joo took out the Myeongmun Group corporate card and handed it to the staff member. Looking once at the card, once at Hong-joo’s face. Once again at the business card, once at Hong-joo’s face, the staff member bowed deeply and scurried away. Fortunately, they did not run to Ji-hyuk to verify his relationship with Hong-joo.
Huu.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Hong-joo sat down in a chair.
There are a few universal truths that apply not only in Korea but all over the world. First, no one can ignore the profession of a lawyer. Fortunately, Hong-joo was a lawyer, and her business card had the words “International Lawyer” written on it in English, very largely. Second, a corporate card from a global company carries immense power wherever you go. Fortunately, before her departure, Chief Secretary Song Jae-jeong had placed a Myeongmun Group corporate card, an unlimited black card at that, into Hong-joo’s hand.
Having checked the business card and the card, the hotel staff member granted Hong-joo access to the VIP exclusive area without asking or arguing any further, and thanks to that, Hong-joo was able to watch Ji-hyuk eating breakfast from a close distance.
