CHAPTER 2
Whenever Ha-eun called him “Oppa,” he felt a strange tickling sensation deep inside his chest.
Jung Ha-eun was one of the few people who could stir emotions in him, even though he was usually indifferent and rarely showed his feelings.
She was also the only woman who could call Seo Jae “Oppa.”
Whether it was because she was the closest thing he had ever had to a younger sister, because she awakened his childhood nostalgia, or simply because she was far too innocent, he had never seriously thought about the reason.
“What’s wrong?”
Startled by his blunt question, Ha-eun paused for a moment before slowly exhaling.
“[I’m in New York. I found out that Ha-jun Oppa is here.]”
He had already heard that Ha-jun had fallen victim to an investment scam worth billions of won and had buried his family in debt.
To run away after destroying his entire family.
Ha-jun had never been the most responsible person, but Seo Jae had never imagined he would avoid responsibility like this.
If only he had asked him for help, Seo Jae would have found some way to help him.
“[Has Ha-jun Oppa contacted you… by any chance?]”
“No.”
Silence lingered between them.
“[Okay. Thank you. If he contacts you… please tell him that the family is worried and that he should come home.]”
“Ha-eun.”
The call ended.
She had not asked him to come to New York, to find her brother, or even to help her.
Unlike Florida, where the temperature rarely dropped below twenty degrees even in the middle of winter, New York was frozen by a biting cold.
Judging from the fact that she had asked whether Ha-jun had contacted him, she probably did not know his exact whereabouts.
Thinking of Ha-eun wandering the dangerous streets with nothing but the information that he was somewhere in New York made Seo Jae clench his teeth.
The memory of searching the entire neighborhood for her after she had gone missing during a cold winter in their childhood only intensified his anxiety.
She was no longer a child and could surely take care of herself now, but still.
Returning to the poolside table, Seo Jae excused himself from the father and daughter who had been chatting cheerfully.
“Something urgent has come up, so I think I’ll have to leave now. I’m sorry.”
“Oh my, what happened?”
“…”
“Go on, then. We can have dinner another time. Keep in touch.”
“Yes. Thank you for understanding. Goodbye.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
Elin stood up.
“That’s all right. I need to make a phone call anyway.”
“Then call me when you get there. I’ll be worried.”
Without confirming or denying anything, Seo Jae simply nodded and left the mansion.
As he stepped outside, he called his secretary and asked for the earliest flight to New York.
—
It seemed that she had fallen asleep while curled up on the bed.
When she opened her eyes, it was already dark outside.
The sound of someone pounding on the door woke her completely.
Dragging her heavy body up, she headed toward the door.
“Ha-eun, are you inside? Open the door. Jung Ha-eun!”
Was that Seo Jae?
How did he even know she was here?
“Jae Oppa?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Open the door.”
When she opened the door, Seo Jae was really standing there.
His hairstyle emphasized his sharp features, and his light-colored eyes looked almost mysterious depending on how the light hit them.
His nose and lips looked as though they had been sculpted by a master craftsman.
He was so tall that she had to crane her neck to look up at him.
Wrapped in a black coat that looked like armor over his broad shoulders and holding leather gloves in one hand, he looked even more handsome than the last time she had seen him.
It was as if he had stepped straight off the cover of the latest New York fashion magazine.
“How did you get here…?”
“You weren’t answering your phone, so I asked your mother.”
“Oh.”
The moment she saw his face, the loneliness that had weighed heavily on her in this unfamiliar city melted away.
Seo Jae swept his eyes over the room behind her, and his lips immediately hardened into a straight line.
“Pack your things.”
Ha-eun’s suitcase was still sitting untouched near the entrance.
“I haven’t even unpacked yet—”
Before she could finish speaking, Seo Jae grabbed the suitcase with one hand and her wrist with the other, striding toward the elevator.
She did not ask where they were going.
His expression made it clear that he did not want Ha-eun to spend even one more second in that filthy, foul-smelling room.
While the driver, who appeared to be of Indian descent, loaded the suitcase into the trunk, Seo Jae opened the back door of the black limousine and let Ha-eun get in first.
The luxurious leather seats carried a subtle fragrance, and the warmth from the heated seats enveloped her body.
Her frozen body and heart gradually thawed like snow melting in spring.
Seo Jae handed her a bottle of water from the car’s refrigerator.
“Thanks.”
She had not even realized how thirsty she was until she drank half the bottle in one go.
“Did you eat?”
Seo Jae was so elegant and glamorous that she did not want him to see her staying in a cheap hotel with an empty stomach.
So she lied.
“Food? Yeah, I ate. Earlier—”
Before she could finish, her stomach growled loudly.
Oh no.
Did he hear that?
It had been pretty loud.
“It sounds like your stomach disagrees.”
So he had heard.
Her ears turned red with embarrassment.
As Seo Jae called somewhere to reserve dinner and instructed the driver to change destinations, Ha-eun turned to look out the window.
Sitting in a luxurious limousine with someone who knew her so well, New York no longer felt like a strange city.
The forest of towering skyscrapers and even the yellow taxis somehow seemed familiar.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Seo Jae turned toward Ha-eun.
As she leaned closer to show him Ha-jun’s text message, a pleasant scent drifted from him.
It was the familiar fragrance she always associated with him—a refreshing forest scent mixed with musk—but this time there was also the scent of unfamiliar flowers.
It smelled incredibly expensive.
Had he been with a woman?
For some reason, she imagined an incredibly beautiful heiress with a glamorous smile and a curvy figure.
“He disappeared after sending just this one message.”
“Where did you hear that Ha-jun was in New York?”
“A junior who used to be close to him lives in New York. A few days ago, he uploaded a picture on social media, and this is it.”
Ha-eun enlarged the photo and pointed at the distinctive ring on the man’s finger.
“Do you remember this ring? I made it myself four years ago. I gave it to you and my brother as matching rings.”
Seo Jae had hated the idea of wearing matching rings with Ha-jun, but Ha-jun had worn his all the time.
“Yeah. I remember him making fun of it and saying it was an ugly ring that looked just like you.”
Ha-jun had called it the ugly ring.
“I contacted that junior and found out which restaurant it was.”
“It looks like Chinatown.”
“It is Chinatown.”
“Let’s rest today and go together tomorrow morning.”
“You must be busy. I’m sorry for bothering you. If you’re too busy, I can go by myself—”
“It’s fine, so tell me from the beginning how Ha-jun ended up getting scammed.”
As Ha-eun explained how Ha-jun had been deceived by his business partner and ended up with a debt of 1.8 billion won, the car arrived at the restaurant Seo Jae had reserved.
—
The restaurant, which overlooked Manhattan’s forest of skyscrapers glittering beneath them, was connected directly from the parking lot to the observation deck on the one-hundredth floor by a high-speed elevator.
Judging by the fact that every table was occupied, it seemed impossible to get a reservation, yet they were guided to a window seat.
“What do you want to eat?”
She was starving, but even after looking at the menu, she had no idea what anything was.
“You order for me.”
While Seo Jae placed their order, Ha-eun gazed out the window.
If Ha-jun had not disappeared, she probably would have enjoyed having dinner alone with Seo Jae in such a breathtaking and elegant restaurant.
A waiter arrived carrying wine in an ice bucket.
“How have you been?”
Ha-eun asked as Seo Jae poured her a glass of red wine.
“Busy. That’s why I couldn’t answer your calls.”
“I see.”
The wine carried notes of blackberry blended with the rich floral scent of lavender, leaving behind a spicy flavor.
“I heard you applied for an internship at our company.”
The two lightly clinked their glasses.
