Chapter 3
Revenge was boiling inside her, but unfortunately, there was nothing she could do for the time being.
As Chaerin looked down at her legs, which refused to support her weight, a surge of emotion rose within her.
But instead of crying, she gritted her teeth and grabbed the parallel bars installed along the corridor.
Her legs trembled with every step she took.
It was hardly walking. She was dragging her feet along, relying almost entirely on the strength of her arms. Yet Chaerin had no intention of giving up.
She would stand on her own two feet again. She would reclaim everything that had been stolen from her. And she would make those who deserved to pay for their sins face justice.
Sweat trickled down her spine, dampening the collar of her clothes.
Even covering that short distance was agonizing.
Before she knew it, her head had drooped toward the floor.
Just as she neared the end of the parallel bars, a pair of perfectly pressed black suit trousers came into view.
“Not bad, Yoo Chaerin.”
At the deep, resonant voice that pierced her ears, Chaerin slowly raised her head.
A man stood at the end of the parallel bars.
He was her first love from eight years ago.
His features had grown sharper over the years, but his handsome face remained as striking as ever.
“Senior… Taeseok?”
Chaerin blinked slowly.
She couldn’t believe he was standing right in front of her.
The moment she saw Taeseok, all the emotions she had desperately buried surged back like a tidal wave.
“What are you doing here, Senior?”
Steadying herself, Chaerin forced out the question in a cold tone.
Otherwise, she feared she would be swept away by the enormous wave of memories from the past.
“Visiting a patient.”
Taeseok spoke slowly, his eyes fixed on her.
His gaze, trained on Chaerin, seemed unfathomably deep.
When their eyes met, Chaerin’s pupils trembled ever so slightly.
Their relationship had ended a long time ago.
Since then, they hadn’t contacted each other even once. Neither had bothered to ask how the other was doing.
Back when they had been passionately in love, the person who had cruelly ended things between them was none other than Chaerin herself.
And she had done it by delivering a unilateral breakup notice.
Taeseok, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, looked even more impressive than he had back then.
Meanwhile, she was confined to a wheelchair, unable even to walk properly.
Sorrow and humiliation washed over her.
“We’re not close enough for you to visit me.”
Chaerin spoke, desperately pretending to remain composed. But she couldn’t stop her hands from trembling slightly as she gripped the parallel bars.
“Ah, that’s right. We’re not that close.”
Taeseok nodded as though he had only just remembered.
“Please leave.”
Avoiding his gaze, Chaerin turned away.
But at that moment, Taeseok’s hand closed around her wrist.
She lost her balance and staggered. Before she could fall, Taeseok swiftly scooped her into his arms.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Chaerin’s sharp voice burst out.
“I’m going to make us that kind of couple from now on.”
Despite her defensive words, Taeseok smiled faintly and whispered the response.
The warmth of his body against hers was unbearably familiar. Her emotions surged, her eyes growing hot in an instant as the tip of her nose began to sting.
Taeseok carried her to the wheelchair at the end of the parallel bars and gently lowered her into it.
Then he took hold of the handles and slowly pushed her down the hospital corridor.
Chaerin quietly closed her eyes, struggling to suppress the emotions threatening to overwhelm her.
When the wheelchair entered her hospital room, the door clicked shut, plunging the room into silence.
With the window closed as well, even the air seemed stagnant.
“Yoo Chaerin.”
Taeseok’s low voice sounded from behind her, deep enough to settle against the floor.
Chaerin slowly turned her wheelchair around.
Taeseok was sitting quietly in a chair across from her, watching her.
A heavy silence settled between them as they sat facing each other without a word.
“Marry me.”
It was a proposal without the slightest context or explanation.
He had come back after eight years and was suddenly asking her to marry him.
An incredulous smile tugged at Chaerin’s lips.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Do I look like I have enough free time to joke around?”
Even as Chaerin snapped at him, Taeseok’s voice remained flat and emotionless.
If this wasn’t some cruel joke, then the only explanation was that he thought she was someone he could make fun of.
After all, she was confined to a wheelchair and couldn’t even walk properly.
“I have a fiancé.”
Chaerin gritted her teeth and replied coldly.
At her words, a mocking smile finally appeared on Taeseok’s otherwise impassive lips.
“Oh, the man who’s fooling around with your cousin.”
At his words, Chaerin’s entire body stiffened.
It wasn’t important how he knew or how he had found out.
The humiliation rose all the way to her throat.
“Have you been investigating me?”
Chaerin’s gaze sharpened.
Her voice was every bit as cold as her expression.
Instead of answering, Taeseok reached into the inner breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a business card, holding it out to her.
[Mugang Construction | Executive Director Kang Taeseok]
Chaerin’s eyes shook violently as she accepted the card.
Eight years ago, Taeseok had been a struggling student with absolutely no connection to Mugang Construction.
Back then, Chairman Yoo, who had been forcing Chaerin into an arranged marriage with Gyeyoung, had used Taeseok as leverage. Taeseok had been receiving financial support from Myeongin Furniture.
“How could you possibly choose a penniless nobody who grew up in an orphanage…?”
“Don’t you dare insult Senior! He’s the man I love.”
Chaerin had been only twenty at the time.
Amused by his granddaughter’s defiant insistence on defending the man she had fallen in love with, Chairman Yoo had sneered.
“Yoo Chaerin, you have a choice. You can give that bastard wings to fly, or you can break both his legs.”
Clicking his tongue, Chairman Yoo delivered his final ultimatum.
In the end, Chaerin had broken up with Taeseok for his sake. She hadn’t wanted him to suffer because of her.
And yet, eight years later, Taeseok had returned as an executive director at Mugang Construction.
How had he done it?
It was simply unbelievable.
“Why? Curious how the man you once called a pathetic nobody managed to become an executive director?”
Taeseok watched her stunned expression, asking with evident amusement.
“I’m not interested in how you got that position, Senior. I have absolutely no intention of marrying you, so please just leave.”
Suppressing the emotions surging inside her, Chaerin deliberately snapped at him in a cold voice.
But the words that came in response were neither reproach nor resentment.
“I’ll take care of every bastard who laid a hand on you.”
At his words, Chaerin’s eyes wavered slightly.
“Just take my hand.”
His voice was so gentle it seemed to melt like honey. The familiar smile he used to wear long ago had returned to his lips.
That smile made her heart falter.
The sudden desire to entrust everything to him, to let herself rely on his kindness, rose unbidden within her.
But then she remembered how coldly she had broken up with him, and she couldn’t bring herself to face him.
She had made that decision for his sake, but in the end, she had still hurt him.
“Why are you doing this to me? Is it because you find me amusing now that I’ve ended up like this?”
Her words came out sharp, despite the feelings she was struggling to contain.
“How could I? If anyone’s ridiculous here, it’s me. Even after everything you’ve put me through, I’m still clinging to Yoo Chaerin, begging her to look at me.”
At his words, Chaerin’s eyes trembled.
“Can I stay by your side now?”
Taeseok slowly leaned forward until his eyes were level with hers.
“Don’t you resent me?”
The bitterness had faded from Chaerin’s voice, leaving behind a quiet question.
“If you feel guilty about what happened to me, make it up to me by living with me from now on. For the rest of your life. That’s more than enough.”
Taeseok raised his hand and gently stroked her cheek.
The touch sent an electric current through her entire body.
She had thought she had forgotten everything.
But she hadn’t forgotten a thing.
Just then, the caregiver, who had stepped away for a moment, returned to the room.
The moment she saw Taeseok, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Who are you? Visits to Ms. Yoo Chaerin aren’t allowed.”
In truth, she was less a caregiver than a spy sent by Han Ojun to keep watch over Chaerin.
“I’m a friend. I just returned to Korea after being away for a long time and stopped by briefly when I heard about Chaerin.”
“Please leave immediately. Ms. Yoo Chaerin needs to rest.”
The caregiver urged him to leave.
“Get in touch with me.”
Taeseok left those words behind and stood up. Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked out of the hospital room.
Now, all he could do was wait for her decision.
He had waited eight years. What were a few more hours?
He was more than willing to wait.
