TUW | CHAPTER 72

Chapter 72

Something Wrong?

“Hey! What’s going on with you lately? Why do you space out so much these days?”

At Sujin’s voice, Yoo Lee Yeon shook her head as if to snap out of it.

Lately, she hadn’t been able to sleep properly.

Her chest felt heavy, and though she hadn’t thought of anything sad, tears kept welling up.

She and Ahn Do Hyun hadn’t even truly broken up, so why was she like this?

She was being ridiculous, even by her own standards.

“You’re here?”

Lee Yeon forced a smile, pretending to welcome Sujin.

A week had passed since her visit to Chairman Gapsu’s house.

Lee Yeon had been thinking nonstop about how not to leave Do Hyun’s side.

How could she change Gapsu’s mind? That was all she thought about.

But she still hadn’t come up with an answer.

So every day felt like her blood was drying up.

Of course, Do Hyun still didn’t know.

If she told him, he’d storm off to confront Gapsu right away, and she was afraid something irreversible might happen.

She knew he’d be hurt if he found out later, but Gapsu had already told her to break up, so she couldn’t bring herself to confess.

Caught between Do Hyun and Woo Sung, Lee Yeon couldn’t find peace.

Her resolve to stay by Do Hyun’s side was one thing, but the situation was another.

“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

Sujin looked at her again, concern written all over her face.

“Of course not, you know how busy I’ve been with newlywed life.”

Saying she was busy enjoying married life was the perfect excuse to hide behind.

Bzzzt—.

Lee Yeon looked down at the vibrating phone.

‘Oh no.’

The caller ID read: Gapsu.

After a week of silence, he was probably calling to check in.

“Ahhhh.”

The stress was killing her.

She still hadn’t thought of a single solution!

Screaming in frustration, Lee Yeon ruffled her hair, making Sujin gape in surprise.

“You sure everything’s okay? Really?”

Sujin asked carefully.

No one would ever guess what Lee Yeon was going through.

With dark circles under her eyes, she slumped into her chair.

No matter what, she’d have to call Gapsu back once Sujin left.

.

.

.

“Phew.”

Lee Yeon stepped into the break room.

She took a deep breath and dialed Gapsu’s number.

[Why is there still no news? Why hasn’t anyone mentioned separating yet? Do you still need more time?]

“Chairman, you make it sound so simple. How can anyone just cut off their feelings like chopping a carrot?”

She wanted to say she had no intention of cutting that “carrot” at all, but she had no alternative plan.

Blood doesn’t lie, and Gapsu’s decisiveness showed he wanted her gone quickly.

Since he hadn’t told Do Hyun, it meant he expected Lee Yeon to end it herself.

He probably knew Do Hyun would never agree to break up voluntarily.

That made it all the more cruel.

To make her tell Do Hyun it was over—how could she do that?

It was unbearable.

[Not interested. If you’re going to end it, end it fast.]

Gapsu hung up right after saying what he wanted.

He’d called just to pressure her.

To make her leave Do Hyun’s side.

To make her understand she wasn’t welcome in Woo Sung.

Was it really impossible to love someone purely?

She hadn’t known love could hurt this much.

She just wanted to follow her heart, but following her heart felt impossible.

Lee Yeon leaned back on the sofa in the break room.

She wanted to dump all the chaos in her mind into a trash can.

She pressed her hand to her forehead.

Knock, knock.

Someone tapped on the door.

She slowly opened her eyes.

“Something wrong?”

Jihoo was standing by the wall, watching her.

Had he heard?

“No, nothing’s wrong.”

Even after she answered, Jihoo didn’t move, his expression unreadable.

Maybe she’d been gone too long.

Lee Yeon stood up.

“I came up because I wanted to talk, but you weren’t at your desk, so I followed the sound of voices.”

He was explaining how he ended up here.

But Lee Yeon wasn’t in the mood to listen.

“You wanted to talk about something…?”

“What is it?”

“You remember our college friends, right? We had a reunion recently, and everyone said they miss you.”

“They’re probably just curious since they’ve seen me on TV.”

“No, they’ve been curious since graduation. Me too.”

The mention of her college friends stirred some nostalgia.

Before graduation, her life had been full of sunshine, and she’d gotten along with everyone.

She did wonder how they were doing now—if they were married, what kind of lives they had.

But the thought passed quickly. She really didn’t have the energy for it.

“It’s hard… I’ve been too busy lately.”

“Still, can’t you make a little time? They really want to see you. Since we work at the same company, they asked me to bring you along.”

Her head started to ache.

She already had too much on her plate, and now this reunion talk was pushing her over the edge.

When she pressed her temples, Jihoo asked,

“Something wrong?”

Lee Yeon waved her hand, signaling him not to worry.

Please, just go.

Were you always this clueless?

She thought the words but kept them inside.

“If something’s bothering you, talk to me. You used to tell me everything before. You know I’m good at comforting people, right?”

Somehow, his eyes gleamed.

She was taken aback.

That was years ago—back when she’d actually thought of him as a friend.

Now she was married, and the idea of leaning on another man felt absurd.

It almost seemed like he was waiting for a chance.

Maybe it was time to cut even this “colleague” tie.

Jihoo, trying to convince her, finally turned to head downstairs.

‘So the chairman really is against them,’ he thought.

He’d overheard her conversation in the break room.

‘Is Chairman Ahn forcing her to divorce? But they’re already married, aren’t they?’

Back when they were close, Lee Yeon used to confide in him.

She’d said he was the only one who could really comfort her.

That talking to him made her feel better.

Now, he thought, maybe he’d get that chance again.

Maybe his last chance.

His eyes glinted darkly.

***

Three more days passed after Gapsu’s call.

It felt like being chased by debt collectors.

Lee Yeon found herself staring at her phone constantly.

What if Gapsu called again to push her to break up?

She hadn’t borrowed money, but every buzz of her phone made her heart race in fear.

She couldn’t turn it off either—she was too afraid of what might happen next.

It wasn’t Gapsu himself that scared her, but the situation.

The pressure to end things with Do Hyun terrified her.

She’d never really been in a serious relationship before, so these feelings were all new.

It felt like she was losing everything.

All because of one piece of paper—causing conflict and pain for everyone.

She was angry and exhausted, but she couldn’t say anything.

Because she understood Gapsu’s point of view, too.

Maybe that’s what made it worse.

Her sleepless nights were taking a toll.

Still, she pretended to be cheerful in front of Do Hyun.

She knew avoidance wouldn’t solve anything.

But her mind was blank, unable to think of a solution.

Do Hyun’s pain over his mother ran deeper than she’d imagined.

Knowing that, she couldn’t just ask him to “understand” her.

That wasn’t enough to make sense of everything.

Was there no way for Do Hyun and his family to accept her without anyone getting hurt?

Frustrated, she leaned back on the sofa in the break room again.

It was the only chair in the office that felt remotely comfortable.

She closed her eyes.

Do Hyun was still in a meeting, so she was alone on this floor.

The silence felt like a blanket of darkness.

Her sadness, which she’d held back in front of Do Hyun, rose up again.

Knowing she was alone, she let the tears flow.

For a while, she let the tears comfort her.

Then came footsteps from outside.

Had Do Hyun’s meeting ended already?

Knock, knock.

She turned toward the door.

Jihoo stood there.

Tears streamed down Lee Yeon’s face like a waterfall.

He’d seen it all.

“You looked upset, so I brought you some macarons.”

Jihoo sat down beside her.

Lee Yeon couldn’t even react.

The tears wouldn’t stop, and she was embarrassed.

Once the faucet broke, there was no turning it off.

She wanted to stop, especially with Jihoo sitting right there, but she couldn’t.

Even as she cried, she worried Jihoo might think his presence made her feel safe to cry.

The thought made her heart ache even more.

“If it’s hard, you can lean on me.”

He placed the macarons on the table.

“I know macarons cheer you up, so I bought them.

I know you don’t like people rushing you, so I came slowly….”

“……”

“I don’t know how little you think of my feelings, but my feelings for you are stronger than you think.”

Her tears stopped, thanks to fear taking their place.

This area wasn’t covered by CCTV.

And she was alone here with Jihoo.

Do Hyun’s meeting wouldn’t end anytime soon.

Jihoo’s eyes began to frighten her.

“You could’ve just said something. How was I supposed to know how deep your feelings were? You have to speak up.”

Now he was blaming her—for not acknowledging his feelings.

Why now?

“Speak up?”

His gaze sharpened.

Lee Yeon slowly scooted back until she was pressed against the edge of the sofa.

But Jihoo moved closer, following her.

“You think I never said anything? I waited three years in college before telling you!”

Jihoo’s face came close—too close.

When she turned her head away, he grabbed the back of her head to stop her.

“Hey, what are you doing? Snap out of it.”

“You drive me crazy—never giving me a chance.”