Chapter 56: Truths That Could No Longer Be Hidden

That day had been much like today.

She had been drinking with Choi Young.

Back then, Choi Young had been a little drunk—more than usual—and when Ji-woo kept pressing him with questions, he’d given an answer unlike anything he’d ever said before.

“I have a younger sibling.”

“It’s been… quite a while since I last saw them.”

“They probably wouldn’t even recognize my face anymore.”

“Though… I guess they could just look in a mirror.”

“A sibling? Really?”

“Someone could grow up under a person like you?”

“Haha. Maybe I was such an awful older brother that they ran away.”

“What?”

“Why are you describing living separately so dramatically?”

So they didn’t live together?

Even so…

The way he spoke about someone far away, with such longing, had made Ji-woo almost jealous.

She had envied that unseen sibling just a little, someone who was clearly loved despite being absent for so long.

Those had been the thoughts she kept to herself back when she still had feelings for him.

“Maybe it’s because today is their birthday…”

“I’m saying all kinds of things.”

“I wonder if they had seaweed soup.”

Whenever anyone asked about his family, he would simply reply,

“My parents are both alive. Why are you so curious?”

But that day had been different.

He had spoken with bitter self-mockery.

He had a sibling…

Yet he wondered whether they would even remember him.

Even then, Ji-woo had thought those words were strange.

“…Are you in touch with your sibling now?”

“…”

Unfortunately, she still remembered those unsettling words.

Very carefully, Ji-woo reached toward something Choi Young had always kept hidden.

“You used to live apart from your sibling.”

“You remember that?”

What kind of person were they?

If she remembered correctly, he’d said it was a younger brother.

Did he resemble Choi Young?

If so, he had to be just as handsome.

One of those sharp, cat-like faces people often talked about these days.

She stared into Choi Young’s dark eyes.

How old was he now?

Yet stubbornness still lingered in the lines of his face.

Whenever her thoughts wandered like this, they always ended the same way—with envy.

She barely knew anything about his sibling.

Still, whenever Choi Young spoke about them, his entire expression softened.

Ji-woo had always envied that.

“We’re in touch now.”

“It’s been… a long time since we started seeing each other again.”

“What does your sibling do?”

“Can I finally ask that now?”

As the question left her lips, another face suddenly appeared in her mind.

“You talked about them so affectionately back then.”

“I’ve been curious ever since.”

“You never told me anything.”

“You wouldn’t even show me a picture…”

Who are you?

Why are you suddenly appearing now?

Why now, of all times?

Ji-woo forced an awkward smile and scratched her cheek.

She scratched at skin that didn’t even itch until red marks appeared, desperate to chase away the thought.

“They’re resting these days.”

“They were sick.”

Among all the people Ji-woo knew, there was only one person with a face remotely like Choi Young’s.

Someone she had never forgotten.

Someone she never would.

“…I see.”

“That must’ve been really difficult.”

“Yeah.”

“These days… they’re just living quietly.”

Why?

Why was that person’s face the one that kept appearing?

Simply because…

He looked like Choi Young.

The person Ji-woo remembered all too well looked like this too.

Choi Young was much taller and broader.

Yet the more she compared them, the more another face overlapped with his.

“My sibling looks like me.”

“We resemble each other a lot.”

“If they look like you…”

“They must be popular.”

“They probably have a partner too?”

“…”

“Your sibling’s name…”

“What was it again…?”

That person had jet-black hair too.

His pale skin made every loose strand look like black brushstrokes across white paper whenever he turned his head.

Like Choi Young, the corners of his eyes tilted upward.

Just as Choi Young had said, he had inherited every one of his brother’s features.

“It was Hae-su…”

“Wasn’t it?”

And suddenly she realized—

So this was Kwon Se-ha’s type.

“You’ve got an incredible memory, Ji-woo.”

“…”

“If I’d known you’d remember, I never would’ve brought it up.”

“I didn’t think you’d still remember something meaningless I said over ten years ago.”

Why hadn’t she realized it sooner?

She had seen that face countless times.

It belonged to the man she’d loved for years in her youth.

Yet she hadn’t recognized the resemblance immediately.

Her whole body stiffened.

“I liked you, remember?”

“…”

“When you like someone…”

“You listen carefully to everything they say.”

“Isn’t that how it works?”

Ji-woo felt as though she finally understood what Choi Young meant.

And she wished she didn’t.

At some point, Choi Young could no longer even meet her eyes.

Ji-woo felt as though she could grab him and beg.

Don’t say it.

Please don’t.

Don’t make me know.

Things are fine like this.

She didn’t want to accept that not even coincidence was ever on her side.

Just days ago, if she had known the man she’d bumped into was Choi Hae-su, she never would’ve picked up his phone for him.

That was exactly why she’d brought up old memories tonight.

After handing him a wedding invitation and celebrating her engagement, she herself had foolishly opened the door to a past better left untouched.

“…Yeah.”

“This is embarrassing.”

“Still…”

“Thank you for liking me back then.”

Whatever the purpose of tonight’s meeting had been no longer mattered.

Choi Young simply sat there in silence while Ji-woo stared blankly at him.

Neither of them smiled with their eyes anymore.

Now she understood why he couldn’t attend her wedding.

She desperately searched for another topic.

I should forget.

I should never have remembered.

I shouldn’t even have acted like I knew.

If only she’d realized earlier that the face filling her thoughts belonged to someone else entirely.

Silence lingered over the table for a long time.

The waiter even glanced at them strangely after seeing such a lively conversation suddenly vanish.

Ji-woo silently pieced everything together.

Me…

Kwon Se-ha…

And the man I once loved…

“Ji-woo.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I have to go.”

Choi Young abruptly stood and put on his coat.

After checking something on his phone, the gentle expression he’d worn all evening disappeared.

His raised brows looked almost angry.

Yet his eyes were unbearably sad.

The delicate calm in them had been replaced entirely by worry.

“…Sunbae?”

“I’m sorry.”

“This was supposed to be a celebration for your wedding.”

“I’ve been terribly rude.”

“I’ll contact you later.”

It was as though he could no longer hear anything around him.

Something on that phone had consumed his full attention.

Ji-woo no longer existed.

“Wait.”

“Please.”

“…”

“Are we never going to see each other again?”

She grabbed his arm.

If she didn’t ask now, she felt she’d never get another chance.

“…Please answer me.”

“Answer me before you go.”

Was the sibling he’d always spoken about…

Really the person Ji-woo had just realized it was?

“Ji-woo.”

“…”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“The reason I can’t come to your wedding…”

“Is because I’m the petty one.”

Those words gripped her throat harder than any direct answer could have.

Even then…

She still wanted him to deny it.

She felt stupid for not realizing sooner.

She’d thought today had finally become a happy day again.

Yet the moment Choi Hae-su entered her thoughts, everything collapsed.

Just like yesterday.

Every coincidence involving Choi Hae-su was becoming harder and harder to breathe through.

As Choi Young hurried toward the exit, he suddenly stopped.

He turned back to look at Ji-woo.

Forcing the corners of his mouth upward, he gave her one last strained smile.

His eyes, strangely dry, never moved.

“See you next time, Ji-woo.”

“Congratulations on your marriage.”

“…”

“Be happy.”

Would they ever meet again?

Maybe not.

Perhaps…

This was simply how things were meant to end.

She told herself the tightening around her throat was only her imagination.

She kept stuffing sweet cookies into her mouth without stopping.

The suffocating feeling was just something her mind had invented.

She had simply learned something too unbelievable.

That was why every thought kept turning dark.

She could get through this.

If she could just see Kwon Se-ha right now…

If she could simply breathe beside him…

Even the pounding in her ears would disappear.

“The person you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone…”

But Se-ha didn’t answer.

She drifted into thought for a moment before remembering it was only seven in the evening.

If he’d gone straight after work, he’d probably be at his grandfather’s house by now—

Getting scolded while being fed dinner at the same time.

Quick.

Think about something else.

Before her own mind dragged her into misery.

She wanted to ignore the trembling in her hands.

Imagining Se-ha pouting as he usually did, she switched the call to another number.

Maybe she could at least greet Chairman Kwon.

Would calling now be rude?

The thought barely lasted a second.

She had already been disappointed she couldn’t accompany Se-ha to see his grandfather today.

She would greet him warmly.

Then sweetly ask him to send their Se-ha to the phone.

At that moment, Ji-woo had to admit the truth.

The only thing capable of calming her anxiety…

Was having Kwon Se-ha beside her.

The call connected before the fifth ring.

She cleared her throat and forced brightness into her voice.

“Chairman!”

“Well, if it isn’t our Ji-woo.”

“Chairman, I’ve missed you so much.”

“You say that, but you never come visit.”

His warm welcome immediately brightened her face.

See?

He really did want to see her.

She should’ve insisted on going with Se-ha today.

Before she knew it, she was smiling broadly.

The thought that Se-ha’s family welcomed her so warmly filled her heart.

“If I come over…”

“You’ll make lots of delicious food for me too, right?”

“Of course.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?”

Chairman Kwon laughed heartily.

Thinking about it, he’d never once failed to welcome her.

Whether she’d met him by chance while with Se-ha…

Or formally introduced herself…

Even when she’d announced their wedding plans.

He’d been surprised.

But in the end, he’d simply told them to do what made them happy.

There had been no dramatic slap.

No suitcase full of money.

Nothing like those television dramas.

“I may sound like I’m complaining…”

“But I’ve always felt sorry toward you.”

“Rather than having you visit an old man like me…”

“I’d rather take you somewhere nice for a meal.”

“So don’t ever let my words hurt you.”

“Hurt?”

“Not at all.”

“I really wanted to see you today too.”

“But Se-ha wouldn’t let me come.”

“Isn’t he awful?”

“I wonder what Madam cooked for him today.”

Ji-woo never doubted that Chairman Kwon genuinely liked her.

He always spoke gently.

He always seemed sorry he couldn’t do more for her.

And every time they met, he apologized while asking her to take good care of Se-ha.

Yes, Se-ha had a difficult personality.

But Ji-woo wasn’t so extraordinary that Chairman Kwon needed to apologize over and over.

Something felt strange.

Sorry?

For what?

“What are you talking about?”

“…Huh?”

Simply being welcomed by Chairman Kwon had always been enough to make Ji-woo happy.

“That boy Se-ha called earlier.”

“He said he wouldn’t be coming today.”

Before she could enjoy that happiness, the warmth inside her cooled again.

Once more…

Her imagination lined up endless fears to torment both herself and Se-ha.

Were all of Chairman Kwon’s constant apologies because of this?

Lately, Ji-woo had been forced to experience things she never should have.

“Did he fail to tell you in time?”

Don’t do this.

Don’t hurt Se-ha with suspicion and obsession.

We loved each other this morning.

She knew that much was true.

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