Chapter 27: Lemon at 1:30 AM

“I thought you’d slept all day.”

After casting a glance toward the soundly sleeping Seohee, Leehyun walked toward the dressing room, and then the bathroom.

Ugh, ung, umm.

“Seohee?”

Approaching the sound that resembled a moan, he saw Seohee curled up tight, her brows furrowed.

Seohee. Even when Leehyun shook her gently, Seohee couldn’t wake up.

If you’re having this much trouble even when you’re sleeping, what do you expect me to do, Jin Seohee?

Has she been groaning and tossing like this the whole time? Leehyun’s face twisted in sympathy. He gently rubbed Seohee’s wrinkled brow and whispered in her ear in a low voice.

“Wake up for a moment, Seohee.”

“……Lee-hyun.”

Hearing her sleep-drunken, hazy voice, Leehyun let out a breath of relief. As he met her gaze, murky brown eyes looked up at him.

Leehyun let out a short sigh and pressed his hand to Seohee’s forehead.

“Why is your forehead so cold?”

Leehyun’s voice chilled instantly as he felt the cold sweat clinging to her forehead.

“Are you sick?”

Just as he was about to call the doctor, Seohee grabbed Leehyun’s forearm.

“I’m not sure.”

She definitely wasn’t in pain. Her stomach didn’t hurt, she didn’t have a fever, but her body felt heavy and devoid of strength.

Listening to her mumbling, Leehyun stroked Seohee’s cheek.

“You said you didn’t eat anything all day.”

When Leehyun spoke while glancing at the clock that showed nearly midnight, Seohee gave a faint smile and burrowed into Leehyun’s arms.

“Did you have dinner?”

Come to think of it, did this man eat? A thought like that suddenly occurred to Seohee.

“Is my dinner important right now?”

“I, just…….”

Watching his hardened expression, his arched eyebrows, and his eyes that had changed into a deep shade of black, emotions surged within her. An inexplicable sense of resentment washed over her like a wave, and she bit her lip hard.

“Ha, that’s not what I meant.”

Realizing the situation belatedly, Leehyun muttered while running his hand through his hair, but her once agitated heart couldn’t be easily calmed.

“…….”

“I know, you said that because you were worried about me. I know, Seohee.”

Leehyun’s voice grew lower and lower. As he paused his words as if holding back a sigh, he pulled her gently, and Seohee buried her face in him, pretending to be unable to resist.

“I’m sorry.”

At the words poured over her head, her heart melted in an instant. It was quite a strange thing. Finding it absurd even to herself, she hid her face completely in his chest, and Leehyun patted her back silently.

“I think I had a dream.”

There were clearly many scenes that passed by, but strangely, the moment she opened her eyes, they disappeared like a blank sheet of paper.

Leehyun nodded in silence as he listened to Seohee. Encouraged to continue, Seohee mumbled.

“But every time I open my eyes, nothing comes to mind.”

“It’s okay.”

“How much do you know about me?”

“Seohee.”

That doesn’t matter at all. Leehyun shook his head as if to block her words, but Seohee didn’t stop.

“What will you do if I never… if I never regain my memories?”

What does ‘what will I do’ mean? I will keep you by my side forever, just like this. Leehyun bit back the words he couldn’t bring himself to say, even though he would have kept her by his side even if she did find her memories.

“What will you do if I have committed things I shouldn’t have, things you don’t know about, or if I have secrets I couldn’t tell you? Even then, are you okay with it?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Leehyun answered as if he had been waiting. Like someone whose answer had already been set.

“Why doesn’t it matter? Think carefully, Leehyun.”

The more she spoke, the more it wasn’t a simple matter. Gayun Group, the successor, Yoon Leehyun’s status. What if everything collapsed because of me alone? Seohee was suddenly struck by fear.

“There’s nothing to think about.”

Leehyun’s lips tightened firmly.

“……Why? You don’t know what kind of things I’ve been up to.”

If he had known, he would have told her. Starting with why she went to the art gallery.

At her direct words, Leehyun’s face fractured.

“Such things are not important.”

“Why aren’t they important?”

“Because there is no chance I will ever break up with you.”

Leehyun drove the point home firmly. A deep sigh escaped her involuntarily. Was this relief?

It was what she wanted to hear, it seemed like the words she had been waiting for. Yet, hearing them so directly stirred up doubts.

“How can you be so certain?”

“Because I have already experienced the worst.”

Nothing else matters.

‘Except for the fact that Jin Seohee is by my side.’

Leehyun’s black pupils shimmered. They were like lights cast upon a dark night sea, so Seohee hugged him tightly.

Watching the soundly sleeping Seohee, Leehyun slowly rose to his feet.

As he headed out to the annex, Seungho approached as if he had been waiting.

“What about the stocks?”

“I have handled it as you requested. The staff are currently working on the rest at Hotel H separately.”

Since the YH Investment Group was a foreign-owned firm and did not limit its investments solely to the domestic market, stocks and meetings were essentially running 24 hours a day.

“Was there anything lacking?”

“No, sir.”

“Then what part do I need to confirm?”

“JBS President Kwon Chang-han has reportedly received advertisements for Director Song Yoosun’s gallery.”

“Art gallery advertisement?”

“It seems to be a nominal pretext.”

He meant it was actually to provide financial support.

“What is the objective?”

“For now, I’ve sold off all JBS stock as you instructed. The stock price fell by about 9 percent, and it was confirmed that institutional investors also engaged in a total sell-off as soon as the stock was dumped. Other corporate entities joined the sell-off, but…….”

“And so?”

“Movements of Song Yoosun’s side buying up JBS stock have been detected.”

“……So Director Song knew everything and acted?”

“I don’t think so. They didn’t proceed with total purchases.”

“Wasn’t she planning to seize control of JBS using this event?” As Seungho explained, Leehyun lifted his head obliquely.

“So, have we only done Director Song a favor?”

“Isn’t that coincidentally the situation?” As Leehyun murmured, Seungho hesitated.

“Not necessarily. It seems the funds Song Yoosun has secured are not that abundant.”

Seungho shook his head and set the tablet down in front of Leehyun.

“This is the media expansion plan reviewed by Gayun.”

“What is the result?”

“I believe it will be an attractive investment destination. Some might wonder why Gayun had to split JBS off if they were going to do this, but ultimately, the company Gayun will invest in will be SENT, not JBS.”

Thanks to JBS attempting a joint venture with SENT just in time, it had become even more advantageous for Leehyun to expand his business into media.

“Before we sold off the JBS stock, entertainment stocks, including SENT, fluctuated and fell, but they are still showing strength.”

It was an unplanned business expansion, but there was no better compromise to demonstrate the capabilities of Leehyun, who had just been appointed as President.

“Leave JBS alone, and let’s set our direction toward SENT.”

He meant for them to enter the review stage before taking actual contractual steps.

“I will secretly investigate SENT through YH-affiliated personnel to see if there are any irregularities. After double-checking the relationship with JBS, I will make sure the actual investment is conducted by forming a team from Gayun.”

Leehyun nodded silently. The gaze looking down at the tablet was cold.

***

Seohee, who had been breathing steadily, tossed and turned.

“Leehyun.”

Her voice, half-drunken with sleep, was hazy. Even when she mumbled, there was no hand to return the touch. Nor was there a voice to call her back.

“Leehyun?”

He was gone.

The hand that had lulled her to sleep was barely forgotten, yet he was nowhere to be seen. As she sprang up, her vision spun.

Was the touch that had pressed against her forehead a dream? Was the firm voice saying it didn’t matter a dream? Was the warmth that had held her tight a dream?

Amidst the confusion, a sense of resentment washed over her.

‘I shouldn’t be like this.’

‘I should feel sorry for him, being so busy that he had to put her to sleep and then leave.’

But her heart wouldn’t move the way she wanted it to.

“Lemonade.”

As she sat there for a long time, the word suddenly popped out.

Refreshing and sweet. Just the imagination made her mouth water. I want to drink it. An intense impulse struck her like someone dying of thirst.

As she stepped out of the bedroom, a heavy silence settled in. The living room clock pointed to 1:30 AM.

“It looks even wider.”

The layout was clearly the same as when she entered, yet it felt much wider. A desolate feeling of being left alone on an empty, barren plain washed over her, but the desire to drink the beverage suppressed her emotions lightly.

“Hmm.”

Is it here? Not seeing the refrigerator, she felt around the area that looked like a wall. As she groped and pulled the handle, the refrigerator, neatly organized with bright lights, was revealed.

Milk, fruit and vegetable juices, and even light beverages. There was even a variety of fruits.

“Lemon.”

Everything else caught her eye, but the lemon she was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

One shelf, two shelves, she even rummaged through the bottom shelves, but she couldn’t find anything yellow. As she hesitated, wondering if she should give up and turn back, a yellow object shimmered below the vegetable compartment.

“Found it!”

It was the happiest thing that had happened recently. A smile spread across her lips.

“Now what do I do with this?”

She couldn’t squeeze the juice out with her hands, so she would need to use a machine or a tool.

The kitchen exploration began again.

Like a young child finding treasure, Seohee opened every single compartment her hands could reach with sparkling eyes.

“Is it not here?”

Her gaze, which had been rummaging through the far bottom, shifted upward.

“That looks a bit high.”

Opening the door, she found the distance was awkward for retrieving items.

Should I stand on tiptoe? Should I bring a chair? Just as she was thinking that, she felt a familiar scent.

“Shall I get it out for you, Seohee?”

The owner of the calm yet reassuring voice, like the quiet of the night, was Leehyun.