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“I was curious what kind of person you are.”
It didn’t sound like an empty compliment. She really studied me, head to toe, like she was checking off a list.
Then she suddenly turned to Doyoon.
“By the way… does Hyung-nim know about our relationship?”
My stomach dropped to the floor.
Doyoon visibly flinched. His face screamed discomfort.
“…He knows the gist.”
“Ah.”
“You should go. You said you had plans.”
He was clearly trying to end this fast. He obviously didn’t want her and me in the same room.
She just smiled brightly at him.
“Anyway, nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, I’ll text you.”
She grabbed her bag, gave me a little nod, and left.
I stood there like an idiot.
My iced Americano arrived. I chugged it like cold water, hands trembling slightly.
“…What did she mean by ‘our relationship’?”
Doyoon put on an overly bright smile.
“Just that we went to the same university in the States.”
“Oh…”
I nodded, but the world went dark.
He was dodging.
If I pushed, he’d tell me everything—he always does. But I was terrified of the answer.
I chewed the straw to death.
If it’s really over, no need to dig it up. But… they’re still in touch? He said he’d text her? That’s a little too Hollywood, isn’t it?
Yet what came out of my mouth was:
“She’s cute.”
“Is she? She’s tiny.”
He shrugged.
The fact that he didn’t deny it made my stomach twist harder.
After that I barely heard a word he said—him being happy to bump into me, driving me home, eating, showering, sitting side by side on the sofa, even now when he was clearly trying to start something.
Finally, after I stayed limp through several kisses, he looked worried.
“Hyung, are you sick? We can stop.”
I shook my head on autopilot.
“I’m fine.”
“You’ve been weird since earlier… Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No.”
My voice came out colder than intended.
He looked shocked.
I panicked.
“It’s just… that girl from earlier—”
And of course it all spilled out.
I glanced at him, terrified.
He blinked, confused.
“Who?”
I suddenly felt wronged.
If he’d already forgotten her, it really was nothing—yet here I was spiraling alone like an idiot.
I took a breath.
“The friend from the café. That ‘relationship’ she mentioned…”
My throat bobbed.
“Is university really all there is? …Be honest.”
His eyes widened.
Then they shook—just a little.
Panic and guilt flashed across his face.
My heart hammered louder.
I’d expected a casual “Of course that’s all, why are you even asking?”
Instead he couldn’t meet my eyes, gaze darting everywhere.
Finally, head lowered like a sinner, he whispered,
“Hyung… actually…”
My pulse was deafening.
Whatever excuse he gave now, I wouldn’t feel better.
Should’ve just let it go.
Then he said,
“She’s Hong Yeji.”
“…Huh?”
Silence.
The air turned awkward in a split second.
He was acting like I obviously knew the name and he was morally guilty for not mentioning it sooner.
But… who?
My eyes went round.
I’d heard it before, but couldn’t place it.
He anxiously added,
“The friend who told me about your real father when I was in the States. The one whose dad died because of Roh Jaesik…”
“Oh.”
Then it hit me like a truck.
“EH?!”
I almost jumped off the sofa.
“That girl just now was Hong Yeji?”
“Yes.”
My jaw hung open.
This plot twist was unreal.
After I woke up from being kidnapped by Roh Jaesik, Doyoon confessed everything in the hospital—his feelings, my birth secret, how he found out.
And the key person in that story—the one who didn’t even exist in the original novel—was Hong Yeji.
I had no idea they were still in contact.
Doyoon watched my face carefully.
“I thought you wouldn’t want to meet her, so I tried to keep it quiet…”
“Huh…?”
Everything flipped.
If that was Hong Yeji, then “our relationship” meant something completely different:
Her father was killed because of my biological father. Her mother was paid off. She told Doyoon the truth hoping our family would crumble.
I remembered how curiously she’d looked at me.
A gong went off in my head.
I’d been jealous… of that?
Doyoon dropped to the floor and actually knelt.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But she’s practically my savior. Because of her I found the courage to come back to Korea… to you.”
“Right…”
“I’m really sorry. You must hate this…”
No—that’s not it.
My face burned with shame.
This sweet idiot was worried about a totally different thing.
He thought I’d be upset that he’s still friends with the person who exposed my birth secret.
But that doesn’t matter anymore.
If anything, she’s my benefactor too—she’s part of why we’re together, why Mom eventually apologized.
I waved my hands.
“No, no—it’s not that. I thought you two…”
I couldn’t even finish the sentence; embarrassment flooded me.
He’d deliberately not introduced us because he was protecting me, and I’d been having pathetic, jealous thoughts.
He was still on his knees, looking up like a worried puppy.
If I didn’t answer properly he’d stay there all night.
So, eyes on the floor, voice tiny:
“I wondered… if you two used to date or something…”
Silence.
I wanted to evaporate.
Then he blinked, stunned.
“…You were jealous?”
I stammered.
“I-I’m sorry. It was a stupid imagination. You just looked good together from outside… I wasn’t actually doubting you…”
“So that’s why you couldn’t focus on me all night?”
Direct hit.
My face went nuclear.
Awkward silence blanketed the room.
After a long moment, Doyoon finally spoke, soft.
“Hyung… this is bad timing, but honestly…”
“I’m really sorry—”
“I’m so happy.”
“…Huh?”
“I thought I was the only one who ever got jealous.”
I looked up.
His face had melted—pure, giddy joy.
He smiled, a little bitter.
“A while ago you said ‘let’s pretend to date other people’ so casually… I thought you didn’t care at all about that stuff.”
“That’s not—”
“I thought because I’m younger I was the only immature one getting possessive. I know it’d be bad if people found out, but… you acted like it was nothing, and I felt a bit hurt.”
I couldn’t speak.
I thought he’d laughed it off back then.
He looked down, voice small.
“You always treat my jealousy like a joke…”
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