Chapter 19: The Weight of a Broken Promise

“…What?”

They say a person’s sense of reality falters when they’re too surprised, and that was precisely my state. Or perhaps I was dreaming. A terrible nightmare.

“Yoo Seo-jin.”

Han Jung-woo called out to me, unresponsive as I was. His words echoed in my mind, which had slowly begun to churn once more.

‘Let’s meet,’ ‘Let’s meet,’ ‘Let’s meet.’ Of all people, Han Jung-woo had just asked Yoo Seo-jin to meet him.

Was he insane?

‘What in the world is this bastard thinking?’

It was unbelievable enough that the words “let’s meet” had come from Han Jung-woo’s mouth, of all people, but their meaning was also highly suspect.

Would it be a casual encounter, or a more intimate one involving physical relations? With Han Jung-woo, I naturally assumed the latter.

Perhaps he simply needed someone to keep by his side and use for a week. Han Jung-woo was certainly the type to treat Yoo Seo-jin in such a manner without a second thought.

“Why me?”

Regardless of what kind of meeting he had in mind, my answer was firm. Yet, Han Jung-woo seemed quite surprised, which I could understand. The Yoo Seo-jin he knew would have given a completely opposite response.

“Isn’t this a good opportunity for you, Yoo Seo-jin?”

What kind of opportunity? The chance to have s*x with him and get pregnant? For the Yoo Seo-jin who had always coveted his side, it would indeed have been an offer to go wild over.

But I wasn’t her.

“I don’t think so.”

“Hmm, that can’t be right.”

His narrowed eyes were full of suspicion. His hesitation seemed to offer me a chance to reconsider, but having no intention of doing so, I cut off the conversation entirely.

I needed to get as far away as possible from this lunatic spouting nonsense.

“If you’ve said all you needed to say, I’ll be going now.”

I bowed slightly and went to retrieve my suitcase, which had been pushed far away. However, I hadn’t taken more than a few steps before my path was blocked again.

It was Han Jung-woo again, of course.

“What in the world are—”

“Didn’t you promise, Yoo Seo-jin, that you would never appear before me again?”

Han Jung-woo smiled faintly, reminding me of a past conversation. I vaguely recalled making such a statement on the day I’d declared I’d live well, spending money lavishly.

“And didn’t you also say that if such a thing happened, you’d grant me anything I desired?”

“When did I—”

“What if you were to appear before me again, Yoo Seo-jin? What would you do then?”

“I would do whatever you wished, Han Jung-woo.”

“Anything?”

“Anything. Because I wouldn’t appear before you anyway.”

As the memory finally surfaced, I faltered, and Han Jung-woo seized the opportunity, his lips curving into a smirk.

“This is just a coincidence.”

Though I had made that promise so boldly, this situation was an exception. I hadn’t appeared before Han Jung-woo of my own volition.

Strictly speaking, he was the one who had appeared before me.

“I don’t think so.”

“This time, Han Jung-woo, you were the one to—”

“Not this time.”

Han Jung-woo’s gaze was chilling as he cut off my excuse. Swallowing the words I’d intended to say, I painstakingly retraced my memories.

Yet, no matter how hard I tried to recall, I hadn’t met anyone associated with Yoo Seo-jin during my time abroad.

I had left precisely to sever all ties to Yoo Seo-jin; there was no way I would have been so foolish as to seek out Han Jung-woo, the person I most wished to avoid.

“I have no recollection whatsoever. So please, move aside. I’m going to miss my flight.”

The prolonged struggle made my flight time increasingly tight. I pushed against Han Jung-woo with all my might, but perhaps due to the disparity in our strength, he remained unmoving, like a wall firmly embedded in the ground.

“You have no recollection at all?”

“No. Think about it logically. I’m not an idiot; why would I seek you out first, Han Jung-woo—”

“When I nearly died.”

Perhaps I was too slow, or he simply grew impatient, but Han Jung-woo blurted out the answer. Only then did I recall the last day I had seen him before leaving my home country.

If this encounter was a coincidence, then that one had been too. At least, until I had deliberately opened the tightly closed door to Han Jung-woo’s hospital room and walked inside.

‘I should have just left then.’

I had a feeling I’d regret it terribly, and now here I was. I should have simply walked past, but I couldn’t resist. What was that fleeting curiosity worth?

“Th-that time, I just wanted to see if you were okay for a moment—”

“Hmm, for a moment.”

As I, flustered, blurted out the truth, one corner of Han Jung-woo’s mouth tilted upwards. Only then did I realize: this bastard had merely thrown out a guess, not even certain himself.

‘I’ve been had.’

I wanted to deny it, but the words were already out. As I frantically racked my brain for a way out of this situation, Han Jung-woo smiled sweetly.

“You broke your promise.”

****

Despite my hurried packing, I returned to my accommodation, my efforts entirely in vain.

As expected, the room was a mess. I haphazardly shoved the useless, heavy suitcase aside and stumbled into the bedroom.

Without even bothering to switch on the lights, I collapsed onto the bed. I buried my face in the soft duvet, only to turn my head when I began to suffocate.

At some point, day had arrived, and bright sunlight streamed undulated through the window.

‘What a chaotic mess.’

If I hadn’t encountered Han Jung-woo on my way out, I would have checked out by now and been on my way to a new country.

But thanks to that damnable timing, I’d met Han Jung-woo the moment I opened the door, and now I was stuck.

“You broke your promise.”

This current encounter was a coincidence, but the incident at the hospital had been my own mistake. I truly should have turned away instead of opening that door.

Ultimately, my past misstep had now shackled me in the present.

I had been incredibly tense, unsure how my promise to do “whatever he wished” would come back to haunt me. Surprisingly, however, Han Jung-woo’s request was light and simple.

“Let’s meet just three times.”

“Three times?”

“Yes, exactly three times.”

And so, we agreed to meet a total of three times while Han Jung-woo remained here. Contrary to my fears, these would be perfectly wholesome encounters: simply sitting together for meals or conversation.

‘Is that even possible?’

Han Jung-woo despised Yoo Seo-jin. I simply could not fathom his intention to meet not once, but three times, with someone whose very presence in the same space, sharing the same air, he found detestable.

‘Could he be planning to completely dispose of me with this opportunity?’

The meetings were clearly a pretense, a cover for some other agenda. Only he would know what it was; it wasn’t as if I could crack open his solid skull to find out.

‘How am I supposed to know Han Jung-woo’s whims?’

My suspicions mounted endlessly, yet for now, I had no choice but to play along with Han Jung-woo’s machinations. I shouldn’t have entered that hospital room that day. I knew I’d regret it.

“I will not initiate any physical contact with you, Yoo Seo-jin. Of course, if you wish to touch me, I won’t stop you.”

To my apprehension, Han Jung-woo firmly assured me there was nothing to worry about. While I felt a slight sense of relief, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

‘Who would want to touch him?’

If it were Yoo Seo-jin, she would have seized this chance to entice Han Jung-woo by any means necessary, but I was not her. I didn’t want even a fingertip to brush against Han Jung-woo. Though our faces were the same, Han Jung-woo was not Seon Woo-jung.

‘Right, once Han Jung-woo leaves, I’ll leave this place too.’

Between the week for the conference and the week Han Jung-woo was staying for personal reasons, it was only two weeks at most.

I had lingered at the beachfront resort as long as I wished, so now it was time to explore other places.

Instead of settling in one place for an extended period, as I had done this time, traveling from one location to another seemed like a good idea.

Then, if I found a place I truly liked, I could settle down there just as I had here.

‘After all, I have nowhere to go back to.’

Yoo Seo-jin’s home was not where I belonged. Although her mother and Yoo Hae-jung had treated me exceptionally well, their affection wasn’t truly directed at *me*.

Every time I realized this, I felt even more wretched.

‘Are all parents like that, I wonder?’

The parents I knew were nothing more than parasites who viewed their children as a means to earn money. Without CEO Jung’s help, I would likely have been trapped and exploited by them until my dying day.

‘Well, I barely remember their faces now.’

Our last encounter had been five years ago, in court. Of course, if I closed my eyes and concentrated, I might recall them, but I had no desire to.

It would be foolish to dredge up old nightmares.

I turned over, lying on my back, and gazed at the ceiling. As I slowly cleared my cluttered mind, a languid sleepiness enveloped me. So much had happened since yesterday that I felt I could indulge in a day of slothful slumber.

Having quickly rationalized it, I slowly closed my eyes.