Chapter 93: A Second Chance, A Familiar Face

Though living here hadn’t been my choice, it was only after hearing your words that I could finally feel gratitude for this second life granted to me. Had I not become Yoo Seo-jin, had I not come to this place, I never would have met you, who followed me here.

Calming my trembling heart, I closed my eyes. With you by my side now, I wouldn’t stumble into the dressing room in my sleep, nor would I awaken buried in your clothes.

‘We’ll be together, always.’

For the first time in a long while, I felt as though I could finally sink into a deep sleep, free from any nightmares.

Both for me, and for you.

****

He had slept deeply for the first time in a long while.

For months, away from home and confined to a hotel, he had found it agonizing to close his eyes without the haze of alcohol. But now, with Seo-jin beside him, he had finally found a profound slumber.

No, not Seo-jin. He could call him Joon-hee now.

Fearing he might wake Joon-hee, he held his breath and gently touched a pale cheek. It was soft and warm.

‘It’s really… my brother.’

After confirming multiple times that this was no vanishing mirage, his once-calm emotions began to surge. He embraced the sleeping Joon-hee, letting out a deep sigh.

Though he hadn’t told Joon-hee, in the months since becoming Han Jung-woo, during which he had been utterly lost, he had made countless attempts.

Even if he had suddenly become another person, nothing had truly changed. There was no one he loved in this place either.

However, unlike when he was Seon Woo-jung, the will of those trying to revive Han Jung-woo was overwhelming. He had no choice but to live.

While trapped in the hospital, letting meaningless time slip by, Han Jung-woo’s secretary informed him of Yoo Seo-jin.

He didn’t remember it himself, but it seemed to have been a task originally ordered by Han Jung-woo.

“Yoo Seo-jin left?”

“Shortly after the director’s accident, we received a report that she left Korea.”

“That can’t be—”

The Yoo Seo-jin he remembered was not one to easily back down. She had needed Han Jung-woo for her ambitions.

Yet, she had suddenly abandoned all her lingering attachments and departed somewhere, without even informing those around her.

This abrupt change in Yoo Seo-jin’s behavior sparked a rational suspicion in him. Perhaps Yoo Seo-jin was also similar to him.

After convincing Han Jung-woo’s father to allow his discharge, he had to spend some time proving his sanity.

The period of patience was truly tedious and long, but a glimmer of hope allowed him to endure.

However, if even that hope were to shatter, then he truly intended to let go of all lingering attachments. For life would hold no meaning then.

As more time passed, on the day he set out to meet Yoo Seo-jin, feigning a chance encounter, he was suddenly overcome with fear, replaying their final moments.

‘You make me want to die. Please don’t come. Because then, I’ll die right in front of you.’

If Yoo Seo-jin truly was Yoo Joon-hee, would it be alright to appear before him as Seon Woo-jung?

What if he revealed himself thoughtlessly and squandered this miraculous opportunity? What if the cowardly Yoo Joon-hee left him again?

He was certain. He would end even this second life, right there, without any regrets.

“Director, over there—”

As they drove to meet Yoo Seo-jin, the driver spotted someone on the roadside. Raising his eyes, which had been trembling with anxiety, he saw someone waving by the road.

Ah, she was really there. Yoo Seo-jin.

“Stop here.”

Inside the car, as it slowly decelerated, he deliberated, agonizing over his decision until the very last moment.

What had he been thinking when he finally stepped out of the car, having made no decision at all?

Though he still couldn’t be certain who stood before him, the mere sight of that longed-for face made him want to weep aloud.

He wanted to fall to his knees and pour out accusations, demanding to know why she had left him behind.

“Yoo Seo-jin, it’s been a while.”

His lips moved on their own accord, uttering a lie. His love was too fragile, too afraid, so he chose to forsake his abandoned self and begin anew as Han Jung-woo.

As he hovered around the enigmatic Yoo Seo-jin, caught in a cycle of certainty and doubt, a major crisis erupted at the company.

It took him half a day just to persuade the chairman, who was demanding his immediate presence. He was certain that if he lost Yoo Seo-jin here, he would never see her again.

She would likely hide somewhere he could never find her again.

After finally concluding his persuasion, he went to find Yoo Seo-jin, but her room was empty. There was no reply to his message asking what she was doing, so he inquired with those he had placed to watch her. They told him she had gone out for a drink.

While someone’s heart was burning with anxiety each day, she was calmly drinking? He let out an exasperated sigh and headed towards Yoo Seo-jin, who was reportedly in the village.

‘Did the original Yoo Seo-jin really enjoy alcohol that much?’

He accurately remembered Yoo Seo-jin’s personality, but he had no way of knowing her minor preferences. After all, Han Jung-woo had never shown any interest in Yoo Seo-jin to begin with.

However, recalling that the author had referenced Yoo Joon-hee when creating Yoo Seo-jin, it wasn’t strange for her to enjoy alcohol. Yoo Joon-hee was, after all, quite known as a heavy drinker in the entertainment industry.

‘I feel uneasy.’

He recalled Yoo Joon-hee, who had been constantly intoxicated after his downfall. He remembered how his heart had shattered back then, no matter how much he tried to soothe or coax him, Joon-hee would simply ignore his words and pour alcohol into an empty stomach.

Although the accident had been the final straw that led him to turn his back on the world, Yoo Joon-hee had already been dead before that. The alcohol he drank to forget reality ultimately made him abandon reality itself.

‘Stop thinking about it.’

He didn’t have much time left to stay here. If only he could gain a single confirmation, he would have his answer, but his inability to do so left many things ambiguous.

Was it Yoo Seo-jin, or Yoo Joon-hee?

[I’m drnk_]

Just as his thoughts spiraled into an endless depth, a reply arrived. It was a chaotic, clearly drunken message, and he immediately called the number.

Fortunately, Yoo Seo-jin answered the call quickly.

“Where are you right now?”

–….

“Yoo Seo-jin, I asked where you are!”

–I don’t know….

Her tongue was completely slurred, claiming she didn’t even know where she was, and a surge of anger instantly welled up within him. Taking a deep breath, he spoke, forcing himself to remain calm.

“Stay right there. Don’t go anywhere.”

–Why?

“Because I’m coming to you now.”

As soon as he hung up, he sprinted towards the bar where Yoo Seo-jin was supposedly located. He pushed open the door and stepped inside, but under the dim lighting, Yoo Seo-jin was nowhere to be seen.

He approached the person who seemed to be the owner and showed them a photo of Yoo Seo-jin. Fortunately, the owner recognized Yoo Seo-jin at once and informed him that she had just left the establishment.

He nodded in lieu of a proper greeting and left the bar without hesitation. Then, he set off, searching for the road that led to the resort.

At this hour, taxis would be scarce, so Yoo Seo-jin was likely walking towards the resort.

After walking and walking, he spotted Yoo Seo-jin in the distance, weeping miserably. He had intended to reprimand her immediately, but the sight of her flowing tears rendered him speechless.

“Jung-ah….”

It was a voice so faint that it could easily be missed without careful listening. But he, standing so close, heard it with absolute clarity.

Yoo Seo-jin had just called him Jung.

All doubt vanished in an instant, leaving only certainty. It was a relief. A relief that, like him, Joon-hee had indeed arrived here, allowing them to meet again.

“Mmm….”

Joon-hee stirred, perhaps feeling suffocated by the covers. Halting his deepening thoughts for a moment, he gently released Joon-hee and quietly slid off the bed.

Silencing his footsteps, he crept into the dressing room and pulled out the suitcase that had been pushed into a corner.

‘He certainly packed meticulously.’

Opening the tightly closed zipper, clothes and various small items tumbled out. They were all things Joon-hee had used when he lived in this house.

Joon-hee had probably intended to erase every trace of his stay here. Yoo Joon-hee was precisely the kind of person to do so.

He emptied the entire contents of the bag onto the floor. Then, he meticulously returned each item to its original place.

As he gazed with satisfaction at his and Joon-hee’s belongings, once again intermingling, he sensed a presence from the bedroom. Glancing at the wall clock, he realized a considerable amount of time had passed.

“Are you awake?”

He returned to the room and offered a cheerful morning greeting, but there was no response. Wondering if Joon-hee was still asleep, he pulled back the bulging blanket, only to find Joon-hee in an alarming state.

“Brother?”

Joon-hee, whose face was deathly pale and who was clutching his stomach, looked at him and spoke with great difficulty.

“Since a while ago… my stomach hurts.”

The moment he heard those words, as faint as a whisper, his heart plummeted.

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