Chapter 18

It felt like someone had struck the back of Ayeon’s head.

That place was in Gangneung, where Jooheon’s father and her father-in-law, Yoon Sang-gi, owned a villa.

It was also their usual summer vacation spot.

And it held special memories for her and Jooheon.

* * *

‘Sunbae!’

One summer, after class, she stepped outside and found Jooheon waiting for her. She didn’t know how long he had been standing there.

Without warning, he grabbed her hand and started pulling her along.

‘What, where are we going?’

He didn’t answer, just smiled brightly and held on to her hand even tighter.

‘I said, where are we going?’

‘Just get in first.’

His face was full of excitement as he pushed her into the car and ran to the driver’s seat.

‘Let’s go see the ocean.’

Once he sat down, he took her hand and said it with the same glowing expression.

‘The ocean?’

‘Yeah. I suddenly wanted to see it.’

‘Sunbae, really.’

The sea wasn’t exactly the next neighborhood over, and yet he suddenly wanted to go.

She’d had an inkling that Jooheon was the type who had to get his way, but that day she realized it fully.

‘What, my Ayeon doesn’t like the ocean?’

‘No. It’s not that. …Alright. The weather’s nice today. Let’s go.’

Ayeon let out a small laugh and joined him on the spontaneous trip.

He was so different from her, but learning about a world she’d never experienced before didn’t seem like a bad thing.

To her, he was someone who brought a breath of leisure into her exhausting life.

His car pulled up in front of a house by the shore.

‘Where is this?’

‘My father’s villa.’

‘Wow… It’s beautiful, Sunbae.’

It was like something out of a painting.

‘I had to beg to borrow it. My father uses this place alone. Even my mother’s never been here. He built it years ago for a sabbatical. When his research isn’t going well, he comes here to stay sometimes.’

‘I see.’

‘It’s old, but it’s well kept.’

‘It really is.’

Ayeon gazed in awe at the private retreat of the country’s leading psychologist.

‘If you say you like this place, he’ll probably let us borrow it often.’

She smiled faintly, watching Jooheon’s proud face as if the villa were already his.

‘Let’s go inside. The view from inside is even better.’

She followed his lead into the villa.

‘What… is this?’

The moment she stepped inside, she couldn’t hold back a gasp.

‘Is this a villa or a gallery?’

The spacious living room looked like a proper art gallery.

‘It’s a villa. Just for today, it’s a gallery.’

‘What does that even mea—’

‘Mmm, shall we start here?’

His face was full of anticipation as he gently guided her toward a painting.

On the canvas bloomed soft pink double cherry blossoms scattering in the wind.

She recognized it immediately as the trees that lined the road to the Korea University dorms.

His bold brushstrokes had captured the sentimental scene so beautifully that she was left speechless.

As she admired the painting, she glanced at the title and instinctively covered her mouth with her hand.

‘Do you like it?’

‘Sunbae…’

The living room gallery was filled with Jooheon’s serenade in paint, each piece capturing how he felt when he met her, woven together with campus scenery.

Finally, they stopped in front of the last painting.

In front of a painting of a large diamond ring, Jooheon knelt down and looked up at her.

‘Ayeon, for my next piece, I want to capture the memory of today. So… will you marry me?’

* * *

Gangneung wasn’t only the place where he proposed. They had returned many times after that, building countless memories there.

They hadn’t gone that summer because Jooheon had insisted on vacationing in Jeju instead.

She figured he might have been avoiding Gangneung because he was preparing some kind of surprise for her.

Then a thought crossed her mind, narrowing her brows.

He had a habit of resting for a full day after traveling.

Three days ago. Our fifth wedding anniversary. You were there.

Two days ago, you were at the Intercontinental. Maybe to recover from the trip. Or to satisfy what you didn’t satisfy there.

She could finally piece together where he had been during the two days she couldn’t reach him.

And she now knew he was neglecting the business she thought he had been working so hard on.

On top of that, he was covering his personal spending with company expenses.

If the company went under, would he just run back to his wealthy parents again.

A bitter laugh slipped from her lips at the overwhelming disappointment.

“Ma’am.”

Assistant Manager Joo’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Yes, Joo.”

“Don’t trust the CEO too much. …That’s all I can tell you.”

“!”

A moment later, Ayeon heard her footsteps growing faint behind her.

Don’t trust him.

Ayeon turned those words over and over in her mind.

Her marriage to Jooheon had been something she chose because she had no other choice.

But once they were married, she believed they had become each other’s closest person in the world.

People who trusted and relied on each other without condition.

No matter what anyone said, her only ally.

Was all of that nothing more than her own delusion.

Hearing someone else tell her not to trust him filled her with a despair she could barely contain.

She had met with Joo to strengthen her resolve and clarify her next steps, but her heart was crumbling beyond control.

Her vision blurred.

Her head spun, and she pressed a hand to her forehead.

No. How could you do this to me.

Yoon Jooheon…

Did you change somewhere along the way, or were you always like this.

Her thoughts were a tangled mess, but one thing was clear.

Jooheon had another woman.

“Haa.”

Even though she had braced herself for it, the shock still hit her like a blow to the chest.

The world tilted.

She couldn’t tell where to go.

Where even was she.

Where had she parked.

She blinked and looked around, but everything was too blurry to make out.

All she could register was the countless people passing her by.

Panicked, she ran her hands over her face.

She hadn’t even realized she was crying silently.

That was why she couldn’t see anything.

She let out a shaky breath and sank down on the unfamiliar street that felt suddenly alien, even though she had been there many times before. She closed her eyes.

She couldn’t take a single step.

“!”

Until someone reached out a hand.

A large, strong yet graceful hand appeared in front of her.

“Sunbae…”

His voice was plain and calm, like autumn rather than summer. She slowly lifted her head.

“Sunbae…”

She blinked a few times, and her blurry vision cleared.

Under the clear blue sky, a familiar face came into view.

Someone looking at her with eyes that burned.

“…Sunwoo.”

Why are you here.

In front of me like this, when I’ve completely fallen apart.

It felt humiliating to be seen like this.

It hurt.

Because it was Jin Sunwoo, of all people.

Their eyes met and locked together heavily.

She didn’t know how long they stayed like that.

“Why are you sitting here like this. Get up. …Come on.”

Sunwoo extended his hand closer to her.

Ayeon bit her lip and stared at the hand.

A hand that reached out to her unwaveringly.

“Sunbae…”

He looked like he had no intention of pulling that hand back.

Even so, she couldn’t take it.

She didn’t want to.

She ignored his hand and forced herself to stand on her own.

And she thought,

Seon Ayeon, get it together.

She wiped her face with the back of her hand. Her tears were already dry.

“Did something happen?”

Sunwoo slowly lowered his hand, his voice low and careful.