Chapter 24
24. Farewell
2023.05.24.
After receiving So-eun's call yesterday, Hee-wook was extremely busy. He was fabricating his sister's health checkup results, as all he had was a healthy body.
He had only casually mentioned, "Should I show you my sister's diagnosis?" to make So-eun believe him, but he didn't expect her to take the bait so readily. To create a diagnosis that So-eun would believe at once, Hee-wook had to make the documents look plausible.
As he forged the documents, Han So-eun, who was already annoying, began to bother him even more. Thinking of breaking up within a few days, Hee-wook called So-eun to the hotel. Today, he planned to apologize as if giving up all his pride, reconcile, and then take her up to the hotel room. He made a plan to have a good time for one night, shake it off, and break up cleanly tomorrow.
He even prepared a gift to commemorate the breakup. He bought a new cell phone for So-eun. He would give her the new phone and delete all the records from the old one. That would complete a clean breakup.
He arrived at the meeting place early and was looking up how to perfectly delete cell phone data when So-eun arrived.
"You're early?"
"Yeah. So-eun."
Hee-wook put his phone in his pocket and smiled.
Han So-eun, without her glasses, was definitely pretty. Maybe it was because she lived a hard life, but she always seemed to have a shadow on her face, and lately, he felt like he had only seen her with a sulky expression. Seeing her smiling face after a long time stirred his heart. Maybe it was because he felt a sense of regret, thinking that he would have to end things soon.
"I was looking into self-activation for cell phones. It's about time for you to change your phone. I remembered and bought one for you. It's a gift."
Hee-wook naturally held out the new phone.
"You didn't have to."
He expected to hear things like, "Are you really giving this to me? You're the only one for me, Oppa. I'm so touched," but So-eun's reaction was lukewarm.
"It's not the latest model, is it? Anyway, thank you."
So-eun glanced over the phone and put it down casually, asking,
"I can just use it, right? There's no device payment or contract attached?"
"Just use it. I paid for the device in full, in cash."
"Aren't you regretting giving it to me?"
"Why would I regret giving it to you?"
So-eun stared at him for a while before pulling the phone towards her.
"Okay. I'll use it well."
"Give me your phone now. I'll transfer the data for you."
"I'll do it myself."
"Let's do it now. Oppa will do it for you. You're not good at this kind of thing."
"Oppa. I'm a cell phone expert. There's no way I can't do it."
Hee-wook was speechless at So-eun's cold reaction.
"So, this is mine now?"
"Yeah... I guess so."
"Then I'll take care of it myself. Thank you."
So-eun put the new phone, which she hadn't even turned on, straight into her bag. Hee-wook's eyes widened.
This isn't going as planned?
But there were still plenty of opportunities. He could feed her well for dinner and then secretly do the work after entering the room.
Hee-wook tried not to show his emotions on his face and opened his bag to take out the documents for the next item on his agenda.
"You asked me to show you the documents, so I brought them. If you read through how weak my sister is, you'll be able to understand how we feel."
"Oppa."
But this time as well, So-eun only glanced over the documents once and put them down.
"Did you think I wouldn't understand if you told me the truth from the beginning?"
"......"
"I even knew that you could donate a liver even if the blood types didn't match. I knew everything from the start. Either way, I would have given it to your mother willingly. That's not the problem, Oppa."
"...Thank you for understanding. Still, I'm sorry, so I'll apologize. I'm sorry for making you misunderstand. And this is also a gift. I remembered that you liked it when I sent you flowers last time, so I bought it."
Hee-wook, flustered by So-eun's fierce reaction, tried to remain calm and held out the bouquet.
In any case, today's goal was to take Han So-eun to the hotel room. He had to do his best to achieve his goal.
"You've had a hard time too, so let's go on a date today. Let's have a delicious dinner and go up. I booked a room."
Pfft.
However. As soon as Hee-wook made the suggestion, So-eun burst out laughing. It was a laugh that seemed to hold a gaze of ridicule. Hee-wook's face, which had been trying to maintain composure, momentarily distorted.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, sorry. I just remembered something someone said."
"What? Who? What did they say?"
"No, you don't need to know that, Oppa. I'm fine, so have a good time with Hyun-ji."
"What are you talking about..."
Hee-wook's face turned red, as if he had been caught with a secret that no one else knew. Still, Hee-wook feigned ignorance.
"It seems like you're jealous that I went to Japan with her, So-eun. That was really for important work. Should I find the business trip records and show them to you?"
"No. I believe that it was a business trip."
"Then why are you doing this!"
Hee-wook, feeling guilty, raised his voice, drawing attention from those around them. Hee-wook cleared his throat, lowered the ends of his eyebrows, and pleaded.
"So-eun, you're the only one for me. You know that."
"I saw everything at the airport. So, you don't have to lie."
So-eun revealed everything without hesitation.
There was no need to read his face anymore, so there was no need to hesitate.
Hee-wook's eyes widened as he realized that So-eun knew everything.
"So-eun, that's, that day, it's just that Hyun-ji was clinging to me so much..."
"You don't have to make excuses."
So-eun cut off Hee-wook's words.
"I even heard you tell Hyun-ji that you would break up with me within a week."
You don't know what's in my heart. The desire to cut off all memories with you.
I just want to take the heart that fluttered for you out of my chest and scrub it clean.
You probably don't know this desperate feeling. You'll never know.
It doesn't matter if you never know. I was going to a world like that.
"So, I'm going to do that for you. That's what I came here to say. Let's stop now."
"......"
"I've said what I needed to say, so I'll be going now. I guess I can't accept the phone after all. I'll give it back. And I'll give back the ring you gave me as a gift too."
So-eun placed the phone she had received earlier and the couple ring she had been wearing for a while on the table.
"Take care."
"Wa, wait! So-eun, wait!"
Hee-wook hurriedly grabbed So-eun, who was about to get up. Because of that, So-eun plopped back down into her seat.
"Haa... I'm so confused that I don't know what's going on. Let's sit down and talk calmly a little more."
Hee-wook persuaded So-eun with a severely trembling voice and then clutched his head.
After a while, Hee-wook raised his head and asked.
"You... you're not going to break up with me so impulsively... and go to Choi Hyun-ji to tell her, are you?"
"What? Tell her what?"
"Haa... So-eun."
His girlfriend, whom he had promised to marry, was telling him to break up, and he was anxious that his secret would be revealed. She found him so pathetic.
"I won't tell her. As long as you don't harass me."
"......"
"Is that okay?"
It wasn't for him. So-eun made the promise for herself.
At So-eun's promise, Hee-wook finally sighed in relief with a relieved expression.
"Okay. So-eun. Anyway, it's a shame."
The breakup he wanted. Although he couldn't spend a hot night in the hotel room, it was still a clean finish. He had to end it quickly when Han So-eun had made up her mind firmly.
"I was going to book a wedding hall as early as tomorrow, but it's a shame that it turned out like this. Okay. I understand your intentions. Let's stop now, as you wish."
Hee-wook's pathetic remarks were not to her liking.
Anyway, it was over. Finally.
So-eun slowly opened her lips and quietly sighed.
She thought she had emptied her mind before arriving at the hotel lounge, but her chest felt tight when she heard the words he returned to her.
Because of that, So-eun missed the timing to get up.
Hee-wook's remarks became longer.
"We ended up breaking up, but I'll be grateful to you for the rest of my life. I'll think of you every time I see my mom."
Hee-wook offered a handshake.
"I'm sorry and thank you. No matter what anyone says, you're my first love, So-eun. Maybe you'll be my last love too."
Hmm. Scratch that. The tightness in her chest was just an upset stomach.
As Hee-wook was trying to create a dramatic and beautiful farewell, So-eun felt like she could shake off even the last bit of affection she had left.
"I'll never meet a woman like you again in my life."
"That's right."
Instead of shaking hands, So-eun predicted his future.
"You'll never meet someone like me in your life."
I was that kind of person.
I did my best for you to an excessive degree. I was an excessive person for you.
It may seem foolish to some and frustrating to others, but I, who did my best so much, was a really good person.
So-eun said goodbye with a sense of relief.
"Then I'll go first. Don't contact me again and delete my number. Take care."
She didn't accept the handshake, but the words "take care" were sincere.
You, and your family, were like poison.
The liver detoxifies.
May the part of my body that I gave to your mother be healthy for a long time. And may it detoxify your family.
So that you can become people who do not harm the world.
Haa. I feel relieved.
It feels so refreshing, why couldn't I say it all this time and suffered in silence?
I feel relieved, but for some reason, my head hurts. It was dizzy, as if blood was suddenly circulating in a blocked blood vessel.
So-eun struggled not to fall and walked bravely. And at the end of that walk, she faced Tae-joon again.
He had parked his car at the hotel entrance, handed out business cards to the employees, and asked for their understanding as he waited for So-eun.
So-eun's blurred vision became clear again.
"You've been here all this time?"
"I wanted to hear the review."
Wow, what kind of man is this?
She was so dumbfounded that she couldn't even laugh.
It would be nice to ignore this kind of man and bravely go her own way.
Her relieved heart released the strength in her legs as well.
Uh-oh! So-eun tripped over her own feet and staggered. Tae-joon quickly ran over and supported her.
Somehow, she ended up being embraced. To make matters worse, this man patted her back, comforting So-eun.
She didn't really intend to be comforted.
Being held in his warm embrace and receiving comforting pats that sounded like heartbeats, she suddenly felt a strange sense of duty to tell him the review he wanted.
"I ended it."
"How do you feel?"
"I feel relieved."
"You did well."
Only then did So-eun understand why her colleagues sang praises of Director Kim Tae-joon as a kind person.
His embrace was so comfortable and cozy that she thought she would like to fall asleep like this.
*
After ending things with So-eun, Hee-wook felt complicated and smacked his lips.
He had given her a cell phone and a bouquet of flowers and was fully prepared to go into the hotel room, but Han So-eun suddenly told him to break up.
It's a shame that he couldn't hold So-eun, but he still had Hyun-ji.
He had to wrap things up quickly for the sake of his future with Hyun-ji, so it was fortunate that she took herself out of the picture first.
But why did he keep feeling uneasy?
Was it because he couldn't delete Han So-eun's cell phone data?
Was it because he regretted paying for the hotel room already?
Hee-wook frowned deeply and pondered, then suddenly stood up.
'Will Han So-eun really keep her mouth shut?'
An unavoidable suspicion arose.
Hee-wook thought that he should get a written oath from So-eun separately, so he hurriedly got up from his seat and ran out of the hotel. And he discovered an unexpected figure.
"...Why is that bastard there?"
The only grandson of Chairman Kim Jae-pil of K Group. The second in line to inherit, Kim Tae-joon.
That guy was supporting the staggering So-eun and holding her tightly. As if Han So-eun was his woman.
