Yu-yeon and Da-mi had gone through elementary, middle, and high school together; they were friends of twenty years.
Their connection had begun with their fathers, Hong Deok-su and Lim Chun-gyu, who had been high school classmates themselves.
When Yu-yeon was six, Da-mi’s family moved near hers, and the two households naturally grew close.
As time passed, Lim Chun-gyu joined Jideok Trading, the company Hong Deok-su had founded. Serving as CEO and Executive Director, the two men worked side by side and built the business together in harmony.
Not to be outdone by their fathers, Yu-yeon and Da-mi were just as close.
Similar in height and build, they were occasionally mistaken for twins—a question they both thoroughly enjoyed hearing.
Though differing grades and aptitudes kept them from attending the same university, they never drifted apart as adults, continuing to spend plenty of time together.
When Yu-yeon made up her mind to quit her stable job at a gaming company, even her boyfriend tried to talk her out of it, but Da-mi stood firmly in her corner, cheering on her independence. She was a friend who had always found different ways to encourage Yu-yeon’s future.
That was how it had been, at least—until two years and four months ago.
Yu-yeon murmured the words, staring at her best friend and her boyfriend as they held hands tightly before her.
Her mind, already reeling, went utterly blank.
Yu-yeon turned unfocused eyes to Yong-tae. Unable to meet her gaze, he lowered his lids and looked away.
Yet even as his eyes shifted, their hands remained locked together.
Those still, clasping hands looked bizarrely like a brutal weapon.
‘I don’t want to see this anymore,’ she screamed silently inside, but her lips wouldn’t budge. She would rather have closed her eyes again and returned to knowing nothing at all.
As if determined to scrape raw whatever composure Yu-yeon had left, Da-mi went on.
Do Yong-tae himself said nothing. He simply kept his eyes cast down, standing there like someone who had committed nothing more than an awkward, minor mistake.
A dry, hollow laugh escaped her lips.
‘Was waiting for that really so hard?’
I waited for him throughout the three and a half years he spent studying.
Without ever going on proper dates like everyone else, I poured out the best years of my youth like that.
I thought once he passed the exam, we’d finally have a real relationship.
Yet now, they were telling me I was twenty-nine. Somehow, like a fool who had eyes for only one man, my twenties had vanished—and in the end, nothing was left.
Do Yong-tae finally forced his mouth open and apologized. He seemed genuinely remorseful.
Yet even as those words of apology spilled out, the two of them held their hands clasped tightly together.
Once again, Da-mi spoke on her boyfriend’s behalf. Those words gouged another hollow in Yu-yeon’s chest.
‘We were both’ devastated.
“…”
Repeating Da-mi’s words like a slow echo, Yu-yeon let the empty seconds drift by. Then it suddenly struck her—why was she playing the fool like this?
No. I called for my boyfriend. The boyfriend who was supposed to share my grief.
If Do Yong-tae were still her boyfriend, there was so much sorrow they could have borne together. But she could no longer share any grief with him. She couldn't share anything with him at all.
At Yu-yeon’s dismissal, the two turned away without hesitation. Toward their retreating backs, she called out to her friend once more.
Da-mi turned around.
Strangely enough, Da-mi’s appearance looked remarkably similar to Yu-yeon’s own style from two years and four months ago—softly curled bangs and an awkward, shoulder-length bob.
All at once, a memory surfaced from two years and four months ago—a time that felt just like yesterday.
You had said you were jealous upon hearing the news that my boyfriend had passed the patent attorney exam.
Even now, two years later, your look of sheer envy was as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
And with that, Yu-yeon let her friend and her lover go.
‘It’s my fault for not waking up sooner.’
‘How can I go on blaming people who simply lived through normal time while mine stood still?’
If he was the kind of person who could leave like this, he would have left even if there hadn’t been an accident. Looking at it that way, it was hardly worth dwelling on.
‘I can’t waste any more of my precious time resenting a man whose love was never as deep as mine.’
After sending Da-mi and Yong-tae out of the hospital room, Yu-yeon spent time with the caregiver.
The caregiver said she had been looking after Yu-yeon for the past two years. As it turned out, there were several assistant caregivers as well. First-rate caregivers—physical therapy graduates with professional licenses—had rotated shifts to guard and tend to Yu-yeon around the clock. The care had been utterly devoted.
The caregiver, Seo Ji-sook, shared her feelings with a warm, gentle smile.
Lying still, Yu-yeon blinked to offer her gratitude.
She had no strength to move, and the shock of Do Yong-tae and Lim Da-mi’s visit left her barely able to speak, but she refused to let herself collapse so easily.
She had yet to catch up on everything that had happened over the past two years and four months. She still had to face the other shocks waiting for her.
First, she needed to know exactly how her father had died in the accident two years ago.
At the caregiver’s words, Yu-yeon traced back her own memories of the accident. The moment headlights flashed and a car hurtled toward them, her father had swept her into his arms, shielding her from the impact.
She seemed to remember him letting out a harsh, ragged breath back then. In that split second, he had seemed to regret holding her tight instead of shoving her out of harm’s way.
And that was how her father had left her. Leaving his daughter alive.
When she heard that her boyfriend and best friend were getting married, no tears had fallen, nor had she felt much resentment; she had wondered if her emotions had been broken in the crash. But hearing about her father, tears streamed down her cheeks without hesitation.
Wiping away Yu-yeon’s tears, the caregiver took her hand.
The weeping did not last long. The door opened, and her younger sister, Jeong-yeon, stepped inside.
Seeing her sister rushing in out of breath, Yu-yeon felt her eyes tear up all over again, but she pulled herself together to greet her as an older sister should.
Jeong-yeon threw her arms around Yu-yeon, who was still lying in bed. Another wave of tears burst between them. Jeong-yeon sobbed even harder than Yu-yeon, leaving Yu-yeon to comfort her sister instead.
As she asked, Jeong-yeon looked so grown up now. The realization stung. At eighteen, just a high school sophomore, she had been forced to face such tragedy and turn twenty-one alone, carrying herself through the hardest years of her life.
“…”
Once her tears finally subsided, Jeong-yeon composed herself and began catching her up on everything that had happened.
Her sister was already a college sophomore, managing to stay enrolled without taking any leaves of absence.
More news followed.
After their father passed away, his company, Jideok Trading, had collapsed. Lim Da-mi’s father, Lim Chun-gyu, had acquired it and barely kept it afloat, though the name Jideok Trading was gone. Jeong-yeon explained that it had now become a company called ICG Company.
There had been another ordeal as well. A fire had broken out at the house where their father, Yu-yeon, and Jeong-yeon used to live, making things even harder. She had since moved into a small apartment and was living alone.
Checking the time, Jeong-yeon turned toward the door.
Yu-yeon listened closely as well. Just as footsteps echoed down the corridor, a quiet knock came at the door. Moments later, it opened.
And standing on the threshold was a man Yu-yeon recognized.
He possessed an imposing frame that naturally made others shrink back, sharp and handsome features, and an arrogant expression that seemed to proclaim blue blood running straight to his bones.
Completely unchanged after two years and four months, the man strode directly toward Yu-yeon.
Yu-yeon’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
The man greeted her calmly, as though nothing had ever happened between them.