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Chapter 19
Hyeon-jeong rubbed her stomach, feeling bloated and uncomfortable. Even though she had taken prescribed digestive medicine, the heaviness in her stomach didn’t go away easily.
Strangely, every time she ate the desserts her mother made, her stomach would feel upset like this. It wasn’t that her mother had put anything strange in them—more likely, she’d forced herself to eat everything so as not to hurt her mother’s feelings. Or maybe it was because she hadn’t been moving around much since injuring her leg.
“Auntie, I feel so stuffy.”
“Shall we take a light walk around the hospital?”
The sharp-witted caregiver quickly unfolded the wheelchair at her words.
The hospital had forbidden her from leaving her VIP room, saying that her trauma could trigger another episode at any moment. She wasn’t even a critical patient, but it seemed Jo Jae-seok had said something to make them overprotective.
She had been lying low, pretending to be meek and quiet—worried that if she clashed with Jo Jae-seok again, he’d push for them to skip the engagement and just get married right away.
But seeing how restless she was, her doctor finally allowed her to take a short lap around the hospital grounds.
The temperature had dropped below freezing, and the news had been issuing cold wave warnings for days. Bundled up in a thick padded coat with a warm blanket over her knees, the moment she stepped outside, the icy air actually felt refreshing.
“Ahh… I can finally breathe again.”
The crisp air seemed to clear away all the heaviness she’d been feeling inside.
“I guess the snow hasn’t melted completely yet.”
“I saw earlier that part doesn’t get any sun. The areas that do are already clear, though.”
Behind the hospital, there was a small park. She’d often looked for news coverage of the accident, wondering if watching the video might help her regain her memory. Maybe that’s why patches of snow from back then still lingered across the garden.
The cool night air she hadn’t felt in so long seemed to wash away all the headaches that had been plaguing her.
Just as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she heard the sound of footsteps—men’s dress shoes—approaching her.
“Good evening.”
A low, resonant voice. Unfamiliar, yet somehow one she’d been waiting to hear. Startled, Hyeon-jeong opened her eyes wide and looked in the direction of the sound.
Not far away stood a tall man. She had once thought about meeting him again someday, but she never imagined it would actually happen like this. The sight of him filled her with unexpected warmth.
“Um…”
But she wasn’t the only one who recognized him. The caregiver pushing her wheelchair greeted the man with familiarity.
“Oh, aren’t you the coffee guy? What brings you here at this hour?”
“The usual.”
“Ha! You came during the day and now again at night—so you still didn’t get to see that patient today, huh?”
Clucking her tongue, the caregiver lamented how much trouble he was going through in such cold weather. The man just smiled pleasantly and turned his gaze to Hyeon-jeong.
Even though the area was dimly lit by the park lights, when their eyes met, it felt as though everything else faded away and only he shone brightly.
Hyeon-jeong forgot to breathe as she watched him smile gently and reply,
“No. I met her today.”
He was speaking to the caregiver, but his eyes never left Hyeon-jeong. The man, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, leaned down slightly and placed something warm into her hand.
Lowering her gaze, she saw that he had given her a hand warmer.
“Seo Hyeon-jeong. I’ve been waiting for you. My name is Kang Tae-geon.”
The sight of an elegant, well-dressed man in an expensive coat and suit carrying a humble hand warmer was odd enough—but hearing him say her name was even more shocking.
Startled, she squeezed the warm packet in her palm and looked up at him in confusion. Her mind filled with questions she didn’t know how to ask.
“D-do you know me?”
Even as she asked, she felt as if she’d go crazy if she didn’t get an answer. The caregiver, just as astonished as she was, shouted in disbelief—echoing Hyeon-jeong’s own desperate curiosity.
“Oh my goodness! You—you know our young lady?”
The man straightened his posture and answered the caregiver politely.
“She’s the one I’ve been waiting for.”
“My word…”
“Miss Seo Hyeon-jeong, could I have a moment of your time?”
* * *
At Tae-geon’s polite request for privacy, the caregiver hesitated for a long while. Visitors other than family were forbidden, and she couldn’t just break the rules without the guardian’s consent.
‘I really shouldn’t… this isn’t allowed…’
‘Auntie, don’t worry. If he’s a strange man, I’ll scream right away.’
‘He doesn’t seem strange, though. He’s neat, polite, well-mannered… All right then, I’ll stand over there under the lamppost. If he does anything weird, shout, okay?’
Finally, they reached a compromise—the caregiver would keep watch from a distance.
Even though she’d barely spoken a word to this man before, for some reason, Hyeon-jeong felt more at ease with Kang Tae-geon than with her fiancé, Jo Jae-seok.
Tae-geon parked her wheelchair beside a bench and sat down next to her.
She glanced sideways at him as he leaned back comfortably. Every gesture he made was smooth and refined, effortlessly graceful.
She had a thousand questions but, strangely, her throat felt dry in his presence. Just as she resolved not to waste any more time, he spoke first.
“You look like you have a lot of questions. What’s wrong? Can’t decide which to ask first?”
“…Yes.”
“Take your time. Ask whatever comes to mind. I’ll answer.”
He looked relaxed, as if he had all the time in the world. She didn’t. If she could, she would have grabbed him and asked questions all night long—but that wasn’t possible.
As though reading her thoughts, Tae-geon reached into his coat pocket and handed her a phone.
“What’s this?”
“A phone.”
Did he think she didn’t know what a phone was?
“I know it’s a phone.”
“It’s for you.”
“…Why?”
Everything about him was suspicious.
Giving her a phone, befriending the caregiver, hanging around the hospital day and night just to see her—none of it made sense.
If it was all just to meet her, that was even stranger.
“Do I… owe you money or something? How much—”
If he’d gone this far to find her, he was either family or a creditor. But Tae-geon only let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“I’m the one who owes you.”
“…”
“So keep it. If you ever get curious about something, call me. You don’t have a phone right now, do you?”
“How did you know that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You’ve been locked up in this hospital—do you really think Jo Jae-seok would let you have a phone?”
He even knew Jo Jae-seok’s name. That alone was astonishing. But then—
“…Why have you been speaking informally to me this whole time?”
She hadn’t even noticed until now, overwhelmed by the surprise of meeting someone she never thought she’d see again. But his tone—familiar, casual—implied a closeness she didn’t understand.
It didn’t upset her, but it made her deeply curious about what kind of relationship they’d had. Before she could ask directly, the sharp-eyed man answered plainly.
“Because I always spoke informally to you.”
“…And what exactly are we to each other?”
“Just… people who know each other a little?”
His vague, evasive reply made her frown.
“Do people who ‘just know each other a little’ do things like this? Wait outside a hospital for days, bring me a phone because they somehow know I don’t have one…”
“I told you. I owe you. And I wanted to help. You looked like you didn’t want to go on that engagement trip with Jo Jae-seok or whatever.”
Who was this man? He even knew about her fiancé.
And engagement trip? Her heart skipped a beat—she was hearing that for the first time.
