Chapter 5
The Fake Lover Who Crossed the Line

In-hyeok, who had just set down his glass of water, slightly raised his chin.

“May I ask why?”

After hesitating for a moment, Hae-yoon opened her lips.

“Because Mr. Do In-hyeok is seeing someone else as well.”

His brows slowly furrowed.

“Even if you were to end things with her, I personally witnessed that scene, and besides… because of my relationship with Actress Hong Si-yeon, I can’t.”

Hae-yoon could never forget the help she had received from Si-yeon.

When she was struggling with Tae-soo’s hospital bills, Si-yeon had given her a large sum of money without hesitation.

She hadn’t even lent it to her. She had simply told her to take it.

No matter how wealthy someone was, giving away that much money was not an easy thing to do.

And yet Si-yeon had paid the hospital bills solely because of her connection with Hae-yoon, without attaching a single condition.

Hae-yoon couldn’t betray that kindness and meet In-hyeok.

“Oh my… Didn’t Hong Si-yeon explain things properly to you?”

Seeing Hae-yoon’s serious expression, In-hyeok frowned.

Had she silenced her rather than explaining the situation?

He let out a small sigh.

“You two aren’t actually dating?”

“No.”

The answer came without even a one-second hesitation.

“Then… what exactly is your relationship?”

In truth, In-hyeok didn’t mind if it was revealed that he was Si-yeon’s biological son.

However, he didn’t want Ki-seop to be revealed, and because of that, he had kept Si-yeon’s identity hidden as well.

Since she hadn’t told Hae-yoon, In-hyeok couldn’t simply reveal the truth here on his own.

He rubbed the space between his brows before shaking his head.

“Anyway, Hong Si-yeon and I are absolutely not in a romantic relationship.”

“You’re not dating, but you were in Actress Si-yeon’s bedroom… and she was even wearing only a robe…”

As Hae-yoon’s expression hardened, In-hyeok looked troubled this time.

“I can’t explain it right now, but whatever relationship you’re imagining, that’s absolutely not what it is.”

What a strange man.

Hae-yoon couldn’t bring herself to pick up her fork again.

Ki-seop had been such a decent person, but apparently his grandson hadn’t taken after him.

They say people look better when they keep their mouths shut.

Ki-seop had been right.

Do In-hyeok was the kind of man who should only be admired for his looks.

After actually talking to him and seeing what he was like inside, he was simply someone she wanted nothing to do with.

Hae-yoon even began to feel sorry for Si-yeon.

She was dating a man who openly declared in front of someone else that their relationship was nothing more than something casual.

“Ms. Yoon Hae-yoon?”

In-hyeok called out to her, completely unaware of what was going through her mind, but her expression became even sharper.

Without answering, she picked up her bag.

“I’ve finished my meal, so I’ll be leaving now.”

Hae-yoon hurriedly stood up and gave him only a small bow.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of hesitation in her footsteps as she walked away.

“Is he freaking crazy?”

She grumbled to herself while repeatedly pressing the elevator button.

Fortunately, the elevator arrived before long, and Hae-yoon managed to get inside.

Just before the doors closed, she saw In-hyeok coming out.

Their eyes met briefly, but Hae-yoon immediately turned her head away.

“I need to make sure I never see him again.”

Hae-yoon firmly decided that this brief connection with In-hyeok was over.

Hae-yoon had left home before sunrise, and before she knew it, she was looking up at the sunset sky.

“Ah. It’s beautiful.”

Lost in the moment, she took out her phone and snapped a picture of the sky.

After hesitating for a moment, she opened the messenger profile saved under the name “Oppa Min-gyu.”

Hae-yoon and Min-gyu had dated for two years. They had broken up two months ago, but it had been two weeks since they got back together.

Their relationship had become difficult for Hae-yoon because it seemed as though Min-gyu had grown tired of their relationship, so she had been the one to end things first.

Min-gyu was the one who contacted her again, saying that he regretted the breakup.

“…Let’s just not send it.”

She used to love sharing little things like this with Min-gyu.

But somehow, Hae-yoon felt that their relationship wasn’t the same as before.

“Manager!”

Just then, someone called out to her from the commercial shoot.

Hae-yoon hurriedly put her phone into her pocket and ran inside.

It was another hour before the commercial shoot finally ended.

“Actress, shall I take you straight home?”

“No. Take me to Place A.”

It was one of Si-yeon’s favorite restaurants.

The food was delicious, but more than anything, Si-yeon liked the private rooms that allowed her to dine without being disturbed.

“Should I wait for you? You don’t like taking taxis.”

“No. Someone is coming to pick me up.”

Hae-yoon glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Her eyes met Si-yeon’s directly.

“Ah. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful not to get caught.”

So she really was meeting In-hyeok.

Hae-yoon barely managed to suppress the bitter laugh that almost escaped her.

He had proposed to her just a few days ago, and today he was meeting Si-yeon.

There was no doubt about it. He was a man who was completely beyond her understanding.

But it wasn’t good to interfere in other people’s business.

Especially when it came to someone else’s relationship.

“You worked hard today, Hae-yoon.”

Si-yeon pulled her hat down deeply over her face and got out of the car.

Hae-yoon waited until she saw Si-yeon enter the building before preparing to drive away.

“Huh? Oppa Min-gyu?”

At that moment, a familiar face entered Hae-yoon’s field of vision.

It was her boyfriend, Min-gyu.

He seemed to be looking around for someone.

Hae-yoon picked up her phone and was about to call him.

If only Min-gyu hadn’t suddenly waved happily at someone.

“…Ah.”

Without realizing it, Hae-yoon lowered her phone.

She turned off the engine and got out of the car.

She knew that smile on Min-gyu’s face.

It was the same smile he had shown her from the day he first confessed his feelings until the moment he began growing tired of their relationship.

When Min-gyu entered the building with an unfamiliar woman, Hae-yoon quietly followed them.

She didn’t know why she was secretly following Min-gyu.

But she felt like she needed to find out what was going on.

“This place serves fusion cuisine, and it’s really good.”

“Really? Hmm… It doesn’t seem like the kind of place men would come to together… Who have you been here with?”

The woman asked coyly.

Min-gyu responded with practiced ease.

“I’ve been here with my family.”

A lie.

This was the restaurant Hae-yoon had recommended to Min-gyu after hearing about it from Si-yeon, and the two of them had enjoyed dates here.

And he was passing it off as a family gathering.

The tiny bit of hope Hae-yoon had held onto—that perhaps this was someone he was meeting for work—crumbled.

“I saved this place because I wanted to come here with you, Ji-seon.”

“Really?”

“Of course. It’s difficult to get a reservation here. I shouldn’t come somewhere like this with just anyone.”

Having heard enough, Hae-yoon walked over without hesitation and grabbed Min-gyu’s arm.

“Huh…?”

Startled by the sudden touch, he turned halfway around and frowned.

But the moment he saw Hae-yoon, his body stiffened.

“What are you doing here, Oppa?”

“Uh… Ha, Hae-yoon. Ah, well, you see…”

“What is this, Min-gyu? Who is this woman…?”

In the suffocating confrontation between the three of them, Hae-yoon looked straight at the woman.

“I’m Choi Min-gyu’s girlfriend.”

“…What?”

“I’m sorry first. If I’m misunderstanding this situation, I sincerely apologize. This isn’t a business meeting…”

Hae-yoon looked at Min-gyu, then back at the woman.

“I don’t think it is.”

“…Ha. This is ridiculous.”

Ji-seon, who had been acting sweetly until then, immediately frowned and glared at Min-gyu.

“I was told you didn’t have a girlfriend. This is absurd. I don’t know who lied to whom, but I’ll tell my father.”

“W-Wait a moment, Ji-seon!”

Ji-seon hurriedly left.

Min-gyu reached out helplessly, but when he saw Hae-yoon’s gaze, he bit his lip.

“…Ha, Hae-yoon. Let me explain what happened…”

“Are you cheating on me?”

“No, it’s not that… Ha… I’ll be honest with you.”

Min-gyu scratched his head roughly before letting out a deep sigh.

“Why didn’t you tell me right away that your grandfather had passed away?”

“…What?”

“It’s true that I contacted you again because I regretted breaking up with you. I was sincere about that. And it’s also true that I was thinking about marrying you. But you should have told me that your grandfather had passed away.”

Hae-yoon had never thought she was hiding it. She believed she had told him at an appropriate time.

She simply frowned, unable to understand what he was talking about.

“My mother doesn’t like the idea of me marrying a girl who has no family.”

“I’ve been trying to convince her. But she said that if I go on just one blind date with a woman she chooses, she’ll at least consider meeting you.”

“So I had no choice. I needed to give her what she wanted first so that you could have a chance to earn some points with her.”

Hae-yoon laughed in disbelief.

Ah.

So he meant that she should have told him when he had begged her to get back together.

If she had told him then, he wouldn’t have considered marrying someone who was all alone in the world, and he wouldn’t have gotten back together with her either.

Her hollow laughter, filled with nothing but air, quietly faded away.

Min-gyu deliberately let out a loud sigh, as if he wanted her to hear it.

“Do you think I enjoyed it? Going to a place like that against my will?”

“You looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

“Hey, Yoon Hae-yoon. Why are you talking like that? I’m doing all of this for you. I’m going through all this because of you!”

“For me?”

At this point, even the absurdity of his words couldn’t make her laugh anymore.

Hae-yoon roughly ran her fingers through her hair.

“Enough. You don’t have to go through that kind of trouble for me. Let’s just end this. I don’t need a boyfriend like you.”

“Hey! Yoon Hae-yoon!”

Min-gyu grabbed Hae-yoon as she turned to leave.

She shook his hand off, but he grabbed her arm again, his grip stronger than hers.

He was holding her so tightly that her arm began to ache.

“Are you really going to be like this? You should at least try to understand my position—”

“Excuse me.”

A larger hand suddenly grabbed Min-gyu’s wrist as he roughly shook Hae-yoon.

The grip was strong enough to make it feel as though his wrist might be crushed.

Min-gyu groaned and released Hae-yoon’s arm.

Hae-yoon hunched her shoulders and held her aching arm before looking up.

“…Mr. Do In-hyeok?”

It was In-hyeok—the very man Hae-yoon had decided she would never see again.