Chapter 07

Eunjo was a little surprised by the unexpected appearance of someone she had never anticipated seeing.

Putting aside his relationship with her, he had known her father, Won-gyu, so it was only natural that he might attend the funeral to pay his respects.

But she had never expected him to show up at the crematorium as well. Their relationship had not exactly ended on the best of terms.

Of course, the bigger surprise was discovering Park Juheon in Na Eunjo’s memories of the past year.

The fact that Juheon was the head of MK Investment, one of South Korea’s leading investment firms, was astonishing in itself.

According to the rumors, the head of MK Investment was a businessman to the core, with an exceptionally cold personality. Usually heartless, and occasionally downright cruel.

But the Park Juheon she knew was nothing like that.

The Juheon she knew had been kind. Warm, too.

Whenever she looked at him, she was reminded of the languid warmth of spring sunshine.

Sometimes, he seemed like a gentle piano melody flowing through the air. Other times, he reminded her of the soft chime of bells ringing at dawn.

When he first came to her house as an undergraduate researcher in her father’s lab, she had been amazed by his beautiful appearance. It was the kind of awe one felt when looking at something of genuine artistic value.

And when she saw him completely captivated by her paintings, she had felt a lump rise in her throat.

“Would it be possible for me to learn to paint?”

He was not particularly talkative, but whenever he spoke, his voice was so gentle it could melt her heart.

It suited his refined yet languid demeanor perfectly.

“I want to learn painting from you, Lee Eunjo.”

All the undergraduate researchers who had visited her house alongside him called her “noona,” but Juheon alone called her “Lee Eunjo.” On rare occasions, he simply called her “Eunjo.”

She liked that, too.

From the age of twenty-one to twenty-three for him.

From the age of twenty-four to twenty-six for her.

The two of them had spent three years together.

Throughout that long period, Eunjo’s heart had beat steadily for him. They had shared their first kiss, and she had given him her first love.

But that was all.

In the end, she and Juheon had never become a couple, and when he left to study abroad, their connection naturally came to an end.

Two years later, she married Kang Jinwoo, just as her father had instructed.

Perhaps because their paths had never truly converged, seeing Juheon at the funeral had come as a great shock to her. And now, her heart felt so constricted that her throat ached.

To her, Juheon suddenly offered a cryptic remark.

“The tunnel is quite long.”

“Pardon?”

He had spoken without even greeting her, and Eunjo tilted her head slightly. Then she heard the sound of the car unlocking.

“I mean, the tunnel you have to walk through to get out of the crematorium is quite long.”

Juheon gestured toward the tunnel at the end of the road with his eyes.

“Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”

Eunjo simply stared at him.

A sharp pang struck her around the heart.

It was because of the relationship between Na Eunjo and Park Juheon.

“Why? Why are you offering me a ride?”

“…?”

The relationship between Na Eunjo and Juheon was exceedingly strange.

“Is it because you’re worried I’ll… do something else to cause losses for Hera’s investment?”

At the bitter memory, Eunjo pressed her lips tightly together.

It had all started with a scandal.

Juheon had merely steadied Na Eunjo for a moment when she was stumbling around after drinking too much, but rumors had spread that they had spent the night together.

After the scandal broke, they met again, and Juheon had been rather cruel to her.

“I’m someone who can’t afford to be involved in a low-class scandal like this.”

At Juheon’s cold remark, Na Eunjo had asked,

“What do you mean by ‘like this’?”

Juheon had finally driven the knife in.

“Everything I do is meant to be seen by someone. And of all people, the person involved in my scandal has to be Na Eunjo—a troublemaker who’s rough, frivolous, and a little vulgar.”

That day, Na Eunjo’s heart had ached as though it had been pierced by a needle.

“Shouldn’t we resolve this somehow? By holding a press conference or creating some other news story?”

But his words had not hurt Na Eunjo.

Her heart had already been so battered that she could hardly be wounded by something like that.

So, instead, she laughed.

“So even scandals have to meet certain standards of elegance? That’s hilarious. Who are you trying to impress?”

While Juheon coldly pushed her away, Na Eunjo clung to him like sticky tar. She needed his help.

Her first attempt had failed.

Juheon’s defenses were as formidable as an impregnable fortress, even stronger than the rumors suggested.

But the second time was different.

Once he learned that her name was Eunjo, his gaze changed. He began calling her by her name with an inexplicable familiarity, and a hope that had almost died began to sprout again.

Na Eunjo kept urging him to drink strong liquor. Then she seduced him.

“Mr. Park, would you sleep with me?”

“I don’t sleep with just anyone.”

“Hmm. Then let’s start with a kiss. Like earlier, call me Eunjo in that familiar way.”

Then she pressed her lips against his.

After drawing the drunk man deeply into her embrace and thoroughly unsettling him, Na Eunjo finally pulled away.

“…”

“Eunjo, I’m good at kissing, aren’t I?”

It was unexpected. Who would have thought Juheon would give in to Na Eunjo’s seduction?

And so, the two of them shut themselves away in a hotel room and spent the entire night together.

Remembering Na Eunjo’s memories, Eunjo swallowed nervously before speaking again.

“Or… do you need a woman tonight, too? I could keep you company.”

At Eunjo’s question, Juheon’s lips curled at an angle.

“What if I do?”

There was not the slightest trace of affection in the look he gave her through the window.

Then again, he could at least have shown some desire.

But Juheon, who displayed neither, went on to say something even crueler.

“I need one right now. How about we do it in the car? You don’t need more money to keep reporters quiet?”

Apparently, this was what Na Eunjo was to Juheon: an easy woman who was obsessed with money and would take any man, anywhere.

But had Na Eunjo felt even the slightest affection for Juheon?

No. She had not.

“No. I don’t want to.”

That was why it hurt.

“I think I’ll just walk. Please drive safely, Mr. Park.”

Eunjo gave him a polite bow and resumed walking.

Then the horn sounded again.

Juheon’s sharp voice followed the loud blast.

“Do as I say, Na Eunjo.”

For an instant, Juheon’s expression looked painfully anguished.

His reaction surprised her a little and left her somewhat flustered.

Eunjo did not know what to do. She could only part her lips, struggling to find words. But even that seemed to displease Juheon.

“Stop doing things you never used to do.”

A vein bulged on Juheon’s forehead.

“Get in. Now.”

His voice, the words forced out as though he were grinding them between his teeth, sounded just as pained.

In the end, Eunjo got into Juheon’s car and spent an hour staring out the window.

When they entered a familiar neighborhood, her home, Troyple, came into view.

She lifted her head to look up at the place where she had once lived, and a dull ache tightened around her chest.

Then Juheon abruptly asked her a question.

“Why did you go?”

Eunjo turned to look at him and remained silent for a moment. Then she let out a soft sigh and spoke.

“You’re an interesting man, Mr. Park.”

Her voice was quiet and measured, yet cold.

“Earlier, and now, too…”

The words she delivered with tightly pressed lips were sharp.

“You seem to be very good at asking questions that imply more than they say.”

She did not want to treat Juheon this way.

But since he believed she was Na Eunjo, perhaps this was how she had to speak to him.

If she were Na Eunjo, this situation would hardly be pleasant for her.

“I’m not very smart, so when you put things like that, I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Fine. Let me ask you directly, then.”

Juheon kept his eyes on the road as he gripped the steering wheel and asked,

“Why did you go to Troyple in Seoul Forest in the early hours of September 14?”

In an instant, her heart dropped with a thud.

“You went to the scene of Lee Eunjo’s accident.”

Eunjo pressed her trembling lips together before answering quietly.

“I live in the same neighborhood, too. I couldn’t sleep, so I went out for some exercise. That’s when I came across the accident scene.”

“Is that all?”

“What else could there be?”

“You went out exercising in the middle of the night wearing a water-soaked floral dress and mismatched sneakers? Then you wandered around the accident scene, looking as though you were about to cry?”

Faced with Juheon’s rapid-fire questions, Eunjo fell silent.

As she pressed her lips tightly together, the dimple in her left cheek appeared once again.