🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 24
The time for the appointment with Kang Tae-geon had come.
The caregiver, as if determined, bundled her up in a thick padded jacket and tucked a blanket all the way down to her toes.
She was wrapped so tightly in the blankets that even if she were buried in snow, she wouldn’t feel cold. Strangely enough, the caregiver aunt looked even more excited than Hyeonjeong herself, humming cheerfully.
“Yesterday, that young man looked so worried you might catch a cold.”
“Where did you even get all these blankets?”
Because her head was wrapped all the way to the top, she couldn’t turn it properly. The caregiver looked at her cutely bundled-up figure and laughed heartily.
“The coffee boy’s secretary brought them all over this morning.”
“Ah…”
“There are even hot packs. Want me to give you some?”
“No, this is more than enough.”
“You know what, miss?”
As if her efforts to make Hyeonjeong look like a snowman weren’t enough, the caregiver unwrapped the blanket and hood around her head, then leaned in to whisper carefully by her ear.
“Secretaries must take after their bosses. That coffee boy’s secretary was so polite and warm, I thought to myself, ‘I’d take him as a son-in-law.’”
She didn’t need to hear the rest to understand. Yesterday afternoon, while Myeong-hee had been visiting, Jaeseok’s secretary had dropped off a phone. He probably hadn’t been nearly as courteous. And since they both came on the same day, the comparison must have been obvious.
“We really are sneaking out, right?”
“Yes.”
Just before leaving the hospital room, the caregiver asked in a low voice, her eyes sparkling as if begging to be entrusted with the secret.
“Ah, I feel like a bridge of fate bringing the two of you together! Just leave it to me!”
The warmhearted joke made Hyeonjeong laugh out loud for the first time in a while.
“You look so pretty when you smile. Miss, let me give you one piece of advice, just from an older woman being nosy.”
“Please, go ahead.”
“I’m saying this simply as someone who’s lived longer. If it doesn’t feel right, let it go in one ear and out the other.”
“…”
“If you feel like the person you’re going to marry isn’t the right one, then think about that marriage a hundred, a thousand times over. A marriage forced because of parental pressure isn’t your life. And even the marriages made because someone thought they’d die without that person… there are plenty who regret those too.”
It didn’t feel like middle-aged meddling. It sounded like sincere advice, spoken straight from the heart.
As the one who had watched over Hyeonjeong up close through her difficult times without memory, it felt like advice born of genuine care. It warmed her heart.
“…Thank you.”
“Well then, shall we go?”
With practiced, meticulous hands, the caregiver bundled her up again and pushed the wheelchair with an enthusiasm that seemed almost gleeful.
As they neared the outdoor garden, Hyeonjeong’s heart began to flutter. With each push of the wheelchair, her heartbeat grew quicker. It must have been the expectation—that Tae-geon might help her recover her lost memories.
When they reached the meeting place, Tae-geon was already there waiting. His long legs were elegantly crossed as he leaned an arm along the bench, gazing up at the sky.
The moment she thought his pose looked familiar somehow, the man turned his head toward her.
“Ah…”
Without realizing it, Hyeonjeong lifted her hand to wave. Tae-geon rose from the bench and walked over. She had noticed it before too—how well the suit and long coat suited him. Each step of his steady, weighty gait seemed to amplify his charisma.
After exchanging a brief look with the caregiver, he lifted his hand toward Hyeonjeong.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
As though passing a baton, he took over the wheelchair handle from the caregiver.
As he slowly pushed her toward the bench, she heard a stifled chuckle. At first, she thought it was the thick layers of blankets muffling a sound. But as his laughter grew clearer, she turned her head.
“Are you laughing right now?”
But the many layers made it impossible to turn her head properly. Struggling to look back, she suddenly found Tae-geon’s face leaning down into her view.
Startled, she froze, but he gazed at her with an affectionate amusement.
“Looks like you wanted to spend a long time with me.”
“What are you…?”
How did he know? It felt like he had seen right through her thoughts, and her chest tightened.
“Bundled up like that so you won’t catch a cold even if we talked all night—that says it all.”
“That’s just because I thought maybe if I talked with you, my memory might come back…”
“Strange.”
“What is?”
“Hearing you call me ‘Mr. Kang Tae-geon’ after calling me ‘oppa.’”
“…”
“I prefer ‘oppa.’”
“I’ll adjust the way I address you once my memories return.”
He didn’t drop his sly smile.
“Suit yourself.”
With a casual reply, Tae-geon parked her wheelchair next to the bench they had sat at yesterday. He sat down and handed her a warm drink he’d prepared.
“Thank you.”
When she fumbled inside the blanket to take the coffee, he chuckled again.
“Stop laughing.”
“You’re cute.”
Helping loosen her blanket slightly, he placed the canned coffee into her hand. Each time she faced him, warmth spread through her chest—perhaps because his hands were always so warm.
“Are you always this considerate? Bringing hot packs, warm drinks, wrapping a scarf around me so I don’t feel the cold in my feet…”
Not only was he tall, handsome, and well-built, with a deep voice and commanding presence—he was also thoughtful. How could she not feel her heart race?
She had no memory, but… had she loved this man? It seemed impossible that any woman wouldn’t fall for him. Maybe she had been one of those women too.
“Is that what you call considerate?”
“Isn’t it? Looking out for someone because you’re worried…”
“Then I suppose it is.”
“What exactly was our relationship? Please, tell me seriously.”
Not that lighthearted line about being childhood sweethearts almost married once.
Though she trailed off, Tae-geon seemed to understand. The way he cared for her, so tenderly—it had to mean something.
“If you want to know, I’ll tell you. But does it matter what we used to be? Isn’t it more important what kind of person I’ll be for you from now on?”
His words struck her like a blow. She hadn’t expected such an answer. It sounded like the firm, steady promise of a tree—that he wanted to stand and protect her.
“Why… are you helping me like this?”
“Because I promised you when we were kids. That whenever and wherever you were in danger or needed help, I’d be by your side. And right now feels like that time.”
“Just because of a childhood promise?”
“Well, something like that. But also, if I left you like this, I’d never feel at ease.”
“I’m not in danger, I just don’t have my memory.”
“Not in danger? When your so-called fiancé, who didn’t even save you, is standing by your side just because of that title? That bastard ran away to save himself.”
At his sharp words, Hyeonjeong froze. He could only be talking about Jo Jaeseok.
“When I went to rescue you, that bastard wasn’t there. Not while I pulled you out, not after either.”
His voice grew colder, as though just recalling it brought back rage.
“Then why… why did I go into the emergency room with Jo Jaeseok, not you?”
“The ambulance was badly delayed. There were many other people to save besides you. I laid you in my car, performed first aid. Wrapped your wounds with a towel, tied them with my necktie. If you doubt me, ask the EMTs or ER nurses from then. It was a dark navy tie, diagonal silver stripes.”
His words, detailed down to the pattern, carried conviction.
“While I was helping others, the ambulance arrived. I thought you’d be safe for that short while. But when I came back—you were gone. And the black box memory with you.”
His eyes flashed sharply at the thought of Jaeseok. Looking up at the now darkening sky, he muttered curses—without doubt, directed at him. Threats of snapping him like a rat, smashing his spine together, ripping out his tongue like weeds so he could never lie again… savage words slipped through.
“By the time I tracked you down to this hospital, you had already gone through surgery and were restricted to family visits only. From then on, Jaeseok cut me off from you. Which means… he must have seen me saving you.”
“If that’s true…”
