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chapter 20
“Couldn’t you be mistaken? I never heard that Sun-ja had a son.”
“I was told she left me at an orphanage when I was one year old.”
“That’s strange. That can’t be right.”
Mr. Park tilted his head, clearly puzzled by this story he had never heard before.
The Sun-ja he knew had only one daughter. Because her womb was weak, she had suffered several miscarriages before finally giving birth to that daughter, whom she adored. But when that girl was later diagnosed with an intellectual disability, Sun-ja, devastated, tried to have another child. Instead, she developed a tumor in her womb and had it removed—or so Mr. Park had heard.
Could it be that her husband had brought home a child he fathered elsewhere? Otherwise, there was no reason she would abandon a healthy son in an orphanage.
“Please, I’m begging you. If you remember anything—any detail at all—it would help.”
The man’s earnest words made Mr. Park sigh.
“She did live in this neighborhood, but not anymore.”
“Have you seen her recently?”
“Five years ago, maybe… after her brother died of lung cancer, I haven’t seen her since.”
Disappointment flickered across the man’s face.
“If, by any chance, you come into contact with Ms. Kim Sun-ja, or happen to meet her… please reach out to me.”
“To you?”
“Yes. I’ll make sure you’re well compensated.”
At the mention of compensation, Mr. Park gave the man a long once-over. The car he’d arrived in was large, his clothes expensive, his appearance clean and distinguished. He looked like someone with plenty of money.
“This is really important. I’m asking sincerely.”
When Mr. Park only stared without answering, the man, clearly anxious, pleaded once again. His desperate expression made it hard to turn him away coldly.
“All right, then.”
“Thank you.”
The man bowed politely, then stepped out of the store.
He headed toward the car parked in the vacant lot. Before opening the door, he turned and looked back at the village as if to imprint it in his memory. After standing there for a long moment, he finally got into the car.
The sleek black sedan was just pulling out of the village when a faint sound came from behind.
Turning his head, Mr. Park saw Sun-ja quietly stepping out from the small side room attached to the store.
“Is he gone?”
“Yeah. Here, this is what that young fellow left behind.”
Keeping an eye on the doorway, Mr. Park carefully handed her the business card.
Sun-ja froze when she read the name written on it.
“He said he was your son… is it true?”
“……”
Without a word, Sun-ja lifted her head. Her eyes were already reddening.
***
The weekend passed, and Monday morning came.
After the morning meeting, she returned to her desk to find a cup of coffee waiting there. It must have just been placed, because it was still warm.
Who left it?
Tilting her head in curiosity, she noticed a sticky note on the cup.
“Even if you’re busy, take a moment to enjoy a coffee.”
There was no name, but the neat handwriting gave her a good idea of who it was from.
Why would he leave her coffee?
Was it guilt, for the way he had so roughly taken her mouth that night?
But there wasn’t a hint of apology in the note.
Maybe it was just a thank-you for coming to the housewarming?
That seemed more likely. After all, only her desk had one.
At that moment, Jinyoung spotted the cup and the note in her hand and approached with a face full of curiosity.
“Oh wow, who left coffee on your desk, Team Leader?”
“Huh? Oh… yeah.”
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know. There’s no name.”
“What? Someone must have a crush on you!”
Not wanting to feed gossip, she tried to brush it off. But Jinyoung was already excited.
The chatter drew everyone’s eyes in the design department toward Yeon-ha. Kim Mi-sun, the other team leader, glared at her sharply.
Of course. Looking for a chance to pick a fight again.
“It’s nothing like that.”
“Of course it is! There are plenty of employees here, and yet only you got the coffee? That’s 100% a sign.”
Yeon-ha tried to deflect, but Jinyoung’s nosiness wouldn’t stop.
Just then, Team Leader Kim tilted her head with a smirk.
“Or maybe not. No name—maybe they put it on the wrong desk?”
“Oh come on. It’s not like they’re new. Who would mistake desks?”
At that, Kim narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t you remember, Jinyoung? When you put the director’s approval documents on the wrong desk?”
“That was only because we had just changed seats…”
“Anyway. Stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong and go bring me that coat rack over there.”
“…Yes.”
Though she looked displeased, Jinyoung obeyed. She knew better than anyone that arguing with Kim only resulted in being buried in extra work.
If only someone hadn’t left that coffee.
Feeling guilty, Yeon-ha thought Jinyoung had just been scolded because of her. She pushed the coffee aside on her desk and turned back to her monitor.
After a meeting in the first-floor consultation room, she waited for the elevator. Soon, the doors opened. She was pleased by her good timing—until she saw Nam Do-hyun already inside.
It was only two days since the housewarming.
She gave a brief nod, pressed her floor number, and retreated to the farthest corner, avoiding his gaze. Being in such close quarters with him made her uneasy.
But the problem was the reflection in the elevator wall. Even as she tried to look away, his figure was always there in her peripheral vision.
No one else boarded; it was just the two of them in the cramped space.
Should she make an excuse to get off at another floor?
While she hesitated, the doors closed.
Then, as if he’d been waiting, Do-hyun spoke.
“That night… why did you leave without saying anything?”
“I felt like I was in the way. And it was late.”
It had barely been past nine, but she couldn’t bring herself to confess the real reason she’d fled. So she came up with a half-plausible excuse.
“You weren’t running away, were you?”
“Why would I run away?”
She stared straight ahead, refusing to meet his eyes. Suddenly, he stepped in close, blocking her against the wall, and asked in a low voice:
“Were you afraid… that we’d end up sleeping together again?”
“No.”
For an instant, her pupils trembled—but she quickly gathered herself and answered calmly.
“Then what was the reason?”
His unyielding gaze pinned her as if he wouldn’t let her leave without an answer.
Biting her lower lip, Yeon-ha remembered that night.
While he was on the phone, she had quietly slipped out and returned home.
She gulped down water straight from a bottle, but the heat burning her face wouldn’t subside.
Even as she pressed the chilled bottle to her forehead, the memory replayed vividly: his fingers invading her mouth, stroking her tongue, skimming her palate, probing deep as if to leave his mark. The moment those long, firm fingers thrust far back, her body had reacted shamefully.
If the phone hadn’t rung, she might have been swept away again.
She tried to catch her breath, but then she clearly heard the name “Kayla” on the call.
Who was that? He’d never mentioned a sister. A friend, maybe?
But his tone was too familiar, too warm for just a friend.
Through the kitchen window she saw him smiling. Not at her—but at whoever was on the other end.
The sight unsettled her.
She tried to ignore it, but her ears clung to his voice. The casual words he spoke carried a tenderness that stung her.
The realization that his warmth wasn’t reserved only for her—that it wasn’t special—made her chest ache.
So she’d gathered her things and quietly left, before she ruined the mood by lingering.
Back home, even after washing up and lying in bed, she couldn’t sleep.
The image of him laughing softly on the phone with another woman replayed over and over, mocking the memory of when he had looked at her with the same intensity.
Logically, she knew it was none of her business. He wasn’t her boyfriend. They weren’t even dating.
Yet the sting of betrayal gnawed at her.
Her chest burned. She raided the freezer, crunching ice cubes between her teeth until her gums ached. Still, the frustration wouldn’t ease.
By the time she finished all the ice in the freezer, the truth hit her.
It was jealousy.
What she thought had been a passing attraction… was already something much deeper.
And that realization startled her more than anything.
