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Chapter 22
She recalled the doctor saying that although some of her muscles were torn in several places, it wasn’t a deep or serious injury. That thought gave her a small spark of hope—it might really be possible after all.
More than anything, the man’s calm, sincere eyes had looked incapable of lying. Even after night passed and morning came, she could still remember that gaze vividly—it made her want to believe every word he said.
[Want me to explain more in detail?]
[No, I’ll move on to the next question.]
She was curious, but she had so many things she wanted to ask.
Even the questions she had already written down probably numbered over a hundred. If she tried to listen to all the details one by one, it might already be her wedding day with Jaeseok by the time she finished.
[When I arrived at the emergency room—]
Just as she was about to ask her second question, a knock sounded at the hospital room door.
“Yes. Ah, you’re here.”
Hyunjeong, who had been typing a message, quickly hid her phone under the blanket when she saw who was standing there.
She hadn’t done anything wrong, but somehow she felt she had to keep her meeting with Taegun a secret, and her hands had moved on their own.
Fortunately, the quick-witted caregiver blocked Jaeseok’s view just in time.
Her heart dropped for a moment, but she forced herself to breathe and regain composure.
Without responding to the caregiver’s greeting, Jaeseok strode into the room and stood right in front of her.
“How’s your body? Feeling better?”
“It hurts. A lot.”
Her headache was almost gone, and even the pain from her surgery had eased significantly, but Hyunjeong deliberately pretended she was still in pain.
If she said she was fine, she feared he would discharge her right away—or worse, insist on holding the wedding even if she had to use crutches.
“It hurts? Where?”
His tone sounded gentle and caring, but strangely, there was no soul in it—it felt purely like polite formality.
“It was a big accident. Of course everything hurts.”
“You’d better get well soon.”
“Aren’t you going to work?”
The man—an executive at Josh Construction—was wearing a suit, but somehow, his demeanor was so relaxed he looked more like an idle playboy.
“Work? Of course. I just came to see you first. Since you were transferred to the Seoul hospital, I haven’t been able to visit much.”
“You must be busy. You don’t have to come see me.”
“Wow, already taking care of me? My Hyunjeong’s such a good wife.”
When she tried to politely say he didn’t need to come, Jaeseok laughed brightly, rubbing her cheek affectionately as though she’d just said something adorable.
Hyunjeong forced herself not to frown and leaned back slightly. She needed to avoid provoking him if she wanted to get what she wanted.
“You need to be healthy to take care of anyone.”
She was about to ask him to postpone the wedding until she was fully recovered—but the cunning Jaeseok cut her off.
“You don’t have to take care of me. Just hurry and come to me. That’s all I want.”
“……”
“My father said that with our family’s long, distinguished lineage, we absolutely can’t file the marriage registration before the ceremony. So what choice do we have? We’ll just have to hold the wedding first. Please understand my impatience.”
It was the first time she’d heard that story, and it caught her attention immediately. She’d always wondered why he was so obsessed with rushing the wedding—but apparently, it was his father’s stubborn rule.
It felt like a small door of hope had opened.
“Oh, your father’s really firm about that. Is it because your sister has to marry first, or…?”
“Don’t worry about that. Once we get married, Yerim’s status will go up. In the matchmaking scene, having a brother-in-law from a major corporation carries much more weight than being connected to a mid-sized one.”
As she listened, a vibration buzzed under her leg—her hidden phone.
Startled, Hyunjeong pressed down on it with her thigh, but the vibration continued.
Jaeseok turned his head, looking for the source of the sound.
“What’s that noise?”
“Jaeseok… um…”
“Yeah?”
“When the car accident happened… how did you pull me out?”
Trying to divert his attention, Hyunjeong repeated the same question she had asked Taegun earlier.
“I heard my legs were trapped in the crushed car. I’m just… curious how you got me out.”
“Oh, that time…”
He seemed to think carefully before speaking, but his expression betrayed unease. His eyes darted around while he stroked his chin nervously.
Unlike Taegun, who had answered immediately, Jaeseok hesitated—too long.
She had only wanted to distract him, but suddenly she felt she could tell which of them had been telling the truth.
“Well, how else? I was desperate. Completely desperate.”
Then, as if remembering his “role,” Jaeseok smoothly shifted into a heroic tone.
“One of the vehicles was a fuel tanker—it could’ve exploded any second. Everything was chaos. I didn’t think, I just knew I had to save you. I tore my muscles doing it, that’s all.”
“…That must’ve been terrifying. Not knowing when the car might catch fire.”
“Hyunjeong, fire or water, I’d jump into anything to save you. Don’t you know that yet?”
He gripped her shoulders firmly, locking eyes with her, as if begging her to believe his sincerity.
“I keep thinking about it—why did this have to happen to us? Even if you wanted to go to Gangwon-do, I should’ve insisted we stay closer to home. As long as we’re together, anywhere is heaven.”
On the surface, it almost sounded like he was implying the accident was her fault.
He wanted her to feel guilty—but strangely, she didn’t feel any guilt at all.
As his face drew closer and closer, discomfort welled up inside her. When their breaths were almost touching, she turned her head aside.
She was about to excuse herself, saying it was embarrassing with someone else in the room, when her bed buzzed again.
A chill instantly swept across Jaeseok’s expression.
Without a word, he yanked the blanket away.
“Ah…”
She had hidden her phone beneath her injured leg. Without the slightest care, he pushed her leg aside and snatched it up.
Pain shot through her surgery wound, and she let out a small groan—but his attention was fixed entirely on the phone.
He tapped the screen. Thankfully, it was locked with a pattern. Hyunjeong exhaled shakily.
If it hadn’t been locked, he might’ve discovered her messages with Taegun—and the thought alone made her back go cold.
She knew how wary he’d been of Taegun ever since the Gangwon-do hospital—any mention of that man set him on edge.
“What’s this?”
Though he smiled, Jaeseok’s eyes were sharp and accusing—like a husband interrogating a cheating wife.
Hyunjeong didn’t know why she even had to feel afraid of this man, but one thing was clear: she wanted nothing more than to stay uninvolved.
“That’s my phone.”
At that moment, the caregiver—who had been nervously standing in the corner—clapped her hands once and stepped closer to him.
“I lent it to her,” she said in her usual smooth tone. “The young lady was bored all day, so I let her borrow my phone.”
Jaeseok nodded.
“Oh… I see.”
“…Yes.”
“Right, your bag was in the car, wasn’t it? Must’ve been inconvenient without your phone. I thought your parents would’ve taken care of that, but next time, just tell me if you need anything.”
“……”
“From now on, I’m your guardian. Okay?”
The way he casually belittled her parents made Hyunjeong’s heart sink heavily.
Did I really decide to marry a man like this?
“I’ll send a new phone with my secretary today.”
“…Thank you.”
Maybe he misunderstood her hesitation, because he suddenly said something that made her flinch.
“Aw, are you sad? Should I bring it to you myself?”
“You’re busy—you don’t have to.”
“Right. You should rest while I work hard, so you can support me later. I’ll visit again tomorrow.”
He lightly tapped her cheek twice, straightened up, and smiled.
As he turned to leave, Hyunjeong’s eyes dropped to the caregiver’s chest—she had a phone hanging around her neck like an ID badge.
Neither of them had even realized that Jaeseok must’ve noticed it.
“Take care.”
Jaeseok walked out of the hospital room.
