CH 7

Chapter 7: Just Strangers

I picked up the business card that had fallen to the ground. It belonged to Seo Jaeha, with the name of Hojin Group imprinted on it.

“Seo Jaeha….”

Wasn’t he Seo Jihan’s stepbrother and the eldest son of Hojin Group?

“When did this guy even come?”

Throughout my marriage, I could count on one hand how many times I had seen him. And yet, he was the man who had covered my jacket so casually, as if it was nothing. Moreover, he shouldn’t even be in Korea because he was dispatched to the United States for work. Clearly, he wouldn’t be back until two years from now.

“Then, this man was the one who covered my jacket…?”

I had only question marks floating in my head about his inexplicable behavior.

“Did he try to look sympathetic to his ex-fiancé?”

As the thought reached that point, a melancholy smile formed on my lips. After all, the heir to Hojin Group was not Jihan, my husband. The marriage between the heir to Hojin and the granddaughter of W Group was promised in the year I was born. And at the time of our engagement, Hojin Group’s heir was Jaeha.

“I didn’t know I would end up marrying Seo Jaeha…”

One day, Jaeha flatly rejected the marriage that his grandparents had arranged for him. The memory of that day was as vivid as a dream I had last night.

“I’m not getting married.”

“What…what did you say? Do you know what you’re saying?”

“Yes. I don’t plan to get married in the future. Not with Yoon Yeojin over there, nor with any other woman.”

“Even if it means giving up the position of Hojin’s heir?”

The image of Chairman Seomujin staring at Jaeha with fiery eyes still lingered in my mind. He was so daring to speak up to the chairman like that.

“Yes. I won’t do it.”

What he refused was not just an inheritance, but the position of the head of Hojin Group, a conglomerate with many subsidiaries. So he resigned from being the heir and abruptly left for the United States. 

And one day, he returned home and took on the role of the largest shareholder of H Media Holdings, a holding company for KBC Broadcasting. No one had expected Jaeha to take over the broadcasting company. But he quickly led KBC to go public and made a name for himself.

He was on the rise, ready to devour Hojin at any moment.

“Madam?”

The voice of the housekeeper brought me back to reality.

Later, Jaeha declared his independence from Hojin. The hatred and resentment towards him, who had appeared in Hojin, resurfaced. I directed my anger towards my stepmother and half-brother, who had taken everything from me, as well as my father, towards the Hojin they desired.

“Why didn’t I think of this man before?”

My grip on the jacket tightened as a small hope blossomed and my heart began to beat faster. If this man was really Seo Jaeha, I had to meet him.

“I’ll be back in a moment.”

“What? Where are you going at this hour?”

Almost two in the morning.

The housekeeper’s face looked up at me with confusion as I got up with my jacket on.

***

She might have already gone. Yet a faint scent lingered, suggesting she had not been gone for long. As he pa*sed through the empty lobby and stepped out of the hospital, the cold dawn air brushed against his cheeks.

“Of course… she must have left.”

He wiped his face in front of the deserted hospital entrance. Yes, he would call in the morning. There was still time. As he tried to console himself and turn away, the sound of footsteps echoed from beneath the stairs. It was a fleeting moment. His eyes met those of the slowly emerging man.

“You’re awake. It’s been a long time.”

Seo Jaeha. The man she had desperately sought now stood before him like a mirage. The first time they met, Jaeha’s face was still as dazzling as ever, even after all these years.

She stood there, speechless, as unfamiliar emotions swelled within her.

A chilly breeze teased the space between them.

As Jaeha drew nearer, the heady citrus scent enveloping her threatened to intoxicate.

“When did you arrive?”

“I returned to the country yesterday.”

“But why did you leave without a word?”

“Because I didn’t want anyone to know.”

Jaeha responded nonchalantly to my questions, but at the last one, his eyes momentarily darkened.

“…”

“I even left my jacket behind secretly. Though it seems I got caught because of that pa*sport.”

Jaeha pointed to the pa*sport in my hand with a tilt of his chin. He must have heard everything from the overheated media by now.

I handed the pa*sport to Jaeha, who showed no emotion.

“Are you okay?”

Instead of examining the pa*sport, he asked me an unexpected question.

“What?”

Did anyone ask me such a simple question to me, who had been tormented all day at the funeral hall? 

“Are you alright? You look exhausted.”

“…Yes, yes.”

His casual words unexpectedly stirred my heart. My lips curled inward, biting down to suppress the warmth that threatened to spill from my eyes. He seemed to accept my answer and turned away, saying nothing more.

“Alright, then. I need the pa*sport, so I’ll take it.”

As he turned to leave, the wind tousled his pitch-black hair.

“Ah, and…”

Just as I took a step forward to stop him from leaving, Jaeha turned back around first.

“…?”

“Seo Jihan.”