A lively-looking bob cut with waves. Her naturally vibrant-looking face was layered with bright-toned makeup, making her appear even more full of life.
She looked about two or three years younger than the age Seongjo knew. Rather than simply having a youthful face, she seemed ageless, with no signs of wear and tear.
Somehow it felt unreal. It was like bringing a fictional character that you could only see on screen—in movies or dramas—right before his eyes. He didn’t know how to express this feeling, but at least it didn’t seem like anger was boiling up inside him.
Seyeong greeted Director Choi warmly, as if they were acquainted, then soon turned her eyes to Seongjo standing beside him.
Seyeong had studied abroad, and her father had cherished and raised her without exposing her much to the public from the beginning. It would be natural if Seyeong didn’t know Seongjo.
However, when Seyeong discovered Seongjo, her face showed great delight.
“Seongjo-ssi! That’s right, isn’t it?”
Moreover, she even called Seongjo by an affectionate form of address that was hard to believe they were meeting for the first time today. She took a few steps closer to Seongjo, clasped her hands together, and her eyes sparkled.
“I’m Oh Seyeong. I’ve heard so much about you!”
Seongjo quietly looked down at her. A woman who looked perfectly suited to her white square-neck dress that resembled a mini dress. She wore quite high heels, but even so, seeing that he still had to look down at her considerably, she seemed to be about 160 cm tall.
“Who did you hear that from?”
Seongjo answered with a smile. However, anyone perceptive would have noticed the oddly barbed tone in those words. Even Seyeong, who seemed purely bright and cheerful, wasn’t completely oblivious, as she visibly flinched for a moment.
However, he didn’t intend to embarrass her. He was genuinely curious. Seeing how she immediately recognized his face and called him “Seongjo-ssi” so familiarly, her words about hearing stories weren’t just empty pleasantries. Then who exactly could have told her?
Surely it wasn’t Yeongbeom himself? No matter how lacking in conscience he was, would he have told his marriage partner about his ex-boyfriend?
Seyeong seemed uncertain as she looked at Seongjo, who was smiling properly at a glance. She spoke again with the bright smile she had momentarily lost.
“Well, I heard that you’re close with my fiancé.”
Just by introducing her name, she seemed to assume everyone would know who she was and who her fiancé was. Was it because that’s how she was raised? Or did she think Yeongbeom would have naturally told Seongjo about her?
He had heard the story.
Seongjo smiled naturally.
“This is embarrassing. Did that guy say that?”
“I heard it through the grapevine. Yeongbeom-ssi doesn’t really talk about his friends much, maybe because he’s shy…”
Well, does that bastard even know what embarrassment is?
While thinking that inwardly, Seongjo laughed out loud again nonchalantly. Still, it seemed he wasn’t so lacking in conscience as to introduce him directly to his fiancée as a close friend.
“I’m surprised. I thought you heard it directly from him. As Seyeong-ssi said, he’s not the type to talk about such things.”
“Right?”
Seeing Seongjo’s smile, Seyeong seemed relieved. She seemed to decide to brush off the briefly stiffened atmosphere as her own misunderstanding. Seyeong covered her mouth and laughed along, then soon threw out a question.
“What kind of person is Yeongbeom-ssi to his friends? Can you tell me?”
“Mm… Me?”
He reflexively asked back. Seeing Seongjo smile with his eyes slightly crinkled, Seyeong seemed flustered. The question about whether he could tell her was just a polite addition, and she must have expected an answer to come naturally, but she seemed confused by the unexpected reaction. With a bewildered expression, Seyeong spoke carefully.
“Um, did I perhaps make some mistake? I’m sorry. Yeongbeom-ssi doesn’t talk much about himself, so I guess I was just really happy to meet one of his friends. At our first meeting, I was too rude…”
Listening to the words coming out slowly but clearly, Seongjo fell into thought. His mouth tasted bitter. It was a more bitter feeling than expected.
It was only a short conversation, but Oh Seyeong was a decent woman. Even setting aside her likeable impression, she definitely seemed kind-hearted. The thoughts of “how did such a kind woman…” and “she’s so kind that she could promise to marry him without knowing anything” coexisted.
The relationship between Seongjo and Yeongbeom was a fact known here and there. If someone was willing to pass along to Seyeong’s ears that the two were close, they could have also told her what kind of relationship they had. Had no one said anything that far?
Seongjo suddenly thought he wanted to tell Seyeong that Yeongbeom wasn’t originally someone who “doesn’t talk much about himself.” How thoroughly he knew him… and the fact that she was being deceived.
However, he wasn’t in his late teens or early twenties, so he could control his hot blood. Instead, he stopped Seyeong from apologizing.
“No, not at all. I was joking. I was just thinking about what to tell you. I was too mischievous.”
Seyeong was also in a deceived position, so there was no reason for her to even be attacked by Seongjo. Seongjo continued jokingly to Seyeong, who still looked embarrassed.
“That guy… Hmm, well. One thing’s for sure… He’s not the type to go around starving.”
“Oh my…”
Reading the playfulness on Seongjo’s face, Seyeong finally seemed to understand that his words were a joke. Having regained her smile, Seyeong answered good-naturedly, following Seongjo’s lead.
“Are you being mischievous again? That’s a compliment, right?”
A joke delivered with a mock pout. Seongjo still smiled smoothly and said,
“Haha, of course. Even after marriage, he won’t let his wife and children starve, will he?”
Seyeong now laughed freely and delightfully. It was true that there was some malice in saying Yeongbeom was someone who knew well how to make a living for himself, but Seyeong didn’t need to know that far.
Seongjo looked at her face and suddenly thought about the Jo Yeongbeom he knew.
“Seyeong-ah?”
Coincidentally, as if interrupting Seongjo’s thoughts, a familiar voice was heard nearby.
He didn’t want to recognize it, but he had no choice but to recognize it. For the first time, he hesitated to turn his head. It was because he didn’t know what kind of reaction he would show when he faced Yeongbeom. What if a fist flew out unconsciously? He didn’t want to ruin someone else’s event.
“Yeongbeom-ssi!”
Oh Seyeong, who knew nothing, smiled brightly and approached him as soon as she spotted her fiancé. Unlike Seyeong, who was telling him in an excited voice that she had been talking with his friend just now, Yeongbeom said nothing. Realizing that he couldn’t bring himself to answer, it felt like the blocked feeling inside was clearing up a little.
Uncharacteristically, he seemed to have lost himself for a moment. Seongjo laughed lightly and finally turned his head toward Yeongbeom.
“Hi?”
He threw out a greeting like that.
Yeongbeom was looking at Seongjo with a dark face. An expression that looked as uncomfortable as if sitting on a bed of nails. Seeing that appearance, mixed emotions crossed through him. After seeing him for the last time… how much time had passed? Yeongbeom’s face, which he was seeing after a long time, was unchanged from before, but even so, it also felt unfamiliar, as if looking at a different person.
Seongjo took a couple of steps closer to him. With a nonchalant face, he tapped Yeongbeom’s shoulder and whispered small enough that only his ears could hear.
“What’s with that expression? Get it together. Don’t make your wife suspicious…”
He didn’t know if Yeongbeom’s expression hardened even more or if he tried to relax it even a little. When he stepped away from him a moment later, Yeongbeom had turned his eyes away from Seongjo. He was forcing a smile while looking at Seyeong.
To Seongjo, who could read his expressions better than anyone, it looked like a face with something weighing on it, but Seyeong probably wouldn’t notice.
“Seongjo-ssi is such a wonderful person.”
He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve such praise, but Seyeong lavishly praised Seongjo in front of Yeongbeom. Yeongbeom responded with things like “Right…” in a soulless voice, then barely managed to turn his head toward Seongjo.
“…It’s been a while.”
Seongjo didn’t answer. Or rather, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say Yeongbeom didn’t give him a chance to answer.
“I have something to talk to Seyeong about, just for a moment.”
“Huh? Is something wrong, Yeongbeom-ssi?”
“Ah, it’ll just take a second.”
There probably wasn’t anything to talk about. The goal would be to somehow separate Seongjo from his fiancée. Yeongbeom unnaturally put his arm around Seyeong’s shoulders and turned his back on Seongjo. While walking toward a secluded spot, pretending to have something to discuss privately, he suddenly turned his head and looked back at Seongjo.
Their eyes met. Seongjo thought Yeongbeom might be sorry or sad, but…
What was in his eyes was clear wariness.
Wariness, and fear.
‘Ah, fuck…’
His mood turned foul. Truly terribly foul.
