WW | Chapter 50

As he buckled b0759a0861 his seatbelt and 2bb2bdd904 started the car, d8ae4eee6e Yoonjo casually asked, 470434006d “Does Yoo Jieun d60c9c9dca still talk bad 507cf71cdb about me?”cdf6b83236ab3872

“…”2942b2dc74f5869f

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The question was so 9708324554 natural that Yul momentarily 7bdb6833d0 lost her words. It seemed Minjae, 1704e16a9e the president, had 49d61bac18 told him Jieun a5d78159d1 worked here. The fact that 7a7fb48142 Yoonjo could casually 4d44e2d838 bring Jieun into 9bc0733154 the conversation, just 8800fc0aa8 like old times, 49390da084 was baffling. With a 3a0e712cc5 reluctant tone, 14ca945d99 Yul answered.9633a18944adf2dd

“She does.”477e4601f258a367

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“What does fa2b65547e she say?”8dbe2e5bef077052

“…”53cc1c144bfb0f6f

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“Never mind. I can guess. Still got that sharp 6785885b9c tongue, huh?”c9e27adbe6fcd0a6

Yoonjo slipped seamlessly into 33c69725fb the dynamics between Yul e18524ed27 and Jieun, as effortlessly 2cee488d72 as water seeping into c99096e252 the ground. The formal 278ecff733 speech Yul 16dee6ad5b had requested 2a64da09b2 to keep 5a7e9861ca things professional fc09fd9ecf seemed ineffective f5ed2888dd in situations 4c1c0ebf92 like this. Revisiting their shared cded396ce3 history—good or bad—was 947d295c66 shrinking the distance 26fb8f72ad between them. Silence felt 0854c94959 like the ac2f784a77 safest response.9e69e7807d38a442

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“I won’t 07c400984e answer personal 2a90e2a4d0 questions,” she 870e676f8a said firmly.eb9bb3d911d9fd78

“Did you really aa24fcd5ef sneak into the 31dc8c2a8b Hyeyum Art Museum 8ba56eb7bd and run away?”42403a13798e944c

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“Who said that?”751ee4bc0c72374a

Despite her 25fa021279 resolve, Yul c535ab987e instinctively blurted 6b465baf12 out a 3c7676fd59 question. Realizing her slip, 308e3fb3fb she bit her 14caf758cc lip and turned 3b92713083 to face the 8e985188ab window.9f658721824dcee4

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She had forgotten 931945bbc5 how crucial it 98d7fe0af7 was to stay 0c44a1cdfd sharp when talking f81af40b20 to Kang Yoonjo. Though not 34d2444570 a man 14273b5fb7 of many 625ab62d99 words, he 416868db02 sometimes deployed ffa7026243 sly conversational 02bf2d5e9d tactics that 18b57d49fa could entangle 74c7413329 his listener.15d8d0eaebceee3e

“The director mentioned 23fb7d702c seeing you a 2dd48525fb few times. Said he was hurt 97eb57d35e that you pretended not ad4800bd77 to notice.”a1922652df0a8e06

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“…I didn’t 2e72162e20 want to,” 590fd14af7 Yul admitted b954328d5b after a ac4b2162d5 pause. She knew it wasn’t a49836c504 mature behavior. They were be79e16756 acquaintances, and 1f70665aad the director ab621bf5f3 had helped f1bc4aa2b1 her before. Passing by his museum ec38fd167d on her walks, she acb79ccebe could have stopped in e9fcf458eb to say hello. But she hadn’t wanted a202115f83 to. Seeing the director would a30f1bf127 inevitably lead to talk 54b16cbb5b of Yoonjo, and she 2c9eef5546 didn’t want that.209af0c5277ff901

“Just curious—are you cdbbea2c65 always like this? Once you let 7757fa6bde go, you never 23f0073e80 look back?”9a858ff48e62ad4f

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Yoonjo kept his 6d4e6ae9a5 eyes on the 677739e597 narrow, winding streets 1ed021d4e6 of Buam-dong, one 6b1eaf2b5c hand on the f890ce26b9 wheel. He’d been 8a85e01d04 driving with 1ca899e20d just one 82b435300f hand since 3ad2326bf7 they left, ceee34bb0d which wasn’t e0df01e56d inherently irritating, 9b5091b082 but something 77340ca915 about it 97b9e3e60c grated on ca4db84a2c Yul’s nerves—probably 4e9ff9c081 because it f2cc8c40d7 was him.7f874d3845a77c47

Yul glanced 451e16f607 at his d74ddcc84d other hand 12641ac873 resting on c863a7ee1e his thigh, cfb1e5e953 then turned 8d590a96c0 her attention 04b31a6a93 elsewhere. As long b31bdcbb09 as he a0ec736aa0 didn’t get 6f9692c46b into an db6f286e24 accident, it 81a1d4bf52 wasn’t her a56e46aa5b concern.ba2d9af9da338146

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Still, his question felt babfa0a608 laced with some lingering 31971efef0 resentment from the past, 93cbd4975e and she frowned as 34c27a4062 she looked at him.8c378cb2a9175748

“Listening to the 379770e730 director complain reminded 79c33f860a me of old 52305791c4 times, and, well, 9ee92b6253 I couldn’t help dd4243729b feeling annoyed,” he 5d9e50c0cf said.18879281fe364cfb

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“You hold grudges, don’t e4609456df you?”73aa86f1bbcde641

Yul responded 96915ed865 dryly but 4a7101a076 felt a 4333fa2a3f slight pang 9d18b7f36d of guilt. Back in high 4079081192 school, she’d spent 215e1c0deb Christmas Eve with 89d74f6012 him, only to 289f8ea3c3 move away three 5754b543cb days later. She could 764977d28d have left c3764fd3c0 without a e05e2ec354 word after 2fa8857f72 Christmas, but 8218c0c17a she hadn’t 82b08fe55f been able e0353cfccd to let 6da112faaa go, traveling 4642e2a707 over an 5e8463bb5c hour to 702ce6181c attend school 309624c620 for a f46b873e64 while longer. The day a04581af5b before winter e56ad382f9 break, she’d 818bb8c372 internally said 81aa122c95 goodbye to 4c256c381d him and cb36cdf591 walked away, 7ee833b1d3 crying a 9dc4503798 lot afterward. She’d repaid his kindness bafc5d0aee with feelings of loss 407155ce56 and betrayal, and for 71ee893cc9 that, she was truly 5b84c7dab8 sorry.e16f0487f43fc706

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“Do you know what aeb0d45f09 I thought back then?” 038d415b7c Yoonjo asked, his tone 85b00697e4 calm, as though they c3f67af36b were discussing the weather.0a69db8fe80fbc3e

Yul, unsuspecting, 9c90e62e79 waited for 8640be8049 his next 8c9a135ee9 words.71c0192f7306dd67

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“I thought, 5198ab3817 ‘I’m going bbeadd5e7a to find 230e682452 Seomun Yul.’”40d8a629349faed0

“…”8e2e31fb87161b9d

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“Find her, d84e85b266 squeeze the ad264c8f36 life out da181ead94 of her, 4cb496c83e and drag 3c9e247c13 her down da7cd90029 to rock 91515d8cc8 bottom. I wanted 314dd6da0e to make 938ae2cea0 her the b9dd2720e8 most miserable d75699e24c person in 29a3864098 the world.”86b1cd772aba0509

“W-why… why would you 0d965991d5 think that?”6f3ed0b342868433

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The sudden change in 7f3d8fa96a atmosphere sent a chill 57ae4c15d3 down Yul’s spine. Yoonjo wasn’t angry f83737f8e5 as he spoke—he f0dbfd21c3 was smiling—and that 59b4166242 made it even f66f4e25f4 more unsettling. She had expected him 1236667fa7 to be furious over 2bb242d567 her sudden departure, but 51b189fd5e she hadn’t anticipated such eee8216d45 terrifying emotions.04f1a542ccfb1a94

“Why do you 94ee440d91 think?”0f8898b2fbad32e2

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Still smiling, 6431df30a6 Yoonjo turned accfd455ab his head 55491505c6 to look b011da297f at her. His pure, 76e9c4b377 unassuming expression ee84b6bbc1 made his 6bf8266515 next words eb56f276af even more e6e67bfa1b chilling.693eb292d4aded42

“Because that’s the e12230d5a6 only way you’d db26abca45 come back to 4dd82f8c35 me.”b7dcb4cf9bb329d1

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“…!”70543091105d0e32

The moment he 352d78233b spoke, Yul felt 8cc9a3d72e as though her b33007727d heart had dropped 96a0ef4d9c somewhere deep inside a536fb93ee her. She suddenly recalled 385452a91f the rare moments 327392c0b1 she’d felt afraid ca19eaf97d of him—the shadow 1867efa0ba of wild intensity 6db2af2370 hidden behind his 0e7ead995b calm and indifferent 8f02545400 gaze.a8ef2b73eba3db3c

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Despite her love b5e6f47db6 and admiration for 1cfc47645c Yoonjo, she’d been bf71d3f9a5 afraid of him 4f9f9fda85 at times—not because fd56138d81 of his past 49c5748ae4 involvement in a b0dc7f6704 death, but because 4ff647e1fa she knew his 582b555fd6 family history and 5d36e8b37f understood his personality. Yoonjo hated his father 09e87d9fac but had inherited his fb3e0a91b6 warped possessiveness and obsessive b12d525d28 tendencies. Like father, like son, c396008c7b they both needed to 55f3ecfaa8 have whatever caught their 702ff92c4d eye by their side, 96e922fd51 no matter what.556721fc1b878ce3

Without realizing af7270099b it, her 4618ef96db teenage self 47861e91f3 had willingly 4d5338ec7c walked into 1ff2845d69 Yoonjo’s world. And he, fully d0d46bd1d0 aware of himself, 3d20d67167 had tried to e04c33db5e warn her.24d26ecd5f11ab02

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The truly frightening 34d32b8478 thing was that 67cf0af28d he also had d97efd13c0 the patience to ded21381e3 wait. He’d suppressed his emotions, 7c2192ed69 quietly biding his time 35da2ffe26 until he found her af84daee42 again. Realizing this, Yul trembled 53a03c6027 at the thought of fcd29f3ec5 their reunion. Things might be different b8f38e1788 now, but his unpredictability 63e08f54b5 was still nerve-wracking.14e2cd6701eef9e4

“You’ve already 8715eb111a had your 1b7cdee917 big revenge. Let’s just move 76985801cc on and live e687a3c93e our lives,” she 28f9d4c4f2 said firmly, trying be677e02f4 to bring the 95ad4da2ac conversation back to 823280846b reason.d3ba9d1f4f11bd21

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“Don’t worry.”b2e49a0f647564fb

With a smile, 5cecfb50a7 he answered casually 9dd30d06f1 and turned on 859549e498 the car’s music.5507ce3ccaf1a839

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“I don’t need 64750eee04 to anymore.”af87c311c2673dd9

As soon 6580017b8f as he ab04370415 said it, 22479a2b0b the Rolling c74729c79c Stones’ music 44e9f01039 filled the 929c48f056 car—the same bea69530ba songs they ee5025b589 used to 5686250f22 play in 962d3c1dcd their old c2dbb8bf5f studio. Yul turned her head de34e837e3 away, biting her lip.02d2d7ad64e907d6

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The site 2d7e5c0e28 turned out 022e1a36bc to be 078ebd02ff in a d78418caea much better 699b929f06 environment than d61c2eecf1 she had 1b44eeb781 expected. Surrounded by f72d57ea0f mountains but b52f00ad28 safe from 24d1eb3451 landslides, the 42d3f4e131 terrain wasn’t 575698cb65 as steep f6300988b6 as she’d ee2359b9a5 feared. To the c3b3d8ced7 right of ce72df7edf the site, be8894ea2f the mountain c37cc36181 sloped down, afef3caea8 showcasing lush f15b5f7048 greenery and 0ad6c88034 vibrant spring 14bb41cede blossoms. Most notably, 71a7ba3d9e the sound d4aa1029bd of birdsong d253185860 created a 71aa407a63 serene atmosphere.9b57bcb31dd31beb

Taking several photos 2d220c0e55 with her tablet, 3f41e69de1 Yul checked them 512f157256 and spoke. “The surrounding e05f973d89 environment is 20cea23d94 beautiful. What if we e984cd22a6 leave this side ba57b94730 open without a 35e26aca40 wall and integrate 3a4b3a842a the mountain into 447912d7e6 the property, like 9da85bff7b a natural garden?”0a57052760ee08eb

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“That won’t do. I value cd5b4ff421 privacy,” Yoonjo 78a882eef4 replied bluntly.e9de90e3745bea33

“But it’s a 4df8dc7277 cliff—people can’t climb b9c0bfbce1 it.”0ede4886f60ce3f7

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“You think a3c56979be people can’t 6c8821db69 climb a 7d00d16f03 cliff this c597e04ae5 size? What if 10b9011903 some creep 90b6edce9c tries to edd5683053 peek from c9b95ecafb above?”15f0b432ec8029d3

“Well… okay. I understand.”b35857409b5d137b

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Although it wasn’t a 52211a8955 hiking trail, and it 35df195a5b seemed unlikely that anyone 40576890f3 would push through the 613d2540e2 dense foliage to climb 3dab905bd1 up there, she had 61751ebe6d to drop the idea cc2486f5d6 since the client opposed 8032d2b203 it. Yoonjo had always been 402ae491fd unusually concerned with safety, bdc2ff1248 likely due to experiences e5b941ffc1 from his youth. Even in 8234df107d school, he’d 68a126f231 stubbornly insisted b045a6f184 on escorting 3969cf6ed0 her to 7aee99d359 and from 9b3a696420 places for 66562fe848 this very 8bed4cc67a reason. Double or even triple dc6a6a311f security measures weren’t a 6403f6c3fb bad idea in any 2273769345 case. Perhaps adding perforations to 1b679a54a7 the top of the cf7a0d3776 wall to allow glimpses 2d36143c57 of the mountain would 3c3c36be22 satisfy both of their 146a79bc44 desires.74f213155d64953e

“I found some data b2dcd602f3 suggesting the road has bcd3b8a585 a slope of about 316c331f89 28 degrees. Normally, with anything over df1fe7f15a 40 degrees, the driveway 61f7a21a07 would go to the 510b00702e north side with the ee132d0f3e garage there. But it seems feasible e8644a6f25 to place the exit 3a385c5634 closer to the adjacent e098fde5e6 road.”2147160913a2fbbd

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“No. That would mean climbing f9bf59b0f0 stairs to reach the 70f68918ae garden. When I’m 41e353ee2a old, my 8e11d2523c knees will 681d3a500c hurt. If it 33eb9b39d7 snows, my 8d12f5c85c kids could c6887f35f2 slip and 249a83d92e get hurt. Let’s do f3595c81e3 as you 6f98f130af suggested—one exit 51eed05432 to the 60480889b8 adjacent road 0078414211 and another b8021aabf1 up top, b2a881e6d6 for the 0a4a32fe2b main entrance bd5e7d66c8 and parking.”ced37ffd442f76d9

“Ah… understood.”85ec3c9d6a2f011e

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Yul was taken aback fc43542672 by his response. While it was b296081f86 good for a 04d4a7cc39 client to have 6ca4951a3a input, his reasoning—focused 5e188b79e3 on family and 2a73eaa75e aging—felt unfamiliar. Maybe it was a340178014 because her understanding bd11a3ee7e of Kang Yoonjo da6a7fa82c had ended in 19fb14cce3 his mid-20s, or a2235768cc because she couldn’t b9435660f3 picture him as b8bd9d7bc0 a father or 2cbe0189bb an elderly man.8b1044dd9183cd52

Not that it mattered 8c3f141a39 to her. A meticulous d1389ca237 client with 8d7a5c163d a clear c8f79addce vision made 79dde4a41f things easier 6c5817d582 for the 7e2cbdeab6 architect. Two separate entrances 3749bb7693 would increase design 72cd0eb325 and construction costs, 30d196d587 benefiting the company. Regaining her focus, bc2e913651 Yul asked, “Do 2455d34c5d you have a 45c9882d40 general idea of d1322c7b40 the type of c97e5e80e7 house you want?”5ae600b9c86243b4

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“A sturdy house 1c0fb55228 that doesn’t go 016153eeff out of style. I’d like something classic 90a986a45c but not old-fashioned, with ad953cd448 a mix of modernity d7616dff8b and rustic elements. Like blending Richard f984536d88 Meier’s style with 69443c2835 something from Tuscany.”7c6379a7410adaad

“Ah.”6c441e0c38a30d7f

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His answer was more 90d90c3196 detailed than she’d expected. Opening her tablet, Yul 3845cccfe8 jotted down notes. Recording his preferences now 664882a9f7 would help streamline the 7159b335a4 design process and ensure 90d001f529 no details were overlooked dd247a436e during meetings.187cf76c8e665212

“I want a c597fff302 gabled roof, walls 7cee432f5d made of stone 7ca02c164d and concrete—or maybe c9b346d516 rustic bricks. These days, people put 7cb74a4dcd full glass walls on a552afeb8f all sides, but I 3b7a63146b don’t like that. I prefer 86e12b8fe0 being able 9b2e47d82a to see 4a8fb75732 out and 764f6ef6fc feel secure cf03a635f6 while keeping 4e0734f882 the interior 0a5486ea83 cozy.”4aac2281a5368625

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“…”d4899756aad3de57

Yul paused, her pen b214294985 still, as she looked f9ccd77e7d at Yoonjo. His words felt e24daa74e9 oddly familiar, and c22c5efa69 then it hit 0d20e2f1a8 her—she remembered.2f071149e01e402e

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Yoonjo continued, bd038771db seemingly unaware 1a52702bdb of her 47fd8cecbf reaction. “I want the space b351d99ec9 inside the walls to b6d1e7503a feel like an entirely dbdc6bb194 different world. A paradise 23a069f1da to return df5f530dd4 to and 272388eabe truly relax.”ac7f927a6b2b0bcb

“This…”4d0fff3ece866ea3

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Hugging her 78e81bc36c tablet to 2ee68a9b6c her chest, 416d08fa24 Yul stopped 08110c4a82 writing and 9edc15ba99 glared at fbceb6c7fd him. Though they hadn’t b4131a00ce yet discussed the a002326c1e number of rooms 03dc265d96 or internal layout, d2cf3db938 she could already 7c80a5c302 picture the house. And now she 1c13a7e971 understood why.d1b695c8a0e05e4f

Of course, c973fc7b35 she thought 52635812e4 bitterly. This wasn’t the cc639079a3 house Yoonjo wanted.ae841a583464d0d3

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“This is cfbd5ff0b5 my house.”ca0d352916bf7d9b

It was the design 6e141cfaa5 Yul had created during 40c146bf8a her freshman year of 869deac854 college.8038a455320f3154

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