TTS Vol 1 Ch 3.3

Gripping the steering wheel of the luxury sedan, Taeri stared straight ahead, her expression tense, as if she were sitting on pins and needles.

She occasionally glanced in the rearview mirror to check on the man seated in the back seat. He was massaging his temples at times, looking at his phone, or turning his head to gaze out the window quietly.

The man’s physique was still as impressive as she remembered. His long, narrow eyes, sharply defined nose, and chiseled jawline were all the same. Some people aged poorly, but the man seemed to be an exception. If anything, he looked even better than before.

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“You’ll cause an accident at this rate. I thought you were a good driver.”

Those were the first words the man spoke inside the car. Startled, Taeri quickly fixed her gaze forward and adjusted her grip on the steering wheel.

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“I apologize, sir.”

“How have you been?”

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Park Chigyeong asked, his eyes still on his phone. Though it was a casual question, her hands gripped the steering wheel even tighter.

“I’ve been well.”

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“I heard a little about what happened from Sihyun.”

Taeri had been about to return his courtesy by asking after him, but her lips, half-open, clamped shut again. It felt as if he were indirectly saying, “You haven’t been well, have you?”

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“How did things end up…”

Park Chigyeong clicked his tongue, still not taking his eyes off his phone.

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“I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.”

She knew it wasn’t meant as a comforting question, so she declined politely.

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“I see. I apologize if I offended you.”

“It’s fine.”

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“I heard you didn’t graduate. Why? Was it because of tuition?”

Despite his apology, the man now asked an even more insensitive question. He tapped at his phone as he did as if casually asking, ‘What do you want to eat?’ as though it were just another mundane question tossed to a coworker unable to decide. His tone was utterly indifferent, his face devoid of the slightest hint of empathy.

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Suddenly, the memory of their last encounter flashed through her mind. The man had effortlessly crushed her at the hotel. He was doing it again now, reducing her to… this… with just a few words.

Taeri scowled, her expression even more uncomfortable than before as she responded sharply.

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“It’s not that I couldn’t graduate. I chose not to. And it certainly wasn’t because of tuition.”

“If your family was going through such a difficult time, you could have contacted me. I could have helped you.”

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Whether he wanted to flaunt his wealth and power or to rub her nose in her lousy circumstances, she couldn’t be sure. Either way, the man was still as cruel as ever. She couldn’t quite figure out why he bothered with such hollow words, but she knew well by now that every bit of it was all lies.

“You’re just a stranger, sir. Why should I?”

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Stranger. 

Park Chigyeong repeated the word softly to himself, his gaze still fixed on his phone. The corner of his lips seemed to twitch upwards slightly.

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“We’re not strangers. We did, after all, go to a hotel together once.”

Taeri’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, but she forced herself to sound indifferent, changing the subject.

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“Getting a hundred million won for a single edited photo was enough. I’d say that was plenty of help.”

After that, it was complete silence.

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Taeri kept her focus on driving, yet she could still sense that Park Chigyeong’s gaze was no longer on his phone. It felt as though she could feel his gaze directly on her, reaching the back of her head.

And it wasn’t just a casual glance. It was a scrutinizing gaze that seemed to stick on the back of her head, refusing to let go.

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Hmm. Finally, after what felt like his evaluation had concluded, a low hum escaped from the man’s throat.

“You’ve grown up. And mellowed out a bit.”

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His deep voice broke the silence, echoing loudly like a sound in a cave. Just then, the traffic light turned red, and as Taeri brought the car to a stop, pressing her sneaker-clad foot firmly on the brake, she turned to look back at him, unable to hide her anger as she asked.

“Mellowed out? What do you…”

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Despite her earlier determination to confront him head-on, Taeri couldn’t bring herself to finish her question. The moment her eyes met Park Chigyeong’s gaze in the air between them, it was as if all the feelings she thought she’d long forgotten resurfaced.

“What do you need, student?”

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His dark eyes leaned closer, looking like they would devour her whole as he smiled. No, those eyes had an intensity that appeared closer to red.

“Go ahead. Speak freely.”

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The awakened feelings washed over her, overwhelming the 24-year-old Taeri.

“Your father…”

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The strange thing was, these feelings weren’t the same curiosity she’d felt towards the man when she was twenty-two.

“Should I get him out?”

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She just felt… disgusted. For no apparent reason.

In September, the season that was neither too hot nor too cold, Taeri felt her palms, gripping the steering wheel, grow damp with sweat.

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* * *

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With about three minutes left until they reached the destination displayed on the navigation system, Park Chigyeong asked her to pull over.

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As darkness fell, the affluent neighborhood, ablaze with its autumn leaves, took on a desolate air. The area was not only heavily guarded but also so steep and secluded that it was sparsely populated, with only the occasional car headlights cutting through the night.

After getting out of the car, he lit a cigarette and smoked in front of the windshield, while Taeri rested her chin on the steering wheel, gazing out at the scenery.

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From this place on the hill, the sparkling cityscape of Seoul lay beneath her in one view. A frivolous thought crossed her mind, Is this why the rich live in high places? So they can look down on everything? Perhaps that’s why Park Chigyeong always looks down on others.

Now that she have thought about it, she, too, had also lived up high once, looking down at the world like this. The scenery from this hill reminded her of Hawaii. The night view of Honolulu from Tantalus Hill. The memory of her last trip she took with her father.

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Hah.

Meeting someone who knew her past self wasn’t exactly pleasant. It forced her to confront both her past glory and her current, less glamorous reality.

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Shaking her head, Taeri shifted her gaze to Park Chigyeong, who was still smoking outside.

‘Your father… Should I get him out?’

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He had asked her that, but she hadn’t been able to answer. She’d just driven, letting the complete silence become their music all the way here.

For a moment, she found herself watching Park Chigyeong, almost as if she was mesmerized as she observed him exhale a long plume of gray smoke into the air.

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The relaxed way he held the cigarette between his index and middle fingers, the way his cheeks hollowed with each inhale, the sharp line of his jaw, his long, snake-like, slanted eyes, the well-tailored suit that clung to his body like armor. Everything about the man was as it always was, perhaps even better, while she felt like she was the only one who had regressed.

Noticing her gaze or perhaps intentionally smoking right in front of her to make sure she would see, he tilted his head slightly to the side, met her eyes, and gave her a fresh, charming smile.

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It was strange. Twenty-two years old. Just two years ago—only two years ago.

Back then, everything about the man fascinated her. She even wanted to be like him. Was it a kind of admiration for the kind of adult she’d never encountered before?

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But in just two years, that admiration had withered completely, like a branch snapping off. Now, she could see things she hadn’t noticed before.

Despite his attempts to appear gentlemanly, she could see through him, to the condescending gaze and the arrogant gestures he couldn’t quite hide.

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Now, she saw that the man had been the one who remained in place, and it was actually her who had moved forward.

Taeri had learned to control her emotions with ease, and she had grown into someone who could perfectly mask her thoughts and expressions.

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When Taeri flashed him a smile, for some reason, his previously smiling face seemed to falter. 

His face, now serious, Park Chigyeong took a deep drag on his cigarette, staring intently at her through the windshield. His gaze flickered in the rising gray smoke, flaring up and dying down repeatedly.

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“Sorry to keep you waiting. Smoking is not allowed inside.”

With a click, he opened the backseat door and got in, offering a polite apology. The air inside the car suddenly felt colder, as if the chill wind had entered with him.

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“It’s fine. I’ll start driving now.”

She started the engine and was about to put the car in gear when Park Chigyeong spoke, his face etched with what seemed like an annoyance.

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“Let’s talk. It’s been two years.”

He patted the empty passenger seat next to him a couple of times. His slow, deliberate movements and tone subtly held an air of authority.

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