125.
#Reason
Dawoon returned to the hotel and turned on his phone from his bag. Choi Seon-gyeom had given it to him just in case, but with no one to contact or be contacted by, he usually kept it off during the day. As expected, when he turned it on, there was only one message from Choi Seon-gyeom checking in. He briefly replied that he was doing well and opened the internet app. Having achieved his goal in Iceland, he was planning to search for where to go next.
With no specific plans, he always felt lost before moving. Thinking he should maybe look up travel influencer blogs, he clicked on the tab at the top of the search bar. He was trying to find travel blog posts, but strangely, blogs covering politics and economics also popped up. He was about to ignore them when he paused, seeing the thumbnail photo.
Jeong Hayun. His face was clearly visible. Unconsciously, his eyes moved to the blog title below the photo.
[Haedo Group Vice Chairman Jeong Hayun, Engagement Imminent!]
The short sentence stirred him more than expected. He didn’t even know what he was feeling unsettled about. About Hayun getting engaged? As the heir to Haedo Group, it was natural that he would eventually get engaged or married to someone. Even Dawoon never thought Hayun would hold onto him forever. But Hayun had firmly resisted his grandfather’s pressure. He even said if they needed an heir, wasn’t Haram there?
How could someone so adamant now be getting engaged? The man who seemed like he wouldn’t let go of Dawoon even if the sky fell was accepting someone else?
He was horrified by his unconscious thought. He was surprised at himself for thinking Hayun would never embrace anyone but him.
He bit his lip hard and brushed back his bangs, which had grown long enough to cover his eyes. He tried to think that it was natural, that this was what he had wanted, but his insides kept churning.
I was the one who let go first. I was the one who ran away.
Because it was right. Because that’s what I had to do.
But why did he feel so unsettled?
Shaking his head in confusion, a bitter laugh escaped. His fingers holding the phone were trembling slightly. It was so ridiculous.
Two months was all it took? After acting like he would devour me.
This is good, isn’t it? If he’s moved on, it’s good for everyone.
All sorts of contradictory emotions mixed chaotically. He took a deep breath, audibly exhaling, and closed the blog post.
It doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with me.
He tried to repeat these words to himself soothingly, but the unsettling feeling wouldn’t subside. Finally, he turned on his phone again and typed “Haedo Group Vice Chairman engagement” into the search bar. When he pressed enter, a series of articles with similar content appeared. He clicked on the topmost article.
“Haedo Group Vice Chairman Jeong Hayun, engaged to granddaughter of former majority leader Congressman Choi Min-guk…”
Dawoon’s voice trailed off as he read the first line of the article. If it’s Congressman Choi Min-guk’s granddaughter… Choi Yu-na? Choi Yu-na is getting engaged to Jeong Hayun?
It made even less sense. Grandfather wouldn’t allow Hayun to be engaged to her… Choi Yu-na was a suitable match for himself, but in Grandfather’s opinion, she was far from enough for Hayun. So why suddenly now had she become Hayun’s fiancée?
Could it be…?
Pacing around the room lost in thought, Dawoon recalled one of the few phone numbers he remembered. He had been holding back for emergencies… Although Choi Seon-gyeom was paying for the phone bill, it was registered under the name of one of the filming crew staff. So there shouldn’t be any risk of being traced.
After deliberating, he finally dialed the number, including the country code. The call rang for a long time, but there was no immediate answer. Seeing it was an international call, he wondered if they were avoiding it. He was about to press the end button and try again. If there was no answer this time, he planned to give up. Taking it as a sign from heaven not to worry about it.
[Hello?]
The moment he heard the familiar voice, a sigh of relief escaped involuntarily.
“It’s me.”
The other person remained silent for a moment. Saying “It’s me” out of the blue seemed to make them hesitate.
“Have you forgotten my voice already?”
[Jeong Dawoon?]
His name came out immediately.
[Hey, where on earth are you? I heard you didn’t go to London? Did you really run away? Is it true that your brother is desperately searching for you?]
Ui-hyeon fired off questions. Dawoon didn’t know which to answer first and just laughed awkwardly.
[You’re laughing? Do you have any idea how worried Na-eun and I have been? Is it true you got help from writer Choi Seon-gyeom? I did pass on the memo as you asked, but I never thought you’d disappear completely. Is writer Choi Seon-gyeom trustworthy? But why him suddenly? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand why him and not me.]
Dawoon wondered if answers were even necessary. He was flustered by the continuous stream of questions without a chance to reply.
“You told me to run away.”
[…That was ages ago.]
Ui-hyeon’s voice lowered a tone, seemingly calmer now.
[Are you doing okay?]
Finally, he asked about Dawoon’s well-being.
“I’m doing fine.”
[Where are you? No, don’t answer that. It’s better if I don’t know. As long as you’re doing well, that’s enough.]
That made Dawoon chuckle.
“Have you seen the article about Hayun hyung getting engaged?”
As he brought up the reason for his call, Ui-hyeon immediately sighed.
[I was actually looking for you because of that. I called writer Choi Seon-gyeom several times to ask, but he insists he doesn’t know anything.]
“You did?”
[No, it was senior Choi Yu-na. She was the one who passed on the memo to writer Choi Seon-gyeom back then. So she thought writer Choi Seon-gyeom would know where you are, but he kept saying he didn’t know till the end.]
“How do you know that? Are you in contact with senior Choi Yu-na?”
[Not me, Na-eun. The two of them are quite close, apparently.]
Ui-hyeon said he heard from Na-eun that Choi Yu-na was quite troubled because of the engagement. Suddenly, her grandfather, Congressman Choi Min-guk, started pressuring her to get married, and even Jeong Hayun approached her directly to propose engagement.
“Isn’t that not bad from senior Yu-na’s perspective?”
He muttered without thinking. Recalling the dinner with her family three years ago, he thought Congressman Choi Min-guk and her father would probably welcome the engagement to Jeong Hayun with open arms. They had no reason to refuse. Wouldn’t it be the same for Choi Yu-na? She didn’t even reject the engagement to himself, who had flaws. There was no reason for her to dislike Jeong Hayun, who was perfect in every way.
[Apparently not. Everyone around her is saying she’d be crazy to refuse such a groom, but it’s actually a bit… You know. Unless they’re completely unaware of your relationship with your brother. Senior Yu-na knows everything, right? That’s the impression I got.]
Ah… He didn’t know that Choi Yu-na was aware. He had just thought she was uncomfortable because Jeong Hayun was being prickly because of him.
[It seems they’re hinting at her to quit her job too. It’s burdensome, I guess. Having someone who might become the mistress of Haedo Group working under them. They’re saying they’ll create a position for her at Haedo Group.]
It was an issue he hadn’t considered at all. He was just surprised that someone could lose their job over something like that. He even wondered if Hayun might have pressured them somehow.
[The biggest problem is, senior Yu-na apparently has a boyfriend. They’ve been dating for about half a year, but suddenly her family is telling her to get engaged to your brother. It’s quite a predicament, isn’t it?]
Only then did he realize he had been completely mistaken. He thought that even if Choi Yu-na had changed, it would be different if the partner was Hayun, but that wasn’t the case. She was truly living her own life regardless of her family background. And Jeong Hayun was trying to ruin that because of him.
Many people would say, “What does a current boyfriend matter when it’s the Haedo Group heir?” or “Can’t she just quit that job?” That’s what everyone said to Dawoon too. They said, “What’s there to worry about when your brother is the vice chairman of Haedo Group?” or “Just join Haedo Group after graduation, and that’s it.” Everyone who knew Dawoon was part of Haedo Group said the same thing.
But the name “Haedo” didn’t guarantee happiness. Choi Yu-na was now falling into the same swamp-like situation that he had escaped from.
“Does Na-eun have senior Yu-na’s contact information?”
Even when they accidentally met at the exhibition and had dinner together, he never asked for her contact information until the end. He thought it would be better for both of them not to know.
[Are you planning to contact her? Why?]
The question of “why” stumped him. Right. Would anything change if he intervened? If the families had already discussed it, it wouldn’t be easy to overturn. Moreover, for some reason, Hayun seemed to be actively pushing for it this time.
Because Jeong Hayun was making moves.
That was the only reason he could barely come up with. No matter how he thought about it, Choi Yu-na being pushed into an unwanted engagement seemed not unrelated to him.
[Don’t tell me you think it’s because of you?]
When Dawoon didn’t answer, Ui-hyeon guessed.
[Even if it is because of you, I think it’s better not to get involved… Didn’t you just manage to escape? If you get entangled this time, you might never have another chance to run away.]
Unable to deny Ui-hyeon’s words, Dawoon laughed bitterly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
