Chapter 27. Admitting a Crush

“Cha Haeyoung.”

A familiar voice and scent. A cautious hand gently grabbed her shoulder.

Though she couldn’t see his face well, Haeyoung was certain who it was.

With trembling lips, she called out.

“Joo… Taeseong.”

“Let’s get out of here. Together.”

Taeseong, calm and steady, reassured her with a firm voice and held her hand tightly.

“Just follow me. Keep your eyes on my back.”

He began walking, and Haeyoung followed.

With every step, Taeseong’s warmth flowed from his hand to her heart.

Step by step, as she kept her eyes fixed on his back, her vision slowly cleared.

She had adjusted to the darkness without realizing it.

Taeseong’s back leading the way. His hand holding hers. His gaze checking every few steps to make sure she was okay.

The moment all of that came into focus—

A wave of deep, vivid emotions flooded Haeyoung’s heart.

Sometimes gentle, sometimes overwhelming, sometimes confusing.

She had tried hard to avoid it, but now she had to face it.

She liked him.

Yes, somewhere along the way, she had started to like Joo Taeseong.

She knew how foolish it was to fall for someone who liked someone else.

But there’s a gap between when love begins and when one realizes it.

In the time between those two moments, her feelings had grown stronger. And now that she finally realized it—

She liked Joo Taeseong so much that there was nothing she could do.

Foolish people can never catch up with the timeline of a first love.

So she had to accept it.

That her first love was Joo Taeseong.

Outside, Taeseong carefully examined Haeyoung from head to toe.

He moved her shoulders side to side to check her condition from different angles.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Haeyoung gave a small shake of her head.

“Then why do you look so out of it?”

“That’s—”

Haeyoung paused mid-sentence.

She wasn’t physically hurt. Her panic had settled.

It was just… her heart was struggling a bit after realizing her feelings.

Because of Taeseong’s concern.

“You don’t look fine at all.”

When she stopped speaking, Taeseong met her eyes with concern.

“Should we go to the hospital?”

“I’m not hurt. There’s no need.”

“Not all wounds are visible. Your heart could’ve been scared.”

At Haeyoung’s indifferent answer, Taeseong frowned slightly and pushed back.

“And besides, you’re scared of fire, right?”

“How… did you know?”

“You told me back in Gapyeong. About the fire accident when you were little.”

“…”

“And also—”

He bit his lip, stopping himself before mentioning how she called out for her dad on the way back in the car.

He didn’t want to say that part.

“Anyway. Don’t pretend you’re fine when you’re not. If you’re struggling, I’ll help.”

Looking a bit shy, Taeseong turned his head.

Even in the chaos of everything, he still looked so dazzling.

Haeyoung stared at him for a moment, then gently tugged his sleeve.

“Thank you.”

“…”

“I was really scared. A lot.”

Her honest words made Taeseong look at her again.

“But I was okay once you came.”

“…”

“Thank you, Joo Taeseong.”

Haeyoung smiled deeply, as if trying to show how grateful she was with that smile.

At that moment, it was like a small stone was dropped into the still lake of Taeseong’s heart, causing ripples.

Those small ripples quietly reached his chest.

What… is this feeling?

As Taeseong felt confusion over the strange emotions, Chairman Joo appeared.

“Are you two alright?”

“Grandpa, we’re okay!”

At the pale-faced Chairman’s question, Haeyoung smiled and nodded.

“Are you alright, Grandpa? You weren’t hurt, were you?”

“Oh no, I’m fine. I was just worried one of my kids might’ve been hurt.”

Chairman Joo sighed with relief.

Taeseong, shaking off his confusion, asked,

“Where did the fire start?”

“Seems like a car exploded in the basement garage. Fortunately, most guests evacuated quickly. Let’s hope there are no other casualties… What a mess this is.”

While the chairman was grumbling, Chief Choi, one of his assistants, approached.

“Chairman, the car is ready.”

“Good. Kids, let’s go home for now.”

At his words, the two followed behind him.

After showering and entering her room, Haeyoung plopped down on the bed, toweling her wet hair.

“Phew—”

It had been such a long day.

She’d gotten ready since morning, gone shopping, and attended the banquet.

And then the fire—everything had been so overwhelming.

But more than anything else—

“I… like Joo Taeseong…”

She murmured, hand over her heart.

“I can’t believe I like Joo Taeseong…”

Haeyoung stumbled over her words in disbelief.

But her heart was racing steadily. Just from admitting it.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

“Yep… no doubt…”

She shut her eyes in dismay as she counted her pulse.

The average resting heart rate is 60–100 beats per minute. Hers was at 145.

“Haa… There’s no turning back now.”

She rubbed her chest and collapsed onto the bed in a big sprawl.

Now that she’d admitted it, she had to think about what to do next.

“I like Joo Taeseong. But he likes that unnie. And she…”

Does she like him too?

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t know other people’s hearts.

But if the two really liked each other, the right thing would be for her to back off.

She didn’t want to be the villain blocking someone else’s mutual love.

Finally cutting through the tangled thoughts, Haeyoung steeled herself.

“Let’s not overthink it, Cha Haeyoung.”

Liking Taeseong was her feeling. And maybe it would fade quickly.

So…

She’d just like him enough not to get hurt. Just for one year. Until the divorce.

“Then when I turn twenty, I’ll sort out my feelings and give him the divorce.”

That way, he could fulfill his long-standing crush, and she’d be left with a memorable first love.

Not too bad, right?

“Yeah. Having someone as cool and handsome as Joo Taeseong as a first love… not the worst.”

Sleep slowly overtook her expression as she mumbled,

“And eventually… I’ll meet someone else too…”

Her final murmured promise faded as she fell into a deep sleep.

The night she realized her crush—and her first love—deepened quietly.

The next day, Haeyoung met Chakyung to catch up on her studies.

They planned to study at the library reading room.

Since Haeyoung had overslept, she looked around for Chakyung, who had saved them seats.

Chakyung spotted her first and waved.

“Over here!”

Haeyoung walked quickly to her and pulled out a chair to sit.

The library desk was a four-person table. Across from Chakyung was a male student with glasses.

The seat across from Haeyoung was empty, but had books and a pencil case on it.

Haeyoung glanced at the open book in front of her.

It was filled with math problem solutions.

This handwriting looks familiar…

Just then, someone tapped the top of her head.

Annoyed, Haeyoung scowled and looked up fast.

She was ready to snap at whoever it was—but instead, her face went blank.

“You came to study too?”

The person sitting across from her was… Taeseong.