Episode 2
“Let’s go on a trip.”
5 years ago.
One day, a few days before his college graduation, Seongbin said, “I’m going to do it.” Ji-on pretended to be cool and said, “Okay,” but in reality, his insides were burning with anger.
Her mother had a very narrow view of her daughter’s romantic relationships. Especially after she married into a wealthy family, she couldn’t even dream of staying out overnight.
My mother’s new husband was said to be incapable of bearing children. So, I was told, repeatedly, that I should live cautiously as the daughter of a wealthy stepfather and marry a chaebol son who would be a source of strength for the family.
For Zion, a two-day, one-night trip with her boyfriend was an act that crossed a line drawn by her subconscious.
After a late dinner, we went back to our lodgings, washed down with some cheap wine we bought at the convenience store, and Ji-on came out after washing up first. Or was it Seong-bin?
Between the occasional, hazy memories, only the hot breath that brushed past my ear, the passionate kiss that seemed to drink away my soul, and the unfamiliar thrill that made my toes tingle came to mind.
Their longing gestures were urgent and clumsy. I couldn’t come to my senses. Every time I briefly regained consciousness, I could only notice that my clothes were becoming lighter.
When his lips finally reached that secret place she had never shown to anyone, she couldn’t hold it in any longer and let out a hot breath.
“ha….”
I felt a strange tingling sensation, and at the same time, I wanted to push him away and hug him tightly.
Zion, unsure of what to do, simply held onto his broad back. No matter how hard he tried to hold it back, the strange metallic noise kept erupting, driving him mad.
She bit her lip hard to keep the sound from escaping.
“You don’t have to put up with it.”
Seongbin smiled brightly, as if he was dying of her beauty.
His lips, brimming with passion, poured down on her again. Like ripples on a calm lake, a tingling sensation spread through her body once again.
It was the beginning of a boiling night.
As if they were the only two people left in the world, and as if they had nowhere else to trust and lean on but each other’s arms, they buried themselves in each other all night long.
That night, for the first time, Zion imagined a distant future with Seongbin. At the end of that fantasy, he saw an elderly couple walking hand in hand, and he became desperately curious about the tomorrow they would share.
We didn’t know then that there would be no tomorrow like that.
* * *
My mouth was dry from tossing and turning all night. My already heavy footsteps felt like they weighed a thousand pounds.
You want to meet me? When you leave on your own, you’re coming now, aren’t you?
The more she thought about it, the more it became a truly unbearable arrogance. She hesitated dozens of times, considering throwing away all investment and everything else, but Shinsung Venture was the only investor who appeared before her. She was in no position to be concerned about pride.
Yeah, if you can meet me without any problem, then I have no reason to avoid you either.
Let’s just get the investment. Let’s just think about the performance.
She steeled herself.
“I’m here to meet with Jeon Seong-bin, the head of Planning Team 1.”
Zion clenched his jaw at the word “nim” that he’d unconsciously added. Hearing his name, the first time in a long time, made his lips tingle.
The employee, with his hair neatly combed back, looked her over.
“Did you promise?”
Zion felt her stomach turn because of her ex-boyfriend, who had become a precious person who only met her if she made an appointment.
She took a short breath and tightened the corners of her lips.
“Yes. We’re meeting at two o’clock. This is Yoon Ji-on from EM.”
The employee nodded with a professional smile and went through the verification process.
“You can go to the 25th floor.”
Only after writing down his name and contact information, Ji-on was finally able to receive his visitor’s pass. The pass hung around his neck, weighing as heavily as the torture device around Chun-hyang’s neck.
As she passed through security, the elevator doors closed as if they had been waiting. The elevator next to it was under maintenance. As a result, Zion arrived a little late for their appointment.
“Hello, my name is Yoon Ji-on. I’m here to see Director Jeon Seong-bin.”
To meet him, I had to go through his office. The distance between them had grown as vast as the years they had spent apart.
“You’re a little late.”
Zion was taken aback by his secretary’s unexpected reaction.
“Oh, I missed the elevator….”
“Our chief’s schedule is measured to the minute. Just a moment.”
The secretary added some flair to my words, which could have seemed rude.
“Chief, Mr. Yoon Ji-on has arrived.”
[Didn’t you check the time?]
Seongbin’s low but firm voice came out of the receiver.
It’s been a long time since I heard that guy’s voice.
Just hearing her voice made his stomach churn. A blush crept across Zion’s cheeks. For another reason, his secretary’s face also flushed.
“I’m sorry, Chief.”
Seongbin hung up the intercom without a word. His secretary, looking visibly uncomfortable, immediately hung up.
In the ominous atmosphere, Zion’s eyes moved quickly.
“What should I do? The director is busy with his next schedule.”
“No, it’s exactly 2:05 now….”
Zion complained, as if protesting. As she finished speaking, the time reached 2:06.
“Excuse me. Would you mind sitting over here and waiting? I’ll see you around three o’clock once the meeting concludes as scheduled.”
I was dumbfounded, but there was nothing I could do. It was true that it was late, and if A wanted me to wait, I was B, so I had to wait.
‘But you only called me in to talk for five minutes?’
Zion’s stomach was seething. He tried fanning himself with the clear file he was holding, but his head still felt hot.
She put her earphones in and played some meditative music. She closed her eyes.
“You do the show you want to do. I’ll pay for it.”
The words that Seongbin always said like a habit dug into my ears.
Who would have thought that the oath I made as a joke would become reality… .
Memories, edited to my liking, poured out at will, dispelling the overwhelming fighting spirit. My heart pounded.
Zion gasped for breath, his breathing becoming increasingly difficult, until he heard a “whoosh” sound.
The meditation music wasn’t even audible. My mind was still noisy, and my disobedient buttocks were swaying uncontrollably.
I always thought we’d run into each other at some point in our lives. Same school, same neighborhood, same friends. There was too much overlap to ignore.
But the person I imagined wasn’t the same as I am now. I wanted to be a successful person, to show him that I could live just fine without him.
But here I am, sitting in front of his office with an anxious face, waiting for a chance.
As expected, he wasn’t coming.
Zion jumped to his feet. Secretary Kim looked up at her.
“I think I came to the wrong place.”
“yes?”
Zion took a step forward with a hardened face. His heart grew impatient as he thought he needed to get out of here quickly.
She often left the office at a brisk pace. Secretary Kim, who didn’t understand English, followed her.
Zeon repeatedly pressed the elevator buttons. It didn’t seem to speed up the elevator downstairs, but he pressed the same buttons over and over again.
But then, the clear file she was holding fell to the floor with a thud. The sound was particularly loud, and her frantic fingers stopped moving.
My heart was still pounding like crazy, but my whole body was frozen.
The investment proposals painstakingly prepared by CEO Baek and his agency staff were scattered on the floor.
Zion looked down at the floor for a moment, then slowly bent down. Then, with trembling hands, he picked up the papers one by one.
She took a deep breath and sat up.
There was no choice. Right now, I had to protect something more precious than my meager pride.
Zion pursed his lips, raised his head, and stepped back toward Seongbin’s office.
As soon as she entered, the tightly shut door burst open as if it had been waiting for her.
Seongbin finally appeared.
Zion held his breath at his sudden appearance.
He stood in a position where he could see her with just a slight turn of his head. Her heart began to pump violently again.
“Secretary Kim, please provide the profit and loss statement for the Busan performance of ‘Single Life.’”
“Yes, Chief.”
Seongbin swept back his flowing bangs.
His head finally turned. A five-year reunion with the guy was just around the corner.
however.
After he finished what he wanted to say, he disappeared back into the office.
Something surged up into Zeon’s throat. In an instant, his mouth went dry and he was choked.
Snap. The clear file Zion was holding in his hand crumpled.
It wasn’t he who had been so arrogant that he didn’t even bother to pray. It was she herself, who had been so terribly rejected, yet had the nerve to come to see her ex-boyfriend.
