Chapter 6
Holding the documents in his hand, Seonghyeok continued,
“Until the divorce is officially finalized, let’s continue living together in this house. That way, we can settle everything quietly without rumors.”
For Seonghyeok, this was the best excuse he could come up with.
What he truly meant was that he wanted to remain in Inyoung’s space for at least one more month—but in any case, he had asked to stay together.
“Alright, then. We’ll file the paperwork tomorrow, and once it’s finalized in a month, you can be the one to leave this house, Mr. Seonghyeok. Decide where you’ll go by then.”
The word “leave”—which Seonghyeok could not bring himself to say—was spoken instead by Inyoung.
Yes, even if he had to leave eventually, he couldn’t leave like this.
For one month, he intended to fill his eyes with Inyoung as much as possible. Even if he could never see her again afterward, he wanted at least this one month to remember her by.
“Alright. Since I don’t want the staff to notice, I’d like us to keep using the master bedroom as it is. We’ll also need a space where we can talk privately.”
At Seonghyeok’s suggestion to maintain the marital bedroom, Inyoung nodded.
There was nothing to gain from letting Madam Anseong find out before the divorce was complete.
When Inyoung eventually went to the United States for surgery after the divorce, Madam Anseong would accompany her—but there was no need to make her worry in advance.
Madam Anseong, who was more like a mother than her own mother, would surely burst into tears just hearing words like divorce or recurrence of meningioma.
Five years ago, during her previous surgery, Madam Anseong had barely eaten from worry and hardly slept while caring for her. This time would be no different.
There was no need to make her lose sleep with premature concern.
The divorce itself was also best kept as secret as possible. Inyoung intended to inform Chairman Choi only after it was finalized, so there was no way she could tell Madam Anseong now.
Wearing a cap pulled low and a mask covering her face, they somehow managed to submit the divorce papers.
For couples without children, the mandatory consideration period was one month.
After a month, once it was finalized and reported to the district office, the divorce would be complete.
This method was better for maintaining secrecy than going through a lawyer. A lawyer within the group would immediately report everything to Chairman Choi and his wife, so it was better to handle it personally.
Once the divorce was finalized, Inyoung planned to inform her father through Injun—not only about the divorce but also about her surgery in the United States. Until then, she trusted that Injun would keep the secret.
“Please tell your mother only after the divorce is finalized. We’ll do the same on our side.”
Inyoung reminded Seonghyeok once more to keep everything secret for the next month.
“Alright.”
“And… I can’t really control the stock price, but I’ll keep the investment as it is. Try to hold things together with that.”
Once ties with BR Group were cut, DA Construction’s stock price would inevitably fall, at least temporarily.
However, if the investment remained, the company wouldn’t collapse.
“If you want to withdraw the investment, then withdraw it. Even without it, DA Construction won’t fall apart.”
Things were different from two years ago.
Even without BR Group’s investment, DA Construction would not crumble. There might be temporary stock declines and difficulties in securing contracts, but Seonghyeok was confident it would endure.
“Well… there’s no need.”
She didn’t want to withdraw the investment.
After all, he was someone she had loved—no, still loved. She didn’t want to make things harder for him because of herself.
A sudden swell of emotion rose in Inyoung’s chest, but she didn’t want Seonghyeok to notice.
So instead, she put on a cold expression.
“Just take me home.”
To keep the divorce a secret, they had come to the court together in Seonghyeok’s car.
Perhaps the people with the loosest lips in the world were drivers—so they couldn’t risk using a chauffeured car.
“If you have time… shall we go for a drive?”
Seonghyeok suddenly suggested.
He had skipped work that day, using poor health as an excuse, leaving his afternoon completely free.
It was the first leisurely afternoon he’d had in two years, and he wanted to spend it driving with Inyoung.
They had come all the way to court to file for divorce, yet it didn’t feel real.
It only felt suffocating.
He knew Inyoung must feel the same, so he wanted to go for a drive.
“A couple of hours should be fine.”
Inyoung didn’t refuse his request.
Since this would likely be the last drive of their lives together, she accepted it.
If it was the last, then she would enjoy it. If this was her final drive with Seonghyeok before death, then she would savor it fully.
Without asking where they were going, Inyoung simply stared out the window.
…Wait. It seemed they were heading out of the city.
The car had already left Seoul.
“I said a couple of hours would be fine.”
From the back seat, Inyoung shot the words at the back of Seonghyeok’s head as he drove toward the outskirts. A couple of hours—and yet they were leaving the city?
Even though they had agreed to go for a drive, she couldn’t bring herself to sit in the passenger seat next to him. That was something happy couples did—not a couple who had just filed for divorce.
Perhaps even going on a drive to the outskirts was something people who had filed for divorce shouldn’t do.
“Either way, we don’t have anything to do today. Since it’s our last drive together… I want to go somewhere a bit farther.”
“Farther? Where?”
Though she asked, she already knew—from the road signs and the navigation voice.
Seonghyeok was heading to a place filled with his memories.
The place where their relationship had been decided.
Seonghyeok’s car arrived at his family’s villa in Gapyeong.
This was where he had hidden himself two years ago, tormented by the instability of DA Construction.
On the surface, he had said he came to clear his head—but in truth, he had been hiding.
The mess caused by his uncle had not been easy to resolve, and his cousin Gyu-hyeok—his uncle’s son—had sold off DA Construction stocks and fled to the United States.
It was an escape.
Without any intention of cleaning up his father’s mess, Gyu-hyeok had simply run away.
Worse, by dumping the already-bottomed-out stocks, he had plunged the company into even greater chaos, and his uncle had completely given up.
In that state, Seonghyeok needed time to think.
He shut himself inside the villa for days, agonizing.
But his 고민 found no solution, blocked by the massive wall of financial pressure.
And then, somehow, Inyoung found her way there.
She told him that if he married her, she would help him overcome the crisis facing DA Construction.
Not knowing that Chaesu had already gone to the United States, Inyoung asked him to cut ties with Chaesu upon marriage.
Seonghyeok couldn’t tell her the truth—that Chaesu had already left. It was a family disgrace he couldn’t bring himself to reveal.
With pressure from both families to marry, and Inyoung saying he was the most suitable partner, Seonghyeok took her hand.
Even as he did, he felt ashamed.
Ashamed that he was a fool who couldn’t stand on his own, a fool who could only rise by holding the hand of the woman he loved alone.
Because of that, he never showed his true feelings to Inyoung.
A fool who hadn’t even been able to approach her before she reached out—such a man couldn’t suddenly change just because he got married.
Thanks to Inyoung overcoming her family’s opposition, the marriage happened faster than expected—but Seonghyeok only became more withdrawn.
In that withdrawn state, unable to express his feelings, Seonghyeok planted seven trees at the Gapyeong villa.
He planted them after spending a night there with Inyoung—the night she had insisted on staying together no matter what, saying it would prevent their marriage from being opposed.
The one-year-old whitebeam tree he planted back then had now grown to nearly two meters tall.
The whitebeam tree, symbolizing enchantment, was his way of expressing how he felt about Inyoung—but since he never said it out loud, there was no way she could have known.
Now, Seonghyeok was heading to that villa in Gapyeong, where the whitebeam tree stood.
“Oh dear, you could’ve at least called ahead before coming.”
