MHD - 7

“Ah.”

A few months before her high school graduation, Seo Heesoo suddenly declared that she would give up her promising career as a ballerina.

Those who had been watching her found it strange, as Heesoo didn’t seem to have any lingering attachment to ballet. Even more baffling was that Yeon Ji-seon, the chairwoman of the foundation, let her go without any conditions.

Given the time, effort, and money invested, it was a situation that was impossible to understand.

Heesoo insisted that she would become independent as soon as she graduated high school, a decision that no one could reason with, and it was Jaehyuk who took it upon himself to try to persuade her several times.

“You don’t know the world yet. You can’t do this.”

Jaehyuk was about to finish his second year in college and was preparing for his military service. After being discharged, he planned to study abroad. He had no time to spare, and his anxiety grew.

The time he had to spend away from her felt cruel, especially because Seo Heesoo was so stunningly beautiful.

Her appearance had blossomed like a flower, captivating everyone’s attention wherever she went.

One day, while walking down the street, the owner of a restaurant mistakenly thought Heesoo was a celebrity and asked her for an autograph. He insisted so forcefully that Jaehyuk had a hard time convincing him that she was just an ordinary person, not a celebrity.

No one could understand why Heesoo would give up ballet, which she had been practicing for over ten years, but when she announced she wanted to pursue acting, Jaehyuk realized he had been wrong all along.

He hated the idea of Seo Heesoo’s face being broadcast across the country, even though it was what she wanted.

No matter how much she wanted it, he didn’t want her to be in the public eye.

Jaehyuk wanted to keep Heesoo all to himself, in a place where no one else could reach her. And he believed she would gladly accept his confession.

They had been together for over ten years.

From the moment Heesoo became etched in his mind until adulthood, Jaehyuk never looked at another woman. In his world, Seo Heesoo was the only woman.

He had eagerly awaited her high school graduation, and once it came, he confessed to her. It was the year she had just turned twenty.

He begged her to let him take responsibility for her.

“After I finish my military service, let’s go study abroad together. I know we’re too young to promise marriage, but I can’t imagine my life without you.”

But Seo Heesoo coldly rejected his confession on the spot. She didn’t even offer a long explanation for her refusal.

“Realistically, what would it do for someone like me, a poor girl whose father can’t support her, to date the child of a wealthy family?”

“I know my place. I know the world is scary, and I know we’re only twenty. Please don’t let me dream impossible dreams.”

For a moment, Jaehyuk was crushed, but Heesoo left her home, declaring her independence, and Jaehyuk entered the military.

When he got his 100-day leave, Heesoo was already living on her own. She didn’t say where she was or what she was doing, but she spent the entire leave with him, as though nothing had changed.

They went to taste delicious food, watched movies.

It was the first time. Their time together felt like the exhilarating dates of other couples.

And on the last day of his leave, Heesoo, now a twenty-one-year-old soldier with a buzzcut, undressed in front of Jaehyuk. That night, they became intimate.

What had caused her to act on a whim that night, Jaehyuk still couldn’t understand.

The night they made love for the first time was intoxicating and unforgettable, and it became a painful memory for him.

From that day on, Jaehyuk couldn’t get close to Heesoo again.

During his time in the military, he called her persistently, but Heesoo never answered any of his calls.

While Jaehyuk was serving in the military, Seo Heesoo had already established herself as a rising star in the entertainment industry.

Had she worked some kind of magic, transforming her ballet skills into acting talent, or was she just naturally good at everything?

It wasn’t hard for the senior officers to steal glances at her face while watching TV.

Seo Heesoo was stunning every time they looked at her, as if renewing her beauty each time. Since her rise to fame as an actress, she had even learned to perfect a mesmerizing expression.

Whenever she had leave, the streets would be plastered with posters of Seo Heesoo’s face.

On huge billboards, TV and movie posters, even on passing buses, her face was everywhere. It was almost like torture.

On the last day before leaving for her studies abroad, Jaehyuk sent a message filled with resentment and made one final phone call. Yet, Seo Heesoo didn’t pick up a single call nor send any reply.

What was so good about such a cold-hearted person?

Jaehyuk couldn’t forget Heesoo, even while studying abroad.

During every vacation, or rather, whenever he couldn’t stand missing her, he would endure the long twelve-hour flight to come back to Korea.

And when he came to Korea, he would see her face everywhere.

That only drove him crazier.

Seo Heesoo, sending smiles to everyone in the world from what felt like an arm’s length away, but never answering his calls.

When he drank, he would habitually dial her number, only to find that it was no longer in service. That was when he finally managed to push her out of his heart.

As always.

Seo Heesoo was selfish, relentless, and a heartless woman who tore Jaehyuk’s chest apart.

“What time is it?”

Rubbing his drowsy eyes as he woke up, Jaehyuk felt a sense of déjà vu.

It felt like a situation he had experienced in the past, repeating itself. The sensation of Heesoo’s body, which had been in his arms, was still vivid. Could it be?

It must be a mistake. It had to be.

But it wasn’t a mistake.

He quickly groped around, confirming that the spot next to him was indeed empty.

“Ha…”

Jaehyuk furrowed his brow and sat up.

Looking at the clock by the bed, it was 7 AM. He had seen just past 5 AM before going to bed, so he had barely slept for two hours.

And Seo Heesoo, who he thought was asleep beside him, was already gone.

When he held Heesoo, he had said several times:

“If you’re too proud to say sorry, then at least don’t act however you want. That’s the least you can do for me.”

He had made it clear that he wanted her beside him when he woke up. He had said he would forget the past, just like she wanted. He even added that it would be enough.

But Heesoo never gave him a definite answer, whether it was “yes” or “no.”

So, he had held her all night. He kept pushing himself into her, not stopping until she begged him, in a voice that had grown hoarse, to stop.

He thought maybe, even if it wasn’t by her will, she would stay with him until morning. At least it would be some kind of comfort. He wanted to show Heesoo that their relationship could change.

But…

“I really am an idiot with no answers.”

Jaehyuk shook his head and noticed a small note by the spot where Heesoo had been lying. He reached out and picked it up. On it was a short sentence:

“Thank you.”

A sigh escaped Jaehyuk’s lips as he read the note.

“Ha, damn it.”

Nothing had changed.

5:30 AM.

Heesoo opened her eyes, pretending to still be asleep. Everything was silent.

Turning her head, she saw Jaehyuk’s face right beside her. From the sound of his steady breathing, he seemed to be in a deep sleep.

Her closed eyes had stayed shut for quite a while. Her gaze naturally fell upon the neatly shaped, dark eyebrows above them.

“Heesoo.”

Whenever he called her name in a gentle voice, Jaehyuk’s eyebrows would subtly rise. She liked that expression, so sometimes she would pretend not to notice and linger in front of him just to see him call her.

She liked the face he only showed to her.

‘...Why did it take this long for us to meet? Why now, of all times?’

The reunion after ten years had been an unfortunate one.

A sigh, full of sorrow, filled her mouth before quietly escaping.

When she first suspected the audition might be suspicious, Heesoo had warned the CEO, Cha.

She had told him she would leave immediately if anyone tried to cross the line, but Cha ignored her warning.

“It doesn’t matter if you leave right away or what you do in there. What you need to do now is secure the role and get the investment. I’m not holding back anymore.”

Cha’s face remained unfazed. There was no sign of mercy in his cold expression.

Back when she still believed she could act, at least he had shown her some respect. Now, it seemed like he didn’t care about that at all.

How had it come to this?

It had started three years ago, when she collapsed during a shoot.

Heesoo had dismissed the sudden onset of panic disorder as something temporary and pushed through her packed schedule.

She thought she could endure it, that it was nothing, but in the end, it led to her sudden departure from a drama, which was a major incident.

Due to the abrupt halt in her activities, she had to pay hefty penalties to the advertisers with whom she had exclusive contracts, and she earned the dishonor of being a dropout actor.

To make matters worse, Heesoo’s mother finally confessed a hidden truth.

She had secretly borrowed a large sum of money from President Cha, knowing full well that it was a loan secured against her daughter.

It was a trap set by Cha to extend her exclusive contract. It was a safety net in case Heesoo, who had been doing well, slipped away from him.

Heesoo’s mother could not accept the reality that her daughter’s market value had plummeted.

In front of her mother, who blamed herself, Heesoo collapsed, telling her that it wasn’t a debt she couldn’t repay.

Despite desperately wishing for a quick return, Heesoo was unable to leave her house for three years.

Instead, she suffered from severe panic disorder and depression, repeatedly wanting to give up on life.

Those three years passed in this way.

Cha’s attitude had clearly changed. Now, he was desperate to recover the money he had loaned and the losses caused by Heesoo.

He was willing to use any means necessary.

“Ha…”

As Heesoo pondered her situation, she quickly dismissed the feeling of sadness rising within her and quietly slipped out of bed.

When she slapped Dong-hwan, Heesoo had given up.

She had thought that if she were beaten badly enough to be hospitalized, President Cha would stop tormenting her for a while. But she never dreamed that she would meet Jaehyuk there.