44. The Rising Sun Incident

Having filled her stomach with the room service Minhyuk had ordered, Danjung went to meet Manager Na with a determined resolve.

She intended to confront her about why she had harbored such ill will towards her and to receive a proper apology.

However, Danjung’s feelings were complicated as she headed to face the person she had wanted to avoid the most.

Part of her wanted to follow Minhyuk’s advice to file criminal charges and pretend she didn’t know anything.

Arriving at the coffee shop inside Le Soleil Hotel, Danjung easily spotted her waiting.

It was morning, and there were only a few people in the coffee shop.

Danjung walked over and stood in front of Manager Na.

“D-Danjung-ssi~ You’re here? Sit down. Shall I order you coffee? Or would you like some light brunch?”

“No, I’ve already had breakfast.”

“Okay, just a moment. What do you like, Danjung-ssi? Americano? Or latte?”

Manager Na, uncharacteristically, looked at Danjung nervously and got up from her seat.

“I’ll order coffee later separately. Please sit down first.”

“O-Okay.”

“First, I’d like you to answer my questions honestly.”

“Uh, okay. I will.”

“Why on earth did you do that to me?”

“Huh?”

“What’s the reason you went around spreading those nasty rumors about me?”

“Th-That’s......”

Manager Na hesitated and couldn’t continue speaking at Danjung’s direct question.

It was obvious that if she told the truth, Danjung wouldn’t forgive her.

Besides, she had racked her brain for a reason at home several times, but couldn’t come up with any good excuses.

She couldn’t just say she did it because she didn’t like her.

“Did you personally see me say yes to every man who asked me out, Manager Na? How do you know if I’m an easy woman or not, Manager Na? Why did you go around saying that Choi Danjung has a lot of male admirers?”

Danjung, frustrated by Manager Na’s hesitant and speechless demeanor, burst out with everything she had been holding in.

These were words she had really wanted to say to the source of the rumors if she ever met them.

“I’m sorry, Danjung-ssi. I’m really begging you like this. Please forgive me just once.”

Manager Na knelt down in front of Danjung, whose eyes were welling up with tears, and began to plead profusely.

Hotel employees who had gathered after hearing the commotion began to whisper as they watched Manager Na’s miserable state.

Manager Na felt mortified at becoming the center of everyone’s attention, but as Siwoo had said, begging with all her might was the only way to prevent further damage.

“I must have been crazy. I was jealous because Danjung-ssi was so popular and did so well at work. It’s all because I’m inadequate. I’m really sorry, I sincerely apologize.”

“......”

Danjung looked at Manager Na with cold eyes.

But no matter how much she apologized, Danjung’s wounded heart wouldn’t easily be soothed.

She even felt a desire to let her know how difficult it was to be hated by someone.

However, Danjung didn’t want to become the same kind of person as Manager Na.

She simply hoped that she wouldn’t harm anyone else.

“I can’t forgive you, Manager Na. I hope you experience the same amount of suffering I did.”

“Sob sob, Danjung-ssi, I haven’t even gotten married yet. Please, just forgive me this once, and I promise I’ll never do anything like this again. Please.”

Manager Na clung to Danjung’s pants leg and wept pathetically.

“Then I’ll watch you.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re truly sorry to me... live a life doing good deeds. If you do volunteer work for about three years, I’ll consider it then.”

“Three years?”

“Why? Can’t you do it? I was called an easy woman for three years.”

“No, I’ll do it. I’ll volunteer whenever I have time for three years and report to Danjung-ssi. Thank you, thank you so much.”

Manager Na felt incredibly relieved that things had ended at this point.

Although her last bit of pride had been shattered, it seemed she wouldn’t get a criminal record.

***

Having parted with Manager Na and composed her complicated feelings, Danjung went with Minhyuk to take their wedding photos.

“Wow~ Bride and groom, you both look so stunning, it’s like a photoshoot even if you just stand there.”

The photographer flattered them profusely while taking pictures.

It was partly because Minhyuk was the president of Le Soleil Hotel, but also because he had received double the fee due to the tight schedule.

“Wow~ Danjung-ah. You look so beautiful.”

Jinhee, who had come with Hayeon, also felt proud looking at the lovely bride.

“Why did you bother coming all this way? I told you you didn’t have to.”

“How could I miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? I’ll just stay for a bit so I don’t get in the way.”

“Get in the way? You’re being so quiet. Right, Hayeon-ah~.”

Danjung smiled brightly, looking at Hayeon nestled in Jinhee’s arms.

But Hayeon reached out to Minhyuk, who was standing a little further away from Danjung, asking to be held.

“Oh my~ Look at her. She really likes Minhyuk-ssi. I guess she remembers him playing with her last time.”

“Aigoo~ Does our Hayeon like handsome people? But what to do, that person is your aunt’s.”

“......”

Jinhee quietly looked at Danjung, who was wearing a beaming smile.

She looked completely different from a few days ago, like a new bride overflowing with love.

Just then, Minhyuk approached Hayeon, who was struggling to reach him, and greeted Jinhee.

“Thank you for coming. It will be over soon, so let’s have lunch together.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll probably be too chaotic with Hayeon and disturb your meal.”

Jinhee had been sensitive lately because Hayeon had become more fussy.

It was even more so because the neighbor lady kept ringing the bell and yelling about the baby being too noisy.

“Hayeon-ah! Shall we have lunch with your uncle-in-law later? Will you be good?”

Minhyuk stroked Hayeon’s head with a fatherly smile, as if it was no big deal.

“That’s how it is with houses with babies. We can just go somewhere that won’t bother people.”

Danjung also chimed in from the side.

She couldn’t just send away a friend who had come all this way with her baby without treating her to a meal.

“Bride and groom, we’ll move to the next location.”

Just then, the photographer shouted at Danjung and Minhyuk as he packed his equipment.

At the photographer’s request, Minhyuk started walking first, and just as Danjung was about to follow him, Jinhee grabbed Danjung’s wrist.

“Hey~ Minhyuk-ssi has changed so much in just a few days. He’s like a completely different person.”

“Right? I think so too. Doesn’t he seem a bit softer?”

“Did you sleep with him?”

“Huh?”

“Hey~ Why are you so surprised? You’re getting married the day after tomorrow. Is your sexual chemistry good?”

Danjung’s face turned bright red at Jinhee’s words.

“Hey! Are you really going to keep saying things like an old lady!”

“Well, I am an old lady.”

“Ugh~ I don’t know, anyway, if you leave without saying anything, I’ll be really upset. You have to eat with me later.”

“Okay. Go on~ hurry up. I’ll be waiting quietly.”

Jinhee’s eyes welled up with tears as she watched Danjung leave.

She sincerely wished for her friend to live a truly happy life.

“Thank you for the ride. Lunch was delicious too.”

Jinhee thanked Minhyuk, who had driven her home after lunch.

“I’m going to play with Hayeon a little longer here.”

Actually, Danjung wanted to discuss Manager Na’s issue and Hyemi’s situation, which was too much for her to handle alone, with Jinhee.

Jinhee, who had married earlier, often gave wiser advice than her and was someone she could trust enough to confide in everything without reservation.

“Then what time would be a good time to pick you up?”

Unlike how he was in bed, Minhyuk used formal language with Danjung in public.

“I’ll make sure to get there on time.”

“I have plans tonight, so I’ll probably finish work around 9.”

“I’ll be home before then.”

Danjung smiled brightly as she sent Minhyuk off, but her mouth was itching to speak.

“Hey! Let’s go in quickly. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you inside.”

Danjung pulled Jinhee along and hurried into the officetel, then rattled off everything that had happened like a machine gun.

“Hey! Why did you just let that go~ You’re really too soft for your own good! Isn’t it because you’re so easygoing that people look down on you and try to take advantage of you?”

“Still, I wondered if I should go that far with someone who even got fired from the company.”

“She got fired?”

“It seems she wrote her resignation letter herself since she was going to get fired anyway.”

“Ugh~ Still, thinking about how much you suffered because of those rumors, I really want to put her in jail.”

“Hehehe, but it seems she really wants to get married. She begged me to let her off just this once because she hasn’t gotten married yet.”

“Good grief, what a nerve. By the way, what are you going to do about that crazy woman? Shouldn’t you really report her?”

Jinhee asked about Hyemi.

It seemed that Danjung had a good time with Minhyuk thanks to that woman, but in any case, what she did was a crime.

“It seems they want to keep it quiet before the Jeju hotel opens, and there’s the wedding too.”

“So you’re just going to let it slide like this?”

“Right? We shouldn’t just let it slide like this, should we?”

“Of course not! Put her in jail.”

“Hoo~ That’s what I feel too... but I’m hesitant to report her rashly in case it damages Minhyuk-ssi’s image.”

Danjung shuddered at the thought of Minhyuk and that woman appearing on the same news screen.

Moreover, his image was also the hotel’s image.

Although she felt wronged and resentful, it seemed right to endure it as Secretary Oh had said.

“That’s true. Anyway, don’t let people walk all over you anymore. It’s really frustrating to watch from the side.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve decided to live for myself now.”

“Aigoo~ Is that so.”

“I’m serious.”

As her wedding approached, Danjung felt that all the effort she had put into being loved by others and recognized by her parents had been in vain.

Now she had a husband who loved her and whom she loved, and she felt that having her best friend was enough.

“Oh? Hayeon fell asleep. I should go now.”

Having confided in Jinhee and feeling much lighter, Danjung got up when she saw the sleeping Hayeon.

It was because she hoped Jinhee, who must have been tired all day, could rest with Hayeon while she slept.

“Just a moment.”

Jinhee gently laid Hayeon, whom she had been holding, on the floor and got up to see Danjung off.

As Danjung opened the front door, moving boxes were being carried out of the apartment next door.

“Looks like the neighbors are moving out.”

“Really?”

Surprised, Jinhee went out the front door and saw that the family who kept ringing their bell about the noise seemed to be moving out.

“I guess they’re moving because we were too noisy. I feel bad, what should I do?”

“Was it that bad?”

“Since this is the end of the hallway, the other apartments are fine, but it seems it was very noisy for the neighbors next door. The lady didn’t work, so she was home a lot too.”

“I hope the new people moving in are busy office workers.”

“I know. If there’s trouble again this time, we’ll have to move out.”

“Moving with a baby is tough. I hope busy and kind people move in.”

Danjung felt sorry as she left Jinhee and Hayeon.

She hoped that Jinhee would also meet a kind person and quickly find happiness again.

Minhyuk waited for Hyemi at the bar at the appointed time, but in the end, she didn’t show up.

Minhyuk, who had known Hyemi since she was in middle school, was well aware that she had loved him for over ten years.

But Minhyuk, who couldn’t feel emotions, had been unable to love her despite her ardent courtship, and Hyemi, who knew this, had slowly started to go astray.

In fact, Minhyuk had known four years ago that Hyemi occasionally went to see Siwoo.

[Hyung, do you know? Hyemi noona slept with me.]

It was because Siwoo had secretly approached him one day and told him.

But Minhyuk hadn’t cared who Hyemi met, and he hadn’t felt particularly sad or angry even if she cheated on him, so he had pretended not to know.

However, now he felt sorry for Hyemi back then.

He shouldn’t have given her even a glimmer of hope in the first place, and they shouldn’t have dated even superficially.

Or at least, he should have helped Hyemi stay on track so she wouldn’t go astray.

But Minhyuk hadn’t done so back then, and now he felt responsible for it.

So Minhyuk hoped that the smart Hyemi wouldn’t ruin herself any further because of him.

However, contrary to his wishes, Hyemi was losing her reason more and more.

Instead of regretting her mistakes or trying to fix them, she was just trying to avoid the troublesome reality.

Hyemi was sick of both the insignificant Siwoo and the unattainable Minhyuk.

So she headed to the VIP room inside the Rising Sun club to meet wealthy and disreputable friends she had casually dated a few times during her study abroad years.

“Hey! Go Hyemi~ Long time no see. I thought you were quitting.”

“Why would I quit something this good?”

Hyemi sat down among men and women with half-closed eyes and nonchalantly inhaled the forbidden substance.

And this later became the Rising Sun incident that shook South Korea in connection with third-generation chaebols.

Furthermore, the third-generation chaebols involved received massive public criticism, and Hyemi had to be imprisoned due to public opinion demanding she pay for her crimes.