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Jinhan’s mind was complicated. Chairman Yoo wanted to see him before the press conference.
He went to the office, intending to somehow appease Chairman Yoo.
He nervously waited, having already prepared Chairman Yoo’s favorite black tea bags.
But he didn’t show up at all, so Jinhan called Han Jintae.
“Where are you now?”
He paced inside the office, hearing that he’d arrive soon.
Then, after more than 30 minutes, he left.
Just in case, he waited on the first floor when a call came from Han Jintae.
“I’m sorry, Director. The Chairman had a sudden appointment, so it seems difficult to meet him.”
“Alright.”
Annoyed, Jinhan checked the time.
With only 15 minutes left until the press conference, he ran without hesitation.
Still, he felt relieved that Chairman Yoo hadn’t come to the press conference.
He vowed to restore his fallen prestige with this press conference.
“Phew!”
Jinhan arrived 10 minutes before the press conference. The interior was already bustling with journalists.
“Has Haejoo arrived?”
“Yes, she’s in the waiting room.”
Unexpectedly, Haejoo was in a wheelchair.
His heart sank, wondering if she was so unwell she couldn’t walk.
“I trust you, Haejoo.”
He was grateful that she had come to the press conference despite her illness.
He earnestly prayed that she would just speak as he had asked yesterday in front of the reporters.
At that moment, something caught Jinhan’s eye, bothering him.
Among the security company employees hired for the press conference, he spotted someone familiar.
A sense of déjà vu slowly crept up on him.
“Actress Lee Haejoo has arrived at the press conference.”
Haejoo appeared in her wheelchair, introduced by the general affairs manager.
Amidst the dizzying flashes of camera lights, Jinhan began to scrutinize the press conference hall.
Then, he found a person he wished hadn’t come here. Despite their disguise, their presence was too significant.
Even though everyone was focused on Haejoo, Jinhan kept an eye on the person he’d found as if playing hide-and-seek.
“My father came without my knowing.”
The person Jinhan recognized was Han Jintae.
Chairman Yoo trusted Han Jintae so much that even his own son couldn’t treat him carelessly.
And now, he was secretly watching Haejoo’s press conference.
“Why on earth...”
Jinhan instinctively guessed that Chairman Yoo had met Haejoo.
It was obvious he had warned or intimidated her on his behalf.
It was an act that didn’t fit the logic of power.
His face flushed as he recalled Chairman Yoo’s rude words and actions.
“Why on earth!”
In the end, Chairman Yoo had intervened.
His nature to see things through to the end once he latched onto something was an act Jinhan utterly despised.
His father’s problem lay in his methods of resolution.
If things didn’t go his way, he wouldn’t hesitate to use violent methods.
As a child, he was scared of and even despised such a ruthless father.
He vowed never to be like that, but although the methods differed, he had driven Haejoo into an extreme situation.
“Damn it!”
Reluctantly, he admitted that his stubbornness also resembled Chairman Yoo’s.
Just moments ago, he was muttering cowardly excuses, vowing that if he could just overcome this crisis, he would never repeat such a thing.
Even now, Jinhan was convinced. He was different from his father, he told himself.
Even if it was self-confidence that covered the sky with one hand, he couldn’t help it.
Hoping that Haejoo would read from the script he had given her yesterday, he pushed his way through the reporters.
Han Jintae, who had been watching Haejoo standing in front of the microphone, finally met Jinhan’s eyes.
________________________________________
At the same time, outside the building, Dojun nervously waited for Hyunseong.
He rubbed his neck; there had been no reply to his message.
“Did something happen?”
It was already 5 minutes before 10 AM.
He had only messaged Haejoo, telling her he’d see her soon to alleviate her anxiety.
The main entrance of the building was already closed, and security guards were guarding the path to the back entrance.
It seemed difficult to enter the press conference hall like this.
Dojun, whose heart was racing, carefully observed the reporters remaining outside the building.
“There’s no other way.”
Dojun backed away, pretending to be a passerby. He approached without the reporters noticing and subtly snatched a hat hanging on a camera tripod.
Then he reached into a news vehicle with an open window.
What he secretly grabbed was a vest with a media company’s logo.
“Got it.”
Back in his car, Dojun put the vest over the t-shirt he was wearing. Then, he pulled down the shabby hat and checked his face in the car’s side mirror.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll climb the wall. Wait here.”
Dojun quickly ran.
Avoiding the security guards’ eyes, he looked up at the tall building wall.
Fortunately, he saw an open window on the third floor, so he stepped onto an outdoor unit and climbed up.
Then, using his tall stature, he stepped onto the windowsill to support himself.
After catching his breath, Dojun leaped with all his might. He barely grabbed the windowsill and slipped through the open window.
“Phew!”
There was no one on the third floor.
He heard a murmur from the first floor, indicating the press conference had already begun.
Dojun ran down the stairs.
The press conference hall, where he finally arrived, was packed.
Dojun pulled his hat further down.
As he entered, Haejoo, helped by Hyunseong, stood up and bowed.
“Thank you for taking your valuable time. I also sincerely apologize for causing you concern.”
Determination shone in Haejoo’s eyes.
The loud camera shutters and flashes were dizzying, but she endured them steadfastly.
The only regrettable thing was that she didn’t know if Dojun was there. Hyunseong was also staying by Haejoo’s side, so it was difficult for him to leave immediately.
“As you can see, I haven’t been feeling well recently, so I will speak from a wheelchair.”
She asked for understanding and then sat in the wheelchair.
Only then, as the camera flashes became less frequent, did Haejoo bite her lower lip.
The script had been torn up in the car and was gone.
Team Leader Oh, who noticed this, thought Haejoo had forgotten it and brought his own.
The script contained content that made Dojun out to be the worst villain.
Haejoo resented Jinhan, who had stubbornly refused to budge.
“The reason my statement was delayed was due to a disagreement with my agency.”
At Haejoo’s first words, dismay appeared in the eyes of Jinhan and the agency staff.
Yet, she didn’t care.
She had no intention of relying on the shallow justice of the world. For Dojun and the baby growing inside her, Haejoo only trusted herself.
“The circumstances of Representative Park Dojun and my marriage registration have been revealed through his full statement.”
The reporters’ hands moved faster. A chilling silence fell inside, so quiet that no one dared to breathe.
“The content of that full statement is all true.”
Again, camera shutters clicked, and lights that seemed to burn pupils enveloped Haejoo.
Haejoo calmly spoke of her painful past.
“There was a secret about the marriage registration that even I didn’t know.”
Haejoo candidly confessed about the twin brothers who had liked her.
The story, told from Haejoo’s perspective as the protagonist, was like a fairy tale.
“Do-jun’s brother, Yi-jun, begged President Park to save me before he passed away.”
To save Hae-joo, even at the cost of misunderstanding, the three men in the family made great sacrifices.
During the story, Hae-joo’s voice broke, and her eyes welled up with tears.
“Some of you might say, ‘Did it really have to go that far?’ To those people, I want to ask instead.”
The hall fell silent.
Meanwhile, a defiant resolve settled in Hae-joo’s once clear eyes.
“What did you do for me, who was dying at that time?”
Besides President Park and the twin brothers, no one had cared for Hae-joo.
It was fortunate if they didn’t harm her from behind.
“Do-jun saved me when I was about to make an extreme choice. When I woke up in the hospital, I didn’t know him well. I only heard through my sister that there was someone who had become my hero.”
Just thinking of Do-jun made Hae-joo’s heart ache.
She deeply resented the media and the public for casually belittling his sacrifice.
“It’s true that for the past three years, I lived like a stranger to him. I only found out about our marriage registration when the marriage scandal broke.”
Hae-joo corrected the part of her initial explanation where she had only focused on covering things up.
With that, she staggered to her feet and bowed her head.
“I should have been honest from the beginning, and I apologize for not doing so. After reuniting with Do-jun, I gradually learned things I didn’t know.”
Even afterward, Hae-joo disclosed, without filter, the parts that the public was suspicious of. At times, she firmly resolved her will, but when confessing lies, her face flushed with guilt.
Hae-joo’s sighs came out relentlessly.
Watching her like this, Do-jun’s heart was equally heavy.
“I don’t blame my agency. They did their best for me, and all responsibility lies with me.”
Hae-joo didn’t shift the blame to Jin-han.
By humbling herself, she hoped Jin-han would be spared some of the shock.
At that moment, Hae-joo’s gaze met Jin-han’s. His eyes, looking lost, appeared unspeakably sad.
But this was reality.
Hae-joo had chosen Do-jun and couldn’t go back to Jin-han.
“I also apologize to the agency and corporate representatives who suffered damage because of me. It’s my fault for not being honest from the beginning.”
She decided it would be better to take all the blame herself to avoid further trouble.
With Chairman Yoo involved, there was no other alternative.
Just then, a reporter raised a hand.
It wasn’t time for the Q&A yet, but he brazenly threw out a question.
“You mentioned a conflict of opinion with your agency. What exactly was it about?”
“I haven’t given you the floor yet...”
“It’s okay. I’ll answer.”
As the general affairs manager, who was in charge of the proceedings, tried to stop him, Hae-joo intervened and began to speak.
“The agency misunderstood Do-jun because they didn’t know him well. That’s what caused the conflict.”
“Does that mean there wasn’t enough communication?”
“As you all know, the past few days have been impossible for daily life. Don’t you know the reason better than anyone?”
Hae-joo pointedly referred to the reporters.
Only then did the reporter who asked the question clear his throat and fall silent.
“The agency did its best to respond, and thanks to that, I can stand here today.”
“Are you and CEO Park Do-jun in a normal marital relationship?”
Hae-joo gasped at the blatant question.
The attitude of the reporters, who refused to let go of their suspicions just because they were journalists, was now even frightening.
As Hae-joo’s answer was delayed, another reporter abruptly interjected.
“I understand the past connection between CEO Park Do-jun and his family, but it seems strange that a husband who appeared after three years was so easily accepted.”
It was a sharp observation.
Nevertheless, Hae-joo couldn’t explain this part at all.
Because receiving love from someone who dedicates their entire life to you felt like a dream to Hae-joo herself.
Her gaze fell to the floor.
Even after explaining so much, if it wasn’t enough, she couldn’t think of what else to say.
‘I want to cry.’
Tears felt like they were about to fall.
She feared that if she collapsed here, she would never be able to stand in front of a camera again.
Just then, someone pushed their way through the reporters and came forward.
At the slight movement, Hae-joo lifted her head.
The lips of the person, who appeared to be a reporter, were clearly enunciating Hae-joo’s name.
“Hae-joo, Lee Hae-joo! It’s okay.”
“...!”
Hae-joo’s eyes widened.
The reporters also looked around and focused on the unfamiliar reporter.
He met Hae-joo’s gaze and lifted his hat.
Surprisingly, it was Do-jun.
“Do-jun...”
Hae-joo called his name silently.
Unconsciously, tears welled up in her eyes, and she had to swallow them with difficulty.
Her chest swelled rapidly.
Despite her wildly beating heart, Hae-joo’s stopped thoughts began to flow again.
Then she brought her mouth to the microphone.
“I will answer the question asked by the reporter just now.”
The hall was already in an uproar as reporters discovered Do-jun.
As they aimed their cameras at him, silence fell when Hae-joo began to answer.
“Do-jun loved me from the first moment he saw me and has waited for me until now.”
Do-jun of the past had not let go of Hae-joo. Just as he did on the rooftop, he now personally opened his arms to her.
If there was one thing that remained unchanged no matter how the world changed, it was Do-jun.
At this moment, Hae-joo, facing countless cameras, her gaze boldly went past Do-jun and then to herself. Reaffirming that nothing could change without action, she confronted the truth.
“I merely reciprocated that love... If he has committed any sin, it is only that he loved me unchangingly.”
Hae-joo did her best.
Unable to endure any longer, her upper body tilted while she was sitting.
Seeing this, Do-jun and Jin-han were surprised and simultaneously rushed forward.
In a fleeting moment, Hae-joo was embraced by Do-jun.
________________________________________
He picked up Hae-joo in his arms and left the press conference hall.
This scene of the two was captured in real-time by cameras and videos.
Also, news articles about Hae-joo went viral through breaking news reports.
“They’re gone.”
Jin-han’s legs gave out, and he swayed.
He held back the bitter emotions that rose as he watched Hae-joo disappear from his sight.
“Where are Lee Hae-joo and CEO Park Do-jun going now?”
Even amidst all this, a reporter asked a foolish question.
Jin-han weakly turned his head and tore off the mask that had concealed his true nature.
“I don’t know.”
After that day’s press conference, Hae-joo and Do-jun disappeared without a trace.
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