CH 12.5

As soon as her uncle left the office because he couldn’t wait to meet So Hee, Jung Won and Geon Hyeong looked at each other. They already knew how Geon Hyeong’s father met Jung Won’s mother. They also now know the meaning of the message Jung Won’s mother left behind the photo. However, hearing the explanation from her uncle seemed to make this problem even more difficult to understand.

“They said they had a normal wedding ceremony, not in secret, so why did she run away?”

Geon Hyeong momentarily looked doubtful at Jung Won’s question. It was also something that had been bothering him since earlier. If his mother really wanted to run away, she shouldn’t have had such a big wedding ceremony.

Geon Hyeong wrinkled his forehead thinking about this puzzle that he couldn’t solve and looked at Jung Won. However, Jung Won didn’t know anything about this either. It seemed like the secret of this problem has yet to fully reveal itself.

“Surely that woman didn’t run away because of money…… Your father is a descendant of a wealthy businessman.”

“Come to think of it, she doesn’t seem to like my father very much.”

Even now, many rumors were circulating about the reason for his parents’ divorce. He also knew what rumors were circulating creepily by word of mouth.

His father having another woman, his mother wanting to continue acting, differences in character between the two, family opposing their relationship, and so on.

The rumors were really diverse and were constantly being talked about by people at that time. Geon Hyeong now knew where most of the rumors came from.

“Really?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter right now. After all, my mother betrayed me anyway.”

Geon Hyeong replied angrily. Twelve years. Since then, he has had to struggle to live alone here. He still remembered every cold stare that was directed at him back then.

“Is it true that she received the money?”

“What?”

“Did you check?”

“I don’t need to check anymore. Because I’ve heard it firsthand.”

His mother had said it clearly to the lawyer who brought Geon Hyeong back then. That she had received the promised money.

When Geon Hyeong was 12 years old. When Geon Hyeong officially became a member of the Kim family, his mother received a large sum of money from an obvious source. Geon Hyeong still remembered how scared and desperate he was at that time.

“There must be a reason for that.”

“You’re really innocent. There’s only one reason why she accepted the money. Of course it’s because of her greed.”

Geon Hyeong said sarcastically as if criticizing his mother, but Jung Won shook her head slowly.

“No, no. I also accepted your money, but not out of greed. It was because I had no other choice.”

“Your situation is different from my mom’s.”

Geon Hyeong replied quickly, while Jung Won just chuckled quietly.

Why  is  this  person  so  stubborn  and  unadvised  like  this?  He’s  really  been  living  in misunderstanding all this time, Jung Won thought. Surely he will be hurt more for not believing that.

“Of course. Your mom must have felt more pressured. I have to protect my younger siblings, while your mom has to protect her own son. She must have her own reasons.”

“Nope.”

Geon Hyeong just snorted softly at Jung Won’s persuasion.

“I don’t know why your mom accepted the money, but I think I know one thing.”

“What?”

“Your mother has already reunited you with your father. For the sake of your future too.”

Hearing Jung Won’s words, Geon Hyeong raised his head and looked at the woman. He had never thought of it that way.

The future. For 12-year-old Geon Hyeong at that time, the future that lay before him was only the sharp stares and cold treatment of the people around him. Meanwhile, the future he had now was the result of his own hard work……

“Who knows about that?”

“Yes, no one really knows. But, if your mother believes that this will be better for you, I guess she could do that.”

“No. After all, it’s not appropriate to do this to one’s own child.”

Geon Hyeong criticized Jung Won’s allegations again. He could still bear to be called a child born out of wedlock. However, he couldn’t bear the pain of being dumped by someone he loved so much.

Jung Won was speechless and just stared silently at Geon Hyeong. Geon Hyeong’s face, which  usually  didn’t  show  his  emotions,  showed  his  heartache  again.  Jung  Won immediately tried to change the subject.

“Oh yeah, now that I think about it, it looks like this ring belongs to you. My mom said she got this ring from someone as a gift. This ring, it’s really a diamond right?”

Geon Hyeong nodded to Jung Won who was holding the ring on her necklace. He actually continued to feel curious about the ring. However, after learning that it was left by his mother to a woman who was not her sister, he felt that the ring was just a precious memento of his mother.

Jung Won touched the back of her neck and removed the necklace from her neck. The ring hanging from the necklace’s gold chain immediately fell into his hand.

“Then, what do the flowers engraved on this ring mean? I thought my mom gave this ring to me because my name is Jung Won, which means garden, where these flowers bloom.”

“My mom’s celebrity name was Daisy.”

Daisy. That’s what people called his mom. It was also the name of the cosmetics brand that his mother first starred in, which made her name shoot up like a comet. From then on, people called her Daisy during her short life as an actress.

Hearing Geon Hyeong’s explanation, Jung Won looked back at the small flower engraving on the inside of her ring.

It turned out that this is not a camomile, but a daisy. Daisy, a flower that symbolizes a beautiful woman who brings beauty and hope. Then, this ring represented the feelings of a man who loved this flower.

“Hm, I think your father really loves your mother.”

“If he really loved her, how could he marry another woman like that?”

“There must be a reason for that too. He’s been looking for your mother to death.”

Geon Hyeong just shrugged his shoulders in response to Jung Won’s words. It was hard to believe that his father still cared about things like love. Even though his father loved his mother very much, if it wasn’t expressed, it was useless.

Jung Won held out the ring to Geon Hyeong who smiled wryly.

“Why?”

“I think you should have this ring. It belonged to your mother, right.”

“This ring was a gift from my father to your mother. Then, your mother gave this ring to you. That means it’s already yours.”

Geon Hyeong rejected the ring offered by Jung Won confidently. Jung Won still held out her hand stiffly to Geon Hyeong.

“Even so, this ring means a lot to you.”

“Not as much as this ring means to you.”

Geon Hyeong finally couldn’t help but take the necklace and ring from Jung Won’s stiff-looking hands and stood up quickly. He then stood behind Jung Won and put the necklace back on her neck.

All of a sudden, the room that was cooled by the air conditioner felt about 10 degrees warmer. Her skin that was touched by Geon Hyeong’s hand felt hot.

“I’m giving you this ring again. Now it’s done, right?”

Geon Hyeong didn’t return to his seat and stood in front of her, looking at her from the top of her head. Then, he shifted his gaze to the ring hanging around Jung Won’s neck and looked back at Jung Won.

They looked at each other for a while and an awkward Jung Won was just about to stand up when Geon Hyeong grabbed the arm of the sofa Jung Won is sitting on and locked her in with his gaze.

As Geon Hyeong lowered his face and Jung Won felt her lips touch his, Jason, who was about to remind him of Geon Hyeong’s busy schedule, suddenly walked into the room without knocking.

“What are you doing, everyone’s waiting…… Oh, is Jung Won here?”

The surprised Jung Won immediately pulled her body closer to the sofa, while Geon Hyeong slowly straightened up. Seeing Geon Hyeong’s face looking at Jung Won with resentment and  a  sharp  gaze,  Jason  realized  that  he  came  at  the  wrong  time  and  accidentally interrupted the important moment of the two people. He then just smiled apologetically.

“Ah, I seem to have interrupted your important moment huh?”

“If you knew, you should have come out immediately.”

“Geon Hyeong ssi! Ah, no, really. Not at all.”

Geon  Hyeong  reprimanded  his  friend  with  a  very  creepy  cold  voice,  while  Jung  Won immediately shook her head with a flushed face. She didn’t dare to look at Jason directly.

Important moment? Interrupted? Just hearing those two simple words, Jung Won’s face immediately turned red.

If Jason had come in ten minutes late, what would have happened? What exactly was I thinking? How shameless, Jung Won thought.

“I’m really sorry. But I have to go with Geon Hyeong now.”

“What’s wrong?”

“In ten minutes there is a meeting with the head of the Carson company. Do you know that it’s six in the morning? It would be rude to be late.”

Jason gave Jung Won a small smile as he reminded her of Geon Hyeong’s urgent schedule.

Seeing the usually relaxed Jason talking to him in such a hurry, Geon Hyeong took a quick glance at his watch and sighed as if he had no other choice. This meeting was not a meeting that he could just cancel or not participate in.

“How much longer?”

“Ten minutes.”

Geon Hyeong was surprised and grumbled softly, while Jung Won immediately stood up from her seat. Jung Won didn’t know what to do seeing Jason’s friendly smile and Geon Hyeong’s sharp gaze.

“Jung Won.”

“Hurry up and leave. It looks like you’re very busy. I’ll see you later.”

“Ah, wait……”

“I’ll call you later. I’m busy right now too.”

Before Geon Hyeong could say anything else, Jung Won nodded goodbye to Jason and Geon Hyeong and quickly ran out of the room.

Jung Won, whose face was still red, immediately pressed the close button as soon as she got into the elevator. It looked like her heart was broken. Jung Won needed time to calm her racing heart and flushed face.