Hope for Salvation - Chapter 1

The luxurious chandelier illuminated the grand convention hall with its high arched ceiling.

Showing the invitation to the two men exchanging messages several times, Seoyoon entered the spacious convention hall, silently gazing at the chandelier with narrowed eyes.

Was there really a need for such a noisy engagement ceremony?

After the main ceremony, the vast hall continued the after-party, filled with bright lighting that dazzled the eyes.

Seoyoon pressed her squinting eyes tightly at the relatively quiet entrance.

The burning sensation in her eyes was because the place was too bright.

Because she had been staring at the unfamiliar light for too long.

“Congratulations on your engagement!”

“Congratulations.”

Amidst the cheerful atmosphere, the laughter of guests raising champagne glasses echoed against the walls.

Seated on the luxurious sofa spread out like a banquet table, the man and woman received endless toasts and gifts, faithfully attending their engagement ceremony.

Seoyoon slowly blended into the crowd, her legs feeling as if they were weighed down by dozens of sandbags.

“Instead of a toast, why not express your deep affection!”

“Ooh!”

Kim So-ye’s shy face was clearly visible as she placed her lips on her fiancé’s cheek as if she had been waiting.

Some reporters, who were granted permission to attend, continuously clicked their camera shutters to capture that moment.

‘This is an engagement invitation. You have to see it to believe it.’

Her words were not wrong.

Seeing is believing, they say.

Witnessing firsthand the glamorous world she couldn’t enter on her secluded island was indeed unsettling.

Pushing through the uneasy task, Seoyoon, who had stabbed herself with her own dagger, lowered her delicate eyelids and swallowed her pride.

Just a week left until her birthday.

She decided she would only stay until then, as it would be too lonely to spend her birthday without him, just for that day.

As Seoyoon was about to make her final excuse, she looked up, only to meet Kanghyun’s gaze straight on.

Her heart sank, color draining from her face, but Kanghyun’s eyebrows merely twitched, showing no sign of disturbance.

Kim So-ye continued to cling to Kanghyun’s waist, casually crossing her long legs and raising a toast with ease.

As the crystal glass clinked and clattered, Seoyoon, as if running, left the hall and found herself facing a familiar face in front of the elevator.

“I’ll escort you.”

Director Do Seokwon, a loyal secretary who looked after Kang-hyun diligently.

Jang Yeon-ju, who is Kang-hyun’s acquaintance and someone who cared for him like a younger brother, gave him the nickname a faithful dog.

“I didn’t come to disturb.”

“You already have. The managing director is going downstairs to the room inside.”

Seoyoon nodded obediently.

If she tried to push him away and leave, there was a significant chance she would be blocked by security guards on the first floor. She had no choice.

It was the price of showing up uninvited and catching Kang-Hyun’s eye.

“Where did you get the invitation?”

As they walked down the long corridor, Kang-hyun, who was sitting on the sofa just like before, came into view.

I’m sorry, sister. Seo-yoon apologized silently for words Kang-hyun wouldn’t hear and parted her dry lips.

“Yeonju’s sister, please don’t say anything to her. I asked for it.”

“Why.”

A sense of discomfort lingered in Kang-hyun’s straight unyielding gaze, as if he had left the event midway for something important.

Feeling like she had become a burden to him, Seoyoon felt bitter.

“I thought seeing you might help me give up.”

“What is it that you need to give up yourself to?”

“If you’re going to get married.”

“If you are.”

“…I’ll prepare to leave. It’s a statement that doesn’t fit our relationship, but it means we’ll break up.”

A rare smile crossed Kang-hyun’s lips at the absurd declaration he heard.

“Let me hear your reasons.”

“If you get married, we can’t continue like this.”

“That’s not true. We’re only getting married to make things easier.”

Kang-hyun casually loosened his tie and grabbed Seoyoon’s hand, pulling her into his lap.

Then, like people exchanging silly jokes, their arms intertwined, he shook her arm.

“I’m serious”

As Seoyoon insisted, Kang-hyun, unable to hide his exhaustion, rubbed the corners of his eyes.

“Why throw such an unreasonable tantrum? Have you eaten dinner? If you’re hungry, wait for room service. I’ll call for it.”

Kang-hyun, with his hand wrapped around her waist, seated Seoyoon on his thigh as if comforting a child, and patted her back.

It was a touch so tender it was almost frightening.

“I love you, and you’re someone I can’t live without, but why do you have to get married?”

“Staying at the Flora Hotel might not be a bad way to restrain our cousins. It’s a foreign-owned company, so it might have synergy with the duty-free business. And your father won’t pay attention to you, so it’s necessary.”

“That’s not what I meant…….”

“Also, you should contact me before going out. It’ll be problematic if you don’t, Seoyoon. You don’t like being around people either.”

Although it was said in a soft tone, it was a warning that choked her breath.

Yet, his sturdy fingers, like a frame, constantly swept the strands of hair behind her ear.

Anyway, she didn’t expect to resolve everything at once.

Leaning against Kang-hyun’s shoulder, Seoyoon suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes and brought up an entirely different topic.

“Not yet?”

“What?”

“My twin. It’s been over three years since you started looking for him.”

“I’m still searching.”

“…Are you intentionally hiding him after finding him?”

Kang-hyun, whose gaze had become unmistakably cold, silently stared at Seoyoon, who was now regarded with suspicion.

“I don’t mean anything else. It’s just…… I can’t stand the thought of anyone else beside me, so I asked just in case.”

Although he wasn’t a man who could easily be hurt by just a few words, the emotionally fragile Seoyoon quickly added an explanation.

“If I were intentionally hiding him, what would you do?”

“Kang-hyun.”

“If he’s someone who could harm you, it makes sense not to show him. Let’s talk about it after finding him.”

“Okay.”

Seoyoon closed her lips with a quiet response.

Seoyoon’s bedroom consisted only of a double king-sized bed and a long leather stool.

When she woke up in the morning, the spacious room felt somewhat desolate with the thick blackout curtains blocking the sunlight.

Turning off the noisy alarm, Seoyoon picked up the robe she had laid on the stool and left the bedroom.

“It’s cold.”

Despite the morning being as comfortable as usual, with the system regulating the optimal temperature and humidity, the chilly air made her shiver as if she were coming down with a cold.

Tick, tock. The sound of the clock’s second hand pierced the silence.

It was the spring of the previous year. Kang Hyun had found the watch in a small shop during a trip to Jeju Island.

She had stumbled upon the clock in a souvenir shop while traveling with Kang-hyun.

The clock, with its shape resembling waves crashing against the emerald sea, had been so beautiful.

Now it felt like a useless piece of junk that amplified her loneliness.

She had thought about removing the clock as the sound of its ticking grew louder day by day, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Nothing touched by Tae Kang-hyun was easy to let go of.

Pouring milk into a transparent glass, she sat on the sofa and picked up her tablet.

On the video-sharing site she habitually visited, the face she had seen at the engagement ceremony a few days ago dominated the real-time rankings.

Staring silently at the screen displaying the four letters “marriage imminent,” Seoyoon bit her lip with white marks.

Ignore it, please don’t look.

But her mind and fingers chose a different path.

?Times may change rapidly, but there’s still something that remains constant, isn’t there? That’s the engagement between conglomerate families. Recently, news of the marriage between Kim Seo-hyun, the daughter of Flora Hotel’s CEO, and Tae Kang-hyun, former executive director of Seowon Construction, has been circulating. It’s reported that a grand engagement ceremony was held three days ago, correct??

?Yes, that’s correct. The daughter of Flora Hotel’s CEO, Kim Seok-hyun, has been revealed to be none other than Kim So-ye, the former announcer from TBC, which has sparked even more attention. ?

?I heard she resigned suddenly, and it turns out it was because of the wedding. Anyway, they truly make a perfect couple. Even the most popular actors and actresses can’t compare to Tae Kang-hyun. His looks are too valuable to be confined to just sitting behind a desk. ?

?Pictures from the official event accompanying the engagement are being released terrifyingly quickly. Do they look like lovers, at first glance? ?

?Ah, lovers! Well said. Nobody! Nobody has ever seen it, but there’s always the same rumor attached to Tae Kang-hyun. That he has a hidden lover. ?

As the shadow-like silhouette of Tae Kang-hyun and his fiancée holding hands came to mind, Seoyoon promptly closed her tablet.

The silhouette of a mysterious woman and a question mark. If she looked in the mirror now, she wondered if that was her reflection.

“Not even a lover.”

Knowing that it would happen someday, there was neither anger nor tears, but realizing that she didn’t exist in his world was still miserable.

The time to leave him was once again approaching steadily.

“Seoyoon.”

“……When did you get here?”

Her startled shoulders jumped in surprise.

“At dawn.”

Kang-hyun, who had hastily put on a bathrobe similar to hers, casually approached and took the milk from Seoyoon’s hand.

“Have some tea, drink it warm.”

“Are you crazy? There are a lot of reporters around.”

Seoyoon’s forehead narrowed. To think he would consider coming here when their engagement was attracting so much attention.

Despite his superior intellect, she couldn’t understand him sometimes, as his thought process occasionally seemed to run in reverse.

“I’m tired.”

“Tae Kang-hyun.”

“It’s a title I’ve heard countless times, but when you say it, it feels new.”

After putting the glass in the microwave, Kanghyun leaned back against the island and crossed his arms.

Seoyoon shook her head, but of course, Kang-hyun didn’t move.

There was a hint of irritation in the hand that brushed through her hair.

“Han Seoyoon.”

The deeply resonant voice, combined with the chilly demeanor, was overly imposing.

She needed to distance herself from him now.

Her steps, moving forward as if to be embraced in his broad arms, twisted away like magnets repelling each other.

“I saw the marriage article.”

“It’s just a formality, so don’t worry about it. It’ll quiet down over time.”

Seoyoon buried her head without a reply.

Describing his marriage to another woman as a formality, Kang-hyun was monotonous and calm.

For someone with basic moral principles, his attention was solely focused on caressing the rounded backside.

In the past, they were guardian and ward.

And now, there was something hidden, perhaps an emotional vault.

Seoyoon without Tae Kang-hyun, and Seoyoon with Tae Kang-hyun, were both insignificant beings.

In the eyes of Chairman Tae Seok-Jung, she was an orphan and lived a rich life, but in the end, she had nothing.

She graduated from a prestigious school, but she couldn’t form deep relationships with anyone because Kang-hyun didn’t want her to. Even the few friends she made were acquaintances of Kang-hyun.

“Shall I smile?”

“Yes.”

Seoyoon, who had escaped from the spacious embrace, smiled widely.

Even Kang-hyun, who had been scrutinizing Seoyoon intently, raised the corners of his lips ever so slightly.

Having practiced a smile so subtle that it would be hard to notice if it weren’t Seoyoon, Kang-hyun quickly reverted to his usual indifference.

“What do you need?”

“……is for you not to get married.”

“Getting married seems advantageous in many ways. But other than that…”

“There’s nothing.”

“Alright, once things settle down, let’s go to Jeju Island or something.”

An unconventional relationship with Kang-hyun was as natural to Seoyoon as breathing.

When she finished showering and stepped out of the bathroom attached to the bedroom, his traces had disappeared.

Coming without notice, leaving without a goodbye.

Winter, with its softly falling snow.

She loved him resembling the season, resembling the dry leaves it creates.