The Season I Loved You Without You - Chapter 78

CHAPTER 78

As Ji-hyuk slowly opened his eyes, battling a splitting headache, the harsh sunlight streamed in through unfamiliar blinds. His body felt heavy, like soaked cotton, nearly impossible to move. Raising his arm slowly, he noticed the hospital gown and the IV needle inserted into his arm.

A hollow laugh escaped him, then turned into a fit of coughing, filling the room with noise. Someone entered from outside.

“Director.”

It was Ji-hyuk’s secretary. Seeing Ho-seok’s worried gaze, he guessed something must have happened. Despite this, Ji-hyuk felt no particular reaction. Ah, is that so? his indifferent thought process circled.

“You had a close call, Director.”

Without waiting for Ji-hyuk’s response or attempt to sit up, Ho-seok approached and supported him, offering water with a cushion behind his back. As the lukewarm water trickled down his dry throat, his head finally began to clear. The only remaining trace was the memory of falling asleep at home after taking sleeping pills.

“You didn’t answer your phone all morning, so I went to your house and found you collapsed. We brought you to the hospital. You’ve been out for a whole day.”

“I see.”

He responded indifferently, gazing out the window. He seemed to have had a pleasant dream, albeit a vague memory. In the blurry recollection, it felt as if Go-yeo was smiling as before. The smile that gently folded the corners of her eyes, her clear and refreshing voice, no longer directed towards him, made everything feel meaningless.

Silently realizing that Go-yeo was everything to him, he chuckled at the sudden realization and brushed his hair back. Ho-seok looked as if he wanted to ask what was going on, but he simply shook his head.

“Tell Lawyer Park to come here.”

“Yes? Understood.”

Ho-seok expressed doubt at the sudden instruction, but as usual, he didn’t ask further questions. Lawyer Park was Ji-hyuk’s attorney handling his affairs. There had been a recent scandal with Han Go-yeo that required him to call Mr. Park, but that was supposed to be over now. Nonetheless, he followed the instructions.

After Lawyer Park came and went, the doctor tried to stop Ji-hyuk from leaving the hospital, but he was adamant. He repeated that he would rest comfortably at home. Since no one could sway his stubbornness, Ji-hyuk returned home, pushing aside even Ho-seok’s offer to stay.

Sitting in the reception room, he watched the sunset in the sky.

He had seen a sunset like this before, so vibrant and red. He hadn’t noticed the passing time as he calmly admired the sunset with her. The same sunset reflected in her eyes. Remembering that moment, Ji-hyuk picked up his car keys.

If he couldn’t have the one thing he wanted most in this world now that his goals and purposes had vanished, then he might as well discard himself to let go of what he desired.

* * *

Go-yeo entered the resort room, having just finished a leisurely bubble bath, and sat down near the bed. Although she usually didn’t watch TV much, she pressed the power button on the remote as the room felt too quiet. Holding her phone while the TV noise served as background, she saw missed calls and messages left by Ga-eul.

With a slight smile, she pressed the call button.

– Go-yeo, I’ve been waiting for your call. Where are you now?

Not long after waiting for the call, she immediately heard a calm, Ga-eul-like voice.

“I just came into the room a little while ago.”

– Are you alone?

“Yeah.”

– Shall I come over?

Go-yeo couldn’t help but chuckle at his immediate response.

“No, it’s okay. You don’t know where I am.”

– …If you tell me, I’ll go, so I can see you today.

Go-yeo smiled, running her fingers through her disheveled hair. His reaction wasn’t bad. While it might be a bit naughty to enjoy his restless state, who would dislike such a thing?

Her mind was already filled with thoughts of spending the weekend here with him. Since her parents were returning to Seoul tomorrow morning, it seemed fine to use the resort pool. Or maybe they could even play tennis together.

“…Then I’ll send Jin-young. Come here.”

– No, I’ll come by myself.

“No, just come comfortably.”

– …I want to see you soon.

Go-yeo inadvertently said, ‘Me too.’ The returning silence felt awkward, yet on some level, she thought she did well to say it.

“I’m so glad you said that. Please wait for me. I’ll be there soon.”

It might be late at night when he arrived, but she could enjoy the pleasant anticipation as much as she wanted. She chose from the selection of drinks in the minibar. Even though she had already had some wine, she felt like getting a little more intoxicated.

Go-yeo hummed a tune absentmindedly. As she moved the ice, she glanced briefly at the suddenly noisy TV. And she couldn’t take her eyes off the screen. The glass she was holding fell to the floor with a thud. Ice and glass rolled noisily on the carpet.

“…No. No.”

Go-yeo shook her head repeatedly, denying it.

<I have some news that came in a little while ago to share with you. Director Moon Ji-hyuk of MMK Construction has crashed through a guardrail and fallen off a cliff. He was transferred to the hospital by a citizen’s report and is currently undergoing surgery in critical condition. The cause of the accident has not been determined, and there are still no witnesses. Given MMK Construction’s strong foothold, this incident is drawing attention. Next news.>

Go-yeo stumbled out of the room and banged on the door of the adjacent room where Sang-moon was staying. Mr. Yoo, who was with Sang-moon, came out first.

“Ms. Han!”

Mr. Yoo rushed out upon seeing Go-yeo.

“Get Dad for me!”

She shouted as if crying out. Only then did the firmly closed door open. Seeing Go-yeo, who was dressed in a gown and crying, Sang-moon was surprised and rushed out.

“Go-yeo!”

“Dad! Huh. Ji-hyuk is… Ugh. He’s in critical condition. They’re operating on him now. He fell off a cliff, but he’s not the type to do that.”

“Go-yeo, calm down for a moment.”

“No, Dad, please understand. No! This doesn’t make sense!”

Go-yeo grabbed Sang-moon’s clothes and clung to him.

“What if Ji-hyuk dies? Ugh. I told him to die. I told him to die so many times!”

Sang-moon gestured to Mr. Yoo to find out what was going on, and Mr. Yoo nodded and stepped aside. Even Yeong-ran, who had been dozing off, came out and tried to console Go-yeo, but she just kept crying as if the dam had burst.

Go-yeo didn’t expect the moments when she uttered harsh words to Ji-hyuk would come back like this. Even if she did it to detach herself, she shouldn’t have pushed so hard.

‘What if Moon Ji-hyuk dies? Should I have answered the phone earlier?’

That vague fear, and the guilt that she might have been the one to make him do it, flooded her mind, weighing heavily on her chest.

Knowing instinctively that it wasn’t just a simple vehicle malfunction or accident, she chose to ignore it despite knowing he was in a precarious situation. Since the moment she thought she should end things with Ji-hyuk, she had been as distressed as wanting to die herself, so she only considered it as an inevitable process.

The time they spent together for so long was just as exhausting. It was like suffocating slowly over that long period. She breathed heavily, feeling the weight pressing on her chest. Her fingertips trembled.

“Damn it…”

Try dying. Even cursing at him didn’t alleviate the anxiety.

The news Sang-moon provided was even more grim. Although they said he was undergoing surgery, his condition was almost hopeless. It was considered a miracle that he didn’t die on the spot. Feeling blood draining from her body, Go-yeo headed to Seoul.

Mr. Yoo took the wheel because he couldn’t leave Go-yeo alone. Despite Yeong-ran’s continuous talk beside Go-yeo, her words didn’t register in her ears. Even if she went to the hospital where Ji-hyuk was, there was nothing she could do, but she couldn’t just wait for the surgery to be over.

Sang-moon was hesitant to go to the hospital where the reporters were gathered, but he couldn’t let Go-yeo go alone.

They quietly entered through another entrance as the hospital lobby was already bustling with reporters. An MMK representative escorted Go-yeo and Sang-moon inside. Only Ji-hyuk’s secretary, Ho-seok, was sitting alone in front of the operating room. When Sang-moon asked about someone else, Ho-seok stood up abruptly, hesitated, and answered cautiously.

“The chairman has been informed, and he’s waiting for the surgery to end. And President Yun Seung-ok can’t come out immediately, but she can visit after seeing the results.”

Even in such a situation, where there was no one to wait and worry for him except for this personal secretary, it was pathetic. But currently, such things don’t matter. He frowned as he felt a throbbing headache.

“Anyway, when will the surgery be over?” 

Go-yeo asked in a hoarse voice.

“…I’m sorry. I don’t know either. The doctor came out a while ago and then went back in. He said there’s severe internal bleeding due to multiple fractures…”

Go-yeo closed her eyes tightly and then opened them. Tears flowed again, even though she thought she had cried them all out. She wiped her cheeks numbly and looked at the screen indicating that the surgery was ongoing. Despite Sang-moon’s persuasion to go home and wait, Go-yeo stubbornly insisted on staying there. Unable to do anything else, Sang-moon brought in Jin-young, who had been waiting outside.

Jin-young quietly stayed by Go-yeo’s side, waiting. She watched Go-yeo’s pale face, swollen eyes, and restless behavior, unable to sit still, with concern. Until a little while ago, she had been about to go out to meet Ga-eul, but her plans were thwarted, and she came here instead.

The phone in the boss’ bag had been ringing since earlier. It seemed to be Ga-eul, but it didn’t seem to reach Go-yeo’s desensitized ears. Instead, Jin-young sent a message to Ga-eul.

[Mr. Ga-eul, the boss can’t be reached due to some circumstances. She’ll contact you when the situation improves. Don’t worry.]

As soon as Ga-eul saw the message, he called Jin-young. Jin-young looked at the distant Go-yeo once before answering the call.

– Ms. Jin-young, what happened to the boss?

Feeling Ga-eul’s urgency, Jin-young felt guilty for no reason.

“No, it’s not the boss… She’s fine.”

– Oh. That’s a relief. I was worried.

“Yeah. She’ll contact you when the situation improves.”

– Okay. Thank you.

Jin-young wondered how Ga-eul would take this situation. Considering his personality, he would probably just understand and move on, but that didn’t mean he was okay. If their relationship were ordinary, it would be ordinary, and even though it might seem extraordinary, it wasn’t clear why they ended up in such a difficult relationship. How did they start such a difficult relationship in the first place?

It was pitiful and yet, in a way, she cheered for them. His pure and blind heart could be seen just by being by his side. It seemed almost unbelievable in today’s world, but it remained to be seen how effective it would be in his relationship with Go-yeo.