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Hee-jin's voice trembled slightly, as if she couldn't believe the claim that he would personally hire an orchestra and provide practice sessions. It was cute how surprised she was. Seok-hyun also intended to attach Professor Kim Won, one of Korea's top first-generation violinists, to her—so she could receive guidance for the competition.
This particular request wasn't easy, even with his grandfather's connections, but he decided that this was the level of support necessary to entrust Hee-jin. Of course, this was predicated on Hee-jin taking a liking to him, but he didn't worry about that at all.
“You shouldn't leave any regrets, right? Of course, there's no need to feel pressured about the competition prep right now. Let's set a detailed schedule after we sign the contract.”
“…….”
“Do you see over there? Since it's close, we should be able to grab a meal together every now and then, right?”
Seok-hyun pointed toward a protruding roof visible outside the window. Hee-jin frowned slightly, then relaxed, as if she hadn't realized it was so close.
“Do you dislike it being close?”
“Why would I?”
“Right?”
Seok-hyun chuckled as he watched Hee-jin shake her head, even though her true feelings were already written all over her face. As if their time spent lounging together had been a lie, Hee-jin kept trying to maintain a distance. It felt like a warning: if he was going to be a genuine sponsor, he should keep personal feelings out of it. Yet, her attitude occasionally betrayed a sense of confusion over whether pushing him away was the right thing to do.
Seok-hyun took a deep breath. He smelled a strange scent of anxiety coming from Hee-jin. Just like when they first reunited. This anxiety, which seemed to have vanished after her trip to Japan, was creeping back. It seemed she was bothered by the words Hong Yuna had thrown at her; if her resolve to take his hand was wavering, he had to set it straight immediately.
“Come to think of it.”
Seok-hyun spoke softly, seeking to draw Hee-jin's attention back to himself.
“I heard the wedding date has been set. Did you hear?”
Hee-jin tried to act indifferent to the unexpected news from Seok-hyun. There had been no word from her father, who had asked to meet her once before she returned to the States.
Was Yoo Da-ae's wedding preparation really that busy? Yes, it was her beloved daughter's important wedding, so there must be a lot to take care of. Moreover, since the partner was the eldest grandson of the Gio Group, the pressure must be immense.
However, the wedding wasn't tomorrow, and the fact that she was completely out of his mind felt like an unbearable wound. If she had at least heard about Yoo Da-ae's wedding from her father's own lips, she wouldn't have felt this disappointed. But the lack of even a single phone call made her feel as if her very existence had been forgotten, and Hee-jin couldn't hide her bitterness.
Seeing Hee-jin's expression darken, the corners of Seok-hyun's mouth curled slightly upward. A strange sense of satisfaction washed over his face as the relationship where Yoo Hee-jin was unilaterally disadvantaged finally began to show cracks.
Just then, as if hearing them talk about her, a call came through.
Incoming Call
Yoo Da-ae
Slide to answer
The timing was coincidental. Hee-jin stared blankly at the name on the phone, then frowned as a feeling of discomfort surged within her. The weight of Yoo Da-ae's name appearing at an unexpected moment was significant.
“Answer it.”
At Seok-hyun's word, Hee-jin slowly answered the phone.
- Unni!
Da-ae's bright voice poured through the phone. She still seemed completely oblivious to even the slightest hesitation. Her cheerful voice was brimming with happiness.
- I heard you're getting sponsorship! See, I told you it was a good idea to come to Korea, right? Then you'll do the celebratory performance at my wedding, okay? You have to do it!
Flustered by the assumption that the sponsorship was already decided, Hee-jin tried to correct her, but Da-ae chattered on without pause, leaving no room to intervene. Seok-hyun laughed silently as he watched Hee-jin's lips flutter repeatedly, only to eventually close them without uttering a single word.
Even without a response from Hee-jin, Da-ae continued.
- Oh my god, I have to pick more than five dresses. It's hard enough to pick just one! Could you come and help me choose? I really love them all so much that I can't decide. Dad is no help at all. He just cries and says he's sad that I'm getting married, or tells me not to marry another man and just live with him! Then my heart softens and my nose starts tingling!
Hee-jin found it hard to even breathe. That cheerful voice, devoid of any tact, beat against her ears endlessly. She barely remembered how she even hung up the phone.
“Haa….”
Having barely finished the call, Hee-jin let out a sigh as if she were about to collapse on the spot. Pushing her own emotions aside, her body leaned over as if all her energy had been drained just from listening.
“Your sister-in-law really talks a lot, doesn't she?”
Seok-hyun, who naturally supported Hee-jin, spoke as if surprised. Secretly welcoming his support, Hee-jin didn't push him away and accepted the help. Being held by his firm arm gave her a sense of stability, and her stomach seemed to settle.
“But… actually, you're strangers. Still, you treat her so well, like a real sister.”
Hee-jin was speechless. Yes, to others, it wouldn't make sense. In reality, they were worse than strangers, so it must look strange that they acted like biological sisters.
Regardless of what her father and Yoo Da-ae thought, she was essentially nothing more than a supporting character in their family play. Despite that, the fact that she was pushing herself to fit in with them felt bitter.
“Even if Da-ae is a stranger, Dad is still my dad.”
After blurting it out unconsciously, Hee-jin quickly shut her mouth. She didn't want Go Seok-hyun to realize that she was unilaterally clinging to her father.
“Your dad, huh….”
Seok-hyun's low voice shook Hee-jin.
“What does family mean to you, Noona?”
Hee-jin suddenly felt a chill in her chest. When even her mother remarried, Hee-jin's family had been completely dismantled. Since then, whenever the word 'family' came to mind, a distant loneliness always surged over her.
Still, she pretended to be okay. They said life was every man for himself anyway. Everyone becomes independent once they reach adulthood, so she had simply become independent. She deceived herself that way, but whenever she received a call from her father, she realized she wasn't okay at all.
When she saw her father doting on Yoo Da-ae, the desire to act spoiled like that rose to the tip of her throat, and there was a part of her that wanted to call him to share the news when something good happened.
She felt a sense of self-loathing for treating the bright and tactless Yoo Da-ae like a sister just because she hated the idea of losing contact with her father.
“Just… family is better than strangers. If something happened to me, who would I contact first?”
Seok-hyun's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he disagreed with her statement. Who would she contact first? In his mind, she should obviously contact him first.
“I suppose. Blood is thicker than water.”
However, since there was no need to provoke Hee-jin while she was struggling in self-pity, he nodded, pretending to empathize.
“Blood is thicker than water.”
The bond between family members is stronger and more important than any other relationship. Hee-jin whispered quietly, nodding as she justified her inability to let go of her father.
Seok-hyun observed Hee-jin's reaction in detail. Perhaps Yoo Da-ae's call had completely rattled her, as she seemed to have forgotten all about pushing him away. With a smile, Seok-hyun whispered.
“Then you should just become the protagonist, Noona.”
Hee-jin, who had been spacing out, looked back at him, asking what he meant. Startled when his chin brushed her forehead, she tried to pull away, but Seok-hyun lightly stopped her. He told her she could stay as she was. As if not giving her time to think deeply, he immediately continued.
“The celebratory performance. Tell her you'll gladly do it.”
Hee-jin's expression stiffened instantly.
“…Not enough with the formal family meeting, now you want me to be a bridesmaid at the wedding?”
However, Seok-hyun shook his head with a meaningful expression and added in a low voice.
As Seok-hyun shook his head with a meaningful look, she became curious about what he was plotting. There was no way Go Seok-hyun would say such a thing without a plan. The reason he wanted to put her on the wedding stage…
“The bride is the protagonist of a wedding, after all. But what do you think would happen if that spotlight shifted to someone else?”
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