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Furthermore, rationally, Hee-jin hadn't pushed him away. She had claimed that mixing private emotions was unwise and that she cared about how others perceived them, yet whenever he tempted her, she would succumb as if she couldn't help herself.
He didn't know why she had suddenly changed her mind and decided to return to America, but he couldn't let her leave after making such a foolish choice. He desperately tried to argue that they were necessary to one another, but Hee-jin only wore a more bitter expression. It was as if she were smiling and crying at the same time.
“Not me.”
Seok-hyun glared at Hee-jin as she walked right past him, unable to believe it. Despite everything he had said, the sight of her intending to leave felt utterly surreal.
✾ ✾ ✾
Sitting in his car, Seok-hyun stared blankly at his phone screen.
Think about it again. Don't do something you'll regret.
Can you really be satisfied with just a principal position in an orchestra?
Isn't Lord Wilton a waste?
I've arranged a lesson with Professor Kim Won. If we prepare for the competition together, you can definitely win this time.
Please answer the phone.
Yoo Hee-jin. Answer the phone.
There was no reply. Only the person he had assigned to watch Hee-jin was sending real-time reports. She had checked out, she was drinking coffee in the lounge... The thought that Hee-jin would soon be leaving for America made a corner of his heart grow noisily turbulent.
The effort he had put into becoming independent the moment he reached adulthood was part of a struggle to avoid moments exactly like this. He could no longer tolerate a version of himself that helplessly gave up or allowed important things to be taken away.
The belief that he now possessed enough power to obtain and protect what he wanted was crumbling in this very moment.
He didn't want to believe the reality where he had to simply watch Yoo Hee-jin slip from his grasp and return to America.
Helplessness. It was the emotion Seok-hyun loathed most.
The fingers gripping the steering wheel stiffened with tension. A heavy fear weighed on him—the fear that if she left now, he might never be able to hold onto her again. If the power he possessed and the effort he had invested thus far became meaningless, it would be no different from his entire life being negated. That was why he absolutely could not let Hee-jin leave like this.
“She hates it when I intervene?”
A laugh escaped him as he recalled how much effort he had put into bringing Hee-jin to Korea. Starting with the behind-the-scenes work to get Yoo Da-ae to meet his Hyung, he had intentionally manipulated the situation so that Yoo Hee-jin would be invited to the formal family meeting. Manipulating others with a few words was effortless. When he created the desired situation, people mistakenly believed it was their own will.
The moment he reunited with Yoo Hee-jin, Seok-hyun knew he hadn't been wrong. He felt an intuition that the emptiness that remained unfilled, even after reaching a position where he could achieve anything, would be filled by her.
That was why dealing with Chairman Yamaguchi, setting up a management agency, and providing a studio had not been difficult at all. Putting in the effort to "complete" Yoo Hee-jin was a joyful and amusing task.
“…I can’t let her make such a foolish choice.”
Returning to America was an act of ignoring all the effort and devotion he had shown. It wasn't a good choice for Yoo Hee-jin herself, either. Even if she worked hard in an orchestra, the best outcome would be becoming the first principal. He couldn't let her be satisfied with merely becoming the best "part" of a machine.
However, there was no logical way to persuade Yoo Hee-jin, who had closed her ears and refused to listen to anything. Since he had no intention of letting her just leave, what he had to do now was clear.
What should he do first?
First... she must stay by his side.
First...
Yes, first, he would take away her mobility.
Seok-hyun reached a quietly rational conclusion as he rested his hands on the steering wheel.
As he drove toward the hotel, his mind became surprisingly calm. The plan was simple. He would cause a fender-bender with Hee-jin as she came out to take a taxi. It would look like a complete accident, and Hee-jin, having injured her leg, would have no choice but to go to the hospital. Resolving the accident itself was no problem.
He intended to use the time gained under the guise of treatment to persuade her again. If he gave her enough time to clearly feel why she needed him, she would have no choice but to acknowledge it.
A report arrived stating that Hee-jin was moving toward the airport. Arriving near the hotel just in time, Seok-hyun stared out the window and waited for her.
‘Just the leg...’
His goal wasn't to hurt her.
‘Yes, just the leg.’
Hee-jin was not making rational judgments right now. So, just for a little while.
‘I'll just tie her down so she can't leave.’
Since it was merely a means to keep Hee-jin from leaving, precise calculation was required.
As Hee-jin came into view, the hand on the steering wheel tightened. At most, it would be a minor fracture or ligament damage; it would end with that. Thinking this way, his mind became calm and clear. Seok-hyun convinced himself as if the result had already been perfectly achieved.
He stepped on the accelerator. The car moved forward slowly, and his field of vision narrowed. Hee-jin drew closer. The moment she looked toward him and their eyes met, his heart froze instantly. But his body was already moving, and that cold rationality pushed Seok-hyun forward. The accelerating car surged ahead rapidly.
“……!”
Before he hit Hee-jin, it felt as if everything were moving in slow motion. Seok-hyun himself was no exception. His hand on the steering wheel moved slowly, and the leg pressing the brake descended heavily. Yet, regardless of his will, his eyelids dropped quickly, and his vision went dark.
Thump! A violent vibration shook his entire body through the chassis. A dull impact stormed through his head, leaving him completely unable to grasp how the situation was unfolding. The moment of the accident vanished as if it had been carved out.
When he opened his eyes, the car was crashed into a pillar. Chillingly, he had no memory of the process at all. Seok-hyun had believed himself to be supremely rational, but that certainty was collapsing like a sandcastle.
He stepped out of the car unconsciously. The surroundings were noisy, but no sound reached his ears. He simply stumbled through a hollow ringing, searching for Hee-jin.
When he saw Hee-jin lying next to the car, Seok-hyun still tried to calmly call an ambulance. He struggled to organize the situation while searching for his phone.
-This is 119. How can we help you?
“There's been a fender-bender here...”
However, the moment Hee-jin's hand, pinned under the car, caught his eye, the rationality he had believed in so firmly shattered into pieces. The phone slipped from his hand without him realizing it.
-Hello? Can you hear me?
A catastrophe that existed in none of the scenarios he had envisioned was unfolding before his eyes.
✾ ✾ ✾
Even opening her eyes was a struggle. Her head rang heavily, and her mind was so blurred that she didn't even know where she was. She tried to lift her body, but a heavy pain weighed down her entire frame.
“Ugh...”
A groan escaped her lips. Looking at the unfamiliar ceiling and white curtains, Hee-jin slowly tried to recall where she was and what had happened.
‘I was definitely trying to go to the airport...’
She had just stepped into the lobby to take a call taxi. She saw a black car approaching her... That was the last thing. In that moment, everything stopped as if a pause button had been pressed.
“Ack...”
She reflexively raised her hand to clutch her throbbing head, but the sensation felt strange. Lifting her head to look down, the bandages wrapped around her left hand were the first thing she noticed.
She stared for a long time, but it didn't feel real. The situation wouldn't quite sink into her mind. Is this... really my hand? She reflexively tried to move her fingers. At first, even a small movement was difficult. Because there was no sensation, it was unclear if she was even applying strength to her fingers.
She felt that something was wrong, but Hee-jin focused on moving her fingers for now. However, as she applied strength to bend them, a piercing pain shot through her, as if a knife were stabbing her bone. Her breath caught momentarily at the sharp pain that spread from her fingers through her entire arm.
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