Affectionate Obsession - Chapter 10

For a long while, I was lost in thought, when Sera smiled brightly and moved her lips.

The words that came out were utterly audacious.

‘Let’s have dinner another time. You and I both know why this meeting was arranged, and if you genuinely intend to marry me, contact me. We can have dinner then.’

‘…….’

‘Ah, and if today happens to be our first and last meeting, I’d like you, Jeong Junhyeok, to take responsibility. Our Madam Choi Sookhee seems to find the idea of me as a granddaughter horrifying, yet she appears quite eager for a marriage with you, Jeong Junhyeok. You must really like him, to defend a man you’ve never even seen.’

Sera shook her head with a look of disgust.

Junhyeok didn’t take his eyes off Sera.

This was a side of her he had never seen through Yeonhee.

If Yeonhee were to show disgust, would her face look exactly like Yoon Sera’s right now? Such meaningless thoughts filled his mind.

There was no time for his thoughts to deepen.

Sera, who had been sitting opposite him, suddenly stood up.

‘Please keep it a secret that I left less than 10 minutes after sitting down. I think I’ll get into a lot of trouble if our Chairman or Madam Choi finds out.’

‘…….’

‘It’s not that I have such a good personality that I can sit and eat with someone I’m not close to and smile. I’m asking you. Alright?’

With that, Sera left the room without looking back.

As she said, it hadn’t even been 10 minutes since we sat facing each other.

Junhyeok stared intently at the seat where Sera had been sitting just moments before.

Sera was already gone, yet her face, so identical to Yeonhee’s, remained as an afterimage, lingering before his eyes.

If Sera hadn’t spoken, he would have been completely fooled.

Despite loving Shin Yeonhee so dearly, and priding himself on knowing everything about Shin Yeonhee, how could he not be fooled when everything about her, except her tone of voice, was identical to Shin Yeonhee?

However, judging by her tone and her way of speaking, Yoon Sera and Shin Yeonhee were not the same person.

After that day, Secretary Kim’s workload increased even further.

Junhyeok instructed him to investigate any potential connection between Sera and Yeonhee, and Secretary Kim carried out the order without a word.

A month passed, then two, with no results.

In the meantime, Jeong Junhyeok and Yoon Sera’s arranged marriage proceeded steadily, following the wishes of both families who strongly desired it.

Even the formidable Jeong Junhyeok suffered from headaches, feeling anxious as he approached a marriage with a woman he didn’t want.

He desperately searched for a way to avoid the marriage without taking all the blame, but a wise solution didn’t come easily.

And about two weeks before his wedding with Sera, Junhyeok received unexpected news through Secretary Kim.

‘Yoon Sera’s closest aide has just taken Miss Yeonhee to a nearby hotel. According to the information just received, a suite has been checked in under Yoon Sera’s name.’

The moment he heard that, Junhyeok was lost in thought for a long time.

Thousands of thoughts raced through his mind.

He had suspected it, but was there really some connection between Shin Yeonhee and Yoon Sera? His thoughts followed one after another.

However, that night, before he could find answers to his complex thoughts, he had to listen to Secretary Kim’s report.

‘I am sorry to have to deliver this news, but…….’

Secretary Kim hesitated, uncharacteristically.

Junhyeok, though his expression was puzzled, spoke firmly.

‘It’s alright, please report.’

Despite Junhyeok’s assurance, Secretary Kim couldn’t easily continue. It was a long while before his report came.

‘It seems Yoon Sera is considering having Miss Yeonhee stand in for her at the wedding.’

‘Huh?’

Junhyeok let out a hollow laugh, almost instinctively.

The mere fact that Yoon Sera and Shin Yeonhee had met was astonishing enough, but the idea that Yoon Sera might have Yeonhee stand in for her at the wedding was unbelievable.

While the idea struck him as incredibly childish, a thought suddenly occurred to him: this might just be an opportunity.

‘Aside from that, are there any other links between Yoon Sera and Yeonhee?’

‘We need to investigate further, but as of now, no.’

‘So, Secretary Kim, you’re saying that Yoon Sera and Shin Yeonhee have no relationship, yet Yoon Sera called Yeonhee to the hotel to find someone to stand in for her at the wedding?’

‘Yes.’

Secretary Kim’s concise answer plunged Junhyeok into an indescribable mood.

Junhyeok couldn’t sleep a wink until dawn broke.

It was certainly an opportunity. If he wanted to fulfill his own desires, it was a golden chance he couldn’t afford to miss.

Nevertheless, the reason he pondered it all night was to consider the possibility of hurting Yeonhee again by pretending ignorance for his own greed.

One night was enough time to do the calculations.

Junhyeok’s conclusion was to perfectly utilize the chance Yoon Sera had given him.

There might be a possibility, however slim, that Yeonhee could be hurt against his will.

But one thing was certain: Jeong Junhyeok was not the powerless boy he was 10 years ago, and therefore, he would not be passively victimized as he was then.

That alone was enough.

There was no reason not to hold onto Yeonhee, who had walked right into his life unexpectedly, in some way or another.

Time passed quickly until the wedding day.

From the moment I saw the Yeonhee of my dreams with my own eyes, through the dreamlike honeymoon period, until today.

Junhyeok felt as if he were dreaming.

He was so happy that he was almost driven mad by the fear that it might all turn to dust and disappear at any moment.

Shin Yeonhee was, then as now, a woman of absolute meaning to him.

In just a few days, the resentment and hatred he had harbored towards Yeonhee for 10 years had vanished as if washed away.

Although the anxiety still churned in his heart, and the resulting impatience gnawed at him, it was incomparable to the time Yeonhee was absent.

He prayed that this happiness would last for a long time.

It was a happiness he wanted to protect until the moment he died, if possible.

Emerging from his thoughts, Junhyeok looked directly at Secretary Kim. Then, as if he had been waiting, Secretary Kim moved his lips.

“There is something additional to report, but we need to investigate further to be certain.”

One of Junhyeok’s eyebrows arched diagonally.

Secretary Kim, unless specifically instructed to investigate something, never rashly reported unconfirmed information.

“It must be something surprising, then?”

Junhyeok pointed out sharply.

Secretary Kim nodded instead of answering.

“Report it.”

Junhyeok commanded without hesitation. Even from Secretary Kim’s expression, it was clear this was a serious matter, but there was no reason to hesitate to hear it.

No matter how serious the matter, it would likely be related to Yeonhee.

“Well……”

“…….”

“……it seems Yoon Sera and Miss Yeonhee are twins.”

Secretary Kim, who had been struggling to speak, forced the words out. As soon as he did, Junhyeok’s brow furrowed like a piece of paper, and his pupils trembled precariously.

“What did you just say?”

“Yoon Sera and Miss Yeonhee are……”

“Stop.”

Junhyeok felt a migraine suddenly surge. It was a story he had never imagined.

He suddenly recalled the thought he had dismissed as absurd when he first saw Sera, surprised by her identical appearance to Yeonhee.

Identical twins are said to be indistinguishable, but would the feeling of seeing them directly be like this?

It was still an absurd thought, even thinking about it again. But to think that Yoon Sera and Shin Yeonhee were actually twins.

Junhyeok closed his eyes tightly.

He couldn’t grasp how to accept and process Secretary Kim’s report.

According to the previous report, Yeonhee was abandoned by her parents at birth and raised in an orphanage. So how could Yeonhee and Sera be twins?

As Junhyeok’s expression changed moment by moment, Secretary Kim quickly added.

“As I said, we need to investigate further to be sure of the details. So, for now, just consider it a possibility.”

“Without detailed information, what makes you suspect Yoon Sera and Yeonhee are twins?”

Junhyeok cut off Secretary Kim’s words and stared at him with sharp eyes.

It was a gaze so fierce that an ordinary person would have flinched. But Secretary Kim remained unfazed.

Junhyeok bit the soft flesh inside his mouth tightly.

Secretary Kim’s unusually resolute expression today instilled a sense of foreboding.

“Following your instructions, Representative, while investigating Yoon Sera, we received a tip that the RM Group chairman and his wife had twin daughters at the time of birth. The informant was someone who worked as a nurse at the obstetrics and gynecology clinic at the time.”

“Are you sure the person is reliable? They could be talking nonsense, and I think we need to consider if you’re jumping to conclusions, Secretary Kim.”

“That’s why I said to consider it only as a possibility. But……”

Secretary Kim trailed off, uncharacteristically.

Junhyeok didn’t take his eyes off Secretary Kim for a moment.

“I have a bad feeling about it.”

Secretary Kim lowered his gaze with a worried expression.

What followed was even more shocking than anything said before.

Junhyeok’s brow furrowed helplessly.

Support Affectionate Obsession