Affectionate Obsession - Chapter 24

“Hoo…”

A heavy sigh escaped Junhyeok’s lips.

He was at a loss as to how to convey this truth to Yeonhee.

All he had ever wished for was to live happily with Yeonhee, yet there were so many obstacles blocking the path to happiness.

Moreover, Yeonhee’s behavior had been unusual for the past week.

It was clear that Yoon Sera was making a move, but he couldn’t even give instructions to Secretary Kim regarding it.

While nothing concerning Yeonhee was unimportant, digging into Yeonhee’s birth was currently a higher priority than monitoring her relationship with Yoon Sera.

Therefore, it was right for him to keep an eye on whatever might unfold between Yeonhee and Yoon Sera, but trying to manage that while also avoiding his father, Chairman Jeong’s, displeasure was making his head feel like it would explode.

As a result, gaps kept appearing. Not only in company matters, but it was also difficult to grasp what Yeonhee was thinking that led her to act this way.

“Please, Yeonhee… just until I can perfectly understand your past.”

He pleaded with all his heart, asking her to just not think about anything until then.

Sera couldn’t fall asleep even as the night deepened.

She leaned back against the plush sofa, her face etched with discomfort.

Her gaze was fixed on her phone lying on the table in front of her.

The black screen of the phone was a testament to the fact that no one had contacted her.

That fact made Sera’s mood undeniably uneasy.

“You shouldn’t be acting like this, Shin Yeonhee,” a venomous voice hissed from between her twisted lips.

Sera clenched the fingers of the hand that had been tapping rhythmically on the sofa armrest.

She simply hated the institution of an arranged marriage. Furthermore, she didn’t want to be tied down by marriage yet.

There were still so many things she hadn’t done, so many things she wanted to do.

She had only wanted about a year of freedom, but the price was too cruel.

She was on the verge of losing her rightful place to a complete stranger.

“Ha, I’m going crazy, really.”

Sera felt her head splitting from the relentless wave of irritation.

She felt like she was going to die from impatience. It wasn’t an exaggeration; with Jung Junhyeok’s involvement in this matter, she couldn’t afford to be leisurely.

She needed to reclaim her position as quickly as possible, but the proxy she had paid for wouldn’t even answer her calls, making her too anxious to stay still for even a moment.

After much deliberation, she picked up her phone. Her fingers, which had been busily moving across the screen, finally stopped on the name saved as “Grandmother.”

“If I just close my eyes and tell her, it might be easily resolved.”

The words were easy to say, but her fingers wouldn’t move as she intended.

She was terrified of the situation she would face immediately if she confessed everything she had done.

This was because she knew better than anyone what kind of person her grandmother, Ms. Choi Sookhee, was.

“I’m going to lose it, really.”

Sera sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. She threw her phone onto the sofa opposite her as if tossing it away, then grabbed her hair as if to tear it out.

No matter how many times she thought about it, her grandmother was a card she should only play as a last resort.

So, for now, she told herself to try harder with what she could do on her own.

The neon signs visible through the tall glass windows began to flicker out one by one.

Sera picked up the phone she had thrown away again. Then, unlike before, her fingers moved rapidly.

Early morning.

Yeonhee bit her lower lip as she checked the messages from Sera that had arrived during the night.

The message read: The house contract is finalized, and I’ll try to arrange for Shin Yeonhee’s mother to be transferred to a university hospital nearby. It would be more convenient for Shin Yeonhee that way. I’ll need to speak with your mother about it, would you like me to do it?

Based on the content alone, the sender seemed like the kindest person in the world. Offering to find her a place to live and even take care of her mother’s hospital issues – what better person could there be?

The problem was that she had never asked for a house, nor had she ever brought up her family.

Yeonhee had never once spoken to Sera about Yeonjeong. The reason she hadn’t dismissed Sera’s mention of Yeonjeong was because she thought it was plausible.

Yoon Sera was the daughter of RM Group, one of the leading conglomerates in Korea.

There was no reason why Sera couldn’t obtain information that Junhyeok had easily found, including details about HN Group.

What angered her was that she was using information obtained for whatever reason to blackmail her like this.

After sitting blankly for a long time, Yeonhee finally moved her fingers. She scanned the short message she had just composed.

The house contract is finalized, and I’ll try to arrange for Shin Yeonhee’s mother to be transferred to a university hospital nearby. It would be more convenient for Shin Yeonhee that way. I’ll need to speak with your mother about it, would you like me to do it?

Thank you for your concern, but I will handle my mother’s situation myself. I will sort it out over the weekend, so please wait.

The content was concise. All she had to do was press the send icon.

However, her fingers, which had been moving rapidly until just moments ago, refused to move over the send button.

“Haa.”

Yeonhee squeezed her eyes shut. A sigh escaped her lips.

She didn’t know how long she had been hesitating.

Suddenly, the firmly closed door opened, and she sensed someone’s presence.

Yeonhee lifted her head towards the sound.

Through the gap in the open door, she saw Junhyeok’s face. He hadn’t come to work because it was the weekend.

He approached her with a languid smile.

“Yeonhee.”

He called her name in his usual, incredibly gentle voice.

Yeonhee forced her stiff lips into a smile. Then, she moved her fingers, which had been hesitating all this time.

A speech bubble with her message appeared on the screen, and the number ‘1’ next to it soon disappeared.

After confirming that, she flipped her phone over. Then, she looked up at Junhyeok, who was waiting for her reply.

“Yes, Junhyeok.”

She replied in the kindest tone she could manage, not wanting him to discover that she had been deceiving him yet.

“How about this one?”

Yeonhee held up a suit jacket in front of Junhyeok. She knew he looked displeased, standing there with his arms crossed, but she pretended not to notice.

“This tie would go well with it.”

“Yeonhee.”

“Huh? This color would look good too. What do you think, Junhyeok?”

“Shin Yeonhee.”

“Wow, this one is pretty too! I didn’t know much about men’s clothes, but is this how fun choosing ties is? I guess I’m getting older!”

Even after hearing Junhyeok’s voice, she pretended not to hear him and kept her eyes on the ties. Suddenly, she felt a firm grip on her wrist, and her body spun around.

Yeonhee looked at Junhyeok with a surprised expression. His eyes, which met hers, were filled with fire.

“You have more than enough suits in your closet. You know that by looking.”

He was struggling to suppress his rising anger.

Yeonhee pressed her lips together tightly. She knew better than anyone that he had plenty of suits in his closet, just as he said. Still, she wanted to fill one of them with a gift from her.

As she thought about leaving his side, leaving her trace behind might be a very selfish act, but she still wanted to give Junhyeok a gift just once.

From ten years ago until now.

She had received so much from Junhyeok. But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t recall anything she had given him.

She had always only received. Ten years ago, she hadn’t been in a position to give anything, and now, he was someone who lacked nothing, so she hadn’t thought about giving him a gift.

But if not now, she would never be able to give Junhyeok a gift again.

She decided it was right to do as she pleased, even if it was a selfish gift, rather than regretting it for the rest of her life because she was afraid it would only be a selfish gift.

That too, in the end, was a selfish decision that only considered herself.

“I know. I know you have more than enough suits in your closet.”

“……”

“But I wanted to give you a gift too. I’ve received so much from you, but no matter how much I think about it, I haven’t given you anything.”

Yeonhee averted her gaze from Junhyeok’s and stared intently at the suit jacket in her hand.

“So I wanted to give you a gift, but I couldn’t figure out what to get you, no matter how much I thought about it. Because you’re someone who lacks nothing.”

“……”

“Rather than buying something mediocre, I wanted to get you something you needed the most. And I thought that would be a suit.”

It was the absolute truth, without a shred of falsehood. Except for the other story she couldn’t tell him.

But the sharp Junhyeok seemed to sense that too.

“Is that really all?”

Junhyeok looked at her with anxious eyes.

She knew what his words implied. But she pretended not to know.

Hiding her dark thoughts, she looked at him with a face that feigned ignorance.

“The reason you’re giving me a gift, is that truly all?”

His reply proved that she had successfully deceived him once again.

Her chest felt heavy. But Yeonhee smiled brighter than ever.

“Then, what other reason is there to give a gift?”

With a smile, she unhesitatingly spoke the lie she had prepared.

Then, as if heading to the checkout, she turned her back to him.

Because I don’t think I’ll ever have another chance to give you a gift, I really wanted to give you one.

She buried those words deep in her heart.

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