Affectionate Obsession - Chapter 47

“It was tough.”

Junhyeok’s voice echoed in the quiet car heading home.

Only then did Yeonhee’s clouded eyes regain focus.

She had regained her senses, but her body still lacked strength.

“Yeah, a little…”

Yeonhee mumbled in a weak voice.

She hadn’t even had the strength to stand up after the event ended, and couldn’t move even after seeing Chairman Jeong and his wife rise.

‘I’ll take care of things here, so you go catch your breath for a moment.’

Sensing Yeonhee’s condition, Junhyeok had said that as he helped her towards the restroom.

She felt she had to fulfill her duties as HN Group’s daughter-in-law until the very end, but she couldn’t refuse his kindness.

She just had to hold on a little longer, but she didn’t have the strength to endure even that little bit.

After going into a restroom stall and barely catching her breath, she sat on the toilet lid for a long time.

Only then did Yeonhee manage to gather enough energy to force a bright smile.

She thought she had composed herself and left quickly, but by then, Chairman Jeong and his wife had already returned home.

That weighed heavily on her mind.

Given the circumstances, she didn’t want to give them any reason to criticize her as a daughter-in-law.

It wasn’t because she wanted to fulfill her duties as a daughter-in-law for Yoon Sera’s sake, but because she didn’t want to burden Junhyeok any further.

Junhyeok was already going out of his way for her.

She didn’t want to create any more burdens for him to bear.

‘Before you left for home, Father was looking for you, but I managed to make a suitable excuse. So, don’t worry too much.’

Her thoughts must have been visible on her face again. He, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her for a long time, spoke to her like that.

Trying to find solace, even if forced, that was the best she could manage.

Even so, her heart wasn’t at ease, but she no longer had the strength to expend emotions on that matter.

Looking around belatedly, she saw no one who had filled the banquet hall.

Only then did her tension completely dissipate. If Junhyeok hadn’t supported her, she might have collapsed right there.

Yeonhee let out a deep sigh, recalling the events from earlier.

She couldn’t remember how the roughly three hours had passed. Yet, her conversation with Sookhee was incredibly vivid.

Yeonhee listlessly turned her gaze out the window.

Another sigh rose to her throat.

Despite her will, the events at the banquet hall replayed in her mind again and again.

‘Yes, it’s Sera.’

‘…….’

‘I was waiting, and finally, our Sera has arrived.’

The look in Sookhee’s eyes when she said that was vastly different from when Yeonhee had visited the Seongbuk-dong RM family mansion pretending to be Yoon Sera.

The benevolent grandmother she had seen that day was nowhere to be found.

With Yoon Sera having returned to her family home, Yeonhee hadn’t for a moment thought Sookhee would still mistake her for Yoon Sera, but even so, Sookhee’s gaze towards her couldn’t help but hurt.

Sookhee’s eyes were just like that. They were the eyes of someone looking at a lowly creature, as if unwilling to even make eye contact.

Not only that, but her words to Junhyeok were also like that.

‘No. A man should be bold like CEO Jeong. When I first heard about CEO Jeong’s situation, I was disappointed, but I understand now.’

‘…….’

‘Still, if something similar happens again, it would be good if you could give me a heads-up, even if it’s just to me. You can do that much for family, can’t you?’

Her words to Junhyeok sounded like a plea for him to snap out of it and return to the real Yoon Sera.

As if she would turn a blind eye this one time if he came to his senses now.

At that moment, for a fleeting instant, Yeonhee considered whether she should let go of Junhyeok’s arm.

Choi Sookhee, whom she faced not as Yoon Sera but as Shin Yeonhee, was far more formidable than she had imagined, and she was a person who strongly assured Yeonhee that she would be an absolutely difficult opponent.

It wasn’t that she was afraid. Her desire for revenge against Choi Sookhee remained unchanged.

But separate from that, there was no need to make Junhyeok an enemy of Choi Sookhee.

Especially since Choi Sookhee was such a powerful opponent.

If so, letting go of Junhyeok would be the right thing to do.

But Yeonhee couldn’t bring herself to let go of Junhyeok in the end.

Somehow, she desperately wanted to leave even the smallest blemish on Choi Sookhee.

Only then did she feel she could let go of this endless resentment.

To get closer to that goal, Junhyeok’s help was desperately needed.

That was why she had relied on Junhyeok until now to receive information about Choi Sookhee, and had moved meticulously, using his plan as a stepping stone.

From the very moment everything began, she had instinctively sensed it. To achieve her goal, she had to act according to Junhyeok’s words.

Moreover, Junhyeok’s plan contained things she could never have conceived, no matter how hard she thought.

Therefore, she needed Junhyeok’s help no matter what.

She planned to leave him at the right time, shamelessly.

It was a terrible thing to do.

If only the shocking secret of her hidden birth hadn’t been so devastating.

If she hadn’t been in a state where she couldn’t regain her senses for a moment, like a madwoman.

If that were the case, she wouldn’t have acted so selfishly.

Even if Shin Yeonhee was already a bad and selfish woman in Jeong Junhyeok’s eyes, she couldn’t have done this.

Because she loved him too.

Yeonhee’s lips trembled slightly.

The sorrow she had suppressed for so long felt like it was about to explode all at once.

But just then, she felt an unexpected touch on the back of her hand.

Yeonhee slowly turned her head and lowered her gaze to where the warmth was.

And there, she saw Junhyeok’s hand covering hers.

His thumb, as dependable as he was, gently stroked the back of her hand.

It felt as if he were caressing and comforting her heart.

“…Ha.”

An uncontrollable breath escaped Yeonhee’s lips.

Her reddened eyes were filled with moisture, on the verge of falling.

Yeonhee bit her lower lip hard.

She didn’t even have the shame to cry.

The moment a sob escaped, the ever-gentle Jeong Junhyeok to Shin Yeonhee would, as if by promise, comfort her and hold her tightly in his arms.

That was too much to ask.

That was not a reward she should sweetly receive, but a punishment.

For acting selfishly towards him, she deserved a punishment far more severe than that.

So, she had to try her best not to cry in front of Junhyeok.

But as if her efforts to endure were in vain, Junhyeok’s voice began to moisten her heart.

“Forget everything you heard today. Don’t remember a single word. There’s no need, and no value in it.”

At first glance, it might have sounded forceful. But Yeonhee knew.

Junhyeok was offering the best comfort he could at that moment.

He was tending to her wounded heart in his own way.

It was undeniable.

‘Living for 10 years, catering to those damned old people who were blind and deaf, that’s when I finally started finding traces of you. I lived like that, just to find you. So, Yeonhee.’

‘…….’

‘Please, love me again like you used to.’

He, who had searched for the woman who had coldly abandoned him for 10 years, and then begged her to love him again.

‘Are you done crying? Your face is a mess.’

‘…….’

‘Why are you still standing there? If you’re done crying, you should come and hug me right now. You said you wanted me to appear like magic after you cried.’

‘…….’

‘The person to hug you has appeared. Are you going to keep standing there?’

He, who remembered the words of that bad woman who had coldly left him, even after 10 years had passed, and who was willing to open his arms.

‘You said you missed me.’

‘……Huh?’

‘You said you missed me. How could I possibly wait until tomorrow?’

He, who would rush to her side without regard for circumstances, just at the mere words that she missed him.

There wasn’t a single moment he hadn’t acted for Shin Yeonhee.

Such a man was impossible not to love. But he was a man far too good for her to love.

“Junhyeok-ah.”

Yeonhee called out to him softly. She felt his gaze briefly meet hers before falling away.

Even that brief glance felt so sweet and warm that Yeonhee’s heart ached.

“Thank you so much, and I’m sorry. And…”

Still, she had to say it.

Even if he was a man too good for her.

Even if he was a man she shouldn’t covet.

This bad woman, who was so cruel and selfish towards you.

“I love you… I love you so much.”

Shamelessly, I loved you so much, and I still do.

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