Real Man

Chapter 456:

There, she saw her own handwriting on the wall.

-The fates are tied by a red thread.

Of course, Jeong Da-hye was shocked beyond words.

“Ah? You’re here. How did you find me?”

Three years ago, when Yoo-hyun came here to look for her, he had memorized the place.

He didn’t need to tell her that, so he casually shrugged.

“I saw your signature here. Is this it?”

He pointed to the sign carved below the writing.

It was a sign that made a half-heart out of the Chinese character for “many” (多).

“It’s a sign I made when I was young. I wanted to change it, but I got attached to it.”

“It was so unique that I remembered it.”

Behind Yoo-hyun’s smiling face, Jeong Da-hye slowly read the words.

She looked thoughtful, and he asked her.

“Can I touch it for a moment?”

“What?”

“Just a moment.”

Yoo-hyun took a pen that was hanging on the wall with a rubber band and pressed it on the wooden wall.

Then he completed the half-heart into a full shape.

It was what she had wished he would do when she gave him her sign in the past.

Jeong Da-hye blinked her eyes and then smiled.

She was very calm and warm today.

She never lost her smile throughout the conversation.

She seemed to try to match everything to him, and listened attentively to what he said.

She even ordered and brought the coffee herself.

And she was considerate of him.

“The owner here makes good coffee. Especially the latte.”

“Yes. It’s just my taste.”

“I’m glad. I was worried because I didn’t know what you liked since I always received from you.”

He didn’t really enjoy coffee with milk, but that wasn’t important.

He grinned and joked.

“I guess I have to stop trying now.”

Jeong Da-hye hesitated as if she had something to say, but then nodded.

“Yes. Please do.”

Yoo-hyun was sure that she was going to leave soon.

She just couldn’t say it because she was sorry.

There was no reason to stay here and waste time.

He wanted to save some more time, so he asked first.

“The weather is nice, shall we go outside?”

“Where?”

“Namsan Tower.”

“Is that why you wanted to meet early?”

“Didn’t you want to come to Myeongdong too?”

He recalled what she had said on their first date.

-I wish our first date place was Namsan Tower. That was my childhood dream.

He wanted to do what he couldn’t do for her in the past.

She looked at him with curious eyes, and then nodded.

“I can’t say no. Shall we get up?”

“See? You’re quick to decide. Let’s go.”

He smiled and got up from his seat.

There was still ice in the plastic cup.

It was a weekday morning, so Myeongdong was quiet.

He walked with her and got on the cable car.

The wall of the large cable car was made of glass, so it was good to see the outside scenery.

Ching.

As the cable car moved, Jeong Da-hye pressed her nose to the glass.

She looked down at the green trees and exclaimed.

“Wow.”

She was so fierce when she worked, but now she was so innocent.

She felt his warm gaze and made an awkward expression.

“Mr. Yoo, you should look too. It’s amazing.”

“Yes. It’s nice.”

He pretended to look down and then looked at her again.

The smile on her lips was very bright.

He got off the cable car and naturally matched his steps to hers.

He walked wherever she wanted to go.

The first place they went was the octagonal pavilion in front of Namsan Tower.

She sat on the edge of the pavilion and admired it.

“It’s so spacious and nice here.”

“There’s a pavilion as nice as this one at the Yeontae-ri fishing spot.”

“Really? I should go there next time.”

“You’ll be surprised.”

What would she say when she saw the pavilion with her name on it?

He imagined it and looked at where she was looking.

A couple was sitting on the stairs of the construction site and having a deep skinship.

Her face turned red and she coughed and got up.

“Ahem. Shall we walk a bit?”

“Sure.”

He smiled and followed her.

Maybe it was because she wasn’t working?

She looked very light when she came out.

She seemed to have thrown off a heavy burden, and smiled more easily, and expressed more.

She walked along the wall and marveled at the flower bed next to her.

“Isn’t it really beautiful?”

“Not as much as you.”

“You’re saying weird things again.”

She pouted, but he was serious.

She was under a big tree, in the shade and the sunlight that came through the leaves.

Her long hair and dress that fluttered in the wind looked like a painting.

“I never lied in my life.”

“Ah. Is that so?”

“Yes. Wait a moment.”

He asked her to wait and approached a lady who was walking by.

He wanted to take a picture of this scene, so he asked her, and the lady gladly agreed.

He handed her his phone and stood next to Jeong Da-hye.

“Beautiful scenes should be captured in photos.”

“I can take it for you.”

“It’s more meaningful if we take it together.”

As Yoo-hyun approached, Jeong Da-hye shied away slightly, as if she was embarrassed.

The lady holding the phone immediately snapped.

“Don’t back away, you sexy thing. Come closer.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

Jeong Da-hye moved her feet back, looking flustered.

The lady’s coaching didn’t end there.

“You have to stick close to look pretty. Closer, closer.”

The other ladies behind her also chimed in.

“You should link arms. You look like strangers otherwise.”

“The man should hug her with some force.”

“Also touch your heads. Why are you so shy, you grown-ups?”

Thanks to the enthusiastic encouragement of the ladies, the distance between Jeong Da-hye and him got closer and closer.

Thump thump.

Her heartbeat was transmitted through his arm.

The skin that touched felt hotter and hotter.

“That’s it. Now you look like lovers. Okay, I’ll take it. One, two, three.”

Click.

Finally, a memorable photo was taken.

The awkwardness when they stuck together for the photo was brief.

As the distance in the photo got closer, so did their psychological distance.

Before they knew it, they walked at the same pace and looked at the same place.

Yoo-hyun asked with a playful tone.

“Isn’t it more delicious when I buy it for you?”

“Yes. And it’s better because it’s been a long time.”

They joked around while eating ice cream, and laughed easily at light jokes.

The mood naturally led to a dinner date.

Yoo-hyun guided Jeong Da-hye to a restaurant located on the observation deck of Namsan Tower.

This place, where the Seoul skyline was clearly visible, was a place she had always wanted to visit.

She was very satisfied this time as well.

Thanks to that, they were able to share stories that had accumulated in a brighter atmosphere.

Jeong Da-hye told him in detail about the hectic situation she had been in.

“I had to prepare for the G20 summit in advance…”

“You should have refused, why did they make you do that?”

When Yoo-hyun complained for her, Jeong Da-hye giggled.

“It’s my job, I have to do it. It’s almost over now.”

“You worked hard. It must have been no joke to please the new manager.”

“It got easier thanks to you, Yoo-hyun.”

“Haha. I guess I’m a useful guy.”

Jeong Da-hye smiled faintly at Yoo-hyun, who was smiling brightly, and said.

“Yes. I’ll admit what I have to admit. If it wasn’t for you, I might not be here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

When Yoo-hyun pretended not to know, it happened.

Thud.

The banana cream cheese cake that Yoo-hyun ordered came out as a dessert.

Looking at the cake on the white plate, Jeong Da-hye muttered.

“I bought this back then…”

“When?”

“Huh? No, nothing.”

Jeong Da-hye startled and waved her hand.

‘He must have brought it when he visited me at the hospital.’

It was the story of the day Yoo-hyun left the hospital room.

Yoo-hyun had something to say to her on the day the G20 bid was decided.

-How about I answer your question after the G20 bid is decided? I think I’ll be in better shape by then, and you’ll be more relaxed too.

It wasn’t a very pleasant thing to say, but there was no reason not to say it.

Yoo-hyun didn’t want to leave a grudge in her heart, who would soon leave.

He was thinking about how to say it when Jeong Da-hye brought up her personal matter first.

“I didn’t have a good family situation when I was young.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

“I hear that a lot. Because I lived abroad. Do you want to hear my story?”

“Of course. I’m ready.”

Yoo-hyun straightened his posture, and Jeong Da-hye told him about her difficult family history with a calm expression.

It was a painful story that she had kept hidden for a long time.

“Actually, the existence of a father to me when I was young…”

She had to live alone from a young age, as her family scattered.

The relationship that went wrong continued until now, and she lived without contacting her family.

She didn’t even meet them once during this long business trip.

“That’s what happened, and suddenly I got a call. Not from my father, but from a debt collector.”

“That was Jo Hee-deok.”

“Yes. I also talked to my father after that. Was it 10 years? It was strange.”

“Hmm.”

Yoo-hyun only let out a low sigh instead of answering.

Jeong Da-hye looked out the window, as if she had a lot on her mind.

She didn’t look sad.

She just calmly told one thing after another, as if it was someone else’s story.

“I thought I had completely forgotten my father, but I guess not. I tried to ignore it, but it kept bothering me.”

“Eventually, you fell for Jo Hee-deok’s scam. It wasn’t your father’s fault, Da-hye.”

At Yoo-hyun’s words, she turned her eyes.

She seemed to know the whole story well, judging by her sharp gaze.

“It was thanks to you, Yoo-hyun. I heard. You stepped in on purpose.”

“It was a coincidence.”

“Yes. I knew you would say that. Thank you for helping me out of the blue.”

Jeong Da-hye smiled casually, as if nothing had happened.

In the end, the only thing that was resolved was the scam problem.

The relationship between her and her family didn’t change, nor did the resentment in her heart.

Maybe it would take a long time, like before, to meet her family again.

But that was her part.

Yoo-hyun hoped that she would shake off the past and move on.

“I heard you got a thank you from the manager of Sprint Company?”

“Huh? How did you know that?”

Swoosh.

Yoo-hyun got up from his seat and reached out to Jeong Da-hye, who was blinking.

“Are you curious? Do you want to go down? I have a place I want to go with you.”

“You’re sneaking up on me again.”

“What are you talking about? I’m just trying to clear the dishes.”

Yoo-hyun picked up the dishes on the table with a nonchalant expression.

“…”

For the first time today, a walnut wrinkle appeared on Jeong Da-hye’s chin.