At a glance from Yunhui, the men standing behind him—apparently bodyguards—rushed over and seized Yudam. They grabbed him by both arms and practically hoisted him off the ground rather than helping him to his feet.
“Take him.”
Yunhui’s order was curt.
“Let go of me! I said let go!”
Yudam thrashed as the bodyguards dragged him away, but his resistance was pointless. They ignored him completely, hauled him to the car, and shoved him into the back seat.
One of the men then looked back at Yunhui. When Yunhui gave a small nod, the man bowed before returning to the driver’s seat.
Only after the car carrying Yudam drove away did Yunhui release Ian’s arm, almost flinging it aside.
He let out a long breath, irritation evident in the sound. His gaze shifted to Yudam’s suitcase standing off to one side.
“Looks like he was planning to elope.”
Ian had refused Yudam’s proposal, but Yudam really had asked him to run away. Unable to deny it, Ian pressed his lips into a hard line.
“You didn’t actually think that would work, did you?”
“…”
“If you’re curious, give it a try. See how many days you last. Though first you’d have to make it out before getting caught, unlike tonight.”
Was Ian imagining the mockery in Yunhui’s voice?
No.
He wasn’t.
Kang Yunhui was clearly ridiculing them for attempting something so obviously impossible.
Ian had felt the same thing a few days ago, but this man seemed nothing like the Kang Yunhui he remembered. He could almost believe they were two different people who merely shared the same name and face.
Then again, they said even mountains and rivers changed in ten years. Why wouldn’t people?
Making excuses or explaining himself felt pointless.
Ian simply turned away, but Yunhui caught his arm.
Ian reflexively wrenched himself free and spun around. A fine crease appeared between Yunhui’s brows.
“Give up on Han Yudam.”
The same words as a few days ago.
Ian let out a short, incredulous breath and met his gaze.
“You should’ve just been honest ten years ago and said you liked Yudam.”
One of Yunhui’s brows lifted at an angle.
“If you’d been honest back then, I wouldn’t have accepted Yudam’s confession. I would’ve genuinely congratulated the two of you.”
It was an indirect jab at the way Yunhui had failed to congratulate Ian and Yudam back then.
“It’s not too late now. Step aside cleanly and congratulate us.”
Ian clenched his fist at Yunhui’s reply.
How could ten years ago and now possibly be the same?
“You don’t feel even a little sorry toward me, do you?”
Yunhui tilted his head slightly.
“Why should I? The Han family are the ones who accepted the arranged marriage.”
“You really—”
Anger surged up, but Ian stopped himself.
Arguing with him was pointless.
He turned away again. Right now, he didn’t want to waste any more energy on Kang Yunhui.
Yudam was a problem, yes, but Ian was even more worried about his mother.
“If you make a clean break with Han Yudam, I can take care of your mother’s hospital bills.”
Yunhui’s voice stopped him in his tracks.
For a moment—only a moment—Ian hesitated.
His mother’s treatment would cost an enormous amount of money, and Ian currently had no means of paying it. Because of the debts his father had left behind, even his bank accounts and shares had been frozen under provisional seizure.
Now that even Yudam’s family had drawn a line between themselves and Ian, he had no idea where he was supposed to find the money for the hospital bills.
But almost immediately, Ian was disgusted with himself for hesitating.
Being told to give up Yudam for money cut too deeply into his pride.
If Yunhui had simply admitted that he sincerely loved Yudam, Ian might even have been willing to step aside.
“Win Yudam over first before you start talking.”
Whatever else was true, Yudam was refusing the engagement with Yunhui.
Even in an arranged marriage, Yunhui couldn’t force someone to stay with him forever.
If Kang Yunhui truly wanted Han Yudam, he shouldn’t be coming to threaten Ian.
He should be trying to win Yudam’s heart.
Ian left those words behind and walked into the hospital without looking back.
Thankfully, Yunhui did not follow him.
As Ian stepped into the elevator, he glanced back and saw Yunhui still standing in the same place, watching him.
Even after Ian vanished completely from sight, Yunhui remained where he was for a long time.
His phone vibrated inside his jacket.
Only then did he let out a short breath and check the screen.
The moment he saw Yudam’s mother’s number, a deep crease formed between his brows.
[Yudam just got home. I’m sorry for troubling you.]
She had called him after three in the morning to say Yudam had disappeared.
Even if she hadn’t made such a fuss about finding him immediately, Yunhui would have gone after him anyway.
He had already expected Han Yudam to make a scene about running away with Ian.
Unlike the immature Yudam, Ian could not move so easily.
As long as his mother was lying in that hospital, Seo Ian could go nowhere.
Yunhui knew that.
And yet he had still been restless.
Because there was always the slightest possibility that, sometime during those ten years apart, Seo Ian’s feelings had grown strong enough for him to choose Han Yudam over his own mother.
“It’s fine.”
At Yunhui’s flat, curt reply, Yudam’s mother fell silent for a moment.
Perhaps she disliked how coldly Yunhui treated her despite supposedly becoming engaged to her son.
Even if she did, he had no intention of changing his attitude.
The Han family were the ones who needed this marriage.
From their perspective, the sudden declaration that the heir to Sanha Group wanted to marry Han Yudam must have seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of fortune.
There was only one thing Yunhui had demanded from them in exchange for this arranged marriage.
Cut Seo Ian off completely.
Do not help him for any reason.
And make certain that Han Yudam never saw Seo Ian again.
Yudam’s parents had agreed without even a second of hesitation.
Ian was in the most desperate situation of his life, yet they had not spared a thought for someone they had treated like a son for nearly twenty years.
So that was all Seo Ian’s cherished lover and his family amounted to.
In the end, they were outsiders—people capable of reversing their position as easily as turning over a hand whenever circumstances changed.
[I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again.]
“You’d better. If he packs his bags and goes looking for Seo Ian again like he did tonight, the engagement between us is over.”
Yunhui’s gaze settled on the suitcase abandoned some distance away.
[All right. I’ll make sure of it.]
He could hear how flustered Yudam’s mother was even through the phone.
Yunhui ended the call without adding anything further.
If Ian hadn’t hesitated, Han Yudam really would have run away with him.
Yudam’s fixation on Ian had always been unusual, even when they were children.
Ian, oblivious as ever, had never noticed, but Yudam had even been jealous of Yunhui at times.
Where did you go with Ian yesterday? Why did just the two of you go?
Ian didn’t want Yudam—or anyone else—to see him when he was vulnerable.
Whenever his mother collapsed again, or when he was upset because his grades hadn’t turned out as well as he had hoped, he would try to shut himself away somewhere alone.
Whenever that happened, Yunhui would drag him outside without asking a single question and make sure he ate.
Some days, after dinner, they would go to the Han River and walk for a long time in complete silence.
They didn’t need any meaningful conversation.
Simply having someone quietly stay by his side was enough to make Ian feel noticeably better, and the next day he would show up smiling as usual, as though nothing had happened.
On days like that, Ian ignored Yudam’s calls.
He probably would have ignored Yunhui’s as well if Yunhui hadn’t forced him out.
Yunhui had simply been quick enough to notice something was wrong and catch Ian before he could disappear.
Why do you two always vanish together?
Yudam hated that.
Ian was incapable of lying, so whenever Yudam asked, he would honestly say that he had been with Yunhui.
Then all of Yudam’s frustration would land on Yunhui.
He couldn’t bring himself to complain in front of Ian, but he would come looking for Yunhui afterward and interrogate him about where they had gone and what they had done.
Yunhui had known for a long time that Yudam liked Ian.
It had been obvious since elementary school.
Seo Ian was the only one who never noticed.
That was why he had even asked Yunhui that ridiculous question about whether he liked Yudam.
When they were seventeen—
If Yunhui hadn’t been away that day, Yudam would never even have gotten the chance to confess to Ian.
Even now, remembering that day made his heart feel cold.
If he could turn back time to then…
He had repeated the same regret dozens, hundreds of times.
But none of it mattered anymore.
If the past couldn’t be changed, all he had to do was make sure the two of them never had another chance to be together from this point forward.
After smoking a cigarette, Yunhui entered the hospital.
When he got off on the floor where Ian’s mother was staying, he spotted Ian sitting on one of the chairs in the hallway.
His back and the back of his head rested against the wall, and he wasn’t moving at all.
He appeared to have fallen asleep.
That habit hasn’t changed.
When Ian was tired, it would have been easier to simply lie down and sleep.
But whenever too many things were weighing on him and his thoughts became tangled, he would doze off sitting upright like this.
Yunhui approached.
Even when he stopped directly in front of him, Ian didn’t stir.
As expected, his eyes were closed.
Without thinking, Yunhui raised a hand to stroke his cheek—
then stopped just before touching him.
Seo Ian.
The three syllables of his name lingered unspoken in Yunhui’s mouth, leaving a bitter ache behind.
That bitterness would disappear soon.
Soon.