Chapter 54
“I’ll go in.”
“Alright.”
Sua bowed deeply and left in front of Seon-ung.
She couldn’t figure out what state of mind she was in when she left Yangpyeong villa. The conversation with her grandfather, on the way from Yangpyeong to Seoul.
Sua sat in the back seat of the car, staring blankly out the window. The serene suburban landscape gradually turned into a desolate cityscape. Even after driving for over an hour, her mind was still a mess.
Did Hyun-oh know that Han Dong Group would fail?
That thought filled her mind.
It had been difficult for Han Dong for several years already. But most of the information was internal, and outsiders couldn’t know until her father collapsed. So, she naturally thought Hyun-oh didn’t know when he married her.
Of course, being knowledgeable about business affairs, he might have known.
But… If that were the case, why did he marry me?
Was he thinking that Han Group would be his backup, or why did Hyun-oh marry me? It didn’t make sense to Sua.
As the sun began to set, darkness crept in from afar. Sua’s gaze, unable to find answers, turned pitch black.
—
On the way back from inspecting the Gumi factory.
Hyun-oh had come down to Gyeongsang Province to check the situation before the scheduled completion ceremony next week. The Gumi factory was a project he had planned and carried out since he was a branch manager, and it was something he poured his heart into. Fortunately, everything was perfectly prepared. There was hardly anything to criticize.
Just before getting into the car, a rumble of thunder echoed. Hyun-oh and the manager were coming out when they looked up at the sky. It was only 5 o’clock, but thick clouds had gathered, making it dark as if it were evening.
A deep shadow fell over Hyun-oh’s composed face. Seeing him checking the sky, the manager checked his phone screen.
“A typhoon is about to land.”
“Really?”
“Yes. A fairly large typhoon is expected to hit Korea directly. But Gumi should be fine. The problem will be more in the Seoul area.”
“It’s fortunate that there’s no problem with the factory.”
“It might rain on the way back.”
“Let’s hurry before it rains.”
With that, they finished their conversation and hurriedly got into the car driven by Manager. The car quickly got on the highway and headed to Seoul.
Work continued even inside the running car. Hyun-oh confirmed the status of the Gumi factory he had inspected today and received reports on key figures who would participate in next week’s completion ceremony.
“Oh, also, look into the response to the new brand launched by PY Chemicals. They’re considering entering domestic hotels, so analyze how much more competitive our products are and their pricing compared to ours.”
“Got it.”
After finishing his words, Hyun-oh rubbed his tired forehead.
“You’ve worked hard today. Both of you, Manager Lee, and Manager Kim.”
Due to the company’s schedule, they had to come down to Gumi for just one day, starting from early morning and having a tight schedule all day long.
“No, not at all.”
“No, sir.”
“I’d like to rest well tomorrow, but I can’t. There’s too much on the schedule.”
At Hyun-oh’s words, Manager Lee nodded.
“Sir, aren’t you overworking yourself these days?”
“I am.”
I am…
It’s alright. Focusing on work actually puts my mind at ease.
He was about to say that, but he kept his mouth shut. Only Hyun-oh, Sua, this manager, and the divorce lawyer handling this matter knew about the divorce. He didn’t distrust Manager Kim, who was driving, but there was no need to increase the number of people who knew.
“Don’t worry. I’m doing it because I can handle it.”
After saying that, he looked out the window. Thunder rumbled again, and raindrops started hitting the car window heavily.
“It’s raining.”
“Yeah.”
He looked up at the sky. He couldn’t tell how far the dark clouds stretched. Would it reach Seoul?
Would it rain where Han Sua is?
It had been several weeks since she left home and started living in a hotel. During that time, he hadn’t seen her. Naturally, he hadn’t seen her photo either, and he consciously tried to push Han Sua away.
But she kept coming to mind.
Even though he hadn’t seen her for a long time, her image came vividly to his mind. Her tears, which he tried to persuade and avoid, kept appearing so vividly in his mind.
It would be nice if the remaining memories were of her smiling.
“Ha…”
No matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn’t remember how Han Sua smiled. She seemed to have laughed a lot, but…
As rain poured down, the car window became blurry with raindrops. When it became as dark and cloudy as his memories, the manager looked back.
“It’s raining heavily. Should we rest at the rest area for a bit? It seems dangerous to keep going like this.”
“Should’ve used the train.”
Manager Kim, driving in front, checked behind briefly.
“I’ll drive slowly and safely. Don’t worry…”
Please.
He probably wanted to say that. However, contrary to Manager Kim’s words, the car swerved momentarily.
“Huh!”
The fast-moving car slid to one side. Despite clutching the handle next to her tightly, she couldn’t prevent the car from tipping over.
Crash!
With a tremendous roar, the car tipped over, unable to overcome the speed, and the sound of screeching filled the air, echoing in Hyun-oh’s ears. The shock was so intense that his breath stopped.
Everything happened in an instant.
Until the black darkness fell before Hyun-oh’s eyes, it wasn’t that dark. And in that darkness, the last thing he saw was Sua’s smiling face.
Her brightly smiling face.
That was it.
—
Sua didn’t like rainy days.
She stood quietly by the window, staring outside at the rain pouring due to the typhoon. Not long after meeting Seon-ung, Hyun-oh’s grandfather, and returning home, heavy raindrops started to fall. The already muggy air became even more humid and sticky as her body was enveloped in it.
It was summer, so rain often came, but today was worse than usual. Both the heavy raindrops and the swaying wind were unusual. The weather forecast on TV warned to beware of heavy rain and strong winds.
―Ten days after Typhoon Sebsa passed, an unprecedented typhoon is coming. It is expected that Typhoon Serio will land in the western sea today in a stronger state than expected. In areas such as Chungcheong and the capital region, heavy rain is already falling due to the storm’s influence, and after entering the main affected area, heavy rain and strong winds are expected to cause severe damage to life and property. Extreme caution is needed in those areas….
Sua sighed and turned off the loud TV. It had rained heavily even on the day her father collapsed. It wasn’t even the time for a typhoon to come, but the exceptionally heavy rain caused flooding in downtown Seoul. Remembering that day made her unreasonably scared.
She didn’t like rainy days. She feared that something as bad as that day might happen again.
“Maybe it’s because I’m alone.”
Sua murmured to herself, disliking the empty house.
“I want to go to the office quickly.”
If she went to the office and buried herself in work among people, she might forget everything.
“Yeah, let’s focus on work.”
Shaking her head to dispel unnecessary thoughts, Sua walked towards the study. As she opened her laptop and pressed the power button.
―RRRRR
A loud ringing phone echoed through the empty house.
“Who could it be at this hour?”
It was past 8 o’clock. Feeling uneasy for some reason, Sua hesitated for a moment, but hurriedly walked to the living room where she had left her phone, thinking it might be a call from the company or her mother.
Turning over the black phone, she saw the letters on the screen.
What could it be? A creepy chill ran through her body. They had exchanged a few calls about the divorce, but it shouldn’t be urgent to call at this hour.
Sua’s hand holding the phone trembled. She quickly pressed the call button.
“Hello? Manager Lee. What’s going on?”
Her voice trembled with anxiety. It was noisy on the other end of the line.
“Manager Lee?”
As tension built up, Sua asked again, and Manager Lee spoke up.
“Oh, Mrs. Han. I’m sorry to bother you at this hour. Where are you? Are you at home?”
“Yes.”
“You… You should come…”
Even though Manager Lee knew her circumstances, it sounded urgent.
“What’s the matter? Did something happen to Hyun-oh?”
“Yes… Something urgent came up.”
“…There’s been a car accident, and the chairman has been seriously injured.”
Manager Lee’s trembling voice echoed through the living room.
“The chairman was injured.”
At those words, Sua sank down into a chair.
