AOA 141

But then Baek Mugyeong had a serious face. He looked like he didn’t believe what I said.

Right then, the coffee we ordered came. Neither of us paid attention to the cups on the table. When the waiter left, Baek Mugyeong opened his mouth.

“Are you angry at me?”

It wasn’t that he doubted my words, he just seemed confused by what I was doing. The conversation that had once gone off track returned to its place.

I thought for a moment about how I should answer. Before Baek Mugyeong contacted me, I had already thought about what to say and in what order many times.

“I was angry, yes… but do you believe what I said? That I didn’t tell Baek Yeonseop anything.”

I looked at Baek Mugyeong, my body rigid from the tension. I had to make sure of this at least.

“Without even checking the facts, I doubted you on my own. I hurt you with things I shouldn’t have said or done. I’m sorry.”

Baek Mugyeong looked a bit startled but apologized calmly. His tone was the same as always, but it sounded sincere.

The anger that once burned to the top of my head had already been extinguished a long time ago. All that was left was to untangle the knots that had gone wrong.

Even if things ended badly, I didn’t want us to part with red faces.

“As you know, I don’t get along with my biological father. The arranged marriage happened because I needed my brother’s hospital bills paid. This time, I really tried not to live like a puppet, but it wasn’t easy. Hard things kept happening. That’s why I was grateful when you took my side. If it weren’t for you, it really would’ve been too much.”

Originally, I meant to ask why he sent the bracelet, but again, the words came out on their own. Even knowing the future, facing my biological father, stepmother, or half-brother was exhausting. Every time something happened, Baek Mugyeong took my side and helped me, and that gave me strength.

Baek Mugyeong looked surprised, as if he didn’t expect that. I continued speaking anyway.

“I even thought seriously about going to America with you. Because I didn’t want us to be a couple in an arranged marriage, I wanted something else. And… well, I mean, I wanted to confess that I liked you.”

After hesitating many times, I finally said what I needed to say. If I didn’t do it now, I might never get another chance, and that impatience gave me courage.

But Baek Mugyeong looked surprised. He was silent for a long time, then covered his face with his right hand and turned his head. It was the first time I saw him react like that, and it was both strange and funny.

Before he could reply, I quickly added more words.

“I’m just saying. Since we’re going to divorce now, I wanted to tell you.”

It wasn’t exactly what I planned, but I still managed to say more than half of what I prepared. After confessing that I liked him, the nervousness that had eaten me up disappeared, and I felt relieved.

I didn’t say that I still had feelings left. No matter what, I didn’t want to cling to him when I didn’t even know how Baek Mugyeong felt. Getting carried away alone and embarrassing myself was the last thing I wanted. I wanted to part gracefully if I could.

Before I even finished talking, Baek Mugyeong took his hand off his face and looked at me. The surprise and confusion were gone. He was serious again.

“I’m a selfish person. I made you suffer for my own low satisfaction. I ignored your request to know what was going on. So now… I’m wondering if I’m misunderstanding your words the way I want to.”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you forgiving me?”

I couldn’t immediately answer. My feelings were still messy.

To like someone meant to keep thinking about them and eventually to understand them.

I understood why Baek Mugyeong couldn’t help but get angry back then. The burning resentment in me slowly faded. I wasn’t sure if that counted as forgiveness, but at least I knew I didn’t hate him anymore.

After I received the bracelet and my mood softened, I realized again that I was an easy person. I wondered if that was okay, but I wasn’t angry anymore, so keeping the grudge felt pointless.

“At first I was really mad, but I understand why you did it. Because I really did tell Baek Yeongseop about your schedule before. So I don’t blame you. I don’t want to divorce while still hating you either. I don’t want things to be awkward. When we meet again, I want to greet you comfortably.”

Instead of saying I forgave him, I explained my feelings as best as I could. Talking about emotions felt awkward because I wasn’t used to it.

Baek Mugyeong stayed silent. Looking at each other without talking was something we were used to.

But it was the first time I saw him with a face that looked like he might be smiling or crying. The shock felt like thunder crashing over my head.

Being too handsome was also a problem. It was lucky there wasn’t an actual halo shining behind him.

“I told you before, you need to get angry properly.”

“Well, it’s not like I can just beat you up.”

It was a joke. Maybe he got it, because Baek Mugyeong smiled.

Yeah. That was what I wanted. Not another heavy stare-down, but this soft mood that made things feel lighter.

“I sent the bracelet because I wanted you to know it was the first gift I ever gave you.”

“…What?”

“I didn’t get it from the buyer. I chose it myself.”

I was caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. The card had said so, but I didn’t think Baek Mugyeong would bring it up himself.

I hesitated, not knowing what to say. Then a man behind Baek Mugyeong caught my eye.

The man kept his head down. His body was so thin that the black coat hanging from him looked like it would slide right off. He wore a black baseball cap too. His clothes weren’t strange, but his walk looked unstable in a weird way.

The moment I thought something felt off, my eyes met his. The man flinched and yanked his hand out of his pocket.

I kept watching because it felt strange, and Baek Mugyeong turned his head to look back too.

That moment was when everything happened.

The man held something in his hand and suddenly rushed at us. I lifted my arm to block him, but Baek Mugyeong stepped in front of me and grabbed the man’s arm, twisting it.

“Argh!”

The man screamed in pain. The bodyguards who were on standby moved right away. It only took a few seconds for them to subdue him.

My mind finally started to catch up. At first, I thought the man was targeting Baek Mugyeong. But he had clearly been looking at me.

“Let go! I said let me go!”

The man whose arms were pinned shouted loudly. He was gaunt and had dark circles under his eyes. I had never seen him before. He kept yelling that he was dying, that it hurt, that they should let him go, while struggling wildly.

People started turning to look at the commotion. Soon, the hotel security ran over too. The guards tried to get the situation under control and asked what was going on.

“Are you okay? He had something in his hand.”

I walked over to Baek Mugyeong after making sure the man was completely restrained. I was worried he might have gotten hurt.

“I’m fine. What about you?”

Baek Mugyeong’s face had gone pale as he pulled me close. He touched and checked me with both hands, searching for any injuries.

Everything had happened too suddenly, and I was still shocked. But the man hadn’t touched me directly.

“I’m fine because you stopped him. But could you let go of me now?”

Baek Mugyeong was holding me so tightly that I couldn’t move. But he didn’t let go. Instead, he pulled me even closer.

“No.”

“What…?”

I didn’t expect him to refuse like a child throwing a fit.

“I don’t understand why you keep ending up in danger.”

“Well…”

I had no idea what was going on, but my biological father suddenly came to mind. I couldn’t explain that to Baek Mugyeong right now.

“I feel like I’m going crazy from worry.”

His voice trembled above my head. The weight of his worry made my chest warm and almost lightheaded.

Then his pheromone scent, soaked into his clothes, brushed against my nose, and chills ran through my body like I had been struck by lightning.

It had been just over a month since I last smelled Baek Mugyeong’s pheromones. Before that, I had gone for months without exposure and felt fine, but today was different.

I wanted to stay like that, holding each other tightly, breathing in the scent of his pheromones as much as I could.

I really liked Baek Mugyeong. Pride didn’t matter. I didn’t want us to end as strangers. I wanted to tell him that I hadn’t stopped liking him, that I still did, and that even if we divorced, we should keep seeing each other.

While I was making up my mind, the situation suddenly changed. One of the bodyguards said the weapon the man had dropped had rolled under the sofa.

“That’s…”

At Baek Mugyeong’s voice, I pulled away and turned my head. The security guard in black reached under the sofa and pulled something out. It wasn’t a weapon.

It was a syringe.

*

The man’s name was Lee Gyuseong. He had seven prior convictions, most for violations of the laws on psychotropic and narcotic drugs, and had even served time in prison.

Dragged to the police station, Lee Gyuseong said he was innocent. He shouted that he had only done what he was paid to do.

As proof, he showed a direct message from social media. It only had a photo of me sitting in a cafe and a request saying to give me one shot.

Fortunately, the police didn’t suspect me. They questioned me at first just in case, but when the lawyer Baek Mugyeong called arrived, their attitude changed.