TO 31

Chapter 31

Taehyuk drank in the sight of Su-bin running toward him. Her bright, beaming face showed no remaining trace of the kids’ teasing from yesterday. Had he not witnessed yesterday’s scene with his own eyes, he would have believed without a shadow of a doubt that she was a child who grew up deeply loved, without a single care in the world.

Fortunately, Su-bin possessed great reflexes and didn’t trip, stopping safely right in front of Taehyuk.

“Mister, you came to our shop yesterday, right?”

Taehyuk dropped down on one knee to bring himself to Su-bin’s eye level.

With her chest heaving slightly and her cheeks flushed red, Su-bin bore a faint, unmistakable resemblance to Seo-ah. She was a little girl who took equally after both Seo-ah and himself.

“Yeah.”

“Then why was my mommy like that?”

Did she come all the way here just to interrogate him about that?

A faint smile touched Taehyuk’s lips at Su-bin’s remarkably bold attitude. “Your mom and I are old friends, but… I did something wrong to her.”

“You did something bad to my mommy?”

Taehyuk nodded. Come to think of it, it really was all his fault. His own presence must have been one of the primary reasons Seo-ah felt she had no choice but to run away like that.

“I really want to apologize to your mom, but… I’m not quite sure how to go about it.”

“Hmm…”

Su-bin placed her hands on her shoulders and pursed her tiny lips. Watching her brow furrow in deep thought made her look surprisingly serious. Taehyuk fought a desperate urge to scoop the little girl into a tight embrace right then and there, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fist to hold himself back.

“Mommy told me that apologies have to come straight from the heart.”

“Did she?”

“Yep! That’s why I accepted Choi Min-soo’s apology today.”

“The friend you fought with yesterday?”

“Yeah. He said he was sorry today, so I told him he could come to my birthday party. So, um… Mister?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re really not a bad person, right?”

“Well…”

Was he? Taehyuk asked himself. Recalling the utter revulsion in Seo-ah’s eyes as she looked at him, he couldn’t bring himself to answer with a confident no.

Right then—

“Lee Su-bin! What are you doing over there?! Come back here right this second!”

Su-bin whipped her head around. A group of kids dressed in the same uniform were huddled together next to a woman who appeared to be their preschool teacher.

“Mister, can you do me just one more favor?” Su-bin asked urgently.

“What kind of…?”

“Today’s my birthday, and Choi Min-soo and my classmates promised to come over. But Min-soo told everyone that my dad is back… and I promised to show them my dad today… I really don’t wanna be a liar again.”

Her birthday?

Taehyuk’s eyes narrowed. Now that he thought about it, the date inscribed on the cake yesterday was indeed today’s date.

“You have to come, okay? By six o’clock! We’re having my birthday party at my mommy’s shop. So… you promised, okay?!”

Seeing that Su-bin wasn’t coming back right away, the preschool teacher began walking over. Having blurted out everything she needed to say in a rush, Su-bin spun around and sprinted right back toward her teacher.

“Lee Su-bin! Are you going to ignore what Teacher says like this?!”

The teacher pulled Su-bin into a protective hug and shot a deeply suspicious look at Taehyuk. “Who was that? Someone you know?”

When the teacher asked, Su-bin chimed in, “He was just asking for directions!”

“Even so, how many times have I told you to stay close to Teacher whenever we leave the building?!”

“I’m sorry…”

Taehyuk slowly pushed himself up to his feet.

Su-bin’s birthday.

He looked up at the ginkgo trees surrounding the park, their leaves fully dyed in brilliant gold.

For the first time in seven years, autumn actually felt beautiful to him.

“Thank you everyone, you all did great today!”

Seo-ah’s baking class had just wrapped up.

Since today’s lesson featured Earl Grey meringue cookies, a delicate, soothing aroma of black tea lingered throughout the shop.

“Oh my goodness, Teacher, what’s your secret?”

The members who had just finished the class chatted noisily as they gathered around to ask.

“Pardon?” Seo-ah asked, pausing in the middle of cleaning up.

“I mean, you bake these sweet, delicious treats every single day, so how on earth do you stay so slim? I’ve put on five whole kilograms just coming to your baking classes!”

A woman who appeared to be in her early fifties grabbed the flesh at her waist and burst into a hearty laugh. Hearing that, the other members of a similar age chimed in enthusiastically.

“Seriously! Teacher, do you just not eat the bread you make?”

“Of course I do! I’m a total bread fanatic myself,” Seo-ah chuckled.

“Then how on earth do you not gain any weight?”

“What do you mean I don’t? I’ve gained a ton of weight since I started baking!”

“Oh, stop lying! You call that gaining weight?! Then were you just skin and bones before this?”

Hearing the members’ lively laughter, a bright smile spread across Seo-ah’s face as well.

“Honestly, how do you manage to look so young and unmarried when you even have a child? Your husband must be constantly worried sick!”

“Worried sick?” Seo-ah repeated.

“Well of course! With a young wife looking like a total maiden, who wouldn’t be on edge?” the members teased with a laugh.

Seo-ah merely let out a bittersweet smile and brushed it off.

“Why would he be worried? For all we know, Teacher’s husband is probably even handsomer. Like attracts like, after all!”

“Now, now! Today’s Earl Grey meringue cookies are super addicting, so if you eat too many you really will gain weight! Please limit yourselves to just one or two when you’re having tea, okay?” Seo-ah said brightly, steering the conversation back on track.

“As if anyone can stop at just one or two!”

“Hey, if Teacher says so, we should listen!”

“The moment I lose my self-control, five of those disappear into my mouth in a split second!”

Watching the chatterbox members, Seo-ah couldn’t help but laugh along.

Her brightly laughing face seemed to radiate a genuine, glowing warmth. Standing right outside the shop watching her, Taehyuk’s brows arched upward. When she was with him, he had never once seen her laugh this brightly, this naturally.

Nor had he seen her act with such unreserved ease.

‘Can I call you Sunbae?’

The Seo-ah from a long time ago—the one he thought he had forgotten—was standing right there.

Was it really because of him that Seo-ah had transformed into someone so reserved and distant?

Hearing Junghyun’s past words ring in his head—that staying by his side would only make her miserable—felt terrifyingly real, making Taehyuk hesitate at the threshold.

In the meantime, the class members flooded out of the bakery in a noisy crowd. Just as Taehyuk, who had been standing out of sight, stepped forward to enter the shop—

“Seo-ah.”

As if he had been waiting for the class to finish just like Taehyuk, Jin-won walked straight into the shop.

“Oh, Jin-won.” Seo-ah greeted him with a warm, radiant smile.

“How are you feeling?”

“Pardon?”

“You know, about yesterday… I was really worried about you.”

“Ah, thank you. I got a really good rest after going home yesterday, so I’m completely fine now.”

“That’s a relief. Oh, here.” Jin-won held out a mug he had brought with him.

“Coffee! Thank you so much. I should be the one treating you, though… Oh, right!”

Setting the mug down on the table, Seo-ah turned around and pulled out the chocolate cookies she had baked yesterday. “I meant to give these to you yesterday, but things were so chaotic.”

“Oh, these are my absolute favorite!” Jin-won smiled softly.

“I know,” Seo-ah replied gently, making Jin-won’s cheeks flush slightly red.

“Should we enjoy them together with the coffee? If you have a moment…”

“Sure, I’d love to. My last class just finished, so I can take a breath before I start prepping for Su-bin’s birthday party.”

Seo-ah invited Jin-won to sit down. As the two sat across from each other, an easy, comfortable rhythm—the kind built over years of close connection—flowed naturally between them. The gentle warmth in Seo-ah’s eyes, her relaxed posture as she looked at Jin-won…

It was a side of Seo-ah that Taehyuk had never once witnessed.

Before him, she had always been tense and guarded, unable to even meet his eyes properly.

Taehyuk caught himself silently questioning if the version of Seo-ah in his memories was even real. Was that stiff, terrified woman really who she was?

The way she was looking at this unfamiliar man right now—soft, blushing, calmly vibrant—was the exact face that had made Taehyuk think, all those years ago, I could spend the rest of my life with this woman.

Her shy smile was so soft, her quiet demeanor brimming with subtle vitality. He realized that throughout their entire marriage, he had been living in anticipation of seeing that very face again—hoping she would smile at him once more, hoping she would speak to him like she used to.

There had been a fleeting moment when Seo-ah briefly showed glimpses of her former self.

‘Hold me.’

‘Kiss me.’

Whenever he handed her flowers or embraced her, glimpses of her past self would flicker across her face. But that hope had never lasted long.

Taehyuk slowly clenched his fists tightly into balls. He couldn’t stomach the sight of Seo-ah smiling at another man a second longer. Without another thought, Taehyuk pushed open the bakery door and stepped inside.

“Welcome…”

Assuming it was a customer, Seo-ah stood up with a smile, only to freeze dead in her tracks the moment her eyes met Taehyuk’s.

Watching the warmth instantly drain from her soft brown eyes, Taehyuk’s brow twitched dangerously. He had just come to the painful realization that her smile was a privilege he would never be granted.

“Am I interrupting an intimate moment?” Taehyuk asked flatly, though his tone dripped with unmistakable sarcasm.

Jin-won stood up hesitantly. “Who are you? What is your business here coming around like this since yesterday…?”

Jin-won stepped directly in front of Seo-ah, shielding her from view. Taehyuk’s brow furrowed tightly into a scowl. The mere existence of Jin-won standing between him and Seo-ah struck a deeply unpleasant nerve.

“I’d appreciate it if third parties stayed out of this,” Taehyuk said coolly.

“I can’t just…”

Just as Jin-won raised his voice to push back, Seo-ah gently caught his arm to stop him. “Jin-won, I’m so sorry. Could you please give us a moment alone?”

Jin-won looked down at Seo-ah with deeply anxious eyes. Seeing her face drain completely pale, he couldn’t bring himself to leave her side. “Seo-ah, are you sure you’ll be okay alone? I can stay…”

“Did you not hear her ask you to step aside?” Taehyuk tilted his head slightly, his brows drawn tight in a glare. His face was entirely crumpled in irritation, as if his patience had reached its absolute limit.