Impossible Romance - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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22.

Shim Hyun-sung straightened his back and sat rigidly. Ever since childhood, Kwon Seok-ha had beaten him so many times without Jun-hee knowing, so even after such a long time, the title “hyung” slipped out naturally.
“What did I do?”
Kwon Seok-ha, seated in a cylindrical chair with a backrest, stretched one leg out casually, just as he had done at that villa long ago. His legs were so long that his shoe brushed against Shim Hyun-sung’s.
“No! I wasn’t talking about you!”
“Sure you weren’t. I heard everything.”
….
Shim Hyun-sung, at a loss for words, still glanced at Jun-hee with an expression that clearly conveyed his disapproval of Kwon Seok-ha’s character.
“Don’t talk with your eyes. I can see it all.”
“Executive Director, what are you doing here?”
Jun-hee asked in a clipped tone.
“I suggested the three of us grab a meal together. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Executive Director, we’re still near the Company. Please use proper titles.”
As Jun-hee continued in her cold voice, Shim Hyun-sung’s eyes widened across from her.
“Right. Ahn Joon-hee, why didn’t you tell me?”
Kwon Seok-ha switched to formal speech after being corrected by Jun-hee. But she found nothing pleasant about it whatsoever.
“I wanted to spend time comfortably with a friend. I doubt any employee would want to have dinner with their boss after work.”
“Ah, is that so? But when I suggested the three of us eat together, I meant it as your old neighborhood hyung. You know, a reunion of hometown friends—your secretary self and my junior.”
Kwon Seok-ha shrugged his shoulders.
“Executive Director, we were never friends.”
Jun-hee spoke without softening her expression.
“Hehe. Jun-hee’s making a lot of jokes today. Try some of this.”
Shim Hyun-sung, caught in the middle, grew visibly uncomfortable and broke into a cold sweat.
Kwon Seok-ha stared at the spicy chicken that Shim Hyun-sung offered him for a moment, then fixed his gaze intently on Jun-hee.
Jun-hee met his eyes, then slowly looked away.
“Doesn’t look appetizing.”
With that, Kwon Seok-ha abruptly stood up.
“Hyung, are you leaving?”
“Yeah. I saw your face, so that’s enough.”
Kwon Seok-ha walked toward the entrance without hesitation.
“Hey, why are you treating hyung like that?”
“Shim Hyun-sung, you’re the funny one. You were just cursing out the Executive Director a moment ago.”
“That’s because hyung’s personality is the problem. But how can you act like that after seeing his face? Come on, let’s eat. It’s getting cold.”
“Fine.”
As Jun-hee spoke, her eyes remained fixed on Kwon Seok-ha’s retreating figure as he stood outside the restaurant.
Why did her heart ache when he left, even after she had spoken so harshly to him?
He must have passed by by chance and squeezed through the crowd of employees to come in, yet she had only responded with anger. At least this way, people wouldn’t see her getting close to her boss at work.
Most importantly, she had to be careful—Han Seon-young’s eyes and ears could be anywhere.
Jun-hee turned from the window and looked at Shim Hyun-sung.
“It’s been so long—let’s drop the subject of that guy and just drink!”
Once Kwon Seok-ha left, Shim Hyun-sung relaxed and picked up his beer glass.
Jun-hee felt an odd kinship watching him. Even the nation’s leaders spoke ill of others behind closed doors—so gossiping about Kwon Seok-ha was hardly a sin. Yet despite this rationalization, a bitter taste lingered in her mouth.
“Yeah.”
Jun-hee nodded and clinked her glass against his.
Shim Hyun-sung smiled at her, his lips curving upward. She was always a friend close to his heart, yet narrowing that distance proved difficult. The same held true regarding Kwon Seok-ha.
In truth, Shim Hyun-sung’s dislike of Kwon Seok-ha stemmed not merely from past grievances, but from an unease that lingered—a discomfort that hovered at the edges of his heart.
It happened in high school. Jun-hee had been targeted by delinquents simply because she was close to a wealthy older brother from Seoul.
One day, girls who fancied Kwon Seok-ha enlisted some unsavory boys to torment Jun-hee.
Jun-hee’s apartment was a villa situated in an isolated area. The villa itself overlooked the distant sea with a great mountain behind it—she’d heard it possessed excellent feng shui.
But the path home from school wound through a forest, and when dusk fell, it grew somewhat frightening. That day, as Jun-hee walked the forest path, rough boys suddenly appeared and assaulted her.
They even wielded sharp objects like box cutters, threatening her and dragging her to a secluded spot. That day, Shim Hyun-sung had been searching for Jun-hee under the pretense of needing help with homework.
Upon seeing the menacing students, he froze—unable to act, only shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot.

“Why are you doing this! Hey! Your teacher will scold you! Aaah!”

Jun-hee, struggling and talking back, took a blow to her head and collapsed. Despite losing consciousness from the sudden shock and terror, the delinquents surrounding her—both male and female—cackled with delight, enjoying themselves even more.

“Why’d she put on a show and fall flat on her face?”
“Perfect. Let’s roll her around a bit!”

Just as the delinquents descended upon the defenseless Jun-hee, Kwon Seok-ha appeared—from where or how he’d learned of this, no one knew.

“You bastards! If you so much as touch a hair on Jun-hee’s head, I won’t let you off!”

He roared and unleashed a spinning back kick. The delinquents, caught off guard, panicked—but quickly regrouped.
At 193 centimeters tall with considerable strength, Kwon Seok-ha was formidable; yet he was alone against many. No matter how skilled he was at fighting, this was no contest.
The delinquents thought they had him. But the moment he saw Jun-hee lying unconscious, Kwon Seok-ha’s eyes rolled back—he became something monstrous.
He struck indiscriminately, pushing bodies aside with reckless abandon.
Shim Hyun-sung watched it all from behind a tree. In that moment, he witnessed firsthand how much strength a person could possess when driven to madness. The sight of him fighting like a pack of wild dogs made his knees buckle.
Fortunately, being from a wealthy family meant security arrived quickly. The bodyguards’ timely intervention spared the delinquents further beating.
Even the bodyguards seemed flustered, having witnessed such violence unfold in mere moments—or rather, they looked worried. Behind them stood Han Seon-young, Kwon Seok-ha’s mother, her face etched with shock.

“Seok-ha! Stop! Stop!”

Han Seon-young, her face flushed with heat, shrieked and stood firm, the veins in her neck visibly straining. Simultaneously, the bodyguards rushed forward and restrained Kwon Seok-ha.
Despite his strength, after fighting multiple opponents, Kwon Seok-ha’s appearance was ghastly. Blood dripped from his face as he looked at Shim Hyun-sung hiding behind the tree and laughed.
Shim Hyun-sung trembled with terror, as if he’d seen a goblin. As the bodyguards dragged Kwon Seok-ha away, he shouted toward the terrified Hyun-sung.

“Hey, Jun-hee, take care of yourself.”

Shim Hyun-sung nodded, still trembling like an aspen leaf.
Not a single unblemished spot remained on his face and body, yet he was smiling. Whether it was because Jun-hee was safe, or because he’d relieved stress by getting into a fight after so long, I couldn’t tell.
In the chaos, Shim Hyun-sung rushed toward Jun-hee. That’s when a hand grabbed his shoulder. It was Han Seon-young.

“Don’t tell Jun-hee that Seok-ha fought.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t want this to blow up. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”
“Yes… I do.”

Shim Hyun-sung nodded without fully comprehending, but it felt like he had to.

“This is for medical expenses. Jun-hee was rescued by you.”

Han Seon-young handed Shim Hyun-sung a check. He accepted it almost reflexively and rushed toward Jun-hee.
Jun-hee, who had lost consciousness and only now regained awareness, saw Shim Hyun-sung standing before her.

“What about those guys?”
“They’re all gone. The police came by.”
“You helped me. Thank you!”
“That’s not it.”

Shim Hyun-sung shook his head in denial, but he didn’t mention Kwon Seok-ha. The same went for the other delinquents after that day.
I heard they’d been called to the police station, but it seemed Han Seon-young had pulled strings to keep things from escalating further.
If Kwon Seok-ha, who’d already been disciplined and transferred from Seoul, faced another disciplinary action, it would’ve been problematic in many ways. Even if it was technically self-defense.
Jun-hee probably didn’t know that Kwon Seok-ha had come to rescue her, or that he’d been badly injured and hospitalized because of it. Since Kwon Seok-ha was such a troublemaker anyway, it wouldn’t have seemed strange if he’d gotten hurt in some other fight.
And so Shim Hyun-sung had become Jun-hee’s benefactor. When I was younger, that felt wonderful, but now it was a burden on my heart. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth—there was something about it that felt like I’d lose face. Above all, the fact that I’d accepted medical expenses from Han Seon-young bothered me.
Shim Hyun-sung studied Jun-hee’s expression, then opened his mouth hesitantly.
“What is it? If you have something to say, just say it.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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