Impossible Romance - Chapter 39

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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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39.

Saturday arrived. On this day off when I didn’t go to the Company, my day was utterly ordinary. In the morning, I ran into him and exchanged the customary pleasantries before we both ate lightly.
It was a mundane morning—Kwon Seok-ha cracked some inane joke, and I ignored it. Afterward, we each retreated to our rooms and went about our business.
By early afternoon, I emerged from my room parched. I picked up the water bottle on the dining table and poured myself a glass. My eyes drifted toward Kwon Seok-ha’s room. It was nearly time for him to go out.
Just as I’d anticipated, he emerged moments later. Wearing the clothes I’d prepared for him yesterday, he looked even more striking than usual.
“How do I look?”
He could tell I’d noticed. He flashed me that easy, confident smile.
“You look wonderful.”
I answered curtly, my voice devoid of emotion. Today was a day I needed to steel myself with the most austere thoughts.
It wasn’t because I liked him or loved him. I still didn’t like Kwon Seok-ha. At least, that’s what I told myself.
This melancholy was merely the result of multiple factors converging. Everyone falters and creaks when their plans deviate from expectations.
“Of course.”
He shrugged and crossed the living room toward the entrance. I saw him off with a face carefully stripped of emotion, exactly as I’d resolved.
“It’s not too late. Should I really go?”
Kwon Seok-ha turned back with a faint smile, looking so refreshingly luminous he might have stepped straight out of a magazine spread—excessively radiant, even. I knew those two words shouldn’t belong together, yet somehow they fit him perfectly.
“Yes.”
“Right. That’s who Ahn Joon-hee is.”
He slipped on his shoes, turned, opened the door, and left without a backward glance. It was a clean exit, unmarred by hesitation.
For no reason I could name, my chest grew heavy and wet. I suppressed the urge to cry and made my way to the coffee machine. I wanted something bitterly harsh—coffee that was nothing but bitter.
I pressed the button, and the beans in the hopper began to grind. It wasn’t pleasant, but it was exactly the kind of noise I needed to hear right now. Soon the hot water mixed with the grounds, and coffee poured into the waiting cup.
Once the machine fell silent and the coffee pooled in the cup, I took a slow sip. The richly aromatic brew was smooth and nutty, as always.
It was disappointing that it wasn’t bitter enough. The beans that were nothing but bitter—I didn’t even know their name, so finding them now was impossible. It was a day when nothing would work out anyway. I decided not to resent the coffee.
I set down the half-finished cup and began cleaning. This was the best way to forget. I swept and wiped the rooms, then ran the vacuum through the living room.
I knew that Kang Manager, who handled housekeeping at Kwon Seok-ha’s family home, came to this apartment three or four times a week. Since she came on weekdays when I was at work, I never ran into her. Regardless, when my mind was tangled, moving my body was the cure.
‘He’s probably in the car now, heading to meet that woman. Has he arrived yet?’
The moment I finished sweeping the rooms and living room and put the vacuum away, Kwon Seok-ha crossed my mind. I was bustling about precisely to avoid thinking of him, yet he surfaced with every passing moment.
And then came thoughts of the blind date.
The woman must be beautiful. Intelligent, too.
Petty jealousy, crude and unbecoming, pushed through my inadequate thoughts like weeds breaking through soil.
Both companies were thriving, and both families knew each other well, so marriage would likely proceed without complications.
Knowing all this, I couldn’t understand why my heart ached so. Even the bridge of my nose stung, and I felt dangerously close to shedding tears over something so absurd.
‘I should just sleep instead.’
Sleep—the finest escape from reality. If I buried myself in bed and surrendered to deep sleep, everything would be resolved by the time I woke.
By then, I’d have clarity on how to shape my future. By then, Kwon Seok-ha would no longer hold onto me under the pretense of collateral. No, he wouldn’t be able to hold on. It wouldn’t be proper toward his future wife.
“Sigh….”
My thoughts had spiraled again.
It would probably happen in the near future, but for now, these useless imaginings chained one to another endlessly. I needed to sever this tedious cycle of thoughts first.
I reached for my phone to shield myself from these wandering thoughts. I planned to turn it off and sleep. But then—
RRRR.
The phone on the table vibrated with a sharp, insistent buzz.
Could it be Seok-ha?
Was he coming back after all?
I rushed over with that absurd hope blooming in my chest, only to check the caller ID and feel my heart sink. It was Han Seon-young.
The moment I saw her name, a sigh escaped me. Was she really calling to make sure I didn’t interfere with Seok-ha’s blind date? Whatever her intentions were, I pressed the answer button anyway.
“Hello?”
[Jun-hee!]
“Yes, hello.”
[Kang Manager forgot and left some documents in the first kitchen drawer. Take them to Seok-ha.]
“Executive Director, he’s at his blind date right now.”
[I know. But those documents are important. Deliver them immediately. Ha-eun will understand—she’s been on enough blind dates. She runs a company herself, after all.]
“Understood.”
[Hurry. Go now, before the date ends.]
Han Seon-young hung up the moment she finished speaking.
“Ugh…”
Staring at the ended call screen, a sigh burst from my lips.
Han Seon-young’s scheme was transparent. It made no sense that meticulous Kang Manager would leave documents in the kitchen of all places. She wanted me to deliver them and see with my own eyes what a perfect match they made.
Han Seon-young loved certainty. Seok-ha was her entire world.
She was terrified that Ahn Joon-hee might ask him something.
Still, I found Han Seon-young’s relentless maneuvering infuriating, and I bit my lower lip hard.

***

Pressed by Han Seon-young’s insistence to hurry, I had no choice but to prepare hastily. Without time to put effort into makeup, I simply threw on a hoodie and caught a taxi.
Only after getting in the taxi and stating my destination did it dawn on me that I was heading to Kwon Seok-ha’s blind date. My hair pulled back tightly and the worn sneakers visible beneath my feet suddenly irritated me.
‘There’s nothing I can do about it.’
Since Han Seon-young was so concerned, it might be good to make my feelings clear to her.
That I had absolutely no interest in Kwon Seok-ha whatsoever.
That I wasn’t even dreaming about it, and that I was well aware it was hopeless.
Fortunately, the taxi wasn’t stuck in traffic and got me to the meeting place quickly. As I stepped out and stood before the large, prestigious Hotel, I felt oddly self-conscious.
I checked my appearance one more time before heading inside. Kwon Seok-ha would be meeting Lee Ha-eun from SEC Technics in a private room on the 2nd Floor. It was a location both sides had arranged in advance.
I explained the situation to the Restaurant Staff Member waiting outside and entered the room. As I stepped in, Kwon Seok-ha and Lee Ha-eun, who had been sitting across from each other in conversation, simultaneously turned their heads to look at me.
Feeling suddenly like an uninvited guest, I lowered my head, my face burning with embarrassment.
As expected, Lee Ha-eun was beautiful and sharp in appearance. Her confident face radiated vitality. Even the way she casually set down her expensive bag on the floor looked cool.
Seeing Kwon Seok-ha sitting before her with a relaxed expression, they looked like a well-matched pair—a handsome man and a beautiful woman.
“Hello, Executive Director.”
I approached Kwon Seok-ha and greeted him respectfully, extending the documents.
“Ahn Joon-hee?”
He looked at me with a tilted head, then his eyes widened. He clearly hadn’t expected this either.
“The Director said you’d understand once he explained. He said it was important, so I brought it urgently.”
Kwon Seok-ha accepted the documents with an indifferent expression and examined them. Seeing him raise one corner of his mouth slightly, it was clear this wasn’t an urgent matter at all.
“Hello. Are you the Executive Director’s secretary?”
As I stood waiting for Kwon Seok-ha’s instructions, Lee Ha-eun greeted me warmly.
“Yes. I came out in a rush on a holiday, so I’m not dressed properly. I apologize.”
Standing before Lee Ha-eun, who was fully made up from head to toe, in my worn sneakers, I looked shabby. In that moment, I slightly regretted just coming as I was because of Han Seon-young’s nagging.

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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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