Impossible Romance - Chapter 54

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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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54.

Today, Kwon Seok-ha was more serious than ever. His low, resolute voice resonated through the room and pierced straight into my heart.
My startled heart lifted my gaze to him. The man who had always teased me was now defending me in front of his mother. The fact that he had always been sincere, then and now, somehow made my chest ache.
“What? What did you just say? How dare you speak to me like that in front of Jun-hee?”
Han Seon-young’s face turned ashen as her trembling hands shook. As if experiencing such humiliation for the first time in her life, her quivering face glared at her son with fury.
“I love Jun-hee. You know how I feel, Mother. So what about Lee Ha-eun? I made my intentions clear to Grandfather as well.”
The man who was usually so easygoing made no attempt to hide the anger in his voice.
“You dare!”
Han Seon-young, who had been raging at Kwon Seok-ha, suddenly turned toward me and raised her hand. In an instant, she swung it roughly and struck my cheek.
Even after that, Han Seon-young’s shoulders heaved with indignation. Her bloodshot eyes glistened with furious tears, and her lowered hand still trembled in the air.
“Mother!”
As my cheek swelled red, I heard Kwon Seok-ha’s voice. I could see him clenching his fists in rage.
The moment a sharp scraping sound filled the air, my eyes wavered too. Tears began to fall from my clear eyes. The only response to my sense of injustice and hurt was tears.
I couldn’t respond to Han Seon-young in the same way. I had no right to be defiant because of my guilt toward her, and above all, because she was the mother of the man I loved.
“So you seduced my son after all! You told me you’d break up with him, but you stole my son!”
Even after striking me, Han Seon-young’s fury showed no signs of subsiding. She continued to glare at me with contempt, as if looking at a shameless criminal, and shouted.
“No. No, Director.”
I slowly straightened myself and looked at Han Seon-young. My cheek was swollen and red from the blow, and tears were streaming down my face.
“No? You clearly said you had no desire to marry. You said you’d leave Seok-ha! And now you do this to me? How could you!”
Han Seon-young’s refined composure, which had seemed like a mask, shattered as raw fury erupted from her. Her neatly braided hair came undone in an instant, leaving her face disheveled.
“Director, I’m sorry.”
My voice, heavy with tears, struggled to escape my throat.
“If you’re sorry, then don’t do it! You and your entire family are all the same! Even insects are better than your family. You used to cling to Father-in-law and beg for scraps, and now it’s my son? Is that it?”
Han Seon-young’s voice turned vicious. Consumed by the thought of losing her most precious son right before her eyes, her mind became a tangled mess as she poured out only words meant to wound me.
“Mother, please stop!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Kwon Seok-ha grabbed Han Seon-young.
“How can I stop! My son is being taken from me!”
Han Seon-young’s eyes blazed as if she intended to end everything today.
“I’m sorry.”
Then I quietly stepped between the two of them. My face was a mess, with my cheeks swollen and hot tears streaming down.
“If you’re sorry, then leave. Understand?”
Han Seon-young’s voice began to tremble with desperation.
“No. I can’t do that. I… I love Seok-ha too.”
My words rang out like music through the cafe filled with white noise. Though my voice was small and soft, it struck the ear with undeniable clarity.
Even I was surprised by what I had said.
I had no idea where such courage came from. Perhaps the slap had jolted me back to my senses.
Had a strange stubbornness taken root in me as she endlessly insulted my family? I wanted to tell her that I loved the son she cherished so dearly, no less than she did.
But it was certainly a foolish thought that should have remained in my mind. Yet before it could even pass through my brain, my true feelings burst out like an accident.
“What are you saying? Are you out of your mind?”
Han Seon-young asked in disbelief before sinking into her chair. The impact was severe—not just from Kwon Seok-ha, but from Jun-hee’s unexpected words, she who had always been so obedient.
Kwon Seok-ha, who had been quietly observing Han Seon-young, opened his mouth. Though his appearance seemed neat on the surface, something felt slightly off—as if a screw were missing. He looked awkward, like a boy confessing to a girl he’d harbored unrequited feelings for.
“Mother, please respect my decision this time. And Jun-hee, don’t call me separately like this. I want to have a good relationship with you.”
Kwon Seok-ha took Jun-hee’s small hand in his large one. She trembled like an aspen leaf.
“Let’s go.”
Jun-hee followed him like a puppet without will of her own. Yet she didn’t forget to bow toward Han Seon-young.
“I’m sorry.”
Han Seon-young had made that request, but it seemed she couldn’t live without Kwon Seok-ha—to a degree that surpassed that plea. That’s why she was sorry. Genuinely sorry.
“You’ll regret this.”
Han Seon-young spoke those words, then turned her head coldly away. Beneath her disheveled hair, her profile was frigid and sharp.
Kwon Seok-ha took Jun-hee’s hand and began walking slowly. Having poured out his will to his mother, he wore a considerably lighter expression.
Yet Jun-hee, walking beside him, felt as though a heavy stone had settled in her chest. Han Seon-young’s words dragged at her ankles like a curse.

***

“Want to go see the sea?”
The moment they left the cafe, Kwon Seok-ha asked. He remembered that Jun-hee had wanted to see the sea last time and seemed intent on lifting her spirits.
His car, parked beside the cafe, came into view. He had rushed here the moment he heard Han Seon-young had come to the company—a scene that painted itself vividly in her mind.
“No.”
Jun-hee shook her head. She had abandoned reason and spoken her true feelings, but she knew this was work hours. Or rather, truthfully, she didn’t feel like seeing the sea with Kwon Seok-ha in this state of mind.
Looking at the blue waves, she felt as though overwhelming guilt would crash over her like a tide.
‘I’ve truly ruined this man’s life.’ That’s what would come.
How materialistic I am.
Without knowing my place, I broke the wings of this precious man under the pretense of love. How could I possibly enjoy the sea while carrying such a heavy heart?
Then Kwon Seok-ha’s hand gently cradled Jun-hee’s head. His rough touch, as if worried she might shatter, felt surprisingly delicate today.
“Today is the historic day you confessed you liked me in front of my mother. I can’t just let it pass.”
After tidying her hair, he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away the tear stains on her cheeks. The swollen redness pained him.
“I’m sorry.”
Jun-hee couldn’t meet his eyes.
“Sorry? Don’t say things like that. No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have stopped my mother beforehand. I didn’t realize she was capable of that. I’m sorry.”
Kwon Seok-ha was smiling as if to reassure Jun-hee, but his voice was thick with emotion. His heart too was full of wounds. Thinking of the pain Jun-hee must have endured, it was unbearable. Yet he had to smile in front of her.
“No. I understand your feelings completely. I would have done the same.”
‘If he’s a son like the Executive Director, I’d be wasted on a woman like me.’
Jun-hee swallowed her remaining words and wept silently inside. If she cried outwardly, Kwon Seok-ha would be even more distressed.
“There’s no need to understand. I don’t even understand my mother.”
Kwon Seok-ha gazed at Jun-hee intently, then pulled her into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, folding them tightly as if to hide her. The fact that they were on the street didn’t matter at all.
Jun-hee buried her face in his broad chest. A fresh citrus scent emanated from him. It seemed to have been there this morning too, the fragrance refusing to fade.
Thanks to the deepening autumn, the sky was high and the air was clean. His hands, which had been holding Jun-hee all along, began to gently pat her back.
Jun-hee closed her eyes. The touch, like a lullaby, seemed to comfort her heart.
I spoke confidently to Han Seon-young, but it was undeniable that this love was finite—I had no way of knowing when it would end.
I understood better than anyone that when the time came, I would have to let this man go. It was simply an inevitable law.
“Don’t think foolish things.”
He pressed his lips softly against the top of my head before pulling away, speaking as though he had discerned thoughts I had never voiced aloud.
“I won’t.”
I lied again in his embrace.
“If you don’t want to go to the Sea, let’s go to the Aquarium instead.”
“The Aquarium?”
My expression brightened slightly. Perhaps it was because the suggestion seemed incongruous with the moment.
“Or would you prefer the Hotel?”

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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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