Impossible Romance - Chapter 63

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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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63.

Kwon Seok-ha felt an involuntary wave of relief wash over him. Perhaps—just perhaps—there was hope that Jun-hee’s whereabouts were known. Surely, even if his daughter had disappeared, it couldn’t come to this.
“Do you know where Jun-hee is?”
Kwon Seok-ha suppressed the turmoil in his heart and asked as calmly as he could manage.
“Jun-hee? Isn’t she hidden away by you, Executive Director?”
Lee Sook-hyun’s eyes widened as she turned the question back on him.
“Why would I hide Jun-hee? More importantly, are you aware that Jun-hee has gone missing?”
The composed expression Kwon Seok-ha had been struggling to maintain crumbled. He had treated Lee Sook-hyun well simply because she was Jun-hee’s mother, but this reaction was beginning to displease him.
“Missing? She’s a grown woman. If anything, she’s probably just on a trip.”
Lee Sook-hyun laughed as though the very notion was absurd.
“Then you’re saying you know where she went?”
Kwon Seok-ha asked, his face tense with a fragile glimmer of hope. Despite discussing the same subject, the emotional distance between them was palpable.
“If I’m being honest, we thought you had orchestrated this whole thing—that you were making Jun-hee put on an act because you didn’t want to give us money.”
As Lee Sook-hyun spoke, she studied Kwon Seok-ha’s expression carefully. Ahn Jun-young did the same.
“Executive Director, you didn’t really spirit Jun-hee away from us, did you?”
“What are you talking about?”
Kwon Seok-ha’s brow furrowed sharply.
“Well, Jun-hee sent us a text message a few days ago. It’s not like her at all.”
Lee Sook-hyun pouted slightly as she held out her phone.
Kwon Seok-ha took the phone and read the message.

[Don’t look for me. I’ve already filed for a restraining order with the court, so there’s no way you’ll find me. I’m going somewhere even you don’t know about, Executive Director, so please don’t trouble him. I’m ending our family ties here.]

“Jun-hee sent a message like that to her mother?”
“Yes. As you know, Executive Director, she’s not the type to do something like that. Jun-hee is such a good girl. That’s why we thought you didn’t want to give money, so you made her do it. Isn’t that right? My eyes don’t deceive me.”
Lee Sook-hyun still seemed convinced that Kwon Seok-ha and Jun-hee were deceiving her. That’s why she spoke her mind about Jun-hee even more confidently.
“You thought I made her do it?”
Hearing Lee Sook-hyun’s words, Kwon Seok-ha was utterly flabbergasted. He never expected it would be this bad. At the same time, thinking about how much Jun-hee must have suffered under such a family, anger surged within him.
“Yes. I’m sorry. I know you’re not that kind of person, but the situation is just so unbelievable.”
Seeing Kwon Seok-ha’s angry expression, Lee Sook-hyun bowed her head apologetically, reading the room.
“Aren’t you worried about Jun-hee?”
“No, of course I thought she was with you, so we… Where did she go? Doesn’t she know her mother is worried…”
Lee Sook-hyun trailed off, as if she’d realized something.
“Actually, I’ve seen Jun-hee before.”
Ahn Jun-young, who had been silent the whole time, carefully opened his mouth.
“You’ve seen her? When?”
“When we met with you separately last time. I was going inside after smoking outside, and Jun-hee was standing right there.”
As Ahn Jun-young spoke, he seemed anxious about the money supply being cut off.
“So, you found out the whole situation?”
Kwon Seok-ha’s voice grew louder, frustrated by the two of them.
“No, well. I didn’t tell her on purpose…”
Ahn Jun-young scratched his head.
“So Jun-hee found out everything in the end.”
Kwon Seok-ha cut off Ahn Jun-young’s words. His face, twisted with anger, hardened miserably.
“No, that’s… Yes. Jun-hee found out everything. I’m sorry.”
Ahn Jun-young, who had been trying to make excuses, couldn’t bring himself to lie when he saw Kwon Seok-ha’s expression. He felt the sharp intensity of his gaze—a force that made him fear dire consequences if he were caught in a lie.
“So, you really didn’t know either, Executive Director?”
Lee Sook-hyun’s jaw dropped in shock before she barely managed to close it again.
Kwon Seok-ha said nothing. He felt even the time spent conversing with these people was wasted.
“Jun-hee has a ruthless side? How could she do this to you and us? We’re family. I never thought she’d stab us in the back like this and disappear. Unbelievable.”
Lee Sook-hyun, belatedly grasping the situation, suddenly blamed Jun-hee.
“Did you just say ‘stab in the back’?”
“What?”
Lee Sook-hyun’s eyes widened. She didn’t seem to understand why Kwon Seok-ha was angry.
“It seems Jun-hee is the one who got stabbed in the back. If she realizes that the family she trusted came looking for me not out of concern for her, but for money, I think she’d feel that way.”
Kwon Seok-ha spoke through gritted teeth.
I helped these people for Jun-hee’s sake, but it became poison instead. Jun-hee must have been tormented by that realization. She might have felt like her life was mortgaged and bound. Perhaps my help even touched her pride.
Whatever it was, I found the current situation unbearably painful and sighed again. I had hoped that meeting Jun-hee’s family might reveal her whereabouts. But it was no exaggeration to say that Jun-hee had fled to escape from these people.
A brief silence fell over the cafe. Lee Sook-hyun and Ahn Jun-young, caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events, watched Kwon Seok-ha’s expression before speaking again.
“Jun-hee will come back.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I could no longer trust these people’s words. Jun-hee must have been their money source. And I, foolish as I am, was blindly devoted to anything concerning Jun-hee.
“Where would she go? No matter how good her English is, living overseas isn’t easy. Besides, actually…”
Lee Sook-hyun’s eyes darted cautiously toward Kwon Seok-ha, gauging his mood.
“Speak.”
Kwon Seok-ha watched her quietly, hoping some revealing word might slip from her lips. His eyes, bloodshot from a sleepless night, bore into her with quiet intensity.
“It’s nothing much, but I was hoping the Executive Director could help us just one more time. Jun-young’s business seems like it will do well—why wouldn’t it? It’s truly the last time.”
Lee Sook-hyun’s lips curved upward as she pressed her palms together.
Kwon Seok-ha, observing her, pressed his lips together before releasing them, his gaze drifting to some distant point. He had been restraining himself for Jun-hee’s sake, but he wasn’t certain how much longer his patience could endure.
After collecting his thoughts, he finally spoke.
“Jun-hee has disappeared. And yet you speak of money?”
His voice was heavy with suppressed fury. The only reason he hadn’t unleashed his anger on them was out of consideration for Jun-hee. After all, they were still her family.
“Jun-hee will turn up, I’m telling you. I’ll make inquiries everywhere again. Don’t worry.”
Lee Sook-hyun offered a casual smile as if it were nothing. It was transparent—she was clearly trying to win Kwon Seok-ha’s favor to extract money from him.
“I gave you money because of Jun-hee. Now that she’s gone, such things seem meaningless.”
Kwon Seok-ha spoke in a lowered voice, each word deliberate and final.
In truth, the sums this mother and son borrowed were hardly significant to Kwon Seok-ha. If such amounts could bring Jun-hee peace of mind, he would have considered them well spent. But he had come to realize, too late, that this was not what Jun-hee wanted.
“What? Then what about our Jun-hee? You blocked her marriage, and now you’re acting like this—that’s not right!”
As Kwon Seok-ha’s demeanor shifted from before, Lee Sook-hyun pressed forward rather than backing down.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m saying I deserve compensation for being a second choice.”
Lee Sook-hyun spoke with brazen confidence.
“I have never regarded Jun-hee in such a manner. So do as you wish. To be frank, I was simply helping you both out of kindness. Jun-hee is my responsibility. And if Jun-hee does not wish it, I will not be in contact with either of you again.”
“Wait, Executive Director!”
“Executive Director!”
Lee Sook-hyun and Ahn Jun-young simultaneously reached for him in desperation. The moment they realized their financial lifeline was vanishing, panic seized them both, and they fumbled helplessly.
“Do not contact me again. Even if you do, I will not answer.”
Kwon Seok-ha rose from his seat. There was no hesitation in his movement—only an icy chill. As he turned away, his silhouette resembled an ancient, towering tree that no one dared approach. He walked out without looking back.
“Mom, what do we do now?”
Ahn Jun-young spoke as he watched Kwon Seok-ha disappear outside. Now that reality had finally sunk in, his face was etched with worry.

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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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