To My Brother’s Friend - Chapter 69

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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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Chapter 69
Until afternoon, it had been an ordinary day like any other.
It had already been two weeks since arriving here.
When word reached them that former students of the Knot Crafts Education Program were eager for lessons, Hee-jo and Han Young-sook had come to this island intending to stay briefly.
Yet what was meant to be a short visit had already stretched beyond two weeks.
Once a full month passed, they planned to return to Han Young-sook’s Hometown House.
Classes awaited them there as well, and more than anything, Seung-won was waiting for them with bated breath.
Still, Hee-jo sometimes thought she’d like to return to this island alone someday.
‘Before my body grows any heavier.’
In the presence of these islanders’ warmth and generosity, the sharp edges of her heart were gently worn smooth.
More and more days passed when smiles came naturally to her face.
‘I wish my brother could have come too.’
With Hee-jae’s bright and affectionate nature, he would have monopolized the love of the island’s elders.
Hee-jo gently stroked her lower belly.
‘I hope our little one grows up to be as bright, healthy, and kind as my uncle.’
Whenever she called the child by their prenatal name, Kwon Yeol’s face inevitably came to mind.
When Han Young-sook heard that a prenatal name was usually given by the father, she had suggested they give it together, saying, ‘We can be both mother and father to this child.’
That tender consideration instead pierced her heart.
To say she would fill the father’s role was, in the end, to confirm with each passing moment that this child would have no father.
Wanting the child to inherit at least their father’s sturdy build and robust health, the prenatal name became ‘Little Strong One.’
Hee-jo shook her head slightly as if to cast off her thoughts, then resumed eating.
The morning sickness still hadn’t subsided.
Recently, she couldn’t even keep down the meals the Teacher had prepared with such care.
Yet for the past four days, the food Han Young-sook brought, claiming it was made by a nearby relative, had remarkably suited Hee-jo’s palate.
Somehow… it felt like a taste she deeply missed.
‘I must have eaten it somewhere before.’
It would be nice if she could remember the restaurant’s name.
Having finished the last spoonful, Hee-jo brewed tea and headed to the courtyard.
“Leave it be—I can do it.”
“Dessert is my responsibility.”
The two women, smiling, sat on the wooden porch gazing out at the sea, sipping warm chrysanthemum tea.
“Even on hot days, I find myself reaching for warm tea.”
“I know what you mean.”
“Will our little one inherit mother’s tastes too? Hmm?”
Watching Han Young-sook cast an affectionate gaze toward her belly, Hee-jo smiled with her eyes narrowed.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t lonely.
But at least her heart felt far more full than it had in Seoul.
Perhaps it was because she had firmly resolved that her longing for Kwon Yeol was a weight she would carry for the rest of her life.
“Shall we take a walk nearby today? That grandmother down there was asking us to visit.”
“Yes, I wanted to go too. Oh, I should bring some thread. I think that grandmother has noticed that I’m expecting.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
“Yes. Earlier, Lee Jung-bun’s Mother was recommending the octopus sashimi, and she skillfully steered the conversation away from it.”
“Right, she’s always been quick to pick up on things. Well then, I should bring some silk thread with me.”
The two women, having finished their tea, gathered the carefully selected silk thread and headed toward the village entrance.
The path required passing through a small harbor—the only gateway to and from the island.
As they walked slowly, breathing in the seaside scenery and the salty air, a single ship appeared on the horizon, making its way in.
“Hmm? Is a boat coming in at this hour?”
“Strange. The regular ferry should still have a few more hours to go.”
“Maybe they caught a lot of fish today and came back early.”
The approaching boat belonged to an elderly neighbor they knew well.
Since he was a welcome neighbor who occasionally shared his catch with them, the two women waited until the boat reached the dock to greet him.
“Oh my, the teachers have come out!”
“Hello. You’re back early today, aren’t you? Looks like you had a good haul.”
“Not really. Today I brought along a guest, so I came back with them.”
“A guest?”
As Captain Park nodded and docked the boat, the heavy engine sound ceased.
The cabin door opened, and sturdy men in black suits began disembarking one by one.
The sight—so utterly incongruous with the peaceful fishing village—made Hee-jo’s pupils quiver.
And when she saw the man who appeared last, slowly emerging onto the deck, Hee-jo froze entirely.
All sound in the world vanished at once.
His towering frame, his broad shoulders, and the deep, dark eyes that crowned them.
His face was gaunt as if he’d gone sleepless for days, yet the brilliance burning within his gaze was so fierce it seemed ready to devour her in an instant.
In a heartbeat, all color drained from her fingertips, which trembled uncontrollably.
Her grip on the rope tightened involuntarily.
“…Kwon Yeol?”
As Hee-jo murmured without thinking, Han Young-sook’s eyes and mouth finally widened in recognition.
“How did you… get here?”
Hee-jo couldn’t move her body.
Bound by Kwon Yeol’s unwavering gaze, her feet seemed to root themselves to the ground as if cemented in place.
Kwon Yeol, having stepped onto the dock, walked toward Hee-jo alone, as if oblivious to the stares of those around him.
With each step he took, the cold pressure he emanated seemed to freeze the very air.
In Hee-jo’s vision, all other scenery had vanished.
Only the massive shadow bearing down on her remained in view.
Finally, Kwon Yeol came to a stop directly before her.
His gaze traced every trembling line of Hee-jo’s eyes before, at last, he opened his mouth with a voice low and grave.
“…Yoon Hee-jo.”
At the sound of her name, Hee-jo’s shoulders flinched.
Her wide, hazel eyes held nothing but him.
Kwon Yeol stood silent for a moment, simply gazing at her.
It was a dreamlike instant—as if one blink would make her vanish like a mirage.
He drew in her scent—faint and mingled with the sea breeze—deep into his lungs, his voice dropping to a murmur.
“I’ve come to take you home.”
Then Beom Gwon-yeol bowed respectfully toward Han Young-sook, who stood beside Hee-jo with an expression of shock.
“Forgive me for arriving so late, Teacher.”
The moment he lowered his head, the men lined up behind him bent their waists in unison as if by prior arrangement.
A strange silence fell over the narrow dock.
“W-what in the world is all this? Teacher, do you know this person?”
Captain Park, flustered, looked back and forth between their faces at a loss, when Beom Gwon-yeol spoke.
“I’m Beom Gwon-yeol, Yoon Hee-jo’s husband.”
At those words, Hee-jo and Han Young-sook—and even Captain Park—were so startled they nearly gasped for breath.
“Y-your husband? Teacher, you’re married! I thought you were single, so I was even thinking of introducing our grandson to you……”
At those words, Beom Gwon-yeol’s eyes flashed cold for a fleeting instant.
Captain Park flinched at the predatory gleam and took a step back.
But Beom Gwon-yeol opened his mouth again with an ordinary expression, as if nothing had happened.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding. The fault is mine for leaving my wife alone and causing such an imposition.”
After his polite apology, his gaze returned to Hee-jo.
“I was wrong.”
“…”
“I was wrong about everything, Hee-jo.”
Hee-jo swallowed hard.
Before this unbelievable reality, her mind flickered white.
At the sound of his voice that pierced to her very bones, she who had been backing away suddenly spun around and began walking—almost fleeing—back the way she had come.
“Hey, Hee-jo! Goodness!”
Han Young-sook, startled, quickly followed after her, and Beom Gwon-yeol pursued them without a moment’s hesitation.
Men in black suits trailed after them in a line, creating a strange procession through the once-peaceful harbor.
“What on earth is happening here…”
Captain Park, left alone, scratched the back of his head and muttered vacantly, but no one was there to answer him.
* * *
Hee-jo rushed into the house as if fleeing.
Han Young-sook, who had chased her over the low fence and into the courtyard, grasped her shoulders with a worried expression.
“Hee-jo, are you alright? Hmm?”
“…I don’t know. Teacher, this isn’t a dream, is it?”
“No. Since it appears so clearly to my eyes, it doesn’t seem to be a dream… but how on earth did he find this place?”
But what Hee-jo truly wondered about was not the path by which he had discovered this location.
Why had Beom Gwon-yeol come here?
What possible reason could there be?
Since he had wrapped everything up so cleanly, he should have been satisfied and planning his next moves.
Perhaps there were still unfinished procedural matters or loose ends remaining.
At that thought, her racing heart began to slow and settle.
She had fled instinctively the moment she saw Beom Gwon-yeol’s face, but thinking about it calmly now, there was no reason to do so at all.
He hadn’t come because he missed me. He had come because something still remained between us that needed to be resolved.
Hee-jo steadied her trembling breath and smoothed down her disheveled clothes.
“I’ll go see him, Master.”
“Hee-jo, are you really sure? Your face is pale as a sheet.”
“It won’t take long. Given Kwon Yeol’s nature, it shouldn’t drag on.”
Hee-jo answered with resolve and opened the door that had been firmly shut.
Beyond the wooden porch, in the center of the courtyard, Kwon Yeol stood motionless like a sculpture, watching her.

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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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