Ji Pyeong's POV
"Mr Han!" I hear Dal mi call me as I make my way to my car. Her voice echoes through the carpark.
"Oh? Dal mi?" I ask as she runs towards me. She drops her hands on her knees and pants.
Dal mi takes a few breathes before straightening up.
"Mr Han, I'm really sorry. I want to apologise on Do san's behalf." Dal mi says. Her gaze is cast downwards and she doesn't dare look me in the eye. "I'm sorry. I really am. For everything. Really." She says quietly.
"It's okay." I say softly. "It's really okay." I nudge her to look up at me.
"I really am very sorry, Mr Han. I know how much you help us and how troublesome it is to mentor us." Dal mi apologises profusely.
"It's okay. It's really alright. Don't apologise. You're making me feel like the bad guy now." I say jokingly.
"Oh?" I gasp as Dal mi looks at me and a tear drips down her face. "Dal mi..." I say quietly.
Dal mi is seated in the car with me in the parking lot. She wipes the tears away from her face as she tells me everything that happened with Morning Group.
"You were right now to take up that project. It's a stupid exploitive one." I comfort her. A wave of tenderness washes over me. I resist the urge to hug her. Instead, I hand her another piece of tissue. Dal mi takes it gratefully.
"I don't know what is up with Do san these days." Dal mi sighs. Her face is strained with frustration.
"Mr Han, how long have you known Do san?" She asks me.
"Oh?" I say. I'm frantically wrecking my brains for an answer. "Mmm, we went to school together." I give her the most vague answer I could possibly offer.
"Was Do san very different when he was younger compared to how he is now?" Dal mi asks.
"Why do you ask?" I ask.
"It's just that..." Dal mi takes a deep breath. "He's so different from the Do san I knew fifteen years ago. You know... the Do san from fifteen years ago was... was my first love." She says longingly.
My first love. Her words ring in my heart. An invisible force draws me towards hers. It's as if there's someone knocking on the doors of my heart.
And I want to let her in.
"But Do san is so different now." She cries and a few more tears drip down her face.
I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. Every inch of my being longs to tell her the truth. The truth could set her free. It could put her out of her misery.
And I could finally... maybe... open the doors of my heart to her.
But at the same time, Halmeoni comes to my mind. The kind grandma who was the light at the end of the tunnel. The one who called me Good Boy. I wrestle with these thoughts.
I want to be the one who can wipe Dal mi's tears away. I want to be the one who can comfort her. To show her love and affection.
"Dal mi, actually..." I clear my throat. The truth is on the tip of my tongue.
Dal mi's phone rings before I can continue.
She jumps in shock and picks it up.
"Hello? Sa ha? Oh yes, I'm so sorry! I'll come immediately." Dal mi says quickly and hangs up the phone. She looks at me with red eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mr Han. I'm late for my meeting." She says.
"Sure, go ahead." I say. I feel like a hot air balloon that sinks to the ground. Absolutely and utterly deflated.
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In Another Life: Han Ji Pyeong's Happy Ending (Start Up)
FanfictionSeo Dal mi appears to have found Nam Do san - the boy who wrote her those letters for all those years. But Dal mi can't help but feel the stark lack of chemistry between them. The Nam Do san that stands in front of her lacks the warmth and tendernes...
