Ye Jin gripped the steering wheel tightly, and she tried to refrain from howling in grief. She could not hold back the tears that flowed. She kept driving even though she didn't know which direction she wanted to go.
Why?
Why does the secret she kept from Hyun Bin for eight years need to be revealed today?
The argument with Hyun Bin this morning was like tearing back a wound that had long healed. Some old wounds never truly heal, even after years of trying to take care of her heart.
But this morning, in the blink of an eye, the old wound was bleeding again in the slightest word. All automatically, she reminded of her foolishness that was the cause of the beginning of her suffering.
Thinking of all the possibilities, she came out with one conclusion. The person who is likely to reveal all the secrets to Hyun Bin is Gong Yoo.
When she saw the bruise on the tip of Hyun Bin's lip earlier, she could feel that only Gong Yoo could do that. The only person who knows about her secret is Mi Kyung Gomo, Gong Yoo and Hyo Jin.
Ye Jin frantically searched for her phone to call Gong Yoo. If her guess is accurate, Gong Yoo is looking for trouble. She has repeatedly told that this secret will remain a secret, but why does Gong Yoo want to reveal everything to Hyun Bin? For what?
She waits for her call connected to Gong Yoo with an exasperated feeling at this point. However, her call went unanswered. Moments later, she tried again but failed and made Ye Jin grumble angrily.
Finally, Ye Jin turned to try to call Yoona's line. In just a few moments, the call answered.
"Ye Jin Eonni. I miss you so much! Where did you go all this time?" Yoona excited behind the line.
"Uhh... I'm sorry, Yoona. Actually, I'm searching for Gong Yoo Oppa urgently. He didn't answer my call. Do you know where he was going?" Ye Jin asked without answering Yoona's question. She wants to know where Gong Yoo is.
"Oh, Gong Yoo... He went to Japan today for work. Maybe he forgot to inform you. Eonni, is there anything?" Yoona asked again after hearing Ye Jin's loud grunt, making Yoona wonder.
"It's okay, Yoona. When he returns later, I will look for him. I'm so sorry, Yoona, if I was rude to you earlier." Ye Jin lowered her voice calmly, not wanting to vent her anger on Yoona. Yoona is not guilty of this.
"Eonni, yesterday I went on a date with Gong Yoo. Then we came across Bin Oppa, your boss. I have known Bin Oppa for a long time since I was a child. I didn't believe that you work with him now." Yoona told the story excitedly without knowing Ye Jin's past story.
Ye Jin's eyes spontaneously enlarged. Her guess is hitting the bull's eyes! Gong Yoo is the person who has leaked all the secrets to Hyun Bin.
After she switched off the line, Ye Jin slammed the car's steering wheel with all her strength. She is annoyed with Gong Yoo. She will wait until he comes back later. She really won't let go of him.
Ye Jin awakened from her anger reverie when her phone rang. Seo Dan called from office. Huh, this is another unsolved issue.
This time Ye Jin didn't want to bother anymore. She is determined to resign and was no longer willing to work together with Hyun Bin. She doesn't care if Hyun Bin labels her as a coward.
Moments later, Ye Jin's phone rang again. Hyo Jin's name appeared on the screen on her car dashboard. Hyo Jin seems to know that she needs a friend to talk to right now.
"Ye Jin ah... Do you go anywhere this weekend? Let's go shopping!" Hyo Jin greeted first before Ye Jin could say anything.
Ye Jin didn't give any reply. She remained quiet and tried to maintain her heart and emotions.
"Ye Jin ah? What's wrong with you? Are you crying?"
Ye Jin bit her lip hard to hold back her sad voice. However, the tears were still pooling and falling profusely.
"Ye Jin ah, where are you now? Please say something." Hyo Jin is worried.
Ye Jin's last time was like this when she met Hyun Bin again to work with the guy. But what is the reason for this time? Could it be about Hyun Bin as well?
"Eonni, will you accompany me?" Ye Jin was struggled to say what she said as she was sobbing badly.
"Ye Jin ah, you need to calm down. Don't follow your feelings. I'm coming. Where are you? Are you at home?" Hyo Jin comforted.
"No, I don't want to go home."
"So, where are you?"
"I'm in the car, still driving. I don't even know where to go. But I don't want to go home. I don't want Bin to look for me." Ye Jin released one hand from holding the steering wheel, and used her hand to wipe away the tears that had already covered her view.
"Ye Jin ah, come to my house. I'm waiting for you here." Hyo Jin ordered. She didn't want Ye Jin to act according to her feelings. She's worried Ye Jin will do something nonsense later.
"No, Eonni. I want to go somewhere else. I want to have peace of mind. My head hurts so bad." Ye Jin complained again.
"Okay, no problem. Tell me later where you are, I'll come to you. Please drive carefully." Hyo Jin advised.
Yangju
A few hours later, Hyo Jin arrived at Ye Jin's hotel in Yangju. Then she hugged her best friend tightly. Ye Jin cried on Hyo Jin's shoulder, releasing all the locked feelings in her heart.
"Ye Jin ah, I'm with you." Hyo Jin spontaneously caressed Ye Jin's shoulder gently.
"Okay, now try to explain the story. What has happened?" Hyo Jin puzzled.
"Eonni... Bin now knows everything."
Hyo Jin was wordless for a few seconds. She was a bit shocked by the news that Ye Jin said.
"Bin knows? But... how can he know?"
There's no need for Ye Jin to tell too much detail, but Hyo Jin can still understand what Ye Jin is trying to convey. She knows all the stories about Ye Jin and Hyun Bin.
"Gong Yoo Oppa."
"You mean that Gong Yoo who told Bin about it?" Hyo Jin was a bit confused.
Ye Jin nodded and continued to tell about everything that happened. Starting from Hyun Bin apologised for her this morning until the incident, she called Yoona to ask Gong Yoo whereabouts.
"I didn't expect that Yoona knew Bin. I forgot that this world is small. And, It's my fault, Eonni. I'm too comfortable and careless. Finally, all the things I hid all this time were unveiled." Ye Jin bewailed.
Hyo Jin took a deep breath after hearing Ye Jin's story. No one thought Hyun Bin knew Yoona, which led to Hyun Bin's identity to Gong Yoo.
"Ye Jin ah, don't blame yourself. You don't even know that Yoona knows Bin, right?" Hyo Jin convinced.
"I should have stayed away from him from the start. I shouldn't work in his company for a long time like this." Ye Jin lamented.
"Shh... enough, Ye Jin ah." Hyo Jin then pulled Ye Jin into her arms again. She could feel Ye Jin's cheeks were still wet with tears.
"Eonni, I want to quit my job. I'm not strong enough to stay close facing him." Ye Jin wept in Hyo Jin's arms.
Hyo Jin merely nodded slowly. As she had said before to Ye Jin, she would support it if Ye Jin felt she could no longer stand it.
After a while, Ye Jin lifted her head from Hyo Jin's shoulder. She wiped away her wet cheeks, and then she took a deep breath to soothe herself.
"Are you feeling better?" Hyo Jin asked.
Ye Jin nodded casually. Although she felt mentally and physically exhausted, the presence of Hyo Jin beside her meant a lot.
"Ye Jin ah, what was Bin's reaction after he knew?"
Ye Jin was released a heavy sighed before she began to tell.
"He begged for apologies. And he said that he wants..." Suddenly Ye Jin paused. She felt stuck in her throat.
"What does he want?" Hyo Jin raised her eyebrows slightly, urging Ye Jin to finish her words.
"He said he wanted to fix the situation. He proposed to me, and he wants us to get married." Ye Jin's voice trembled a little. Her chest was still throbbing.
Hyo Jin was a little taken aback, but she wasn't surprised. Indeed, Hyun Bin was so persistent in trying to get Ye Jin's love back all this time. So, it is not strange if that man wants to marry Ye Jin.
"Does this reason make you insist you don't want him to know you're pregnant back then?" Hyo Jin tries to reveal Ye Jin's heart.
"There are many reasons I don't want him to know, Eonni. And yes, this is one of the reasons. I don't need his sympathy. I don't want him to marry me just because he knows about that." Ye Jin expressed firmly.
"Ye Jin ah, as you mentioned before, isn't Bin been persistent in trying to pursue you again? So, I think he wants to marry you not just because he wants to be responsible, but he genuinely loves you." Hyo Jin gave her opinion.
Hyun Bin's love for Ye Jin never faded away. Hyo Jin assured that Ye Jin had the same feelings as Hyun Bin. Although her lips always said hateful words, Hyo Jin knew, deep in Ye Jin's heart, there was still a feeling of affection for Hyun Bin.
"But from the start, he had no feelings for me. Why, when we meet again after so many years, he suddenly wants to approach me again? These are all hypocrites!" Ye Jin snorted loudly.
"I don't know what's in Bin's heart. You have to ask him yourself. But if you choose to keep running away, you will never understand, Ye Jin ah." Hyo Jin advised.
Sometimes she felt Ye Jin seemed to want to deny the facts intentionally. Ye Jin likes to think nonsense.
"Ye Jin ah, it's a simple thing. If you still doubt Bin's feelings, you keep asking him. You ask what you are unsatisfied with. If you are preoccupied with your responses, you will never find an answer. Your life will not be peaceful either. Even though I know, you still love him, right?" Hyo Jin tried to guess again.
Then Hyo Jin continued again.
"I know, you used to be willing to swallow yourself and didn't want to look for Bin because you didn't want him to accept you again just because of your child, right? You thought him doesn't love you. But look, when you meet him again, he gets his chance to pursue you back. If he doesn't love you, he won't be that easy to do all this, Ye Jin ah." Hyo Jin presented the facts that she saw before her eyes.
Maybe all this time, Ye Jin was blinded by the fairy tale that Hyun Bin's love poured before was all false. However, from Hyo Jin's eyes, she sees that Hyun Bin's feelings for Ye Jin are real!
"So you will agree if I choose to accept Bin? Accept my past mistakes again?" Sharply Ye Jin pondered her best friend.
"Why not? Instead of continuing to live in this kind of misery, you end up suffering from endless revenge. So, why don't you accept it? Ye Jin ah, Hyun Bin has a lot of property. You take all his asset, and then you leave him. That's called revenge." Hyo Jin gave a ridiculous suggestion.
Ye Jin glanced pointedly at Hyo Jin. Hyo Jin laughed at Ye Jin's reaction.
Hyo Jin added after laughing, "His wealth is just an additional point, but the main thing is your feelings."
"I've never seen you as bright as when you were with Bin. Even now, even though you're trying to avoid him, but I see you're breathing again. You seem to glow from within even though you always irritate him." Hyo Jin commented again.
"Eonni, are you saying that I'm dead before this?"
"Yes, even though your body is alive, but your soul is dead." Hyo Jin said casually.
"Ye Jin ah ... It's true, you made a big mistake when you were with him. But at that time, you and Bin were both young and reckless. Who has never made a mistake in this world? But now it's different. Each of you is an adult, and both can make mature decisions. Why would you want to torture yourself by deceiving your feelings of still being locked in with past regrets?" Hyo Jin added again.
Ye Jin sighed for a long time. People around her said that her heart was still whole for Hyun Bin, but she was doubtful about her heart. What she feels now is just pain.
"Ye Jin ah, I don't want you to keep running away like this. Till when you want to run away?"
"Eonni, I'm not running away, but it's Bin who doesn't understand. He doesn't get I said no!" Ye Jin already snapped. The feeling gripping her chest felt more and more suffocating.
Hyo Jin swung her head several times. When this Ye Jin and Hyun Bin drama wants to come to an end? Ye Jin never stopped wanting to run away, and to be sure, Hyun Bin will also never stop chasing.
******************************************************************************
Daegu
Hyun Bin scooped up his face several times. He took a deep breath before his feet stepped out of his car. After an argument with Ye Jin this morning, he took a drastic step toward Daegu. He wants to revisit his son's grave and wants to meet Ye Jin's parents as well.
Right now, he knows maybe only Mi Kyung Gomo can tell him what happened. He needs a real story.
Hyun Bin's heart was hammering as his feet had already stepped into the graveyard. His heart ached quite a bit.
Hyun Bin's tears flowed as he stood in front of Jin Woo's grave, his son whom he had never known existed before. He knelt there. His mouth did not stop saying sorry.
Finally, he fell to his knees there. Then slowly, he hugged the tombstone tightly as if hugging his son.
"Jin Woo, please forgive Appa. Appa never knew you existed." Hyun Bin's voice trembled. His heart throbbed quite a little.
"If the time could turn back, Appa would never leave your Eomma." Hyun Bin spoke to himself as if grieving to his son.
"But Appa knows everything will not be able to be turned again. No matter how regretted Appa was, everything has happened."
"The only thing Appa can do now, Appa will try to fix the situation. Appa promise, Appa will not ruin your Eomma's life."
For a long time, Hyun Bin expressing his feelings. His cheeks were wet with tears. Never in his life had he shed so many tears.
"Jin Woo ya, Appa have to go. Appa will come again later." Once again, Hyun Bin's hand stroked his son's tombstone.
After that, Hyun Bin got up and walked towards Ye Jin's parents' graves. Once again, he crouched there and apologized profusely to both. It's his fault for ruining Ye Jin's life before.
Like Jin Woo's grave earlier, Hyun Bin repeated his determination in front of Ye Jin's parent's grave. Hyun Bin also stayed there for a while before he got up to leave, wanting to go to Ye Jin's aunt's house.
Hyun Bin knows his presence will stir Mi Kyung Gomo's anger when he tells the truth about his identity. But he needs to go through it too. He must face Mi Kyung Gomo because she is the only one hoping to get the real story of the past eight years before.