The Old Student
The restaurant Jiwoo had taken Siheon to was the exact place Siheon had taken Dayeon to not long ago.
Standing at the entrance, Siheon frowned and asked.
“This is the place you said you went to?”
“Yeah. A famous chef just came, right? I've wanted to come here since before.”
Why here of all places.
Coming here, the image of Dayeon from that day flashed in his mind, but Siheon shook it off.
He tried to quell the turmoil in his heart and entered the restaurant.
When the ordered food arrived one by one, Siheon brought up the main point.
“So, what's the real reason you came to find me?”
While cutting the beef, Jiwoo pouted.
“I haven't even finished eating yet. You brought me here saying you'd treat me to food and then this?”
“You know that food isn't the purpose, and yet you have time to kill like this. You or me.”
Jiwoo sighed and put down the knife she was holding.
It was something that could have ended with just an email. But Siheon wasn't easy to manipulate with the excuse of hunger.
She stared at Siheon and slowly revealed the real reason she had come.
“My dad. He's trying to arrange a marriage with you.”
“With me and you?”
“Well, it's not a bad match. A marriage between the successor of a global pharmaceutical company and the daughter of the top three hospital director in the country.”
Siheon let out a breath and laughed. One could easily see what Han Young-sik was thinking when he sent Jiwoo to him.
Since he was the attending physician, it wouldn't be hard for Chairman Cha to hear about his daughter's marriage being rushed. The calculation to place his daughter in the mix while climbing to the top university hospital on the back of Samjeong Pharm would have been quick.
“Director Han did an unnecessary thing.”
“Why do you think it's unnecessary?”
At that, Siheon's hand holding the wine glass stopped in mid-air. Seeing his expression as if asking what, Jiwoo smiled subtly.
“I accepted.”
“What?”
“I said yes. To marrying you.”
Upon hearing that, Siheon's expression hardened even more.
After staring at Jiwoo for a while, Siheon regained his composure, picked up the glass, and took a sip of the red wine.
“According to what I know, you said you wanted to get married for love even if you died.”
After a moment of silence, Siheon's words opened, and Jiwoo just smiled silently.
“We are too bland for such grand names.”
Upon the firm words of Siheon, Jiwoo laughed loudly.
“As expected, you don't just let things go. Cha Siheon.”
After a while, her laughter stopped. With a bitter smile at the corner of her lips, she opened her mouth.
“Yeah. We are a bit dry even if we call it love. But isn't it bad? For both of us. It's good for fitting the frame appropriately. And the benefits we get from getting married are okay too.”
“I don't care about that kind of thing.”
Upon the firm answer, Jiwoo's eyebrows narrowed.
“You don't want to marry me, or do you not want to get married at all?”
“Well. I don't think marriage is necessary at all. And I haven't thought about it with you.”
Unexpected answer, Jiwoo put down the wine glass she was holding with a look of surprise.
“Considering your family's position and status, it wouldn't be that easy.”
“My thoughts remain the same. No matter what the family is.”
Siheon pulled up his lips in a smirk and continued.
“After all, marriage is just making each other unhappy, isn't it?”
His low-muttering voice sounded hollow somewhere. Jiwoo couldn't ask why he thought that way upon seeing Siheon's unfamiliar face and expression.
“Hungry. Let's eat.”
Siheon's expression when offering food returned to his usual self, as if it was nothing.
“Yeah. Okay.”
Jiwoo answered awkwardly and put the cut steak piece into her mouth.
***
At the counter, the staff greeted and asked.
“Was the meal delicious?”
“Yeah. It was fine.”
Siheon took out his wallet from his inner pocket to pay. Between the gaps, a woman's photo seemed to flash.
'Where did I see that face. It feels familiar somewhere.'
Clear eyes and a face as if a child.
That face that disappeared in an instant kept bothering him inexplicably.
'Cha Siheon, the world's most, has a photo of a woman in his wallet. Who is she.'
When Jiwoo's eyebrows twitched slightly upon feeling something, at that moment, a woman entered the restaurant entrance.
A young, not quite student age, no, young girl. She looked surprisingly similar to the face he had seen in Siheon's wallet just now.
Jiwoo, feeling the strangeness, widened her eyes and stared intently, and at that moment, the woman also noticed them and approached with wide eyes.
“Eh? Teacher!”
Upon seeing Siheon and smiling brightly, Jiwoo realized. That this girl and the woman in Siheon's wallet photo are the same person.
And the woman she had been standing with at school not long ago was this girl.
The girl who keeps appearing. And her face brightens quickly when looking at Siheon. In Jiwoo's eyes looking at Dayeon, a strange interest flashed.
***
Dayeon came to this place because of a call from the department office asking to retrieve her wallet.
She had given up thinking she lost it while drunk, but when she saw the student ID in the wallet, she called and the department office contacted the restaurant.
But she didn't expect to meet the teacher here too.
While running with a smile, Dayeon's eyes captured Jiwoo's figure standing with them belatedly. The woman staring at her was the same one she had met at school not long ago.
Confident, haughty, and radiating adult maturity unlike her.
'Why is the teacher with this person...?'
While Dayeon's eyes moved busily, Siheon who noticed her asked.
“Why are you here?”
“Ah... I have some business. What about you?”
“Me too. Some things to do.”
Dayeon's eyes glanced at Jiwoo standing beside.
'Business with this woman. What relationship do they have.'
Teacher and I are not in any relationship yet.
Dayeon also knew that Siheon has social life, and that it's not something she needs to worry about meeting anyone.
But even so, just imagining that he was sitting with another woman at the restaurant where she had dinner with him, anxiety kept seeping into her chest.
Jiwoo, who had been scanning Dayeon from beside Siheon, smiled faintly and linked arms with Siheon.
“Siheon. Who? An acquaintance?”
“Han Jiwoo. Why suddenly this...”
Upon Siheon's sudden action, trying to pull out the arm caught by Jiwoo, Siheon saw Dayeon's expression and stopped stiffly. Dayeon was looking at them with a bewildered expression.
The restaurant with just the two of them, arms linked.
She was probably misunderstanding them as a loving couple.
Siheon's jaw tightened.
Since it's a relationship that needs to be cut anyway. Then, shouldn't it be cut without leaving any hope?
It wasn't what he wanted, but for this girl's sake, it might be better to do so.
Siheon kept the arm he was trying to pull out and answered stiffly.
“...Yeah. My old student.”
“Student? When did you do that?”
“A while ago.”
Jiwoo scanned Dayeon from head to toe, then greeted with a smile on her face.
“Nice to meet you. I'm Han Jiwoo. Siheon's friend.”
“Nice to... meet you.”
“You didn't know Siheon had such a cute student.”
The way she spoke to a young child. Dayeon felt incredibly small and clenched her fists tightly.