The next morning, her phone buzzed while she was reviewing emails.
Mom š¬: "We saw the news. Are you okay, Hye-rin?"
Dad š¬: "Do we need to visit? That boy better notā"
She sighed, pressing the phone to her forehead before calling back.
"Mom, Dad, I'm fine," she said quickly the moment they answered.
"Fine?" her mother repeated, voice dripping with skepticism. "You're engaged to Lee Joon-hyuk. The same boy who made you cry for a month in high school. That kind of fine?"
"Eomeoniā¦"
Her father's gruff voice broke in. "If he makes you cry again, I'll come down there myself. Don't think your old man's knees can't still kick sense into him."
She laughed softly despite the lump in her throat. "Dad, please, you can barely climb the restaurant stairs."
Her mother clucked her tongue. "Don't listen to your father. You know he only says that because he's worried."
Of course she did. They'd run Haerang Restaurant, a tiny family-owned place by the sea in Busan. Her father cooked, her mother charmed every customer who walked in, and somehow, they'd made something beautiful out of struggle.
And now, because of the hospital bills, because of her brother's surgery and her father's loan, she was here ā pretending to love the man who once rejected her in front of everyone.
"Justā¦ promise us you're happy," her mother said quietly.
There was a pause before Hye-rin whispered, "I'mā¦ trying."
When the call ended, she sat in silence for a long moment ā until Joon-hyuk's voice came from behind her.
"Everything okay?"
She startled, shoving her phone away. "Yeah. Justā¦ family stuff."
He nodded slowly. "Right."
But as he walked past her toward his office, she noticed ā his hand lingered a moment too long on the back of her chair.