### Once It’s Peeled Off
#### Chapter 29
Jung Jisu had gone to New York.
In New York, Jisu’s former lover, Jayden, was holding an exhibition.
"To think he’d become this successful."
Jisu pushed her black sunglasses up like a headband and observed the building where the exhibition was being held.
Skyscrapers pierced the sky, and people bustled about incessantly. From the mouths of those people, talk of Jayden flowed without end.
"It was disappointing enough that he succeeded as a singer, but now he’s a painter?"
Jisu recalled the Jayden she had met in the past. Back then, he hadn't been managed like he was now; he had been plain and countrified.
She hadn't even known he had a Korean name. Jisu felt as if she had been completely deceived.
‘Su. I’ll raise it. So please, don’t erase it.’
Jayden, who had called her by a pet name, had spoken in a tear-filled voice. Jisu had clearly told him that if she gave birth, she would be breaking up with him.
At the time, she had felt a sense of betrayal that he had chosen the child over staying with her.
"Hmm."
Jisu let out a sigh and walked on, *click, clack, click, clack*.
As she walked while looking at the large print of [Our Universe: Star (Tae)] by "Gu Seok-ho" hanging on the front of the building, it felt as if she were stepping into it.
Jisu had erased both the child and him from her life.
The child had been unexpected, and the romance had been nothing more than a fling, whereas JK Group was her everything.
"A fling, huh..."
She had thought so, but lately, his face kept coming to mind, and she had come here on an impulse. She didn't know what she wanted to do about it, though.
Jisu slowly entered the exhibition hall. There were a great many people.
There were only a dozen or so paintings, but the number of people who had come to see them was immense, proportional to Jayden’s popularity.
Of course, just because she came here didn't mean she would see Jayden.
Jisu, a member of the JK Group Royal Family, had used her position to dig up information. Private firms were quite useful, too. She had found out the schedule that Jayden would be stopping by today.
"Where should I go?"
It was an exhibition, yet Jisu looked around repeatedly as if she had no interest in the paintings.
Every time she heard a murmur, she peeked around just in case. With the eyes of a hawk, she spotted suspicious movement in a corner.
"Ah!"
In the quietest corner, behind a dimly drawn blind, a shadow that looked like Jayden passed by.
The corners of Jisu’s mouth stretched wide.
She moved quietly, avoiding people’s eyes with quick steps. She could tell it was Jayden just by seeing his half-hidden back from afar.
"We dated for years, after all."
She didn't care about the blind partition and stepped past it. Since it was a path leading from a secluded area within the exhibition hall, surveillance was lax.
As she climbed the stairs and got closer, she heard a familiar voice.
The fluid, elegant pronunciation and that unique husky tone were what Jisu had liked most about him.
Listening in, it seemed he had come because he was curious about the reaction to the exhibition.
["The response seems decent."]
["Decent? This is a success, Jayden. It’s a magnificent debut as an artist, no doubt."]
["I already debuted a long time ago."]
["Anyway, nobody knew that Gu Seok-ho was Jayden."]
The manager, Yurian, seemed to find the pronunciation of "Gu Seok-ho" difficult, as he repeated it several times. Then, he blew air through his lips and waved his hands as if he couldn't do it.
["Let’s rest a bit before we move."]
["Yeah."]
Jayden replied to his manager. The manager headed further inside, and Jayden sat on a nearby sofa.
Jisu, who had been standing against the stairwell wall, checked the situation for a moment.
"..."
Seeing that the manager didn't seem to be coming back out, she cautiously climbed the stairs.
*Click, clack, click, clack.*
Unlike the carpeted stairs, the hallway was made of sleek tile. At the unexpected sound of heels, Jayden, who had been looking at his phone, shifted his gaze.
"Hello, Jayden."
Jayden’s pupils wavered at the sight of Jisu drawing closer.
"Su...?"
"Yeah. It’s me."
At Jisu’s nonchalant reply, Jayden let out a dry laugh. Jayden, who had pressed his temple and sighed, stood up while putting his phone in his pocket.
"How did you get in here?"
"Who knows?"
Jayden was left speechless by the way she tilted her head seductively and smiled with her eyes.
"Why did you come?"
"Just because. I missed you."
At the words she just blurted out, Jayden’s brow furrowed. Jisu was smiling with her bright red lips.
"You’re still as irresponsible as ever."
"What do you mean? I’m being realistic. And honest."
Jayden scoffed at her behavior, which truly left him with nothing to say. She was still selfish and self-righteous.
When Jisu wasn't in front of him, he had thought he could brush off the anger and the desire for revenge, feeling relieved.
But seeing her appear before him and speak so brazenly, she was nothing short of repulsive.
"You only think of yourself, don't you?"
Even as he glared down at her, delivering his words coldly, Jisu smiled and approached him.
Jisu, who was looking up at him from a distance of barely a foot, reached out. Because of the height difference, she had to tilt her head back significantly.
"Didn't you miss me? Jay."
She stroked his short hair, calling him by the pet name she used back then.
With the same face she had back then.
So many things had happened, so how could she come find him like nothing was wrong and speak in such an affectionate voice?
*Slap—*
Jayden, who had been looking down at her silently, swatted Jisu’s hand away and stepped back.
"Leave."
Jayden, not wanting to be entangled any further, turned and walked away immediately.
"Jay."
Jisu, with her bright red nails, wrapped both hands around his waist. Jayden’s steps came to a dead halt.
"I told you not to show me your back."
Jisu said, resting her cheek against the muscles felt through his thin shirt.
"Jung Jisu."
Jayden’s gaze turned icy. After ruthlessly pulling her arms away, he spat out irritably,
"Get lost."
Jisu twisted the corners of her mouth and raised both hands. Her eyes sparkled as if she found his petulance cute. Because she knew that expression.
Jayden’s face crumpled.
"It’s nice to see you again."
Jayden was sick of Jisu, who only said what she wanted. Suppressing his anger, Jayden said in a low voice,
"I hope we never see each other again."
Jisu burst into a low laugh.
"Really? I’ll be going then."
Jayden’s forehead wrinkled at her inscrutable smile. It was a smile that suggested she would pop up again.
"It was nice to see you."
Jisu, who had appeared suddenly when no one was around, coolly disappeared after just showing her face. Jayden felt his insides churning just from seeing her.
["Jayden. Let’s go now."]
Yurian called him as he came out from the inside. When Jayden just stood there blankly, he approached, looking puzzled.
["Jayden? Is something wrong?"]
["A restraining order. Can we get one?"]
["What?"]
Jayden, who had slowly closed his eyes and opened them, let out a sigh.
After Representative Jung Hana had visited, he had explained the whole situation to his manager and the agency representative.
Jayden told him who had just visited.
She hadn't made any threats, nor had she said anything special. Perhaps it was because he hadn't expected her to show up like this. It was incredibly stifling.
["I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry, Jayden."]
At Yurian’s reliable reply, Jayden managed a faint smile and nodded.
Meanwhile, having faced Jayden in person, Jisu felt her old feelings beginning to seep back in.
Was it because she hadn't broken up with him because she didn't love him, but because she had been forced to leave due to an unexpected pregnancy?
Tilting her head, Jisu looked back for a moment. She would have to come see him again soon.
***
Tae-oh looked down at the ring on his left finger. Secretary Han swallowed a sigh at his smile and reported,
"The acquisition of JK Furniture has been completed as expected."
"Good."
As they hit record-breaking quarterly results and achieved the number one spot in the industry, JK Furniture’s stock price continued to rise. When the JK Group side put it up for sale, interested buyers scrambled to bid for it.
"What was Chairman Kang’s reaction?"
It was said that Chairman Kang Mohyeon of JK Group was quite satisfied that M&A firms were drooling over it.
"She couldn't openly say she disliked it."
However, upon learning that the buyer was Seo Tae-oh, she had pursed her lips. That was a look Mohyeon was famous for when she was displeased with something.
Tae-oh raised the corners of his mouth and nodded.
"I suppose so."
They were set to become in-laws. Although they were industry rivals, they would officially become in-laws next month, so she couldn't openly express her displeasure.
"You seem to be in a good mood."
Secretary Han said. Tae-oh was smiling so broadly that the dimples below his lips were deepening.
"Yeah."
For once, Tae-oh couldn't focus on his work and was just looking at the ring.
Secretary Han’s eyebrows shot up.
He knew that ring. Because Seo Tae-oh himself had bought it to give to Hoyeon in the past.
"Is it really Hoyeon?"
Secretary Han let out a sigh-filled remark, as if he didn't know how long they had to keep up this nonsensical debate.
"Mind your own business and get to work."
"Isn't that something you should be saying to yourself, Representative?"
At Secretary Han’s remark to stop staring at the ring and do his work, Tae-oh burst into a small laugh.
It was a seat he had prepared on purpose, intending to give her the ring.
Since that day, Tae-oh had been slightly buoyant. It was because he felt as though he had seen Hoyeon right in front of him, eating vongole pasta with satisfaction and enjoying grapefruit sorbet.
To him, it seemed even more impossible to act like a completely different person to the point where even small gestures felt natural.
The eyes that wavered for a split second when she chose the ring.
The way she tilted her head, wondering what to choose, and the way she pressed her temple as if enduring a headache.
Now, he was at the point where he saw her as Hoyeon, not Jung Hana.
I really am a madman.
Tae-oh, who had been tracing his memories one by one, let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Bitterness lingered at the corners of his mouth.
‘Goodbye. See you again.’
It was our greeting, the one that belonged only to us. Whenever Hoyeon, whom I met at corporate events or gatherings, would head to another spot, I would greet her as if to catch her back.
Because I was sad to see her go.
Hoyeon, who was leaving Tae-oh’s side, would willingly look back.
‘Yeah. See you again.’
With a relaxed smile.
At their last meal, Hana had looked confused. She had greeted him with a slightly stiff expression.
If she had been determined to deceive him, she wouldn't have shown such a side of herself.
It was a tone that seemed to slip out unintentionally, despite her using formal language the whole time. She didn't even seem to realize she had used casual speech after letting it out.
If he were to call her "Hoyeon," what would she say in response?
"Representative."
Secretary Han, who had returned to her desk to work, spoke up as if to wake him from his daydream.
"Yes."
Shaken from his deep thoughts, Tae-oh straightened his posture, signaling that he was ready to work.
Secretary Han looked at him and said coldly.
"As for me, I’ll bet my bonus on the fact that Jung Hana will ask for JK Furniture back once she gets married."
It was her way of guaranteeing that Hana was not Hoyeon. Secretary Han opened her mouth again.
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