His CEO

the last time

"Unnie, I'm so sorry... I know we should have told you right away."

Yejin's voice trembled as she stood by the doorway, her eyes filled with guilt. She had rushed over as soon as she could, barely giving me time to process her sudden visit.

"What do you mean?" I asked, sitting up, my pulse quickening.

She bit her lip, fidgeting with her fingers nervously. "Nara unnie and I were at the mall a few days ago, you know, just looking at the baby section since I got really excited as soon as I heard the news from you, and then-"

"And then what?" I asked, already bracing myself for her answer.

"We ran into him," Yejin finally admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "Insung oppa was there... and I didn't expect to see him, especially at that part of the store."

I closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath as the familiar weight of guilt started settling in my chest. I know I've been hiding from him for so long, but no matter how hard I tried to keep my secret, fate seemed so determined to intervene.

"It's not your fault," I said. "I just... I didn't want him to find out like this."

Yejin sat down across from me. "He actually asked about you, unnie. He's worried."

I did not answer. Of course, I knew this situation wasn't fair to him, I'm well aware of that. But every time I tried to gather the courage to tell him, I could not bring myself to do it.

Nara, who had been quietly sitting next to me, reached out and squeezed my hand. "Jihyo, you can't keep running from this. He deserves to know the truth. You need to talk to him."

"I know," I said, chewing on my bottom lip as I stared at my phone lying on the coffee table. "I know it's time. I just don't know if I'm ready."

"Try it," Nara said, her voice firm but gentle. "Call him right now. Ask him to meet you and tell him everything."

I glanced at Yejin, who nodded in agreement, her eyes urging me to act. The two of them were right-I've been hiding for too long. It wasn't fair to Insung, and it wasn't fair to our daughter.

With a deep breath, I reached for my phone, my fingers trembling slightly as I scrolled through my contacts to find his number. The familiar digits stared back at me, and for a moment, I hesitated. What if this went wrong? What if he couldn't forgive me for keeping this from him?

But I couldn't keep running. I pressed the call button, holding my breath as the phone rang.

After a few rings, he picked up. "Hey," I started off.

"Jihyo-yah." His voice came through the phone, yet I could hear faint music in the background, like he was out somewhere. "It's been a while. I've missed you."

Hearing his voice after all this time made my heart flutter. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'm sorry for not showing up for the past few months," I said. "I just came back to Seoul."

"It's okay," he replied gently. "I understand. How are you? I... I've been worried about you."

"You sound funny when you're worried, you know that?" Then I laughed.

"I'm just glad to hear your voice."

I was startled when Yejin suddenly stood up and silently stomped her feet. I could almost hear her squeal, but she was just suppressing it.

"Yah. Calm down," Nara whispered.

"I can't help it!"

"Keep quiet!" I muttered before continuing to talk to Insung. "Insung, can we meet sometime this week? There's something really important I need to tell you."