New Normal - Chapter 84

“…Shin Jisoo.”

The moment he murmured her name, Jisoo, who had just stepped into the hospital room, froze for a second and turned to look at him.

A month wasn’t a short time, yet her face carried a strange blend of familiarity and unfamiliarity. Her expression was calm, but her complexion pale. Her gaze was cautious, tinged with unease. The corners of her lips were curved politely, but they trembled faintly. Her expression was a tangled mix of worry and scars that hadn’t quite healed.

The heavy silence between them deepened, pressing down endlessly.

Juwon suddenly found it hard to breathe. It was a face he had seen countless times, even in his dreams, and yet, seeing it before him in reality felt almost unreal. Their brief eye contact was broken by Chairman Chae Heejung’s deliberate cough, pulling Juwon back into the present.

“Ahem. I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first. Juwon, get some rest. And Miss Shin Jisoo, we’ll see each other again later.”

Without explanation, his grandfather left, giving Jisoo’s shoulder a friendly pat as he passed. Jisoo bowed politely. The door closed, and suffocating silence followed. It was Jisoo who broke it first.

“Um… are you feeling any better?”

Her worry was obvious. Juwon quickly composed his face and nodded stiffly, feigning nonchalance.

“Yes. I’m fine.”

But his cracked voice betrayed the lie. Jisoo, avoiding his gaze, hesitated before speaking again.

“Your grandfather… he contacted me. He said you weren’t doing well.”

“It’s just a cold. Nothing serious.”

Juwon pretended to look out the window, but the hand gripping the bedsheet trembled faintly.

“It wasn’t bad enough to be hospitalized. Everyone around me overreacted, and now it’s made things uncomfortable. I’m sorry for the trouble. Something like this… it won’t happen again. We won’t have to see each other anymore.”

He sighed deeply, still refusing to look at her, his face taut with cold detachment.

“…You can leave now.”

Polite, but laced with dismissal. Jisoo fidgeted with her fingers, then, as though steeling her resolve, stepped closer.

“Is it because we broke up?”

Juwon turned sharply, startled.

“What do you mean?”

She held his gaze firmly.

“When you say it’s uncomfortable, when you say it’s a burden, when you say we won’t ever see each other again… is that because we broke up?”

He stared blankly at her lips as she spoke, then met her eyes.

“…What exactly are you trying to say?”

“I’m sorry, Juwon.”

Her sudden apology made his brows knit. Jisoo’s lips trembled as she forced the words out.

“I shouldn’t have ended it that way. You asked for another chance, but I was the one who cut things off.”

Juwon said nothing, only watching her. Biting her lip, she lifted her head. Her eyes shimmered with tears. Their gazes locked in the quiet of the hospital room.

“I was too emotional. I didn’t even try to listen to you. I just… I’m sorry. I never wanted our relationship to turn out like this.”

Her voice quivered, and for the first time, Juwon’s eyes wavered.

“…Why are you apologizing, Shin Jisoo?”

His tone was curt, but his voice cracked. Jisoo lowered her eyes and sat quietly on the chair beside his bed.

“When your grandfather called yesterday and told me you were sick, I panicked. I was so scared that something had really happened to you. My heart dropped.”

Her voice grew wetter, heavier.

“I couldn’t stop worrying. I hated myself for pushing you away when I still cared. I felt so foolish, even resentful of myself. And then your grandfather… he told me about you. About how you’ve been.”

Her tears finally fell. At that moment, heat surged violently in Juwon’s chest, not from shame that his weakness had been revealed, but from a deeper, more painful self-reproach. That he had once chosen pride over a woman this pure, this genuine. That he had avoided conflict, acted like a coward. His jaw clenched, teeth grinding as he tried to swallow back the rising storm inside him. Jisoo’s eyes reddened as she looked at him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t understand you, Juwon.”

He closed his eyes tightly, swallowing hard to soothe his burning throat. Heat rose to his face, his lips trembling. At last, he forced himself to look at her. Her eyes were still clear, still warm.

Guilt flooded him, guilt for hurting such a good woman, guilt for being a coward who had to rely on her kindness. Something within Juwon, something cold and stubborn that had long kept him upright, shattered. His cynicism toward love collapsed.

His throat tightened. His eyes burned, but he fought back the tears. His voice, however, trembled.

“…Give me a chance.”

Jisoo froze, startled by the sight of tears glistening in his eyes. Carefully, she reached out her hand toward him.

In that moment, pride, tangled emotions, and pain could no longer hold him back.

“Juwon…”

“Please… give me the chance to love you with all my heart, Shin Jisoo.”

Her eyes flickered.

“Please. I’m begging you.”

Jisoo drew a shaky breath, then quietly laid her hand over his.

***

— “Is this Shin Jisoo? I’m Chae Juwon’s grandfather. Could we meet for a moment?”

That morning, when the old man’s voice came through the receiver, Jisoo could hardly breathe. After meeting him, she remained in her seat for a long time, unable to move. He had told her things she hadn’t known about Juwon’s family, about how he had changed after meeting her, about how broken he had been since their breakup. Those details were secondary.

“Please, forgive my Juwon.”

The moment she heard those words, something inside her crumbled. All the anger, the disappointment, the certainty that things were over, her resolve wavered in an instant.

She had thought their relationship was finished. No, she had been the one to end it. And yet, why did her heart falter so easily? Why did she feel so afraid and confused at the thought of facing him again?

But then, Juwon’s final expression, his eyes the last time they met, returned to her so vividly she could barely breathe. Was it because she had been too harsh?

Guilt washed over her like cold water. If only she had been a little more honest, a little more patient, perhaps things could have turned out differently. And yet, alongside that guilt, a fragile sprout of hope took root. If even his grandfather had reached out, didn’t that mean Juwon still wanted her too?

She knew it was reckless, foolish even, but the hope grew anyway. At last, Jisoo rose from her seat. She didn’t need to think any longer. All that mattered was the overwhelming desire to go to him.

Fear, disappointment, hurt, she left them behind as she took her unsteady steps forward. What consumed her was the single truth that she needed to be by his side.

And now. Jisoo lifted her head, meeting Juwon’s gaze. Warm sunlight streamed in through the hospital window. As it fell across her tear-streaked face, a faint smile appeared.

“Don’t ever get this sick again.”

Her whisper made Juwon’s chest burn. It felt as though a long-lost piece of his heart had finally returned to its place.

“…I won’t. I promise.”

The heavy, suffocating air between them slowly dissipated. It was only the beginning, but a new beginning nonetheless.