Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 328 - Side Story 2. People Who Just Occasionally Have a Meal Together (2) 

Side Story 2. People Who Just Occasionally Have a Meal Together (2) 

 

“You must have known.”

 

Han Minhyuk kept his mouth shut until the food was served and the attendant server left. Once the door closed, he finally spoke.

 

The moment she heard Han Minhyuk’s words, Moon Heeyoung thought. 

 

Fortunately, perhaps because of the sunlight or something else, Moon Heeyoung’s ex-husband moved to the table right next to them, leaving only the back of his head in view. 

 

It was clear that Han Minhyuk had known all along.

 

“I didn’t know right away, but I found out when we divorced. The Jeongil Group was connected to C&M. He’s someone who makes strategic choices well.” 

 

In other words, Moon Heeyoung chose her husband because of C&M, and that husband chose that woman because of C&M. 

 

Well, it was a choice she could somewhat understand, but— 

 

“Was it really necessary to use a romantic relationship as a pretext to make the connection?”

 

A slight doubt remained. 

 

Han Minhyuk picked up his chopsticks and asked calmly. 

 

“The romantic relationship wasn’t just a pretext.” 

 

“….”

 

“I didn’t like him that much, but I didn’t dislike him either.” 

 

Moon Heeyoung lifted the corners of her mouth and smiled. 

 

There was no trace of amusement in her eyes.

 

Han Minhyuk frowned as he looked at her.

 

“At that time, my life was full of lies, and among them, that man was the biggest liar. But I didn’t mind. Rather than lying just to me, he was the kind of man in whom you couldn’t find a single genuine thing, and that made it easier.”

 

Moon Heeyoung lightly spoke, pointing toward the direction of her ex-husband.

 

“But how long have you known?”

 

“…”

 

With a clack, Han Minhyuk put his chopsticks down on the pebble-shaped rest. 

 

He briefly met Moon Heeyoung’s gaze before speaking.

 

“I saw that woman at the Seoyeon University alumni meeting. The chairman was going on about donations, so I sent some money, and that’s how I got invited.” 

 

“Ah—”

 

Moon Heeyoung blinked.

 

It was because she remembered that the woman—whose name she no longer even recalled—had graduated from a music academy.

 

Jungil Group.

 

It was a place much larger than Moon Heeyoung’s family home, yet strangely, that girl felt inferior to her. 

 

She was curious about things like how much the bag she carried cost, where it was from, and how many were available in the country. 

 

If she already had more than enough, shouldn’t her desire and sense of lack decrease in proportion to what she owned? 

 

Isn’t desire something only felt by those who have nothing?

 

She was always puzzled whenever she saw that girl carrying a bag one step pricier than hers, driving a car more expensive than hers, and ending up dating the men she had once gone out with.

 

In a way, she was even envious.

 

‘You really… live an interesting life.’

 

Because it seems like you live life in an enjoyable way. 

 

That was why she had said it at the summer villa.

 

It was only later that she realized the words she had long forgotten had actually stayed in her memory for a long time.

 

‘So? Do you still find me interesting?’

 

It was something he had said after their divorce, deliberately letting her know that he had had an affair with her “ex” while speaking to her. 

 

It wasn’t fun.

 

At one time, she had thought that intensely wanting something would make her life more interesting.

 

Even in that moment, holding a strong drink in her mouth and planting a surprise kiss on the man in the driver’s seat, who looked tired-eyed, she carried that vague sense of anticipation. 

 

But over the many years, that sense of anticipation gradually faded within her. 

 

The intense desire to have something isn’t fun.

 

She looked at the handsome man in front of her and thought. 

 

Just…

 

‘You live a tiring life, don’t you.’

 

I’m tired. 

 

The moment Han Minhyuk’s eyes quietly met hers, Moon Heeyoung flinched without realizing it. 

 

And thinking that her reaction was rather like that of a teenage girl, she laughed to herself. 

 

“…?”

 

Han Minhyuk, looking at her with apparent curiosity, showed no sign of wanting to comfort her. 

 

Even though her words about meeting other men had been a lie.

 

Is this just… being hopeless at love? Or is it that his feelings were only ever that much?

 

She had encountered quite a few men who were only after the other person’s body. 

 

But men like that never lied about telling her to see other men. 

 

Men who spoke sweetly tended to have dirtier minds.

 

“You really didn’t have any other women?”

 

“….”

 

Han Minhyuk frowned at the unexpected question. 

 

“Just take a look at the contract.”

 

“If you answer.”

 

“…”

 

Han Minhyuk didn’t answer.

 

Moon Heeyoung was quite surprised by that.

 

It seemed like he had something to hide.

 

Hadn’t Han Minhyuk also lived in a pure, untouchable zone like Hwang Misoon? Yet now, hesitating to answer meant he wanted to lie.

 

‘Because that guy knows my skills.’

 

“There was.”

 

“…!”

 

“In high school. The girl next to you.”

 

The pupils that had been brimming with anticipation shrank like popped balloons.

 

“What the… isn’t that a bit too pure? You’re almost fifty, and you’re talking about girls from high school…”

 

Han Minhyuk tapped the contract and spoke to Moon Heeyoung, whose voice had grown curt.

 

“Now, take a look.”

 

“As expected, your answer is too lofty, so I don’t want to look at it.”

 

“…”

 

Han Minhyuk groaned in displeasure at that answer, then wiped his mouth with a napkin and said,

 

“Then, let me answer a little more vulgarly.”

 

He opened his mouth with a face as if he couldn’t draw a drop of blood.

 

“There were a few people I rolled around with in bed and then broke up with. Just for very brief moments.”

 

Moon Heeyoung’s eyes widened.

 

‘Truth.’ 

 

It’s the truth.

 

“…Ha.”

 

It’s driving me crazy.

 

It was so vulgar to see him say those things with that face.

 

That’s why it’s so thrilling.

 

“The kids don’t know.”

 

“If you’re going to run off and blab to the kids, then hand over that contract.” 

 

Moon Heeyoung held tightly onto the contract that Han Minhyuk was trying to snatch.

 

She couldn’t let this slip away.

 

It was the “pretext” she had painstakingly created, even while giving up a deal worth tens of billions.

 

“But then, why didn’t it work out?” 

 

“What do you mean it worked out?”

 

“Dating, getting married, that kind of thing. Sweet and lovey-dovey, like what Junghyo and Woohyun are doing now.”

 

Han Minhyuk frowned at the word sweet.

 

“Waking up with someone in my bed in the morning, our scents mingling enough to know what we did all day, leaving traces in corners of my home—that doesn’t suit me.”

 

Moon Heeyoung found herself agreeing with Han Minhyuk’s typical answer.

 

In fact, it was even stranger that such a person would readily raise Junghyo.

 

A guy who seemed like he wouldn’t even let a pet into his house had, in a photo from elementary school, set up all kinds of food and even thrown a birthday party at home.

 

He said Junghyo wouldn’t be able to adjust to the new place.

 

In short, Junghyo is the exception… that’s how it is.

 

Moon Heeyoung looked at Han Minhyuk with eyes that said she understood perfectly.

 

“And above all, creating a family had no meaning for me.”

 

‘Had no meaning’—that was in the past tense. 

 

The exception is what changed the present.

 

Junghyo was truly a remarkable child.

 

She wasn’t a lively, charming little rascal, but simply quietly observing people by her side brought a sense of calm.

 

Like a guardian stray cat in every neighborhood alley you pass by on the street.

 

She was just like that—possessing a quiet kindness and a presence that seemed to command the space around her. 

 

As Moon Heeyoung wore a faint smile with those thoughts in mind, Han Minhyuk spoke.

 

“Why did you want to get married?”  

 

“Creating a family had meaning for me. I loved my own family. I cherished the wealth my parents passed down, and I envied, in my own way, how harmonious they were.” 

 

“Your parents… were harmonious?”

 

“Because they were, that’s why the company went bankrupt after the great disaster, and both of them passed away together, right?”

 

Han Minhyuk stared blankly at Moon Heeyoung’s smiling face as she spoke. 

 

It was a face similar to her childhood one, yet different. 

 

“I’m sorry about what happened to them.”

 

“What? It’s been 20 years now.”

 

Saying that, Moon Heeyoung fiddled with the table before lifting her head.

 

“Have you seen that the kids changed their profile pictures?”

 

She wanted to lighten the unnecessarily heavy atmosphere. That wasn’t why she came here. She wanted to talk about the present, not the past. 

 

“I saw it.”

 

Moon Heeyoung held out her phone, which displayed Junghyo’s profile picture. 

 

It was a photo of Han Woohyun and Junghyo taken at an amusement park.

 

Contrary to the rumors going around that they had gone on a date, the photo was actually taken when they went to play with the general manager’s children—but both looked quite good in their school uniforms. 

 

Maybe it’s because they still had the feel of high school students.

 

Han Minhyuk, watching Moon Heeyoung look at the photo with satisfaction, spoke up. 

 

“You’ve gotten old.”  

 

“Me?”

 

“Us.”

 

“Of course. I already feel happy when I see the kids. Kids are just kids. They can experience everything I couldn’t when I was young. That alone excites me.”

 

“What haven’t you experienced? Compared to ordinary people, there wasn’t anything you couldn’t do or didn’t have, right?” 

 

When Han Minhyuk spoke in disbelief, Moon Heeyoung unexpectedly answered immediately.

 

“There’s a part of me that acted a bit old-fashioned. Maybe I was a bit dull when it came to my emotions. Desire… I thought it was childish.”

 

Han Minhyuk, who had been sitting quietly with a composed posture, asked in response to Moon Heeyoung’s answer. 

 

“For example?” 

 

“Like… what… the crude desire to pour coffee on my ex-husband’s mistress’s face?” 

 

Han Minhyuk nodded at Moon Heeyoung’s answer. 

 

It was an impulsive response.

 

It wasn’t that she had any real intention of slapping the girl’s cheek; rather, it was a remark that came out because, on such a beautiful day, the girl had shown up in front of her and steered the two of them’s conversation in an odd direction. 

 

And then…

 

Han Minhyuk rang the bell softly, summoning the server in charge.

 

“One large iced coffee, please.”