CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN  

Right Where You Left Me 

[ Timeskip - Five Years Later ] 

Time seems to have stopped for Katarina Jimin Yoo, and it still hasn’t resumed even as five years had already gone past in the world where she’s living in.  

In her dreams she is still in San Juan, five years ago, reliving the heartbreak she experienced over and over again so much so that she still dreams of that moment whenever she falls asleep. What would she do with that, then?  

What would Katarina do other than drown herself in booze, making sure that when she sleeps she does not dream of a thing at all? 

Joohyun has signed her through a couple therapies and parties, anything to take her mind away from the heartbreak and the heat of it all, but all that she can do is wait. 

For five years, she waited patiently and endlessly as the world resumed its course without her. She waits through business meetings, merger deals, keeping herself busy with the company that she had inherited five years ago.  

At least contrary to her own belief, Renjun stayed with her through the five years as his secretary and right hand, earning enough merit and honor to also be her private chauffeur—though he is still yet to uncover the mystery of the woman that his boss has been endlessly hung up with.  

“You have four meetings today, Miss,” Renjun says, once again trying to take away the bottle of whisky as per Joohyun’s secret orders, but a glare is enough to keep his hands to himself for now. “A few dozen paperworks to sign for the Sanchez Deal, and you’re good to go.”  

“Tell them I will only attend two,” she says, massaging her forehead to ward off an impending headache and pouring another glass of the poison drink. “I will attend the two most important ones, and the others will be pushed back tomorrow.”  

“The most important ones are the Sanchez Deal meetings as well as Budget Plans for next year,” Renjun says, though Karina knows that he’s hinting at something else important. “But…” 

“But what?”  

“The other two is for discussing the charity gala of the big companies to donate to the storm ridden villages outside the business district, and…”  

“Just spit it out, Huang.”  

“...the acquisition of the land title of the entirety of San Juan, Miss.”  

Now that’s the name of a place she hasn’t been to for a very, very long time.  

“I am informed that the land title is with Taeyeon Kim, the CEO of KK Corporation,” Karina says, clearly confused about what is happening. “Why are we pursuing the acquisition of that land title?”  

“It is not Taeyeon Kim that is putting up the land title for Jang Industries’ acquisition but their new CEO,” Renjun says, then giving Karina the files about the acquisition and the new CEO that he’s been talking about. “Apparently, they underwent a change in leadership five years ago.” 

Five years ago.  

Could it be? 

“Their new CEO is a woman named Winter Minjeong Kim.” 

The name is enough to send panic into Karina’s system—she almost throws the file away, but instead she grips the paper like there’s no tomorrow. Her skin turns white, veins pop through and all she could do is take a breath, stop trying to drink the damned whisky and place the folder carefully into the table like it’s a bomb meant to go off on her face.  

“Is she going to meet me for this acquisition?”  

“Yes, if we give the verbal agreement immediately, she will be flying from San Pedro to here and will arrive at approximately 4:00 in the afternoon.”  

There it is.  

It must be what Jaehyun was trying to tell her years ago; that Minjeong—her Minjeong—was in San Pedro, farther than what she thought.  

She inherited the KK Corporation completely, and after five years here she was, presenting the entirety of San Juan to Karina on a golden ing platter.  

“I’m going to attend the charity ball meeting, and the acquisition meeting later. Clear my schedule after that, will you?”  

“Yes, Ma’am. Shall I take the whisky bottle away?” Renjun says, still trying his no alcohol agenda and clearly expecting a rejection, but to his surprise Karina nods.  

After five years of making booze her companion, Karina lets Renjun take the accursed bottle away, and for the first time in a long while her boss smiles.  

All because of a rival company’s boss who’s offering a whole town’s land to her.  

Renjun does not understand it, but for the first time in such a long time—well, ever since he worked with the woman who was famously dubbed as the Cold Princess of Jang Industries—Katarina Jimin Yoo attends a meeting with fresh eyes, devoid of the influence of the cursed drink and actually smiling at anyone who raises a formidable opinion.  

Slowly, time ticks by.  

Slowly, the time flows again, making sure to let every memory and every event rush through Karina’s mind, since just her name alone and the fact that she’s going to be here is enough to have everything bearing down on her, so much that tears are once again catching up.  

So much that Renjun is being thrown out of the room by Jaehyun who’s trying to calm the crying Karina down, telling him to call the first speed dial on the woman’s phone, which turned out to be the CEO of Bae Industries, who came at a beck and call and entered the woman’s office immediately.  

“Why are you—Jaehyun, call the doctor. Rina, calm down!”  

Slowly, time stops.  

Even though she’s never been there before, a woman with ginger long hair and a thousand dollar executive suit that’s something she would never be seen wearing five years ago, walks across the hallway to the office with such confidence like she truly belongs in this world.  

Both Jaehyun and Joohyun widens their eyes and opens their mouths in shock as the woman they’ve never seen for five years ever since she left enters the office and grabs Karina with such gentleness that the crying girl settles into her embrace as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.  

Karina sinks into the embrace worth five years of lost time, and she knows that the one who’s hugging her right now is the one that got away, so she silently begs for a longer time.  

No, she begs for time to stop.  

She begs for time to stop flowing, for her to be able to embrace this woman longer than she should and longer than the right thing to do which is to pull away— 

No, she doesn’t want to pull away.  

She wants to stay here, in this moment, which is why she engraves this moment in her mind as much as she could before time resumes again.  

Before Joohyun is the one to pull her away from KK Corporation’s CEO and pushes that said CEO away.  

“How did you even get here? Renjun, call security!” Joohyun shouts, but Karina raises her hand, signalling Renjun to stop as she gathers herself, slowly donning the mask again.  

“The meeting room is on the 7th floor, and the acquisition is at 4:00 pm.” Karina says, sighing as she averted her eyes from the ginger haired woman who stared at her without averting her eyes at all.  

“Go, Minjeong.”  

Minjeong sighs, her lips in a straight line that slowly turns into a frown.  

Minjeong, whose first instinct at that moment when she heard Karina crying is to hug her tight, something she’s done whenever the girl feels troubled at mornings and nights.  

Minjeong, who slowly walked away to the elevator, knowing that she wouldn’t have done anything different.  

Winter Minjeong Kim, who finally came back.  

The meeting room feels colder than usual as Minjeong sits across Karina w