Chapter 78: Wounds From The Past

They were still in the middle of the road and traffic had resumed, so the rest of the cars were trying to go around them. 

Despite his chest tightening painfully, Ji-Won struggled to pull himself together. He knew it wasn't very safe to continue driving, but they were already outside the city. So, he had to at least get the car to the side of the road before taking a break to regain his composure. 

Consequently, Ji-Won sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. 

When he finally felt his heartbeat slowing down from its wild, rapid pace, he slowly moved the car towards a nearby parking space on the side of the road.

Seeing him turn the steering wheel, Su-Jin was startled. 

"Director Kang, you don't seem well. Are you sure it's alright to drive?" 

"It should be alright until we reach a safe place to stop." he answered. 

Su-Jin noticed how hoarse his voice sounded and she began to worry even more. Nevertheless, he seemed to know what he was doing. For some reason, she suspected this wasn't the first time it happened to him while in the car. 

"Alright. Then we will take a break until you feel better." Su-Jin agreed with a nod. After a thought, she quickly added. "Or, if you feel comfortable with lending me your car, I can drive us to the resort."

Ji-Won shook his head.

"No, that won't be necessary." he said weakly, then glanced at her with a small, reassuring smile. "I will be fine after a short break." 

Su-Jin guessed that he didn't want to lose more face, so she didn't insist. 

How could she have known that Ji-Won would probably get even worse if she were to drive? After all, no one apart from Seo-Jun knew about his condition. 

Ever since Ji-Won found out about his mother's car accident he had trouble riding cars, especially if they were driven by someone else instead of him.

Fourteen years ago, his mother left the house in a hurry. Outside it was raining cats and dogs, but his mother was too angry to care about the weather. She had gotten into her car and drove off without looking back.

Hours later, Ji-Won and his father found out she had been involved in a car accident. 

When the police and ambulance got there it was already too late. 

Ji-Won had insisted on going with his father. He simply wouldn't take no for an answer, making such a big ruckus until his father ultimately agreed to take him there. 

They rode inside a police car and, once they reached the place of the accident, the adults told young Ji-Won to wait in the car. 

But instead of listening, Ji-Won slipped away and went to look around the area. 

The road was covered with scraps of metal and blood. Pieces of broken windows were littered on the pavement, glittering like small diamonds under the headlights of the police vehicles. 

The car that Ji-Won's mother drove was wrecked. By the time the authorities arrived, the woman had already stopped breathing 

The doctors said that, judging by the severity of the accident, his mother most probably had died on impact.

What was even more unfortunate, though, was that this accident had claimed two more lives besides that of Ji-Won's mother. 

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Madam Kang's car had collided with that of a married couple who was coming back from a business dinner. Their car was in the same kind of wrecked state. Both husband and wife had died on the spot, leaving a daughter and son orphans.

Based on the police investigation, his mother had been the one at fault. Due to the high speed, and coupled with the terrible weather, she had missed a red light and drove straight into the couple's car.

This caused both vehicles to violently crash against each other. Then, after spinning a couple of times, they both landed several meters away from the point of impact. 

Ji-Won never forgot about all these details, nor could he ignore his mother's fault. Therefore, he had never tried to find out who those people were, feeling too afraid to face their family. Guilt, shame and sorrow muddled together in a poisonous mixture which, in the end, gave birth to a psychological condition. 

That, together with his memories from that night, created a trauma. One that Ji-Won had struggled with for the past fourteen years.

While Ji-Won was reminiscing about the past, Su-Jin was battling her own inner demons. 

Despite appearing quite composed, inside she was far from it. 

The sight of that car appearing suddenly in front of them, the forceful stop and the loud screech threw Su-Jin into a whirlwind of panic. Her back instantly got soaked, causing her shirt to stick to her skin. Her palms were damp and she felt an uncomfortable sensation all over her body.

After squirming in discomfort a few times she finally settled down. Then her attention was once again attracted by Ji-Won's disconcerted appearance.

Even after several minutes the man still looked shaken. His lips had lost all color and his face was ghostly white. At the same time, his dark eyes seemed to be blurred by a veil of anxiety. 

In the meantime, Ji-Won had parked the car on the side of the road. Now that even the sound of the engine was gone, inside the car it was perfect silence. 

"Director Kang, are you alright?" Su-Jin asked in a quiet voice.

"Mn." he nodded slowly without looking at her. "We'll stop here for a little while before continuing on our way. I hope that's alright with you." 

"Of course." 

Su-Jin paused, thinking of something.

"Director Kang, should I call someone? Perhaps Deputy Director Kim…"

"No." Ji-Won cut her off curtly. 

Su-Jin froze, the rest of her words dying on her lips.

Seeing her startled expression made Ji-Won think that he might have sounded a bit too harsh. So, he added in a slightly warmer tone. 

"That won't be necessary, Miss Park. If you call Seo-Jun now, he will just make a huge fuss. Let's just take a short break and everything will be alright, hm?"

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. 

Since Ji-Won was adamant about refusing to call Seo-Jun, and it was also clear that he didn't want anybody's help either, Su-Jin could only nod her head in submission.

Right then, as though gods and ghosts were at work, Ji-Won's phone began to ring.

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