DDB Ch 16

Heritage Beyond Headquarters, Annex B Building.

The Customer Management Division was in uproar.

This was because Director Oh Kyungseok, the number two at Heritage Beyond, had been swinging a golf club around since earlier.

Employees, standing like convicts beyond the glass wall, didn’t even dare to breathe as they watched Oh Kyungseok.

Raising a driver, the size of a baby’s head, he swung again. With a loud crash, an object on the table was reduced to dust.

Watching this, the head of the European Management Division swore and sighed.

“Fuck, how much did that cost?”

He had destroyed an 18th-century sculpture that he had painstakingly acquired in Prague last summer.

To smash an artwork worth more than a manager’s annual salary just to vent frustration, perhaps because executives earn astronomical amounts, such items were trivial to him. It was utterly shocking.

At that moment, Misung, the head of the Asian Division, approached from behind the European division head.

“Is money the issue now?”

Letting out a short sigh, Misung stepped toward the glass beyond which chaos was unfolding.

“He’s lost his mind because Vice Chairman Seungjae took away the technician he had carefully nurtured.”

Having heard the full story from her secretary on her way to the annex, Misung was dismayed that all her efforts, including sleepless nights in Hong Kong, had been for naught.

Yet, the fact that Baek Ishin had achieved this made her heart flutter involuntarily.

But this was not right. No matter how precious the technician was, Baek Ishin holding that woman, smiling, and carrying on like that was just not right.

“So, it’s up to us to resolve this.”

Leaving a brief comment to the staff watching through the glass with a mix of concern and fear, Misung opened the glass door.

At the same moment, Oh Kyungseok smashed another vase.

Watching the shards scatter pathetically, Misung spoke with irritation in her voice.

“Stop venting on the wrong things. We need to change our strategy.”

At her cold voice, Oh Kyungseok turned around.

His arm, gripping the driver, was pulsating with veins, his chest heaving with anger. His face, red with rage, and his neck, bulging with swollen veins, made him look exactly like an enraged turkey.

‘This man could actually be quite handsome if it weren’t for this animalistic temper. What a waste of a good face.’

Letting out another short sigh, Misung spoke softly.

“That’s not something to get angry about.”

“What?”

His outburst seemed to diminish at her words.

“Then what should we do?”

“I told you from the start. We need to change our strategy.”

She had said it from the beginning, truly from the beginning. They should use their brains rather than resorting to the mafia.

“Look here, Director Go Misung.”

Oh Kyungseok’s face was filled with despair as he looked at Misung.

“Haven’t you heard the news? It’s already over.”

“…”

“My technician! That golden hand with the devil’s talent! He’s already in the Vice Chairman’s hands!”

He faced the Vice Chairman, and Director Baek decided to take charge. It’s all over!

His voice grew louder and louder until it ended in an outburst of frustration.

Looking at Oh Kyungseok’s face, which seemed on the verge of tears, Misung spoke coldly.

“Did the Vice Chairman move personally?”

What exactly is over, it’s frustrating.

“Director Baek must have moved.”

In that case, they need to focus on Baek Ishin. Then that woman, no, that technician will naturally follow.

“Fortunately, we have Giotto Giovanni who can shake the technician, so there’s still a chance. And right now, instead of the technician, we need to draw Baek Ishin to our side.”

At her words, Oh Kyungseok blinked.

“How…?”

That was the question.

Because Baek Ishin was the most difficult, dangerous, and … enthralling person among those Misung had encountered.

“We’ll have to find a way, somehow.”

Yes, they would find a way somehow.

Misung recalled the last image of Baek Ishin etched in her retinas.

Clenching her molars tightly, she swallowed the bitter taste of blood spreading in her mouth and clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white.

“Leave it to me. I will definitely… get Baek Ishin.”

Even if it means using her charm.

🐬🌊🐳

The garden, blanketed with fresh white snow, was beautiful. She liked the idea that her traces were part of that beautiful scenery.

Earlier, before leaving this place, the snowman she had built with Shanti was still sitting alone on the bench, just as they had left it. However, the footprints she had made walking alongside Ishin were already gone. That was somewhat disappointing.

She wanted to leave something indelible with this man.

Looking at the snowman through the car window, Jiwoon spoke.

“Do you want to make a snowman… with me?”

Her words came with an involuntary melody.

Jiwoon, who had awkwardly tacked on the word ‘with’ at the end, turned to look at Ishin, who was sitting beside her, looking down at his tablet.

“Even if it’s not a snowman, that’s fine.”

At that moment, the car stopped in front of the main gate, and Shanti opened the door.

Ishin’s voice was blunt.

“Get out.”

Jiwoon pouted her lips and whispered “Okay, bye,” as she got out of the car.

Ishin waited until Jiwoon was completely out of the car, then moved when she approached.

“Instead of thinking about making a snowman, work on a list today.”

“…A list?”

The two passed through the main gate and stood in the middle of the luxurious marble-floored hall.

“We’re going to set up your studio in the headquarters annex. We’ll take care of most things. So, you should write down what you think you particularly need.”

At Ishin’s gesture, Sangdu, who had been driving and following behind like a shadow, handed Jiwoon a few photos.

“These are pictures of the painting before it was damaged.”

Checking the photos, Jiwoon’s heart suddenly started to beat rapidly. The painting in the A2-sized photo was unmistakably ‘Guinevere.’

Pictures of the whole painting and close-ups of various parts, showing the faded colors and damaged areas in vivid detail.

So this was the original look of my ‘Guinevere’.

A strange light seemed to flicker in Jiwoon’s dark brown eyes as if they were possessed by a spirit.

Looking at Jiwoon, Ishin asked,

“Can you do it?”

Her eyes, which had been fixed on the painting, finally turned to Ishin. They were now calm but somehow shone brightly.

“Replication or restoration?”

It seemed there was no need to ask further; Jiwoon’s eyes said it all.

Jiwoon’s skill had been proven eight years ago.

Of course, back then, it was easier because they were working on a pristine ‘Guinevere’ with an experienced partner like Seo Beom-su.

Now, with only the severely damaged original and the photos from back then, the difficulty had increased significantly.

But if it was Seo Jiwoon… it was possible. She was a girl who could remember even the stains accidentally left on a painting she had seen once.

At that moment, Jiwoon spoke.

“Do you know why I was disciplined?”

Her eyes were not the playful ones singing songs just moments ago.

They were dark, cold, unstable yet firm, with a sharpness that seemed to probe deep into one’s soul.

“I don’t just restore paintings.”

“…Then?”

“I bring back the color and texture, even the original flaws. That’s why they say about me…”

She lifted her chin slightly, appearing haughty. Her sharp, three-dimensional face looked even more glamorous under the chandelier light.

“I revive the soul of the painter, the golden hand with a devil’s talent.”

Jiwoon quietly recited her infamous nickname, curling one corner of her mouth.

“…That’s what they say.”

Indeed, it was a nickname that suited Seo Jiwoon.

Suddenly, memories of the three months spent in the safe house eight years ago flashed through her mind. The drawings she had made with only colored pencils on the paper he had provided…

It was her cherished ‘Guinevere’.

“So, here’s the thing.”

Jiwoon sharpened her dark eyes.

“Where is my ‘Guinevere’?”

It’s about time you returned it to me.