CBL Ch 19

Is it because he smelled blood after a long time?

The intuition that something was off came when he returned to the townhouse and received Miriam’s greeting.

“Welcome, Director! I just heard about Yisoo. Peach shock? Yisoo never liked peaches much; she didn’t eat peaches or plums even in Hong Kong. Seems like her taste has changed?”

“It was apricot, not peach.”

Secretary Kim corrected her, but Miriam shook her head as if to say it was the same thing.

“They’re the same kind anyway. Anyway, it’s really good to hear she’s okay! Allergies to peaches or nuts can be really scary; there are cases where people can die from it.”

At first, he didn’t feel any discomfort with those words. But while working late in the study, he suddenly remembered some information he had heard in passing years ago.

There was a fire at the hospital where the Hyoshin Construction family was being treated, and among the medical records lost were those of the twins.

Back then, data backups at medical institutions weren’t as thorough as they are now. Even without the fire, medical records are usually destroyed after the retention period. After all, a person’s body can change from one day to the next.

However, it was concerning that after becoming adults, only Yoo Yisoo hadn’t had a health check-up. It wouldn’t be strange if she hadn’t been particularly sick. Yet, something felt off.

Siheon paused while reviewing reports in the study, lost in thought. He finally picked up his phone and dialed Secretary Yang’s number. It was 2 AM in Korea due to the time difference, but he didn’t mind. Secretary Yang answered after just two rings.

— Yes, Director. This is Secretary Yang.

“Is the patient okay?”

— Yes, Yisoo is sleeping. I checked the room 30 minutes ago and have been monitoring the ward’s CCTV periodically.

Hearing that the patient was eating well and had no issues brought relief.

“Call me directly if anything happens, not through Secretary Kim.”

— Understood, Director.

Checking missed calls, he saw that Park Shinhyeon and Park Seohye had been calling alternately. He glanced at the screen for a moment before putting the phone down. He didn’t want to disrupt his train of thought right now.

Yoo Yisoo would recover, just as she said. By the time he returned home, she would likely be back at her home in Hannam-dong from the hospital.

Business investments and mergers in London were also proceeding smoothly. There was nothing to worry about or be anxious over.

Yet, what was this uneasy feeling?

This vague sense of anxiety had followed him across the ocean, growing larger. Once it surfaced, this inner unrest clung to Siheon’s heart like a stain, refusing to leave.

Messages and vibrations rang out several times. Was something happening at home? It usually didn’t annoy him this much. He clicked his tongue and picked up the phone.

— Siheon. Were you busy? I’m sorry if I disturbed you.

Park Seohye’s somber voice wasn’t particularly welcome.

“Isn’t it early morning there? What’s the matter?”

Siheon leaned back in his chair, pulling out a cigarette. He had been craving nicotine since finishing the call with Secretary Yang.

“If it’s not something as serious as delaying the wedding again, we can talk when I get back.”

— That’s what I wanted to talk about, Siheon.

“What?”

Siheon straightened up from where he had been slumped over. The boredom he felt at the start of the conversation dissipated like cigarette smoke.

— I broke my ankle. I’ve been diagnosed for 12 weeks.

Park Seohye’s voice, mixed with a sigh, continued. She had almost tripped over a dumbbell left on the floor while exercising at the fitness center a few days ago, twisting her ankle in an attempt to protect her piano-playing hand.

— We were supposed to get married in three weeks, so I was thinking of having surgery first and then seeing how things go… but there’s no way I can walk down the aisle. My father suggested I enter in a wheelchair, but that’s not possible. I can’t even wear the dress properly… how much effort we put into this wedding.

“So, it’s being postponed again?”

The effort was mostly from the wedding planner, who spent a fortune. For him, whether it was a year or two more didn’t matter; it should proceed as Park Seohye found convenient.

— Yes. It might be postponed until next spring. Is that okay with you?

“It doesn’t matter. Choose the day that you and the elders want.”

His superstitious maternal relatives would choose another auspicious day, but with a 12-week diagnosis, it would be January at the earliest. However, Park Seohye dreamed of a perfect outdoor wedding at the guest house, so March was more likely.

— What should we do? We postponed once already, and now with my condition, there shouldn’t be any strange rumors.

“There’s nothing we can do about it.”

— I’m sorry for causing you trouble twice because of us.

“I regret not being able to visit since I’m here. I’ll come by as soon as I get back.”

Even at the end of the call, no polite words about his health or how sorry he felt came out. His attention was entirely elsewhere.

There was a strange sense of relief that the wedding was postponed, even if only for a while. Not long ago, he wanted to get the marriage over with quickly, yet now he was bewildered by these conflicting emotions.

He lit his second cigarette with a wry smile at the lingering image of Yoo Yisoo in his mind. Whether they married or not, nothing would change.

Was this what had been bothering him all along? The wedding being delayed, causing chaos in the schedule.

From a business perspective, this is actually a good situation. Without wasting a single second, he issued new directives to the management strategy office. He ordered the formation of a new task force team to immediately pursue the silver industry and credit rating agency merger projects that had been set aside since the honeymoon.

Then he opened a folder filled with pictures of fluffy white fur balls. His cousin Miriam’s Samoyed had given birth to five puppies recently, and they planned to send at least three to trustworthy people.

‘How about allowing her to have a pet instead of giving her a birthday gift? She loves animals so much that she even touches stray cats without any allergic reaction… If you get married, you’ll only visit your house in Hannam-dong occasionally, and won’t she be lonely all by herself there?’

Was Yoo Yisoo always prone to loneliness?

Anyway, once he moves to the new marital home in Seongbuk-dong with Park Seohye, only Yoo Yisoo and the servants will remain in Hannam-dong. There will be times when he won’t be able to visit frequently.

‘Yisoo has no interest in collecting jewels, wearing luxury items, or indulging in extravagance, and she doesn’t even drive, so cars are meaningless to her. Wouldn’t it be better to have a companion by her side when you’re not around? Since you asked for my opinion, I think that would be the best gift.’

Perhaps that would be better.

Allowing an animal to keep her company seemed acceptable to alleviate loneliness. But a person would be absolutely out of the question.

Now that even the troublesome Lee Yihyun has gotten married, he was just counting the days until she would leave for the US.

‘You’re weak-hearted unlike your older brother. That relationship will keep hitting you from behind, and each time, you’ll take the blows and kneel because you can’t let go. Then you’ll get hit again, cling on, and hold on desperately.’

‘I like Kwon Siheon.’

‘Even in New York, he was always on my mind… I would watch him secretly sometimes.’

When he woke up suddenly, his whole body was drenched in sweat. When he lifted the sheet, he saw dried bodily fluids between his thighs.

Siheon clicked his tongue loudly, kicking off the bed. He had indeed dreamed of the dead shaman and Yoo Yisoo last night, but he hadn’t expected to have a wet dream.

It was only 10 PM. He had stayed up all night for two nights and fallen asleep early in the evening about three hours ago.

He dragged his hands down his face and headed to the bathroom. Even as he turned the shower to its highest setting and stood under it, he had no intention of doing anything lewd. But as Yoo Yisoo invaded his thoughts again, one hand naturally moved downward.

Facing the hot water, his erect member throbbed painfully. His entire groin felt tingly and sore, like his head was throbbing.

As he supported and stroked himself with one hand, a sense of self-loathing rose in a corner of his mind. But he couldn’t stop. The carnal desire, stronger than the self-loathing, took over his mind at an incredible speed.

“Ugh. Fuck…”

His hand gripped his shaft harder, his chest heaving faster. He thought there was no one more pathetic than those who masturbate or indulge in such acts, yet here he was, doing exactly that in the middle of the night.

Hah, the urge to climax overwhelmed him, his breath hitching. His hand paused just below the head of his penis.

The soft tongue peeking between her lips. The erect pink nipples. The red, swollen entrance of her vagina and the flush spreading inside her thighs made him close his eyes tightly.

He was in a state of extreme arousal. It felt like an eternity in that short moment as he gripped his cock tightly, holding his breath, feeling like he might actually explode.

Yoo Yisoo. …Fuck.

I should have brought her here from the start. Then, she could have eaten those damn plums or apricots to her heart’s content without needing to be hospitalized. Even if she had gone into shock, it would have been better if she were here, lying beside me, rather than suffering from this strange longing.

His hand instinctively tightened, fueling his desire even more. He desperately suppressed his urge to ejaculate while turning off the shower tap. The droplets hanging from the tips of his hair trickled down his neck, collarbone, and along the contours of his muscles to his feet, drop by drop.

He felt utterly foolish, holding a cigarette with the tip of his penis sticking out, fumbling to light it. He was grinding his teeth in frustration from the overwhelming urge to ejaculate, but after finally taking a drag of the cigarette, he felt a bit relieved. For a moment, it distracted him from the lingering vision of Yoo Yisoo that haunted him like a hallucination.

Siheon sat on the edge of the bathtub, legs spread wide, smoking. As he stroked from his balls to the base, soothing the veiny, swollen shaft, Yoo Yisoo’s hallucination returned.

Yoo Yisoo sucking on his balls until drool dripped from the corners of her mouth, slowly licking up the slightly curved ridge with her tongue. Her luscious lips parted to warmly engulf the glans.

The moments when she pressed her tongue against the bulging veins on the side of the shaft, nibbling on the tip, were as clear as if they happened yesterday.

The throat swallowing semen was white and slender as if it might break. The loud gulping of her Adam’s apple and the moan escaping her empty mouth made him hard again almost immediately. The sight of her wet, beautiful eyes drove him mad, as he remembered violently shoving his tongue in and sucking hard.

“Siheon, I like you.”

He lost his composure and climaxed abruptly. The semen that burst from the tip of his glans spread in a milky puddle on the tiles.

He lifted his hand, sticky with his fluids, to remove the cigarette from his lips. He had strained so much during ejaculation that he felt like he was about to break in the middle.

An incomplete climax, a solitary ecstasy. Yet his heart was pounding fiercely. As he managed to catch his breath, a wave of languor washed over him.

He wanted to see Yoo Yisoo.

He couldn’t stand not touching, licking, and caressing every inch of that soft, tender flesh, and then plunging into her.

What the hell is wrong with me? Am I addicted like a madman?

When he tried to suppress his desire to ejaculate one more time, cleaned himself, and returned to the bedroom, there were several missed calls from Secretary Yang. Before he could even dial back, someone urgently knocked on his bedroom door.

“Mr. President, are you sleeping? I apologize, but I’m coming in!”

Secretary Kim Jaewon burst in, looking extremely agitated, something that rarely happened even for serious matters.

“Mr. President, you’re awake.”

“What’s the fuss? And Secretary Yang too?”

It must have been 6 AM in Korea. What could have happened overnight to cause such urgency?

“Well, actually…”

“Is it from the tax office? Shinmyeong should handle anything usual.”

But there were no missed calls from Kwon Woohyuk. Neither he nor Kwon would want any exposure in the media, so it wouldn’t be about the owner’s risk that’s been the talk lately.

“Is it about Park Shinhyun or Choi Bokhyun?”

“It’s about Yoo Yisoo, sir.”

“…Who?”

Siheon narrowed his eyes. Drops of water fell from his uncombed hair onto his bathrobe. Secretary Kim continued his report with a somber tone.

“Mr. President, Yoo Yisoo…”

Throughout Kim Jaewon’s report, Siheon’s clenched fist trembled slightly. His mind went blank and then slowly returned to focus. The emotions he had kept in check were suddenly rising from the depths of his heart.

It was an overwhelming flood of emotions he didn’t even know he had.

＊＊＊

Yisoo came back from the rooftop lounge, took her medication, and went to bed early. She woke up around midnight as usual. The clock showed exactly 11:30.

Waking up once or twice during sleep had been a habit since childhood, ever since Yihyun often fell ill in the middle of the night. In her teenage years, she would study when she woke up, and after entering college, she mostly read books.

Even during her fugitive life in Hong Kong, that long-standing habit remained unchanged until she started living with a man named Kwon Siheon. Specifically, it was after they started sharing a bed.

During the time when their intense sex sessions happened several times a night, irregularly, the times she was conscious fluctuated. Kwon Siheon would sometimes come home at dawn, attack her unexpectedly, or even after finishing once, he would shake her up again, and this routine had been going on for over a year.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, the habit of waking up in the middle of the night resumed from the day Kwon Siheon left for London. Perhaps because he wasn’t around to disturb her at random times anymore. The old habit of waking up once during sleep found its place again while she was hospitalized.

Yisoo put on a robe over her pajamas and slipped into slippers before stepping out of the hospital room. The emergency exit stairs, which she had previously unlocked and turned off the lights for, were pitch black like a cave.

The back entrance on the first floor was heavily guarded by security personnel. Calmly, she spoke to one of the staff without panic.

“I can’t sleep, thought I might take a walk in the garden to stretch my legs.”

“I see. Just make sure you don’t go over to the main building since it’s late, and please be back within 30 minutes.”

“Yes, I’ll be back before midnight. Thank you.”

Yisoo slowly strolled through the well-maintained garden, which could rival that of any high-end hotel, until she headed towards the main building, where the security guard had told her not to go. Even past midnight, doctors and nurses were bustling in and out of the building.

Occasionally, she saw people in patient gowns; she would have looked like one of them.

Stepping outside after a long while, she felt the muggy summer night air. It was neither too hot nor too cold, something she had grown accustomed to in the always comfortable indoor temperatures.

She could continue living in such optimal conditions from now on. If she did nothing and just let her body and mind go with the flow.

As Yoo Yisoo, not as Kwon Siheon’s hidden woman, in exchange for living a peaceful, affluent life.

Yisoo walked among a group of people in blue gowns and headed towards an area not covered by CCTV. At the end of the long, narrow alley, there was a wide pedestrian path.

Only then did she take off the hairband she habitually wore around her wrist and tie up her hair. An indescribable freshness tingled down her neck. But soon, the unique humidity of summer nights enveloped her from head to toe.

Nevertheless, she felt light as if she could fly. Like one of the small birds she had only watched from inside the window.

Now, she was like a bird that could soar freely in the sky whenever she wanted. Her watch on her wrist had just passed midnight.

August 15th, a year ago, was the day Yoo Incheol was shot and collapsed in front of the prison.

＊＊＊

Yoo Yisoo had completely vanished.

At first, he didn’t believe it. Even when he was told his fiancée Park Seohye was hurt, he didn’t change his schedule, only hurried it, entrusting the local branch manager with the final details and returning three days earlier than planned. He hadn’t suspected her motives then.

“Investigate everyone around Kwak Bugyeong, including Park Seohye and Park Shinhyeon.”

He naturally thought someone was behind it. How they breached the hospital’s tight security in the middle of the night, how they managed to sneak into Yoo Yisoo’s room to take her away while she was defenseless, he couldn’t fathom who made it possible.

Until he was about to depart from Heathrow Airport, his anger was directed not at Yoo Yisoo but at the still-unidentified perpetrators. For the first time, fear crept into his bones, making his blood boil.

But as he went through the departure procedures, evidence started to come in suggesting Yoo Yisoo had left the hospital on her own. That fear quickly turned into another emotion.

After Yoo Yisoo walked to the garden, from midnight to 5 AM, the CCTV connected to her room showed only her sleeping. The light switch connected to the emergency exit’s CCTV was also found turned off.

The flight was hellish. For the first time, he ground his teeth in frustration over why humanity hadn’t invented faster means of transportation. Now, on the way to his house in Hannam-dong from Incheon Airport, the car was enveloped in a tense, murderous atmosphere.

“Go over what was reported before boarding again.”

— It seems someone hacked into the internal computer for remote control. Yoo Yisoo’s trail completely vanished from the flower bed path between the outpatient department and the maternity and child health center in Area D behind the main building. We’ve already started a search within Seoul and the metropolitan area…

Secretary Kim’s voice was barely audible. Siheon, gripping his hair swept back over his forehead, cut off the crime report abruptly. His thoughts were flowing towards Yoo Yisoo’s only family.

“What about Yongin? You would have checked there.”

— Yes, President. When we learned Yoo Yisoo had disappeared, we first contacted Lee Yihyun and Jung Sera, but they’ve been in Japan since last week for a family funeral related to Chairman Jung. We couldn’t connect, so we left messages. …Excuse me for a moment.

Kim Jaewon received a call from someone and resumed speaking.

— President, we just got a call from the hospital. A note was found in the room where Yoo Yisoo was staying.

Do Sungjun, sitting on the windowsill of his father’s study, suddenly lifted his head.

“Excuse me? The Major Crimes Investigation Unit is going to hand over the case to us? Why do they always…?”

“This time it’s because of a tip-off on the target. Like with Kwak Bugyeong last time. But this time, the subject of the tip-off is… this person.”

Prosecutor Do Sungjun, now facing his father who had become a Chief Prosecutor, alternated his gaze between his father and the documents he handed over with a look of astonishment. As he quickly scanned through the tip-off documents, a series of images formed in his mind.

“No, what the hell is this…”

“If they genuinely wanted to screw us over, they wouldn’t have come to us.”

Five minutes had passed since they had been alone at his father’s call. Only then did Sungjun discern that a significant investigation drama was about to unfold.

“What is this? It seems like it will end with insufficient evidence and a no-charge conclusion.”

No less than embezzlement charges against the head of Shinmyeong Securities, the asset management company within Shinmyeong Group, known as Shinuehoe. Unless Kwon Siheon had lost his mind, why would he embezzle funds from another affiliate where he once served as an interim CEO instead of Shinuehoe’s vault?

For those who knew about the Shinmyeong owner family, this was nothing but nonsense. Yet, the documents provided in the tip-off were composed of evidence that seemed quite convincing to the public.

“It’ll just waste time, whether we investigate or not, and it’ll quiet down before it becomes public. Despite that, the tip-off is designed to force an investigation even if it’s just a formality. Who on earth…”

“We don’t know who, but the purpose is clear. This tipster wants to divert Kwon Siheon’s time and attention temporarily.”

“What could be the reason? It doesn’t seem like they’re aiming for something in the meantime… At most, it’ll be a few months of back and forth. It’ll be annoying and a headache, but it won’t lead to an arrest, so why?”

“We should go through the motions anyway. Who knows? Maybe something will turn up, and Shinmyeong could end up like Hyoshin Construction… Ah, no, that’s not going to happen, even if the sky falls.”

Do Ilyeong clicked his tongue and gave a bitter smile. Shinmyeong Group and the now-defunct Hyoshin Construction were incomparable in every aspect, from their size to their owner families. It was just a meaningless slip of the tongue.

“Even if that were the case, we owe Shinmyeong something… Honestly, thanks to the evidence Kwon Woohyuk held, we could reveal the true nature of that grand Kwak Bugyeong and catch him. The country’s fate changed completely. Thanks to that, you got quite a bit of good attention too.”

“Yes. That’s true. If we owe them, we owe them…”

But Sungjun’s complexion grew serious, as if spurred by the mention of ‘Hyoshin’ that his father had casually brought up. A bad premonition overwhelmed him.

He had recently mentioned the twins of the late Chairman Yoo Namcheol, whose whereabouts were unknown. Specifically, the daughter among the twins.

“Why the long face? Are you still thinking about that Yoo Yisoo or whatever her name is…?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Although he said it wasn’t, his expression suggested he had been caught off guard. Sungjun tried to shake off his embarrassment and stood up. His gaze returned to the documents on the table.

“Anyway, we should proceed as you suggested, Father. It feels uncomfortable being used by someone unknown…”

There were many things that didn’t seem right. But one can’t ignore such a well-evidenced tip-off. Even if the so-called evidence was just superficial ‘errors’ that Kwon Woohyuk and Kwon Siheon could easily defend against and overturn.

In the end, it would just be a puppet show orchestrated by an unknown tipster, nothing more, nothing less. As his father pointed out, it would only temporarily restrict Kwon Siheon’s movements without any real outcome.

“Will there be a travel ban too? Oh, wait! Isn’t Kwon Siheon getting married soon? You received the invitation too, didn’t you?”

“I just got a call from Representative Park Shinhyeon about that. It seems the bride-to-be injured her ankle, so the wedding has been postponed to early next year.”

“What? That’s the second postponement then? … At least there’s no worry about the honeymoon being ruined.”

That must be quite an incompatible match. Sungjun swallowed his inner thoughts and turned his attention back to the file.

Who could it be, really. Who would make such a cunning and ambiguous move?

It was necessary to divert Kwon Siheon’s attention, but the tip-off didn’t cross the line to completely ruin him. It looked very much like the work of an insider.

But it couldn’t be Kwon Woohyuk.

“Anyway, it will come from the police soon, so be prepared. Respond nonchalantly as if you know nothing.”

“Understood. But I will do my best in the investigation. It’s my duty.”

“Do it moderately. Think about your future.”

“Ah, damn. I was supposed to visit Mrs. Shim next week… I guess I’ll have to postpone.”

Sungjun groaned while checking his scheduler. Then, he had a more in-depth conversation with Do Ilyeong.

By the time their not-so-secret father-son talk was wrapping up, dusk had already settled.

＊＊＊

While heading to the hospital, Kwon Woohyuk called several times, but he didn’t answer.

The urgent matter relayed through Secretary Kim was that the Major Crimes Investigation Unit at the National Investigation Office was currently investigating his Shinmyeong Construction embezzlement case, and it was expected to be transferred to the S District Prosecutor’s Office by next month at the latest.

— It will be dismissed without charges anyway, but you’ll have to engage in the investigation for at least two to three months.

“Investigate it to the end, find out where it started. Once you know, handle it as usual.”

Siheon dismissed it with one sentence and hit the brakes. The wheels screeched to a halt in front of the main building. Normally, he would have been irritated by the sudden troublesome situation, but now he felt nothing.

He crossed through the VVIP ward and entered the room where Yoo Yisoo had stayed. On the bottom of the vase on the nightstand, there was a note with just three sentences written on it.

I left a letter in the personal safe.

Kwon Siheon must open and read it himself.

The password is the eight digits from the graffiti on the building of the New York apartment where I stayed two years ago.

What a variety of tricks.

Siheon let out a low chuckle and walked without hesitation to the safe, pressing 19690720 firmly on the keypad. He pressed so hard that the small box rattled as if it might break. Inside the safe, there was just one unremarkable envelope.

What the hell is all this about?

He roughly snatched the envelope and tore it open. The neat, rounded handwriting calmly met his red-tinged vision.

Kwon Siheon,

I sincerely thank you for protecting and safeguarding me and Yihyun all this time.

For rescuing us in Hong Kong, for eliminating Yoo Hyeoksu, Yoo Minseop, and Yoo Hyunrak on our behalf, for dealing with Yoo Incheol’s assassin and Kang Manseop, and for revealing Kwak Bugyeong’s atrocities to the public so we no longer had to live under the threat of death – for all of these things.

I deeply appreciate even the slightest inconvenience you had to endure during this process.

By the time you read this letter, $1.5 million will have been deposited into one of your personal accounts. This is the royalty from the security software Yihyun developed for RapidFlare. It’s the money I had previously offered as compensation, which you had declined.

I know it’s not enough for the lives of my sister, myself, and those who have passed. Including the investment funds that Chairman Yoo Namcheol couldn’t repay during his lifetime, it’s even more insufficient. But I hope you understand that this is the best we can do at present.

Kwon Siheon wanted to continue our relationship even after your marriage. From the beginning, there was mutual agreement to protect our biological father, Yoo Incheol, under that condition. I remember it well too.

However, Kwon Siheon did not protect my real father until the end. It was an unforeseen event, but it cannot be said that Kwon Siheon had no responsibility for his death.

You must be aware of this yourself.

His fingers holding the letter twitched into a spasm when his eyes scanned that part. Heat flared in Siheon’s pupils.

What nonsense. Was I supposed to have foresight?

Now, back to the main point. With my father gone and everything concluded, I believe it’s right to terminate our contract.

It’s best for us to end things here. I hope we never meet again in our lives. It seems living our separate lives from here is what’s best for each of us.

Now, my wishes are only three.

First, I hope that Kwon Siheon lives well. I won’t wish for a happy and peaceful future because your life is far from being safe and tranquil. I genuinely hope you don’t suffer any major harm or misfortune, as you were our benefactor.

Also, I wish for Yihyun and Sera to remain safe and unentangled with Kwon Siheon. They are not involved in my disappearance. My sister even tried to dissuade me from my plan but couldn’t break my will.

So, I hope they do not suffer because of my search. If anything happens to Yihyun, I doubt I would remain safe, and I would never forgive you.

Lastly, I want to fly freely like the small, beautiful birds I’ve always seen from my cage without bars. I want to spread my wings far away from Kwon Siheon and start a new life.

Kwon Siheon and I were strangers from the beginning with no common ground. You seemed to form a sense of empathy based on the hidden secrets of Yihyun’s and my birth, relating it to your family history, but we are different from you. Unfortunately, that’s the truth.

We were not children who should not have been born, unlike you and Kwon Woohyuk.

My biological father, Yoo Incheol, did not have an inappropriate relationship with Yoo Namcheol’s wife. The woman my father loved was not his sister-in-law, Na Eunhye, but the female secretary, Lee Jiwon, whom Yoo Namcheol tried to force into being his mistress.

Yoo Namcheol had relations with Lee Jiwon multiple times, not out of love but due to his position and power. Even after she quit, he continued to pursue her, and when Yoo Incheol, unable to stand by any longer, helped her live safely, they fell in love. They conceived Yihyun and me, and we were born in secret from Yoo Namcheol.

To keep Yihyun and me safe, our biological father, Yoo Incheol, falsified the DNA test results, making us appear as Yoo Namcheol’s children. Since Yoo Namcheol had been with Lee Jiwon frequently until she resigned, he did not suspect our parentage.

After giving birth to us, Lee Jiwon left without telling Yoo Incheol, returning ten years later to take us back. She died in an unexpected fire on that day.

I knew nothing. I learned the truth only after my father confessed everything to Yihyun one day.

We were not illegitimate children but were born before marriage. If our biological mother had not died in an accident, our father would have been prepared to cut ties with the family and live with her from the start as Yihyun’s and my father.

Their love was honest and proud. The only one who was dirty and impure was Yoo Namcheol, our legal father.

Therefore, Yihyun and I are not like Kwon Siheon, born from an illicit relationship with a stepfather.

From there, the handwriting had slightly changed. Whether due to fatigue from writing for so long, the pen wearing down, or for some other reason, it was unclear.

Do you understand now that I am different from you?

I did not correct your misunderstanding at the time because I was under your protection. While asking you to spill blood for us, cutting off the lifeline of the Yoo family one by one, I did not want to burden you with another debt.

Through the truth of our birth, you formed a special empathy with me. Perhaps, through me, you tried to understand the meaning of your own existence. I did not want to shatter that sense of kinship.

Even though it was a bond you unilaterally established, I am also responsible for not correcting your assumptions during that time.

As I confess now, while I was with you, I was gradually consumed by a pain that I could not share with anyone.

As I used you like a devil to have those who shared even a drop of my blood, even if it was pretense, die or be crushed one by one at my request, I felt no sadness.

While Yoo Hyeoksu, Yoo Minseop, Yoo Hyunrak, and Kang Manseop were brutally murdered, I was with you, writhing in pleasure. I, too, was giving up on being human.

Just to survive, for Yihyun and me. That was all I thought about.

That fact occasionally tormented me. The fact that I felt no pity for those whose deaths I had practically caused, regardless of the reasons.

But if I could turn back time and go back to that moment, I would do the same thing.

I would struggle by any means not to die, become an audacious, detestable bundle of contradictions, use you again, and leave like this without warning, without confronting you and questioning anything.

Why did Kwon Siheon do it? Why did you manipulate things from behind to exclude my biological father from the May amnesty list?

So, you thought that was my doing…?

Siheon’s pupils shook violently. His hand gripping the letter twitched again.

There was only suspicion that someone had manipulated things from behind to exclude Yoo Incheol from the May amnesty list last year. The amnesty list included about seven hundred people from politics and business, and public interest in Hyoshin Construction’s downfall had nearly vanished by then.

Did you receive false evidence pointing to me? From whom?

Ha. A deflated sound escaped his lips. It was obvious how Yoo Yisoo would have thought about it.

She must have thought I left Yoo Incheol’s name off the list on purpose to keep her by my side longer. Then, believing I offered her a new contract to look forward to in August, after being disheartened by being excluded from the May list.

But Kwon Siheon did not protect my real father until the end. It was an unforeseen event, but it cannot be said that Kwon Siheon had no responsibility for his death.

His gaze returned to the front of the letter. The succinct reproach seemed to play back in Yoo Yisoo’s clear, calm voice.

You must be aware of this yourself.

That vague expression referred to what he believed was her trickery regarding the May amnesty. Siheon’s heart sank coldly.

Even if Yoo Incheol had been released in May, the possibility of him eventually dying was not small. Even then, someone would have been sent to aim a gun at him just before his release, or he would have been eliminated before August. That’s how cunning and cruel Kwak Bugyeong was behind that smiling mask.

Siheon continued to read Yoo Yisoo’s thoughts. His insides felt like they were burning as if a flame had been rekindled at the base of his heart.

Kwon Siheon might think it was just a matter of three months. Indeed, my father might have died on or shortly after his release date in May. But the chances of that not happening were also significant. The man who shot my father was in a prison in our country until just before he stowed away to Korea.

If Kwak Bugyeong had targeted my father from the beginning in August, maybe he wouldn’t have died. Because no one knows what might have happened during that time. For example, he might have gone into hiding before the assassin arrived or noticed Kang Manseop’s true nature.

No one can know how the situation might have changed.

In the end, we lost the precious time we could have spent with our father. An opportunity that money can’t buy, irreplaceable, was lost forever.

Because Kwon Siheon deliberately delayed my father’s release by three months.

Siheon’s body slowly sank. He continued reading the letter while sitting on the bed where Yoo Yisoo had lain for days. His chest heaved as if he was breathing underwater.

Of course, I couldn’t conclude that Kwon Siheon was the mastermind based solely on circumstances. My suspicions might have been wrong. Perhaps I might have asked Kwon Siheon directly if I hadn’t discovered that the two people appointed to the Special Pardon Committee in August last year were former Shinuehoe executives who still have close ties with Shinmyeong Group and had been involved in such amnesty exclusions before.

No doubt Lee Yihyun would have looked into it.

He was astonished. After all, there are not just one or two people in the upper echelons of South Korea’s legal and administrative system who have connections with Shinuehoe.

My father is already gone, and I no longer want to blame Kwon Siheon for it. Although it was in self-defense and defense, Yihyun and I also entered into that contract with you, unhesitatingly killing and eliminating our kin.

From the moment we entered that contract, Kwon Siheon and I were in an irreconcilable relationship. Blinded by our respective purposes and desires, we were only accomplices in a downward spiral, eroding each other’s humanity, nothing more than shackles that could not become anything else.

Now, I want to end this blind contract with this.

Even if you think the compensation is insufficient, I ask for your broad understanding. Please consider the time I gave myself to you as a woman over the past year and a half.

Lastly, I want to make it clear that I am not running away from Kwon Siheon. I didn’t escape from you.

Please understand that I am giving you time to marry Park Seohye as planned and adapt to your new daily life. Time to rationally accept the termination of our contract.

From now on, I hope we both live our own lives, as if we had never met.

I sincerely congratulate you on your marriage. Also, the embezzlement investigation is meant to divert your attention for a while. That’s all.

— Yoo Yisoo

Haha.

A smile crept onto Siheon’s lips.

That bitch. So that embezzlement case was your doing.

The realization that even the faint hope he had clung to, the possibility he had wished wasn’t true, was shattered, felt like his heart was burning up and turning to ashes.