CBL Ch 20

With a seemingly calm motion, he folded the letter and tucked it into his jacket pocket. Then, he drove the car himself towards Yongin.

The last image of Yoo Yisoo in her hospital gown, moving like a ghost towards the rooftop on CCTV, lingered in his mind. He felt his blood go cold.

Until he confirmed the planned malfunction of the CCTV circuit in the room and the lights out in the emergency exit stairs, he hadn’t ruled out the possibility that it was just a brief escapade. Whatever her reason, wherever she went, whatever her business, a temporary deviation from the path she would return from.

Where could that woman go? Leaving behind her only family, her twin sister, Lee Yihyun.

If she decided to disappear, there’s no telling where the fallout would land. No matter if he had gotten married and established his own family, she wouldn’t just vanish leaving Lee Yihyun within Kwon Siheon’s sphere…

How could she know what I would do.

But Yoo Yisoo had executed her disappearance with her own meticulous plan, leaving only one letter that revealed her innermost thoughts. After sending 2 billion won to the account, which was meaningless whether in his possession or not.

“I am a businessman. I never make a losing deal.”

Yoo Yisoo knew well the iron rule of Shinmyeong Group, Shinuehoe, that they never lose even a single won. That’s why she sent even that small amount, ensuring he felt some sense of compensation for the financial loss, even after being hit from behind.

Then she disappeared without a trace. This way, striking him from behind.

Ha, laughter kept escaping his lips.

“…What a daring woman. Where did she get the fabricated evidence from?”

To do this without a word, without checking the truth with the person involved directly?

His hands gripping the steering wheel were drenched in sweat. He almost drove straight through a red light without noticing.

Clicking his tongue, he slammed on the accelerator as soon as the light changed. How much time had passed when he finally turned the wheel at a familiar alley? This time, he nearly hit a street lamp at the back.

He felt as if he was possessed. A surge of emotions rose from below his neck. A warm thrill started from his heart and spread through his veins.

It felt like he had given his whole body over to anger.

＊＊＊

He already knew from immigration records that Lee Yihyun had returned alone a few hours ago. But the damn staff at the Yongin estate wouldn’t open the gate.

“I’ve told you several times, the director, his wife, and Chairman Jung are all in Japan. We don’t know when they’ll return, so please leave. I beg you.”

Siheon scoffed. The knuckles of his hand on the steering wheel were turning white.

“Director? Lee Yihyun has climbed high. That piece of shit.”

For the twin sister, who was always hiding behind her Noona, biting and clinging to her, to become a director at her father-in-law’s company and show up at his wife’s family functions. While Yoo Yisoo vanished like that.

Everything from start to finish was planned.

How much had Lee Yihyun covered for Yoo Yisoo? It couldn’t have been just hacking the hospital room’s CCTV. She must have provided temporary shelter, forged passports, and more…

“Open the gate while I’m being nice, before I break it.”

“If you keep this up, we’ll have no choice but to call the police.”

Without further ado, Siheon reversed the car. Then he rammed straight into the gate.

As he floored the accelerator as if there were no tomorrow, a deafening noise shook the quiet estate. Birds, startled, screamed like thunder and took flight all at once.

The car didn’t stop its race until one of the massive double gates was nearly torn off, screeching backward and then forward.

“What are you doing! We’ll call the police!”

The security guards, unable to bear it any longer, opened the gate from inside. At that moment, a familiar voice came from the walkie-talkie in the hand of the man at the front.

— Let the guest in.

“Director! No, we’ll handle it. You’re not in good condition right now…”

— Just let him in before someone gets hurt!

A short while later, Siheon left his car with a crumpled front end and walked leisurely through the parting security guards like the Red Sea. As he entered the house, Lee Yihyun greeted him from a wheelchair. It seemed her legs weren’t in good shape.

“I apologize. I strictly instructed no one to be let in, and the staff didn’t recognize Chairman Kwon, so I hope there’s no misunderstanding.”

“Hold on, everyone needs to hand over anything that could be used as a weapon.”

“We’re here, President!”

The room quickly turned into chaos with the late arrival of Secretary Kim Jaewon, his aides, and Lee Yihyun’s personal bodyguards. Siheon emptied his jacket pocket, dropping a lighter, cigarettes, a small Glock that fit in his palm, and a Ka-Bar knife shaped like a fountain pen onto the floor.

Now, there was no need for even a moment to prepare intimidation; nothing but his bare hands was necessary. If need be, anything he wore could become a weapon, like this tie.

“Everyone, get out.”

Only after loosening the tie that was constricting his throat did Siheon remain alone with Lee Yihyun in the study. Lee Yihyun, seemingly prepared, opened his mouth.

“Yisoo isn’t here.”

“Did you think I came expecting her to be?”

“I don’t know where Yisoo is or how long she’ll be gone. I’m sorry I can’t be of help.”

His face was as hard as stone, set with determination, yet his frail, youthful appearance still held a boyish, novice-like quality.

The eyes, so much like the damn Yoo Yisoo, met his head-on.

“You’ve got some guts coming here alone. Yisoo must have begged you to hide in Japan while you had the chance.”

It seemed he had managed to come alone under the guise of work, without telling Jung Sera or Chairman Jung anything.

“Yes. Until the very moment Yisoo decided to act… she was only worried about me, just as I worried about her. But I couldn’t not come. Even if it was just to make sure you let go of Kwon Siheon.”

His eyes were red as he staggered up from the wheelchair. Siheon approached silently, standing over him, his imposing figure filled with clear murderous intent.

“Since you’ve read the letter Yisoo left, I won’t add more.”

Without responding, Siheon reached out. In the blink of an eye, he had Lee Yihyun by the collar. Up close, he looked even more like Yoo Yisoo. His retinas itched maddeningly.

The hand gripping the collar moved up to clutch his throat. Even the feel of the slender neck was similar to that of his sister’s.

A strange sensation of floating enveloped his entire body, as if his mind and body had separated. It was truly strange; even though he seemed to exert no force, Lee Yihyun’s face contorted in agony. Despite the immense weight in his hand, he felt nothing.

“Tell me. Where is Yoo Yisoo?”

“I… I told you… I know nothing… Ugh!”

He sensed it wasn’t a lie. Yoo Yisoo hadn’t told her twin sister her destination to avoid implicating her. Lee Yihyun’s role must have been to transfer 2 billion won to the account and mess with the hospital CCTV, nothing more.

“What about setting up her escape? Are you ready for the consequences?”

“Gr… ugh…”

His hand ached to gouge out those eyes that resembled Yoo Yisoo’s. But before that, Lee Yihyun might strangle to death. He was leaning against the wall, his limbs flailing helplessly.

The approaching death clung to each of his knuckles. Just before Lee Yihyun’s eyes rolled back, Yoo Yisoo’s warning came to mind.

If anything happens to Yihyun, I doubt I would remain safe, and I would never forgive you.

His hand, with veins bulging, suddenly loosened. While Lee Yihyun coughed painfully and collapsed, Siheon stared at the mirror across the wall.

His face, as cold as marble, was filled with killing intent. The target of that impulse was not the man sprawled before him but the woman who looked like him.

“Even if 2 billion isn’t enough, we… no, Yisoo has paid enough! You bastard…”

Lee Yihyun looked up at him, struggling for breath, his face as blue as if he had just been pulled from drowning, the marks of Siheon’s fingers clear on his neck. If it weren’t for that sentence in the letter, he might have killed him.

“What kind of brother would watch his sister live as the mistress of a man about to get married? After how our Yisoo has lived, to be chained to a scum like you…”

As if forgetting he had nearly died moments ago, Lee Yihyun spoke fluently, with eyes and lips identical to Yoo Yisoo’s.

“To expect her to continue being your mistress even after marriage. You’re a crazy piece of trash. How cheaply did you think of our Yisoo?”

Lee Yihyun showed no hesitation in expressing his loathing, like a herbivore caught in a trap making its last stand.

“Do you even know how we lived in that house? Especially Yisoo… she lived like a servant in that damn house from childhood. Whenever Yoo Namcheol would neglect my medical bills out of stinginess, Yisoo took care of me. She lived with guilt because of my legs… Now that Kwak Bugyeong is gone, there was only happiness left, but to let her be bound by a bastard like you as a concubine?”

“I didn’t know. That Yoo Yisoo grew up so miserably in that luxurious house.”

Siheon closed his eyes tightly, showing some semblance of regret or reflection. But there was no hesitation as he reached out to grab the leg stand next to the table.

“Then…”

The next moment, he yanked out the leg and slammed it into the mirror reflecting his wretched self. The heavy body of the Devialet speaker bounced like a shot put, ricocheting off the floor and sweeping through the decorative cabinet.

“Shouldn’t you be thanking me even more?”

“Director Yoo! Are you okay?”

As the noise of things crashing echoed, Lee Yihyun’s servants pounded on the door, but the locked door wouldn’t open easily.

“I’m fine, leave us! We’re talking.”

“But, Director…!”

Despite Lee Yihyun stopping the guards outside, the commotion didn’t subside. Siheon, regardless of the noise outside, spoke in a low voice, saying only what he wanted to.

“Having lived in such a wretched environment, she should have been grateful for the environment I provided. Thanking me for what I’ve given and what I could still give.”

He could give her anything she wanted. Money, land, anything she desired. As long as she stayed in the place where she should be. As long as she was by his side.

“I told her not to stab me in the back like that.”

Ha ha, Siheon laughed loudly. It was a terrifying smile, one that would be better to see weeping.

“The blood I’ve stained my hands with for you two, was its value so little?”

Hmm? He dropped the leg part he was holding and took a step towards Lee Yihyun.

“…Don’t spout bullshit, Kwon Siheon.”

Lee Yihyun stepped back, wiping his chin with the back of his hand. A red line had formed where the mirror shards had grazed him.

“Acting like you’re entirely on our side while pulling strings behind our backs…”

His eyes, glaring at him with clenched fists, didn’t look like those of a sick person. It was quite strange. The more Lee Yihyun showed anger, the more he resembled Yoo Yisoo.

That woman had never bared her teeth or sharpened her claws like Lee Yihyun was doing now.

Was even that gentleness an act?

As his murderous intent surged again, Siheon clenched his teeth. Where did the truth end and the lies begin? Were all those times she said she liked him, from New York onwards, all lies?

If he could only know the truth, he felt he could lose all his molars. If he could bring Yoo Yisoo in front of him right now to hear the answer directly.

“Why did you do it? Why exclude my father from the special amnesty list in May! You manipulated things so he’d be left out on purpose, then acted like you were doing us a favor by promising his release in August, deceiving and mocking people!”

“It wasn’t me. Speak after you know the facts.”

“Don’t make me laugh! Yisoo heard everything!”

‘How about Kwon Siheon? Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?’

At Lee Yihyun’s shout, a moment from the past suddenly became clear in his mind.

Ah, wait.

The memory of Yoo Yisoo’s monologue raced through his mind and stopped at one point. It was after Kwak Bugyeong was arrested as the president-elect, when Yoo Yisoo was bedridden for a week from the shock of Kang Manseop’s true nature being revealed.

With a face that couldn’t even eat porridge, she thanked him for dealing with Kwak Bugyeong and Kang Manseop. She openly admitted that Lee Yihyun was an OSCP holder and a white-hat hacker, and then what did she say?

‘I didn’t plan to hide it. Yihyun didn’t want it to be revealed, so I respected that opinion, but now I was thinking of telling Kwon Siheon…’

‘It doesn’t matter. We both had things we were hiding from each other.’

Until the time came when Kwon Woohyuk and Choi Bokhyun would use the evidence they had on Yoo Namcheol to strike at Kwak Bugyeong, he had kept silent about everything to Yoo Yisoo. Just as she had hidden Lee Yihyun’s identity. That’s why he said they were even…

‘How about Kwon Siheon?’

Yoo Yisoo asked in a voice as calm as the surface of a lake.

‘Besides that… are you hiding anything else from me?’

‘Do you want there to be more?’

It felt like he had been hit hard on the back of the head with a blunt object.

A few days before that conversation, while looking at the sleeping Yoo Yisoo for a long time, he received a call from a long-time client of Shinuehoe. The call on the hospital room balcony lasted less than five minutes.

‘As requested, Vice Chairman Kim Gilsoo will be excluded from the special amnesty in May. Of course, if you wish, he can be left out of the August, year-end, or New Year’s amnesty as well. Just give us the order whenever you want. Also, for a cleaner job, please inform us in advance if possible.’

The last words added before hanging up surfaced.

‘Last May, we had some trouble suddenly removing someone from the list. No, it wasn’t politics. It was from a fallen construction family… Yes, it seems you need to go. Then.’

The call ended there due to an urgent call from a client looking for him. It was about the eldest son of H Construction Group, who was arrested after a big fuss over PF default two years ago. Amidst the complex interests among siblings due to inheritance, there was a request to exclude the eldest son from the amnesty list.

The amnesty list, managed with presidential favor, usually included quite a number, from five hundred to a thousand people, and aside from major figures in politics and business, the rest were barely noticeable. At that time, Siheon agreed to it with a substantial fee.

And in August, he worked behind the scenes to include Yoo Incheol’s name on the amnesty list, which had been omitted in May, to keep his promise to Yoo Yisoo.

“Don’t deny it until the end, Kwon Siheon.”

Lee Yihyun’s ragged breathing cut through Siheon’s thoughts.

“I found out that both the head of the parole review board and the inspector appointed were Shinmyeong executives. Yisoo knows that fact too…”

“I told you, it wasn’t me.”

“Fuck.” With a curse, he grabbed Lee Yihyun’s collar again. His clear eyes were still filled with suspicion, distrust, hatred, and contempt.

“I didn’t know why, how, or by whom he was omitted. Since he was going to be released for sure three months later, I didn’t care.”

“How could I… how could Yisoo believe that? From someone as vile as you, capable of any manipulation.”

Ha ha, Siheon laughed at the unfiltered criticism. His fingertips twitched with the urge to gouge out those eyes.

They were truly a pair of damn siblings. It would have been simple to gouge out their eyes and kill them out of anger, but the fact that he couldn’t was frustrating.

“Yisoo… she dreamed of the days when all three of us could live as a family, even if just for a few days.”

Even with his collar gripped tight, Lee Yihyun spoke fearlessly. Usually, when Siheon showed this level of murderous intent, people would be paralyzed with fear.

“If Father had been released in May as planned, if we could have had just one proper meal together, calling him Father, even if just for a moment, if we could have had a conversation we missed out on all these years as father and daughter… then even if Kwak Bugyeong had gotten to him, that would have been an irreplaceable memory for Yisoo.”

“…”

“Until now, there was no chance because of Yoo Namcheol. Even before Hyoshin completely fell apart and the family scattered, Yisoo always wanted to escape that house. With me. And with our deceased mother’s share, to live with our father… But you, Kwon Siheon, you took that opportunity away. Forever!”

Lee Yihyun was now completely overwhelmed by his emotions, tears streaming down his face.

“Despite all you did to protect us… Yisoo will never forgive you. Including your attempt to keep her as your mistress.”

“Shut your mouth before I rip out your tongue.”

At Siheon’s low command, Lee Yihyun’s mouth clamped shut. It seemed fear had finally kicked in.

To keep denying it while still wagging his tongue was astonishing. They were a pair of ungrateful siblings. When he was acting like a devil at Yoo Yisoo’s behest to kill one by one, now they don’t believe in his innocence because of that devilish nature.

“The one I excluded from last May’s presidential amnesty list was Park Hyunsoo, the eldest son of H Construction Group. Use your hacking skills to check if I’m lying.”

“…”

“I’ll concede that with the information you got from that call, you might have misunderstood it was Yoo Incheol. But then you should have asked me directly.”

“Even if you had nothing to do with Father’s amnesty list, Yisoo has more than enough reason to escape from a piece of trash like you.”

“…”

“Yisoo needs to end things with you here. Our Yisoo…”

“Our Yisoo, Yisoo. Shut up, will you? How long will you parade around with this damn sibling act?”

One hand grabbed Lee Yihyun’s throat again. With a force like a cold chain tightening, Lee Yihyun blinked. Siheon leaned in close and sneered.

“Since I’ve been hit in the back of the head like this, I don’t know what I’ll do now. Who will get their blood on my hands next.”

Lee Yihyun’s jaw trembled. Siheon slowly applied pressure with the hand on his throat.

“Whether it’s wiretapping, recording, or spying, if you pull any more tricks with that pathetic hacking of yours, I’ll make sure both your legs are completely useless. With your half-assed information, you couldn’t even get close to the truth.”

“Ugh…!”

“Remember this. If you want to see your Noona again in your lifetime…”

The redness around his neck spread upwards like a rash. Lee Yihyun was genuinely terrified, the fear of possibly being strangled to death clear in his slightly opened eyes.

“Don’t worry. I won’t touch you, Lee Yihyun. That was Yoo Yisoo’s wish. Instead…”

As he released the grip on his neck, Siheon’s tone softened.

Lee Yihyun’s delicate face began to twist in pain as his bones were contorted. He seemed to want to scream, but no sound came out because his throat was tightly blocked.

“I won’t let Yoo Yisoo off easy.”

“What… did you say…?”

“If I catch her, I plan to gouge out her eyes, pull out her tongue, and make her limbs useless.”

“Huh… ugh!”

“She should have died in Hong Kong like Yoo Yijin, shot to death. She’ll regret her life so much that she’ll wish she had.”

With a crunching sound, Lee Yihyun’s wrist twisted. Siheon calmly supported the wrist and forced the dislocated bone back into place. This time, a piercing scream escaped.

“Be glad you’re not her sister. If you were a woman and looked more like Yoo Yisoo, I might have torn your face apart while you were still alive.”

“Huh… ugh…”

Instead of an answer, only groans that seemed to rummage through his guts came out.

“Keep your mouth shut from now on, Lee Yihyun. Wherever Yoo Yisoo is, whether you contact her or not, I’ll find out on my own.”

“Director!” The door banged again at the sound of the scream.

“If you manage to contact her, make sure to tell her. Tell her to hide really well.”

“…Don’t look for her…”

“That’ll make finding her even more rewarding, won’t it?”

“I’m telling you not to look for her, you bastard!”

Lee Yihyun, exhaling sharply, squeezed out a warning. Despite the pain from his dislocated bone, he showed a resilience similar to his sister’s.

“I convinced Yisoo! To leave, to live free from you!”

“Don’t make me laugh, Lee Yihyun.”

Siheon chuckled again. Now that he had been kicked hard, he could see Yoo Yisoo’s true nature clearly.

On the surface, she might seem weak, but inside, she was much stronger and tougher than Lee Yihyun. That was the woman, Yoo Yisoo.

“You would have tried to stop her. It’s as clear as day. Don’t speak out of turn anymore. Before I rip out your tongue raw.”

“Don’t touch Yisoo. Please. I beg you. I’ll do anything, please…”

‘Don’t leave. I don’t want to be alone. So… stay with me.’

Lee Yihyun now began to beg, bowing his head. Over that pitiful face, he could see his sister. Despite plotting to betray and escape, she shamelessly asked him to stay because she was cold.

‘If Kwon Siheon stays with me, I won’t feel cold. Just like my headaches subside when I see Kwon Siheon.’

“Listen well. From this moment, you’ll have surveillance on you twenty-four hours a day. No matter what Lee Yihyun does, my eyes and ears will catch it relentlessly.”

Siheon’s chilling eyes quickly scanned the spacious room. No laptop, tablet PC, or phone was in sight. He must have anticipated that anything would either be destroyed or taken by him, so he wouldn’t have brought them here.

“Please leave Yisoo alone now. Leave her be! She’s already paid enough…! Punish me instead, me!”

“Don’t worry. If Yoo Yisoo isn’t caught within a month, I’ll do as you wish.”

If she never shows up, he planned to take Lee Yihyun and keep him by his side, regardless of any warnings. After meeting Lee Yihyun, he now had a clear idea of what Yoo Yisoo had calculated.

She probably thought that once his marriage to Park Seohye was set and he settled down, she would be forgotten.

But what can you do? The marriage was postponed, and even if it had gone as planned, he had no intention of letting her escape like this.

“Leave Yisoo alone, please…! I’ll give you the royalties from all the technology I’ll develop for the rest of my life. No, I’ll give you shares in RapidFlare…”

“How much would that be? 10 billion? 20 billion? Listen. That or the 2 billion you put in your account, it’s all petty cash. It wouldn’t matter if I threw it all into the Han River.”

“…”

“If you manage to contact Yoo Yisoo, make sure to tell her. Tell her to hide well.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the door burst open. Guards rushed in to check on Lee Yihyun’s condition.

Siheon walked past Secretary Kim Jaewon and the aides who approached Lee Yihyun, making his way out of the house. Through his blurred vision, he saw the gate he had damaged, the car with broken headlights and a crushed bumper.

He opened the car door as if it were in the same condition as before and got into the driver’s seat. But he couldn’t move forward as the aides quickly blocked his way.

“President, you can’t drive with broken headlights! I’ll take you in another car.”

Siheon sat there dazed for a moment before getting out of the car. When he got into the sedan brought by Secretary Kim and started to leave the property, he noticed the blood clots on his knuckles and wrist. These were from when he dismantled the leg stand and smashed the mirror.

“President, Yoo Yisoo…”

“Find her.”

His voice didn’t come out well. His tongue felt dry and cracked in his mouth.

“Finding one woman isn’t a big deal, is it?”

“We’ll start the search immediately. We’ll also increase surveillance around Lee Yihyun several times over and implement twenty-four-hour on and off monitoring.”

Kim Jaewon’s voice sounded like it was coming from far away, his ears ringing. His head felt like it was about to split open. A dull drumming sound kept echoing, and it felt like a red-hot skewer was constantly stabbing into his brain.

The skewer turned into the voice of the woman who had whispered pitifully to him in the hospital room right after Kang Manseop’s execution.

“So… will you hold me?”

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.

Ha ha, a sound like air escaping from his lips came out. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.

While harboring such resentment and grinding her teeth in secret, she asked him to stay by her side because she was cold… to hold her. Was she extending her hand with such a pitiful look in her eyes?

“President, it seems you need to respond to the prosecutor’s summons regarding the embezzlement case at our company.”

“I was planning on it anyway. Let’s go to the office.”

There won’t be any changes in the outcome, but it’s an unspoken rule to at least appear cooperative on the surface. He let out another hollow laugh at the tricks played by Yoo Yisoo and Lee Yihyun to tie him down with this investigation, thinking they could buy their escape with just that.

“If the search for Yoo Yisoo slows down, use that method. Like we did with the B Group guys.”

“What? But that’s… Yes, understood.”

Kim Jaewon looked shocked for a moment before returning to his usual tone. Through the car window, the sky was gradually turning cloudy. It was the kind of clouds that would bring summer showers.

“I like Siheon. My feelings have always been the same.”

But more than anything, what dealt Kwon Siheon the fatal blow was Yoo Yisoo’s heart.

He realized it now. She had only ever confessed her feelings for him as if it were a new revelation each time, but she never once asked.

About his feelings. She never tried to confirm whether he liked her or what exactly his feelings were. Not even once. She never attempted to check whether he liked or loved her, or what the reality of his emotions was. This meant one thing.

Yoo Yisoo did not like him.

She was never sincere, not even for a moment from the beginning.

Siheon brushed back his disheveled hair with his cold hand. The sound of raindrops hitting the windowsill, tap, tap, weighed heavily on his eyelids.

Now, the truth was beginning to take shape before his eyes. The remnants of the past, filled with lies, pretense, and deception, flashed by quickly like an afterimage before stopping.

In this contract, he was the loser. As Yoo Yisoo had said, he was the one who had miserably lost in this blind beasts’ contract.

The feeling of having to admit such a crushing defeat was indescribably bitter and miserable. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it hurt a little. He would pay it back a hundredfold eventually.

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

The nonsense she added at the end of the letter like a postscript came to mind.

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.

All sorts of curses hovered on the tip of his tongue. An ungrateful wretch who doesn’t know kindness. A damn woman who hit him from behind. A rat-like…

To let go of a woman who left him in such a wretched state, thrown into the mud like this. That would never happen.

＊＊＊

The marriage being postponed again was almost like a divine favor.

While he was constantly visiting the prosecutor’s office, guarding himself, nothing else was visible or audible except for one person. He was too busy mentally tearing Yoo Yisoo, the one who shackled him, to pieces over and over again each day to care about anything else.

Fortunately, the bride-to-be was spending good time in the hospital without him. There were too many photos of Park Seohye with a man in his early twenties to count.

After breaking up with her soulmate, a fellow violinist, she had started seeing this new model and aspiring entertainer. Whether it was because of his skills or genuine affection for Park Seohye, this partner seemed to stick around for quite a while.

Some days, the man would enter Park Seohye’s hospital room dressed as a bodyguard, and other times he would act as a caretaker, pushing her wheelchair. The antics inside the hospital room were so numerous that even looking through them all made his eyes hurt.

Siheon called for Kim Jaewon and instructed him to deeply embed the original files in the secretarial office’s cloud server. These were important documents that might be useful sometime.

“How about Lee Yihyun? Still not coming out?”

“Yes. He hasn’t left the house in Yongin with Jung Sera since they returned. Chairman Jung is still in the U.S., unaware of this matter.”

The third week of August, it was the seventh day since Yoo Yisoo’s escape. Everything was as expected; she had prepared thoroughly to avoid being caught. But how long could that last?

South Korea, surrounded by sea on three sides, has a geographical advantage for both entering and leaving. Creating a fake passport was as easy as eating cold porridge, and the ports on all three sides were always open for sea routes. Just the number of illegal immigrants attempting to enter through Busan Port alone was in the dozens each day.

Yoo Yisoo.

With a face showing no cracks, Siheon scanned through the documents detailing the search status.

Please, just stay alive. Safely.

He had never wished for someone’s safety so desperately. Her gentle and beautiful features like a painting, clear skin, plump lips, slender frame, and long limbs. The sensual curves and fair skin hidden under her clothes. The clear, innocent eyes under long eyelashes.

He hoped all of that would remain the same as the afterimages in his memory. So he could break and tear them apart one by one.

＊＊＊

‘I don’t know what she’s thinking. At first, she seemed dignified and quiet, which was comfortable, but sometimes she seemed too much like an adult, which made her a bit scary.’

‘Doesn’t she seem a bit gloomy? Her expression is so blank, like a beautiful porcelain doll. Even though she grew up loved in a rich family, why does she look so dark, like she has some story?’

‘Yoo Yisoo kind of creeps me out. She doesn’t smile much, why is she like that? Let’s not include her.’

The gossip from teachers at the private elementary school and arts academy attended by children of the upper class, and from her peers, was something she had grown used to. She soon quit the academy. Being at home with Yihyun, who couldn’t join her because of his condition, was better anyway.

From a very young age, she had learned to suppress her emotions to avoid getting hurt. Protecting herself was secondary; ensuring her smaller, weaker twin brother didn’t get hurt was easier.

Na Eunhye, Yoo Namcheol’s wife, knew that both Yihyun and Yisoo were born from an affair between Yoo Namcheol and the female secretary Lee Jiwon. She could have been hateful and spiteful, but unlike in dramas or books, she didn’t scold or belittle them.

The legal mother showed no interest in the twins, pouring all her affection into Yoo Yikyung, the youngest child she had given birth to. The chairman couple was a show of political marriage, devoid of any real affection between them.

Yisoo and Yihyun lived under the occasional tyranny of their legal father, Yoo Namcheol, and their eldest brother, Yoo Yongjin, almost like they were invisible. Thus, not showing emotions had long become a habit ingrained in them. Even for someone like Jung Sera, who had been toughened from childhood, it wasn’t surprising.

‘Do you think you should act like a well-behaved dog now?’

‘Your body, from head to toe, is entirely under my control. Right? Including Lee Yihyun’s share.’

‘Until Yoo Incheol is released as you wish and everything is settled, you’ll be circling around me, taking my cock every day, living while clinging to your pussy.’

‘When I tell you to spread your legs, you spread them wide. When I say to bend over, you quietly do so, sticking your ass up. And when I put it in front of your mouth… it’s polite to open up and take it in first, isn’t it?’

That’s why even when Kwon Siheon initially treated her like a prostitute and was rude, she didn’t resist. She suppressed feelings of misery, humiliation, and self-loathing, showing nothing outwardly.

Even when he openly declared his intention to maintain an inappropriate relationship with her after marrying Park Seohye under the guise of a contract. Even when he made calls about honeymoon plans and wedding preparations in front of her before and after sex without any hesitation. She could remain detached in any situation.

“Jiwon, could you do this on your way as well? These are medications for the patients in the same ward.”

“Yes. Is there anything else you need?”

“Just do that and take a break. While the elders are gathered at the arcade, you should rest a bit. You don’t even get a real break.”

“Yes, I’m resting when I can. Thank you.”

Yisoo gave a slight smile to the team leader caregiver and pulled the tray. On the way to the room, voices kept calling out to her, recognizing her – Jiwon, caregiver, Ms. Jiwon.

Just a month ago, there were rumors about why such a young woman was here, if she was hiding from some crime, but now everyone treated her warmly.

Despite being a volunteer, she worked as diligently as any employee, even handling the menial tasks that most men would avoid.

This small facility, which was both a nursing home and a convalescent home, was operated by Jeon Eunmi, who used to be Yihyun’s live-in caregiver and now worked as a social worker under private management. Being in a remote area, most residents were local, making it an ideal place to hide quietly.

She had only changed her name to Yoo Jiwon, but the caregiver certificate she had obtained as a precaution when she took care of Yihyun was not forged. When she acquired it in her early teens, she was the youngest, but now even elementary school students occasionally pass.

‘I’m sorry for causing trouble, Director. I’ll only stay here until the end of this year.’

Even though she was officially a volunteer, using an alias and being an unofficial staff member could potentially put the former director in an awkward position. Especially since she was living there, receiving room and board in the annex.

‘What trouble! Stay as long as you want, Yisoo. But it would be better for you to leave soon… you’re in your prime, so beautiful, yet wasting your time stuck here. It’s a relief you’re just looking for a temporary place to stay, not because you have nowhere else to go.’

The former director, as warm and kind as ever, clicked her tongue. The only person who knew she was Yoo Yisoo was her.

The administrative manager, Mun, who was the cousin of the former director and handled all the administrative work, showed curiosity about her story and had come to his own conclusion one day.

‘The director told me not to ask about your private life, but… is it a man problem?’

‘What? That’s…’

Caught off guard while hanging up laundry, she had no time to manage her expression, thinking of Kwon Siheon.

‘Oh, I knew it, I knew it! No matter how I looked at you, you didn’t seem like someone who lived recklessly. Even without Unnie telling me, your appearance, speech, and aura are all so refined and noble… how did it come to this?’

She had no chance to deny it immediately. Mun left at the director’s call, and after some time passed, making excuses felt ridiculous. It wasn’t wrong to say she was hiding there because of a man.

He would have married as planned, gone on his honeymoon, and now be living with Park Seohye in a perfectly prepared marital home. Even now, he might be preoccupied with the embezzlement investigation, but eventually, it would be resolved quietly.

She didn’t know if he had gone berserk with anger towards her or if, contrary to expectation, it hadn’t affected him much. She didn’t read newspapers, browse the internet, or watch TV. All she did was check Yihyun’s secret overseas SNS account to confirm their safety.

Yihyun

We’re fine. K came once but that was all. Don’t worry about anything and take care, Yisoo. Contact me immediately if anything happens.

No matter how tightly they monitored Yihyun, they couldn’t find out about the secret overseas SNS account based on a virtual identity. Even if it were Kwon Siheon, it wouldn’t be easy.

A month had passed, but she hadn’t completely escaped the shadow of Kwon Siheon. Sometimes, the time spent with him felt like a dream or a nightmare, lingering like waves on the horizon beyond the window.

Of course, it was neither a dream nor an illusion. The dark knots of emotion that made her feel infinitely wretched and pathetic every time she thought of those times proved their reality.

She hated Kwon Siheon with a shiver. She felt she wouldn’t mind if he died.

Just as she had stained her hands with countless others’ blood, it wouldn’t matter to her if he met the same fate. She hoped he would become very unhappy even if he didn’t die.

At the same time, she didn’t want him to die. Whenever it might be, she wanted to meet him again when he was at his happiest or unhappiest, to receive his apology.

You told me not to betray you, yet you deceived me well, Kwon Siheon.

That shameless proposal of secretly excluding my biological father from the special amnesty list, then promising his release in August as if doing us a favor.

She had to receive an apology for that deception. Only then might the pain tightly knotted in her heart begin to loosen.