DDB Ch 9

Upon entering her room, she hummed a tune while changing her clothes. But then she paused, her gaze caught by her reflection in the mirror.

Giggling.

Her smiling face looked unfamiliar, as if wondering what was so good.

The fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, the beautifully curved corners of her mouth, the glossy lips, and the eyes full of excitement…

It was clearly her face, yet it seemed like she was seeing it for the first time.

She had lived for 27 years, so she must have made such an expression at least once, but it was not remembered in her mind.

Because her memories before arriving in Florence, led by her grandmother, eight years ago were fragmented, like someone had deliberately erased them, making them a complete mess.

Firstly, she couldn’t remember her parents’ faces, and when she thought of her grandmother, no particular emotion arose.

She knew her parents had passed away, but she couldn’t remember how it happened.

What’s more, the memories right before coming to Florence were completely gone, leaving a gap of nearly two years in her life.

“It might not be post-traumatic stress disorder…”

That was what the counselor said.

Post-traumatic stress disorder?

She asked what kind of trauma could erase a whole part of her memory, but the counselor couldn’t provide an answer.

“You look unfamiliar, you.”

Jiwoon reached out to touch her reflection in the mirror. The image of a woman with flushed cheeks and eyes full of excitement, dressed in nice clothes and standing properly like a well-mannered lady.

If she hadn’t known it was her, she would have thought it was a very neat and pretty young lady. The realization made her snap back to reality.

A pretty young lady…

It was like that eight years ago too.

The restorers at the workshop were so kind to her, enchanted by her appearance.

But it took less than a year for their illusion to shatter.

The beautiful lady from the East turned into a mad Eastern girl obsessed with painting, and the compliments about her beauty quickly turned into admonishments to stop showing off.

“So, to Baek Ishin, I must always appear beautiful. I can’t let him see that I’m half-crazy. Absolutely not.”

If she gets kicked out from here… she would lose sleep for good.

Then I might not just be half-crazy, but completely mad.

The eyes of the pretty, well-mannered lady in the mirror were filled with an obsessive madness.

“Do well.”

Curling her lips into a gentle smile, Jiwoon put on the dark gray coat and hurried out of the room.

🐬🌊🐳

Ishin, leaning against the window of the study on the first floor of the mansion, was receiving a report from Sang-du with his head tilted slightly.

“The master of Giovanni’s workshop is still in Hong Kong, which is the transit point.”

“Still?”

Ishin, still looking out the window, furrowed his brows.

“Yes, he hasn’t boarded the connecting flight, possibly to negotiate the contract amount. This morning, Director Oh Kyung-seok sent Go Mi-seung to Hong Kong.”

“Go Mi-seung went personally? … That’s unexpected.”

Go Mi-seung would prefer the vault to never open.

“And since last night, they’ve placed people at the apartment in Ichon-dong owned by Shin Myungja, where Seo Jiwoon was staying.”

At Sang-du’s words, Ishin scoffed.

“Our Director Oh is late again.”

Ishin only had his ears open to Sang-du while his eyes remained fixed outside the window. In the garden, where heavy snow was falling, Jiwoon was busy making a snowman with Shanty.

When she first appeared in the garden, she was like a well-mannered lady, taking a delicate walk and quietly observing her surroundings, but after touching the snow on the bench, she started acting like a mischievous child.

Without realizing it, Ishin’s lips curled into a lazy smile. Even though the edge of her coat was getting soaked with snow, her squatting down and playing with the snow looked simply innocent.

As Ishin watched Jiwoon in silence, Sang-du also glanced outside over Ishin’s shoulder.

“Sir, over there?”

“Why.”

His gaze remained unchanged even as he answered.

“Are you going to keep Seo Jiwoon here like this?”

“Is there a problem?”

At that moment, Ishin’s eyebrows shot up because Jiwoon had just slipped and fallen forward.

“They’re always a step behind, but they’re not completely inept. Sooner or later…”

“They’ll find out that the technician they’re desperately looking for is in my hands. They’ll be shocked.”

Ishin answered quickly, clicking his tongue before moving away from the window.

“That’s for me to handle, so Chief Cho should…”

Ishin roughly took off his coat hanging on the rack and walked towards the study door.

“Continue with what you’re doing. Report everything promptly.”

Then he left the study.

🐬🌊🐳

Florence, where she lived, rarely saw snow. Even in winter, days when the temperature dropped below zero were rare.

Due to the Mediterranean climate, the rainy season starts from November, but because the temperatures are high, even when it snows, it’s mixed with rain, so snow rarely accumulates.

Just before returning to Korea, it did snow in Florence, but it was just a light flurry that melted away quickly, leaving her disappointed.

However, in Korea, it was already snowing heavily in early December, with no time for it to melt before more accumulated. This was quite fascinating.

Watching the snow turn the world white in the blink of an eye, Jiwoon opened her mouth in awe.

Somewhere in her malfunctioning mind, there must have been memories of days when snow fell like this, but she couldn’t remember when or with whom.

Feeling inexplicably heavy-hearted and with a vague pain in her chest, she couldn’t help but rush out into the garden.

Despite not remembering anything, the way her heart beat unusually, as if there was something she should remember tied to the snow, was perplexing.

The frustration made her lips twist bitterly, yet it didn’t spoil her mood.

She liked the overcast sky covered with snow.

She enjoyed leaving footprints in the pristine snow with her black shoes, and the sound of the snow crunching under her steps was pleasing.

What was this?

Why did this memory feel so nostalgically familiar?

Jiwoon looked down at her shoes stepping on the snow. Over her elegant black pumps, she saw a vision of white sneakers, and black sneakers walking beside them.

Perhaps these were fragments preserved in her jumbled, chaotic memory.

Thinking this, Jiwoon lifted her head to look at the sky, spreading her arms wide like wings.

Huu-, ha-.

She took a deep breath, then exhaled long and slowly. Behind her, Shanty approached.

“No, if you walk that fast… what would you do if you slipped on the snow?”

Shanty, out of breath, bent over to catch his breath.

He’s forty-five, but his physical age might be sixty. Shanty’s stamina was indeed poor. To be panting after just that little bit of running.

“I’ll be careful not to slip. I know roughly how much these clothes cost… so I’m being careful.”

Although she wasn’t sure, she knew the coat she was wearing must cost several million won. If it was that expensive in Italy, it would surely be even pricier in Korea.

While clothes don’t define a person’s dignity, they certainly dictate one’s range of actions.

Jiwoon straightened her back, speaking like a proper lady.

“Then shall we walk slowly?”

Thus began their walk.

With Shanty holding an umbrella above her head, they slowly walked towards the lake visible in the distance.

After about twenty steps, Jiwoon suddenly asked the question that had been tickling her lips with curiosity.

“Where is he?”

“…?”

Perhaps because Jiwoon’s voice was drowned out by the sound of heavy snow hitting the umbrella, Shanty looked at her with wide eyes.

“Pardon?”

“Baek Ishin. I was wondering where he went.”

She didn’t know exactly what day or date it was, but she was curious about his daily routine. Did he always eat breakfast at that time? Was he at work now? If so, what kind of work did he do?

“Ah, Director Baek is probably in the study receiving a report from Chief Cho.”

“The study?”

Director Baek, Chief Cho, work report…

So, he’s here right now?

Jiwoon tilted her head back to look at the path she had walked.