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chapter 38
Yeonseo carefully moved past the hotel front desk staff, glancing at them discreetly.
Since it was an old hotel, there weren’t many employees at the front desk. The one remaining staff member looked bored, staring down at their phone. That was fortunate for Yeonseo.
She went straight to the emergency exit door and slipped inside. The peculiar humming silence of the stairwell echoed around her.
Wiping the cold sweat from her forehead, Yeonseo cautiously climbed the stairs. Step by step, time seemed to drag endlessly. Her heart pounded uncontrollably as she ascended.
By the time she reached the 12th floor, her body was already stiff with tension, even though nothing had started yet.
She cracked the heavy exit door open and peered into the hallway. It was the same as ever: the smell of the old carpet, dust floating in the air, and a dreary atmosphere.
Silence lingered in the deserted corridor.
1208.
She repeated the room number printed on the card key in her hand.
Standing before room 1208, Yeonseo closed her eyes briefly before lifting her gaze. Making sure no one was around, she walked straight to the door.
She pressed her ear against the hotel room door, holding her breath. Inside, there was no sound. Considering the poor soundproofing of such an old, secluded hotel, it was safe to assume the room was empty.
Still, her nerves tightened as she swiped the card key.
Beep—!
The door unlocked.
Yeonseo stepped inside carefully and closed the door behind her, slowly turning her head to scan the room.
No one’s here. Thank goodness.
Hoping she would find solid evidence inside, she immediately began searching.
She had little time and little chance. If she missed this opportunity, she might never be able to return. She had to uncover proof here and now.
She checked behind frames and rummaged through drawers, but nothing stood out.
Anxiety crept in, her mouth went dry, and dizziness clouded her head. Having eaten nothing, even anemia seemed to be setting in. Her vision spun, and sweat trickled down.
Then her staggering body brushed against the nightstand, knocking over the plaster statue sitting on top.
Clatter—!
“No!”
The shattering crash overlapped with Yeonseo’s cry.
It was the same bust she had seen last time at the hotel—the sculpture of Geum Seon-ae’s nude figure in her youth.
As she stared at the broken statue, regret and helplessness overwhelmed her.
“What… what do I do….”
She hurriedly stuffed the broken pieces into her bag. Gathering the shattered fragments wasn’t easy.
Her hands were cut in the process, but it hardly mattered now.
She scrubbed the bloodstains off the floor with tissues, and an unbearable fatigue swept over her. Her legs trembled against her will.
As she packed the last pieces, something caught her eye—something faintly glimmering.
“A necklace?”
Hidden inside the statue was a necklace.
Its pendant was studded with blue sapphires. On closer look, the design suggested it could split into two parts.
Yeonseo grasped the pendant with both hands and pulled.
“Ha.”
Goosebumps ran down her slender arms.
It wasn’t an ordinary necklace.
When separated, the pendant revealed a connection port—clearly a USB drive.
What could be inside this USB that someone would go to such lengths to hide it? If it contained something tied to her grandmother’s death….
Yeonseo hastily shoved the necklace into her pocket and glanced around again. She could think of nothing but checking the USB’s contents.
Just then, a sharp woman’s voice sounded from outside the door.
“—Do you know who I am? I’m not leaving this place!”
The moment Yeonseo recognized the voice, despair struck. It was unmistakably Geum Seon-ae.
Her voice was close—too close. There was no time to slip out and escape down the emergency stairs.
Yeonseo frantically looked for a hiding place. The only option was the large white wardrobe.
She grabbed her bag of statue fragments, opened the wardrobe, and squeezed inside, crouching tightly before shutting the doors.
In the pitch-black wardrobe, she could rely only on her hearing.
Her heartbeat pounded so loudly it felt as if it would burst through her ribs.
Then came the sound of the door opening, followed by two sets of footsteps.
So there were multiple card keys.
It seemed there had been spares besides the one she found. Perhaps Seon-ae hadn’t realized the key under the flowerpot was gone.
“That child… back then, not even knowing who killed his mother, he followed me around, bringing me little gifts to please me.”
“……”
“Desperate for affection he never got from his mother, he must’ve wanted it from his stepmother instead. Foolishly, without knowing what kind of person I am….”
She was talking about Seo Do-heon. This was more intimate than anything Yeonseo had heard from the housekeeper in Paju.
“And then, after growing up, he dares to bare his fangs at me? Insolent brat… Could he really have figured it all out? No, impossible. Right?”
“Don’t worry, Seon-ae. I already took care of everything. There’s no way he knows.”
The other voice belonged to a middle-aged man, roughly Seon-ae’s age. His tone was tender and earnest.
“…Yes. You stained your hands with blood for me, and you suffered from the trauma for so long….”
“I’d do anything for you, Seon-ae. I don’t even value my own life compared to you.”
Then came Seon-ae’s laughter.
“I feel the same.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too….”
A trembling breath escaped Yeonseo’s throat.
“Haa…”
Geum Seon-ae was committing adultery.
Instead of her husband, President Seo Jin-bae, she was whispering love to another man. And this wasn’t just a fleeting affair—it seemed long-standing.
So this place wasn’t only for storing art, but also for secret rendezvous.
It was unexpected information. Yeonseo barely stifled a bitter laugh from escaping.
“Seo Jin-bae is such a fool. Right now, he’s probably fretting and trying to win over his father. He still favors Kang-jae more than the legitimate son from his wife.”
“And sending you to that useless bastard—do you know how much it burned me up inside?”
“Enough, that’s for later. For now, think about how we’ll deal with Seo Do-heon. Ahh…”
Seon-ae’s moan was followed by the unmistakable sounds of intimacy.
Yeonseo squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears with both hands.
At least, perhaps because she had cleaned up well, or because they were too absorbed in each other, neither seemed to notice the missing statue.
That statue….
The room had always been filled with dazzling ornaments. Among the expensive-looking art, the bust had stood out most to Yeonseo.
Now she realized why she’d always felt strange looking at it.
The tender eyes, the faintly lifted corners of the lips, the hand shyly covering her chest—the plaster bust of a younger Geum Seon-ae clearly depicted a woman in love.
It was a face she never showed her husband at the mansion. That was why it had felt so alien.
Her throat burned dry, but even this revelation was futile for Yeonseo.
She wanted desperately to record all of this on her phone, but even the slightest noise risked discovery.
“Ahh, I love this. I just want to stay like this forever.”
“How can you be so beautiful, hmm?”
“I don’t knooow!”
What on earth was she listening to? Yeonseo longed to escape.
If she lingered any longer, she might faint. Neither her energy nor the oxygen in the cramped space felt enough.
Inside the wardrobe, ten minutes stretched like an hour.
After that painful time, Yeonseo noticed the silence.
But she didn’t dare fling the doors open rashly.
She crouched inside much longer, swallowing the oppressive stillness, not even daring to gulp audibly.
What if they were still out there? How could she get away? She considered every possibility.
But after pressing her ear to the wall for a long time, she heard no breathing, no sound at all—only silence. Finally, she carefully pushed the wardrobe door open.
Through the crack, no one was in sight. She could at last step outside.
