ITSN 15

Chapter 15

With those words, Taejo shut his mouth and focused only on driving.

Soon, they arrived in front of Yoo Hae-in’s house.

Standing at the gate was Chief Lee, the housekeeper who managed the entire household.

From the looks of it, Hae-in had left home without saying a word. Chief Lee’s anxious glances up and down the alley told the whole story.

In contrast, Hae-in remained composed. As though prepared for this moment, her profile even looked resolute.

The moment the car stopped, Hae-in opened the door first.

Chief Lee’s eyes widened as she spotted her.

“Miss!”

Ignoring her, Hae-in turned to Taejo.

“From now on, let’s try not to run into each other. Even if you see me in the neighborhood, please avoid me first.”

Her slightly furrowed brows, eyes lowered with haughty composure—

“Goodbye, then.”

It was a calm yet lofty farewell.

Meanwhile, Chief Lee reached into the car and grabbed Hae-in’s arm.

“Miss, where on earth have you been? The chairman is in a frenzy right now—”

Then her eyes fell on Taejo.

“…Seo Taejo?”

But Hae-in quickly shut the car door, and without resistance, Taejo steered away and drove out of the alley.

He let out a short sigh.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

“Unbelievable.”

Who would’ve thought he’d end up driving her all the way home?

Frowning, Taejo pulled out his phone and made a call.

After just two rings, Chief Yeom answered.

— What about Yoo Hae-in? Did you get her home safely?

“Yes. I just handed her over to her family.”

— Good work.

The reason Taejo had ended up waiting nearly two hours for her was because of Chief Yeom’s request.

After the <Ino Training Center> explosion was confirmed to be a bombing, concerns had risen that Yoo Hae-in’s safety might be at risk.

“If you’re not coming along to meet the deputy chief, then at least do me a favor—get your fiancée, no, your ex-fiancée, home safely. Please.”

For the police and NIS, Yoo Hae-in was a potential key to unraveling the case.

To the perpetrator, however, she was nothing but a dangerous liability that needed to be eliminated.

Even if she had lost her memory, she was the only witness who had heard the culprit’s voice.

“Have you reached a conclusion yet?”

— She’ll be assigned a protection detail next week. Approval’s gone through, we’re currently selecting the personnel.

“To that extent? She can’t even remember anything. She’s useless as a witness.”

— Her memory could return anytime. And she could be targeted anytime. She’s definitely at risk, and definitely needs protection.

He knew. He knew all of that.

But Taejo loosened his tie with a stifled breath.

“Couldn’t you at least check one last thing for me? It just doesn’t sit right.”

— What are you getting at? Don’t tell me you’re doubting your fiancée? Wondering if she’s in league with the culprit?

Chief Yeom’s voice grew stern.

— Your fiancée suffered a major head injury and lost her memory. She also sustained severe burns.

Of course he knew. Practically everyone in Korea knew. After all, her rescue had been broadcast live, the horrific scene making everyone shudder. He’d even heard she had gone into cardiac arrest.

But still—

“What if all of that was a deception?”

Wasn’t it possible?

“I used to stage things like that all the time. Fake wounds, fake blood, fake burns, fake personalities.”

— What are you talking about?

“Did you see any burn scars on her face today? Even faint traces?”

He didn’t even need to mention today. Six days ago, when he’d visited her in the hospital, there had barely been any visible injuries then, either.

Medical technology was advanced, yes—but could she really have healed that much in just two days?

If that were possible, Seohyun Group should be leading plastic surgery and burn treatment, not defense industries.

“And I don’t believe the memory loss either. That can easily be faked.”

Taejo recalled seeing her crouched before Rock’s charnel house, shedding tears.

If she truly had amnesia, how had she managed to find Rock’s resting place?

Just a coincidence?

And then there was her behavior—her expressions, her tone, her gestures…

None of it belonged to Yoo Hae-in.

— Are you saying she’s an impostor?

“Yes.”

His reply was plain but resolute.

“Either the injuries are fake, or the person herself is fake. One of the two.”

— Fake person? You mean a swap?

Images from earlier in the car flickered in his mind—her gaze studying him closely, the way her ears flushed red when their eyes met.

And not just that. The way she had fed the stray cat the night before, or sat around the dining table with his family, eating heartily.

It made more sense to think she wasn’t Hae-in, than to think she was.

“Please, just confirm it.”

A sigh came over the line.

— Fine. I’ll look into it.

And with the promise to contact him again soon, the call ended.

In the end, house arrest was declared.

Not only had she secretly snuck out, she hadn’t even bothered to call.

Yoo Dong-hyuk’s expression was so severe it looked like he might slap her, but when Chief Lee whispered something about Seo Taejo, his demeanor shifted slightly.

Even so, his eyes remained dark and sinister.

“Go to your room. Don’t come out until you’re called.”

And so, once again confined, Joo-hong found the pale blue window appear before her.

[Fact Verification]

☞ A list of party attendees is required.

Ordinary citizen Yoo Hae-in heard the voice of the mafia at a party.

The attendees of that party could all be prime mafia candidates.

She had completely forgotten that detail. That Hae-in had heard the culprit’s voice at some party.

The culprit had been on the phone with someone, bringing up the model number of a weapon under development, discussing a deal.

He had told her that if she wanted to know who he was, she should come to the training center. But the center had exploded that day, and her testimony was lost forever.

Now that Yoo Hae-in no longer existed, Joo-hong had no choice but to investigate directly herself.

In that sense, the first quest was critical.

“The list of party attendees is essentially the suspect list.”

It made sense.

The problem was—which party?

To find out, she would first need to identify every party Hae-in had attended. Only then could she narrow it down.

“How can I figure that out…?”

Of course there was a way.

Clenching her lips, Joo-hong’s mind raced as she organized her plan like a true hacker.

The next morning, Chief Lee came into her room.

“…Miss?”

She hadn’t even knocked. The sight that greeted her made her eyes widen.

“What are you doing?”

“Can’t you see?”

Without turning around, Joo-hong replied:

“I’m making a relationship chart.”

And indeed, she was.

Her reason was clear.

The conditions the white line had given her for identifying the mafia were only two:

1. Someone unexpectedly close.

2. A party attendee.

The problem was, as she was now, she had no way of knowing either. She needed to organize the information she had. Starting with “someone unexpectedly close.”

“Remember, I lost my memory?”

She already had her excuse ready.

“Since I don’t know who’s who, I even have to watch the household staff carefully.”

On a sheet of paper, Joo-hong wrote ‘Lee Seung-ae / Chief’ and stuck it just below ‘Yoo Dong-hyuk / Brother.’

“That’s why I’m organizing this way—to learn who’s who. To make the hierarchy clear.”