ITSN 30

Chapter 30

And to give even more weight to that certainty, all he had to do was open this door.

He could open it, go inside, and find the woman trying so desperately to call him out.

Then he could interrogate her—figure out how she knew this house, how she got in—and naturally, he would learn whether this woman was Juhong or not.

But he couldn’t do that.

“…So, what should I do?”

The woman’s intentions were far too obvious, and it drained his resolve instead.

“I’ve stepped out for a little while on business.”

He wanted to help the woman who seemed troubled. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to give her a little time to escape.

“If I stop by one more place, it’ll take about an hour and a half?”

Since he was already certain, a little delay for verification wouldn’t matter, he reasoned with himself.

“Would that be okay?”

• “Th-that’s too late. You should move quickly… How about seeing me at the hospital in an hour?”

One corner of Taejo’s mouth tilted slightly.

So you want me to leave here quickly, huh?

“Then I need to move immediately.”

• “Can’t you?”

“Shall we?”

• “Yes, let’s do that.”

The cheerful clarity in her voice made him snort softly, and he even smiled a little.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

Choosing a single step back to take two steps forward, Taejo finally left the corridor.

Tap, tap, tap.

His footsteps echoed confidently down the hallway. Once he was certain that Yoo Haein was Juhong, nothing could make him hesitate.

His heart pounded so fiercely it felt overwhelming.

Clenching and unclenching his hands to steady his tingling palms, Taejo entered the elevator and glanced back down the corridor once more.

Juhong.

His first love had returned.

Not only was she alive, but she was also his fiancée—and for that, he was simply grateful.

So he took one step forward.

Just one more step.

If he could get solid evidence, she wouldn’t be able to push him away like she had been.

He dared to hope she wouldn’t run and would wait.

That she would stay as Yoo Haein and remain safe.

It took just forty or fifty minutes.

Once ready, Juhong grabbed her backpack, packed her well-worn gear, and left the house.

She had already erased all traces of herself from the CCTV and had set up replacement footage before fully leaving the apartment.

After storing her backpack in a subway locker, Juhong emerged above ground, hailed a taxi, and headed toward SH Hospital.

Ha, really. I didn’t plan to see Seo Taejo like this.

Even in the taxi, she kept checking her reflection in the mirror.

Though she had applied heavy makeup, it wasn’t perfect—she couldn’t fully hide her bruises—and the thought irritated her.

“Yoo Donghyuk, really.”

She gently touched her cheek, still purplish from bruises, and closed the mirror.

In truth, it had been somewhat intentional. Even knowing she might get hit, she had provoked him, and after being hit, she had taken care of everything she needed to.

Yoo Donghyuk’s reaction, the servants’ sympathy, and…

Juhong peeked into her bag as she put the mirror away.

Inside was an envelope with the hospital logo. She had gone to a nearby medium-sized hospital ER under the pretense of morning jogging and gotten a medical certificate.

It was a necessary measure to free herself from Yoo Donghyuk’s “protection,” which was really a form of control. Evidence for domestic abuse.

She would find a new place to live first, so she could collect the rest of her belongings.

Deciding this, Juhong closed her bag and looked out the window.

SH Hospital was right ahead.

Oddly, her heart thumped strangely.

It felt as though someone was bouncing a small rubber ball on her chest. The uncomfortable sensation wasn’t unpleasant, and she twirled her clenched fingers.

And then, she saw him.

Seo Taejo.

Yoo Haein’s fiancé.

Dressed in a sleek dark suit and black turtleneck, the man looked exceptionally sharp today as well.

“Wow—”

Even the taxi driver glanced and admired him.

“Filming a drama?”

The driver commented as they approached Seo Taejo standing in front of the hospital.

“They say even other men would be impressed by a man like that… His proportions, his face, wow.”

The length of his legs…

As the driver continued praising him, Juhong compared this man with her memories.

Even now, the only resemblance was height.

‘He was clumsy. He didn’t mix well with people.’

He wasn’t the sparkling man Taejo was.

‘Then why do I keep comparing them?’

Frustrated, Juhong squeezed her eyes shut.

He had been the only man to bring a pinkish glow to her thirty years of life—but she hadn’t loved him to the point of breathless passion.

Her life was too harsh, and he had disappeared too suddenly.

Wasn’t she actually relieved when he vanished?

The excitement he gave her carried a hint of guilt, given her situation.

When her mother’s kidneys failed from working so hard, her face swollen with fever, she should have cried more.

Even in those moments, her childish heart ran to the library.

That’s why she was relieved when he disappeared. She could finally live a life suited to her own circumstances.

She studied harder from then on, earning the highest reputation as a hacker.

She erased him from her mind and never recalled him—until now.

Now, a man nothing like him in appearance, Seo Taejo, was resurrecting memories. It had to be that cursed scent.

The taxi door clattered open.

Against the shadow of the dim afternoon, a bright face appeared.

“Hello.”

Just two simple syllables.

An-nyeong.

And yet, her heart pounded violently.

It felt as though the small rubber ball bouncing in her chest had turned into a large basketball.

She wanted to tell the driver, “Is my heartbeat too loud? Can he hear it?”

Her heart felt like it might jump out, so she bit her lip to keep it in check.

Seo Taejo extended his hand toward her.

“Come on in.”

Juhong looked at his hand, then his face, and carefully reached out. Taejo smoothly lifted the corner of his mouth and took her hand gently, helping her out of the taxi.

Even shielding her head from the taxi ceiling with his palm—a refined, noble escort.

As always, his presence gave off a cool yet heavy scent, and her body instinctively heated up.

Swallowing silently, she managed only a soft, “Thank you.” Her throat tingled.

Taejo spoke quietly to her.

“Why are you taking taxis? What about the driver?”

There was a hint of worry in his scolding voice. She smiled faintly, not minding it.

“I don’t like feeling watched.”

“…Watched, huh.”

He nodded, acknowledging the reason after gazing at her face.

“Yoo Donghyuk is something else.”

Then he walked slowly.

Through the lobby, toward the VIP ward.

Together, they stepped into the elevator.

In the enclosed space, her palms tingled. Even the sound of her own breathing seemed loud; she held her breath. Her heartbeat pounded against her eardrums.

Taejo had been blatantly staring at her the entire time.

“I can see everything.”

“See what?”

“The elevator walls are so shiny I can see you studying me as if you’re dissecting me.”

“Really?”

Taejo smiled, then turned his head forward.

Now, he stared at her reflection in the elevator doors as though piercing through it.

She felt as if she were on a small stage, spotlighted and exposed.

Her anxiousness flared, making her skin ache.

Unable to meet his gaze, she awkwardly looked away.

“Just say it. Don’t look at me like that.”

“What do you mean, ‘like that’?”

“You stare like you want to tear me apart.”

So obsessively it was almost embarrassing. His gaze seemed to dismantle her body, piece by piece.

“Wrong.”

Yet Taejo couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“This isn’t staring to tear apart. It’s staring to devour.”

Either way, it feels like my skin is burning.

“Maybe you’re looking because you want to devour me.”

“What did you say?”

Their eyes met, colliding for the first time.