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Chapter 17
“I didn’t expect you to play along with my lie.”
“You’ve got yourself a good manager, Arin.”
“……”
“The way he was pleading downstairs—if the General Winter existed, even he would’ve melted from the way Jinsu was begging.”
“Have you already given up on acting?”
“Hmm, not really. Does it look that way?”
Irritation and displeasure flickered in Arin’s narrow eyes.
She looked like a cat with all its fur standing on end to protect itself.
Without a word, I lowered my gaze and quietly looked her over.
That night, her face had been hidden by darkness, so I hadn’t been able to see her clearly. Even now, I still couldn’t be certain whether Arin was truly the same woman I had met in front of my funeral hall.
Her wrists were hidden beneath the long sleeves of her blouse.
“Who exactly are you?”
“Hankyul.”
Arin frowned unpleasantly at the way my eyes swept over her.
Maybe she disliked how casually I answered while smiling lazily. With an annoyed expression, she brushed her long hair back.
A sharp glint flashed through the strands of hair that fell aside.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I just don’t understand why you keep insisting I’m not ‘Han Kyul,’ Arin.”
“Seriously, that ‘Arin-ssi’ thing again!”
At her sudden outburst, I figured the way I addressed her really had been bothering her.
Meeting her glare, I smiled brightly.
“Then… Arin?”
“You really know how to piss people off.”
“Sorry. But I need to be sure about what kind of person you are too.”
She frowned as if she couldn’t understand what I meant.
Watching her glare at me like she wanted to tear me apart, I spoke calmly.
“Then let’s do this.”
“……”
“There’s something I want to ask you too, Arin.”
“……”
“If you answer my question, then I’ll tell you who I really am.”
“……”
“It’s not a difficult question, so I don’t think you’ll lose anything from this deal.”
“……”
“So? What do you think?”
My tone was gentle, like I was coaxing a child, and Arin clenched her fists in irritation.
Watching her bristle like an angry cat, I smiled. Though she looked annoyed, she eventually nodded as if she had no choice.
“I heard you came to the funeral hall after the funeral ended.”
“……”
“On the day the funeral ended—were you the one who came to the empty memorial hall?”
Arin frowned as if she didn’t understand the meaning behind the question.
After studying my expression for a moment, she let out a faint sigh and nodded.
“Yes.”
I didn’t think she was lying.
No—honestly, if she was lying, that would’ve been better for me.
Because if she hadn’t been the woman who came to the funeral hall that day, then she wouldn’t be the same woman standing before me now.
Either way, I needed her right now. And if someone was suspicious, it was better to keep them close.
Even if that meant the secret I’d been hiding might be exposed.
“Then now it’s your turn.”
Arin’s sharp voice rang through the quiet office.
Meeting my gaze, she asked coldly,
“Who exactly are you?”
“Han Yeoreum.”
The answer came out without hesitation, and for the first time, shock spread across her face.
As I watched her eyes tremble violently, unable to believe what she had heard, I repeated myself kindly.
“I’m Han Kyul’s younger sister. Han Yeoreum.”
Silence settled between us after my calm response.
She turned her head away in disbelief before glaring at me again.
“What exactly are you trying to pull?”
I had answered honestly, but clearly she didn’t like that answer.
I laughed as though her furious expression amused me.
“Why ask if you weren’t going to believe me anyway?”
“If you’re going to lie, at least put some effort into it.”
“……”
“That woman is dead.”
Dead, huh…
A bitter laugh escaped me at her firm reply.
It was absurd and painful at the same time, hearing someone declare my death so confidently while I was standing right in front of them alive.
Maybe her reaction was only natural.
But had I been hoping for something?
That maybe someone would recognize that Han Kyul was really Han Yeoreum.
Even I thought it was a foolish hope.
“Do you think this situation is funny?”
“Ah, no. It’s not that.”
I gave a brief apology to the woman glaring at me and rolled my eyes thoughtfully.
How was I supposed to explain this?
“Forget it. At least now I know you’re some crazy woman who appeared out of nowhere.”
“……”
“I should tell CEO Joo—”
“I’m alive.”
Looking up at the woman who had abruptly risen from her seat, I spoke quietly.
Arin’s face twisted at my short reply.
Smiling faintly at her, I continued,
“The one who died that day wasn’t Han Yeoreum. It was Han Kyul.”
Even after I calmly repeated myself, her expression didn’t soften.
She studied my face as though trying to read my true intentions, and I smiled sweetly at her.
“Your throat’s going to hurt. Why don’t you sit down?”
“……”
“I can tell you’re as impatient as I am, considering how you got suspicious yesterday and came looking for Taewook today.”
“……”
“Whether you want to yell at me or tell Taewook that I’m some unidentified lunatic—”
“……”
“Whatever you decide, it’s not too late after you hear everything I have to say.”
At my smiling words, Arin bit down hard on her lip.
Her clenched fists trembled as she hesitated, but eventually she sat back down.
“Good choice.”
“……”
“I understand why this situation is hard to believe.”
“……”
“Even I, the person it happened to, can barely believe it. So how much harder must it be for you?”
“……”
“I don’t know why this happened either, so I can’t really explain it.”
“……”
“I just think maybe this happened because I committed too many sins.”
“What are you even talking about—!”
“Maybe, like someone once said, I wasn’t fated to die peacefully… so I survived by borrowing my sister’s body…”
Yeah.
Maybe because of sinful me, my sister died in my place.
The words I couldn’t bring myself to say lingered inside my mouth.
A wave of guilt crashed over me, and I smiled bitterly before turning back to the woman silently listening.
Her gaze fixed on my face as I absentmindedly touched my ruined fingernails—the ones I had chewed apart last night.
Then, in a quieter, more serious voice, I murmured,
“Honestly… I’m in a difficult position too.”
“……”
“This is my first time experiencing something like this, so I don’t know how to prove that I’m Han Yeoreum.”
“Hey.”
“Even if I told you things only Han Yeoreum would know, you and I didn’t know each other before anyway.”
“Seriously, from earlier until now—!”
“Oh, should I call Wonie?”
I had only meant it as a joke.
After all, there was no way the woman in front of me knew about the relationship between Wonie and me. Even if I explained everything to him, it probably wouldn’t convince her.
So it was only supposed to be a teasing remark.
But strangely enough, she froze.
The way she bit her lip in obvious agitation felt odd.
Did she know Wonie?
The strange atmosphere from earlier, when the two of them had been alone in the office, suddenly came back to me.
Should I ask?
“Do you know Wonie? Then maybe you heard something about Han Yeoreum—”
“Stop right there.”
“Arin-ssi.”
“Don’t push it just because I’m staying quiet.”
She was completely covered in thorns now.
Watching Arin glare at me like she might actually hit me if I said one more word, I blinked.
She wasn’t joking—she was genuinely angry.
Did bringing up Wonie upset her? Why?
As I observed her tightly clenched fists trembling with suppressed anger, she glared sharply at me and spat out,
“Even if you keep stirring things up like this, Kim Prosecutor is already having a hard enough time as it is.”
“……”
“So stop messing with someone who’s still suffering just to entertain your stupid little joke.”
Ah.
So that was it.
Only then did I finally understand why she had been so hostile this whole time.
Feeling awkward, I brushed back my hair.
Maybe this time, I really had crossed a line.
I glanced at her belatedly, regretful, but her face remained icy cold.
She still didn’t believe me.
And the air between us became colder than ever.
Watching the already furious Arin, I wondered how I should continue this conversation.
‘Be honest, Yeoreum.’
‘…Han Kyul.’
‘Still, I’m your sister. If you’re honest with me, I’ll always be on your side.’
‘……’
‘So at least with me, tell me the truth.’
Why did a memory from over ten years ago suddenly come back to me at this moment?
Overwhelmed by the flood of memories, I shut my eyes tightly.
Then, remembering my sister’s words, I decided to try being a little more honest.
“I’ll be honest with you.”
“……”
“I don’t know whether you’ll believe me, Arin, but I have no intention of making Wonie uncomfortable or hurting him.”
“Hey.”
“Honestly, until you told me just now, I didn’t realize my death was affecting him that badly.”
Unfortunately, that was the truth.
I never knew he was suffering so much because of my death. I knew he’d been investigating my accident separately, but I thought it was just a matter of loyalty.
The loyalty someone keeps for a person they once loved.
Meeting the woman’s steady gaze, I slowly opened my mouth.
