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Chapter 9
Early the next morning.
After getting Yerim ready for kindergarten, Heeyeon went upstairs to Seokwoo’s room. The moment she opened the door, the strong smell of alcohol rushed at her.
When did he drink…?
He used to have wine every day, but judging by the whiskey bottle on the table, he must have drunk quite a lot.
Rustle.
He was turned away from her, and she suddenly froze in surprise.
A tattoo.
The large tiger eyes inked across his back seemed to glare straight at her. A cold sweat trickled down her spine. The vividly drawn eyes gleamed fiercely, baring sharp fangs—it made her body shrink instinctively.
“I’ll bring you some honey water.”
“That’s fine.”
He pushed himself up. Pressing his temples as if nursing a headache, he got off the bed and went straight into the bathroom.
While he showered, Heeyeon laid out the clothes he would wear.
A little later, he came out, towel-drying his hair, and sat down in the chair.
“Come here and dry my hair.”
“Ah… your hair…?”
“Don’t want to?”
“No. Of course I will.”
As his personal keeper, she felt like she had to do whatever he wanted. Heeyeon turned on the dryer and began drying his hair.
With the warm air blowing steadily, he closed his eyes and waited quietly. His hair was short, so it dried quickly. He rubbed wax between his fingers and slicked it back.
“Shirt.”
“Yes.”
As soon as he finished styling his hair, Heeyeon handed him the shirt. Whenever she prepared a white shirt, she always paired it with a vest so the tattoo wouldn’t show through.
After all, publicly and professionally, he was the CEO of JM Capital.
Since he met many outsiders, he would want the tattoo hidden.
Once he was neatly dressed, he held out his hand, signaling for a tie.
“Try it.”
“Pardon?”
“Tie it.”
“Oh. Yes.”
She wondered if a keeper really had to do this too, but since he said he didn’t want to lift a finger, she took the tie herself.
He was tall, so she had to tilt her head up. The way he looked down at her from above felt strangely intense.
He smelled good.
The scent of his aftershave was pleasant.
How should she describe it? It wasn’t just a typical cologne—it seemed mixed with his own unique scent.
Like how the same product smells different on each person.
“By now, it should’ve reached So Pilmo’s ears, don’t you think?”
“They haven’t contacted each other.”
“They will.”
“If I hear anything, I’ll tell you right away.”
“Just don’t try to pass it somewhere else.”
“As if I would. I’m not exactly fond of him either. Do you know whose fault it is that my daughter and I are in danger right now? I want to get out of here as soon as possible too.”
She spoke words she didn’t mean, desperately hoping he would believe her.
He let out a faint scoff.
His breath brushed her forehead, making her heart pound wildly.
“See you tonight.”
He left for work without even eating breakfast.
Once he was gone, all the tension drained from her body. After checking the time, Heeyeon prepared to take Yerim to kindergarten.
That afternoon.
As she anxiously waited day after day for news of Pilmo, she received a call from her aunt.
—Heeyeon, can you come to the shop?
“The shop” was the code they had agreed on. It meant there was news about her brother.
Heeyeon went up to Seokwoo’s room and called her aunt.
“Aunt, it’s me. Did you hear about my brother?”
—Well… a woman came. Hold on… I’ll put her on.
“…?”
—My name is Jung Se-a. I’m with Pilmo right now…
Heeyeon’s heart dropped.
His woman had come to the shop.
“Do you even know what we’re going through because of you two? Come back right now.”
—I can’t.
“Listen. No matter how blinded you are, how can you leave your boyfriend and run away with my brother—”
—I don’t want to be beaten anymore! Do you know how I’ve been living all this time? He’s a sadist!
“…W-what?”
A sadist? Was she saying Kang Seokwoo had sadistic tendencies?
She couldn’t believe it at all. Se-a began sobbing as she explained.
—I came to ask for help. For Pilmo.
“My brother… what happened?”
—He was shot. He lost a lot of blood… If we get caught here, we’ll both die. We… we lost what we brought with us… we were so out of it…
“W-wait. You took something else too? What…?”
—Gold bars… and the password to a secret ledger… Ah, anyway, we have it.
“Ha…”
Her head spun.
She had thought that once the two of them returned, everything would go back to normal. It wasn’t that simple.
If the stolen items weren’t recovered, it would be over. She had wondered why Seokwoo seemed to be going to such extremes just to find his runaway girlfriend. There had been a bigger problem.
Her insides burned.
He was shot.
That meant her brother’s life was hanging by a thread.
—He can find the items. But… he’s on the brink of death right now… I don’t know what to do…
“Please put my aunt back on.”
In that short moment, Heeyeon decided her brother’s life came first. He could be dying somewhere without any treatment.
“Aunt, please. Find someone who can help.”
—I’ll go myself. I used to work as a nurse’s aide.
“Aunt…”
—I’ll close the shop and go. Don’t be surprised. I’ll turn off my phone too, just in case. I’ll only turn it on when I call you.
“Aunt…”
—I don’t know what’s going on, but be careful. Okay?
“I will. Thank you.”
—You and Pilmo are like my own children. We’ll solve this together. Alright?
After making a firm promise, Heeyeon hung up. Her head throbbed.
What her brother had done was massive.
Not just a woman—but money and a password? If he had run off with other critical company assets…
“Ah… Oppa… really…”
Her vision blurred with despairing tears.
She had finally heard news of Pilmo—but she couldn’t tell Seokwoo. She had to recover the lost items first. Only then could she beg Kang Seokwoo to spare her brother’s life.
Calm down.
Yes.
There’s still time. Save Oppa first…
After that… we’ll see.
Heeyeon buried her face in the bed, her shoulders shaking.
CEO’s Office, JM Capital, Yeouido.
As soon as a message came to Heeyeon’s phone, Seokwoo checked the cloned phone. But instead of making a call on her mobile, the camera captured her in his own room. Seokwoo stared intently at Heeyeon as she used the landline installed in his room.
“Did she receive contact?”
“Remove the phone from my room.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I installed a home camera just in case. She still hasn’t learned her lesson. Does she think I’m a fool?”
His voice was dark and ominous. On the home camera feed, Heeyeon looked extremely flustered while talking to someone.
“She may need more pressure. Time is—”
“I think we should delay Chairman Cha’s release date.”
“Pardon?”
“Call the lawyers.”
There were about two months left until Chairman Cha was due to be released, but he felt more time might be necessary.
Seokwoo kept watching Heeyeon through the camera.
Heeyeon anxiously waited for her aunt’s call.
Tick-tock.
Five hours had already passed. By now, she should have reached Pilmo.
She didn’t know where he was, but there had been enough time.
Then—
The call she had been waiting for finally came.
—Heeyeon, I closed the shop. I thought I’d take a break too.
At the code word “shop,” she immediately went upstairs to Seokwoo’s room. Her aunt would have her phone on now—she had to call.
“…!”
The landline installed in the room was gone.
She had used it earlier that day. But now it was nowhere to be found.
What should she do?
If she called on her mobile, he would hear everything.
She bit her nails anxiously.
Then, a chilling voice sounded from behind her.
“Looking for this?”
“…!”
Her breath caught.
Seokwoo stood there, holding the very phone she had been searching for.
“Go ahead. Make the call. In front of me.”
