IH 14

Chapter 14

“Ha.”

“So that’s not it. Okay?”

Hee-yeon pushed him away again. Surprisingly, the man let her go without resistance.

She began cleaning up the food that had fallen to the floor. Trying hard not to be conscious of his unwavering stare at her back, she tidied the room and then went downstairs.

Only after she was out of his sight did the alcohol seem to hit her. Strength drained from her legs, and she staggered slightly as she walked.

Good job. This is enough. You must never look like an easy woman. If you get entangled with that man, it’s over.

Though her reality was bleak, Hee-yeon praised herself for handling it well.

She checked the clock. It was 1 a.m.

As the intoxication deepened, heat rose through her body. It seemed unlikely she would be able to sleep tonight.

When she opened the door and stepped inside, she saw Ye-rim awake.

“Ye-rim, you’re up?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Even though she was only five, Ye-rim was mature for her age. She didn’t cry even when she woke up from sleep. To Hee-yeon, Ye-rim was hope and love itself.

Though she hadn’t given birth to her, she had fed her, put her to sleep, and raised her with her own hands. Lying down on the bed, Hee-yeon pulled Ye-rim into her arms.

“Mom will put you to sleep.”

“You drank?”

“Y-yeah.”

“With who?”

Hee-yeon hesitated briefly, then answered honestly.

“Just for a bit… with that mister.”

“Ohhh, the pretty mister?”

“Y-yeah….”

The child, who knew nothing, seemed to think of Seok-woo as simply a good person.

A nice house. A nice car. And someone handsome in a child’s eyes. That was enough for her to lower her guard.

“I like him.”

“What do you like about him?”

“I just do. He looks like a prince.”

“Ye-rim. You can’t judge people just by their looks.”

“Hmph, I still think he’s a nice mister.”

Hee-yeon gently closed Ye-rim’s eyes.

“Sleep. You need to rest well to go to kindergarten tomorrow.”

She didn’t want to keep hearing Ye-rim say she liked Seok-woo.

He’s a bad person. A gangster….

To a child, he might look like a prince, but to Hee-yeon, he was someone to fear.

She had to stay on guard at all times. But…

A strange thought crossed her mind. That faint trembling she had felt in her body. She didn’t understand what it meant.

She had spent her life struggling financially, raising a child as a single mother. She had never even dated.

Having never had a boyfriend even once, Hee-yeon had no idea what this reaction in her body meant.

Pitter-patter.

Pitter-patter.

Rain began to fall in the early dawn.

She tried to sleep to the sound of the rain, but as the alcohol and heat intensified, she let out a small groan.

Of all times…

She shook her head firmly.

Get a grip. If they find out about my brother tomorrow….

Her body trembled. A sense of foreboding wrapped around her.

A shabby motel in Gangwon Province. Most of the guests were laborers working on the nearby ski resort construction site.

As construction workers, most of them were from out of town.

Moving from the shack to the motel had been almost like a covert operation. They paid a large foreign laborer for the day and managed to carry Pil-mo to the motel.

Se-a held Pil-mo’s unconscious hand and kept crying.

“Honey….”

“At least he doesn’t have a fever. Let’s consider that fortunate. Could you bring some cold water?”

“Y-yes.”

On her way out of the store, she had gathered medical equipment Pil-mo might need. It was small, but it could check his pulse and other vital signs. The gunshot wound hadn’t gone through, so it wasn’t large. But he had hit his head when he fell and remained unconscious.

“How did this happen… You’ve caused something this big….”

“Ugh….”

Pil-mo occasionally let out painful groans, but there was nothing more they could do.

Taking him to the hospital was a last resort.

Shhh—shhh—

Listening to the rain, Seok-woo continued drinking his wine. The veins in his body throbbed intensely.

He looked down at his hand. In the distant room, the air seemed faintly warm.

No.

That warmth had clearly been the desire he felt when he looked at her lips. For a moment, he had wanted to bite her tongue.

How many people dared to look him straight in the eye and speak in front of him?

Her spirit—seemingly unyielding in the face of any provocation—had somehow stirred the desire within him.

“Interesting.”

Even knowing she was a dangerous hostage who could have his throat slit in an instant, his body had reacted.

Of course, it was merely instinct without emotion. But she was clearly different from other women.

Unlike the cosmetic scent he had grown tired of since birth, she was like a clean canvas.

What kind of picture should he paint on that canvas?

He wondered what her face would look like if he completed the painting with Pil-mo’s blood.

“So Pil-mo. Where are you hiding? I’m holding the lifelines of your sister and niece. Come out as soon as you can. Then I’ll spare your life.”

Seok-woo lifted his wine glass again.

Bzzz.

His phone vibrated, and irritation surged. It was that woman again—the tiresome existence who had selfishly brought him into this world.

Hee-yeon was walking endlessly, feeling her way along rough rocks with her hands.

The place where tree roots burrowed through stones and tangled messily, mixed with animal droppings, was a cave.

Drip.

Water fell from the ceiling rock and touched the back of her neck. She flinched.

Is this a dream?

Yes. She was dreaming.

She was walking through a pitch-dark cave, relying only on her fingertips.

Then she heard someone groan.

“Who…?”

“Hee-yeon….”

“O-oppa! Is that you?”

Startled, she ran toward the voice she recognized as Pil-mo’s. But no matter how much she ran, she couldn’t see him.

“Oppa! It’s me, Hee-yeon. Right now—where are those things—?!”

Suddenly, she stopped.

Pil-mo stood there, a huge hole in his chest, bleeding tears of blood as he looked at her.

“You mustn’t find me.”

“Oppa….”

“If you find me… you’ll die.”

“Oppa! Oppa!”

She ran toward him with all her strength, but something wrapped around her legs.

Branches tightened from all sides, separating her from Pil-mo. At the same time, a branch turned into a blade and pierced through his body.

Ghk—

Bleeding, Pil-mo stared at her. At the horrifying sight, Hee-yeon screamed.

“—!!”

Her eyes flew open.

Haah, haah.

Breathing heavily, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“It was a dream….”

Her body still trembled from the nightmare. Sweat drenched her back.

It felt ominous.

Especially having a dream like that.

Surely… they won’t look for oppa today, right?

No. If he were that easy to find, they would have found him already.

Her head throbbed painfully.

She checked the clock. It was 7 a.m.

She had barely fallen asleep around 5 a.m., meaning she hadn’t slept even two hours.

With her mind in turmoil and a splitting headache, she felt as though her head would burst.

Rustle.

Ye-rim stirred awake.

“Mom.”

“Yes, let’s get ready for kindergarten.”

“Okay.”

Hee-yeon prepared Ye-rim’s breakfast and got her ready.

A little later, when she stepped outside with Ye-rim, she ran into Seok-woo, who was smoking in the yard.

The morning sunlight sparkled, seeming to shine only above his head.

“Good morning.”

“Yeah. Ye-rim’s going to kindergarten?”

The moment he saw Ye-rim, he crushed his cigarette under his foot. At least he seemed to show minimal courtesy in front of a child.

“Yes! Thank you for letting me ride in the nice car.”

“No need to thank me. Your mom will be late today. Another mister might pick you up from kindergarten.”

“Okaaaay!”

Watching Ye-rim greet him sweetly, Seok-woo’s eyes curved slightly.

What?

He can smile like that?

It was a different side of him—almost as if she had seen something she wasn’t meant to—but it didn’t feel unpleasant.

She only hoped that, at least for Ye-rim, this house wouldn’t be a place of captivity. That she would be treated like a small, precious guest.

Ye-rim soon grabbed the guard’s hand and headed down to the garage.

“I’ll get ready.”