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Chapter 7
Reeling from his grip, Yoo Hae-in tugged at her trench coat with both hands and turned around. The hood covering her head slipped off in the process.
“Why are you doing this!”
Why are you doing this?
Not ‘What’s wrong with you?’
His brows furrowed instinctively.
They said she’d suffered memory problems from a head injury—was that really true?
At the hospital, he’d thought her odd behavior was just because it had been right after the accident, when she was still in shock.
But if she was still like this after five days… maybe she really didn’t remember.
So he decided to test her.
“We may have broken off the engagement, but I’m still your brother’s friend and your high school senior. Shouldn’t you at least greet me properly when you see me?”
Was she trying to figure out if what he said was true or not?
Her round brown eyes gleamed with a deeper light. Then, folding her hands neatly in front of her stomach, she bowed politely.
“Take care on your way, senior.”
She bent her head low.
Not “oppa.” Senior.
And not a casual farewell either—take care on your way?
Her way of addressing him was different. Her tone was different. The information that Yoo Hae-in had memory issues… it seemed to be true.
And the way she turned away again right after greeting him looked almost desperate.
He thought she was about to run away from him, but no. She only went a short distance before stopping and crouching down beside a truck parked along the road.
“Kitty?”
What the hell was she doing now?
“Kitty. I brought you food.”
Taejo blinked in disbelief.
This was harder to believe than the fact that she could see again. Harder to believe than her supposed attempt at self-harm.
Yoo Hae-in.
That arrogant, venomous princess, Yoo Hae-in.
On her knees on the pavement, peering under a truck?
And speaking in that soft, gentle voice?
“Kitty.”
At her tender call, something stirred cautiously from beneath the truck and crept out.
Meowww.
Myaaa.
It really was a cat—a tiny, scrawny kitten.
The sight of the kitten rubbing its head against her outstretched hand, and Hae-in gently stroking it back, was almost surreal.
And then—
“You must be hungry. Let’s eat this.”
She rummaged in her trench coat pocket, pulled something out, and offered it to the kitten. The little creature ate it up hungrily.
It was a heartwarming scene—except the one feeding the kitten was Yoo Hae-in, of all people. That thought alone sent a chill up his spine.
As the kitten ate, Hae-in smiled warmly, stroking its head. Was this really the same Yoo Hae-in? Taejo narrowed his eyes and stepped closer in disbelief.
Myaa!
Perhaps startled by the presence of a stranger, the kitten arched its back, then darted away, vanishing beneath the truck.
At once, Hae-in whipped around. Her gaze was sharp, a little prickly—but still nowhere near the venom she used to carry.
“I already greeted you. Why won’t you just leave? You scared it so it can’t even eat…”
While she muttered complaints, Taejo closed the distance in a few strides. Startled, Hae-in hunched her shoulders, still crouching, and edged back.
“W-why, why, why?”
Her eyes were wary, cautious, but she didn’t look away. Stubborn, even.
“…Strange.”
It was strange.
The old Yoo Hae-in would have jumped up and scolded him for interfering, making sure to list every little way she’d been wronged.
And if things turned against her, she’d deny everything flat and act like nothing had happened.
But this Yoo Hae-in—though clearly afraid—seemed determined not to back down without a reason.
She’d lost her memory, yes, but could that alone make her so different?
It felt almost contrived, as if someone had swapped out the person behind her face.
“Are you pretending?”
Was she putting on an act—playing amnesia to try and undo the broken engagement?
From Hae-in’s perspective, there was no reason to let go of Seo Taejo. He was a trophy. One she shouldn’t and couldn’t lose. So she would do whatever it took to hold on.
Pretending she’d lost her memory, acting as if she knew nothing—that could be a strategy.
But Hae-in only looked at him blankly, as if she truly had no idea what he meant.
“Pretending…? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know whose idea this was, but it’s not going to help you.”
“No…”
Her wide eyes blinked innocently. It looked almost too perfect, like a well-written script.
Slowly, Hae-in rose to her feet. Her bewildered expression was almost like a startled fawn.
For a fleeting second, Taejo scoffed at himself. A fawn? Yoo Hae-in? The only creature she resembled was a viper.
Yet without her usual venom, her face reminded him of… someone else.
“If you want an answer, you’ll have to say something I can understand…”
Just then, the streetlamp flicked on with a pop.
It belonged to his family estate, automatically lighting at dusk.
The dim space brightened under its white glow, and Hae-in’s features stood out clearly.
She really did look different.
A bare, unpainted face. Long, messy hair. Eyes that were naturally gentle, even though she’d shoved him earlier in protest. She even squinted at the brightness now—something she’d never done before.
…This was supposed to be Yoo Hae-in?
Studying her carefully, Taejo frowned.
“…You?”
It was strange. No—uncanny.
At the hospital, her face and neck had been covered in burns and wounds. Yet now they were completely clear.
“How could this…”
And then—
“Who’s there?”
The front gate of the estate opened, and a familiar face popped out.
“Taejo?”
It was his mother, Madam Lee Soo-kyung.
Peering their way, Soo-kyung clapped her hands together.
“Oh my, is that you, Hae-in?”
Though Hae-in looked completely different from her usual self, Soo-kyung recognized her instantly and hurried over.
“My goodness, you two are together?”
Her eyes glimmered as she glanced between Taejo and Hae-in.
It wasn’t that Soo-kyung especially liked Hae-in.
But she didn’t dislike her either. To Soo-kyung, Hae-in was simply a means to settle her second son. Nothing more, nothing less.
Consumed by the fear that her son might never marry without force, she saw Hae-in as an opportunity.
Yes, the blindness had been a flaw—but since it was caused by her own son’s actions, what could she do? That had been Soo-kyung’s reasoning.
So when Taejo declared the engagement broken, she must have been driven to the edge of panic.
Perhaps that was why she was unusually warm to Hae-in tonight.
As she had warned Taejo on the phone that morning, this time she intended to bind him for good.
“Hae-in, you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
She came right up close, scrutinizing Hae-in’s face intently, then smiled and clasped the cuff of her trench coat.
“Perfect timing. Come eat with us.”
* * *
It was an invitation that hardly suited the situation—but in the end, she couldn’t refuse.
At first, she hadn’t even realized who the woman was. Only when Seo Taejo said, “That’s enough, Mother,” did she understand this was the wife of the Seo-hyun Group chairman.
Even so, she’d tried to decline politely at first.
“It’s all right. I’ll have dinner at home. It’s about that time for us anyway.”
She had gently freed her wrist from the frail hand holding it, answering with courtesy.
But refusing a second time had not been an option.
“Oh, child, don’t be so cold. Do you know how much I worried when I heard about your accident? Don’t embarrass me by refusing—come eat with us, hmm?”
In that moment, her father’s teachings came back to her: Never refuse an elder’s request twice, lest you shame them.
And so, she found herself at the Seo-hyun family dinner table.
All this, when she had only gone out to feed a stray cat. What an unexpected turn of events.
“So then, when were you discharged?”
The one who asked was Chairman Seo Do-woo of Seo-hyun Group.
He was a public figure splashed all over the news and business papers—impossible not to know.
A little tense, Joo-hong sat up straight.
“Yesterday,” she replied.
She accepted the soup bowl offered by the house cook with both hands, bowing politely and thanking her.
But several pairs of eyes skimmed over her, as if they were watching an odd animal at the zoo.
Her skin prickled under the scrutiny.
Yet she had done nothing wrong. There was no need to avert her gaze. Instead, Joo-hong calmly looked back at each pair of eyes in turn.
At the head of the table—Chairman Seo Do-woo.
Beside him on the left—his wife, Madam Lee Soo-kyung.
Across from them—Seo Taejo’s elder brother, Seo Jung-wook, with Taejo seated next to him.
There was no mystery in their stares. She knew why they looked at her that way.
Of course they’d find it strange.
They couldn’t possibly imagine her soul had been swapped. To them, Yoo Hae-in’s sudden change must have seemed bizarre.
Thinking this, Joo-hong gave a small, bright smile in return.
