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Chapter 16
The wall beside the bed was already filled with names.
At the center were the siblings Yoo Hae-in and Yoo Dong-hyuk, surrounded by people from Seo Tae-jo’s circle.
There were also servants of the household, including Chief Lee, and even several INO Group executives that Juhong had searched for on her phone.
Each name was stuck on with titles or distinguishing traits added.
“This looks just like…”
As Juhong was pinning another note to the wall, Chief Lee came up behind her.
“…like in those dramas where the police investigate a case and pin up photos and things everywhere, doesn’t it?”
“Really?”
Juhong turned her head slightly as if deep in thought.
“Maybe I should put up photos too?”
“Oh, that’d be good. You’d get familiar with people’s faces as well.”
“Right?”
Thankfully, Chief Lee didn’t seem suspicious of why she was making this wall. Far from being doubtful, he seemed inclined to help.
“Would you like me to bring photos of the director and the servants?”
“That’d be great, thanks.”
Juhong replied half-heartedly, then glanced sideways at him.
“But why did you come here?”
“Oh, right. Look at this.”
Chief Lee suddenly held out a tablet.
“An article about you came out.”
“An article?”
“Yes, about you and Mr. Seo Tae-jo…”
“With Seo Tae-jo?”
Frowning, Juhong took the tablet. Even the headline was absurd.
“The minimum sincerity shown by INO Group?”
Beneath it was a photo with a detailed caption:
“Yoo Hae-in, INO Group’s heiress, and her fiancé Seo Tae-jo, vice president of SH Motive, attending the memorial service for the INO Training Center accident victims in an unofficial capacity.”
In the photo, she sat quietly in the memorial hall wearing large sunglasses, while Seo Tae-jo, seated in the row behind her, looked at her.
She held a white handkerchief, dabbing at her tears under the glasses, while Seo Tae-jo gazed at her with an unusual expression.
“The reaction is quite positive,” Chief Lee said, scrolling down to the comments.
“There are already over a thousand comments.”
He even kindly summarized them.
The gist:
Officially, the group had coldly sent only the training center director, but behind the scenes, they showed sincerity by sending the heiress with her fiancé—balancing pragmatism with public sentiment.
“And of course, there are plenty of comments saying you two make a stunning couple.”
Juhong frowned.
This was troublesome. She had already broken off the engagement with Seo Tae-jo, yet here they were being tied together in the media.
More than the messy comments, what bothered her most was imagining Seo Tae-jo’s reaction to this article.
“Who would publish something like this…?”
Her grip on the tablet tightened.
“Of course, the director. After hearing Mr. Seo Tae-jo drove you home yesterday, he summoned the head of PR to the house.”
“…He summoned the PR director?”
Her jaw clenched.
That was so like Yoo Dong-hyuk.
If one could analyze his brain, over ninety percent of it would be INO Group. He thought of everything—his sister’s accident, her broken engagement, the aftermath—in terms of how it might affect the company’s stock price.
“And how did he know I went there? I don’t think I told anyone.”
Juhong’s eyes sharpened at Chief Lee.
“You’ll have to ask him yourself.”
“Myself?”
Chief Lee smiled brightly.
“He’s waiting for you. Come down for breakfast, miss.”
It seemed the house arrest had been lifted overnight.
“You don’t remember, but I wasn’t always such a bad brother.”
Delaying his work by an hour just to have breakfast with his sister, Yoo Dong-hyuk cut into his steak with a composed expression.
“I’ve always cared for you. Even now, I worry about you all the time.”
Juhong, uninterested, speared a bit of salad and ate.
“When you disappear suddenly like that, it makes me uneasy.”
Clink.
Juhong set down her fork.
“I’m twenty-eight years old.”
Yoo Hae-in was twenty-eight this year—two years younger than Juhong, but still very much an adult.
“And I can see now.”
Up until now, he’d overprotected her because she couldn’t see, but that was no longer the case.
“Yet I can’t even go out freely. I sneak out once, and you lock me in my room.”
“Locked you in? No.”
Yoo Dong-hyuk gave a sly smile.
“I was protecting you.”
He seemed unable—or unwilling—to distinguish between confinement and protection. His shamelessly confident face carried on.
“Since our parents passed away, it’s just you and me. I’m your only guardian.”
It was true he was her only blood relative, her legal guardian. But his scope of “protection” was far too extreme.
Locking someone up? These days, even parents risk going to jail for that.
Irritated, Juhong replied,
“The only time a twenty-eight-year-old adult needs a guardian is at the police station or the hospital.”
“You’re different. Even if your sight is restored, you lost your memory. Imagine someone like you wandering around unfamiliar places. Wouldn’t you be worried?”
Juhong stared at him.
Worry, protection…
His face repeated those words with a mechanical consistency, like a parrot that didn’t understand their meaning. No wonder there was no sincerity behind them.
“Losing my memory doesn’t mean I became stupid.”
She picked up a warm roll from the basket, split it, and spread jam inside.
If he’s insincere, I’ll just match him with the same insincerity.
Wiping all expression from her face, she mirrored his tone.
“I dressed appropriately, behaved properly. I even cried prettily, didn’t I?”
She gestured at the tablet lying to his right.
“You saw the article. The photos came out well. Public opinion is positive.”
At her words, Yoo Dong-hyuk set down his knife and leaned back, scanning her face slowly.
The tension at the table grew palpable—even Chief Lee, who watched from the side, looked uneasy.
Finally, Yoo Dong-hyuk spoke.
“I don’t like that article.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s in it.”
He—that meant Seo Tae-jo?
Juhong couldn’t help laughing in disbelief.
“If you hate him that much, how can you marry me off to him?”
It was impossible to understand why he pushed for the marriage while being so openly hostile.
“Just break off the engagement already.”
“That’s not an option.”
What kind of twisted logic was that?
“You must marry Seo Tae-jo.”
But why?!
“Oppa!”
“No backtalk. Just do as you’re told.”
Juhong closed her mouth.
Arguing further was pointless.
She had only forty days left—forty-nine at first, but nine had already passed.
Every day mattered. She couldn’t waste time fighting about a broken engagement, especially when she didn’t need his permission anyway.
For now, she had to focus solely on securing the guest list for the party.
“Who manages my assets?”
She raised her chin with a touch of pride.
At the unexpected question, Yoo Dong-hyuk frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“I must have assets, right? Or money, at least.”
His face hardened. The relaxed posture he had leaned back with stiffened as he sat upright again.
“You need money?”
“What kind of answer is that? Don’t tell me I don’t have any, that I’ve just been living off you?”
His expression grew rigid. Then suddenly he smiled faintly, lips curving upward.
“Of course you have money. You’re the heiress of INO Group.”
Juhong studied him closely.
Silson had warned her: Always watch carefully. Don’t overlook even the smallest detail.
Something about him seemed off today, suspicious even. She didn’t take her eyes off him as he went on.
“What I meant by asking if you need money was…do you have something you want to do?”
“Of course I do.”
“And what is that?”
“Shopping.”
“…Shopping?”
She needed a laptop. Along with a few other tools.
