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Chapter 22
At that very moment—
As if a light had suddenly been switched on, a transparent window appeared before her eyes.
[Awaken the Helper!]
Your precious Helper has been unlocked. It is now time to awaken your slumbering Helper.
You, who hold pure courage and upright intentions—show kindness to the Helper’s precious one, and awaken the Helper from their sleep.
Wait, isn’t this…?
The quest she received as a reward last time.
“Seo Taejo’s mother is the Helper’s precious person? Then the Helper is… could it be…?”
Juhong’s eyes darted frantically, taking in the situation.
Sookyung’s airway was blocked by the rice cake, and she couldn’t breathe.
If it went on any longer, oxygen wouldn’t reach her brain—she could fall into brain death.
“Call 119, now!”
Flustered, Seo Jungwook tossed aside the phone in his hand and only shouted uselessly.
“Somebody call 119 already!”
Only then did one of the servants belatedly dial emergency services.
— Hyung, hyung! What’s happening?
The phone Seo Jungwook had thrown landed right in front of Juhong. The urgent voice spilling from the receiver belonged to Seo Taejo.
But Jungwook was in no state to answer. He was panicking, completely lost.
“Mom! Mom!”
All he could do was smack Sookyung’s back, begging her to spit it out. His eyes were bloodshot, ready to burst into tears.
— Hyung! What’s going on?!
With no choice, Juhong picked up the phone.
“She choked on a rice cake while shouting earlier. Her airway is blocked.”
— …Who is this?
“Does it matter who I am right now? The emergency response is the Heimlich maneuver, right?”
— If her airway’s blocked, then yes.
“Seo Taejo, do you know how to do it? I saw it long ago, but I’m fuzzy on the details.”
— I know…
“Where do I place my hands?”
— Above the navel. But wait… are you Yoo Haein?
What, so if I am, you’ll just tell me to get lost?
A surge of anger welled up, but then the guiding line calmed her down.
[Miss Juhong, please compose yourself.]
It appeared at her side just when she needed it, offering advice.
[Saving Lee Sookyung is a necessary condition for awakening the Helper. I will guide you. You must act quickly.]
[Heimlich Maneuver]
-
Stand behind the patient and wrap your arms around them.
-
Place one fist on the abdomen, with your thumb positioned near the navel.
-
Grasp your fist with the other hand and pull sharply inward and upward.
-
Repeat about five times.
[Hurry. Lee Sookyung’s life is in danger.]
Juhong rushed behind Sookyung, locking her arms tightly around her waist.
She had never done this before, but she had seen it once—back in college, when a boy in the library had choked on sticky rice cake. While everyone panicked, someone had done exactly this.
Her clasped hands trembled as they pressed against Sookyung’s abdomen.
Following her memory and the line’s instructions, she pulled once, twice—
Compressing the area above the navel forcefully, trying to expel the rice cake.
“Please… Mother, please.”
Three times, four times—
Then—
“Keu-hek!”
The greenish rice cake shot out of Sookyung’s throat, and her wheezing breath finally drew in deeply.
“Haa… haa…”
She did it. She really did it!
The bluish tint of Sookyung’s face flushed back with color. The suffocating scent of death that had lingered seemed to dissipate.
As Sookyung collapsed limply, Juhong held her and sank down together.
Seo Jungwook, pale as chalk, also dropped heavily to the ground. His laugh sounded almost like sobs.
“Thank you. Thank you, Haein.”
His tearful gratitude made Juhong shake her head quickly.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Her own eyes were hot and stinging.
She couldn’t even tell if the wetness at her lashes was sweat or tears. Still clinging to Sookyung, she pressed her forehead against her back and tried to steady her breath.
In the distance, the wail of an ambulance grew louder. At that moment, the transparent window appeared again.
[☆Success★ Awaken the Helper!]
Your quick judgment and resourcefulness saved the Helper’s precious one from danger.
[Quest Reward]
☞ The Helper finally opens their eyes.
Through blurred vision clouded with tears, Juhong read the glowing words.
She was relieved the Helper had awakened—but honestly, she wanted nothing more to do with dangerous quests like this.
In the end, Saturday evening’s plans were canceled. Because of the ordeal yesterday, Sookyung had been hospitalized.
Yoo Donghyuk immediately filled the gap with a golf appointment, saying he needed to discuss matters with the Ministry of Defense before leaving on a business trip tomorrow.
It wasn’t bad. Thanks to that, Juhong could enjoy a relatively quiet weekend.
That was how she found herself at the library.
Of course, not alone—Donghyuk, worried for her safety, had assigned two large bodyguards to accompany her.
“Don’t follow me inside. It’s uncomfortable.”
She firmly pushed them away at the entrance of the reading room and went in by herself.
Today she had come to the periodicals room on the first floor lobby of the library.
Here, one could browse countless newspaper articles—it was, for Juhong, a kind of sanctuary.
The library’s periodicals room stored physical newspapers for a set time. Whenever she came to the library, Juhong liked to visit here to read them.
It might seem odd for a cutting-edge hacker to prefer reading paper newspapers, but to her, these analog things gave her a sense of peace.
Paper newspapers, scribbled notes on Post-its, handwritten messages on slips of paper instead of texts—
That sort of thing comforted her.
So Juhong unfolded a newspaper at the desk, enjoying this little ritual.
“Mmm, the smell of paper.”
Even the faint scent of ink on the page was pleasant.
Turning pages slowly, carefully reading, her gaze stopped at the economics section.
<SH Motive signs export contracts with 5 European countries, worth 120 billion won>
And there, in the photo beneath, was Seo Taejo.
Standing beside representatives from the defense ministries of France, Germany, and three other nations, Taejo shone brighter than anyone else.
His tall figure, perfect proportions, handsome features, and sophisticated style—he was dazzling enough to draw a sigh of admiration.
“No wonder Yoo Haein said she wanted him.”
At least in that, she could understand Yoo Haein.
“Could Seo Taejo really be the Helper?”
Last night, she had asked the guiding line whether it was Taejo or Jungwook who was her Helper.
But annoyingly, it had refused to answer. Only…
[Wouldn’t you find out naturally?]
That was the irresponsibly vague reply.
Still, inwardly, Juhong hoped it was Taejo. A sly little thought crept in—she would really prefer him to be her Helper.
She turned the page.
“Hm?”
An article about Taejo attending a funeral service caught her eye.
“This is different from the article Mr. Lee showed me.”
Both the photo and the content were completely different.
“Was there ever such an article?”
This time, it was a photo of Taejo alone.
“The vice-president of Seohyun Group, Seo Taejo, attended the funeral because one of the victims was his junior from university…”
Murmuring as she read along, Juhong carefully studied even the caption beneath the photo.
<Seo Taejo, vice-president of Seohyun Group, offering a chrysanthemum before the portrait of a victim, his expression sorrowful>
He wore a perfectly tailored black suit, his face drawn with sorrow.
“He looks more like he’s mourning a lover than a junior.”
But who, exactly, was the one he looked so sorrowful for…?
“…That’s me.”
The portrait in the photo—the deceased being mourned—was none other than Juhong herself.
