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Chapter 16
Her trembling hand slipped into her pocket, searching for her phone. Finding it, she gripped it tightly and pressed it to her ear.
“Hello?”
She glanced quickly at the changing numbers on the elevator display. The arrow beside the number 2 was pointing upward.
“What? The fourth floor?”
Pretending to stay calm during the fake call, So-hye pressed the 4th floor button. The elevator immediately came to a stop.
Ding— Fourth floor.
The doors opened.
“Yeah. I just got off.”
Still holding the phone to her ear, So-hye stepped out quickly. She could sense the man behind her hesitating in confusion at the sudden change of destination.
Please don’t get out.
She prayed silently as she slowly turned to look back. The elevator doors were closing.
“Whew—”
“It’s been a while, Ms. Eun So-hye.”
The unfamiliar voice came from right behind her before her sigh of relief was even complete. Her face turned deathly pale, as if it would shatter like glass at any moment.
The man clearly hadn’t gotten off the elevator… and yet—
She turned around slowly, her face drained of all color.
“You’re Ms. Eun So-hye, right? I heard you were making a comeback.”
The casual tone of his speech made her wonder if she might know him. She looked closely at the man in front of her.
“I’m a fan of yours. A big fan.”
It was strange hearing that from a man old enough to be her father. Gratitude flickered briefly—before the relief she felt began to collapse into anxiety again. Her knees trembled so badly she thought she might fall.
“Th-thank you.”
“Looks like the Seung Film crew’s here? They’re up on the 7th floor.”
“Oh, yes.”
“You don’t look well. You okay?”
“I’m fine. Really.”
Apparently, the fourth floor was used by an ordinary company. A man who looked like a department head struck up a conversation, and soon a few more people gathered around.
Brrr, brrr—
Her phone buzzed in her hand. Trying not to collapse under the weight of all the attention, So-hye forced strength into her legs and answered.
“Hey, Sang-cheol.”
“Noona, did you go up already?”
“I got off on the wrong floor. Come down to the fourth floor.”
After hanging up, she barely had time to breathe before the office workers asked to take pictures with her. Though her legs still shook, she forced a calm smile and obliged politely. But her eyes never left the elevator display.
The elevator had gone all the way up to the 7th floor, then back down to the 1st… and now, it was rising again—to the 4th.
“Noona, hop in.”
Sang-cheol was inside. So-hye quickly thanked the group of workers and stepped into the elevator.
“Congratulations on your return!”
She smiled and thanked them calmly until the doors closed—then immediately collapsed onto the floor.
“Noona!”
“H-help me up.”
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
She couldn’t tell him. He wouldn’t understand.
“My legs… just gave out.”
With Sang-cheol’s help, she managed to stand, taking deep, uneven breaths as she tried to steady her ragged breathing.
“Noona, if you’re not feeling well, should we postpone the meeting?”
“No. I’m fine now.”
She pulled away from his support, pretending nothing was wrong, lips pressed together and expression composed—but her shoulders still trembled ever so slightly.
“I really think you’re not okay.”
“Sang-cheol.”
“Yes, noona?”
“When you got in the elevator… did you see anyone get off?”
“No. No one did.”
Then that meant—he was still in the building. Her face turned pale again.
“Noona?”
“Sang-cheol, promise me. Don’t leave me alone until we get to Hagaheon.”
“What?”
“Promise.”
Bewildered, Sang-cheol nodded.
During the meeting, So-hye couldn’t stop replaying the man’s face in her mind.
The hand that had grabbed her on Yongbawidae Mountain.
The filthy hand with tattoos that had touched her face.
The bite mark he’d made himself.
“Ms. So-hye, please consider it positively.”
After exchanging farewells with the director, So-hye left the office. Lost in thought, she finally spoke.
“Sang-cheol, what happened with the car earlier?”
“When I went to check, it was fine. I called back, but no one answered. Must’ve been a wrong number.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
Yeong-seon, who had just arrived with a box of donuts, knew nothing.
“Someone called saying our car had been hit, that it was totaled. But when we checked, it was perfectly fine.”
“Really?”
Yeong-seon shrugged, unconcerned. But So-hye couldn’t stop replaying that encounter in her head.
Jun-hyuk, who had been working from home, finally began reporting to the Seoul headquarters again. As soon as he entered the office, Kyung-jin ran up to him.
“So it’s true? You really didn’t leave?”
Instead of a greeting, she eyed him curiously. Jun-hyuk smiled, relaxed.
Ever since Yong-chan had left for the U.S. branch, Jun-hyuk had been acting CEO—this was practically his first day in the office since then.
His arrival brought the Strategic Planning and Secretary’s Offices to attention; the employees lined up neatly. Realizing the formal setting, Kyung-jin cleared her throat and bowed politely.
“Ahem. Welcome back, Vice President.”
The other assistants followed suit.
“Welcome, sir.”
“Good morning, sir.”
Jun-hyuk nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then turned to Kyung-jin.
“Assistant Manager Kim, please join me in my office.”
He entered the president’s office, and Kyung-jin followed.
“You called for me?”
“There are a few things I need you to check.”
“Yes, sir.”
Though they were close friends, the two maintained strict professionalism at work.
“I want to know about Chairman Ha’s fund flow after Assemblyman Ji’s daughter visited.”
“What do you mean…?”
“I heard there was a dinner between Chairman Ha, Ha Ja-young, and Ji Na-rin. I suspect Chairman Ha handed something over to Ji’s side.”
Though they were alone, Kyung-jin glanced around and lowered her voice.
“You think he’d pull something like that again?”
Three years ago, because of H&N’s political slush-fund scandal, Jun-hyuk had been forced into marriage with So-hye.
“He wouldn’t use the same method. This time, it’s probably Ha Ja-young. I suspect the H Art Center is being used to launder money. But that’s only speculation—we need to confirm it through Chairman Ha’s accounts.”
“You’re doing this to assess company risk?”
Jun-hyuk gave a faint, dry smile.
The truth was, his marriage to So-hye had never been for love—it had been for his father. Since he’d never expected happiness or love anyway, it hadn’t felt like much of a loss.
But Ha Ja-young’s greed in trying to use him had no end.
“I just don’t want to help her fulfill her ‘grand ambitions.’”
“Grand ambitions?”
Ha Ja-young’s long-held dream was to strengthen Chairman Ha’s power by marrying into Assemblyman Ji’s family.
Because of Chairman Ha’s conservative, old-fashioned nature, she had been barred from participating in the H&N Group’s management. Yet she kept trying to prove her worth—by exploiting Jun-hyuk.
“Two marriages are unnecessary.”
Eun So-hye alone was already troublesome enough.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Sounds like you’re satisfied with your marriage now. You like staying in Korea that much?”
For Jun-hyuk, Korea was a prison without bars, and America had been exile. There was no place he could truly breathe.
“It’s not bad. I get to see my wife every day. And my son.”
Kyung-jin squinted at him suspiciously. She knew all too well what his marriage was really like.
“What, did you eat something weird?”
“Almost swallowed poison.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Long story.”
The memory of Eun So-hye’s so-called suicide note—written as if to incriminate him—flashed across his mind.
His eyes grew cold.
