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Chapter : 09
“Huh? Oh, well… it’s not that I wanted to see you so much as… I was worried… I mean, what I’m trying to say is…”
Flustered, Iseol rambled incoherently under her breath.
She hadn’t expected to be asked such a question so directly.
Ever since the first time they met, she couldn’t understand why, whenever she stood in front of this man, her vision seemed to blur and her mind went hazy.
In truth, she thought about him every day.
Had he arrived safely?
Had he run into danger again?
Would they ever meet again someday?
There were even nights when she dreamed that he had returned.
“Interesting.”
“Yes? What is…?”
“That face of yours—your expression. Your emotions are written all over it.”
Taesin’s dark eyes gleamed.
Iseol brushed her heated cheeks with the back of her hand and avoided his gaze.
In front of this man, she kept getting flustered, reacting, caring too much.
If the children ever noticed her behaving like this…
That would be undesirable—for her and for him.
Steeling herself, Iseol deliberately hardened her expression and looked straight at him again.
No matter how they had met, from now on they were nothing more than teacher and student.
A strictly professional relationship that must not be tangled with private feelings.
So draw the line. Don’t cross it.
“Fifth period will start soon. Let’s go to the classroom. I’ll show you the way.”
Taesin stepped closer and reached out his arm—
almost as if he were about to embrace her.
Startled, Iseol froze.
But Taesin merely opened the door for her, his eyes shining as if he found her misunderstanding amusing.
Only then did Iseol let her shoulders drop and breathe out a sigh of relief.
For a moment, she felt foolish for having jumped to conclusions.
Taesin threw open the window.
A warm spring breeze drifted in.
Had it been a month?
The island, now fully embraced by spring, was dyed in shades of green.
Bees gathered around the canola flowers lining the stone walls.
Ivy vines crawling up the wall of the public health center formed a vivid contrast with the yellow checkered curtains hanging in front of Iseol’s window.
That striking contrast of colors made him feel vividly alive.
Just when he thought it was all over, Iseol had appeared—
like a miracle.
When he had been stabbed and jumped into the sea, Taesin had a plan.
He would stay submerged until the men chasing him gave up and left, then swim back to shore. Simple enough.
He was confident in his swimming skills and accustomed to handling waves from surfing.
But the water was freezing and deep enough to chill his heart, the currents were fierce, and he had lost too much blood—his consciousness fading.
Unforeseen variables drove him toward death, and when he barely regained awareness, he was swallowed by a darkness so deep he couldn’t tell which way was which.
His body wouldn’t respond.
The more he struggled to rise to the surface, the more it felt like he was being dragged downward.
So this is the end.
Scenes from his past flashed through his mind.
His father’s sudden death.
The company he inherited—JS Capital.
And the betrayal of Kang Hansu, the vice chairman who had led the organization.
So this is how I die.
Just before he lost consciousness, he saw something swimming toward him.
When he came to, the first thing he saw was a pale white face, trembling lips turned blue with cold, and eyes that shone with an unusual brightness.
“Hyung, what are you doing there?”
At Yusin’s voice, Taesin snapped out of his reverie and turned his head.
Yusin, who had already caught up to his height back in his first year of high school, was the only person who stood at eye level with him now.
When had that toddling little kid grown up into an adult?
Thinking that made Taesin realize—he must be getting older himself.
“Is that Yun Iseol’s room over there?”
Yusin pointed toward the window of Iseol’s room, where Taesin’s gaze had been lingering.
“How do you know her when you’ve barely met?”
“I’ve heard so much about her already. I feel like we’re close.”
“You’ve heard a lot?”
All Taesin had mentioned was that Iseol had saved him from drowning and helped him get medical treatment. That was all.
“She’s famous as the most beautiful teacher at Jangang High School. Every kid who talked to me today brought up Teacher Iseol.”
Taesin recalled Iseol bombarding him with questions in the language lab.
The curiosity and concern floating in her clear, crystal-like eyes.
Her small but well-defined nose.
Her lush red lips beneath it.
Skin so white it seemed almost transparent.
Her small face, constantly shifting expressions filled with emotion, was so fascinating that it was hard to look away.
“Now I get why you chose this room.”
“……”
“It’s really close. If you open the window, you can see everything going on inside. You could even talk.”
As Yusin leaned forward to peer more closely at Iseol’s window, Taesin grabbed the back of his neck and shut the window.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. It’s not for the reason you’re thinking.”
“What reason am I thinking of? You’re the one jumping to conclusions.”
Teasing his brother was Yusin’s favorite pastime, and Taesin found himself at a loss again.
“You picked this place so you could keep an eye on Teacher Iseol up close.”
Sometimes, his younger brother had an uncanny knack for reading his thoughts.
“You rented a house right next to the clinic because you were worried we might put her in danger, didn’t you? You think I wouldn’t notice?”
Had it really been the right choice to come to this island?
Even now, Taesin wasn’t sure.
Because of him, Iseol might actually end up in even more danger.
But he hadn’t had much of a choice.
The only way to protect Yun Iseol—who had helped him—and get Yusin into college was to have him graduate from a school on this island.
Yusin had always been an excellent student, so studying here wouldn’t be a problem when it came to entering a university in Seoul.
“How does it feel to be a high school student again?”
“How do you think it feels?”
At Taesin’s rhetorical question, Yusin laughed and patted his brother on the shoulder.
“I told you, you didn’t have to reenroll just because of me.”
Yusin—and Yun Iseol as well—spent most of their time at school.
That meant if something happened there, Taesin wouldn’t be able to respond at all.
This was the best choice he could make to protect them both around the clock.
For the first time, he felt grateful that he hadn’t graduated from high school.
When Taesin became the CEO of JS Capital, his background became an issue among the shareholders.
If they wanted to rebrand as a legitimate loan company, they said, he needed a college degree.
How many books he had read, how much knowledge he had acquired through self-study, how much real-world experience he had—none of that mattered.
His academic background had always followed him like an annoying tag.
Who would’ve thought it would come in handy like this?
“Since it’s come to this, hang in there. If anything’s tough, talk to me.”
“You little punk.”
Taesin ruffled his brother’s hair.
“But I was surprised. I didn’t expect a high school on an island like this. It’s bigger than I thought.”
“Yeah.”
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think we can live here without being discovered?”
He tried to act grown-up, but moments like this showed he was still a sensitive kid.
“Even if it’s an island far from the mainland, with how advanced the internet is these days, I feel like they’ll find us somehow.”
Taesin lightly gripped his brother’s shoulder and eased his anxiety with a relaxed smile.
“Yusin, you trust me, right?”
“Of course.”
“I took every precaution I could before coming here. They won’t find us that easily. And by the time they do, we’ll be ready to strike back.”
“……”
“So don’t worry about anything. Just focus on studying. Got it?”
“Okay, hyung.”
The two of them left the room together and moved into the living room.
Jaehyeok was busy in the kitchen.
Ahn Jaehyeok—Taesin’s personal bodyguard and right-hand man—was the one subordinate and friend he trusted completely.
He looked like someone who could take down dozens of thugs without batting an eye, yet his actions were meticulous and tidy beyond belief.
Unable to tolerate mess or grime, he had thoroughly cleaned the house while the brothers were at school, leaving it spotless, not a speck of dust in sight.
Now that it was all set up, the house was surprisingly livable.
Ivory wallpaper made it bright and spacious, beige floors and wooden furniture added warmth, creating a cozy yet refined atmosphere.
