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Chapter 26
He wanted to summon Song Chaeyoon and tell her exactly who had done what to him. To drag that so-called vice principal here right now and put him in front of her……
Bring the vice principal before Song Chaeyoon—and then what?
Mu-hyun quickly came to his senses and shook his head with a dumbfounded expression.
The person directly involved in this matter was Song Chaeyoon, not him.
Moreover, Song Chaeyoon seemed unaware of what he had gone through, and it was unimaginable that she would ever think to uncover the full truth of the incident.
A woman who had nothing to do with him. A matter that had nothing to do with him.
There was absolutely no reason for him to be this concerned—so why was he digging into it?
Even if he confirmed that the vice principal had fired Song Chaeyoon at someone’s instigation, and even identified who had ordered it, there was nothing in it for him. It wouldn’t help him in any way.
At best, his curiosity would be satisfied and he’d feel relieved.
Muttering emptily, Mu-hyun soon let out a dry laugh.
So what meaning did any of this have?
Song Chaeyoon had no relationship with him whatsoever.
Although he had dismissed the suspicion that she was his grandfather’s mistress, that didn’t mean there was any possibility of their relationship developing into something else.
Of course, he still felt desire whenever he saw her. But he wasn’t so idle as to give in to nothing more than physical lust……
At that moment, with a soft click, the door to the detached building quietly opened.
A figure stepped outside, their footsteps crunching softly across the front lawn toward the driveway.
From a distance, he saw Chaeyoon perched on a small rock to one side of the driveway. As Mu-hyun watched her staring blankly up at the sky, his feet began moving before he realized it.
“Why are you always so late every day? What are you doing?”
Three years ago, on the fourth day since they had run into each other on the villa’s driveway, Mu-hyun asked her that.
“Studying is fine and all, but how about coming home earlier? Grandma worries about you.”
Unable to say that it was that very grandmother who was the reason for her late returns, she only smiled faintly. Mu-hyun clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“Do you have any idea how scary the world is these days? Come home early.”
Sitting on the rock he used to sit on so often, it felt as though Mu-hyun’s voice from those days echoed vividly in her ears.
A smile formed on Chaeyoon’s lips as she sank into the memory. Just as she let out a hazy sigh along with that smile—
Crunch, crunch. The sound of footsteps on grass reached her.
Lowering her gaze from the night sky, she saw Mu-hyun approaching with confident strides, already back at the villa without her noticing.
As she watched him walking toward her in a suit that fit his tall frame perfectly, the three years between them scattered away in an instant.
Bitterness, emptiness, and sorrow mingled in her eyes.
And as always, Mu-hyun misunderstood her expression.
“Are you waiting for a man or something?”
“Yes.”
At his sudden question, Chaeyoon answered with a faint laugh.
“There was someone. Not anymore, though.”
Caught off guard by her unexpected reply, Mu-hyun stared at her with his brows deeply furrowed, as if at a loss for words.
“It’s late. If this isn’t something important, then tomorrow—”
“At this hour, what are you planning to do here alone, Ms. Song?”
“Nothing. I just couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a bit.”
“Something bothering you enough to keep you from sleeping?”
Now that she thought about it, Mu-hyun seemed a bit strange today.
His tone was still sharp, but he wasn’t being sarcastic or picking a fight. The way he looked at her—as though he had no intention of going inside—felt like he was examining something.
Could it be……?
Feeling his gaze lingering persistently on her face like never before, Chaeyoon swallowed dryly without realizing it.
Had his memories returned?
She looked straight at Mu-hyun with trembling eyes.
If he had remembered her—then……
“Or is there someone who’s been on your mind?”
As Chaeyoon struggled to contain the sudden surge of hope shaking her heart, he asked again, still watching her with that probing gaze.
So that wasn’t it.
The moment she heard his words, disappointment and relief washed over her at the same time.
Right. There was no way.
Memories that had been asleep for over two years wouldn’t just resurface all of a sudden like this.
And if Mu-hyun—whom she knew—had truly regained his memories, he wouldn’t be testing the waters like this. He would have come running straight to her and hugged her.
To hide her shaking heart, stirred by pointless hope, Chaeyoon deliberately replied more bluntly.
“No. There’s no such person.”
As if displeased with her answer, Mu-hyun’s thick eyebrows twitched.
Pretending not to notice anything, Chaeyoon stood up. If the conversation continued, she couldn’t be sure what kind of expression she might make.
“It seems you can’t sleep either, Chief Seo Mu-hyun. I’ll move out of the way, so please relax.”
“I’m not your subordinate—why are you calling me ‘Chief’?”
Just as she was about to take a step, Mu-hyun’s question stopped her. Turning her head reflexively, Chaeyoon realized how close they were and froze in surprise.
“Then… what should I call you?”
Her voice seemed to tremble. She began desperately searching for an excuse to leave.
Her already unsteady heart wouldn’t calm down—and if this face-to-face closeness dragged on any longer……
“What did you call me before?”
“…Pardon?”
Startled, Chaeyoon asked back and quickly averted her gaze. Seeing her reaction, Mu-hyun muttered in a low voice, almost to himself.
“Song Chaeyoon, you didn’t see me for the first time two weeks ago. Am I wrong?”
“What are you… talking about……”
At her belated excuse, Mu-hyun let out a small laugh and stepped closer.
The moment his long fingers lightly lifted her chin, Chaeyoon squeezed her eyes shut without realizing it.
“It must have been hard pretending not to know me all this time, Song Chaeyoon.”
“……”
“Was it fun making a fool out of someone who didn’t remember anything?”
“……It wasn’t like that.”
Sensing the anger mixed into his voice, she hurriedly spoke.
“I just thought there was no need to act familiar with someone who couldn’t remember me.”
“Was it because of my mother?”
Her eyes trembled violently. He had hit the mark.
A cold smile appeared at the corner of Mu-hyun’s lips as he looked down at her.
The inexplicable sense of déjà vu and headache that had followed him all afternoon, his mother’s behavior as she watched him closely without taking her eyes off his expression—all of it converged into Song Chaeyoon’s trembling gaze.
It was absurd, yet at the same time, it felt like this outcome had been inevitable.
The reason he felt desire every time he saw Song Chaeyoon, and yet found her inexplicably irritating—that must have been it. She possessed a fragment of his lost memories.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Having returned to a calm expression, Chaeyoon pushed his hand away and took a step back.
“I’m sorry for pretending not to know you. But it was because we weren’t close enough to warrant acting familiar. I hope you don’t misunderstand anything. I’ll go in first.”
As if afraid he might grab her again, Song Chaeyoon took a wide detour around him and left.
Mu-hyun simply watched silently as she disappeared in quick, hurried steps, as though she wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
He wanted to follow her immediately and dig into exactly what she was hiding.
What kind of relationship they had truly shared, and whether what she received from his mother had been a bribe—or a threat.
But rushing into things only made it easier to ruin them.
For now, Mu-hyun decided to accept the newly learned facts and regain his composure. He, too, was shaken by the realization that Song Chaeyoon had known him all along.
Tomorrow was Sunday, and in any case, Song Chaeyoon wouldn’t be able to leave this place.
She wasn’t irresponsible enough to abandon the study room and the villa and run away, so there would be plenty of time to confront her about everything that had happened.
