Stepping out of the driver’s seat, Hyeon-myeong offered a smooth reply.
Had someone hooked her heart up to Bluetooth? The moment she set eyes on his face in the distance, she could feel the pulse thumping throughout her entire body.
His steady voice carried no trace of hesitation, as if he were simply fulfilling an arrangement agreed upon long ago. Caught off guard, Yu-yeon’s lips parted like a dried pollock's mouth.
‘All right, so I’m being discharged, but why are you here? Shouldn’t you be working?’
Beneath the bright sunlight, he offered a gentle smile. The clean, refined curve of his lips looked almost innocent, which only made it more exasperating.
‘No wonder I wanted to leave at dawn. I should have slipped out before anyone noticed.’
As he steadily closed the distance, the sharp tap of his leather shoes stung her heart like small slaps.
Only when he had drawn close enough to reach out and touch her did his footsteps halt.
A man blessed with such delicate features had no business possessing a physique that large; his massive frame completely blocked her view. With her vision cut off, Yu-yeon felt suffocated.
He murmured the words, staring down at her from close overhead.
Only then did Yu-yeon realize the passage of time.
Had it truly been two and a half years since she had stood upright before this man? She had spent that entire time lying in bed, confined to a wheelchair, or hunched over a walker, so seeing her like this must feel strange to him too.
Yu-yeon lifted her head to meet Choi Hyeon-myeong’s gaze.
A subtle warmth of satisfaction lingered in his eyes. It felt like the look of a farmer gazing upon a head of napa cabbage he had tended in his own field. In that moment, Yu-yeon felt precisely like a well-grown cabbage.
His lowered gaze and the faint stretch of his lips seemed almost like a warning: ‘I grew you, so now I’m going to eat you up.’
Listening from behind, her sister Jeong-yeon chimed in. Yu-yeon shot her a glare. It was painfully obvious how he had known the exact hour of her discharge—and who had tipped him off.
Without an ounce of remorse, Jeong-yeon turned her head away with a huff and greeted Hyeon-myeong.
The two were still entirely in sync.
‘Why don’t you two just be brother and sister?’ Yu-yeon grumbled under her breath behind them before opening the rear door. It seemed best to just get in quietly and avoid making a scene.
Even that wish was denied. The moment Yu-yeon set a foot into the back, her sister slipped right behind her, gave her a nudge, and promptly took the back seat for herself.
Infuriating. Outmatched in physical strength, she couldn't even manage to be stubborn.
While Yu-yeon silently simmered, Hyeon-myeong finished loading the trunk and opened the front passenger door.
Powerless to resist, Yu-yeon swallowed her irritation and sat in the passenger seat. Terrified that Hyeon-myeong might lean in to buckle her belt himself, she hurried to grab the latch. Only after she had clicked it securely in place did the door shut.
Her will to fight completely spent, Yu-yeon sank back against the seat and closed her eyes.
Hyeon-myeong climbed into the driver’s seat and spoke, prompting her eyes to snap open.
Her body was perfectly comfortable, yes. It was her peace of mind that was in agony. Yu-yeon forced out the answer, feeling as though she were swallowing bitter medicine.
The car set off into the quiet air.
‘Is it really okay to use someone whose name appears in the business news as my chauffeur?’
Riding in a vehicle driven by Choi Hyeon-myeong himself for the first time put her on edge. Yu-yeon glanced sideways at him. Though he spoke as if he had taken the day off, he wore an impeccably tailored suit. He looked like someone who had just stepped out of a high-stakes board meeting, or who needed to rush right back to one. The realization made Yu-yeon feel intensely apologetic for taking up his time.
Focusing on navigating the congested road, he had dropped the farmer’s gentle smile for an expressionless gaze. Yet whether sitting still or in motion, an innate, effortless elegance was woven into everything he did.
Only when Hyeon-myeong pointed it out did she register the ringing tone. Her face burning, Yu-yeon scrambled to rummage through her bag. When she finally fished out the phone from the bottom, the screen displayed ‘Gwanak Police Station.’
—Hello. This is Park Sang-hyeon from Gwanak Police Station.
When the police had called previously, she mentioned her expected discharge date, and it seemed he had remembered to follow up.
—You mentioned you’d be discharged around today. Has that been arranged?
—In that case, if your schedule allows, would it be possible to meet tomorrow at the scene of the accident? Having your on-site statement as soon as possible would help the investigation.
—Yes, I’ll see you at two, then. And congratulations on your discharge.
The moment she hung up, Jeong-yeon poked her head forward from the rear seat.
Giving a vague response, Yu-yeon quietly let out a heavy sigh. More than the phone call with the police, it was what had happened right before it that kept gnawing at her mind.
The journey—comfortable for Jeong-yeon, enjoyable for Hyeon-myeong, and excruciating for Yu-yeon—finally came to an end, and the three of them stepped out of the car.
As if on cue, Hyeon-myeong and Jeong-yeon divided up the luggage. It seemed her sister fully intended to invite Choi Hyeon-myeong all the way inside.
She lacked the strength to wrest the bags from their hands, leaving her to endure one grievance after another. Yu-yeon quietly followed behind them.
The apartment Jeong-yeon had secured appeared newly built, boasting a neat exterior. What was more, it stood in the building with the best landscaping in the entire complex.
Hyeon-myeong remarking as they stepped into the elevator.
While the two of them chatted affectionately like real siblings, Yu-yeon flared her nostrils in disbelief.
This was the first time she had heard that he was the one who found the apartment. Choi Hyeon-myeong had truly taken care of every little thing. His reach seemed to extend into every corner of their lives. Treating a man like this with cold indifference felt like a sin deserving of hellfire. Her conscience was practically wailing in protest.
While Yu-yeon wrestled with her private turmoil, the elevator arrived at their floor: the twentieth.
Quickly unlocking the front door with her fingerprint, Jeong-yeon beamed like a child and led them inside.
Stepping into the entryway, they were met by a sun-drenched, bright space. Though the living room was only about half the size of their former home, it felt warm and inviting.
As Yu-yeon slipped off her shoes and stepped inside, Jeong-yeon hurried past the kitchen and swung open the door to the room furthest down the hall.
A sudden prickle touched Yu-yeon’s nose. Traces of her sister’s taste filled every corner of the home. She felt proud of Jeong-yeon for decorating and organizing the apartment entirely on her own during such an agonizing ordeal.
Back when Dad was alive, she had been a spoiled child throwing tantrums. Now, she had grown up much faster than Yu-yeon had. A thin film of moisture welled in Yu-yeon’s eyes as she watched her sister’s lovely smile. But then—
The tender moment was utterly shattered within seconds.
Yu-yeon’s panicked voice rang through the apartment.
Jeong-yeon faltered, looking bewildered by her sister’s extreme reaction. Stepping forward as if to mediate, Hyeon-myeong gave an emphatic nod.
With Hyeon-myeong’s blessing granted, Jeong-yeon turned toward the entryway, her face once again radiant with cheer.
‘Where are you going, Jeong-yeon? How can you just abandon me?’
Since it was a group project, Yu-yeon couldn’t hold her back. Her soul seemed to drift away, leaving her mouth opening and closing in vain.
Pausing mid-stride as she put on her shoes by the door, Jeong-yeon looked back at the two of them with a flower-like smile.
Realizing that Choi Hyeon-myeong had somehow closed in right beside her, Yu-yeon subtly took a step away.
‘That’s only because you don’t know what’s going on inside this man’s head.’
While she silently resented her naive sister, the front door clicked open and shut.
And there she was, stranded in an unfamiliar space that didn't feel like home yet, left all alone with the most terrifying man in the world.