Chapter 3
A Villain’s
Pure Devotion
An Opportunity Arrives
Yeonwoo’s mother, Ms. Shin Sunmi, had slipped on the stairs and was rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Her heart racing, Yeonwoo flew to the hospital only to find her mother lying in a hospital bed with a full leg cast. Her left leg was broken, and her wrist was fractured.
“Are you okay, Mom?”
As Yeonwoo pulled up a chair and checked on her, Ms. Shin nodded with a miserable expression.
“Still, it could’ve been worse. I thought I was a goner, I tell you.”
“You should have been careful. How did this happen?”
“Well, I was coming down the stairs when someone called me from above in a hurry. I lost my focus, turned my head, and missed a step. I thought I was checking the water temperature of the River Styx.”
Her mother shifted her body, groaning intermittently. Yeonwoo watched her with a look of helplessness.
“But what brings you home all of a sudden? What wind blew you in?”
“Huh? Me? Oh, well…”
“What about work?”
“Uh-huh. Work? I’m on vacation.”
“Ah, vacation? You should’ve told me in advance.”
“It was a last-minute thing. I came because I missed you, Mom.”
Dismissing Yeonwoo’s words as nothing special, Ms. Shin let out a grunt and stared up at the ceiling. It was an incredibly busy time with guests arriving, and she seemed troubled by the work she had left behind.
“This is driving me crazy. This is no time for me to be lying around like this.”
“What are you talking about, Mom? The doctor said you have to be absolutely careful and stay still for a few months. He said you have to be especially cautious if you don’t want to suffer later.”
Ms. Shin shook her head, telling her she didn’t understand the situation.
“Caution or no caution, I have to go to Domyeongjae. There must be crutches. I’ll have to grab those and go.”
“Right now?”
Yeonwoo’s eyes widened. Her mother looked frantic.
“I told you, you can’t, Mom. Didn’t you hear the doctor tell you to lie still? He said they need to check your back, too.”
“I’m telling you, I have to go. At Domyeongjae, if you take a leave like this without a plan, you’re retired. They don’t wait for people to get better, you know.”
Ms. Shin lamented as if she had seen the future. Since her body wouldn’t move as she wanted, the frustration deepened the wrinkles on her brow.
- 2 -
Domyeongjae had many long-term employees. Even Ms. Shin, who had worked there for twenty-five years, wasn’t the longest-serving staff member. Because such long-tenured employees made up the majority and there was no set retirement age, an implicit rule had formed.
Whatever the reason, if you left your post, you couldn’t return.
“If I just lie here and rest, they’ll have to hire someone else to fill the spot, and then I can’t go back.”
“Oh, come on. Even if you were injured while working?”
“It doesn’t matter. You either have to find a replacement worker to take your place and get them approved, or you have to give up the spot. Once they put a new person in my place, there’s no room for me to go back. That’s the end of it.”
Sigh. Ms. Shin exhaled deeply. Then, as if seized by anxiety again, she waved her hand.
“No. This is no time to be sitting around. I have to go. Even if I die there, I’m going.”
As her mother tried to push herself up again, Yeonwoo forced her back down. Barely managing to stop her mother, who kept repeating that she had to go, Yeonwoo spoke up.
“You can’t even stand up properly, Mom. Where do you think you’re going? Just stay still. You’re going to cause a real disaster like this.”
“Ugh, sob. I told you I have to go. Do you know how many years I’ve given to Domyeongjae? I can’t just collapse like this. No, I’m going. Even if my back is broken instead of my leg, I have to go…”
Watching her mother, who was eventually driven to tears by urgency and anxiety, Yeonwoo suddenly caught her breath. Her mother’s worry—greater for her job than for her broken leg—suddenly struck her as a sort of ‘opportunity.’
Domyeongjae. Domyeongjae.
The word flashed through her mind like a bolt of lightning.
“Mom.”
Yeonwoo took her mother’s hand.
“Mom. You said it’s fine if a replacement worker is approved, right? Then I’ll go.”
“Wh-what did you say?”
“I can just be your replacement.”
…Found it.
“I’ll go to Domyeongjae.”
A place to hide.
Domyeongjae was a landmark designated as a Tangible Cultural Property in 1987.
During the turbulent times of the Joseon Dynasty, it served as a study hall for Confucian scholars, and during the Japanese colonial period, it was used as a school where students learned the Korean language. The belief passed down through generations was to keep the threshold of the house low, never barring the path of those who wished to learn.
Though Seongheon’s great-grandfather had donated most of Domyeongjae’s land to the state, the people of Moksan County still considered it the Nam family’s land and took pride in the family as the heart of their region.
Considering the employees and their families, it was no exaggeration to say that a significant portion of Moksan County was intertwined with Domyeongjae. It was a common saying among the locals that you were only one person away from someone connected to Domyeongjae, and that wasn’t far from the truth.
Domyeongjae was the symbol of Moksan County—and a massive kingdom in its own right.
- 3 -
“Domyeongjae.”
Having arrived at her mother’s workplace, Yeonwoo tilted her head back and looked up at the plaque. She unconsciously muttered the Chinese characters written neatly in regular script. After savoring the name on the plaque, which exuded the grandeur of a master’s brushstroke, Yeonwoo slowly lowered her gaze.
She stepped inside, passing through the entrance of Domyeongjae, which was open to anyone for sightseeing. There, red plum blossoms hung in clusters, like crimson dots painted onto the canvas of Yeosongsan Mountain.
A sudden southern breeze blew, scattering thousands of blossoms like a celebratory burst of confetti. In the center stood a five-hundred-year-old pine tree, designated as a natural monument, wearing the petals on its body like epaulettes.
Passing through the tourists, who were fewer than usual due to the rain, Yeonwoo continued walking further in. After walking quite a while following the signposts and the directions her mother had given her, a gate that separated the inner and outer grounds came into view.
「NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY」
No unauthorized entry. Yeonwoo read the warning sign and reached out to press the bell. After a harsh ringing sound echoed several times, a man’s voice answered.
—Who is it?
“Hello. I have an appointment to see Manager Moon Ok-rye. My name is Ji Yeonwoo.”
—Ji Yeonwoo-ssi?
“Yes. I’m the daughter of Shin Sunmi, who works here.”
—Ah, Ms. Shin Sunmi. Yes, yes. One moment.
The man’s voice over the intercom cut off, and a moment later, the door opened with a metallic clack. Yeonwoo stepped inside the iron gate and walked for a long time yet again.
She reached a security checkpoint halfway through, and only after walking just as far again did she finally reach her destination. Domyeongjae was split into two: the part open to any outsider, and the part open to no one.
Yeonwoo looked back at the path she had walked and bit her lip.
Yes. This place was perfect for hiding. As long as she didn’t leave on her own two feet, no one would be able to find her here.
As if hardening her resolve, Yeonwoo stepped into the building. Into the heart of Domyeongjae—Moksan County’s secret kingdom, a closed space where she could hide without leaving a single trace behind.
—The power is turned off, connecting to voice mail…
The moment he received word that Yeonwoo hadn’t shown up for work, Cha Yunseok pressed the call button again before the previous call had even fully ended.
—The power is turned off, connecting to voice mail…
He gritted his teeth and hit the end button. He tried calling again, but the same automated message informed him the connection couldn’t be made.
He had already called nearly a hundred times, but Cha Yunseok did not give up and dialed again.
—The power is turned off, connecting to voice mail…
“Goddamn it!”
Blaring his horn at the car in front of him, Cha Yunseok veered into an alleyway and, a moment later, pulled up in front of Yeonwoo’s house.
Slamming the car door shut, he headed straight for her apartment. He kicked the front door as if to break it down while ringing the bell incessantly.
“Ji Yeonwoo! Hey! Come out! I said come out!”
He pounded on the door, shouting, but all was silent. Cha Yunseok scanned the surroundings for a moment before placing his hand on the door’s keypad.
Cha Yunseok knew the password to Yeonwoo’s house. He had obtained it through illegal means, repeatedly installing and removing cameras in front of her door.
He punched in the code and twisted the handle; the door opened. Breathing heavily, he stepped inside with his shoes still on.
“Ji Yeonwoo! Ji Yeonwoo! Hey, where are you!”
Yeonwoo was nowhere to be found in the two-room apartment. With hands trembling with rage, Cha Yunseok began pulling out various drawers before starting to call Yeonwoo again.
In the short time it took to connect to the voicemail, Cha Yunseok grabbed whatever was in sight and hurled it to the floor.
Beep— The call connected to the voice mailbox.
“Hey, you’re actually betraying me like this? You dare run away from me? You?!”
Cha Yunseok screamed, his voice laced with venom.
Huff, huff. He straightened his back and took deep, chest-heaving breaths. Staring at his reflection in the vanity mirror she would have used every morning, a fishy smile spread across his face.
Then, his tone softened instantly as he continued.
“Yeonwoo. Did you go out for some fresh air? Where did you go? If you tell me, I’ll come pick you up right away. It’s dangerous to go around alone.”
A flash of madness ignited in his eyes.
“Call me right now. It’ll be better for your well-being if you come find me, rather than me finding you.”
His gaze shifted once more, and this time he spoke soothingly, as if coaxing her, with a hint of a laugh.
“Yeonwoo, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Everything is my fault. I’m sorry for hurting your feelings and making things hard for you. I’ll apologize. Let’s talk face-to-face. Face-to-face, okay? Call me. I think I’m going to go crazy if I don’t see you, so call me. Okay?”
After the tender coaxing, the expression on Cha Yunseok’s face in the mirror twisted hideously.
“I warned you. I told you that you can’t get away from me. It seems you took my words for a joke.”
Even in the span of leaving a short message, Cha Yunseok’s personality and tone shifted several times. The look that made Yeonwoo tremble with terror and devastated her life—
That gaze.
“Fine. Great. Try hiding like a little rat. Go ahead. Hide so well that not a single hair can be seen.”
With that face.
“I will find you. No matter what.”
Cha Yunseok left the message.
