IH 09

Chapter 09

Early the next morning.

After getting Yerim ready for kindergarten, Heeyeon went upstairs to Seok-woo’s room. As soon as she opened the door, a strong smell of alcohol hit her.

When did he drink…

He usually drank wine every day, but judging by the whiskey bottle on the table, he seemed to have drunk quite a lot.

Rustle.

He was standing with his back turned, and she suddenly froze in surprise.

A tattoo.

A large tiger’s eye was drawn across his back, staring straight at her.

Cold sweat ran down her spine.

The vividly drawn eyes seemed to gleam fiercely, its sharp teeth flashing. She instinctively shrank back.

“I’ll bring you some honey water.”

“No need.”

He got up. Pressing his temples as if he had a headache, he got off the bed and went straight into the bathroom.

While he showered, Heeyeon prepared the clothes he would wear.

A little later—

He came out, shaking the water from his hair, and sat down on a chair.

“Come here and dry my hair.”

“Ah… your hair…?”

“Do you not want to?”

“No. I’ll do it.”

As his personal keeper, she felt she had to do whatever he asked. Heeyeon turned on the dryer and began drying his hair.

As she used a gentle breeze, he quietly closed his eyes and waited. Since his hair was short, it dried quickly.

He applied wax and slicked his hair back.

“Shirt.”

“Yes.”

As soon as he finished his hair, she handed him the shirt. Whenever she prepared a white shirt, she always included a vest so his tattoo wouldn’t show through.

After all, publicly he was the CEO of JM Capital.

Since he met many outsiders, he probably wanted to hide the tattoo.

After he finished dressing neatly, he held out his hand, and she chose a tie.

“Try it.”

“Pardon?”

“Tie it for me.”

“Oh. Yes.”

She wondered if a keeper was supposed to do even this, but since he seemed unwilling to move even a finger, she grabbed the tie herself.

He was tall, so she had to tilt her head upward. His gaze looking down at her felt strangely intense.

A nice smell.

The scent of his cologne was very pleasant.

How should she describe it? It wasn’t just the smell of ordinary skincare. It seemed mixed with his own natural scent.

Like how the same product can smell different on different people.

“It should have reached So Pilmo’s ears by now.”

“We’re not in contact.”

“He’ll come soon.”

“If he contacts me, I’ll tell you right away.”

“Don’t try to hide him somewhere else.”

“Why would I? I hate him too. Because of him, my daughter and I are in danger. I want to leave this place as soon as possible.”

Heeyeon spoke words she didn’t mean, desperately hoping he would believe her.

He smirked.

His breath brushed her forehead, making her heart pound wildly.

“See you this evening.”

Without even eating breakfast, he left for work.

Once he left, the tension drained from her body and she felt weak. After checking the time, she prepared Yerim for school.

* * *

That afternoon.

While anxiously waiting day after day for news about Pilmo, she received a call from her aunt.

—Heeyeon, can you come to the shop?

“The shop” was their code word. It meant there was news about her brother.

Heeyeon went up to Seok-woo’s room and called her aunt.

“Aunt, it’s me. Did you hear about my brother?”

—Well… a woman came. Hold on… I’ll put her on.

“…?”

—My name is Jung Sea. I’m with Pilmo right now…

Heeyeon’s heart dropped.

His girlfriend had come to the shop.

“Do you even know what we’re going through because of you? Come back right now.”

—I can’t.

“Hey. No matter how blinded you are, how could you leave your boyfriend and run away with my brother—”

—I don’t want to live being beaten anymore! Do you know how I’ve lived all this time? That man is a sadist!

“…What?”

What was she saying? A sadist? Was she saying Kang Seok-woo was a man with sadistic tendencies?

It was hard to believe.

Sea began explaining her situation through tears.

—I came to ask for help for Pilmo.

“My brother… what happened?”

—He was shot. He lost a lot of blood… but if we get caught here, we’ll both die. We… lost what we brought… everything was so chaotic…

“W-wait. You took something else too? What…?”

—Gold bars… and a secret ledger password… anyway, there’s more.

“…Ha…”

Heeyeon felt dizzy.

She had thought everything would return to normal once they came back. But that wasn’t true.

If the stolen items weren’t recovered, everything would be over.

No wonder Seok-woo wasn’t just searching for the runaway girlfriend. There was a bigger issue.

Her insides burned with anxiety.

He was shot.

That meant her brother’s life was hanging by a thread.

—He can find the items… but… he’s on the verge of death right now… I don’t know what to do…

“Please put my aunt back on.”

In that brief moment, Heeyeon decided saving her brother’s life came first. He might die somewhere without treatment.

“Aunt, please help. Find someone who can help him.”

—I’ll go. I used to work as a nurse’s aide.

“Aunt…”

—I’ll close the shop and go. Don’t be surprised. I’ll keep my phone off just in case. I’ll only turn it on when talking to you.

“Aunt…”

—I don’t know what’s going on, but be careful. Okay?

“I will. Thank you.”

—You and Pilmo are like my own children. Let’s solve this together.

After making a firm promise, Heeyeon hung up. Her head throbbed.

Her brother had caused a massive disaster.

Not just a woman, but money and passwords too? If he stole other important company items—

“Ah… brother… seriously…”

Her vision blurred with tears of despair.

She finally heard news of Pilmo, but she couldn’t tell Seok-woo.

She also had to find the missing items.

Only then could she beg Seok-woo to spare her brother’s life.

Stay calm.

Yes.

There’s still time. Save my brother first…

Then… we’ll see…

Heeyeon buried her face in the bed and her shoulders trembled.

* * *

JM Capital CEO office in Yeouido.

When a message arrived on Heeyeon’s phone, Seok-woo immediately checked the cloned phone.

However, instead of using her mobile, she was caught on camera making a call from his room phone.

Seok-woo stared intently at her through the home camera.

“Did she receive contact?”

“Remove the phone from my room.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I installed that home camera just in case. Seems she hasn’t learned her lesson yet. Does she think I’m easy?”

His voice turned dark.

On camera, Heeyeon looked extremely flustered, though he couldn’t hear who she was talking to.

“We may need more pressure. Time is…”

“Delay the chairman’s release date.”

“Pardon?”

“Call the lawyers.”

There were about two months left until Chairman Cha’s release, but it seemed he needed more time.

Seok-woo continued watching Heeyeon through the camera.

* * *

Heeyeon anxiously waited for her aunt’s call.

Tick. Tock.

Five hours had already passed. By now she should have reached Pilmo.

Wherever he was, there had been enough time.

Then—

The awaited call finally came.

—Heeyeon, I closed the shop. I’m taking a break too this time.

At the code word “shop,” she immediately went upstairs to Seok-woo’s room.

Her aunt would have turned her phone on now.

She needed to call…

“…!”

The phone installed in the room was gone.

She had definitely used it earlier that day, but now it was nowhere to be found.

What do I do?

If she used her mobile, he would listen to everything.

She bit her fingernails nervously.

Then suddenly, a chilling voice came from behind her.

“Are you looking for this?”

“…!”

Heeyeon nearly suffocated.

Seok-woo was standing there, holding the very phone she had been searching for.

“Call.”

He held it out.

“Call while I watch.”