Chapter 2
The man stepped into the elevator first, and Seonghyeon quickly followed him inside.
The man’s reflection was clearly visible on the closed elevator doors.
His chillingly calm eyes seemed capable of freezing the narrow space in an instant.
Seeing the faint twist of his perfectly straight lips, Seonghyeon could tell he was probably thinking of a solution to whatever matter had displeased him.
The moment Seonghyeon faced the man’s cold expression reflected on the flawlessly polished doors, a strange sense of déjà vu sent a chill down the back of his neck. Feeling uneasy, Seonghyeon’s eyes trembled anxiously.
Why did the high-speed elevator feel so unbearably slow today?
Seonghyeon nervously interlocked his fingers and scratched at his nails.
If a nightmare were to become reality, he felt like this would be the exact moment.
This year marked seven years since he had become the man’s secretary. Even after all that time, there were still moments he couldn’t get used to.
Like now—being trapped together in a confined space with only the two of them.
He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet he couldn’t understand why he felt like he was being punished.
At that moment, a pleasant chime rang out, announcing their arrival, and the elevator came to a stop.
A wave of relief spread across Seonghyeon’s face as he let out a shaky breath.
Following behind the man as they walked down the hallway, Seonghyeon pressed the call button on his phone when it began to vibrate.
“Yes, Chief Kim.”
He silently listened to the person on the other end, then suddenly stopped walking.
“You mean she has already arrived in Korea?”
The man walking ahead turned around at Seonghyeon’s voice.
His long, sharp eyes and side profile looked as if they had been carved from stone, yet there was not even the slightest trace of warmth or humanity in his expression.
After ending the call, Seonghyeon quickly moved to stand beside him.
“Yoon Jaei is currently in Korea, apparently.”
“Korea. Where?”
The man’s deep voice was low, but there was an unmistakable sense of urgency in his tone. Seonghyeon found himself unable to answer immediately.
Until now, the man had shown little interest in the woman. However, ever since he had reported that she had suddenly disappeared without a trace, Seonghyeon had noticed a subtle change in his attitude.
Seonghyeon had only been informed that she had returned to Korea. He had no idea about her whereabouts or what she had been doing since arriving.
She was far past the age where she could be considered a runaway child, so he couldn’t understand why she was causing trouble now.
Seonghyeon looked at the man carefully, displeased by the woman’s reckless actions of moving around without informing anyone beforehand.
“That’s still unknown… But I’ll handle it quickly and report back.”
The man showed no sign of discomfort and stopped in front of a door located in the center of the hallway.
After his fingerprint was recognized and the security system was disabled with a mechanical beep, the man immediately opened the door and entered.
Seonghyeon hesitated in the hallway, unable to enter right away, but eventually followed reluctantly behind him.
It was close to 9 p.m., and the car the man was riding in sped smoothly along the road without any traffic.
Rubbing the space between his eyebrows, which had tightened from fatigue, he turned his gaze toward the dark window.
It had been such a busy day that he hadn’t even realized how quickly time had passed while completing his scheduled appointments.
There was still no report that Yoon Jaei had been found.
It seemed at least 48 hours had already passed since the woman disappeared.
Only a few days ago, he had heard that she was looking for a job in New York.
He had no idea what kind of change had occurred in her heart during that short time.
Reports about the woman had been sent periodically.
The trivial details of her daily life were omitted, but whenever something significant happened in her life—such as entering school, graduating, or other major events—he was informed.
He had heard that, with university graduation approaching, she was applying to join a fairly well-known company.
As far as he knew, she had excellent grades and would have been able to choose wherever she wanted to go.
Until now, his responsibility had been to ensure that the woman, who had grown up without major difficulties, could continue living that way in the future.
“Representative, we’ve arrived.”
Hearing Seonghyeon’s voice from the passenger seat, the man, who had been lost in thought, straightened his upper body.
When Seonghyeon got out first and opened the door for him, he stepped out of the car without hesitation.
As the streetlights turned on, the mansion hidden in the darkness became clearly visible.
At the same time, a black silhouette curled up in front of the gate was revealed.
The sight of someone sleeping peacefully while leaning against a travel bag larger than their own body looked absurd.
Although the area had excellent security, nowhere was safe enough to sleep on the street late at night.
Seonghyeon, who was about to press the doorbell, noticed the woman’s presence too late. He flinched in surprise and, forgetting his duty as a secretary, stepped behind the man.
His expression looked as if he had seen a ghost.
When it met the man’s bewildered gaze, Seonghyeon’s face stiffened even more.
As Seonghyeon awkwardly cleared his throat, the sleeping woman flinched and slowly lifted herself up.
Even though her face was hidden in the darkness, it was clear when her closed eyes slowly opened.
Unbelievably, the woman who had just woken from a deep sleep stretched her arms upward and yawned.
But soon, perhaps sensing the gaze watching her, she suddenly stood up with a startled expression.
It felt as though she was the one welcoming an unexpected guest who had barged into her private room without notice.
“Who are you?”
Her tone was so shamelessly confident that it sounded as if she was asking why they were standing in front of someone else’s house.
“Then who are you? Sleeping in front of someone else’s house…”
When the woman opened her eyes wide and stared at him, Seonghyeon became flustered and trailed off.
Even in the darkness, her clear black eyes shone vividly.
“Someone else’s house? Then is this your house?”
Seonghyeon shook his head and gestured with his eyes toward the tall man standing behind him.
The woman’s gaze moved past Seonghyeon and landed on the tall man, whose height was nearly a head taller than him.
“Then are you perhaps Kang Joo Won?”
It seemed she couldn’t fully sense the overwhelming presence of the man in the darkness.
This was the first time Seonghyeon had seen someone casually call the man’s name so confidently.
“First, please move aside. This is not a place where just anyone can enter freely.”
Seonghyeon quickly picked up the woman’s luggage blocking the way and moved it down the stairs.
What is this? Why is it so heavy? Seonghyeon thought to himself as he moved the rest of the luggage away from the gate.
Is she moving in or something?
Something that flashed through his mind made Seonghyeon glance back at the man.
The man, who usually acted extremely cautious and strict whenever it came to the woman, seemed different this time.
No matter how much he was the man’s secretary, he couldn’t stay by his side twenty-four hours a day. And he certainly couldn’t interfere in his deeply personal private life.
It seemed the man had been meeting the woman secretly.
Otherwise, there was no reason for her to come all the way to his house.
