Chapter 43 …
Na-yeon tapped her long nails against the table, glaring at the firmly shut door.
The agreed-upon time had already passed by ten minutes.
She had always hated waiting for someone, but she couldn’t leave her seat.
And yet, she had been secretly in love with Chai-do for over ten years. Even she had to admit how ridiculous that was.
By the time the ice in her glass had melted to half its size, the café door hurriedly swung open. A small, frail-looking woman appeared.
“Why are you so late?”
“I’m sorry… work ran late.”
The woman, who seemed to have rushed over, quickly wiped the sweat off her forehead.
“What do you mean you didn’t show up suddenly?”
Without even thinking about ordering a drink, Na-yeon cut straight to the point. Ever since the woman had called, she couldn’t focus on anything. She had to meet her in person to hear the full story.
“Just as I told you. We had an appointment, and you were supposed to come to a café near where I work… but when I arrived, you weren’t there.”
“So… you just left without even seeing my face?”
“…Yes.”
Na-yeon brushed her hair back in frustration.
She had searched everywhere for a woman who resembled the old photos of Lee Hae-su, hoping to divert Chai-do’s attention from Yoo Se-hee.
She needed someone to play the part. Once the woman she had been tracking for so long appeared, someone like Yoo Se-hee would be forgotten.
Even if it meant resurrecting the dead. Winning his heart on her own seemed impossible, so she planted another woman to watch his reactions. At the very least, she wanted to separate him from Yoo Se-hee for now.
She had found a woman drowning in debt and trained her thoroughly, feeding her all the information she had gathered.
According to the servants who had been her informants, Chai-do often hired people to investigate adoptions across Minnesota and the country.
She had hooked a small pawn and even leaked information to Director Lee. Now, all that was left was for Chai-do to bite. But with no response, impatience was inevitable.
“Didn’t you make a mistake?”
“No mistakes. I even cleared my schedule in advance, just in case she was late. I’ve never called or met her face-to-face before.”
“Then why…?”
Na-yeon couldn’t understand why Chai-do, who always frowned whenever she mentioned Lee Hae-su, had suddenly changed.
It couldn’t have been out of consideration for his wife Yoo Se-hee.
Chai-do wasn’t the type to care about etiquette or morals, which made it even more puzzling. She had heard he had completely moved Cha Jae-seok’s residence.
Since she couldn’t go herself, she had no way of knowing the exact situation. Chai-do had already blocked her number and hadn’t even made eye contact with her at the last founding event.
He had no idea how stubbornly that made her pursue him. If that was the case, he shouldn’t have started anything in the first place.
‘I regret my father’s situation.’
The heir of a prominent construction company and the daughter of a chauffeur—Chai-do was someone she thought she could never reach. She had intended to keep her feelings silent and let them end there.
Yet it was Chai-do who had given her hope.
The moment he extended his hand even once, she dared to hope. She believed, perhaps, that a dream could become reality. His arrogant eyes had never truly looked at her, but still…
Once she decided to pursue something, she never let go. She had always been ambitious and obsessive since childhood. Even after her only father died, she had felt joy in finally having a reason to hold Chai-do close.
‘Ah.’
She could never forget the image of Chai-do holding Yoo Se-hee’s cheek, letting out a languid sigh. That should have been her place. It had been decided from the start. The goal was right there.
Even if it had been out of duty or guilt, if Chai-do had married her, perhaps he would have gradually fallen in love.
But the sudden appearance of Yoo Se-hee had ruined everything.
She felt that if she could claim that spot even once, she could finally be satisfied. She couldn’t just let it go.
Had he realized it? That she wasn’t really Lee Hae-su?
“…Still, you’re going to transfer the promised money, right? I’m in a bit of a hurry…”
“What are you talking about—getting paid for something? You haven’t even met Chai-do yet.”
Annoyed, Song Na-yeon pulled her ringing phone from her bag. Listening quietly to the report, her eyebrows slanted in disapproval.
“What’s this…”
Na-yeon bit her lip and put the phone down. Her thin, wide-open eyes trembled.
“Go. You’re no longer needed.”
“…What?”
“There’s no role for you anymore! Go away! He’s not looking for you!”
The woman jumped to her feet at the bang of Na-yeon slamming the table.
“If you speak carelessly, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
Annoyed, Na-yeon pulled an envelope from her bag and threw it on the floor.
Things had gotten messy.
The fake Lee Hae-su plan was ruined. She needed to quickly come up with another approach.
Director Lee hesitated in front of Chai-do’s room, unsure how to start the conversation.
Chai-do’s father, Cha Jae-seok, was a master at betraying others. He used his sharp mind and quick judgment in underhanded ways.
He would pretend to help struggling companies, secretly increase their illegal debts, and steal their technology in return.
It wasn’t business—it was gambling with money.
Small companies, trapped, had no choice but to hand over talented staff and trade secrets.
This led to lawsuits and long court battles.
In the end, the other side lost due to insufficient evidence.
But the anger of the construction company CEO, who had lost everything, wasn’t directed at Cha Jae-seok—it went elsewhere.
Out of spite for the unfair judgment, he had collided his car recklessly, and unfortunately, Prosecutor Yoo Hyung-jin’s wife was in the car.
Yoo Se-hee’s mother died in the accident.
Though the perpetrator faced trial, Yoo Hyung-jin became suspicious of the case he was handling.
To uncover the truth behind the death of his wife, he approached Hae-kang and voluntarily became Chai-do’s pawn to set things right.
That was five years ago.
“Perhaps it would be best to just tell the truth…”
Finally speaking up, Director Lee suggested the obvious. Chai-do had placed printed documents and a laptop in the first drawer.
“Clearing up misunderstandings could help….”
Yoo Se-hee’s illness was mental. No amount of forcing IV drips or sleep could cure it.
While Yoo Se-hee, having stopped eating, lay in agony, Chai-do had done nothing. At first, he had mistaken her for Lee Hae-su, but he showed no interest in finding the real Lee Hae-su.
“What about Yoo Se-jin?”
Yet he pretended not to know that Yoo Se-hee requested help.
It was incomprehensible behavior.
Perhaps he knew she would leave once given everything.
Chai-do fiddled with the lock on the drawer he had tightly shut, lost in thought.
“Bring Yoo Se-jin. The fastest flight.”
Early morning.
Standing quietly at the entrance, Chai-do wiped the bitter smile from his lips as he glanced back.
‘Sometimes… I hope she remembers me and smiles, even when I’m not around.’
‘Even if it’s not perfect, just do it… because she spent the whole day thinking of me.’
Flushed earlobes, an innocent expression, a trembling voice masking awkwardness—all of it was endearing. Even knowing it was false, he wanted to hear more.
Yoo Se-hee acted like a perfect wife. She secretly took birth control pills daily, as requested by the servants. Yet with that beautiful face, she deceived him.
It was arrogance.
He wanted her to stay by his side without having to explain everything.
He didn’t know that to keep someone close, you had to make them happy.
He thought it was enough to satisfy needs, imprint the idea that he was indispensable, make her cling to him, and anxiously depend on him.
He didn’t realize that once the means disappeared, everything would end.
[Yoo Se-jin is scheduled to arrive by the 5 PM flight today. She has been instructed to come straight to the house from the airport.]
Reading Director Lee’s message, Chai-do walked through the empty house once more.
It was Yoo Se-hee’s final chance.
