Chapter 03
The Witch’s Castle
When the doors of the grand mansion opened to receive Lee Yeon, what greeted her was a vast marble lobby.
The moment she stepped onto the cold, gleaming floor, a chill traveled through her entire body—even though she was wearing slippers.
The chandelier hanging from the high ceiling had an antique elegance like something out of a movie or drama, but the blackout curtains that strictly blocked out all light and the angular sofas that looked far from comfortable made the place feel more like a model house than a home.
“Does anyone actually live here?”
Woojin, who had been walking ahead, stopped at Lee Yeon’s question.
“Only my mother stays in the main house. In other words, there’s just one patient you need to worry about.”
Only then did Lee Yeon nod.
Everyone knew that Chairman Kwon Soomyung, the owner of the Kwonseong Group, was currently living with his second wife.
This house was where Chairman Kwon’s first wife—Woojin’s mother—resided.
A moment later, a kindly looking old woman with white hair, dressed in a modernized hanbok, appeared.
Lee Yeon, tense, bowed deeply.
“Hello, madam.”
The elderly woman responded by waving her hands without saying a word.
“She’s not my mother. She’s the housekeeper who manages this place. She has a hearing impairment and can’t speak, so keep that in mind.”
“Ah… I understand.”
The old woman calmly examined Lee Yeon from head to toe, then disappeared unhurriedly.
Following Woojin as he walked ahead, Lee Yeon asked,
“She manages a house this big all by herself? She looks quite old.”
“Don’t worry. There are staff who come and go for cleaning and cooking.”
Lee Yeon slowly climbed the spiral staircase that stretched up to the second floor.
When she glanced down, the depth below felt dizzyingly far, making her knees go weak.
There was definitely something about this house.
The reason for living with a housekeeper who could neither hear nor speak, blocking out all light.
Some secret hidden in this space—one that forced them to hire someone like her, a doctor with a criminal record and nowhere else to go.
Knock, knock—
“Mother. I’ll introduce your attending physician.”
[Come in.]
At the thought of finally meeting the owner of this house, Lee Yeon felt herself tense up.
Oh Jinhwa, Chairman Kwon Soomyung’s first wife, had never been exposed to the public, but she was the only daughter of the founder of Mireum Industries, who had provided enormous capital that allowed Kwonseong Group to establish itself in the steel business.
“Don’t look surprised.”
That was what Woojin said just before opening the door.
It didn’t take long to understand what he meant.
A middle-aged woman stood by the window, looking outside through the blinds.
When she turned her head at the sound of their presence, her face was covered with countless large and small tumors, making her features difficult to discern.
Though her long sleeves and skirt concealed much of her body, grotesque growths were visible on the backs of her hands and around her ankles.
It felt like the final puzzle piece clicked into place—explaining the sense of unease Lee Yeon had felt when she first stepped into the house.
“Hello. I’m Joo Lee Yeon.”
Lee Yeon approached her and bowed.
Despite her hideous appearance, the woman spoke in a calm tone as she extended her hand for a handshake.
“You’re a brave young lady.”
Lee Yeon took Jinhwa’s hand without hesitation.
Her fingers were misshapen, the bones having grown abnormally, causing her nails to curve sharply.
As a doctor, it wasn’t a thought she should have had—but Oh Jinhwa looked like a witch trapped in an isolated castle.
“I’ve seen patients with neurofibromatosis before.”
Of course, she had never seen a case this severe, but Lee Yeon said it to put the patient at ease.
“The goods have arrived. I’ll look forward to it.”
Jinhwa turned her gaze back toward the window.
Woojin gestured toward the door with his chin, silently signaling Lee Yeon to leave.
The moment Lee Yeon stepped over the threshold, the door closed.
No sound came from inside—no hint of what mother and son were talking about.
Left alone in the wide second-floor corridor, Lee Yeon took a few steps before stopping in front of a portrait hanging on the wall.
At first, she didn’t recognize who the woman in the painting was. But looking closely, she realized it was Oh Jinhwa—without any tumors on her face.
Her deep, intense eyes without double eyelids and her sharp nose made it clear who Kwon Woojin resembled.
Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disease with no cure.
Lee Yeon didn’t know when the illness had manifested, but it explained why Jinhwa and Chairman Kwon maintained only a paper marriage, and why she had never shown herself to the world.
The reason a portrait hung there instead of a photograph was likely because of the disease.
“What are you staring at like that?”
Startled, Lee Yeon shrank back when she saw Woojin standing beside her.
Perhaps because he was so tall and always looked down at her, his eyes overlapped with the image of Oh Jinhwa in the portrait.
“Where should I stay?”
“There’s a guest room at the end of this hallway.”
Leaning against the wall, Woojin spoke in a firm tone.
“There’s one warning, though. Never go into the room next to it.”
Instead of replying, Lee Yeon turned her gaze to the room he indicated.
The tightly shut door had the same straight lever handle as the others. Its cold metal surface shimmered faintly in the light.
There’s something in that room.
Lee Yeon had decided to become the attending physician of the Kwonseong Group’s main house not because she could destroy the family that had turned her into a criminal, but because she wanted to leave at least a scratch.
Behind that resolve lay a memory she had buried long ago.
Whenever Woojin visited the orphanage, he brought stacks of reference books—some of them rare problem collections that couldn’t be found on the market. Each time Lee Yeon received them, she felt like she had become someone special.
Then one day, in the orphanage yard, she overheard Woojin talking with a friend.
“It’s fun. Kind of pitiful, too—how she really believes she can get into medical school.”
Just recalling that memory made Lee Yeon’s face burn.
That was the moment she realized his kindness had been nothing more than a child poking at an anthill for amusement.
The humiliation and anger she felt then remained like a deep scar in her chest even now.
You’ll pay for that little game.
Clenching her fist, Lee Yeon vowed to find a way into that room somehow.
Woojin was holding her suitcase—she didn’t know when he’d picked it up.
“Give it to me.”
Snatching the carry-on from him, Lee Yeon walked toward the room at the end of the hall.
A spacious room with an attached bathroom.
Something Lee Yeon—who had lived in an orphanage dorm and later in a hostel even as an adult—had never once had.
As she looked at the many pillows stacked neatly on the bed, wondering why there were so many in a room meant for one person, Woojin spoke.
“Looks like you like the bed.”
Feeling irritated, as if he’d seen through the fact that she’d never had a room like this, Lee Yeon opened her suitcase and deliberately pulled out a small device.
Woojin frowned.
“What’s that?”
“How am I supposed to trust you? There’s no guarantee there aren’t cameras hidden in this room.”
Holding a small metal detector she’d bought from a secondhand site, Lee Yeon carefully scanned the entire room.
“Do I really look like I have such a nasty hobby?”
She wanted to get on Woojin’s nerves while also making sure he didn’t look down on her.
Whether the tactic worked or not, after watching her rummage around for a while, Woojin left the room.
Once he was gone, the tension drained from Lee Yeon and she collapsed onto the bed.
There had been a time when she vowed to become a doctor to be a good role model for the children at the orphanage.
She wanted to become a specialist, a professor at a university hospital, and work for those abandoned by the world.
But she realized how arrogant that dream had been.
Now, she had to start by saving herself first.
Seeing herself stepping back onto the stage Kwon Woojin had set felt pathetic.
In hopeless situations, he was always the man who appeared before her. Every time she took the bait he threw, she fell even deeper.
This time will be different.
She had to find a crack in Kwon Woojin somehow.
After giving the room a cursory inspection, Lee Yeon closed the door and went back down to the first floor.
Woojin was waiting for her, sitting on the floor with his back against a stiff sofa.
Stride, stride—
For the first time, Lee Yeon stood before him and looked down at him as she spoke.
“I need to hear about the working conditions.”
“My secretary will deliver the documents.”
“Not that. I mean your mother’s treatment. Neurofibromatosis can’t be cured, but there should be tumors that can be surgically removed.”
“Do you think she’s never had surgery?”
“So it recurred.”
“She’s in a state where even taking a step outside the door is difficult because of complications. She can’t sleep without medication.”
Lee Yeon let out a hollow laugh.
“So I wasn’t hired as an attending physician, but as a caregiver.”
“The pay will be more than you expect.”
“What about commuting hours or vacation?”
“I don’t intend to tie you down here. But anyone entering or leaving this house must do so with my mother’s permission.”
Lee Yeon’s eyes flashed as she looked down at Woojin.
She had noticed a small bump on the back of his neck.
Without realizing it, she reached out and touched his neck.
She didn’t understand why she’d done it herself. Was it a doctor’s curiosity? Or a desire to find his weakness?
Whatever the reason, it clearly struck a nerve.
Smack—!
Woojin sharply raised his eyes and slapped her hand away.
Everything happened in an instant.
As Woojin shoved her hand aside, Lee Yeon lost her balance and fell onto him.
Woojin hit the floor, and Lee Yeon ended up straddling him.
As she tried to get up in a panic, Woojin fiercely grabbed her wrist.
“What are you up to?”
Lee Yeon didn’t avoid Woojin’s eyes, burning with rage.
“You know neurofibromatosis is a genetic disease, right?”
At those words, Woojin’s grip tightened.
“Let go! You’re hurting me!”
Lee Yeon shoved him away and stood up.
Red marks remained clearly on her wrist from how tightly he’d grabbed it.
“Say that kind of thing one more time and see what happens.”
Looking down at Woojin’s darkened expression, Lee Yeon let out a faint smile without realizing it.
It seemed she had found Kwon Woojin’s weakness.
