Chapter 09
Night Intruder
Iyeon’s eyes, already accustomed to the darkness, hurriedly found the built-in wardrobe. Moving on tiptoe, she slipped inside and hid herself. By a hair’s breadth, Woojin opened the bedroom door and walked in right after.
Iyeon curled herself low, holding her breath.
The room lights turned on brightly, but Woojin, unaware that she was inside the closet, began rummaging through the drawers. The rustle of paper and the clatter of objects followed one after another, and then he took out his phone and made a call somewhere.
“Director. I’m leaving the main house now. I was delayed because I forgot some documents.”
When Iyeon realized that the person Woojin was calling was an executive of the Kwonseong Group, she focused intently on the conversation.
“Joo Iyeon seems to be adapting well. Rather than cutting off people who might cause noise altogether, it’s better to keep them close and control them. She’s doing a decent job as a personal physician, too. After working for a few years, she’ll earn enough to open her own clinic, so any resentment will fade. Don’t worry.”
Woojin ended the call and fell silent.
At that moment, Iyeon understood exactly why he had hired her as a live-in personal physician.
Her body trembled with anger, but for now she had to accept the reality of hiding inside his closet.
She absolutely must not be discovered.
Even after finding the documents he had forgotten, Woojin didn’t leave the room right away.
Sareureuk— The sound of pages turning suggested that he was flipping through a sketchbook.
Had he noticed that someone had touched his drawings?
With her nerves on edge, Iyeon waited for him to leave.
After a while, the lights went out, and Woojin exited the room.
Only then did Iyeon let out a quiet sigh.
The thought that, to Kwon Woojin, she was nothing more than a broken radio making annoying noise made her shudder.
But there was one thing he was completely mistaken about.
Joo Iyeon was not someone who could be controlled by anyone.
Perhaps the previous personal physicians who had passed through this house had fluttered away after saving up enough money to open their own clinics.
But Iyeon made a firm vow that she would leave behind at least one indelible scar on the Kwonseong Group before she left.
Just then, her hand brushed against a box as she was about to come out of the closet.
When she opened the lid, she found an old album and what looked like award plaques inside. The plaques were from various competitions, academic excellence awards, volunteer awards—credentials easily accumulated by a third-generation chaebol heir.
What caught Iyeon’s attention was an album of Kwon Woojin that appeared to be from his high school days.
Amid the unremarkable growth process of a noble young gentleman, one photograph drew her gaze.
It showed Kwon Woojin in a high school uniform, rolling up his pants and stepping on blankets by a faucet at an orphanage.
It was strange. Woojin had come to volunteer quite often, but then one day he suddenly stopped coming, and Iyeon had no memory of ever seeing him in a school uniform.
Though he had pitied her and looked down on her, Iyeon would sometimes think of him nonetheless.
In the photograph, Kwon Woojin was clearly wearing a school uniform. Why was he washing blankets at the orphanage?
Iyeon took that photo out of the album and hid it against her chest.
The next day, Iyeon straightened her stiff body from the sofa.
She could never fall asleep on the soft bed, so she always slept on the sofa. Because she couldn’t stretch her legs out fully, her body felt stiff every morning.
After washing her face and tidying herself up, Iyeon stood in front of Oh Jinhwa’s door.
Knock, knock, knock—
[Come in.]
As Iyeon parted her lips to greet her, Jinhwa interrupted.
“Wait. Could you give me a normal greeting today?”
“A normal greeting?”
Iyeon hesitated for a moment, but seeing Jinhwa’s unusually lively expression today, she sensed what she wanted.
“Did you sleep well? How are you feeling today?”
“Should I be honest?”
When Iyeon nodded, the corners of Jinhwa’s lips lifted.
“I slept really well last night. So I’m in a good mood.”
“That’s great. I guess the daily exercise is working.”
“And I even had a nice dream, for once.”
“What kind of dream?”
“I saw Woojin when he was little. He was so cute back then—you can’t even imagine it, Dr. Joo.”
Coincidentally, Iyeon had seen photos of Woojin’s childhood just the night before.
One of those photos was even safely tucked between the pages of her notebook.
“Cute… it’s hard to imagine.”
Iyeon replied without thinking.
“After changing my medication, it’s gotten easier for me to move,” Jinhwa said.
At her words, Iyeon stepped closer.
The neurofibromas on her arms, hands, and face seemed slightly smaller.
“I’m glad there aren’t any side effects from the new medication. The nodules have shrunk a bit, so it must be easier to move.”
“You said we should increase the exercise time, right?”
“Yes. Shall we try adding just ten more minutes starting today?”
Because the nodules had shrunk, the smile on Jinhwa’s lips looked a little clearer.
“I’m in a good mood! Dr. Joo, go out today.”
“Pardon? Where?”
“Anywhere. Isn’t it stifling, being stuck in this countryside?”
“Well, yes, but I don’t really have any plans…”
Jinhwa stared intently at Iyeon’s face.
“I’ll make an appointment for you. Go to Seoul and get some laser treatment on your face.”
Iyeon touched the area around her injured eye.
“It’s healed quite a bit.”
“Get it treated properly so it doesn’t leave a scar. There’s a plastic surgery clinic that has a partnership with the Kwonseong Group. Only celebrities and VIPs go there.”
Iyeon’s suturing had been perfect.
It would take time, but she was confident there would be no scar.
Still, it was true that staying inside the house all the time felt suffocating.
“Alright. I’ll go out.”
Iyeon decided that after her treatment, she would visit the orphanage where she had lived.
If anyone remembered young Kwon Woojin, it would be the orphanage director.
Riding in the driver’s car, Iyeon sped down the highway and arrived at a five-story building located in the heart of Gangnam.
Just as Jinhwa had said, this seemed like a place ordinary people couldn’t easily enter.
For starters, there was no shared waiting room for patients; instead, private rooms were prepared for those with reservations.
The system was designed so that people visiting the hospital would never have to see each other face to face.
Guided by a staff member, Iyeon entered a luxurious treatment room and received scar treatment with state-of-the-art laser equipment.
“Please come in once every two weeks for treatment. This way, please.”
Even after the scar treatment was finished, Iyeon received various skin care procedures provided by the hospital.
Since she roughly knew the costs of the machines and injections, she could tell how expensive today’s procedures were.
After everything was done, Iyeon returned to her private room and looked at herself reflected in the mirror.
The scar was still there, but the glow of her skin was astonishing.
Just then, she heard someone pounding violently on her door.
“Who are you? Let me see your face!”
A shrill female voice was followed by the driver’s voice.
“You can’t behave like this here.”
“I said, open the door!”
Unable to predict the situation outside at all, Iyeon flung the door open.
She recognized at a glance who was standing there.
Park Jiyu.
A movie star who had starred in several films with audiences in the tens of millions.
And yet, filthy words were spilling from such a famous person’s mouth.
“Who the hell are you! Who do you think you are, taking my spot?”
Iyeon’s mind worked quickly.
Had the hospital changed Park Jiyu’s appointment after suddenly receiving a call from Oh Jinhwa of the Kwonseong Group?
“And who are you supposed to be?”
Once she grasped the situation, Iyeon shot back.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“Do I really need to?”
Jiyu’s lips trembled in frustration.
“Kwon Woojin must be crazy. Replacing me with some shabby nobody like you.”
Wait.
It didn’t sound like she was talking only about a hospital appointment.
Iyeon recalled something Jinhwa had said once.
That the movie star Park Jiyu had been taking medication and putting on a show because of Woojin.
A hollow laugh slipped out of Iyeon’s mouth.
