Chapter 09
Early the next morning.
After finishing getting Yerim ready for school, Heeyeon went upstairs to Seokwoo’s room. The moment she opened the door, the strong smell of alcohol hit her.
When did he drink…?
He drank wine every day, but judging by the whiskey bottle on the table, he must have had quite a lot last night.
Rustle.
He was turned away, and she suddenly froze in surprise.
A tattoo.
The large tiger eyes drawn across his back seemed to glare straight at her. Cold sweat ran down her spine.
The eyes looked vivid, sharp fangs flashing, making her body shrink back instinctively.
“I’ll bring you some honey water.”
“That’s fine.”
He pushed himself up. Pressing his temple as if his head hurt, he got off the bed and went straight into the bathroom.
While he was showering, Heeyeon took out the clothes he would wear.
After a while,
He came out, shaking his hair, and sat on the chair.
“Come here and dry my hair.”
“Ah… your hair…?”
“You don’t want to?”
“No. I’ll do it.”
As his assigned keeper, it felt like she had to do whatever he wanted. Heeyeon turned on the dryer and began drying his hair.
With a gentle breeze, she dried it while he quietly closed his eyes and waited. His hair was short, so it dried quickly.
He put wax on his hands and brushed his hair back.
“Shirt.”
“Yes.”
After finishing his hair, she immediately handed him the shirt. Whenever she prepared a white shirt, she always included a vest so the tattoo wouldn’t show through.
After all, outwardly he was the CEO of JM Capital.
Since he met many outsiders, he probably wanted the tattoo hidden.
Once he finished dressing neatly, he held out his hand, and she picked out a tie.
“Try it.”
“Pardon?”
“Tie it for me.”
“Ah… yes.”
She wondered if a keeper was supposed to do even this, but since he said he didn’t want to move a finger, she took the tie herself.
He was tall, so she had to tilt her head up.
His gaze looking down at her from above felt strangely intense.
A nice scent.
The smell of his skin lotion was very good.
How should she describe it? It wasn’t just the usual scent of lotion, but something mixed with his own natural smell.
Like how the same product smells different on each person.
“It should have reached Pilmo’s ears by now.”
“I told you, we haven’t heard from each other.”
“He’ll come soon.”
“If he contacts me, I’ll tell you right away.”
“Just don’t send him somewhere else.”
“As if I would. I’m not happy either. Because of him, my daughter and I are in danger. I want to leave this place as soon as possible too.”
Heeyeon spoke words she didn’t mean, desperately hoping he would believe her.
He smirked.
His breath brushed her forehead, making her heart pound.
“See you tonight.”
He left for work without even eating breakfast.
Once he left, the tension drained from her whole body. Heeyeon checked the time and began preparing Yerim for school.
That afternoon.
While she was anxiously waiting day after day for news about Pilmo, she got a call from her aunt.
—Heeyeon, can you come to the shop?
The word shop was their code. It meant there was news about her brother.
Heeyeon went up to Seokwoo’s room and called her aunt.
“Aunt, it’s me. Did you hear anything about him?”
—Well… a woman came. Wait a moment… I’ll put her on.
“…?”
—My name is Jung Sea. I’m with Mr. Pilmo right now…
Heeyeon’s heart dropped.
His girlfriend had come to the shop.
“Do you know what we’re going through because of you people? Come back right now.”
—I can’t.
“Hey. No matter how blinded you are, how can you run away with my brother while leaving your boyfriend…?”
—I don’t want to live getting beaten anymore! Do you know how I’ve lived all this time? That man is a sadist!
“…Ah… what?”
What is she talking about? A sadist?
Is she saying Kang Seokwoo has a cruel, violent nature?
She couldn’t believe it at all. Sea started crying and explaining.
—I came to ask Mr. Pilmo for help.
“Oppa… something happened, didn’t it?”
—He was shot. He lost a lot of blood… If we get caught here, we’ll both die. We… lost what we brought… we were so out of it…
“W-wait. You brought something else too? What…?”
—Gold bars… and the password to the secret ledger… Anyway, there’s more.
“…Ha…”
Heeyeon felt dizzy.
She thought everything would return to normal once they came back, but it wasn’t that simple.
If those items weren’t recovered, everything was over.
No wonder Seokwoo wasn’t acting recklessly just to find a runaway lover.
There was a much bigger problem.
Her insides burned with anxiety.
He was shot.
That meant her brother’s life was in danger.
—He can find the items… but right now he’s barely alive… I don’t know what to do…
“Please put my aunt back on.”
In that short moment, Heeyeon decided her brother’s life came first.
He could die somewhere without even getting treatment.
“Aunt, please. Find someone who can help.”
—I’ll go myself. I used to work as a nurse’s aide.
“Aunt…”
—I’ll close the shop and go. Don’t be surprised. I’ll turn 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. So let’s solve this together, alright?
After making a firm promise, Heeyeon hung up.
Her head throbbed.
Her brother had caused something huge.
Not just the woman, but money… and a password?
If he ran away with important company items too…
“Ah… oppa… really…”
Her vision blurred with tears of despair.
She finally got news of Pilmo, but she couldn’t tell Seokwoo.
She had to find the lost items too.
Only then could she beg Kang Seokwoo to spare her brother’s life.
Stay calm.
Right.
There’s still time.
First, save oppa…
After that… then…
Heeyeon buried her face in the bed and shook with silent sobs.
JM Capital CEO’s office, Yeouido.
When a message arrived on Heeyeon’s phone, it was immediately monitored through the cloned phone.
But instead of using her mobile, she was seen in his room, talking on the landline.
Seokwoo stared at the screen showing her.
“Did she get a call?”
“Remove the phone from my room.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I put in a home camera just in case. She still hasn’t learned her lesson. Does she think I’m a fool?”
His voice sounded cold and eerie.
On the screen, Heeyeon looked extremely flustered while talking to someone, though they couldn’t hear who.
“She may need more pressure. Time is…”
“We should postpone Chairman Cha’s release date.”
“…Pardon?”
“Call the lawyers.”
There were about two months left until Chairman Cha’s release, but it felt like more time would be needed.
Seokwoo kept watching Heeyeon through the camera.
Heeyeon waited nervously for her aunt’s call.
Tick. Tock.
Five hours had already passed.
By now, she should have reached Pilmo.
She didn’t know where he was, but there had been enough time.
Soon after,
The call she’d been waiting for came.
—Heeyeon, I closed the shop. I’m going to take a break this time.
The word shop made her immediately run upstairs to Seokwoo’s room.
Her aunt must have turned her phone on, so she needed to call—
“…!”
The phone installed in the room was gone.
She had used it earlier today. It was nowhere to be found.
What should she do?
If she used her mobile, he would hear everything.
She bit her nails nervously.
Then suddenly, a cold voice came from behind her.
“Looking for this?”
“…!”
Her breath caught.
Seokwoo was standing there, holding the very phone she had been searching for.
“Call.
Right in front of me.”
