Chapter 60…………………………..
Dowoon calmly thought things through again.
Using Chohee as bait meant she would have to do something inside the consulate that would draw everyone’s attention—like picking a fight with someone or causing a loud disturbance. It could even include behavior that would spark rumors of an affair with Minamoto.
No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t think of anything less provocative than that.
Which meant that once this was over, not only would Chohee end up at odds with Mrs. Minamoto, but she might even be marked by the police and dragged away.
“I can’t sacrifice a civilian like that. I’m worried about her safety.”
“Normally, I’d agree with you. But this is too important.”
With unusual firmness, Yosef rejected Dowoon’s words.
“What matters most to you? Doesn’t your country’s safety matter?”
“Yosef!”
At the heavy accusation, Dowoon glared at him.
Did his country’s safety not matter? That was not something Yosef could say, knowing what Dowoon had already sacrificed.
As if deliberately provoking him further, Yosef met his gaze head-on.
“Don’t we have values we can never compromise on? You and I—we’re both dedicating our lives to one thing: independence.”
“……”
“Didn’t you say you’d risk everything to achieve it?”
“……”
“If it’s for the country, personal sacrifice is inevitable. Don’t you know that? Weren’t those your own words when your friends died?”
At the mention of “friends,” Dowoon’s brow twitched.
It felt like a forbidden nerve had been struck, as if he might collapse at any moment.
It was the oath he had made three years ago, when he first met Yosef in Sinuiju—
That he would give everything for his country’s independence.
His body, his knowledge, his money—his future and happiness. Even his life was not too precious.
But he hadn’t expected that Chohee would have to be sacrificed too.
“…Give me some time.”
“Time?”
“I need time to think. If you give me time, I’ll come up with a plan—a plan that succeeds without sacrificing a civilian.”
“Is it because you don’t want to sacrifice a civilian? Or because that civilian is Sung Chohee?”
A sharp gaze pierced him. Yosef’s voice carried a quiet accusation.
“Have you perhaps given your heart to that woman?”
“…It’s not like that.”
“Then why hesitate?”
“……”
A heavy silence sank between them. Yosef waited, but Dowoon couldn’t answer.
He couldn’t bring himself to speak of the feelings he had tightly locked away.
After several minutes, Yosef sighed again.
“Fine. If that’s truly your will, I’ll give you time. But only three days. I can’t give you much longer.”
“…I’ll give you my answer by tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
Yosef stood up with an obvious sigh.
“I expect a positive answer.”
With words that sounded like a warning, he left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Dowoon buried his face in his hands.
He hadn’t drawn Chohee in because he wanted her to share his downfall.
But he had known from the start—
That someday, she might get hurt. Back then, he thought it wouldn’t matter.
He had investigated her, threatened her, pressured her into a contract—all to use her.
Even while doing those things, he felt no guilt. He had clear priorities.
Even knowing she could be hurt, he pushed forward.
Now, regretting it was far too late.
His mind told him he must accept sacrifice for the sake of his country, but his heart screamed the opposite.
His priorities had become hopelessly tangled.
If he could, he wanted to split his life in two and sacrifice himself in her place.
But he couldn’t.
“What should I do…?”
A deep sigh slipped through his fingers as he covered his face.
Chohee stared intently at the documents she had translated.
If these really were codes, then the place where Moon-gyu worked was definitely not an ordinary trading company.
Why else would they exchange letters using such encryption?
This kind of coded correspondence…
She had seen it before.
“It’s exactly the same as back then.”
Chohee hurried out of her room and went to the guest room where she had stayed before. She opened the desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper wedged inside.
It had been the clue that made her realize Dowoon was involved in the independence movement.
“‘Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, Transportation Bureau Report. Regarding candidate routes for financial transport.’”
Her voice trembled. Beneath it was a string of meaningless words.
It felt like being struck on the head.
“…The format is similar.”
More than similar—it was identical. The documents Kim Moon-gyu had given her and the ones Dowoon had possessed were astonishingly alike.
Suspicious events began fitting together like puzzle pieces.
“Was Iryung Trading Company not just a company?”
She was no longer shocked or upset at the thought of meeting independence activists.
Through Dowoon, she had come to understand, at least somewhat, what they did.
And she believed that, to protect someone she loved, she could do the same.
That realization made her hands tremble even more.
If what she had been involved in was helping the independence movement…
If it could aid Dowoon and her brother…
Then it might even feel meaningful. And maybe she could stand more confidently before Dowoon.
“I need to confirm it.”
Clutching the documents, Chohee rushed out, heading toward the new town district.
After leaving the company, Dowoon also headed toward the new town.
He needed to find Wada.
It was the conclusion he had reached after hours of agonizing thought.
If Chohee didn’t go to the consulate, she couldn’t be used as bait.
There needed to be a reason she wouldn’t go—one that everyone would accept.
For example, that there was no longer any reason to maintain the contract.
The contract had been to extract information about the railway.
To gather information without drawing attention, they had gone through Mrs. Minamoto.
But now Wada, the head of the Railway Bureau under the Governor-General, was in Sinuiju.
Through him, they could obtain railway information much faster.
Of course, that meant Dowoon would have to sacrifice something—he would have to give Wada information in return.
That was why he had avoided direct contact.
But now, he had no choice but to use Wada as a last resort.
Even if it meant giving up a part of himself.
If the contract with Chohee ended early, she would have no reason to help him.
‘Then there’d be no justification to use Chohee as bait.’
As long as she could be safe, nothing else mattered.
Dowoon grabbed a shoeshine boy wandering the streets—one of the children he used as informants.
“Sir!”
“Where is Wada right now?”
“Right now, sir?”
“It’s urgent. Contact the others and find him quickly.”
At Dowoon’s urgency, the boy swallowed hard and ran off into the alley.
Arriving in the new town before heading to Andong County, Chohee spotted someone unexpected and quickly hid in an alley.
‘Dowoon?’
He was supposed to be at work, yet there he was in the street.
He was so strikingly handsome that she recognized him instantly even from afar—almost as if he had a glow around him.
Chohee rubbed her eyes.
‘Am I seeing things because I like him?’
It was both amusing and surprising how easily she recognized him from a distance.
She hadn’t seen him for a few days, yet she already felt this happy just seeing him.
That morning, he had left at dawn, and she had only managed to catch a glimpse of his back as she saw him off.
He still seemed uncomfortable around her.
‘Is his side okay?’
He stood straight, looking better than before, but it hadn’t been a shallow wound.
He could probably manage on his own now, but it wouldn’t be as careful as when someone else tended to it.
She wished she could at least apply medicine and wrap it for him.
He was supposed to disinfect it twice a day, just as Rian had said—she wondered if he was doing it properly.
“I really am hopeless.”
Thinking about him made her smile without realizing it.
Even seeing him from afar made her heart flutter.
But the smile soon faded.
‘Why is he here?’
He looked like he was waiting for someone—perhaps he had an appointment.
Even though she saw him, she couldn’t bring herself to approach.
Instead, she stayed hidden, secretly watching him.
She felt that she didn’t have much time left to look at him so openly like this.
Just then, a shoeshine boy approached him. After a brief conversation, Dowoon handed the boy some money.
He hadn’t even polished his shoes—why give him money?
Frowning in confusion, she watched as Dowoon quickly left.
“Oh!”
Chohee stepped out of the alley.
She hadn’t come out to meet him, but she couldn’t just ignore him after seeing him like this.
More than anything, his unusual urgency bothered her.
‘I’ll just see where he’s going, then go on my way.’
Making up her mind, she followed him.
She had become familiar with the new town streets, and after walking a bit, she realized where he was headed.
It was a place she knew well.
Her steps stopped in front of Hongwongak, a gisaeng house. She had clearly seen him enter inside.
Her heart began to pound.
He had said he wouldn’t come here again…
Was that just talk? Or did he really have someone he loved inside?
The thought made her chest tighten painfully.
After hesitating outside for a long time, Chohee shut her eyes tightly, then opened them again.
She wanted to see it with her own eyes—
Who Dowoon was meeting here, and what he was saying.
Only then could she truly give up this hopeless, one-sided love.
Inhaling deeply,
Chohee stepped inside Hongwongak.
