Chapter 17

“Where did we leave off?”

“We confirmed why Baek Sun-oh and I went there, and they asked since when the noises from the basement had been happening. For now, they’re checking the woman’s identity and Baek Yeo-hyun’s condition.”

At Heo Naryeon’s question, Gam Tae-ju answered calmly. He didn’t recklessly say anything like “Baek Yeo-hyun seems dead.”

As she hesitated, a police officer walked up.

“Heo Narim.”

“Yes!”

Though the officer had called only Narim, everyone nearby turned their eyes toward him.

“For now, the woman who was living in the basement doesn’t seem to be in a condition to speak. A female officer is with her because she’s too afraid of men. Other than saying ‘please save me,’ she hasn’t said anything.”

Though the officer must have felt the weight of all those stares, his tone stayed businesslike as he continued.

“Our guess is that she was confined there by someone else, highly likely a man, and lived locked up for some time.”

Narim squeezed her eyes shut. If only she had checked the basement right after moving in, maybe she could’ve helped sooner.

“What about the man with her? He didn’t seem to be breathing.”

Baek Sun-oh asked in a trembling voice about Baek Yeo-hyun.

“Mm.”

The officer gave a troubled hum. Sun-oh turned pale as ash, and Narim braced herself for the words she thought she knew were coming.

“He’s alive. No injuries either.”

“Really?!”

“What?! That can’t be!”

Baek Sun-oh shouted in joy, while Narim cried out in shock.

Even the little ghost boy widened his eyes at the officer. As Naryeon and Gam Tae-ju glanced at her strangely, Narim hurried to explain.

“When I saw him earlier in the basement, he wasn’t breathing. I—I thought he was dead…”

“We thought the same at first. But when he was being taken away in the ambulance, during emergency treatment, the heart we thought had stopped suddenly started beating again.”

“Th-that can’t be…”

“He’s still unconscious, so we couldn’t get details from him yet. We’ll also need to contact his guardians.”

“Ah, I’m his younger brother. I’ll contact our parents.”

Naryeon’s gaze shifted to Sun-oh. She didn’t show any shock at suddenly facing the brother of the man she had almost married.

The expression on Naryeon’s face as she stared coldly at Sun-oh’s back looked unfamiliar somehow.

Then she turned back to the officer.

“Will you be conducting witness statements?”

“Yes. This isn’t exactly a common case, after all…”

“My younger sister is shaken and exhausted. If it’s alright, could I continue the questioning in her place? I’m her older sister, Heo Naryeon.”

“Hmm.”

The officer looked down at Narim. Sitting in her chair, she flinched and shrank her shoulders.

“Fine. But if needed, you’ll have to participate too, Heo Narim.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“You won’t be able to return home for now since it’s under investigation, so you’ll need to stay somewhere else.”

Naryeon nodded and turned to Tae-ju.

“Could you take Narim to my place? She knows the address.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you. And Baek Sun-oh…”

Naryeon’s eyes landed on him just as he returned from a phone call, speaking urgently.

“I need to head to the hospital where my brother was admitted. My parents said they’re going there too.”

“I see. It must have been a shock—please comfort them as best you can.”

She spoke curtly, as though his family—who might have become her in-laws—were complete strangers. Even so, Sun-oh nodded with tears in his eyes as if deeply moved.

“Narim, I’ll be back soon. Go to bed first, okay?”

Naryeon stroked her sister’s cheek gently, her smile soft and warm—something she showed only to Narim. Without realizing it, Narim nodded.

She stood to leave with Tae-ju, but couldn’t help glancing back. Naryeon was still speaking seriously with the officer.

It hurt that in the end, she always had to lean on Naryeon to protect her. She, who shouted as if she could live just fine without ever seeing her sister again, couldn’t do anything alone.

“Why are you crying?”

As they walked toward the parking garage, Tae-ju never once looked back, so Narim thought he wouldn’t notice.

But the little ghost boy clung to her pant leg, glaring up at Tae-ju. What kind of man asks “why are you crying” at a time like this?

Narim sniffled and turned away instead of answering. She walked to Tae-ju’s familiar parked car and opened the passenger door.

“There’s candy inside, eat some.”

He said from the driver’s seat. When Narim opened the glove compartment, she found lemon candy.

“This isn’t old, is it?”

“Of course not.”

He gave a small laugh, reminding her to fasten her seatbelt. She obeyed, unwrapped the candy, and popped it into her mouth.

She remembered how he used to stock sweets in the car every time they went for a drive, because she liked sugary things—though he himself didn’t care for them.

‘Even after we broke up, he still keeps candy in here?’

Was it just habit, or had his tastes really changed?

Narim tried not to attach any meaning and turned to stare out the window. The ghost boy, sitting on her lap, kicked irritably at the glove compartment.

[ I don’t like him. ]

His speech was becoming short, childish—suiting his young appearance more and more. Narim didn’t say so out loud, knowing it would only annoy him.

“You’re still on good terms with your sister, right?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a relief. I worried the two of you might have grown distant after our breakup.”

“It’s not like we got closer just because I was dating you. She wasn’t someone who gave me special treatment at work either.”

Tae-ju’s cynical reply made Narim chuckle softly. Someone else might have been hurt by Naryeon’s coldness, but he accepted it as natural.

“You two look alike when you’re together. Honestly, you and my sister would’ve made the better couple.”

She had thought that often while dating him. Back then, she had been more childish, often sulking over his coldness. But when she saw him with calm, elegant Naryeon, they seemed like a perfect match.

‘Yeo-hyun too… Who wouldn’t like someone as beautiful as my sister?’

She admired Naryeon but also felt inferior—her looks, her studies, her career, everything about her was superior.

Narim tried to say it casually, but the ghost boy stared at her anxiously. Hypocritical of him, since he too had chosen her sister.

“At least,” Tae-ju suddenly said, cutting through her rising bitterness,

“If I had dated Heo Naryeon, I wouldn’t have wasted time stocking candy in the glove box.”

“What? That’s so mean!”

“I only stated the truth.”

Jerk. Cold-hearted. Heartless!

Narim bit down hard on the candy, crunching it as though biting him instead. The ghost boy clapped approvingly, cheering her on.

In the window’s reflection, she saw Tae-ju’s faint smile as he drove.

‘Such a mean personality.’

To others he was polite and proper, always keeping his distance. But with her, he sometimes teased like this.

Even Sun-oh had once jumped in shock, like he’d seen a ghost, when he witnessed this side of Tae-ju. Yet it wasn’t really something enviable—so why did she feel this way?

“Gam Tae-ju, you’re an idiot.”

“Sure.”

He answered casually, as if humoring a much younger sibling.

They soon arrived at Naryeon’s apartment, where she had lived before Narim moved. Unlike Narim’s current place, this was a nice building.

“Tae-ju,” Narim said softly.

“Yes?”

“Naryeon will handle the questioning fine, but Baek Sun-oh’s parents will probably come see you.”

Baek Sun-oh’s parents—also Baek Yeo-hyun’s adoptive parents.

Narim remembered the middle-aged woman she had met when her phone was returned.

“I don’t know the full story, but from their point of view, you ruined their son’s wedding. At least Baek Yeo-hyun survived—that’s a blessing.”

“I didn’t ruin anything. We broke up before the wedding.”

Narim bit her lip. Technically, she had been the one dumped, but she refused to admit that aloud.

“Right. If you did nothing wrong, then don’t shrink your shoulders like earlier.”

“…Don’t you think I’m pathetic? Always relying on my sister.”

“It’s just that Naryeon and I are in this field, so we know how to handle things.”

Tae-ju reached out and gently tugged at her soft cheek.

“You’re only twenty-five. Everything you’re going through is overwhelming for your age. That’s normal.”

Even with her face twisted from the pinch, he looked at her with unwavering seriousness