Chapter 10
Delusional Love
The next morning, Sa-heon lounged leisurely across the cramped ivory sofa, watching Chief Secretary Choi and Ji-an with a deep sigh every now and then.
The sofa was so small he couldn’t even stretch his legs out completely, yet surprisingly, it was comfortable. After spending a night here, it somehow felt even more like his own home.
Ji-an, on the other hand, looked noticeably thinner. She must have tossed and turned all night.
On the small wooden table in front of the sofa sat a laptop, a stack of printed documents, and a half-finished cup of coffee. Chief Secretary Choi’s voice was unusually grave.
“Director, the audit team has officially begun its investigation. The stated reason is the potential leakage of internal information and the possibility of creating external risks.”
“What internal information?”
“They latched onto the word ‘materials’ you mentioned during the phone call. It seems Chairman Lee interpreted it as you having been working on something with the Vice President’s side, falling out with them, and then threatening to expose them using leaked information as leverage.”
“So in the end, he lied to Father.”
If there was one thing that could be said to be good about Chairman Lee, it was that despite having two children born out of wedlock and eventually setting up a household with another woman under pressure from his family, he had never discriminated between his children.
He had kept all three sons in check equally, and neglected all three equally.
Chief Secretary Choi continued carefully.
“I believe the Vice President’s plan is to imprison you first, before you can put him in a difficult position.”
“And?”
“Requests have come in to review not only the Secretary’s Office, but also the emails and meeting records of the Business Strategy Team and the Technology Planning Office, which are both considered part of your line.”
“In other words, they’re putting pressure on me through official procedures. On the surface, it looks convincing enough as a response to a management risk. They’re just trying to buy themselves some time.”
Ji-an added her thoughts.
Sa-heon remained sprawled across the sofa, one arm propping up his head, and gave a small scoff.
He must be pretty pissed off.
“If things continue like this, Director, you’ll have to appear before the board of directors or the audit committee and explain the situation yourself.”
“I’ll just go and do it.”
Sa-heon said it calmly.
“No!”
“Absolutely not!”
Ji-an and Chief Secretary Choi shouted at the same time.
Sa-heon stared at them blankly.
“Ahem.”
Chief Secretary Choi cleared his throat.
“As you know, Director, you’ve currently lost your memories. You could genuinely put yourself at a disadvantage if you appear in person. You don’t even know the names of the board members.”
“Tsk. This is getting troublesome.”
Sa-heon clicked his tongue.
Chief Secretary Choi lowered his voice.
“However, there’s one thing we can use to our advantage. For the audit to proceed, you’ll have to be physically present at the company. They’ll need you to review emails, explain reports, and cooperate with the investigation.”
“So…”
Chief Secretary Choi paused for a moment before nodding with a determined expression.
“There’s only one conclusion. We need to establish an official reason why you cannot go to the company.”
“Hmm.”
Sa-heon thought for a moment before casually lifting his chin.
“We can use the car accident as an excuse.”
“Yes. We’ve already secured your medical certificate. Officially, we’ll process you as being on medical leave and report that you’re temporarily recovering at home.”
Ji-an rummaged through the pile of documents and pulled out the relevant paperwork, while Chief Secretary Choi added,
“If we do that, the direct investigation into you can be temporarily put on hold. In the meantime, we’ll have time to sort out the situation with the board.”
“Let’s do that.”
Sa-heon knew perfectly well that even if he went to work, he wasn’t exactly in a position to handle his duties properly.
If he was going to take some time off anyway, the fact that he could spend that time while driving Lee Jae-kwon mad made it all the more enjoyable.
As Sa-heon laughed inwardly, Chief Secretary Choi cautiously made another suggestion.
“And I think you’ll have to relocate for the time being.”
“Hmm.”
Sa-heon responded half-heartedly and slowly looked Ji-an up and down as though admiring the sight of her.
“I don’t really have anywhere suitable to go.”
Wearing neat beige slacks and a sky-blue blouse, Ji-an looked pure and beautiful as always.
“Relocate, huh…”
How could he arrange things so that he could stay here?
Chief Secretary Choi seemed like the sort of person who would neither question nor object to Sa-heon’s orders, no matter what they were, so he should be easy enough to persuade.
“This is quite a predicament. I suppose there’s nothing we can do. I’ll just have to impose on you and stay here for the time being…”
While pretending to seriously consider the problem aloud, Sa-heon was actually imagining what it would feel like to run his fingers through Ji-an’s dark brown hair falling below her shoulders, then grasp the slender wrist revealed beneath her rolled-up sleeves.
“Don’t worry, Director.”
Suddenly, Ji-an nodded with a resolute expression and continued.
“I know somewhere you can stay.”
The unexpected blow made Sa-heon shoot upright from the sofa.
“What is this?”
Sa-heon stared at the rooftop room in disbelief.
After driving for two and a half hours from Seoul, what awaited him was a tiny rooftop room perched on top of a two-story residential building.
Perhaps she sensed the disbelief written all over his face, because Ji-an spread her palm and smiled brightly.
“This is where you’ll be staying for the time being, Director.”
“So you’re telling me to stay in a rooftop room.”
“Yes.”
“I’m Lee Sa-heon, you know?”
“Haha, yes.”
“Haha?”
“Hahahaha.”
They say you can’t bring yourself to spit in the face of someone who’s smiling, and the more Sa-heon sarcastically picked apart her words, the more Ji-an smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
Faced with her shameless attitude, Sa-heon let out a hollow laugh and looked around in disbelief.
The rooftop floor, coated in green epoxy, glittered so brightly under the sunlight that it was almost painful to keep his eyes open. A few dry towels and a couple of aprons fluttered from an aluminum drying rack.
Most of the flowerpots lining the edge of the rooftop contained plants that had long since dried up and withered away. Some contained nothing but soil.
“It might look like this, but it’s actually cozier than you think.”
Ji-an explained in an excessively cheerful tone, like a real-estate agent trying to unload a terrible listing, then forcefully opened the metal door.
“My sister renovated the place when she moved in.”
Creak.
The rusted door opened with a sound that seemed to cry out for mercy.
The inside was a complete mess, packed with all sorts of belongings as though it had once been used as a storage room.
Ji-an’s face stiffened the moment she saw the disastrous interior.
Then she slammed the door shut and hid it behind her back.
“I-I can clean it up.”
“…What is it? I didn’t even get to see.”
“I’ll help you clean it! It might be a little uncomfortable, but please bear with it.”
“It’s not a little uncomfortable. It’s quite a lot.”
Haa…
Ji-an let out a long sigh, her face falling.
“I don’t want to put you somewhere like this either, Director. But we don’t really have a choice. At least no one will be able to find you here.”
Sa-heon smiled and ran a hand through his hair.
“Of course. You really are my honey. You’re worrying about me way too much. Who’s going to come looking for me? No one is. Why would anyone come looking for me?”
“That’s because you don’t know, Director. Chief Secretary Choi didn’t explain everything earlier, but apparently this morning was really serious. The Vice President came looking for you and caused quite a scene…”
“Really?”
“Director, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you tell me last night that they attacked you first?”
“Did I? Maybe my head hurts, so I don’t remember very well.”
Sa-heon casually changed the subject, silently grinding his teeth at Lee Jae-kwon.
As much as he wanted to storm into the company right now, explain everything, and get rid of Lee Jae-kwon, going there while he had amnesia would be no different from voluntarily putting his own head into the enemy’s mouth.
He could bluff his way through a phone conversation somehow, but if he met Lee Jae-kwon face-to-face and talked with him, the man would undoubtedly notice that something was strange.
Still, even so…
This rooftop room was definitely not happening.
Sa-heon smiled sweetly and spoke.
“We’re going to file for medical leave anyway, aren’t we? I think it’d be better if I just stayed at home.”
“No. The Vice President will definitely come to your house again. You should keep your phone turned off for the time being.”
“My honey is being so firm and dependable because she wants to protect me. I’m really grateful, but I’ll just accept your good intentions.”
“Director, I’m serious. I’m genuinely worried about your safety.”
This is becoming a real headache.
Sa-heon pressed a hand against his throbbing forehead.
Well, he’d certainly gotten on their nerves badly enough.
They had gone as far as tampering with his car. Now that things had come this far, they might decide to make absolutely sure they got rid of him this time.
Even so, this was too much.
When he’d heard that he needed to relocate, he’d been secretly planning to move somewhere near Ji-an’s home—or even into her home.
He should have realized it the moment she’d entered the destination into the navigation system with such a solemn expression.
I really shot myself in the foot.
Sa-heon stared at the scenery visible beyond the rooftop room, his expression troubled.
A church stood not far away, surrounded by a small neighborhood filled with modest villas, houses, and low-rise shops.
“What kind of neighborhood is this, anyway?”
Perhaps she took his question as a sign of approval, because Ji-an’s face brightened as she hurriedly gathered the apron and towels hanging from the drying rack.
“It’s called Dansol-ri, on the outskirts of Onryeong-gun. It’s where I lived when I was young. This is my older sister’s house.”
Ji-an pointed toward the church and continued.
“See that church over there? That’s where I grew up. My sister and I were raised together at the orphanage run by the church.”
“Ah.”
Sa-heon slipped one hand into his pocket.
An orphanage.
This was awkward.
Should he offer some simple words of comfort? Or say that at least she’d had her sister with her?
Or perhaps he should make some clumsy attempt at empathy, saying that he understood how she felt because he hadn’t grown up in an ordinary family either.
“That was probably sudden, so it caught you off guard, right? It’s not really something I need to hide.”
Ji-an smiled shyly as she placed the laundry she’d gathered onto the drying rack and neatly folded each piece.
Sa-heon stared at that smile for a moment before clicking his tongue.
“Why do you smile so prettily?”
“What?”
“You’re making it hard for me to stay cold-hearted.”
The tips of Ji-an’s ears turned bright red in an instant.
Seeing how transparently her emotions showed on her face, Sa-heon took one step closer.
“Let’s say I stay here. What about you, Han Ji-an?”
He looked down at her from a slight angle as he asked.
Ji-an avoided his gaze and answered.
