Chapter 1 …
“Haaah.”
With each increasingly ragged breath, white puffs of steam rose into the cold air. The snow that had once swallowed her feet was thinning out.
Sehee ran without looking back, not stopping for even a second. Her heart was pounding up to her throat as if it would burst, and her legs trembled violently, but she couldn’t afford to stop.
The vulgar, snickering voices that had chased after her had faded some time ago. Even so, Sehee kept running for a long while.
“Hey, idiot. If you touch her, she won’t sell.”
“We just have to make sure there’s no trace.”
When words like “cover-up” and “bribery” started circulating in the news alongside her father’s name, the graph of Sehee’s once peaceful, steadily rising life plummeted sharply.
Her father, better known as “Chae Ido’s dog” than by his own name, Yoo Hyungjin, had accepted funds and used his prosecutorial power in return for quietly covering up Chae Ido’s dirty work.
A brutal murderer. Her father feared and despised him at the same time. He used to click his tongue, calling Chae Ido the kind of man one should never get involved with—once you did, you’d never escape.
Outwardly, her father had the image of a cold, capable man. He earned a good reputation for his charitable work and generous donations. His fairness and quick decision-making especially appealed to the younger generation. But all of that was possible only because of Chae Ido’s steady flow of funds behind the scenes.
After securing a relatively stable position, her father had wanted to cut ties with his past. Though blinded by ambition and once having shaken hands with evil, his conscience pricked at him.
But undoing a mistake always came with a price. There was no way Chae Ido would sit idly by and watch his dog slip the leash and run.
The media assumed her father had committed suicide because he’d left behind a will before disappearing.
But Sehee knew better. Her father hadn’t killed himself. It was all Chae Ido’s doing.
And there was nothing she could do about it. As the situation spiraled out of control, she could only flounder helplessly.
Should she call to say she couldn’t tutor for a while? Or should she go out to look for Sejin, who still hadn’t arrived? While she hesitated, the loan sharks stormed into the villa.
“Unnie!”
That was the last time Sehee heard her younger sister’s voice.
“Run!”
Startled, Sejin, who had been standing outside the door, turned and disappeared at the sound of Sehee’s scream.
The men who barged in were far worse than the loan sharks she had pictured in her head.
“She’ll fetch quite a price.”
“Then make sure not to leave a mark.”
Four or five men surrounded her, laughing nastily as they decided the order among themselves.
Even the villa hidden deep in the mountains had been found. There was nowhere left to run. She screamed, cried, struggled. In the process, her body was scratched and twisted.
By now, her sister should have found somewhere safe. Maybe she’d met someone while going down the mountain. Maybe the people she’d called would arrive soon. Sehee clung desperately to this faint hope.
“I’m first.”
“Back off while I’m being nice.”
Even if it was horrible, there was nothing she could do. That was how things ended for a pack without a leader.
Please.
Just once.
Sehee prayed desperately to a god she didn’t even believe in.
It was her first and last request: let her survive this moment. After that, she would leave the rest of her life in His hands.
So please…
“And what’s this?”
Much later, they noticed the long shadow cast across the wrecked living room floor.
When Sehee lifted her head at the sound of the sudden commotion, she saw a man leaning casually against the doorway, a half-burned cigarette between his fingers, watching as if it were an amusing show.
“And who the hell are you…?”
The moment she saw the man standing there like some godly figure, Sehee instinctively sensed it. His presence was nothing like the lowlifes currently threatening her.
“He—”
Taking advantage of the lapse in their guard, Sehee crawled across the floor and clung to his leg.
“Please save me.”
She couldn’t see his expression from where she was, groveling at his feet. She didn’t even know whose side she should be on.
“Just once… Please save me…”
Still, she had to cling to something. Her trembling hands wiped her tears off his shiny black shoes, then rubbed the damp spots again.
“Please…”
Eventually, the man leisurely finished his cigarette and slowly bent down. Time seemed to crawl as his tall frame descended, and the half-smoked cigarette was ground into the polished marble floor.
“Save—”
He brought his lips to her ear and whispered softly—calm and quiet, unbelievably so.
“When I count to three, you run.”
“……”
“One.”
Bang.
It sounded like a gunshot.
Like livestock escaping a slaughterhouse, Sehee bolted barefoot through the snow. But her strength eventually ran out, and her legs buckled, sending her collapsing into the snow.
Her arms, which she used to catch herself on the ashen, dirty snow, were already numb, probably broken. She wiped away tears with her only functioning hand. Her glasses were shattered and lost somewhere. Her entire body, from forehead to toes, was scratched.
She had to get up. If she didn’t, they’d catch her.
But her body wouldn’t obey, no matter how desperately she willed it to. Only ragged breaths and rough sobs came out.
Is this how it ends?
As her disjointed memories flickered through her mind—
“Tsk tsk.”
She froze at the deep voice above her.
“……”
When her breath cleared, she saw the same black shoes she’d smeared her fingerprints on, perfectly centered in her vision.
She lifted her gaze slowly, following the long legs, and saw the man surrounded by a haze of smoke. The quiet forest, half-covered in morning fog before sunrise, surrounded them.
“You’re hurt pretty badly.”
He bent down again, lowering himself to her level. Only then could Sehee clearly see his face.
Even with her teeth chattering from cold and fear, his good looks were undeniable. His neat eyebrows and straight nose exuded an indescribable aura.
Strangely familiar, yet unfamiliar.
“…Help… me…”
Snapping back to her senses, Sehee pleaded. She didn’t know who he was, but it was clear he was her only lifeline.
“Ah.”
Under long lashes, his pitch-black eyes remained unreadable, and his lips curled into a slight, crooked smile.
“Help you?”
She nodded frantically and reached for his foot again with her free hand.
Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness now. Behind him, a sleek sedan was parked.
Someone handed him a blanket, which he draped over her shoulders. But the chill of his presence only grew stronger.
“Maybe I will.”
His voice was pleasant, belying the danger her instincts screamed about.
Perhaps that’s why she misjudged him. She thought that maybe, under his protection, she might be safe.
His gaze slowly swept over her—from her injured forehead to her tear-streaked eyes, round nose, and lips quivering to hold back sobs.
As if assessing her worth, his eyes traveled down her figure. Then he gave a small, troubled smile.
“I suppose I should.”
A strange sense of relief washed over her. The oppressive aura emanating from him made it clear—this was a man at the top of the food chain.
“Put her in the car.”
Rising to his feet, he brushed off the jacket sleeve she had been clutching. Sehee let out a shaky breath she’d been holding.
Someone behind him lifted her up. Her head spun and her vision blurred. Only then did the pain in her arm pierce through, sharp and deep.
“Th… thank you…”
Sehee wobbled as she tried to steady herself and look at his face again.
“…Why are you…”
She struggled to stay conscious. Even if she was being helped, she needed to know who he was.
“You’ve got guts. Clinging to someone without even knowing who they are?”
He laughed derisively and supported her himself.
She couldn’t glean much from their brief exchange. Except, perhaps, that he hated anything touching him—he kept brushing the snow off his clothes each time a flake landed.
As she collapsed into his arms, the scent of heavy cologne and warmth surrounded her. It was so cozy she almost drifted to sleep.
“Chae Ido.”
He answered as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Sehee stiffened instantly. Before she could react, he lifted her off the ground.
“At last, we meet, Yoo Sehee.”
Blink. Her eyelids, heavy as lead, slid shut. Darkness swept in all at once.
