Chapter 20 …
Cha Ido held Sehee as she collapsed onto him.
“See? It would’ve been better if you’d just done this from the start.”
Why fight when you’re going to lose anyway. He muttered under his breath, lazily toying with her hair.
“I’m sleepy… I’m so sleepy. Stop…”
“Alright. Sleep.”
Song Nayeon’s voice was gone. Sehee let out a long breath of relief, her small body finally going limp.
“Haa…”
Cha Ido gently stroked the back of Sehee’s neck as it lightly trembled.
Even while spouting sweet, empty words to please him, she had clung to the very end, refusing to completely give herself over. It irritated him.
He wanted to break that stubbornness somehow.
Jealous… you’re jealous. So… only with me.
The results of his childish game weren’t bad at all. A part of him wanted to push her further, just to see what other lies would slip out of that slender throat.
Soon, Sehee fell asleep with a faint groan, fine sweat beading across her fluffy forehead. From time to time, her brow furrowed and her lips trembled, as if caught in a bad dream.
So maybe she hadn’t been exaggerating after all.
Cha Ido watched her sleeping face for a long moment, then carefully brushed her hair aside.
When she lifted her eyelids, the soft ceiling light came into view. At some point, she had fallen asleep.
The room resembled the one she normally stayed in.
She hadn’t been able to see clearly earlier, but instinctively she knew it was Cha Ido’s room.
Her hand, resting against his chest, flinched and pulled back.
That familiar sting of pain was followed by guilt and hollowness. Had she really hugged him only for the sake of her father and Sejin?
Some part of her whispered she hadn’t.
“You’re awake.”
Cha Ido’s fingers slid quietly through her hair. He probably hadn’t slept at all.
Even when she shifted restlessly in her half-conscious sleep, she could feel the warmth of his hand stroking the back of her head.
Thanks to that, even with her arm aching, she had fallen into a deep sleep again.
Had Song Nayeon never managed to say a single thing to him in the end?
“Aren’t you hungry?”
He asked with surprising gentleness. Sehee felt something shift between them—again—since last night.
Instead of answering, she slowly raised her head to look at him.
“…”
That face again. The same eyes that had trapped her the first night they slept together.
Maybe even now, he was thinking of that woman. Maybe that was why his gaze was so soft.
“…Did you do this with her too? Your first love.”
There it was again. Cha Ido’s mouth curved, as if the question amused him.
“No. I only do dirty things like this with you.”
Not a flicker of embarrassment. He answered kindly, even as he brushed the dried tear marks beneath her eyes.
“And I will continue to.”
Was she supposed to feel grateful?
Everything that had burned so fiercely moments ago now felt like a dream. Something pressed heavy beneath her throat.
After staring up at him a little longer, Sehee finally lowered her eyes.
“I should go. I still have knitting to finish…”
She slowly rose from the bed, body sore as if chewed up by a wild animal.
Cha Ido’s room contained only a few basic pieces of furniture. In the open closet, bright-tone suits lined the rack—as if chosen for her sake.
I cut down overtime. I broke off the engagement. I don’t meet other women because you’d get jealous. Whether they’re bodyguards or employees, if they’re male, I sent them away.
His words were so absurd she almost laughed.
All she wanted was to rest without thinking.
— Unni, is it really you?
Sehee froze mid-step. A faint voice, trembling.
— Unni?
It was definitely Sejin. Her eyes flew open.
She whipped her head around—Cha Ido held out his phone, and her sister’s voice spilled out clearly through the speaker.
— Where are you? Are you okay? I thought something happened to you…
Her voice broke before she could finish.
“Sejin? Yoo Sejin?”
Sehee snatched the phone, calling desperately.
— I… I ran away… I was so scared… I shouldn’t have… hng…
The tone, the voice—it was her. Her sister was alive. Sehee’s throat tightened, but she forced back her sobs.
“No, Sejin. It’s okay. I’m okay. Don’t think like that.”
— I’m sorry… I kept running and when I came to my senses…
“I’m fine. There’s someone helping me. You—are you hurt? What happened? Where are you now…”
Before she could ask more, the phone vanished from her hand. Sejin’s voice disappeared.
Her heart pounded violently against her ribs.
“So. Do you feel like being a little nicer now?”
Sehee turned to him with a blank stare. She didn’t know whether to thank him or scream.
A reward.
Was that what this was—Cha Ido’s reward?
He had saved her sister. Hidden her somewhere safe. And he had kept his promise.
“She’s safe. Don’t worry.”
“…My… my father…”
“Who knows.”
He answered vaguely, almost playfully.
“Did I tell you he was dead?”
No. Not until he said it himself—not yet.
The tension she’d been clinging to snapped all at once. Tears poured down her face as she pulled him into her arms.
Like a stray puppy finding shelter from the rain, she burrowed into his warmth.
And she knew, once again, with painful certainty:
There was nowhere left to cling but Cha Ido.
And the fastest way to find her father
was through Cha Ido.
Dragged in by Chief Lee, Song Nayeon and her hastily packed suitcase were thrown onto the floor.
“Chairman! Chairman Cha!”
Cha Jaeseok, who always treated her like his own daughter, remained unseen—likely drunk and asleep despite the commotion.
“Cha Ido! How could you do this to me…”
Cha Ido had been cold to everyone, but always spared her. After his father’s sudden death, when she’d been kicked out to the streets, he paid her debts, gave her a new life.
From a driver’s daughter
to the head of a resort.
All thanks to his mercy. Until Yoo Sehee showed up, Haegang had practically belonged to her.
“Hey! Cha Ido!”
She pushed herself up and shoved past the guards blocking the way.
“Come out! I have something to say! I said come—!”
Then she froze.
Cha Ido stepped out in a sleek suit, calm as ever.
“…Oppa…”
His eyes were the same as always—but his familiar scent was mixed with something new.
She suddenly remembered the sight of him tangled in bed with Sehee.
Only now did it truly hit her—Cha Ido was someone else’s husband.
Fine. Once he heard the truth, Yoo Sehee would be finished.
“Yoo Sehee came on purpose.”
She took a sharp breath and rushed on.
“She’s been digging through your study every night. She never planned to stay married. She said if I kept her secret, she would give you to me. She’s planning to grab Haegang’s weakness, destroy everything, and run away—”
Her voice, frantic and long-winded, gradually died.
Cha Ido looked down at her, completely unmoved.
Why wasn’t he surprised?
“That weakness has already been caught.”
He gave a small, exhausted laugh.
It felt like the floor fell out from under her.
He already knew?
She bit her lip hard.
Had Cha Ido ever been someone with weaknesses? And even if he had one, would he ever show it so easily?
“…Oppa, how can you do this to me…”
Her eyes burned red as tears welled.
He needed to know what Sehee had done. He had to.
“She attacked me! Look at my wrist! She scratched me all over while you were gone—”
Cha Ido’s eyes shifted to her wrist. After a brief moment of thought, he spoke.
“Song Nayeon.”
Even now, her heart jumped at her name from his mouth.
He wouldn’t throw her away. Not after everything.
“You think I don’t know? When those marks were made?”
“…What?”
Her hands trembled. She looked down at her arms.
Messy scratches, jagged, made by fingernails.
Defensive wounds. And Cha Ido, who had cleaned up after Cha Jaeseok’s filth his whole life, would never mistake them.
“…No… that’s not…”
Nayeon’s arms fell limp at her sides.
“I think I’ve done more than enough for you.”
“…….”
“Keep your mouth shut. Unless you want to lose the resort too.”
Keep quiet—about Sehee?
Why?
Wasn’t Sehee the one who should be begging for silence?
“If you have something to say, send it through Chief Lee.”
In other words, never come here again.
Watching his back move away, Nayeon clenched her fists so hard her palms nearly bled. She should have made sure to drive Sehee out before Ido arrived. That was her last chance…
A house servant stepped out toward the entrance. Nayeon seized the moment and stopped the closing gate with all her strength.
“Wait—!”
Every servant here worked under her hand. She had built this place.
“You tell him for me. I didn’t do anything. It was you who bullied Sehee—”
The servant approached. Nayeon’s face brightened.
But instead of opening the gate, a rough hand extended through the bars—
Thud.
The suitcase dropped. The servant placed the cosmetics she’d given them as gifts on top of it, then turned and walked away without a word.
“…Ha.”
Her lips parted in disbelief.
Frozen, Song Nayeon stared at the iron gate, locked firmly shut.
