Chapter 45 ….
“Are you feeling a bit more awake now?”
Sehee, blinking slowly, sat up. The car was still driving along the dimly lit highway.
“I feel like I should eat something. I wonder if there’s a restaurant open…”
“Ah.”
She spotted Choi Kyungsoo in the driver’s seat and quickly adjusted her posture. The bag she had slung over her shoulder was now on the seat beside him.
Perhaps because of the physical changes, drowsiness hit her at every opportunity. She had assumed it was stress from her father’s death, but thinking back, the headaches and chills she’d experienced were actually caused by something else.
“…You must be hungry?”
“No, I meant Sehee. You must have gone through a lot…”
He trailed off as he glanced over her disheveled appearance. She was certainly hungry, but not nearly as much as Choi Kyungsoo, who had been driving nonstop for hours.
“I’m sorry for causing trouble. I didn’t have anywhere else to turn…”
Most people who had been close to her father had already sided with Chaido.
She had seen many familiar faces at the anniversary ceremony. But when her father’s whereabouts became uncertain, none of them had contacted her.
“That’s true. Right now, everyone is against you, Sehee. You need to take care of yourself. The losses from the business overturned by Prosecutor Yoo are astronomical. If Chaido hadn’t intervened, who knows what would have happened by now.”
Chaido’s comment about hyenas swarming outside the door was accurate. Although not necessarily intending to protect her, it was thanks to being under Chaido’s watch that both Sejin and she remained safe.
“Prosecutor Yoo had given me a heads-up. That if I couldn’t reach him, something must have happened. Prosecutor Kang would explain the situation… They were alumni and had helped each other a lot. But at some point, Kang disappeared…”
If it was Prosecutor Kang… Sehee could easily picture that grim face.
Of course, back when her father was successful, Kang would have acted like he’d take anything he wanted, sticking here or there, weighing which side had better odds.
“So you noticed Kang changed course suddenly too.”
Everyone around her father had, except for the lawyer sitting in front of her now.
“Then why, Lawyer Choi…”
“Why am I helping a Sehee who’s dropped off the radar?”
Sehee flinched slightly at his bluntness but nodded.
“Well…”
He paused briefly, then added slowly:
“Let’s just say I owe Prosecutor Yoo a favor.”
As Choi Kyungsoo said, helping her offered no benefit. It was, if anything, risky and costly. She was only grateful for his willingness to step forward voluntarily.
“But don’t trust just anyone blindly. Many people have unclear motives.”
Right. She had trusted Chaido once and ended up in this mess. The more desperate you are, the more cautious you need to be. Of course, Choi Kyungsoo was someone with more reason to be trusted.
“I trust you, Lawyer Choi. My father said you were trustworthy too.”
She should have listened to her father sooner, back when he had warned her about Chaido.
Honestly, she had been drawn to his striking first impression: deep eyes resembling a quiet forest, a straight, reliable face, a low, calm voice that inspired trust. She thought he might not be a bad person.
“And he also restored my father’s honor as a prosecutor… I’m really grateful in every way.”
“Hm…?”
Choi Kyungsoo, silent for a moment, scratched his forehead as if belatedly realizing.
“You misunderstood. I wasn’t the one who reported on Prosecutor Yoo. I did know some facts, but I thought it was too early to reveal them…”
“Then who…”
“That I don’t know. Maybe there’s someone else I owe a favor to as well.”
He glanced in the rearview mirror and handed her a carton of milk.
“Drink this and rest a bit. There’ll be a lot to discuss when we arrive.”
Sehee took the milk and leaned back into the soft seat. When she opened the window slightly, the salty scent of the sea drifted in.
Sehee arrived at a secluded rural village, far from the coast.
The neighborhood, whose redevelopment plans had fallen through, was quiet. The elementary school, once famous as the alma mater of a celebrity, had long been closed and converted into an experience center—but no one visited.
A short distance away, there was a small reservoir for light strolls, and the house Sehee would stay in was even more isolated and dilapidated.
The lingering stench of the former illegal breeding facility made her nauseous whenever the humid wind blew.
“Don’t go outside if you can help it. I’ll have work to handle, so I can’t come by often. Contact me if anything happens.”
Choi Kyungsoo, having monitored the surroundings for two full days without finding anything unusual, decided to step away for a while.
“You won’t stay long. This is temporary, and the location will change once a month. Keep your luggage minimal.”
Of course, she couldn’t rely on appliances or conveniences either. But that wasn’t a big deal; she could endure such minor discomfort.
Until a few days ago, Choi Kyungsoo had deliberately driven to multiple locations—starting in Daegu, then Incheon, passing through Sokcho, Pohang, and Wonju, then back south.
They had changed clothes and cars two or three times. Eventually, even she got confused about where she was.
During this time, most meals were taken in the car. She had sold the wedding ring Chaido gave her to fund the escape.
After nearly two weeks, they finally settled in a house that, while old, was adequate for rest. The journey had been grueling.
Most neighbors appeared to keep to themselves, so she didn’t worry about who might live nearby.
She had discarded her phone the moment the car was spotted, and the illegal subcontracting documents she had printed were handed over to Choi Kyungsoo. Even though she didn’t fully understand the contents, he could use them strategically.
Chaido was called in by prosecutors for questioning, this time using authentic documents instead of forged ones.
Ultimately, Choi Kyungsoo had successfully betrayed Chaido—succeeding where her father hadn’t.
Though Chaido couldn’t pursue her directly during interrogation, it didn’t mean she could be completely at ease.
“Still haven’t given him the password?”
Sehee shook her head, thinking for a moment. She hadn’t handed over the laptop password yet.
Unspoken, it was an unspoken agreement between her and Chaido. She had already threatened by exposing some documents, and to ensure Sejin’s safety, she needed to keep her last defense intact.
It was too early to leak all the information.
“Don’t have any guesses?”
“Not really. We didn’t share much. I don’t know his birth date or which numbers he frequently uses…”
Choi Kyungsoo seemed to accept that easily. She naturally wouldn’t know public details about Haegang.
“I’ve told the neighbors we’re a married couple for now. They might get suspicious otherwise…”
Meeting Choi Kyungsoo’s gaze, Sehee suddenly felt embarrassed and lowered her head.
“I’ll leave my shirts and shoes here. It’s a hassle, but please hang them on the drying rack every two days.”
“Yes. I will.”
She bit her lip and replied softly. Being alone was uneasy, but sharing a cramped space with a man she barely knew was uncomfortable too. Pretending to be a married couple was involuntary but necessary.
Sometimes, his unpredictable departures were a relief.
“All the ingredients are stocked in the kitchen, and I’ve left cash in the wallet. It’ll be inconvenient, but bear with it.”
“This much help is already enough.”
“It’s the leftover money after you sold the ring. That should last at least a year.”
Feeling both apologetic and grateful, she had nothing more to say. She hoped to repay this favor someday.
“Take care of yourself.”
“You too, Lawyer Choi.”
After glancing at her face again, he quietly walked away.
Sehee, pretending not to notice, wiped her cold sweat and leaned against the wall.
She had sweat-soaked palms from constantly swallowing waves of nausea.
When the car left, leaving dust behind, there was nothing remaining. The faint sound of a dog barking drifted after the fading vehicle.
No one lurked nearby, no cars waited. The heavy scent of the forest didn’t reach her.
It was hard to believe she had truly left Chaido behind. It was surprising that it could end so easily.
The media, who had been discussing her father, were likely attacking Chaido with fervor now.
It was over.
Though an invisible thread still connected her and Chaido.
And it would probably become more obvious, beyond the point of concealment.
“Next year, you’ll still be in my house. You won’t have to endure the cold winter.”
Silently swallowing her nausea, Sehee wiped her mouth and looked down at her still-thin stomach.
“Is that for real?”
Nayeon, about to sit upright on the sofa, quickly composed her flushed face and leaned back.
“The staff confirmed it. I don’t know the exact reason, but it seems Sehee no longer stays at that house.”
Nayeon pressed her lips together, instinctively flinching, and paused to think.
Chaido went to the police, and Sehee left the house…
She had been worried about how to separate the two, yet it resolved so easily. This was inevitably good news for her.
“Where is that woman now?”
“Someone saw her near Incheon, but there’s no news since then.”
“Why Incheon? Did she take a boat?”
“I don’t know about that…”
The chief secretary, bringing this information, looked uncomfortable. The source had dried up.
“I’ll investigate more thoroughly.”
“Ha. How is everything even happening?”
Regardless, Nayeon was pleased that Sehee was gone. Chaido wouldn’t be able to divert his attention anytime soon.
“Where is Chairman Cha recuperating?”
“His health deteriorated rapidly, so he’s hospitalized.”
“Even now? He wasn’t shocked?”
“He had been in poor condition for some time. I mentioned it before, but he told me to stop talking about that bothersome old man…”
Nayeon waved her hand, indicating it was fine, and brushed back her hair. The old man seemed outwardly fine, yet he was in the hospital.
The once-reliable supporter was now living like he was in exile, which was frustrating.
“Prepare a fruit basket. I’ll drop by.”
Nayeon got up from the sofa, quickly grabbing her coat to go out.
