Chapter 21
No. Let’s not be too anxious. Ugh—this kind of thing really stresses me out the most. Things that haven’t been clearly defined or decided yet. I’d rather it be set in stone. Because I’m anxious, I keep imagining worse and worse scenarios.
Should I do another medical check? I already did every test possible just the other day—would it make any sense to cause a fuss and ask for another round?
I was only turning things over in my head, but somehow Oliver completely misread my pensive expression. His face filled with sympathy.
“You look very tired. I didn’t schedule any work for you today. Just review the documents, and spend your time as freely as you like.”
“Alright. Oh, right. Actually, I still haven’t checked the documents about the movements of the other Olfail brothers that you prepared before I left for Argentina.”
I grabbed a few documents I needed to look over and jumped to my feet. Oliver asked with a puzzled expression.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m feeling suffocated, so I thought I’d go for a walk or something. I’ve been hospitalized, but I’ve never even seen what the hospital looks like.”
“Please do. The hospital grounds are quite nice. If you go out this door, there’s a garden reserved only for VIP patients. I’ll stay nearby, so feel free to call me anytime.”
“Thank you.”
I gave him a big nod, climbed down from the bed, and strode toward the door… then turned back.
Oliver was still standing there.
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon?”
“Come with me. You weren’t planning to let me go alone, were you? You said you’d stay nearby.”
I mean, I’d been attacked by an assailant before, hadn’t I? He was going to let me walk around alone? When I asked back, Oliver looked startled.
“O-Oh, no. Of course not. I’ll come with you. Naturally!”
I already knew that VIP wards in hospitals usually had private gardens where only VIPs could take walks. I’d even seen it in American TV dramas. I just never thought I’d be the one using one.
Wearing a mask, hands tucked into the pockets of the cardigan draped over my hospital gown, I walked slowly. Oliver kept talking beside me.
“To be honest, I was a bit disappointed last time.”
“About what?”
“You went to Argentina without me. So I thought… maybe you’re very independent, or that you didn’t really care about being attacked by those thugs…”
I couldn’t hide the cold look in my eyes as Oliver continued, sounding dejected. Seriously, he gets disappointed over that? If I were him and my employer left, I’d have turned off the company computer with my toe and taken a nap on a hospital bed.
While I was thinking that, Oliver continued.
“It’s not like I have the right to feel disappointed, but… I guess I was more concerned about you than I realized. I think I really do serve you with genuine loyalty.”
“I appreciate the loyalty. But let me clear up the part that’s bothering you—that’s a misunderstanding. Maybe I left you behind and took Liam because I was worried about an attack?”
“Ah.”
Oliver nodded as if that made sense, but only for a moment.
“But didn’t you refuse Liam’s protection as well? Then what did you do in Argentina?”
“Ah, that’s…”
I barely managed to close my mouth before explaining further. How could I possibly say that I’d practically saved his brother’s life? Even if someone had followed me there to kill me, they would’ve had to worry about their own lives in that place.
I was genuinely, truly lucky that things ended with me only meeting Seok-hyung. I’d even had the chance to hear about Sergei and Medea in advance from him. If my luck had been any worse, I wouldn’t have met Kang In-ha—I wouldn’t even be alive. The moment I set foot in Argentina, Liam would’ve been killed, and I’d have been kidnapped and dumped on some beach, buried on the spot.
Just thinking about it sent chills down my spine. At that moment, as if to rescue me from the awkwardness, a door came into view.
“Oh. We’re here.”
I quickly walked ahead and reached the door first. The moment I opened it, I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
“Wow, they did a good job with this.”
It was much nicer than I’d expected. Benches for sitting and resting were placed throughout the space between the trees. Oliver, as if he’d never complained earlier, was also looking around the garden.
“Shall we take a walk inside?”
“No.”
I had no intention of going deep inside. Avoiding being alone in secluded places was an occupational habit of mine. Especially in a situation like this, it was better to just be satisfied with some fresh air while staying alert, rather than wandering every corner of the garden to memorize its layout.
In the end, I sat down near the entrance of the garden. Along one wall were vending machines selling snacks and drinks that doctors absolutely forbade in hospitals, so I decisively bought a chocolate chip cookie and some orange juice. I’d been drinking orange juice nonstop lately, and it was surprisingly good. Is America just good at orange juice?
Or maybe it was just that the juice I’d drunk while living in Eastern Europe hadn’t been very high quality.
“Let’s read quickly and go back inside. We need to eat lunch too.”
“Yes. If there’s anything you don’t understand while reading, please let me know and I’ll explain.”
“Okay.”
Reading in a place like this was surprisingly calming.
Alright. I needed to choose my seat carefully.
I preferred noisy spaces, but I had no intention of letting people see what kind of documents I was reading. They weren’t classified to that degree, but there was no harm in being cautious.
The first documents I needed to read in the lounge were the reports Oliver had given me before I left for Argentina—updates on the businesses of the other Olfail brothers.
“‘Ian Olfail is…’ nothing special.”
As expected, it was just a few stagnant updates on his involvement in advanced materials manufacturing. And one more thing—he’d acquired a mid-sized PR agency in LA.
“He really just buys things however he wants.”
The rest wasn’t even worth mentioning. Ian was simply blowing money left and right. Hiring influencers, hiring paparazzi, never missing a single show from the high-end brands owned by Tame. To me, Ian Olfail looked like nothing more than a celebrity thug who wanted to be treated well in the fashion world just because of the Olfail name.
There were a few photos attached. Ian was grinning ear to ear beside Nicola Tame, who had a cold, stiff expression. The clothes he was wearing were unmistakably haute couture.
Good grief, you tasteless bastard. No wonder your mother hates you.
With an indifferent expression, I fixed my gaze on Nicola Tame beside him. Blonde hair, blue eyes—but her features strangely reminded me of someone with mixed Asian heritage. The pronounced brow ridge people usually associate with white faces was softer, as were her faint double eyelids. But her eyes themselves were a vivid blue.
So this is the woman I almost married.
I skimmed through and flipped the pages. The most important part came after that.
Keith Olfail.
Keith Olfail was—
“Huh?”
The moment I read the first line of the report, my eyes widened.
Keith Olfail is scheduled to sign an investment memorandum of understanding with <Aetus> sometime in 202X.
“…<Aetus>? Did it say Aetus?”
“Pardon? Kyle, what did you say?”
Ignoring Oliver, I muttered aloud repeatedly as I hurriedly read on.
<Aetus> is currently the most talked-about IT company. In early 2020, a woman named Lismond Owl, who dropped out of Stanford University, along with her lover Richard Keewani—also a Stanford alumnus—founded <Aetus>. They advertised that they possessed a technology capable of diagnosing 250 diseases with just a single drop of blood from a fingertip. They began supplying blood collection kits called the ‘Eins Kit’ to large supermarkets and pharmacies. They promoted that by dropping blood onto the kit and sending it to the lab, customers could receive their test results at home.
The claim that one could thoroughly check their physical condition through such a simple method quickly drew massive attention. And in the United States—where medical costs are so high that medical bankruptcy ranks first among causes of personal bankruptcy—their claims must have seemed all the more enticing.
At present, <Aetus> was soaring. Numerous prominent American figures had been appointed as board members, and renowned investors were practically lining up with bags of cash, eager to invest.
“What is this?”
“Oh, that.”
Oliver understood immediately.
“Just as you concluded a technology transfer agreement with Dongbo Pharmaceutical in Korea, Keith is also pursuing various investment partnerships to meet Mrs. Marta Olfail’s expectations. This seems to be part of that.”
“So you’re saying this ‘part’ is a contract with Aetus?”
Looking through the documents, it stated that Keith Olfail planned to sign an investment agreement with Aetus’s CEO, Lismond Owl, including a technology partnership and capital investment from Olfail.
By ‘technology partnership’… I quickly skimmed the memorandum of understanding. In essence, Olfail would assist Aetus with diagnostic kit manufacturing technology, while Aetus would provide Olfail with its “core blood diagnostics technology.”
At first glance, signing an MOU with such a company might look impressive.
“……”
“It is impressive, isn’t it? Aetus. It’s suspicious, but right now it’s the best in the IT industry. There were even rumors that several pharmaceutical companies were considering acquiring it.”
As Oliver added his explanation, I blinked slowly. There was no other reaction I could possibly have.
Because that Aetus—
Was a scam.
