Chapter 01
. Come Here
“Wait. Until I contact you.”
The winter rain poured over the walking trail.
His indifferent voice cut through the sound of rain and reached Suni’s ears.
As if struck, Suni froze in place, unable to reply.
Thud, thud.
When the man holding the umbrella walked ahead, the cold rain struck her cheek harshly.
Wait.
The words she dreaded more than death blurred her vision.
Why did she suddenly feel so hurt?
In a panic, she tried to recall today’s events, but no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t find an answer.
“Gyeonhee… did I do something wrong?”
As always, the answer lay with him.
Through the heavy curtain of rain, she saw his expressionless face.
His pitch-black eyes revealed nothing. He gave her no explanation at all.
Her chest burned as though it were being scorched alive.
She couldn’t even breathe properly.
“…I’m sorry.”
Her weak voice seeped out, smothered by the rain.
He stood still, one hand shoved in his pocket, watching her.
“I… I was wrong. Please forgive me, just once.”
“What did you do wrong?”
Through the downpour, she saw the smile on his lips.
It was a sneer.
The smile of a predator holding its prey.
“…Huh?”
She lifted her gaze to look at Gyeonhee’s face.
His jet-black eyes were mysterious. His childlike pale skin was enough to stir maternal instinct.
But the words that spilled from his lips were sharper than a blade.
“You don’t even know what you did wrong. Then why apologize?”
Her trembling fingers fidgeted with the chrysanthemum bracelet she wore.
“What’s wrong? Shaking because you’re afraid I’ll abandon you?”
He leaned closer and whispered in her ear.
“Oh, right. You’re the kind who comes when I call and wags your tail when I tell you to. Like a pet dog.”
At his cutting words, the flower bracelet she held snapped apart.
Moments ago, it had been beautiful, but now the flowers were crushed in the muddy water.
Yet he still studied her face as if watching an experiment.
Go on. Cry now.
His gaze seemed to demand it.
He knew Suni better than anyone else.
Overcome, her tears surged, and she turned away quickly.
Biting down on her lip, she held back the sobs. She knew if she cried, it would only delay his next call even longer.
Bzzzz. His phone rang.
“Hey, Chaekyung. Yeah, I can talk.”
His voice drifted farther and farther away.
Thud.
The sound of a car door closing. He was getting in.
She wanted to rush over and hold him back, but she couldn’t.
If she angered him, who knew how much longer he’d keep his distance?
Vroom.
The ignition turned. He was leaving.
The sound of the engine faded into the distance.
Only the pounding rain and Suni remained.
At her feet lay the broken bracelet.
She crouched, reaching into the mud to recover the flowers. The ruined blossoms were herself.
It felt as if her last shred of self-worth had dissolved.
“Hhh… hhhuh…”
At last, her restrained sobs burst out.
Her white breath spread into the cold air with her cries.
Grasping the red scarf around her neck, she held on tightly.
It was the first and last gift he had ever given her.
Screech, bang!
Suddenly, a loud crash and the screech of brakes erupted from the distance.
Startled, she stood up and turned back.
Beyond the row of low houses, thick black smoke rose.
It was in the direction his car had just gone.
“G… Gyeonhee?”
Her eyes wavered with foreboding dread.
“From Consensio.”
A man with a somber voice and a cold expression. Handsome, but carrying an aura of darkness.
That was Suni’s first impression of Gyeonhee.
“Hello. I’m Cheon Seon, the designer assigned to this project. Nice to meet you.”
She smiled and extended her hand, but he kept his eyes fixed on the documents.
Awkward, she fiddled with her hand and recalled the rumors about him.
“He won’t even share his name or title. Probably assistant manager level though.”
“He’s ruthless. Make one mistake and he’ll tear you apart.”
“Even the department head said he was vicious.”
Because of his perfectionism, designers avoided him.
And that was why Suni, merely at assistant manager rank, had been given the opportunity to lead this project.
“Can you handle it?”
Without even exchanging names, he asked bluntly.
“Excuse me?”
“Can you satisfy me?”
He sat there, fingers interlocked, expression void of expectation.
His rudeness sparked her pride.
“Can I answer with results?”
At her firm tone, he let out a small laugh.
His condescending attitude should have offended her, but her eyes lingered only on his clasped hands.
For a man, they were strikingly beautiful hands.
“Emergency patient incoming!”
Shouts echoed in the ER.
Moments later, Suni and paramedics pushed a stretcher inside. From the cart, an unconscious Gyeonhee’s limp hand dangled.
Suni clutched his bloodstained hand tightly with both of hers.
“Gyeonhee… please wake up. Please.”
She called to him, trembling, but he did not respond.
“We’ll take it from here.”
Nurses rushed to take over the stretcher.
As they did, dizziness overwhelmed Suni. The shock of the accident mixed with the menstrual pain she’d been enduring since morning.
She looked down at her bloodied hands.
She had used every ounce of strength to drag him out of the wreckage. Glass shards had cut her hands, mixing her blood with his, but she couldn’t care.
His life mattered more.
“What happened?”
A doctor hurried over, checking his pupils.
“Car accident. Skidded on the wet road and hit a tree. Heavy abdominal bleeding.”
The doctor examined the wound.
“Are you the guardian?” he asked Suni.
“M-me? Yes.”
She could barely force out an answer.
“What’s his blood type?”
The doctor kept his eyes on the chart.
“His… blood type?”
It was a routine question, but Suni’s mind went blank.
She had been with him for three years, yet she didn’t even know his blood type.
He had never told her. But realizing that now was a shock.
“You don’t know?”
The doctor finally looked at her.
She bit her lip and nodded.
“We need an immediate transfusion…”
Testing wasn’t difficult, but time was critical. His face was already turning pale.
“Here, there’s a tag.”
A paramedic pointed to his keychain. A metal blood type tag dangled from it.
“RH negative, AB.”
“…RH negative, AB?”
Hearing it, Suni’s eyes widened.
“Eight packs of RH- AB, stat!”
The nurse checked supplies quickly.
“Doctor, we’re out. The morning surgery used the last of it.”
“What?”
The doctor’s face hardened.
“Contact the blood bank immediately. Hurry!”
The nurse ran off.
“Doctor…”
Suni called weakly.
“Yes?”
“I can donate.”
“…What?”
“I’m RH- AB too.”
“…Are you certain?”
The doctor was skeptical. A guardian who didn’t even know his blood type, claiming to share one of the rarest in the world.
“…Yes. I’m sure.”
She showed her blood donor card from her wallet.
“Thank God. We’ll transfuse from her. Prep for surgery!”
“Yes!”
They wheeled Gyeonhee away.
A nurse approached her. “Any dizziness?”
Her legs shook, but she gripped the bed frame hard.
“…I’m fine.”
“No whole-blood donation within the last two months?”
She remembered donating just last month, but she lied.
“No.”
Her eyes stayed fixed on Gyeonhee being taken away.
The operating room was icy cold.
“This will sting.”
The nurse inserted the thick transfusion needle into her arm. Suni clenched her eyes shut at the sharp pain.
She’d donated blood before, but today the pain was unbearable.
“Open and close your fist; it’ll flow better.”
She obeyed, blood flowing through the tube into him.
She turned her head, watching his pale face.
The same blood type…
Only now did she learn it.
What have we been doing all these years?
Her heart sank.
“…Will he be okay?” she asked.
“Yes. The wound is large, but no organ damage. It’s clean.”
“Thank goodness.”
She gave a bittersweet smile.
She had given everything. Her body, her heart, even her blood.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“I’m fine…” she whispered to the nurse, though dizziness nearly overcame her.
Her clenched fist released crushed chrysanthemum petals onto the floor.
“Ugh…”
A groan slipped from the man on the hospital bed.
“You’re awake?”
His secretary, Kwon Ohjae, leaned over eagerly.
“…What happened?”
“You don’t remember? You had a big accident. Been out three days.”
“…Accident? Ah…”
The memory of crashing into the tree returned.
He noticed a crease in the bedsheet and reached to straighten it.
Watching him, Kwon shook his head.
“You need therapy. That’s a sickness.”
“…Everything belongs in its place. That’s all.”
“That’s called OCD. I saw it on TV—it’s from anxiety.”
Gyeonhee shot him a cold glare.
“I’m just saying, I’m worried…”
Kwon trailed off, cowed.
“What about the FunnyBox acquisition?” Gyeonhee asked.
“You almost died, and that’s what you ask?”
“Do you want me to ask twice?”
“Fine, fine. I’ll report. The FunnyBox deal—it went through. You’ll be expanding offline now.”
Hearing it, Gyeonhee silently clenched his fist.
“…This is just the beginning.”
Though already the top online distributor in Korea, he believed his journey was far from over.
His thoughts darkened with memories of his mother, Shin Sukjin.
“By the way, that young woman saved you,” Kwon added.
His brow furrowed, urging explanation.
“Cheon Seon. She brought you here. Even gave you a transfusion.”
“…A transfusion?”
Knowing how rare his type was, he found it odd.
“She had the same blood type. A miracle, right?”
“…Ah.”
So she had even given her blood.
“…She offered even that,” he muttered with a smirk, reaching out his hand.
“What?”
“My phone.”
“Why?”
“She showed loyalty. She deserves a reward.”
“…Huh?”
Still puzzled, Kwon handed over the phone.
He scrolled to the contact saved as Woman 16 and dialed.
The 16th woman he had dated.
Now’s the time to say, ‘Come here.’
He lay back, smirking.
But instead of her voice, an automated message played:
The number you have dialed is unavailable…
He frowned, double-checking. The contact was correct.
He tried again—same result.
“She won’t take my call?”
He’d even graciously reached out, yet she ignored him. Anger simmered.
Then his gaze fell on a red scarf nearby.
“…Why is this here?”
“Oh, that? It was by your bed in the ICU. Isn’t it yours?”
Instead of answering, he picked it up.
The frayed scarf was the first and last gift he had ever given her. She had treasured it most of all.
She would never have left it behind lightly.
He understood its meaning.
“…So, she’s rebelling now?”
He let out a hollow laugh.
Then, without hesitation, he tossed the scarf into the trash.
“I’ll show her what happens when a runaway dog strays.”
His gaze turned icy.
But then—
“Ah…”
A strange pain began in his abdomen and spread to his back.
“Is it the surgical wound?” Kwon asked nervously.
“No… it’s different…”
The pain grew unbearable, choking his breath.
“What’s wrong?”
“…I… don’t know… ahh…”
His face drained of color, sweat pouring.
It felt as though another’s suffering was being laid atop his own.
He clenched his jaw but the torment only worsened.
“Gyeonhee! Gyeonhee!”
Kwon’s panicked voice called to him, but he could not answer.
On his chest, beneath his loosened gown, a crimson pattern like a tattoo began to glow.
“Doctor! Somebody help! He’s dying!”
Kwon’s frantic shouts echoed down the corridor.
That was the beginning.
The day foreign pain came to find him—
