Chapter 37

“A missing person wouldn’t just walk into a police station, would they?”  

When Yaein dismissed the idea so easily, Bansak mumbled to himself and nodded.  

“That guy will never agree, so we have to do it in secret. He’s sleeping in the car right now, so that won’t work. We’ll have to slip out when he’s distracted.”  

After some consideration, Bansak concluded that around lunchtime would be the best time.  

What followed was another stretch of agonizing waiting. As she forced down the rice ball they’d given her for breakfast, Yaein spent more time watching the sun’s position than eating.  

Noon passed, and still, nothing. The pale morning light turned golden, then deepened as the sun sank lower in the sky.  

Finally, as the afternoon waned, Bansak returned.  

“When I give you the signal, head straight for the car.”  

He cut the tape binding her ankles. Yaein slowly rotated her feet, grimacing as a dull cramp set in from having been tied up for so long. Every movement sent an ache rippling through her body.  

“I’ll be back soon. Just wait.”  

After making such a grand declaration, Bansak left the room.  

Yaein remained still, pretending she was still bound, just in case. But the signal never came. The house was eerily silent.  

Then she heard the sound of a car outside.  

The distinct crunch of tires rolling over dirt.  

Yaein stood up. There was only so much she could see from inside. Carefully, she pulled the curtain aside just enough to peek through the front window.  

Her breath hitched—she had almost made eye contact with her mother’s lover. He was storming toward the house, his face twisted in anger.  

Heart pounding, Yaein yanked the curtain shut and backed away.  

A string of harsh curses followed.  

Something had gone very wrong.  

She needed to leave.  

Now.  

The old house had a kitchen that connected to a back door. If she could slip out that way and reach the car first, she might have a chance.  

She turned toward the small kitchen at the rear of the house. But the moment she stepped down into the narrow space, the front door swung open.  

Yaein pressed herself against the wall, barely breathing.  

Who had just entered?  

Someone moved through the house, their footsteps deliberate and unhurried.  

Then, they stopped.  

A voice followed.  

“She’s not here.”  

A shiver raced down Yaein’s spine.  

Kwon Taeheon.  

Two syllables. That was all it took.  

The voice was so familiar—so unmistakable—that she couldn’t have imagined it if she tried.  

Her husband was here.  

Not the kidnappers. Not Bansak.  

Taeheon.  

How?  

How had he found her so quickly?  

As if there had never been a question of if—only when.  

Dizzy, she swallowed back the nausea clawing at her throat.  

She heard his footsteps—calm, methodical—moving through the house.  

Slowly, ever so slowly, Yaein peeked out from the corner.  

There he was.  

Standing with his back turned, surveying the empty space as if he had all the time in the world.  

As if any second now, he would turn and find her.  

Her head pounded.  

It felt like she had plunged face-first into scalding steam.

She had to get out of this house immediately.  

Yaein moved slowly toward the back door, careful not to make a sound. Her pace naturally slowed as she tried to avoid any noise.  

Even as she stepped outside, she couldn’t take her eyes off Taeheon. It felt like if she turned her back, he would seize her by the nape in an instant.  

Her feet met dirt and grass. The salty sea breeze wrapped around the back of her neck. Taeheon was still searching the living room.  

As the door shut behind her, her view of him gradually narrowed.  

Once it was completely closed, Taeheon disappeared from sight.  

For a moment, Yaein stared at the door before turning away.  

As expected, it was a seaside house. Aside from the building she had just escaped, there was no one around. A few scattered houses stood far apart, a structure that resembled a warehouse, dirt paths overgrown with weeds, and rugged piles of rocks that looked as if they would drop straight into the sea.  

The sky was overcast, and the waves were a murky gray. Yaein gathered her windblown hair into her hands.  

She didn’t know where to go.  

A van was parked next to the building, but with Taeheon inside, she couldn’t risk approaching it.  

It was the kind of town where a car was necessary to get anywhere. If she walked, would she find someone to help? Could she escape without being caught by Taeheon?  

She started moving but quickly realized there was nowhere to hide. She crouched into the tall grass and trees.  

Suddenly, the sound of wailing reached her from a distance.  

Yaein turned her head, searching for the source of the sound.  

Beyond the house, there was only a compacted dirt path and what once might have been a vegetable garden.  

Two men were kneeling on the overgrown ground.  

Yaein’s gaze scanned the men standing in front of them. Then, she saw a familiar figure.  

She froze.  

The ones crying were the kidnappers. Her mother’s lover was sobbing like a child.  

“I swear, I don’t know where she went! She was just inside the house…”  

His words turned into a desperate wail. He screamed at the top of his lungs, but no one came to check.  

Taeheon’s profile entered her view.  

Yaein recoiled, pressing her back against the trunk of a tree.  

Her heart pounded as if it were being pulled toward him.  

Her entire back trembled.  

A gust of wind rustled the leaves, and she flinched at the sound beneath her feet. Looking down, she saw the long drag marks her shoes had left in the dirt.  

She needed to get farther away.  

Watching Taeheon, she repeated the thought. It was as if he had his own gravitational pull, drawing her in. She wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.  

She looked around for an escape route, but there was nowhere to move discreetly. To reach the forested path, she would have to cross an open field near the house.  

Yaein’s gaze shifted to the sea.  

The uneven, rocky shoreline had natural ledges. If she climbed down and followed the coastline, she might be able to get away without being seen.  

For now, she just needed to get away from Taeheon.  

Lowering her body, Yaein carefully moved toward the shore. The waves crashed against the rocks, sending white spray into the air.

***

Gone.  

The silver tape fluttered, still clinging to the chair leg. Another strip of tape, seemingly torn from someone’s wrists, lay discarded nearby. The only thing missing was the person who was supposed to be sitting in that chair.  

Taeheon bent down and picked up a long strand of hair from the dust-covered floor. Blowing gently, he shook off the dust, revealing a rich brown hue.  

“…….”  

He pressed a light kiss to the strand of hair.  

It almost felt like he could still catch her scent—warm, sweet, like the lingering trace of skin.  

Stepping outside, the sharp scent of grass and the briny tang of the sea mingled in the wind, swirling around him.  

Taeheon walked toward the two men who were restrained. His pace was leisurely, as if he were merely out for a stroll.  

The first thing he heard was the pathetic sound of sniffling.  

The older man was crying.  

Beside him, a younger man sat frozen, his face completely drained of color. He was familiar.  

The bandage across his nose stood out like a marker, drawing attention.  

Identifying him was simple. Finding his address had been even easier.  

The branch manager in Busan had sent over a half-hearted list, and among them was a man who owned an old house he had put up for sale. The same man had gone completely silent after Yaein’s abduction.  

When they arrived, they found the two pacing the area, arguing loudly, as if they were a neatly wrapped gift, prepared just for him.  

Taeheon listened as the man sobbed, claiming he truly had no idea where she had gone.  

“You really don’t know where she went?”  

“Y-yes. I swear.”  

The younger man, his face already covered in dirt—perhaps his subordinates had been thorough—frantically poured out his excuses.  

They had planned to take her back to her neighborhood, let her go. He had realized what a terrible mistake this was. He was going to release her just like she asked.  

Hearing the rambling confession, the older man’s face turned red. Afraid of being blamed alone, he quickly jumped in to defend himself.  

Taeheon had already pieced together the situation before arriving.  

But hearing it again, it hit differently.  

A pregnant woman had appeared at their doorstep, desperate and with nowhere else to go.  

The way the man described Yaein made something twist inside Taeheon.  

Even there, she had been miserable, yet resolute.  

“I never intended to hurt her… I mean, she’s a man’s wife and carrying a child, right? How could I?”  

He claimed they only wanted the money. That they had no real intention of harming her.  

As if that made it better.  

Taeheon chuckled.  

The unexpected sound made the two kidnappers stare at him, dumbfounded.  

The laughter didn’t stop right away.  

So this was what had happened.  

Yaein, after a full year of being used and discarded, had still clung to her last hope—her biological mother.  

And she had been betrayed. Again.  

Dragged here, handed over like a pawn.  

It was absurd. A joke, really.  

Just like she had claimed—there was no other man.  

Yaein wasn’t like her father.  

She wasn’t tainted.  

The realization brought an unexpected rush of pleasure, a thrill that tingled through his fingertips as he gripped the gun.  

Poor Yaein.  

And then, after the pleasure, came the anger.  

“A woman carrying a child, and you drag her out here like this to pay off your gambling debts?”  

Taeheon rested his hands on his knees, looking down at them.  

No matter where she went, the only people around her were those who used her.  

Who belittled her.  

Even these pathetic creatures.  

“What should I do with you useless pieces of trash?”

Muttering to himself, Taeheon mentally traced the rocky coastline and the surrounding enclosed terrain. There was no way out on foot.  

From what he had heard earlier, they had been let loose not too long ago. They couldn’t have gotten far.  

That meant he had some time to spare for trash disposal.  

“P-please spare me….” 

The half-shaven man mumbled weakly. Spare you? Taeheon tilted his head, as if asking himself the question.  

Hearing that just made him want to do the opposite.  

“Good thing I brought this.”  

As Taeheon reached inside his outer coat and pulled out his hand, the two kneeling men gasped.  

His long, elegant fingers aimed directly at them, revealing a black revolver.  

“How about we make a bet?”  

In response, a hiccup broke the tense silence. Taeheon pulled out the cylinder and removed several bullets.  

“I’ll load just one bullet. Let’s leave it up to luck—whether you live or not.”  

Of the six chambers, he placed a single bullet back in and gently tapped the barrel.  

“I’m sorry! It wasn’t something we did intentionally! Please, just give us one chance!”  

One of the men dropped his head all the way to the ground, pressing it into the dirt. Sand and dust clung messily to his forehead. Taeheon pointed the muzzle right there.  

“I’m not doing this on purpose either—just curious to test something out.”  

The man, seeing the gun aimed at him, struggled wildly, kicking up dust. But before he could even get to his feet, the trigger was pulled.

“Ah… huh—”  

Click. The cylinder spun, but no bullet fired.  

The man stretched out his hunched neck, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. Drool dripped from his lips.  

“I… I’m alive….”  

Before he could even finish his sigh of relief, Taeheon pulled the trigger again.  

Click. Click. The cylinder spun rapidly. The man’s knees nearly lifted off the ground. His thrashing body was quickly restrained by Taeheon’s subordinates.  

Then, at last, a gunshot ripped through the air.  

“Agh! AAGH!”  

A scream erupted as loud as the shot itself. The man howled, clutching his thigh. Blood gushed from the gunshot wound, pooling beneath him.

The half-shaven man, who had been staring blankly at his fallen companion writhing on the dirt, flailed and collapsed forward. Watching him awkwardly crawl closer, Taeheon clicked his tongue.  

Now up close, the man reeked of ammonia. The center of his pants was dark with urine.  

“Please…”  

Before he could say anything more, Taeheon moved first. The barrel of the gun pressed against the man’s forehead.  

The moment the trigger was pulled, the man convulsed, foaming at the mouth before collapsing. Taeheon let out a sigh.  

“I told you earlier. There was only one bullet.”  

Bad memory, huh?  

Sliding the empty gun back into its holster, Taeheon gestured toward the fallen kidnappers.  

“Clean that up, and put this one in the car.”  

“Should we transport him alive?”  

At his subordinate’s question, Taeheon gave a slight nod.  

“It’s a gift for my mother-in-law.”  

Taeheon knew exactly how to break a person. It was a talent.  

He had wasted enough time on trivial matters. He turned his gaze toward the shoreline.  

The waves built up grand harmonies—crashing, retreating, then surging forward again in an endless solo performance.  

The most important things must never be left to others. It was a lesson he constantly reaffirmed.  

Just within arm’s reach was his wife. The sea breeze brushed against the nape of his neck, raising goosebumps.  

“Looks like I’ll have to go get her myself.”  

With that, Taeheon took a step forward.