Chapter 66

“ Why would you even ask for a job if you’re going to act so irresponsibly? You shouldn’t have said anything from the start”

With Serin’s endless scolding ringing in her ears, Yaein only bowed her head.

Now Serin felt a bit of relief. Though, a flicker of regret passed through her. This wasn’t how she meant for things to go today.

Still, that girl’s the type who just endures quietly. She’ll probably play the pitiful one again and let it slide this time too.

Then, from the still-bowed Yaein came a subdued voice.

“…If working with me is really that unpleasant for you, then I suppose insisting would only be a burden.”

That wasn’t the reaction Serin expected.

Until now, Yaein had always smiled vaguely and let things pass, which had only made Serin more frustrated. This… wasn’t good—it was confusing.

“W–What, so you’re quitting?”

“The doctor told me I should rest as much as possible. I thought I’d be fine, but I guess the stress got to me more than I realized.”

Serin was stunned. Now it sounded like she was the reason Yaein’s health was deteriorating. The request she originally intended to make had completely vanished from her head, leaving only a tangled mess of emotion behind.

“I was planning to leave before my due date anyway.”

“If that’s the case, then stop dragging your feet and just quit. Hey, just walk out now. Don’t bother coming back tomorrow. Got it?”

Serin doubled down, feeling like Yaein was pushing back.

“Aren’t you going?”

At this point, she couldn’t back down. Pressured, Yaein sighed softly.

“Okay. I’ll do as you say, Sister.”

‘This isn’t what I wanted.’ As Yaein really did leave, Serin was left with a gnawing sense of regret.

What now?

She’d tangled things up so badly she didn’t know what to do anymore. While biting her nails in dazed anxiety, her phone rang.

— Lee Serin! What the hell did you do?! Did you seriously tell Yaein to quit?!

Her mother’s voice blasted through the phone, loud enough to make Serin flinch and look around in a panic. The timing made it feel like she had somehow seen the whole thing.

That little b*tch tattled straight to Mom?! If Yaein had been standing in front of her now, Serin might have grabbed her hair on the spot.

“I just scolded her a little because she seemed lazy—I didn’t think she’d actually quit.”

— What do you mean, you didn’t think?! Lately she’s been clearly showing how fed up she is with you bossing her around. Anyone could see she was wavering for weeks now, debating whether to quit!

Sojeong let out a heavy sigh. Had it really been that obvious for weeks that Yaein was struggling? She couldn’t recall.

She felt wronged. Mom had been bossing Yaein around too, but of course it was Serin who’d gone overboard—making up tasks just to mess with her, venting through nasty comments. But how could she have known Yaein would actually quit?

Yaein was the kind of girl who was always treated that way anyway.

— You’re taking years off my life, you know that?

Sojeong wailed in frustration, then suddenly exploded into a shriek:

— No more credit cards. I’m cutting you off. Effective immediately!

With a screech loud enough to tear through Serin’s eardrum, the call ended.

Serin tried calling back, but her mother didn’t answer. She stood there, blinking back tears like a child cast out of her mother’s arms.

Her watering eyes narrowed into something cruel and sharp.

This was all Yaein’s fault.

She dug her nails into the chewed skin of her thumb. A strip of skin tore free, and a thin trail of blood welled up, exposing raw pink underneath. Serin didn’t notice. She was too busy plotting.

Yaein’s father-in-law. Chairman Kwon Seonghwan.

Serin drop to her feet.

Her mother had told her to talk to Yaein so she could pass the message to him—but who said Serin had  to go through Yaein?

She could talk to Chairman Kwon herself.

***

Yaein climbed into the sleek black sedan. Calls from Sojeong had been coming nonstop ever since she left the foundation building, but she hadn’t answered once.

Taeheon pulled her into the back seat and wrapped his arms around her. As if that place had always belonged to her, Yaein melted right into his arms.

“Did you pack everything?” she asked.

Taeheon slipped a hand from his pocket and tilted it slightly. A tiny USB drive flicked back and forth between his fingers.

It was the same one that had been in Serin’s bag.

The contents had likely already reached the person helping Taeheon. For investigators desperate for results, Chairman Kwon Seonghwan was dangerous prey—but irresistibly juicy.

“Your father’s coming to the airport too, right?”

“If he’s got the mental bandwidth left for it.”

Things had changed since that boastful talk at the shooting range. The full-blown raid on the foundation had thrown everyone into a scramble. Kwon Seonghwan was now frantically summoning all his connections, desperate to keep the investigation from touching him.

Sure enough, there’d been no word from him as Taeheon and Yaein arrived at the airport.

It was as busy as ever. With no time to stroll idly, Taeheon’s aide reminded him that it was time to head through security.

“Wait.”

Yaein stopped him.

“Your lips are dry.”

She pulled a lip balm from her purse and carefully applied it. Taeheon waited patiently, unmoving like a sculpture. She liked the way he stood still for her like that. His cracked lips grew glossy under her touch.

Realizing she’d applied a little too much, Yaein gently wiped away the excess with her thumb.

“All done,” she said.

As Yaein rubbed the excess lip balm from her thumb onto her own lips, she broke into a bright smile. Taeheon immediately kissed her—he couldn’t help himself.

The familiar scent of the balm melted into the heat between them, sticky and slow. Their lips clung together, the lines between them blurring.

It was a kiss deep enough to steal breath. Even after pulling away, Taeheon didn’t retreat.

“People are watching,” Yaein whispered.

A few passersby were glancing at them out of the corners of their eyes, pretending not to stare.

“Let them.”

Taeheon murmured and pulled her tightly into his arms. Time, so indifferent, ticked on regardless of how much they wished it would pause.

Then, finally, Taeheon let go.

“Come back safe,” Yaein said.

“I’ll be back before you know it.”

Every second before his departure felt too short. The thought of being apart again tightened his chest.

Past security, Taeheon turned around for one last look. But crowds of travelers blocked his view—he couldn’t spot her.

“Director.”

His aide spoke gently, reminding him of the time.

A group pushing a cart finally passed by, clearing his line of sight. Taeheon quickly scanned the spot Yaein had been.

She was gone.

She’d likely left for Incheon already, just as they’d planned after the send-off. Taeheon turned back, ready to continue through the terminal.

But a cold sensation sliced through him like the edge of a paper.

A quiet, cutting dread. A whisper of instinct clawing at his spine.

Something wasn’t right.

He clenched his jaw.

There was no turning back now. The boat would be waiting for him at the port after he landed. He would only be gone a day.

Just one day.

He scanned the airport once more before passing through the final checkpoint.

Yaein was nowhere to be seen.

***

Serin pressed a trembling hand to her chest to calm her pounding heart.

As she stepped into Chairman Kwon Seonghwan’s mansion, the first thing she saw was a long hunting rifle mounted on the wall.

Its ivory handle glinted ominously. Even at a glance, it looked priceless.

There were more guns along the walls—some flintlocks that looked to be decades, maybe centuries old.

Despite the mansion’s tidy and sunlit interior, it felt like she was walking through shadows.

Led by one of the staff, Serin entered the sitting room, where everything seemed to grow darker still.

Chairman Kwon sat dead center, watching her silently. He didn’t greet her, didn’t even move.

Serin hesitated.

She’d arrived full of fire, but now, face-to-face, her mind went blank.

“What the hell do you want?” he snapped, his irritation sharp and clear.

Serin flinched.

“Cat got your tongue? If you’re here, you’ve got something to say. So, say it.”

His voice rose with impatience. It sounded like he’d start yelling any second.

“Yaein,” Serin blurted.

Kwon’s thick gray eyebrows lifted.

“You just gonna drop a name and leave it at that?” he scoffed. “Do you even know how to talk?”

Clearly fed up with the clueless girl fumbling in front of him, he gave her a look full of disdain.

Serin’s cheeks flushed with shame. She’d never been good with words—never had to be. Life had always bent around her whims.

“The investigation into our foundation—it’s her. Yaein did this.”

She delivered her claim with grave urgency.

Kwon let out a derisive laugh.

She knew she was being dismissed but pushed on stubbornly.

“All of this started after she joined the foundation.”

The more she spoke, the more it sounded right. Lee Yaein was the problem. She should never have shown up. Everything got twisted because some illegitimate sister showed up out of nowhere.

From the very day Yaein first appeared during childhood, Serin had hated her. A half-sister? That single day had left a blemish on what had been a perfect life. It was something she simply couldn’t tolerate.

“You came all the way here just to say that? What, you want me to take responsibility because she’s my daughter-in-law? Everyone should handle their own mess.”

Seonghwan waved his hand as if swatting away a fly, his tone dripping with annoyance. The gesture made Serin straighten her back nervously. She didn’t even have time to feel humiliated—what if he really kicked her out?

“There’s evidence that you used the foundation, Chairman! And Lee Yaein took it!”

“What?”

That startled outburst was the first time Seonghwan showed any sign of agitation.

Realizing what she had just blurted, Serin sucked in a sharp breath. She had just said Yaein took it.

She had indeed been careless with that item. Maybe she lost it while drunkenly wandering from place to place. Considering her wallet and jewelry were also gone from her bag, it could have been pickpocketed—but either way, it was gone. And if it was gone, then that was that.

And Yaein wasn’t in a position to defend herself right now.

“There was such a thing?”

Those beggars dared to deceive Kwon Seonghwan and stash away side money? Seonghwan shot to his feet. The sudden ferocity startled Serin into stumbling backward and tripping over her own feet.

He looked down with disgust at Serin, sprawled on the floor in a disgraceful heap. He could’ve rendered her useless right then and there, but he decided to postpone punishment. For now, there were more things to confirm.

When Serin had requested to meet him, Seonghwan had assumed she was coming to beg for help.

It was true that he had used the in-law family’s foundation as one of his revenue streams, but he had always left himself escape routes. In the end, it would be Seonghwan walking away clean, while Yaein’s family took the fall and scraped for scraps.

But it seemed the other side had tried to play smart too. Parasites who usually leech off others somehow only knew how to use their heads when it came to things like this.

Once he got to the bottom of it all, he’d punish this whole swarm of parasites at once.

“So, you’re saying Lee Yaein took it? Are you sure?”

“Yes! She snatched it. She’s definitely going to use it to report you.”

Serin nodded fervently, her styled hair bouncing with the motion.

Deep wrinkles gathered on Seonghwan’s forehead.

The way she spoke—with too much certainty—sounded more like a childish tattletale. The excessive emphasis only made it sound less believable.

And Seonghwan already knew all too well that the relationship between the sisters was anything but good.