Chapter 20 – Not Scared at All?  

His face, no longer smiling, was eerily calm.

Seo-jun focused on one thing.

Until the maid who had cleared the table set the wine and accompanying fruits and cheese and left, his heart raced uncontrollably for the one woman whom he intensely disliked yet could never hate, Eom So-yeon.

Seo-jun had imagined this situation countless times in his mind.

You and me.

In this secluded place where no one could disturb us.

Bringing Eom So-yeon to the rarely visited Yangpyeong villa was the result of a meticulous calculation that no matter what happened, it wouldn’t leak outside, and an unbearable desire for possession.

So now it was time to test her heart.

“You didn’t eat well. Was the food not to your liking?”

The villa, with only the two of them, was so quiet that even the sound of swallowing water was loud, and his voice, low and sinking, was as calm as the night.

“I feel strange.”

“What is it?”

“You keep speaking informally.”

“Then you’ll have to keep feeling strange. I’m not in the mood to be formal right now.”

Seo-jun brought the wine glass slowly to his lips, holding the red liquid in his mouth, and spoke in a damp voice across the wide dining table.

“The first wine we drank was this one. But you probably don’t remember, do you?”

Château Lafite Rothschild.

How could she forget? The hotel initials elegantly engraved on the golden fork, and even his low breathing occasionally released, were unforgettable, something she would cherish forever, even after death.

‘The aroma and deep color are the result of cedar and grape juice blending well over many years.  But you know what, Ms. Eom So-yeon? You are the opposite of this wine. At first glance, you seem delicate, but the more I see, the stronger and more mysterious you feel.’

So-yeon remembered exactly what he said on that snowy night.

But what was the reason for bringing up that incident here, after staying silent all this time? All she could do, with tension rising rapidly to her throat, was to avoid thinking about that day.

“Well, it’s an old story.”

She answered calmly with a steady voice, but her delicate hands gathered under the table were already soaked with cold sweat.

“In that case, we should have a more in-depth conversation about that day.”

“W-what are you talking about…”

So-yeon’s face suddenly cooled.

When she unexpectedly met Tae Seo-jun on the company rooftop, So-yeon was more overwhelmed than surprised.

Because he remembered and called her name. She was so grateful and happy for that. The time she secretly missed him alone was so sorrowful.

But a greater fear overshadowed all those emotions. Even though she was sure he couldn’t know of the child’s existence, she couldn’t shake off the anxiety of ‘what if.’

With a nervousness several times greater than back then, So-yeon, with her mouth dry, swallowed a few sips of water and spoke in a somewhat mechanical tone.

“Is there a need to bring up the past again?”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because it was fake from the start.”

If there ever was a moment when her crazy tongue moved on its own, it was right now. Even the speaker didn’t expect such words to come out of her mouth.

But it was somewhat true, and since it was water under the bridge, So-yeon didn’t bother to correct it.

“Fake?”

The word grated on Seo-jun, and his thick eyebrows furrowed immediately.

“Right. Fake. Everything that happened that day between you and me.”

“If it’s as you say, then was what we did in bed also fake?”

“…!”

Her lost brown eyes wavered. Seo-jun’s straightforward expression awakened the shame and guilt dormant within her.

Her lowered gaze collided with the smooth surface of the dining table.

Overwhelmed by intense emotions, she denied everything. So-yeon knew better than anyone that Tae Seo-jun couldn’t be fake.

Above all, she shouldn’t have said such things, thinking of the child. Feeling pathetic for being nothing more than this, So-yeon bit her lip, looking bewildered.

Had that scratched the very nature of Seo-jun? Struggling to maintain composure, his suppressed voice was chillingly cold.

“Having done it with me several times, was that one night nothing to you, Eom So-yeon? Was it so terrible that you erased it from existence? Did you hate me that much to disappear without a word?”

Staring directly at Seo-jun’s face, who uttered such blatant words without a change in expression, So-yeon clenched her skirt and raised her voice.

“I told you, I don’t remember!”

That’s not true.

The large hand that caressed her like it was a part of her, the gentle voice that comforted her, saying she was pretty and it was okay, the thrill and excitement from intimate contact, being in his broad and solid embrace felt so good that she momentarily developed feelings she didn’t have.

Afraid that such unreasonable desires would grow even bigger, she left before he woke up.

Unable to confess such honesty, So-yeon threw her gaze out the window, where the twilight had settled deeply.

This desolate place seemed to be one no one would visit unless they deliberately sought the villa. 

Did he really bring me here just to have a meal? If not…

Was it wrong to follow him so recklessly? Should I just…

Tell him everything?

No, I can’t. What could I do now? Rather than awkwardly explaining and justifying everything, I might as well bite my tongue.

Holding tightly to her wavering heart, So-yeon quickly covered her slightly trembling lips

But he wasn’t someone who couldn’t see even if she hid it.

“Why does your face look like that when you said you don’t remember at all?”

Seo-jun looked at her with narrowed eyes, as if mocking, leaning back in his chair with an extremely arrogant posture, tightening the noose around her.

“Fine. I remember. But you know too, Director. It was just a transaction, not pure feelings. There can’t be anything real in something that started with lies. Although I brought it upon myself, you held me as a substitute for that woman.”

“Substitute?”

“I know at least that much. Back then, you were tormented, unable to forget Yoo Jung-hwa, and still…”

The more she spoke, the more her mind became a jumbled mess. So-yeon, eager to escape quickly, paused her words, and Seo-jun immediately cut in.

“Based on what? Because I didn’t respond to CEO Go’s question earlier?”

“…”

Why did I bring that up again?

So-yeon, who’s been making mistakes one after another today, couldn’t help but nod slightly.

“It wasn’t worth responding to.”

“Not everything you say is meaningful.”

“Well, most of it is useful…”

“Then ‘Whoever it might be, they’ll be anxious.’ That must have been meaningful too? You were seriously worried about the person I was going to meet back then, Director.”

Breaking Seo-jun’s words, So-yeon finally poured out what had been deeply lodged in her chest.

“Ha…”

A hollow laugh escaped between Seo-jun’s teeth.

Someone who claimed not to remember anything from back then was reciting his words verbatim, causing him to laugh involuntarily.

“See, you can’t deny it, can you? Should I say it for you? With those words, you drew a line and nailed it for me. You wanted to make sure it was nothing more than a one-night connection.”

“Did I seem like such a trivial person to you?”

“Yes. Just someone up to that point!”

“Ha, really?”

“…Yes!”

The moment So-yeon stood up from her chair, she moved away from the table simultaneously with her answer.

I ruined it.

I messed up this precious time.

Unable to steady my shaking heart, it ended up like this.

I can’t think of anything anymore. I just want to vanish without a trace, even as dust, as soon as possible. 

Engulfed in confusion and self-reproach, So-yeon rushed out of the villa and ran aimlessly down the forest path.

Without knowing if the direction her legs were taking was a dead end.

***

Her legs, running frantically, came to a halt.

“Oh, what should I do…”

For a moment, So-yeon couldn’t help but feel despair.

She just realized she left her bag, containing her wallet and phone, back at the villa. She thought about going back, but having come so far, she couldn’t even guess where she was, leaving her truly at a loss.

Where could this be?

The surroundings, devoid of any light, were not just dark but pitch-black. Fortunately, the nearly full moonlight illuminated her dark vision, but the densely overgrown bushes and trees in the wild mountain were eerily gloomy. The further she went, the more it felt like the same place repeated endlessly.

But no one pushed her into the middle of the forest; getting lost was her own doing. So-yeon walked resolutely through the dark thicket. Like a life she must navigate with her own strength.

However, no matter how far she went, there was no path.

No matter how much she strained her eyes and looked around, all she saw were grass, dry branches, dirt, and gravel covering the rough ground.

Walking aimlessly through such wasteland, her skirt kept getting caught on something, and her feet in shoes wobbled precariously. Eventually, the heel of her right shoe half-broke, and a hesitant calf got scratched by a branch.

“Ouch! Hiss, it hurts…”

Looking at her leg, blood soon showed through the torn stockings. But as if wounds were no longer a big deal, So-yeon sighed and straightened her bent back with an indifferent expression.

It was that moment.

“Eek!”

Terrified, So-yeon stumbled backward and sat on the bare ground.

She was startled by the rustling noise that reached her ears closely, but the unclear vision buried in darkness invoked extreme fear.

Instinctively clenching her fists, So-yeon looked around the eerie surroundings. A rodent? A deer? At most, it would be something like that, but beads of sweat were already forming on her forehead.

“Let a tiger come out! I’m not scared at all! Just show up, and I’ll bite you all!”

Even bluffing made it somewhat bearable.

The moment she was so startled she fell on her backside, she forgot how to stand up, but she gathered strength in her legs and began to rise.

“Ahhh!”

The moment she lifted her head and saw the large figure that had come close, So-yeon screamed as if she were about to die.

In that split second, she realized it was a person, but her fist, more afraid of people than wild animals, was quite quick and firm.

Whoosh!

Thud!

But the man’s movement was even quicker.

“Though I knew you were reckless, I didn’t expect you’d sting like a bee.”

Seo-jun, who had caught So-yeon’s wrist in mid-air, grinned. The man’s face, illuminated by the white moonlight, shone even more brilliantly.

“D-Director?”

As soon as she realized the person who frightened her was Tae Seo-jun, So-yeon understood something.

This face that shone exceptionally, this deep voice, she had missed them terribly. Thinking about this man while walking made the dark and chilly forest path less frightening.