Lee Jae-hyup.

I know that name. I know that face too. I saw a picture of him standing next to his brother Lee Jae-kwang.

Compared to Lee Jae-kwang, I thought he looked rather delicate and gentle. I remembered that man’s face again.

—”Who the hell are you? Lee Seol-won? Is that you?”

The voice on the other end of the call, set at maximum volume, came through clearly without any distortion.

—”This is ridiculous. What are you doing, Seol-won?”

Grinding his teeth, he spat out Lee Seol-won’s name. The tone was similar to how he called me “Eun-sae,” with a false sense of familiarity. Even when addressing someone casually, there was an underlying feeling of contempt and disrespect that made my skin crawl and made me want to shake off the lingering sound of his voice.

Lee Jae-hyup let out a mocking laugh.

—”You ran all that way? To save Hyun Eun-sae? No wonder that girl acted like she had something to rely on. Turns out you were the one she was counting on?”

—”Did you think it could have been anyone else but me?”

I couldn’t understand why the tears kept falling. Was it the relief of being saved from danger? Or was it finally learning the name of the man I so desperately wanted to know? Or maybe it was the realization that Eun-sae and Lee Jae-hyup’s relationship was far more sordid and horrible than I had imagined.

When my palms were drenched with tears, Lee Seol-won turned me around and let me lean against his chest.

Although his clothes were damp and cold from absorbing the moisture, he didn’t show any signs of discomfort.

—”That woman… doesn’t even know gratitude…”

A faint mocking laugh escaped this time.

—”Hey, Hyun Eun-sae. You’re listening next to him, right? Pick up the phone.”

Lee Jae-hyup raised his voice, but Lee Seol-won didn’t give me the phone.

“Why are you looking for Eun-sae when I’m here?”

—”Seol-won, are you acting like you’re some kind of spokesperson for her?”

“Of course I am. Isn’t that natural?”

—”Hey! Since when are you so devoted to her?”

The volume on the speaker was turned up to maximum, and even the sound of labored breathing came through clearly, sharp enough to sting my ears even from a short distance. Yet he didn’t even flinch.

—”Come to think of it, isn’t that right? Hyun Eun-sae was after you from the beginning, so I’ll accept that. But what about you? You didn’t even look at her when she was so devoted to you, and now you’re doing this? Oh, is that it? You don’t want her for yourself, but you don’t want anyone else to have her either?”

Did he just compare Eun-sae to something insignificant and disposable?

I lifted my head and stared at the phone where Lee Jae-hyup’s mocking voice could be heard.

“You crazy jerk. Don’t treat people like objects!”

I cursed with my first words, then paused for a moment in remorse. Had I gotten too excited? What if it didn’t sound like me – what if it didn’t sound like Eun-sae?

Contrary to my fears, my voice didn’t reach Lee Jae-hyup. Lee Seol-won had already covered the transmitter on the phone.

He tilted his head slightly in my direction. It seemed as if he agreed with my words, or maybe he was trying to reassure me.

I bit down hard on the inside of my mouth, trying to control my emotions. When I calmed down a bit, he uncovered the transmitter and spoke clearly.

“No. I’m not giving her to you – I’m taking her for myself.”

Every syllable, from the first to the last, rang out with unmistakable clarity.

Startled by his declaration, my eyes widened in shock. If I was so surprised, there was no way Lee Jae-hyup could remain calm.

—”What the hell are you talking about, you bastard?”

—”Let me make it clear right here and now. Stop interfering with Eun-sae.”

While everyone else was speechless, he was the only one who kept his composure.

—”Lee Seol-won! Hey! Damn it!”

Unable to contain his anger, Lee Jae-hyup’s angry shouts echoed loudly. Overwhelmed with rage and unsure of what to do, he spent a long time cursing with heavy, labored breaths.

His uncontrollable screams echoed loudly. Overwhelmed with rage and not knowing what to do, Lee Jae-hyup spent a long time cursing with every breath, huffing and puffing.

With someone like him, it’s no wonder that Eun-sae fell for it. When I remembered Lee Jae-hyup’s face, I fully understood Eun-sae’s bad choice. If he had exuded the same disturbing aura as Lee Jae-kwang, it might have been different. But Lee Jae-hyup was far too ordinary. Compared to his brother, he even seemed friendly and easygoing. It wouldn’t have been easy to be suspicious of someone like him from the beginning.

After venting his anger with a series of curses, he took a moment to catch his breath and regain his composure. Then he tried a counterattack.

“Ha… you know, well… Yeonseo’s watching, so I suppose you want to play a little hero, but you’re in no position to make demands on me. Who’s flawless? Does your precious fiancée know about the other woman you’ve been keeping?”

It was the exact accusation I had always expected him to make, but hearing it with my own ears still made my heart sink.

The scandal was a weakness I had deliberately created against him. Without me, he wouldn’t have had any reason to endure such a reproach from his cousin.

—”In public, you parade around with your respectable fiancée from a good family, but in your office drawer, you hide photos of yourself kissing Hyun Eun-sae? You shady bastard. Shall I expose this scandal for you? Do you think your precious fiancée would just let it go? If her future husband is caught cheating before the wedding, do you think Rep. Heo Ji-seop would laugh it off?”

But the guilt didn’t last long.

…What? I widened my tear-filled eyes and looked up at Lee Seol-won.

Why did you have that photo? A photo that could easily spark a scandal if mishandled? Even if you somehow came into possession of it, shouldn’t you have destroyed it immediately?

Come to think of it, when I showed him the photo, he didn’t seem all that surprised.

Was that because he already knew?

“Sneaking into the director’s office of the art hall in the middle of the night, smashing everything up, and stealing the photos – that doesn’t seem like the kind of threat you should be making.”

I had no idea what was happening. What was going on behind the scenes while I was running around in circles? There was no time to sort out the confusion.

At the same time, a memory suddenly flashed through my mind.

On the day I received Lee Jae-hyup’s photos and decided to pass on the information, I went to the Songun Art Hall.

That day, I almost had to leave without meeting him because all the security guards had been replaced.

I briefly wondered if something had happened at the art hall, but it turned out that Lee Jae-hyup had stormed into his office and turned the place upside down…

“Expose it, the scandal.”

Lee Seol-won replied calmly.

“My fiancée wouldn’t want to marry a man tainted with shameful rumors even before the wedding, would she? Cleaning up the mess of a broken engagement might be a bit of a headache, but an engagement is easier to end amicably than a marriage. Besides, my fiancée would have the chance to meet someone more suitable for her. Considering the long life she has ahead of her, it might even be a blessing in disguise.”

His demeanor was so unwavering that I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or deceptive.

—”…Can you really break off the engagement? You? We’re not talking about just any woman here – she’s the daughter of Rep. Heo Ji-seop.”

It seemed that even Lee Jae-hyup couldn’t believe it. He asked the question again. But Lee Seol-won remained completely unshaken.

“Why shouldn’t I be able to?”

The relentless calm he maintained only served to provoke Lee Jae-hyup’s anger further with each passing moment. Isn’t that how fights usually work?

No matter how much you grit your teeth and hurl insults, if the other person remains unaffected, the frustration will inevitably come back like a boomerang.

I was no different. Even without intentionally upsetting him, Lee Jae-hyup lost control of his temper and brought up my relationship with Lee Seol-won in his frustration.

The more time passed, the calmer I became.

“You are in no position to bluff your way out of an engagement right now. This woman is your lifeline, isn’t she?”

Lee Jae-hyup desperately searched for something to use as ammunition for his attack. The stubborn persistence of someone cornered was obvious even to me.

But the idea of a “lifeline” was ridiculous. If anyone needed a lifeline, it was these brothers. Unlike their cousins, who had excelled in their respective fields, the brothers had held onto the juiciest business ventures, but had failed to generate any significant news.

Worse, they had even exploited those businesses for personal gain.

“Hey, Lee Seol-won.”

Nevertheless, Lee Jae-hyup called out to him as if he had the upper hand.

“Does your fiancée know you’re adopted?”

Adopted? Was Lee Seol-won adopted?