***

I couldn’t remember how I got back to Woo-jin’s house. I couldn’t remember running through the streets crying uncontrollably. When I finally came to my senses, I was standing at the gate of his house.

I banged on the gate until people came running out to see what was happening. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of Woo-jin’s grandfather.

After listening to my desperate explanation, his grandfather made a phone call somewhere and then coldly dismissed me.

But I believed that Woo-jin would return soon.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a powerful family? Weren’t they supposed to be incredibly wealthy? Surely they could fix this.

I thought they would save him. But… 

“It’s because of you.”

Woo-jin’s grandfather came to me that night, his voice dark and threatening.

“Because of you, the Yoon family will kill my grandson.”

I didn’t understand what he was saying. His words didn’t make any sense to me. But then the blows came, one after the other, and I understood. It was all because of Woo-jin’s broken engagement.

“It’s because of you!”

His grandfather shouted, his voice filled with anger and fear.

“You’re going to get Woo-jin killed!” 

***

When I think of Woo-jin, I don’t know why, but the image that always comes to mind is the image of him from that first meeting – sitting on the edge of the boat, his hair blowing in the wind.

I don’t know why I remember him more vividly as the man sitting on the edge of the boat, his hair blowing in the early summer sea breeze, smiling softly – more than I remember the night he held me in his arms or the warmth of his kiss.

I don’t know where Woo-jin is. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead, if he’s being tortured, if he’s safe – if he’s well at all. The world swallowed him up in an instant and refused to give him back. It trapped him in the depths of that dark abyss and wouldn’t let him go.

Every moment I breathed felt like my blood was drying up, like the marrow of my bones was being crushed and my flesh was being cut away. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was the image of him being tortured.

I have to save him.

Woo-jin…

I have to find him. No matter what it takes, no matter what I have to do, I have to save him.

So I had to go to Agwi.

“I knew you’d come.”

Agwi said darkly, casually leaning against the wall.

“Soon-young, do you know someone called Yoon Seung-hye? The woman who was engaged to Woo-jin. She was more than eager to spill all the details of his little plans… People are fascinating, aren’t they? If they can’t have something for themselves, they’d rather see it ruined.”

Just like me.

With a low chuckle, Agwi seemed to add that thought, his voice dripping with mockery.

“Tell me, Soon-young. What’s your plan now? Han Woo-jin is dying. No, he’s almost dead. But not quite. I’ve made sure to keep him on the edge. Whether it’s drowning him, peeling off his skin, or cutting out his insides bit by bit, I always stop just short of killing him. Because if he dies, it’ll be inconvenient. Even the higher-ups don’t want him dead. Funny, isn’t it? heeheehee.”

I stood there, frozen, staring at him coldly, unable to move or speak.

My mind was in chaos – no, it felt as if everything had been erased. Only one thought remained, a single desperate wish. I wanted to see Woo-jin again. Just once. Please, just once more. And I wanted to save him.

Save him.

I must have fallen to my knees.

“Please, save him. I’ll do anything. Just tell me where he is and save him.”

I needed to know where he was if I had any hope of saving him. His family were using every connection they had to find him, but I’d heard that his former fiancée’s family were actively working to block them.

And as precious time slipped away, I had no way of knowing what horrors Woo-jin was enduring.

If Agwi’s words were true, Woo-jin was facing something worse than death. I had to save him. No matter what it took, no matter what I had to sacrifice, Woo-jin had to live.

Agwi’s eyes grew colder, more ruthless than ever. He stepped closer, looming over me, his gaze sharp and piercing, as if he could own me with that look alone.

“Take your clothes off.”

***

When I returned to Chungmu that year, the summer had already ended.

I was pregnant. Whether it was Woojin’s or Agwi’s, I couldn’t tell. Every day I prayed – desperately. Please let it be Woo-jin’s child. Please let it be his child.

Our bond had dissolved like foam on the waves. I had barely managed to confirm that he was alive before I left Busan, but even then I wanted this child to be his. I wanted a piece of him to stay with me.

A letter came from Jae-yeol, telling me that he had arrived safely in America. But there was no news of Woo-jin. Nothing at all.

Worried, I travelled back to Busan and hung around his house for several days. I even stopped a maid as she entered the gate and asked about him.

She told me he had left for America – with his fiancée.

His fiancée… America…

Those words cut like daggers through my heart and left me gasping for breath. But he was alive. Wasn’t that enough? It had to be.

I didn’t even cry on the way back to Chungmu. There were no tears left.

Agwi lingered around our house every day, watching me as my belly grew. His smile sent shivers down my spine. Each time I felt a sickening fear. If the child was his, I had already made up my mind – I would kill the baby. No, I would kill us both. I would take the child in my arms and throw myself into the sea.

And then Ji-yoon was born.

After two days of agonising labour, she came into the world – a tiny, fragile life.

But she is… she is not Woo-jin’s child.

A slight deformity on one side of her forehead bore an uncanny resemblance to Agwi’s face.