Chapter 5.2

Her whole body ached with heat. It had been rising steadily with every additional drink she had taken.

However, from the moment Kwon Jeong-hyeok appeared, it felt like this wasn’t just heat but pain, as if her entire body was burning.

“You’d better come down carefully. If you fall, it’s high enough to easily break an ankle.”

With both hands shoved into his pockets and a mocking smirk on his face, he looked like someone she desperately wanted to punch.

“Breaking an ankle and being stuck at home wouldn’t be so bad either.”

Something stirred inside her, like a volcano that had passed its dormant phase and was preparing to erupt.

Regardless, her drunkenness couldn’t overcome her survival instincts. She managed to descend the stairs safely, but her legs trembled, perhaps from the effort of using all her strength just to walk down.

Even now, as she walked on flat ground, her steps felt awkward, as though she were still on the stairs.

And yet, her senses toward the presence behind her remained sharp. Among all her nerves and senses, only those attuned to Kwon Jeong-hyeok seemed unaffected by her inebriation.

In a way, it made sense.

‘There’s no small animal that can relax when a predator is stalking them from behind.’

Before she knew it, she had passed the walking trail and arrived at the residential area lined with mansions.

The plane trees, so vibrant in the daytime, now looked droopy and damp, soaked in darkness.

There was an eerie quietness, devoid of any sign of people. The beautifully designed mansions felt like something out of an American movie.

She suddenly thought of a recent American horror movie she had seen. It was a cliché story about a seemingly kind neighbor who turned into a deranged murderer at night.

‘I didn’t even find it interesting and turned it off halfway. Why is it coming to mind now, of all times?’

A slight chill ran down her spine, but it quickly subsided. After all, Kwon Jeong-hyeok was behind her.

It was such an ironic feeling. His presence made her uneasy, yet his presence also reassured her.

Why were my emotions toward Kwon Jeong-hyeok always so contradictory? Why…?

“…?”

Her legs came to a halt. At some point, she realized she could no longer sense Kwon Jeong-hyeok following her.

‘Am I walking alone on this dark road right now?’

The surroundings felt even darker. It seemed like any moment now, that murderous neighbor would jump out from somewhere.

She turned her body to check behind her. She felt she wouldn’t be able to relax unless she confirmed that Kwon Jeong-hyeok was still following her.

But to her surprise, Kwon Jeong-hyeok was nowhere to be seen.

“What…?!”

She sobered up instantly. But soon, at the end of the path she had walked, she saw Kwon Jeong-hyeok standing still.

The sense of relief was fleeting.

‘What is he looking at?’

The direction he was facing was undoubtedly the mansion with the blue roof. According to what she had heard from Hae-seong, it was where Tae Mari lived.

The windows of Tae Mari’s mansion were brightly lit in several places.

‘Could he possibly be checking if Tae Mari is home?’

The angle of his raised head and the way he seemed to be staring at Tae Mari’s room made it appear so.

In that moment, her chest felt like it was splitting apart. From the heat that had been rising within her, a volcano erupted, and the suffocating fumes of toxic gas filled her insides.

Her throat burned. She felt as though tears might fall. She bit her lips tightly. She didn’t want to cry for no reason. Perhaps her emotions had been heightened by the alcohol.

She steadied her weakened legs, turned her back again, and walked briskly.

She hadn’t taken many steps when a realization struck her like an arrow.

‘…I really did like Kwon Jeong-hyeok.’

She had loved him. Truly, before she lost her memories. She didn’t know the depth of that love, but it was undeniable.

Otherwise, how could she explain the complex emotions she felt toward him and the impact of this moment?

It was the most miserable way to come to such a realization.

There had been a time when she doubted whether Kwon Jeong-hyeok was really her husband. In hindsight, that might have been better.

‘To think that Kwon Jeong-hyeok might love another woman after all.’

How could such a cruel twist of fate exist?

Her vision blurred.

She wasn’t sure if she was walking forward or backward, but suddenly, she felt a firm grip on one of her arms. It wasn’t forceful, but it was strong enough to keep her from taking another step.

As she refocused her hazy vision, she realized that he had approached her and was now holding her arm.

“Ha, let go of me!”

Her voice, as she shook off his arm, was so sharp that it surprised even her.

It didn’t seem like her imagination. His expression, as it appeared through her foggy vision, had grown complicated.

No, this too might just be her delusion.

She swung her arm forcefully to shake him off. She thought he might get angry, but surprisingly, he let go without resistance. That hurt her even more.

She crossed the road and entered the mansion. As soon as she opened the door, Housekeeper Woo, and a servant appeared.

“Madam!”

Seeing their startled expressions, it seemed her appearance was a mess.

Eun-sol headed left, not toward the hallway leading to the bedroom on the right. At the end of that hallway was the underground wine cellar.

“Everyone, go back inside. Don’t mind us.”

His voice came from behind her. She didn’t want to hear his always-calm tone.

‘He always acts like he’s better than everyone else.’

She rushed down the stairs. Her legs almost gave way several times, but since the steps were shallow, she didn’t fall or roll down.

As she opened the thick wooden door to the wine cellar and stepped inside, a cool breeze greeted her.

She felt as though she could finally breathe a little. Above all, she liked the darkness. It would help hide her disheveled expression.

Wanting to be alone, she tried to lock the door, but unfortunately, there was no latch to lock it from the inside.

Disappointed, she walked further in. The wine cellar was quite deep.

Although she didn’t turn on any lights, small sensor lights flickered faintly in response to her movements. Even so, the cellar wasn’t bright, being underground.

‘I need to drink more.’

To soothe the pain in her chest and her tangled emotions, she felt she needed more alcohol.

Her eyes fell on a display shelf. One particular wine bottle, placed in the most prominent spot, had a unique shape.

‘This must be the most expensive wine in this cellar.’

She pulled the bottle out. Its unusual shape made her almost drop it as she took it off the shelf.

Soon, she heard the sound of the wine cellar door opening. And the echo of his footsteps.

Since it was underground, the sound reverberated even louder.

“Leave me alone.”

She couldn’t see him yet, but she said it anyway. He didn’t respond. Only her own voice echoed back to her.

She tried to open the wine stopper, but the cork was impossible to remove without a tool. On top of that, the shape of the wine bottle was so peculiar that it was frustrating.

‘I should’ve just grabbed a normal-looking bottle.’

As she fumbled with it, he suddenly approached her.

The cool air, which had been just right, now felt lukewarm. Like the humid air of a midsummer night…

* * *

“Sol-ah. Put down that bottle.”

It was the first time a single wine bottle had ever looked so threatening.

The wine Eun-sol was holding wasn’t meant for drinking—it was a collector’s item.

The wine, produced in the Burgundy region of eastern-central France, was one of the finest in the world, with a price that was practically priceless. Above all, it was a Millennium Edition, encased in a uniquely designed skull-shaped bottle, adding to its exceptional value.

The problem was that this wine bottle posed a danger to Eun-sol in her current state.

The neck of the bottle was thin and long, like a stick, and if too much force was applied, it could break. The skull-shaped base beneath the neck was heavy, making it easy to drop and injure her foot if she wasn’t careful.

In short, it was not something a drunk person should be handling.

“Why? Are you worried about wasting an expensive wine?” 

This side of Eun-sol was very unfamiliar. He wanted to dismiss it as drunken rambling, but the tears in her voice made it clear that something was wrong.

“I won’t say it again. Put it down.”

“…No.”

Perhaps he should have coaxed her more gently. Unfortunately, he was terrible at that sort of thing.

“Sol-ah.”

He was displeased with how Kim Eun-sol, who had drunk quite a bit, was pretending to be fine, but he preferred that to her current state.

He couldn’t understand why she was suddenly on the verge of tears. It didn’t seem like she was drunk enough for it to be just the alcohol.

“…Now. Now I understand everything.”

Eun-sol, holding the wine bottle, was breathing heavily. Even then, the wine bottle was slipping slightly from her palm.