Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Tae-jun reflexively opened his eyes.

What was that all about, this nasty nightmare?!

He automatically reached for the cigarettes on the bedside table. With an unlit cigarette held in his mouth, and with both hands, brushed back his hair drenched in sweat.

How did she feel every time she was with him, when he moaned and cried the name of another woman?

Tae-jun found it difficult to contain himself. He felt suffocated.

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The next morning saw Mr. Lee clicking his tongue at the sight of his boss.

Pale face, eyes bloodshot that even the thick-rimmed Tom Ford eyeglasses were able to conceal, he seemed like a walking billboard for a ghost movie.[1] 

Did something happen to him? Haiz, will he be able to survive the day?

Mr. Lee felt restless, only to be assuaged by Jin-wook’s appearance. He couldn’t see what Jin-wook had brought with him, but was hoping that it would calm their boss, who was starting to resemble a starving beast.

“What’s that girl’s name?” This was Tae-jun’s first question.

“It’s Yuri Han. Yu-ri-Han.” Jin-wook carefully articulated each syllable of her name.

Yuri Han. Tae-jun etched the name into his mind.

“She was born in Seoul but went to middle and high schools in Jinseong. She entered H Arts University to study painting but dropped out. She grew up with Hye-yeon Jin. They went to the same middle school and high school, and as Miss Han’s father was Mr. Jin’s chauffeur, they lived in the same place[2] . She is highly regarded by those around her and has won an impressive number of awards at school. She seems considerably talented.”

Jin-wook then produced a picture of her, and documents including newspaper articles on the awards that she had won.

It’s you, Yuri Han!

Her father wasn’t Myeong-Je Jin, but his driver, Su-won Han.

The information about the woman he had spent a year with continued to pour in, albeit under the new name: Yuri Han.

“And apparently, she has often filled in for Hye-yeon Jin at Hotel Jinseong. I’ve confirmed this with the former manager at the hotel.”

“Filled in?”

His lips, with a cigarette lodged in between, distorted imperceptibly.

I see… So, that’s how it all began!

“But Hyeon-ah Kim said that she didn’t recognize her from the photo. Why did she lie?”

“I’m not sure. I was suspicious about that too and pressed her a bit more, but she didn’t give an answer. I couldn’t figure her out. And there’s a questionable rumor that she used to be Mr. Jin’s mistress. Shall I dig around?”

“There’s no need. She’s not important.”

Tae-jun picked up the photo of the girl who had been evading him… tormenting him. It seemed to have been taken when she was in university. It was that same smile from his memory, the one that filled him with a burning desire to have her.

Feeling every one of his cells simultaneously react, he took a drag deep into his lungs.

“Where is Yuri Han now?”

“My apologies, but I’m yet to figure that out. According to the immigration records, she left for the US four years ago and returned to Korea only recently.”

“Why go to the US?”

“Her uncle, that is, the elder brother of her late mother, appears to be married to an American and running a business there. With her father deceased as well, he would have been the only family left for her to depend on.”

“How did her father die? Was he ill?”

“In fact…” Jin-wook rubbed his chin. “…It was a hit-and-run. And interestingly, this accident occurred around the time Yuri Han went missing.”

A hit-and-run. Tae-jun slowly blinked.

On the day of her disappearance, Yuri’s face in the CCTV footage seemed frantic. What if this was because her father had just died?

Only Yuri herself would know the answer. He stubbed the cigarette into the ashtray.

“I’ll look into the American side of things. What about Hye-seong Jin?”

“I have located him.”

“Took you long enough.”

Seoin Group’s resources, coupled with Jin-wook’s personal network, was quite impressive. He could name any politician or executive at a rival company, and have detailed information on their family and bank accounts delivered within hours.

But Hye-seong had hid so well that it had taken the ‘cadaver dog’ [3] days to locate him. Was there a reason for him to disappear?

Jin-wook shrugged. “I haven’t had this much difficulty in a long time. He didn’t report his new address to the city government, has no bank account or credit card under his name, not even a cell phone!”

“Can I meet him today?”

“I will make it happen. But sir, is it necessary to meet him, when we now know that the girl is Yuri Han?”

Tae-jun set down the picture of Yuri on the table. His gaze deepened.

“I want to know why he made her pretend to be Hye-yeon. And he needs to pay a price for deceiving me.”

“Understood, sir.” Jin-wook lowered his head and walked out of the office.

Tae-jun instructed Mr. Lee to block all calls and visitors. He spent the day looking carefully through each piece of information about Yuri Han that Jin-wook had brought.

You’re mistaken!

Sh*t! She must have come that day to disabuse me of my notions!

Tae-jun could hear her voice from that meeting like it was happening right now. He had not listened to her and connected her with President Jin directly. He recalled her face, turning pale with fright.

Myung-je Jin probably threatened her!

To you, I’m just a doll named ‘Hye-yeon Jin’.

Scenes after scenes replayed in his mind. Her every word, action that had felt absurd then, suddenly made sense. Why she hadn’t wanted to leave any pictures while living together, why she had hesitated whenever he called her name, why she hadn’t told him anything about herself…

He lit his cigarette while gazing at the photograph of the girl and said aloud, “Excellent! You’ve played the role of ‘Hye-yeon Jin’ perfectly!”

He had thought that learning her name would rid him of this suffocating feeling, but there was no end to it… It also didn’t help that Yuri was smiling so beautifully in the picture.

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