Beom-hee’s gaze was unwavering as he made his pleas, but Chae-woo remained expressionless.
“Yes, she played me.”
“Providing a person with false information to intentionally mislead them is undoubtedly an act of fraud.”
“You think of all people I’m the one who doesn’t know that?”
His face was cold, slowly recovering the faintest touch of emotion. The floor was bare except for a few scratches purposefully etched into the surface, which remained like a faint afterimage. Beom-hee lowered his head.
“…I’m sorry.”
Chae-woo stood for a while with closed eyelids, his hands resting on the back of his neck. He felt some nameless force surge within him, a feeling he had not had for a very long time. This burning feeling boiling up inside him sent a hot, searing sensation through his esophagus.
“Exactly what is the relationship between Ki-seok and Lee-yeon?”
“It started out as blackmail, but now it’s a partnership.”
“Blackmail?” Chae-woo’s glare was as sharp as that of an animal about to pounce on its prey.
“It was something of an equivalent exchange. Lee-yeon was caught at the scene of the young master’s accident. Instead of delaying Lee-yeon’s disposition, the director left the young master in her care.”
“…I fell right into their trap, what an idiot.” Chae-woo looked as though he would say something more but stopped himself. It was not technically equivalent. Before he had lost his memory, he clearly recalled hearing someone approach him from behind. However, he was the one who chose not to move. At that moment, a laugh slipped out from his hardened lips. He had been the dumb one.
“It’s been the same for us. As word spread that the young master had fallen into the hands of the director, over the past two years our influence has steadily fallen.”
He had expected that much. Beom-hee’s next words made Chae-woo break his indifferent expression.
“Also, Director Kwon and Lee-yeon met today.”
“What?”
Beom-hee opened the laptop again. He clicked on a file and there on the screen was a picture of Ki-seok and Lee-yeon facing each other in front of a black sedan. Chae-woo wrinkled his nose in utter disgust. Images flipped past his eyes on after anothern. The two of them in the same car. Ki-seok leaning toward her, his expression heavy as if he was having a serious conversation, Lee-yeon getting out the car, and Ki-seok’s mysterious eyes following her.
“What time?”
“It hasn’t been long. Two hours ago.”
“….”
“As of now, Director Kwon has been turning a blind eye to Lee-yeon’s lies.”
“Ha….” Chaewoo frowned and then burst into laughter.
“In addition to the marriage report and ID card, most of the documents the young master submitted prior to his employment are forged. The qualification certificate, driver’s license, and bankbook copies were all provided by the director. It’s a fake ID but it can still bypass most bank and portal sites.”
“Shit, what are you saying?” Chae-woo clenched his fist, the bones on the back of his hand popping out like a rake. “You mean the both of them are out to get me? Those two.”
He grabbed at picture of Lee-yeon that was lying on the table and crumpled it in his fist.
“What do you plan to do now, young master?”
He didn’t even breathe. He just stared out the window at Lee-yeon’s house. At first glance, he looked empty and cold from the back. Beom-hee felt and unknowable feeling of anxiety as he watched his silhouette darken in the glow of the backlight. He wondered what thoughts were running through this poor hedonist’s mind.
“What do you mean?” His calm voice fell heavily.
Suddenly, Chae-woo’s eyes fell on something in the toolbox. There was a string he used to use often rolled up like a snake.
“I’ll just have to keep up this act until I can return home.”
“…you mean, the young master will play along?”
An unexpected smile caught the corner of his mouth. “She really should have gutted me when she still had the chance.”
“Sorry?”
I hate liars, he muttered to himself chillingly. “I have no intention of forgiving people who play around with lies.”
Lee-yeon, who brazenly dared to lie to his face and make a complete fool out of him. Now it was time for her to get a taste of her own medicine.
This dirty hound knew better than anyone how to hurt Lee-yeon in the most painful of ways and he intended to strike that spot exactly.
“For now, I’ll try to find out whether she’s really in league with Ki-seok or not. Also-”
That submissive man who ‘d believed her to be his real wife was gone.
“Whether or not my mother was sold off.”
Those memories he hadn’t experienced directly were just a record. The record of some other guy who borrowed his body for a while. Just a stupid sketch he could rip apart and be done with.
And so, just like that, ‘So Lee-yeon’s husband Kwon Chae-woo,’ who never even truly existed, was buried beyond retrieval.