As she entered the house, leaving her shoes behind, Soeun immediately opened her bag and took out the pouch. What kind of mental state she was in, she couldn’t remember. Although her breathing became rapid, there was no sensation in her body. Even if she bumped into something, got hurt, or bled, it felt like she wouldn’t feel anything right now.

She entered the house, leaving her shoes behind, and immediately opened her bag to take out the pouch. Holding it in her trembling hands more severely than when she spoke with Chairman Kim Jaepil, she forcibly calmed her mind and pulled the zipper of the pouch. Several folded papers and a few rolled-up photos came out.

Soeun picked up the photo at the very front. Since the photo had been dried for a long time, she had to unfold it with both hands. The background of the photo was filled with a funeral home memorial altar in black and white. Surprisingly, the person standing in front of two portraits, tying a memorial ribbon, was a small boy. Soeun looked closely at the photo. It looked like Taejoon when he was young.

Soeun bowed her head and passed the phone to the man.
The next photo showed an unknown middle-aged man in a blue diving suit sitting in the defendant’s seat during the retrial. Somehow, the heartache that had been piercing her heart seemed to suddenly drop away.

Carefully, she looked again. It was a familiar face.

In a hazy memory, a face that could barely be recalled even in a photo. Dad. The dearly missed dad.

Soeun took a deep breath, raising her right hand to her mouth.

She didn’t want to guess what these two photos meant. Soeun picked up the next document with tears welling up. It was a newspaper article from 20 years ago.

”

Kim Seokwoo, the eldest son of K Group Chairman Kim Jaepil, and Kim Seokwoo’s wife, Seol Jinhee, died in a traffic accident on the night of the 10th. The car they were in collided with a truck near Hwangsan Intersection around 10:20 PM that night, as the driver crossed the centerline and collided with the truck coming from the opposite direction.

After the accident, Kim Seokwoo and Seol Jinhee were transferred to a nearby hospital, but eventually died. The driver, Mr. Han Mo, also suffered serious injuries and is currently undergoing treatment.

While the cause of the accident is known to be drowsy driving, the police plan to determine the exact cause of the accident with Mr. Han Mo.”

Amidst the horrifying narrative written in a dry style, the characters ‘Mr. Han Mo’ stood out.

It felt like blood wasn’t circulating in her head. It seemed as if the world was spinning round and round with her at the center. It was so dizzying that she couldn’t distinguish the ceiling from the floor.

No.

No. This can’t be. No.

Already, twenty years ago, she kept imagining heavy images of an unimaginable event. Now, reading the next document scared her to the point that she couldn’t breathe. The next page made her breathless. The next document was a very thick one.

The title was ‘Seoul Central District Court Judgment.’

It was the verdict of the case from 20 years ago.

“Case: Violation of the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling (Culpable Homicide)

Defendant: Han Honggyu

The defendant is sentenced to one year in prison.

Crime Facts: The defendant, around 10:20 PM on March 10, drove a car on National Route 43 in Hanam City toward Seoul. He fell asleep while driving, crossed the centerline, and collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, causing the victims Kim Seokwoo and Seol Jinhee, who were in the back seat, to die……”

The paper fell from Soeun’s hand. Soeun bent her waist, folding her body.

Gasping, gasping, gasping.

This time, her breath was cut off. It was a feeling of being choked not on the ankles but on the neck. Her heartbeat seemed to race, then abruptly stop. Her chest tightened painfully. It felt as if she was being locked away even deeper in a place where nothing could be seen or heard, in a place so silent that her breath couldn’t be properly taken.

Aah, aah……

No. I’ve never lived with my dad. The dad in my memory is just a picture.
I wanted to deny what I saw. No, I wanted to deny my birth. All that I’ve seen so far isn’t about me. It’s just a misunderstanding on the chairman’s part. I am not that kind of person, and neither is our dad.

Soeun made an effort to gather her strength and picked up her phone.

Pressing the call button along with the remembered phone number, a familiar voice soon reached her ears.

[Hello?]

“Aunt, it’s me, Soeun.”

[Oh, really? It’s been a while. What’s up?]

Aunt responded with a plump voice. Soeun usually contacted her aunt about once a year, on holidays or her aunt’s birthday. Soeun carefully parted her lips.

“Aunt, I have something to ask about my dad.”

[…Why bring up your dad now?]

“Just curious.”

The next words seemed to get stuck in her throat like a dagger.

After hesitating a few times, she finally forced out her voice.

“…Did my dad happen to kill someone?”

Aunt, who had been silent for a moment, replied.

[…Now that you’re an adult, you should know.]

A sigh of regret flowed through the receiver.

[Soeun-ah, I don’t know what you’ll think, but I did my best. The promise your dad made when he went to the Philippines was that he didn’t want you to be known as the daughter of a murderer.]

It felt like blood would flow from her open mouth instead of a sigh. Soeun covered her mouth again.

[Living has been tough for us too. Sometimes I might have made you feel uncomfortable, but still, I lived keeping only that promise. But your dad cut off contact, didn’t even pay child support later.]

“…That murder, was it perhaps a traffic accident?”

[I told you. Your dad caused a traffic accident due to drowsy driving, and a wealthy couple got injured. Actually, they didn’t just get injured; they died. That’s the only lie I’ve told.]

“Was that wealthy couple by any chance from K Group?”

[Well… yes. The chairman’s son and his wife. The chairman lost his only son in that accident.]