“What… are you? Playing with human emotions?”

It’s too cruel. Why are you doing this to me? Why me…

Gradually, her eyes became warm, and tears were about to pour out. But it wasn’t the time to cry leisurely. Feeling unjust for what had happened until now, she couldn’t shed tears for Jeho.
She bit her lip and regulated her breathing. It was her fault for easily giving away her heart. It was truly foolish to rely on him, considering she couldn’t even open up to her family.

Yulli stood up from the wall she had leaned against, slowly placing her feet on the ground, even though from now on, even if it’s slow, she had to move forward step by step, cautiously, alone.

Until the last schedule of today’s seminar ended, Yulli had no answers. She hadn’t even checked her messages. Jeho, returning to the hotel, found a note left under the empty hotel room.

“Hmm.”

Jeho unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, sitting on the edge of the bed. The note said he had to go up to Seoul urgently due to some pressing matters.

Both last night’s unannounced visit and today’s hasty departure, something didn’t sit right. Jeho couldn’t shake off an uncomfortable feeling. Putting the note down, Jeho called Yulli. He had worried about what to do if she didn’t answer, but fortunately, the call connected after a few signal beeps.

[Hello?]

Yulli’s voice came from the other side of the phone, somewhat subdued, as if she had been awakened from sleep.

“Did I wake you up?”

[…Ah, yes. I was a bit tired, so I was taking a short nap. Is the seminar over for Mr. Jeho?]

“Yes, it just finished.”

[Dinner?]

“Not yet. I’m on my way back to the hotel in a hurry to eat together.”

[Oh, I see.]

Yulli muttered quietly, almost like talking to herself, but she didn’t explain why she had to rush back to Seoul. Jeho, who was about to ask what happened, changed his mind and turned the conversation.

“You seemed quite tired today.”

[…Yes, a bit.]

For some reason, her voice seemed to tremble somewhere. Jeho furrowed his brow slightly.

“Why? Is everything okay?”

[…Um, I’m sorry, Mr. Jeho. I was sleeping and woke up, so I’m a bit disoriented. Let me sleep a little more, and I’ll call you back.]

“No, since you’re tired today, get a good rest, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

[Okay. Sure.]

Having finished speaking, Yulli hung up. Although something felt a bit off, Jeho followed her intention and let her rest.

Around the time the room service they ordered for dinner arrived, Jeho’s phone rang.

“Yes, hello.”

Jeho watched the hotel staff set the table as he pressed the answer button on his phone.

[Have you had dinner?]

“I’m about to eat now.”

[Sorry, I must have interrupted your meal.]

“No, it’s okay, Mother.”

Jeho tipped the hotel staff who was leaving the room and placed his phone on the table, switching it to speaker mode.

[I’m sorry for yesterday. I suddenly called you in the middle of the night… Did it disturb your sleep, making today difficult?]

“No, it’s okay. How are you feeling today, Mother?”

[…Thanks to you, I feel much better. I appreciate it.]

“I’m glad.”
[Sure, go ahead and have dinner. I called to let you know that I’m fine, so don’t worry.]

“Yes, Mother.”

After ending the call, Jeho, instead of having his meal, opened the glass door and went out to the balcony. Before him, the sea spread out with the sunset. As he silently gazed at the sea, it felt as if the tearful voice of Mrs. Yoon from last night was still echoing in his ears.

―I was the one who caused the accident.

Although Mrs. Yoon, born in the United States, was proficient in Korean, when she got excited, she could only converse in English. Last night, she was extremely agitated, probably due to the shocking report she received from Brandon. Although the mastermind behind the traffic accident hadn’t been revealed yet, she had figured out who the original target was.

―It was me.

It was an accident cleverly aimed at Mrs. Yoon, not Vice Chairman Kwon Jaewoong. Mrs. Yoon, who learned that her husband fell into a coma because of her, lost her sanity. The only person she could rely on was her son, Jeho. Jeho, feeling guilty, whispered comforting words to his tearful mother.

―No matter what, I always love you.

Thanks to this, Mrs. Yoon was able to stop her tears and calm down.

In reality, Jeho was also considerably shocked. The fact that someone targeted his mother instead of his father was hard to believe. It was true that he had doubts, but he couldn’t have imagined the truth.

Everything had returned to square one. If Mrs. Yoon had been in the accident as planned, Jeho needed to figure out who would benefit.

If his expectations were correct again…

In the end, was it all like that?

“Ha.”

Jeho gripped the railing and let out a long sigh.

Unnoticed, the red sunset disappeared, and darkness descended over the sea.

After hanging up, and even after a while, Yulli couldn’t let go of her phone. Clutching the phone with both hands, she glared at the screen as if piercing through it. However, she couldn’t bring herself to call Jeho.

Yulli smiled bitterly as she looked around the office. Although all the wiretapping devices and surveillance cameras were removed by Chief Kim, it was still unsettling. But she had no other place to go. She didn’t want to go to Jeho’s house, and the family home was no different.

Truly, her situation was pitiful.

“…Ah.”

At that moment, an unbearable chill rushed in. Yulli grimaced and rubbed both arms with her palms. Only then did she realize that her body was shivering. It was probably because she had been walking around without a coat from last night until today. When she pressed her cheek with the back of her hand, it felt warm, as if she had a fever.

Taking a warm shower might help, but she simply didn’t have the energy for that. Yulli, wearing clothes, got into bed and pulled the blanket over herself.

As soon as she lay down, an overwhelming sense of drowsiness flooded in. Yulli sincerely wished for one thing.
I hope to never open my eyes like this forever.

I hope to sink deep into the ground like this.

How much time has passed?

“Yulli, Chae Yulli!”

Somewhere, a familiar voice could be heard.

“Try opening your eyes.”

For some reason, it was an uneasy, trembling voice. Trying to open my eyes, but the heavy eyelids didn’t budge.

“Yulli, please.”

Listening to the imploring voice, Yulli once again plunged into the darkness.