Yuri’s brow slowly furrowed as she examined the video.

“This is……”

It was completely different from what she had expected. The screen showed a close-up of a brooch with small pearls embedded in it. A hand with elaborate nail decorations appeared and pressed firmly on a groove next to the brooch with a sharp pin. Suddenly, a micro external memory card popped out.

The video ended by zooming in on the memory card. Not understanding what it meant, Yuri pressed the play button several times. One thing she discovered through repeated viewing was that the person who sent the video might be the same woman who had taken a selfie embracing Minwoo.

The nail decorations of the woman in the photo were identical to those of the person holding the memory card in the video.

But why send such a video?

She waited to see if any other videos or photos would be sent, but that was all.

“Are you trying to play a game with me now?”

As she muttered to herself and was about to put her phone in her pocket, it started ringing. The caller was Lady An.

“Yes.”

[If you don’t have plans, will you stop by the house for dinner tonight? Aren’t you running out of the side dishes you took last time?]

Lady An spoke as if she had heard Yuri’s excuse to Seonyoung. Since Chae Assemblyman hadn’t said anything, Lady An still thought Yuri was staying at the officetel.

“It’s okay. I still have a lot left.”

[…Well, that’s true, but.]

After hesitating for a moment, Lady An cleared her throat and continued.

[I thought Yuri might open up to you. She’s been holed up in her room for days and won’t come out.]

“Yuri?”

Lady An said that recently, Chae Assemblyman and Yuri had a big argument, raising their voices. At that time, Lady An had just returned from going out, so she didn’t know the reason. When she asked both of them, they kept their mouths shut and remained silent.

Yuri couldn’t believe her ears. As far as she remembered, she had never seen Chae Assemblyman get angry at Yuri. No matter what mistake she made, he was always a kind, doting father to Yuri.

Determined to find out what had happened, Yuri headed to the main house after work.

“You’re here?”

As Yuri entered through the front door, Lady An greeted her with a worried face.

“Where’s Yuri?”

“She’s in her room now. But have you had dinner?”

“I’ll eat later after talking to Yuri first.”

Yuri went straight up to the second floor and knocked on Yuri’s bedroom door.

“Yuri, it’s me. Can I come in?”

After a while, there was a click and the door opened. As Lady An had said, Yuri’s face had become gaunt compared to the last time she saw her, as if she hadn’t eaten at all during that time. As Yuri entered the room, Yuri sat on the edge of the bed.

“Elder sister, why did you come when you must be busy? What did Mother say?”

“Did something happen? Why do you look like that?”

“What do you mean, something happened… Sigh.”

Even as she said that, Yuri let out a long sigh with a dejected face. Yuri approached the bed and sat down next to Yuri. Yuri linked arms with Yuri and rested her face on her shoulder.

“…Elder sister.”

“Yes?”

“Elder brother Minwoo. I heard he got transferred to an overseas branch?”

“Yes. That’s what I heard.”

“They say he’s going to the Paris branch. He won’t be able to come back for at least 3 years.”

“You know better than me?”

“…It just turned out that way.”

Yuri mumbled as if talking to herself and raised her body from Yuri. Then she turned her head and stared at Yuri.

“Haa, seeing your face makes me feel a bit calmer. Yeah, what am I doing now? It’s nothing compared to you, elder sister, who almost got married by force…”

“What do you mean?”

At Yuri’s question, Yuri shook her head and raised the corner of her mouth in a smirk.

“It’s nothing, elder sister. I was just being petulant. Now that I’ve sorted out my thoughts, I’m hungry. I’ll ask Mother to prepare a meal. Let’s have dinner together.”

Yuri left the room, leaving behind ambiguous words. As Yuri was about to follow her sister out of the room, something on the dressing table caught her eye. Yuri furrowed her brow and approached the dressing table. A brooch similar to the one she had seen in the video was placed on top of the dressing table.

With a sinking feeling, she quickly took out her phone and checked the video. Surprisingly, it was the exact same design. Yuri carefully picked up the brooch with small pearls embedded in it.

Was Yuri the one who sent the text? Then was the woman in that photo Yuri?

Yuri was lost in thought for a moment, then quickly shook her head.

That couldn’t be. Although the face was hidden in the photo, the body was clearly visible. The woman in the photo had a glamorous, Western-like figure that was completely different from Yuri’s body.

Yuri pressed firmly on the groove on the back with a sharp pin, just like in the video. With a pop, a memory card sprang out from the side of the brooch.

Yuri looked down at the memory card in her palm with an incredulous face.

[This is the timeline separator]

“I didn’t expect you to handle this so perfectly. Thank you.”

Shin Dahee extended her hand to Jeho as if offering a handshake. But Jeho just stared at her without taking her hand. Unable to watch any longer, Woo Gyeol shook Dahee’s hand lightly in Jeho’s place.

“When you arrive at Sydney Airport, a guide will come to you right away. Get their help until you adjust to the place.”

Dahee nodded as she skimmed through the documents she had received while listening to Woo Gyeol’s explanation.

“So this is to completely shut me up. Well, fine. Money doesn’t solve everything, but this is enough that I’m not at a loss either.”

“We will handle Director Kwon Minwoo firmly on our end. From now on, Ms. Shin Dahee doesn’t need to worry about this matter.”

“Yes, the moment I leave Korea, I’ll forget everything. Even if I did worry, there’s nothing I could do anyway.”

At Jeho’s words, Dahee shrugged and waved the passport in her hand.

“I should go through immigration now. Thanks for seeing me off.”

Turning her back on the two men, Dahee headed towards the security checkpoint, recalling the day she met Jeho in the car.

“Is Jeho doing this because of Chae Yuri?”

“I don’t think I have any obligation to answer that question.”

“Fine. Then how much compensation will you give me?”

“How much do you want?”

“Enough to change my fortunes?”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Why is this so easy? She felt angry for a moment. The fact that Yuri was loved that much made her feel more jealous of Yuri than of Yuri. She couldn’t understand why both Minwoo and now this man were going to such lengths for that woman.

“I’m touched. Do you love Chae Yuri that much?”

As if answering that question, Jeho’s expression hardened. It was obvious at a glance how much he loved Yuri.

“As I said before, I have no obligation to answer you.”

“You deliberately approached Chae Yuri to corner Kwon Minwoo, didn’t you?”

At those words, Jeho twisted his lips with a bitter expression, then turned his head towards Dahee. Looking at her with cold eyes, Jeho said:

“That’s right. I approached her deliberately. So what do you want to hear from me?”

“Aren’t you afraid of how Chae Yuri will react when she finds out?”

Instead of answering, Jeho turned his gaze to the window. After a moment, he replied in a cold voice:

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I’ll accept whatever situation comes. I started this with that resolve.”

“Chae Yuri will feel really disgusted when she finds out about all this. I feel sorry for her.”

After finishing her words, Dahee opened the door and got out of the car. She went to her own car and sat quietly in the driver’s seat until Jeho’s car left. Only after Jeho’s car had completely disappeared from view did she remove the brooch attached to her jacket.

In case she might record them, the two always kept their phones in visible places during their conversations. However, they didn’t check that she was wearing a spy camera brooch.

He had no idea she was recording a video. To capture the screen properly, Dahee deliberately stared at Jeho while talking.

Snapping out of her reminiscence, Dahee glanced back. Jeho and Woo Gyeol were just leaving their seats.

Kwon Minwoo was transferred to an overseas branch as if being exiled, and she had received enough compensation from Kwon Jeho to change her fortunes. But it still felt unsatisfying to back down like this.

Someone needs to cry their eyes out as much as she had cried.

When will she watch the video?

It could be right now, or she might never watch the video. She gave the brooch to Yuri, but if Yuri doesn’t use it and just stashes it in a drawer, Yuri will never see the brooch. She deliberately chose this method. Because revenge that could explode at any time like a time bomb is more thrilling.

Dahee walked towards the security checkpoint with a sardonic smile.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Thank you so much for today, Yuri.”

As Yuri was leaving after dinner, Lady An handed her a bag of side dishes and held her hand tightly.

“Thanks to you, Yuri seems to have calmed down. I was worried because this has never happened before.”

Lady An was right. Yuri had always been a good daughter. It was Yuri who used to cause trouble by refusing to eat for days on end. Each time, Lady An would be beside herself with worry. All Lady An could do was contact Hyunkyung and ask for help.

If she had just been blatantly shameless and played the role of a wicked stepmother, Yuri could have at least hated her comfortably. But Lady An tried to be a good stepmother on the surface, making Yuri feel like the bad person.

Yuri still had no intention of forgiving and accepting Lady An, who had driven a nail into the heart of her late mother. But she thought that Lady An must have had as hard a time as herself. Perhaps the whole family had been living in hell.

“You don’t need to thank me. Yuri is my sister.”

After saying that, Yuri turned around and left through the front door. She wanted to check the contents of the memory card as soon as possible. When Yuri arrived home, she inserted the memory card into her laptop.

There was one video file on the memory card. Yuri carefully pressed the play button.

“Ah.”

As the video started and the black screen brightened, Yuri’s eyes widened. The video was filled with Jeho’s face. He was sitting in the driver’s seat, looking out the dark window. Yuri frowned as she looked at the black sweater Jeho was wearing.

That clothes…

It was the sweater he was wearing on the day they first made love.

– Where are you going?
– No. I’m just coming back. Did you wake up while I was gone?

When she woke up, he was definitely wearing that sweater. But just because the outfit is the same doesn’t mean it has to be that day. Still, she couldn’t help but feel strange.

Then the voice of the person filming was heard. The voice was altered with a mechanical sound.

– Do you love Chae Yuri?

At that question, Jeho’s expression hardened as if displeased. With an ominous feeling, Yuri clenched her hands.

– As I said before, I have no obligation to answer you.

– You deliberately approached Chae Yuri to corner Kwon Minwoo, didn’t you?

What?

Yuri gasped at the completely unexpected question.

Jeho didn’t answer right away and hesitated for a moment. He seemed to twist his lips bitterly, then turned his gaze towards the camera with a leisurely expression.

– That’s right. I approached her deliberately. So what do you want to hear from me?

He looked straight at the camera with emotionless eyes and spoke coldly.

Feeling nauseous, Yuri unconsciously covered her mouth with both hands. Her vision spun and her stomach churned.

He approached deliberately because of Minwoo?

Although she clearly heard it in Jeho’s voice, Yuri simply couldn’t believe it. It couldn’t be. Maybe this was a nightmare.

The video continued to play on the laptop.

– Aren’t you afraid of how Chae Yuri will react when she finds out?

After a brief silence, Jeho’s cold voice flowed out.

– There’s nothing to be afraid of.