“I love you.”

At that moment, a soft voice flowed into her ear.

“I love you, Yuri.”

It was a voice as sweet and gentle as candy.

But to Yuri, it only felt bitter and rough. If she had heard the confession a few hours ago, she would have accepted it without a doubt. But not anymore. She had discovered the cruel truth that had been hidden.

You don’t love me. You just need me.

Yuri swallowed the words she wanted to say and quietly closed her eyes. Now was not the time to reveal the truth. At least not tonight.

Thinking that all of it – the gentle touch, the soft smile, the passionate heat – was just a false act made her heart ache. But more than the sense of betrayal, what hurt her even more was the fact that she had to part with him. She knew there was no future for their relationship, but she couldn’t end it so abruptly.

Tonight, she wanted to pretend not to know, to close her eyes and have him completely. She wanted to hold on to the remaining pieces of the shattered illusion.

Let’s hypnotize ourselves just for tonight that he approached with sincerity, not to use me.

Having made up her mind, Yuri tilted her head back and looked up at Jeho.

“Didn’t you say you’d give me a deep kiss when you returned?”

“Yes.”

Jeho nodded quietly with a smile.

“Do it now.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want.”

Jeho gently stroked Yuri’s cheek with the back of his hand and slowly lowered his head.

The moment their lips met, Yuri clutched his shirt tightly with both hands. It was an intense kiss that emptied her complicated mind in an instant.

Only after driving her to the point where her body heated up did he break the kiss.

“More. Don’t stop.”

She whispered softly, breathing heavily with a flushed face.

At Yuri’s request, Jeho lowered his head again to capture her lips. Their lips parted and reconnected repeatedly, interlocking more and more deeply.

But the deeper the kiss became, the more Yuri’s heart withered. No matter how hard she tried not to think about it, Jeho’s words kept echoing in her ears.

―That’s right. I approached you intentionally.

―There’s nothing to be afraid of.

She was so angry. And it felt so futile. Just when she thought she could finally open her heart to someone…

If he had approached her because of Minwoo, he would discard her mercilessly after successfully eliminating Minwoo.

“…Ah.”

Even imagining it made her heart sting as if pierced by a needle. Yuri tightened her arms around Jeho as if he might leave right away. Sensing that her reaction was different from usual, Jeho pulled away from her lips and stared at her intently. But instead of asking what was wrong, he gently smoothed Yuri’s disheveled hair.

“Did you come like this without an outer coat? Weren’t you cold? Your whole body is like ice.”

Uncomfortable with Jeho’s caring gaze, Yuri bit her lip tightly. But he misunderstood it as a reaction to the cold. Stroking her back with his palm, he led her to the bathroom.

“Let’s take a hot shower first. Warm up your body.”

“No, let’s go to the bed instead.”

Yuri stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Not like that, warm me up by holding me.”

At first, he furrowed his brow as if he didn’t understand. But when Yuri pressed her lips to his, he lifted her up in his arms. Yuri didn’t let go of her embrace until she was laid down on the bed.

“Can you hold me until my mind goes blank?”

“Did something happen today?”

Even as he followed her wishes, Jeho found Yuri’s assertive behavior unfamiliar. As he brushed back the hair that had fallen over her forehead, Yuri buried her face in the crook of his neck.

“No. It’s just… when I saw the empty bed without you, I felt lonely.”

The truth was that she felt empty knowing that he had approached her not out of sincerity, but for a purpose.

“I’m silly, aren’t I?”

“No, not at all.”

Jeho briefly denied it and wrapped his arm around her slender waist, pulling her close. At the same time, he climbed on top of her body and joined their lips.

No, I am silly. Because I was naive enough to be fooled.

Still, she wanted to forget everything for just this one night. Let’s pretend to have amnesia. She didn’t care if she was mocked for clinging pathetically. The pleasure filled with instinctive desire was the best compensation she could get from him.

Even if it was just an empty and sad consolation…

Yuri closed her eyes slowly, holding Jeho tightly.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Don’t worry. It’ll be okay.”

In her half-asleep state, Yuri heard a soft voice from somewhere. She blinked her heavy eyelids and looked around while lying in bed. Jeho’s back figure was faintly visible in the darkness as he was on a call at the balcony.

“Don’t say that. Of course I love you, rain or shine. ……I know. No matter what I always love you.”

Even just from his voice, she could feel how desperately he was pleading with the other person. Who could it be? His real lover?

“Hah.”

Yuri let out a low sigh. She wasn’t curious at all about who he was talking to. After all, he didn’t love her anyway. What did it matter whether he had a lover or not?

Still, she couldn’t help feeling upset. She had wanted to extend her vain dream for a moment… but he was cruelly shattering it again.

You won’t even leave me alone for this one night.

The balcony door opened, signaling the end of the call. Yuri quickly turned her back and pretended to be asleep.

The mattress shook slightly as if he was climbing onto the bed. After a moment, he reached out and embraced her from behind. Feeling his warm breath on her nape, Yuri unknowingly twisted her lips.

You don’t need to act even when I’m asleep…

She wanted to shrug off the hand on her waist right away, but Yuri bit her lip and endured it.

She thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but maybe it was because of the warm body heat from her back? When she opened her eyes again, it was already bright outside. But the man who had held her comfortably was nowhere to be seen. As she sat up, she noticed a note placed on the bedside table.

Yuri got out of bed, quickly showered, and brewed coffee from the coffee maker in the minibar. Then she called Yuri first. It seemed she needed to check the source of the video before organizing her thoughts.

[Oh, sis?]

Yuri seemed a bit surprised to receive a call from her sister early on a weekend morning.

“I called because I was curious how you’re feeling today.”

[…Ah, thanks for worrying. I’m okay now, sis.]

“Can I ask why you were like that?”

[Well…]

Yuri hesitated for a moment before answering. But she mumbled reluctantly.

[…Later, sis. I’ll tell you everything later.]

“Okay, I understand.”

She wasn’t sure what had happened, but it didn’t seem related to the video. She had suspected several times that Yuri might be the one who sent the photos and videos, but no matter how she thought about it, it wasn’t her sister.

In the end, Yuri asked casually.

“Oh, right. Where did you get that brooch on your dressing table? It was really pretty.”

[Brooch? Oh, the one with pearls? That was a gift. My senior gave it to me as an early birthday present since she said she might not be able to celebrate my birthday because she’s going abroad.]

“Senior? Do I know her too?”

[Yeah, you probably know her too. It’s the senior who took me home when I was drunk last time. She worked at KG Group until recently.]

“Ah, Manager Shin Dahee. I see.”

Yuri unconsciously furrowed her brow at the familiar name.

“I’ll call you again later.”

After ending the call, Yuri picked up the cup in front of her and brought it to her lips. The bitter taste of cooled coffee filled her mouth. At the same time, suspicious moments began to surface in her mind one by one.

―By the way, isn’t the tea at Jeho’s house too bitter?

―Soktae tea, was it? Probably.

Manager Shin Dahee and Jeho did know each other. Shin must have deliberately dropped that fact. But why?

―Shin Dahee… I know, she must be angry.

Had there been some unpleasant incident between the two?

―If it’s revealed that you approached intentionally, your relationship…

The reason Jeho’s expression turned pale when they bumped into each other in front of the restaurant was probably because he was nervous that she might have overheard his conversation with Woo Gyeol. At the time, she hadn’t noticed because she was too focused on Claire.

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh escaped Yuri’s lips.

I was the only one who didn’t know.

At least Han Woo Gyeol and Shin Dahee knew that Kwon Jeho had intentionally approached Chae Yuri. Looking back, the two of them seemed to look at her with somehow pitiful eyes. There was also some distance in Woo Gyeol’s attitude towards her, and that must have been why. Suddenly, emotions welled up.

How stupid must she have looked in their eyes? Her falling for the false act must have been quite ridiculous.

But who could she blame? It was her own fault for giving her heart so easily.

Yuri slowly sipped her coffee, recalling how Jeho had approached her and in what way. When the cup was empty, Yuri, having roughly organized her thoughts, picked up a pen and left a brief note under Jeho’s message.

After staring at the note she had written for a moment, Yuri placed the cup on top of the paper and got up from her seat.

[This is the timeline separator]

“We’re all going to have dinner together after the seminar, won’t you join us, Mr. Kwon Jeho?”

“No, I have a prior engagement.”

Jeho politely declined the dinner invitation from the seminar host and sent a text to Yuri during the lunch break.

Jeho recalled Yuri’s appearance from last night as he waited for a reply.

She was somehow different. Especially the fact that she had rushed over in just a shirt without an outer coat bothered him.

In Geoje too, she had been standing alone in the rain without a jacket. Had something similar happened? Had a situation occurred during dinner that made her run out without even grabbing her jacket?

But if that were the case, Yuri would have told him the truth. After all, it was Yuri who had pulled Jeho into the house to save Yuri from being hit by Assemblyman Chae.

Did she really come just because she missed him?

Numerous questions cluttered Jeho’s mind.

Even after a long time, Yuri didn’t check the message. Jeho looked at his wristwatch. It was well past 12 o’clock, but she might still be sleeping due to being up until dawn.

As much as he wanted to rush to the hotel, he had to wait until the seminar was over.

Jeho switched his phone to vibrate mode and put it in his jacket pocket.

[This is the timeline separator]

On the plane back to Seoul, Yuri concluded that she couldn’t solve this alone. Although reluctant, she needed her father’s help.

Suddenly, she recalled what Assemblyman Chae had said when he visited her officetel.

―If you ever need anything, contact Secretary Kim. I’ve instructed him to answer your calls immediately.

She had thought it was just because of Minwoo, but could it have included Jeho’s matter as well?

Perhaps Assemblyman Chae already knew everything. The background check on Minwoo, his sudden visit to her…

Upon arriving in Seoul, Yuri went straight to Secretary Kim at Assemblyman Chae’s office.

“I need to investigate someone. Can you help me?”

“Of course.”

Secretary Kim nodded lightly as if he had been expecting this.

“Can you find out whose number sent these photos and videos?”

Of course, there was a high possibility it was a burner phone. Still, she couldn’t let go of hope. Secretary Kim silently took the phone Yuri handed him. As he checked the messages, he narrowed his eyes, then wordlessly got up and walked to his desk. He took something out of the bottom drawer, returned to the sofa, and handed Yuri a tablet PC.

“As it happens, this is a number I’ve investigated. You’ll find everything in this report.”

Yuri looked at Secretary Kim with an incredulous expression as she examined the report.

“This is…?”

Her large eyes trembled with confusion.