A sleek black car glided smoothly on the road.
Despite the ordinary and rather tranquil traffic situation, Ki Joo, holding the steering wheel, kept paying attention to the rear.
Since early morning, a nuisance had been tailing him. They tried to be inconspicuous, but it was shoddy work, clearly not sent by the government.
It was unclear whether the pursuer was after information or seeking confirmation of suspicion. In the current situation, it could lead to unexpected results if he tried to turn the tables and interrogate them.
Ki Joo removed his gaze from the rearview mirror and turned the wheel towards a villa’s parking lot.
Thud.
With graceful motion, he stepped out of the driver’s seat, buttoned his suit jacket and ascended the villa’s stairs. Shortly, he used a fingerprint scanner to open the door and entered the dark house.
At first glance, the seemingly ordinary house lacked any signs of life. It was to be expected since he mostly stayed at Chairman Song’s mansion. Only the necessary furniture was present, but even those showed no signs of use, not even a tiny scratch.
Ki Joo, standing in front of the large window covered with curtains, slightly pulled the curtains aside with his fingertips and narrowed his eyes.
After briefly surveying the situation outside, he lifted a builtin wall socket.
Click, the socket area was raised with a sound, and when he pressed on the apparently empty wall, it slid in according to the rectangular shape. Simultaneously, a corner of the living room floor slid open, revealing a staircase leading to the basement.
As Ki Joo descended the stairs step by step, dim lights turned on overhead.
The light gathered quickly, illuminating a room of about 33 square meters. Unlike the area above which had a fair amount of furniture, this space only had a long desk with a dual monitor and desktop computer occupying it.
Ki Joo turned on the desktop, grabbed the mouse and leaned his upper body by propping one hand on the desk. Shadows covered the monitor, and encrypted information along with Chairman Song’s photo started appearing one by one and then disappeared.
Ki Joo deleted all remaining data without leaving a trace, initialized the storage device, and straightened his upper body. Now, he just had to spend time pretending to stay above.
As he was about to move and climb the stairs, something caught his long, sharp eyes.
A single photo reflected in Ki Joo’s black pupils as he tilted his head. He immediately picked up the picture that was on the desk.
A couple stood with a boy in the middle, with amusement rides as the background. They were looking at the boy. The surface of the picture had faded so their faces were hardly visible, but they were clearly smiling joyfully.
“…….”
After staring intensely, Ki Joo opened the desk drawer, pulled out a disposable lighter, and set the picture on fire. The picture quickly distorted and burned, falling into a stainlesssteel container on the floor.
The moment he felt a brief vibration in his jacket pocket, he took out his phone. His gaze moved from the charred pile of ashes to the phone screen.
「She just got home through Han Seung Yoon.」
He stared at the message informing him of Eun Chae’s schedule longer than he had looked at the picture, then lifted his chin and straightened his face.
Crackle, crackle. The sound of burning echoed in the basement.
((())) ((())) ((()))
Having missed the ensemble, Eun Chae practiced her viola at home, concentrating on practice except during meal times. She practiced so much that she felt a slight pain in her hardened calluses and eventually even skipped dinner.
Eun Chae sat heavily on the bed, wiping off the sweat that had densely covered her forehead with the back of her hand.
Now that there’s nobody left by her side. The only thing she could do at her own will was playing the viola.
That’s why she didn’t have any thoughts when holding the viola, and it was good. Because she couldn’t see anything in front of her, and only the sound of the viola reached her ears.
She lifted her slender hand, clenched it into a fist, and put away the viola.
Knock.
At that moment, she heard a dull knock.
Eun Chae paused and stood up. Ki Joo crossed her mind for a moment, but it was a different bodyguard who had followed her today.
She had spent the day with Han Seung Yoon at the hotel, so it was clear that he had distanced himself as well. Even if it was genuine, it would have been a pitiful feeling. Just like when it first started.
Eun Chae exhaled softly and picked up a hairpin on the vanity.
The staff usually knock and state their purpose, but no words were heard. It was strange that she didn’t feel any presence either.
“I’m coming in.”
Eun Chae, who was about to tell whoever was knocking to come in without knowing who it was, flinched at the sound of the low voice that came first.
Immediately after, the door opened and Ki Joo entered. He reached behind him to push the door closed.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
