Since the day she got caught in the rain, Sohee had come down with a cold and hadn’t been feeling well. Her body felt limp and heavy, like a waterlogged cotton ball, and though the day was far from over, fatigue hit her hard and fast.
At least today, her fever had finally gone down. There were several times when her whole body had burned with such a high fever that she nearly blacked out and collapsed.
In a situation where she urgently needed to repay the principal, neither tutoring nor nightclub work could be put on hold just because she was sick.
And now, one more person was weighing down her already burdened mind. The man who had only left a vague message that he wouldn’t be coming for a while hadn’t shown up for a month, and there was no trace of him.
Where had he gone, and why?
If he had at least contacted her, she wouldn’t be this worried. Given the dangerous nature of his work, she even found herself wondering if something had happened to him—an intrusive thought she couldn’t shake.
Meanwhile, the interest he hadn’t come to collect and the check he’d left behind had gradually added up to a substantial amount. Though the money wasn’t hers, she had never had that much cash in her possession before, which only made her feel more anxious.
Kim Joong-sik had never allowed her to hold onto money, afraid she might run away with it. He’d even taken the cash she’d set aside for utilities, tightening his grip on her life with growing intensity.
But her new creditor, Gye Won-ho, was different. He had bought up all her debt, yet didn’t seem the least bit interested in it. He came to the rooftop room regularly to collect the interest, but somehow, it didn’t feel like money was his true purpose.
If that was the case, then he must have another reason—but she couldn’t guess what he was thinking.
At first, she thought he was after her body, just like he’d said. But if that were true, he was far too gentle. He never tried to force anything on her like Kim Joong-sik did.
Even so, she didn’t believe his kindness was sincere.
He was a man with wealth and good looks—charming enough for anyone to find attractive. It was hard to believe someone like that would go out of his way to be kind simply out of genuine interest.
“This thing again…”
As she stepped off the bus, Sohee sighed when she saw her phone had powered off. The colder the weather got, the more frequently it kept dying.
She couldn’t afford a new phone, so she needed to get it repaired, but her condition hadn’t been good enough to visit the service center.
Anxious that she might have missed a call from him during that time, Sohee quickly pressed the power button—but nothing happened. At that moment, only a single car reflected dimly in the black screen.
Startled, Sohee swallowed dryly. It was a large black sedan. She noticed it was following her at a slow pace, matching her steps.
No way. It’s just my imagination.
That’s what she told herself, but her chest tightened. The anxiety spread like wildfire. The neighborhood she had to walk through from the nearest bus stop was a hillside slum—it was still a long way home.
When Sohee stopped, pretending to check her phone, the sedan behind her also came to a halt.
“…Oh no.”
The moment she became certain, it felt like the blood drained from her body. It wasn’t just her imagination. The car was definitely following her.
As her heart pounded faster, her steps quickened. The sedan that had stopped resumed its slow pursuit.
“Uh, hello? Yeah, I just got off the bus.”
If she ran right here, she might actually get caught. Sohee put the phone to her ear and pretended to be on a call, hyperaware of every movement.
Her pale lips trembled slightly. Afraid the person following her might catch on, she tried to sound as casual as possible, raising her voice.
“Yeah, I haven’t eaten yet. Should we eat together? You want to come meet me? I’m around….”
While speaking loudly into the phone, Sohee spotted an alley that connected to the main road. It was a narrow path between houses with low, slate roofs—there were no streetlights, so it was usually avoided. But right now, it was her best chance. A car wouldn’t be able to follow her in there.
“Oh, you’re coming out now? Got it.”
As the alley grew closer, Sohee shoved her phone into her pocket and took off running. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart raced. If she could just get through this alley and turn left, she’d be home. Just a little more—just a little.
“Gasp—”
Sohee abruptly stopped when she heard the faint sound of footsteps to her left. Her hypersensitive nerves went on full alert. Someone was already in the alley.
Where… where should I run?
Panicked, she struggled to catch her breath. Even the cry for help stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come out. The only person that came to mind—funnily enough—was her creditor. But he wasn’t here.
“Aaah!”
Suddenly, a dark figure lunged over her—an enormous man grabbed her wrist from behind. It happened so fast that she had no chance to react. Her body was shoved against the wall.
“……!”
Sohee’s eyes widened as she saw the face of the man who had pinned her.
“Well, guess I don’t have to worry about you getting snatched. Fragile as you are, you’re pretty quick.”
Gye Won-ho, his mouth slightly curled in a crooked smile, looked down at her.
“Ahjussi…?”
The moment she recognized his face, all the tension drained from her body, and an unexplainable mix of emotions stirred inside her. She felt relieved that it wasn’t someone else who had followed her—it was him.
The man she hadn’t seen in so long looked even more vigorous than before, in stark contrast to her worn-down appearance. For some reason, seeing him made the dull ache of her wisdom tooth flare up again.
“You startled me. You should’ve called.”
“And what—call someone who never picks up?”
The phone he pulled from his coat pocket showed multiple missed calls. Realizing that he had tried to contact her made her chest tingle with unease.
“It’s not that… My phone…”
Sohee started to explain, but the man cut her off.
“Kid.”
Gye Won-ho’s voice rumbled low. His face, hidden by the shadows, couldn’t be seen, so Sohee focused on his tone. But what he said next confused her.
“You set up house while I was gone?”
“What…?”
“There’s someone coming to meet you, isn’t there?”
Only then did she realize what he meant. He must’ve overheard her fake phone call—the one she made in a panic to throw off the sedan that had been following her.
“There’s no one… like that.”
In the faint light, she saw the corners of his lips lift slightly. He knew, and he was teasing her. Her face flushed with heat, and warmth crept up to her ears.
“If there’s no one, then I can take you with me.”
“Take me where…?”
At the mouth of the alley, the black sedan from before was waiting. When he told her to get in, Sohee instinctively reached for the passenger door but ended up sliding into the backseat as he opened it for her.
Gye Won-ho also got into the back, and the car door shut with a deep thud. Unlike him, leaning back comfortably into the leather seat, Sohee sat upright, her neck slightly extended.
Her wide eyes shimmered with unease. She had already been startled in the alley, and now here she was in his car—something she hadn’t expected at all.
When he said he wouldn’t be coming for a while, she assumed it meant a week, maybe two. But he had vanished for over a month. Yet despite the time apart, he still smelled the same.
Where had he been?
As she turned her head toward the bitter scent, a large hand suddenly approached. Calloused, rough fingers gently grasped her chin.
Making her face him, Gye Won-ho scrutinized her intently.
The look in his eyes made her stomach clench. His face was expressionless—so different from her own mixed feelings of surprise and relief. The slight smirk she thought she’d seen earlier now felt like a complete illusion.
When the driver, who had been watching the rearview mirror, finally started the car, the stare that had lingered on her finally dropped. Gye clicked his tongue softly.
“I fed you like crazy and now you’re just skin and bones again.”
Ah… that’s right. She hadn’t been eating properly these past few weeks. Her body and mind had been exhausted. Given how much he paid for her body, it was natural that he’d be displeased.
“Geon-hee, let’s stop by Daonjeong first. Gotta feed the kid.”
“Yes, sir.”
The car, which had been headed toward the busy downtown, made a U-turn and changed direction.
“Soon as I got to Seoul, almost had to deal with a corpse. Can’t even feed yourself?”
Sohee swallowed the words she wanted to say—that she had been worried he might be in danger, that something had happened because he hadn’t come or contacted her.
Instead, she quietly asked, “Did you… come back today?”
“Just now.”
From the way he said it, he’d been far away. Maybe he’d even gone overseas. That must’ve been why he hadn’t come to see her.
Now that she finally had an answer to the mystery she’d been obsessing over, she felt a wave of relief—followed by a strange feeling. The way she cared about his well-being and the way he cared for her body were entirely different things.
I’m such an idiot. Sohee bit down on her lower lip. She knew full well that he paid attention to her because her body was something he planned to eventually take for himself. Still, the fact that he cared enough to watch over her… it loosened the knots in her tense body.
Still fighting off the remnants of illness, her exhausted body sank into the seat. Her eyelids grew heavy. She didn’t even notice his low gaze settling on her worn-out face as she slowly closed her eyes.
Before she could even realize she was falling asleep, her hazy consciousness faded to black.
To be continued….