Chapter 04
“Then let’s do it.”
“Let’s have the interview.”
Their eyes met head-on.
Unlike his cool voice, Sahyeok’s gaze, fixed entirely on Seobin, never wavered.
The sight of him threw Seobin’s breathing into disarray, and she quickly lowered her eyes.
“Get close to Kim Sahyeok.”
“Very close.”
She remembered the advice that had brought her here.
That’s right.
Maybe… I can use Kim Sahyeok to find a clue.
If she used the brief memories of the affection they had once shared as an excuse to create an opening…
If she slipped through that opening and slowly unsettled him…
…perhaps she could uncover even the smallest piece of information about her sister’s death.
Maybe…
This was why she had become a reporter in the first place.
Steeling herself, Seobin accepted Sahyeok’s terms.
Putting on a practiced smile, she picked up her notebook and pen.
“Very well.”
While Seobin organized the questions she had prepared, Sahyeok watched her profile in silence before taking a sip of his whiskey.
Slowly.
Leisurely.
It almost felt as though time itself flowed differently around him.
Letting out a quiet breath, Seobin finally began.
“The articles will be published as a series leading up to the Economic Forum in December. Since this is our first interview, I’d like to begin with some basic questions about the company and its management philosophy—”
Sahyeok set down his whiskey and raised a hand toward her.
“Get to the point.”
Caught off guard, Seobin looked at him.
Sahyeok casually tapped the watch on his left wrist.
“Oh… right.”
Realizing what he meant, Seobin nodded, suppressed her embarrassment, and continued.
“Could you give our readers an overview of Noble Group?”
“It’s a good company.”
“As you already know.”
After giving the brief answer, Sahyeok spread both arms slightly, as if inviting her to take in the luxurious suite surrounding them.
Just as she’d expected, he wasn’t being cooperative.
Still, she had never expected him to make this easy.
Resolutely, she moved on.
“Since joining the group’s holding company at the end of last year, you’ve introduced several organizational changes. Could you tell us about the company’s current direction and future vision?”
“The current situation isn’t bad.”
“The future will be even better.”
Once again, Sahyeok answered without changing his expression.
His tone was as indifferent as ever.
Heat slowly crept into Seobin’s cheeks.
“You’ll also be speaking at this year’s Sanghyeon Economy Forum. What message are you hoping to deliver there?”
“Well…”
“I suppose that’s something you and I can discuss together from now on, Reporter Bae.”
Pretending not to hear the implication behind his answer, Seobin lowered her eyes to her notes.
Mechanically, she continued reading.
“Since taking your position, you’ve expanded Noble Group’s sports organizations and social contribution programs to improve the company’s public image. You’ve also been actively attending business events and networking parties. Is there a particular reason you’ve been placing so much emphasis on external activities?”
“Well…”
“That’s confidential.”
“But if you have time, why don’t you come to a party with me sometime soon?”
Unlike his perfectly serious expression, his answer was lighthearted.
Seobin finally reached her limit.
Biting her lip, she looked directly at him.
There was unmistakable resentment in her eyes.
Yet Sahyeok merely shrugged, as if asking, What’s the problem?
Faced with that utterly unbothered expression, Seobin found herself speechless.
“…Next question.”
“I understand Noble Group has also been working to reform its internal corporate culture. Is there anything you value most in that regard?”
Sahyeok lifted his whiskey once more and slowly savored another sip.
Unlike before, he didn’t answer immediately.
After a brief pause, he finally spoke.
“Keeping promises.”
Their eyes met again.
Outside the windows, the long summer sun was just beginning to disappear below the horizon.
Standing with the sunset behind him, Sahyeok’s face fell into shadow.
The contrast of light and darkness made every feature of his face stand out even more clearly.
Seobin looked at the man before her—
Her first love.
The man suspected of killing her sister.
She watched him silently.
At the boundary between day and night.
For what felt like forever.
Time itself seemed to stop.
If that incident had never happened…
What would we be like now?
Would things between us have been different?
Or would we still have ended up exactly like this?
Meaningless thoughts drifted through her mind.
How much time had passed?
It was Sahyeok who finally broke the silence.
“Finished?”
“Then it’s my turn.”
What is he about to say?
Has he changed his mind?
Is he going to replace me as the reporter?
No…
That can’t happen.
I haven’t learned anything about that day yet…
I’ve only just begun.
As Seobin’s anxiety continued to build, Sahyeok leaned toward her.
“I want us to work together.”
“On something.”
“What…?”
Seobin couldn’t finish the question.
She had never expected those words to come from him.
“We need to dig into the Sarim Foundation.”
His words threw her thoughts into chaos.
Why?
Why now?
Questions flooded her mind.
There were too many to ask.
Seeing through her confusion as though he could read it perfectly, Sahyeok asked,
“What?”
“You still don’t trust me?”
He had never been someone who spoke in circles.
He hadn’t changed.
Not even since they were nineteen.
“I was curious about you, Bae Seobin.”
“I wanted to know you.”
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
Looking at him now, Seobin saw the boy from eight years ago.
You’re still the same.
Just like back then.
For some reason, that realization made her chest ache.
Suppressing the feeling, she asked calmly,
“Why me?”
“There are plenty of reporters.”
“In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a reporter.”
“If you want information about the Sarim Foundation, surely you know people much more useful than I do, Executive Director Kim Sahyeok.”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
The answer drew a quiet sigh from Seobin.
Ironically…
She herself was probably the person who distrusted Kim Sahyeok the most—
The youngest executive director in Noble Group’s history.
The future head of the company whom everyone admired.
“And I’m someone you can trust?”
I’m the kind of person who wouldn’t hesitate to stab you in the back.
Her expression twisted into a sarcastic smile.
Sahyeok answered without the slightest hesitation.
“I’d like to try.”
“And what if I betray you?”
“Then I suppose I’ll have no choice.”
His calm response somehow felt even more insulting.
Seobin’s eyes sharpened.
As if he actually enjoyed that look, Sahyeok let out a quiet laugh.
“Let’s just call it old feelings.”
For the briefest instant…
A lonely shadow crossed his face.
So fleeting that Seobin almost missed it.
She was still confused.
Why was he trying to investigate the Sarim Foundation?
If he wasn’t careful, it could reopen everything that had happened eight years ago.
The very truth…
That Seobin herself had been searching for.
“Why investigate the Sarim Foundation?”
“There’s nothing to gain by provoking them.”
“Not for your business, either…”
“Yoo Inha.”
The moment Sahyeok spoke the name, Seobin’s eyes trembled again.
Yoo Inha.
The grandson of the chairman of the Sarim Foundation.
The man whose family had buried her sister’s case as an accidental death.
And someone who had once been very close to Seohyun.
Though after her death…
He denied it.
“Me and Bae Seohyun?”
“No.”
“Your sister liked Kim Sahyeok.”
Seobin had known it was a lie.
Even so…
She had never been able to completely dismiss it because of what Yoo Inha had said next.
“Then why do you think Kim Sahyeok suddenly quit swimming and left for America?”
“Isn’t it because he had something to hide?”
That was the moment the seed of doubt had been planted inside her.
And now…
Eight years later…
Sahyeok himself had brought up Yoo Inha.
The very man who had accused him of murdering the victim.
Sahyeok raised his nearly empty whiskey glass and took another drink.
A faint, dangerous smile curved across his lips.
“I’ve got a debt to settle with that bastard.”
Seobin’s heart thudded.
Of the four people considered suspects in the case back then…
Two of them—
Kim Sahyeok.
And Yoo Inha.
There was a crack between Noble Group and the Sarim Foundation.
That realization became hope.
Seobin’s heartbeat quickened.
“I think we’d make pretty good partners.”
“You’ve got plenty of reasons to hate Sarim too.”
The words struck painfully close to home.
Seobin swallowed hard.
Even when it seemed like he was giving ground…
Somehow, he always ended up holding the advantage.
That was simply who he was.
The power he had been born into—and the position he now occupied—would never disappear.
Then how…
How am I supposed to fight people like him?
There was only one answer.
Exploit every crack between them.
Until they destroyed each other from within.
“What do you need me to do?”
Tension filled Seobin’s eyes as she looked at him.
Maintaining the same unreadable expression, Sahyeok answered.
“Every night.”
“Ten o’clock.”
“Come here.”SP 03
