ITBF 03

CHAPTER 03

Gi-joo gently clasped Hae-som’s hand and spoke.

“Listen without getting too shocked. Mom and Dad searched for you for a very, very long time.”

When Hae-som nodded, Gi-joo stroked her hair and continued.

“There was a detective in charge of your case… On the tenth anniversary of your disappearance, he announced his retirement and told Mom and Dad that there was little hope you were still alive, so they should let you go and live the rest of their lives in peace…”

Hae-som felt as though a heavy stone had been placed on her chest.

“I guess Mom was devastated when the detective who had been searching for you until the very end finally gave up.”

As he said that, Gi-joo seemed to choke up and turned his head to the side for a moment.

Tae-joo spoke in his place.

“After that, Mom quit her job at the hospital and went abroad. She only left a note saying that being here reminded her of you so much that she couldn’t bear to stay.”

Hae-som’s eyes reddened.

While she had been spending years on the island with her mother—or rather, her kidnapper—her real family had apparently been living through years of pain.

“Dad went abroad with Mom, too. And what we heard was that they were going to do some volunteer work in Africa, clear their minds, and then come back.”

Gi-joo added,

“We told them immediately that you’d been found, but unfortunately, there’s a war going on in that area right now… so they can’t come. Mom and Dad told us not to tell you about the situation because they were worried you’d be concerned about them.”

Tears rolled down Hae-som’s cheeks like little droplets, and she frantically wiped them away with the back of her hand.

“I understand, oppas…”

At that moment, her second brother, Geuk-joo, gently patted the top of her head.

“So until then, our princess can spend her time studying for the high school equivalency exam.”

Hae-som gave her brothers, who were doing so much for her, a faint smile.

Then she remembered the question that had been lingering in her heart and carefully asked,

“Um… but Mom—no, I mean. That woman… was she caught? I heard she was sick…”

Silence fell instantly.

The silence quickly made Hae-som’s heart sink.

To Hae-som, Gyeong-hae might have been the woman who had cared for her like a daughter, but to her family, she must have been like a demon who had kidnapped their precious daughter.

And yet Hae-som had just asked her family about that woman’s well-being…

“Ahem. Look at the time already.”

Tae-joo glanced at the clock on the wall and changed the subject.

Taking the hint, Geuk-joo also lamented that he unfortunately had to leave for work.

“Sigh. Sorry I have to go to work. I’m a civil servant, after all.”

“Exactly. I’m worried sick.”

“I feel terrible thinking about going on an overseas tour and leaving you here.”

Ding-dong.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

“Ah. They must be here.”

Geuk-joo hurried out of the room.

When Hae-som tilted her head in confusion, her eldest brother Tae-joo smiled faintly and explained.

“I called someone who can protect you. He’ll also help you prepare for the equivalency exam.”

“…Huh?”

“Want to come out?”

Hae-som slowly followed her brothers out of the room.

Someone who will protect me and teach me…?

A private tutor or something?

“Jaehyun, you’re here.”

When the eldest brother greeted him, an unfamiliar yet pleasant low-to-mid-pitched voice came from the man who had walked into the living room.

“Hyung. Long time no see. Gi-joo, too.”

Hae-som slowly raised her head and properly looked toward the entrance.

Her eyelids flew open, and her heart began pounding wildly.

The man was so tall that he seemed to make the entrance feel small. Even though he was wearing nothing more than a shirt, his broad, straight shoulders and well-built physique were clearly visible, with a smooth silhouette devoid of excess weight.

Hae-som, who until now had barely seen any young men other than that damn Sang-hyuk, found herself staring at an incredibly handsome man who looked as though he had stepped straight out of an exquisitely drawn illustration.

If I’d known men like this existed on the mainland, maybe I would have been even more determined to escape.

“Say hello. Little sis. He’s a friend of mine who’ll be staying with you for the time being.”

Staying with me? Oh my God.

“Thank you… so much…”

Silence.

Wh-what did I just say? Thank you?!

Hae-som covered her face with her hands and ran back into the room.

Two Days Earlier

At the house at the very top of a hill in Hannam-dong—

Jaehyun was leaning against the terrace railing, which rose higher than the surrounding walls, looking out over the Han River as it wound in an S-shape.

Creak—

The sound of a door opening came from behind him, followed by someone entering.

“Jaehyun.”

It was his father, Chairman Cha Won-seong.

Jaehyun did not answer. He simply continued staring at the shimmering waters of the Han River.

Won-seong walked up beside him and leaned his arms against the railing in exactly the same posture as Jaehyun, lowering his upper body slightly.

“Why did you cause Min-woo’s car accident?”

Jaehyun had no particular desire to answer.

His half-brother, Min-woo, was a problematic person.

When Jaehyun was in high school, his mother passed away from a chronic illness, and his father remarried less than three years later.

Then, once the media’s attention had died down, his father brought Min-woo—his illegitimate son, or rather, the son he had with his new wife—into the household.

Into this very house, which was filled with memories of Jaehyun’s late mother.

That alone was unpleasant enough, but the bastard was incredibly insolent despite being an illegitimate child.

He acted like a meek lamb in front of their father and Jaehyun, but the moment their father left for work, he treated the household staff terribly.

And Min-woo was only two years younger than Jaehyun.

Proof that his father had maintained a long affair while pretending to be a devoted husband.

“He’s about to join the company. You came in as an executive from the beginning, officially, but he’s starting from the bottom. Don’t you think he has enough difficulties of his own? Do you really have to torment your little brother like that?”

Jaehyun gave a dry laugh as though he found the whole thing absurd.

Perhaps angered by that laugh, Won-seong’s expression hardened as he took a step backward.

Then he grabbed Jaehyun’s arm and forcibly made him look at him.

“Are you still a child?! How long has it been since your mother died? How long are you going to keep acting like a child?!”

His father had suddenly lost his temper.

Jaehyun rubbed his eyebrow expressionlessly with his middle finger before looking at his father.

“Of course. I was wondering why you were suddenly acting so refined and asking me for a conversation.”

At Jaehyun’s sarcastic remark, Won-seong’s eyelids trembled.

“I’m not as broad-minded as you, Father. I don’t have room to accept a new family. I’ll be the problem who gets out of your way, so go ahead and play family all you want.”

Jaehyun smiled leisurely and spread both palms toward him.

Just as he was about to leave the terrace, the phone in his pocket rang.

It was a call from his closest friend, Geuk-joo.

“Yeah.”

“Let’s meet. I have something urgent to tell you.”

Normally, Jaehyun would have called him an impudent bastard and hung up.

But he could feel his father’s gaze from behind him, and he genuinely wanted to get out of this tiresome house, so he agreed.

“Send me the location.”

“I’m already in front of your house because it’s urgent. I’m standing in front of your car.”

Without answering, Jaehyun ended the call.

Ignoring the piercing gaze he could feel from behind, Jaehyun went downstairs.

When he stepped outside the gate, he saw Geuk-joo standing in front of his car, bent almost double as he examined it.

He was tall, and seeing him awkwardly hunched over on the road looked rather comical.

“What are you doing?”

Geuk-joo merely raised his head and answered.

“Hey. Why did you wreck your car? It looks exactly like something you’d do.”

“No wonder you’re a prosecutor.”

“If you’re going to treat a nine-hundred-million-won car like this, you should’ve just given it to me.”

“You’d get yourself in trouble under the Kim Young-ran Act.”

With a grunt, Geuk-joo straightened his back.

“I’m joking. Anyway, I asked why you had the accident. Were you drinking?”

“Not me.”

“Then? That idiot of a brother?”

“Yeah. I came home after work and was parking when that bastard came stumbling out. It was obvious he’d been drinking. But then he got behind the wheel and drove off.”

“So you chased after him and rammed him?”

Jaehyun nodded.

“Jeez. I wonder if your father knows how much effort you put in behind the scenes—even risking your own body—to protect the company’s image.”

“Enough. Why are you here?”

At Jaehyun’s question, Geuk-joo jerked his chin toward the car.

Once they got inside, Geuk-joo asked,

“Find me someone trustworthy who can protect a person as safely as possible in South Korea.”

Jaehyun’s eyebrows slowly rose.

What the hell is this bastard talking about all of a sudden?

“I don’t really know anyone like that. Besides, it’s not something we can use government authority for personally. My brother’s the same.”

Jaehyun nodded.

After all, a National Intelligence Service employee and a prosecutor couldn’t just use government resources for a private matter.

“Apparently, the only person who can find someone that capable is my proud chaebol friend, Cha Jaehyun.”

“……”

“You can’t trust anyone else.”

“Explain what’s going on first. What, did someone kidnap the President’s son?”

“No. My little sister.”

Jaehyun tilted his head slightly.

“Your sister? Gi-joo? Keion?”

Geuk-joo’s younger brother was currently a prominent member of one of South Korea’s hottest male idol groups.

Had something dangerous happened to him?

“No. My younger sister.”

Younger sister?

“…Have you been taking drugs? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

Jaehyun grabbed Geuk-joo’s arm and tried to roll up his shirt sleeve.

Geuk-joo forcibly pulled his arm away and shouted,

“You don’t remember?! When we were in high school, our little sister disappeared and our whole family was turned upside down!”