Chapter 08…

Delivery

[501-803, Hannam-dong]

Da-hee took a screenshot of the mansion address Joo-young had sent her, then scrolled through the chat window, which was overflowing with unread messages. Suddenly, one message caught her eye, and she stopped.

* [There’s something important you absolutely need to hear. Aren’t you curious?]

“……!?”

The sender was Han Jun-sang. He was currently the CEO of Yoo Min-ah’s agency and had once been Da-hee’s manager.

The moment she saw his name, an inexplicable chill ran down her spine.

In fact, when the scandal involving Yoo Min-ah first broke, Da-hee had been so shocked that Han Jun-sang was the first person she called. But he hadn’t answered.

Not only Da-hee herself but also her agency had tried everything they could to clear up the misunderstanding and contain the scandal. However, Han Jun-sang and Yoo Min-ah’s agency hadn’t responded at all.

In the meantime, malicious articles and rumors about Do Da-hee spread like wildfire, and her public image plummeted beyond anyone’s control.

With trembling eyes, Da-hee read through the lengthy message he had sent.

* [I heard something even more shocking than Yoo Min-ah’s suicide note is about to come out. You know how I’m close with a lot of reporters, right? If they expose this, it won’t just hurt you. Everyone around you will get caught in the crossfire, too. Whatever are we going to do?]

“What on earth…!”

* [You’re curious about what the reporters are going to expose and how you should handle it, aren’t you? I was thinking I might help you out, considering our history. How about meeting me alone sometime today? I’m not the type to wait around for long, you know. I’ll wait for your reply until noon, and no later.]

Da-hee knew perfectly well that Han Jun-sang had close ties with the media. Whatever his intentions were, this was the first time he had ever contacted her like this.

Above all, Da-hee was already in a difficult position because of the incident involving Yoo Min-ah and several other problems. The part about the people around her getting hurt bothered her the most.

Honestly, if there was any way to get out of this situation, she was desperate enough to grasp at even the slightest hope.

* [I’ll see you at Blue Moon Café in Hannam-dong at 2 p.m. today.]

After much deliberation, she sent her reply. As if he had been waiting for it, a response came almost immediately.

* [Okay.]

Da-hee let out a deep breath and gazed out the window, where daylight had begun to brighten the sky.

* [What? You’re going to meet CEO Han alone? Where is that? I’ll come right now!]

* [It’s not far from the hospital. I’ll meet him first and contact you afterward.]

* [Ms. Da-hee!]

* [Don’t worry, Chief Joo.]

After replying to Joo-young’s messages, Da-hee hurriedly closed the messaging app.

The hospital wasn’t far from Hannam-dong.

With her face concealed by a mask and sunglasses, Da-hee managed to leave the hospital without incident. She immediately hailed a taxi and headed for the chairman of Taesan Corporation’s residence.

Before meeting Han Jun-sang, she intended to deliver the coat belonging to the benefactor who had saved her.

Of course, she also hoped she might get the chance to see him again and thank him in person.

However, the taxi came to a stop at the entrance to an affluent residential neighborhood.

Wondering what was going on, Da-hee lifted her head. Through the lowered car window, she saw a security guard approaching the taxi driver and flinched.

“Is the road blocked? What’s going on?”

“For security reasons, you’ll need to verify your identity before proceeding beyond this point. What brings you here?”

“Well, it’s…”

When the taxi driver turned to look at her, Da-hee quickly held up the bag containing the coat and answered.

“I’m delivering a garment from the dry cleaners. It’s a high-end luxury item, so the customer specifically requested that it be delivered in person.”

“Would you mind taking off your sunglasses and mask?”

“Excuse me? Oh, well…”

Are they really going to check me this thoroughly?

If she exposed her face, there was a good chance the guard would recognize her as the celebrity Do Da-hee.

While she hesitated, flustered and unsure what to do, a car horn blared from behind them.

She turned around.

Three black luxury sedans were lined up behind the taxi. They looked like the kind of vehicles used to transport someone very important.

“Just go ahead.”

The taxi driver took the hint, rolled up the window, and drove on.

Once the tension eased, Da-hee hugged the bag containing the man’s coat to her chest and sighed in relief.

“We’ve arrived at your destination. If you’re just dropping off the delivery, should I wait for you?”

“Oh, no. Thank you.”

After sending the taxi away, Da-hee stared wide-eyed at the towering wall in front of her. The mansion looked even more imposing in person, practically resembling a royal palace.

She had come here on impulse, but it was already too late to turn back and regret her reckless decision.

Steeling herself, Da-hee tightened her grip on the bag strap and approached the front gate.

Ding-dong—

She removed her sunglasses and mask, took a deep breath, and mustered the courage to press the doorbell.

Da-hee stood nervously before the gate, staring at the intercom without receiving any response. After a moment, she rang the bell again.

“Is nobody home?”

Had coming all the way here under the pretext of returning this coat been a reckless move after all?

She had risked running into reporters lying in wait, even though the entrance to this wealthy neighborhood was tightly controlled. Now that she was about to leave without accomplishing anything, she couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

Da-hee put her mask and sunglasses back on and checked the time.

It had just passed one o’clock, so she still had plenty of time before her meeting with Han Jun-sang at the nearby café.

“Maybe I’ll wait a little longer.”

The weather was particularly cold today. Since she hadn’t fully recovered yet, standing around in the chilly wind wasn’t a good idea.

Even so, she crouched down in front of the gate and took out the tablet PC she had brought as a substitute for her phone.

“Oh, right. There’s no Wi-Fi here.”

She didn’t have a phone on her, and the tablet she had brought instead was useless for messaging without Wi-Fi.

“Nothing’s going right today.”

Da-hee hugged the bag containing the coat and let out a sigh.

Meanwhile, Gun-woo, who had woken up late because he hadn’t adjusted to the time difference, came downstairs to the first floor well past mealtime.

A housekeeper approached him silently and asked, “Would you like something to eat?”

“No. Forget the food. Just bring me a cup of warm tea. Something without caffeine.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll prepare it right away.”

Gun-woo still vividly remembered getting scolded as a child for going into the kitchen just to get himself some water.

He had been told that men weren’t supposed to wander into the kitchen and that he should ask the servants to handle even the smallest errands.

From that day onward, Gun-woo had never set foot in the kitchen of this mansion again.

Looking back, although he had never been treated like a real son because he was an illegitimate child, the rules imposed on him had been extremely strict.

The discrimination had been severe, too. There were many things that were permitted to Jang Hyun-woo but forbidden to Jang Gun-woo.

In short, this mansion was filled with unpleasant memories. Every corner reminded him of a childhood in which even the smallest mistake could earn him a harsh reprimand, forcing him to keep his head down and live in silence.

Even so, the reason he hadn’t gone to a hotel and was still staying at the mansion was his father. After all, it was true that the company had been thrown into turmoil because of him. He intended to keep quiet until he left.

“Your tea is ready.”

“But the house seems awfully quiet.”

“The chairman and the eldest young master have gone to work, and Madam has gone out for a luncheon gathering. I also need to stop by the dry cleaners. Is there anything else you need?”

“No. Don’t worry about me. Go ahead.”

This mansion was just as it had always been. Nothing, whether a person or an object, was ever out of place.

The housekeeper said only what was necessary before leaving without another word. She was practically like an NPC in a video game.

Left alone, Gun-woo carried his teacup out onto the balcony. Seeing that the snow that should have accumulated throughout the garden had been cleared away so thoroughly made his chest feel strangely heavy.

It was perfect, yet desolate. Immaculate, yet cold.

There wasn’t a trace of warmth or humanity in this suffocating place. In a way, it was astonishing that someone as kindhearted as Jang Hyun-woo had grown up here.

Ding-dong—

An unexpected doorbell shattered the silence of the house and interrupted Gun-woo’s thoughts.

No one from inside the house would ring the doorbell, which meant someone from outside had come to visit. Who would be ringing the chairman’s doorbell in broad daylight?

Gun-woo walked toward the intercom, then stopped short when he saw an unexpected face on the screen.

Do Da-hee?

While he was still wondering whether his eyes were deceiving him, she spoke. Her face was bare of makeup, looking fresh and clear.

“Um… Is anyone there? I, uh, came to see Mr. Jang Gun-woo.”

“Huh…?”

“Is nobody home? Ah… I guess nobody’s here.”

Did she really come all the way here by herself, without anyone accompanying her?

Caught completely off guard by the unexpected situation, Gun-woo let out a startled breath. He set down the teacup he had only half-finished and headed for the front entrance.

Perhaps because of the strict security at the entrance, the streets in this affluent neighborhood were eerily quiet.

The luxury sedans that had been waiting behind the taxi had passed through quite some time ago, and since then, there hadn’t been a soul in sight.

Is it really okay to keep waiting here in front of the gate?

Even if she couldn’t meet the man himself, it would be nice if someone came out so she could at least hand over the coat.

“Should I just leave it in front of the gate?”

It would have been nice to leave a note, but Da-hee had nothing with her except the tablet PC, which was useless to her at the moment.

If I leave the coat here without saying anything, they might think someone dumped it. If only I’d known, I would’ve brought a pen…

After entertaining every possible thought in the span of a few minutes, Da-hee finally decided to get up.

A wave of dizziness made her sway slightly. She brushed off her backside and picked up the bag.

Then she suddenly called out loudly toward the gate.

“Excuse me! Is anybody there?”

Unaware that Gun-woo had already come outside and was standing just beyond the gate, Da-hee shouted with all her might.

So this is what her voice sounds like.

This was the first time Gun-woo had heard Do Da-hee’s voice in person. He found it hard to believe that the person he had seen in photographs, the woman he had encountered on the day of the accident, and the woman standing before him now were all the same person.

They say she’s a famous actress. I guess she really does have a thousand faces.

“I’m not a reporter, and I’m not a peddler! I came to give Mr. Jang Gun-woo his coat! So this is… a courier delivery! A courier!”

“That’s strange. This is definitely 501-803… Don’t chairmen who live in mansions this big usually have lots of staff working for them? Is there really nobody here?”

Listening to Da-hee’s muttering in perfect clarity, Gun-woo let out a silent chuckle.

Wondering how far she would go, he casually folded his arms. The corners of his lips curled upward ever so slightly.