Chapter 3
Haha, hoho.
Laughter flowing from Ji-hyuk’s table boomed loudly across the VIP private poolside.
Among people of similar age, similar wealth, and similar attire, Ji-hyuk was undoubtedly a crane among a flock of chickens. How could he look so refined even just drinking a glass of water? He was so elegant it was as if he existed in a different atmosphere all by himself. The conversation he shared with a relaxed face was also not typical of young people his age.
He had lived away from a prestigious family, yet he was still a special existence. No, because he had left a prestigious family, Ji-hyuk had ironically taken on his own color and become a more brilliant existence, still sparkling. Since that was visible to others’ eyes too, it was no wonder that men and women alike gazed at Ji-hyuk with enraptured looks.
Watching that scene from afar, Hong-joo felt a sense of disappointment. He couldn’t possibly be unaware of the fact that Hong-joo was in the same space, yet how could he not look back even once? It felt exactly like he was drawing a dividing line between him and Hong-joo, to the point of making her angry. Of course, the more he did that, the more stubbornly Hong-joo held her ground.
After some time had passed like that, Ji-hyuk raised his body from his seat. Then, one of the men in the group stood up following Ji-hyuk and asked.
“Are you going to cross over to Hong Kong right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Then when will you return to New York?”
“We’ll see.”
“Okay, then let me know once your schedule is set.”
Nodding his head instead of answering, Ji-hyuk moved his steps. Hong-joo loudly slurped the last of her iced coffee and rose from her seat. Then, Ji-hyuk’s gaze lightly brushed against her before drifting away. The face that let out a scoffing smirk was beyond apathetic; it was cold.
As he brushed past coldly, Hong-joo swiftly followed behind him.
Seol Ji-hyuk is the late-born youngest son of Chairman Seol Byeong-joo of Myeongmun Group, the 1st ranking conglomerate in the business world and a global corporation.
A 27-year age difference with his eldest brother. A 23-year age difference with his second sister. And a whopping 55-year age difference with his father, Chairman Seol Byeong-joo. So, it was natural that he grew up preciously surrounded by everyone’s affection since childhood, cherished like gold and jade. Befitting the affection and expectations poured upon him, he grew up very upright and wonderfully.
For such a person to derail from his stable orbit happened 10 years ago, just when Ji-hyuk’s university entrance exams had ended.
On the day the Myeongmun Group founding anniversary party was held, a servant from the Pyeongchang-dong mansion went missing. A young servant in her early twenties, Hong-joo remembered her being quite popular with the men due to her pretty face and coke-bottle figure. Because she had a good personality, Hong-joo also followed her around often, calling her ‘Sister Kim.’
That Sister Kim vanished into thin air overnight. The problem was the bloodstains and traces of a scuffle left in Sister Kim’s room on the 1st floor of the dormitory. The blood belonged to Sister Kim. According to the police, it looked like a nosebleed, but judging by the volume, it seemed her nasal bone had been broken. It appeared she had been dragged out of her bed and pulled all the way to the entrance while pouring out blood from her nose.
The issue was, who did it? Since there were no signs of external forced entry, it was concluded to be an inside job. Thus, the suspects were narrowed down to the people staying at the Pyeongchang-dong mansion that day.
The main house family members, including Chairman Seol Byeong-joo, had all gone to the Yangyang Resort where the founding anniversary event was being held. Most of the servants had also received a special vacation, so the mansion dormitory was empty that day. The only people who hadn’t gone on vacation were Sister Kim, Hong-joo’s grandmotherāwho was the head chef at the time, known as Wonju-daekāand Hong-joo. Hong-joo’s grandmother had her alibi proven, as a hometown friend had come up to Seoul and they were at a karaoke room together at that time.
Hong-joo… Was found collapsed unconscious at the scene of the incident with the back of her head smashed open.
Because of this, the detectives concluded that Hong-joo was a witness to the incident. Presumably, the culprit noticed Hong-joo witnessing the act and struck her head. Therefore, Sister Kim’s vanishing was focused on as a ‘murder’ rather than a simple runaway or disappearance.
If so, who on earth was the culprit? After focusing on the investigation for several days, the detectives pointed out a suspect. Namely, the youngest young master of the prestigious family, 19-year-old Seol Ji-hyuk.
Ji-hyuk, who had gone to Yangyang with his family, returned home 20 minutes before the estimated time of the incident for some unknown reason. According to the CCTV recorded footage, as soon as he returned home, he entered the main house, stopped by his room, and then left the main house again. His footsteps across the garden led to the servants’ dormitory. The situation after that was shrouded in mystery. To protect the servants’ privacy, there were no CCTVs near the dormitory.
The police sat Ji-hyuk, pointed out as the suspect, and Hong-joo, who was undoubtedly the witness, side-by-side and agonized over it.
“This is quite…”
The detective in charge scratched the tip of his chin as if troubled.
“One has no alibi, and the other has no memory.”
It was a truly perplexing situation. If he weren’t the culprit, he would naturally try to prove it wasn’t his doing, but Ji-hyuk simply remained silent without making even a sliver of effort. Everyone fell into shock and pressed Hong-joo.
“Hong-joo, you were there. Speak up. Did Young Master Ji-hyuk really do it?”
At that question, Hong-joo immediately shook her head. Ji-hyuk isn’t the culprit. Everyone knows. He isn’t the kind of person to do such a thing to Sister Kim. A-And. There’s no reason for him to smash my head. The reason is…
“Ji-hyuk and I, I mean, Ji-hyuk and I are…”
Unable to continue, Hong-joo merely moved her lips silently. It was hard to define the relationship between Baek Hong-joo and Seol Ji-hyuk in a single definitive word. They were childhood friends when young, spent time like siblings as they grew a bit older, and then all along…
To Hong-joo, who couldn’t continue speaking, the detective with a face full of suspicion said,
“According to surrounding testimonies, the two of you were nothing short of bitter enemies? They said you were rivals in various ways at school as well.”
That was… Because the student council Ji-hyuk belonged to and the broadcasting club Hong-joo belonged to were in a competitive relationship, they just made a fuss trying to beat each other at every school event. And it was only because every time Ji-hyuk placed weird bets on the matches, she had no choice but to accept them. But bitter enemies and a competitive relationship? Absolutely not. Rather, around that time, Hong-joo was anxiously trying to confess her feelings to Ji-hyuk.
“S-Still, there’s no reason for him to do this to my head, you know?”Ā “The reason we looked like bitter enemies is because I acted up a bit. No, a lot. Fundamentally, he treated me well.”Ā “I might be the one to smash his head, but there’s no way he would do that to me. I mean it.”
But Hong-joo’s testimony had absolutely no credibility. Because her testimony wasn’t objective, and although she was a witness, being struck on the back of the head caused her to lose about ten days’ worth of memories. Goddammit. Despite being the sole witness to the incident. Despite being the sole existence who could clear Seol Ji-hyuk’s wrongful accusation. She couldn’t even remember what she had witnessed.
“Young Master, Young Master, please say something too. That’s the only way you’ll be cleared from the suspect list.”
Despite the surrounding pressure, Ji-hyuk did not open his mouth until the end. He just stubbornly kept his mouth shut like someone who had something to protect.
Fifteen days passed like that. The incident came to a close for the time being. The disappearance of Sister Kim, which couldn’t be definitively ruled a murder since a body wasn’t found, simply concluded as a ‘simple runaway,’ and afterward, Chairman Seol Byeong-joo sent Ji-hyuk away to America.
Once Ji-hyuk left, people who loved to gossip babbled all sorts of stories for fun. That Ji-hyuk, who usually harbored feelings for Sister Kim, looked for an opportunity to approach her and tried to sexually assault her. That when things didn’t go his way, he assaulted Sister Kim, causing her death in the process, and noticing the presence of a witness at that moment, he even attacked Hong-joo. And that he must have disposed of the body with someone’s help afterward. They said it was obvious, just looking at Chairman Seol Byeong-joo’s actions of mobilizing the entire Myeongmun Group legal team to cover up the incident in just fifteen days.
Thanks to that, despite achieving the splendid feat of getting a perfect score on the CSAT and being accepted into Hankook University’s Business Administration department, Ji-hyuk couldn’t enroll. Nineteen. Leaving Korea like that, he had never returned home a single time since.
So, this time, absolutely. She had to make Seol Ji-hyuk’s footsteps lead home.
With a resolute face, Hong-joo firmly readjusted the shoulder strap of her handbag and nimbly climbed into the passenger seat of Ji-hyuk’s car that the valet had just brought out.
