Chapter 07
Delusional Cove
The discharge procedures had finally been completed. After stepping outside the hospital for the first time in a while and feeling the sunlight on his skin, Sa-heon gazed indifferently at the scenery passing by outside the car window.
“I’ll take you home.”
Chief Secretary Choi reported respectfully. Ji-an, seated in the passenger seat, watched Sa-heon through the rearview mirror before asking,
“Director, is there anything you need?”
“Could you come sit beside me, honey? My head hurts, and I want to lean against you for a while.”
“I’ll pass.”
When Sa-heon playfully tapped the seat beside him and asked, Ji-an’s eyes narrowed sharply in the rearview mirror. Sa-heon’s expression, which had remained blank the entire time, curved into a crescent-eyed smile.
“Wow, you’re scary.”
Ji-an didn’t respond. She lowered her prim gaze to the tablet PC, while Sa-heon’s amused eyes lingered for a moment on the back of her round head.
There was no need to ask what she was thinking.
She was probably cursing him in her head, wondering what kind of lunatic kept hitting on her at every opportunity.
The fact that he didn’t even mind being treated like a lunatic probably meant he really was one.
When he had first opened his eyes in the hospital room, the moment his gaze met Ji-an’s, a bolt of indescribable emotion had swept through him.
For an instant, he’d even thought that it was fortunate he was the one who had been injured instead of her.
Why had he felt that way?
There shouldn’t have been room in his life for something as leisurely as a woman.
Even though he now knew that she had merely been his secretary, the presence of this woman still dominated his thoughts, leaving him confused.
Sa-heon sank deeper into his seat and stared out the car window.
The ride in the back seat seemed even smoother than he remembered, while the way people dressed and even the street signs looked strangely familiar yet different.
Twelve years.
For the first time, the twelve years he had lost to his amnesia truly felt real.
After being diagnosed with memory loss, Sa-heon hadn’t been particularly curious about how he’d lived all those years.
His goal had obviously been the same.
He must have charged forward like a madman, cutting down anyone who got in his way and tearing apart anything that blocked his path.
But now, for the first time, something had made him curious.
It was something no one could answer for him—something only the Sa-heon from before he lost his memories could possibly know. That made his curiosity even stronger.
Sa-heon’s gaze returned to Ji-an.
Her hair looked as though it would be soft to the touch, her shoulders were slender, and even her eyes held a surprising firmness.
I must have had feelings for that woman.
He wondered whether he’d simply wanted to sleep with her once, or whether his feelings had actually been far more serious than that.
He couldn’t tell what exactly this reckless attraction he felt toward her was.
Sa-heon covered the faintly curving corners of his mouth with one hand and shifted his gaze back beyond the car window.
Just meeting her eyes was enough to make something below his waist ache, yet considering that they hadn’t even been lovers—or even people who had spent a single night together—it seemed his thirty-something self had been quite the restrained man.
He’d thought he’d lived a boring life, but apparently he’d been hiding some interesting thoughts of his own.
Sa-heon stared quietly out the window before habitually slipping a hand into his trouser pocket. He tilted his head and asked,
“Did I smoke?”
Chief Secretary Choi flinched slightly before answering.
“Ah, yes. You used to smoke, but it’s been about six months since you quit.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Sa-heon take his hand out of his pocket. He clenched and unclenched his fist as though something felt missing. Chief Secretary Choi, gripping the steering wheel, hesitated before asking,
“Do you need a cigarette?”
“No. If it’s been six months, I must have put in quite a bit of effort. I’ll endure it.”
“Director.”
Ji-an, who had been stealing glances at him from the passenger seat, rummaged through her bag for quite some time before handing him something.
“Have this, at least.”
Wondering what she was giving him, Sa-heon found a yellow candy in his palm. He stared quietly at the lemon-flavored candy resting in his hand.
“Thank you, honey.”
Perhaps she’d grown accustomed to being called honey, because Ji-an merely kept a composed expression and pretended not to hear him. Sa-heon chuckled, peeled off the transparent wrapper, and popped the candy into his mouth. A sweet and refreshing flavor spread across his tongue.
Yesterday, it had been an orange, and today, a lemon.
Why was everything she gave him so sweet and refreshing?
It made him curious whether other things about her would be sweet as well.
Sa-heon crushed the candy between his teeth and swallowed it, letting out a self-mocking laugh.
Meanwhile, the car left the bustling downtown area and entered a quiet residential neighborhood. When they arrived at the entrance of a luxurious villa complex surrounded by high walls and thick trees, a security guard checked the vehicle’s license plate before opening the gate.
“Is this where I used to live?”
Sa-heon stepped out of the car and looked around.
“Yes. You purchased this place a year ago.”
Chief Secretary Choi tapped a card key against the large front gate before entering the password as well.
“The security here is very thorough, so you were particularly pleased with it. As you know, you don’t like crowded places.”
“As you know…”
Sa-heon slipped one hand into his pocket and gave a faint chuckle.
“What do I know?”
When the gate opened, a spacious garden spread out before them. The neatly trimmed lawn and carefully landscaped trees made it immediately obvious that the grounds were meticulously maintained.
“Not bad.”
Meanwhile, Ji-an, who had been watching Sa-heon closely, was inwardly surprised by how unimpressed he seemed.
This was also Ji-an’s first time entering his home, so she had to carefully maintain a calm expression and pretend it was nothing special.
The mansion was even more luxurious than she’d imagined.
Then again, he’d probably spent his entire life experiencing only the best of everything. It was only natural that something like this wouldn’t surprise him. Thinking about it, his family’s main residence must have been even more impressive.
When they opened the front door and stepped inside, a sleek, uncluttered modern interior unfolded before them. Chief Secretary Choi politely gestured toward the dining room in the distance.
“I’ve organized the ingredients in the refrigerator. A housekeeper will be coming tomorrow morning as well. If there’s anything else you need…”
“That’s enough.”
Sa-heon raised a hand and cut him off.
“This is already more than enough. You two should go home as well.”
“Ah, yes. And, Director.”
Chief Secretary Choi took a smartphone from his inner pocket and handed it to him.
“This is the phone you were using. We’ve restored everything on it. We’ve also completed the necessary security checks, just in case.”
Sa-heon stared down at the smartphone, idly running his fingers over the screen. It had probably advanced considerably compared to the kind of device he remembered.
“Understood.”
After looking it over without much interest, Sa-heon slipped the phone into his pocket.
Ji-an, who had remained quiet the entire time, spoke in a concerned voice.
“Director, you’re still not completely recovered, so please don’t push yourself. If anything happens, contact me immediately.”
“Don’t worry. I even kept your business card in case I lost your contact information.”
Ji-an flinched when she remembered that Sa-heon had taken her business card.
“Ah, yes.”
“Good work today.”
His smile was suspiciously charming. Something about it made Ji-an uneasy, but she forced herself to smile and bowed at the waist.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After work, Ji-an’s daily routine was usually much the same.
The moment she opened the front door and took off her shoes, she tossed her bag aside and collapsed onto the sofa.
“Good work today, too…”
On days when she worked overtime, she ate dinner at the company cafeteria. Otherwise, she’d make something simple for herself. Today, she’d bought a sandwich on the way home.
She didn’t even feel like moving her fingers, so she lay there with a groan. Just when the urge to fall asleep exactly as she was began to overwhelm her, she finally forced herself to get up.
“I don’t even have an appetite.”
Still, everything she did was ultimately so she could make a living, so she had to eat.
Muttering to herself, Ji-an took the sandwich she’d casually placed on the table, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into her mouth.
After finishing her meal, she took a warm shower and dried her hair. She carefully applied the fragrant body lotion she’d received from her friends as a birthday present to her arms and legs. Then she changed into her pajamas and dove into bed, unable to stop herself from smiling.
“Ahhh, this feels so good.”
Ji-an hugged the fluffy blanket that had been washed only recently and still carried the pleasant scent of fabric softener, then turned on her phone.
Before falling asleep, her favorite moment of the day was lying beneath the warm, cozy blanket and seeing what was happening inside this tiny, rectangular world.
And if she happened to drift off while doing so, there was nothing better.
“Haha…”
Ji-an was mindlessly laughing as she watched short videos that changed every thirty seconds. Just as her eyes began to droop, her phone suddenly vibrated with an unpleasant buzz.
[Director Lee Sa-heon]
The moment Ji-an saw the name displayed on the screen, she shot upright.
Before pressing the call button, she instinctively checked the time shown on her phone.
11:45 p.m.
There were generally no good things that came from receiving a phone call at this hour.
“Yes! Director.”
—Ah, honey. Were you sleeping?
The fact that he called her honey was one thing, but for someone calling this late at night, he sounded far too shameless. He sounded almost as though he were simply asking whether she’d been taking an afternoon nap.
More importantly…
Was he outside?
There was a commotion of some sort coming from beyond the phone.
“Ah, no! Is something wrong?”
—Ah, well…
What could possibly have happened in the middle of the night?
Ji-an pressed the phone even closer to her ear and swallowed nervously.
Sa-heon continued in his calm voice.
—I’m at the police substation in front of my house right now.
“What? What did you say, Director? Where are you? The police station?”
—There was a minor attack.
A minor attack?
The word attack was so unfamiliar that Ji-an’s thoughts momentarily froze.
And for good reason.
For an ordinary person, saying, I was attacked by someone, was something so far removed from everyday life that they might never experience such a thing even once in their entire lifetime.
Could Vice President Lee Jae-kwon have done this?
Ji-an hesitated for only a moment before coming back to her senses and urgently asking,
“Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Hmm…”
Sa-heon let out a low sigh.
“That’s why I was thinking…”
His voice carried a hint of laughter.
—My honey should come pick me up.
