Chapter 12: Just One Floor Down

Step, step, step. Leehyun climbed the stairs in his mind with his eyes closed.
He liked the act of stepping up the stairs without a single thought. Aside from when he was with Seohee, it was the only moment he could erase his worries.

Climbing up those stairs revealed a vast expanse of lawn. At an average adult’s walking pace, it took about five minutes to reach this point. For a well-built man, three minutes.

The house, which required walking up a long flight of high stairs to reach, was a detached single-story building.

Built with large floor-to-ceiling windows, the mansion was structured with a main house, an annex, and other small adjoining buildings, boasting a square footage so substantial it couldn’t be captured in a single glance.

Among them, the main house was located furthest inside. It was a peculiar layout that naturally led first-time visitors straight to the annex.

With long strides, the time it took a tall man to reach the entrance of the main house was approximately three minutes. Unable to shake his old habit, Leehyun traced the mansion’s layout with his eyes closed and timed it.

Considering the round-trip time, what Seung-ho said was accurate.

“Three minutes.”

It was a short time, barely enough to exchange a few words.

Pushing up his eyelids, Leehyun stroked his lower lip with his index finger.

And that was only possible if Seohee had opened the door immediately. On the day he left, there had been not a single employee in the mansion, so she must have come out herself. Leehyun surmised.

“Seohee.”

What did Yoon Jihoon say? Hmm? What happened to you?

Leehyun asked, lightly stroking Seohee’s cheek as her long eyelashes fluttered.

Did he threaten you to drag me down? Leehyun’s face darkened as he looked at Seohee. But why bother targeting Seohee? The question trailed off endlessly.

What pretext could he have to threaten Seohee, and what could he gain through her? At the time, no one would have thought I was blindly obsessed with Seohee.

His pitch-black pupils froze over.

“If there’s footage of Yoon Jihoon leaving, it means the CCTV was operating normally until then.”

The decisive reason they couldn’t find Seohee’s whereabouts immediately was that all the CCTVs had been cut off. As if someone had planned it, all CCTV communications in front of the mansion, its surroundings, and even within a 3km radius were paralyzed. Leehyun did not believe the explanation that it was a hack.

“That is correct, sir. From two hours after Yoon Jihoon left the mansion until nightfall, all nearby CCTV footage was wiped out.”

The Republic of Korea’s traffic control center was not that sloppy, and it wasn’t Europe or some other country—how could this make any sense? Thick veins bulged on Leehyun’s arm.

Normally, external vehicles were not allowed to park near the mansion where they lived. Even so, it was suspicious that not a single illegally parked vehicle was seen loitering anywhere except at the mansion’s entrance.

Someone definitely orchestrated this deliberately. Leehyun was certain.

What are you thinking, Yoon Jihoon?

Then, Leehyun suddenly threw a glance at Seung-ho.

“Isn’t the elevator to the VIP ward restricted?”

When Leehyun ordered the entire floor cleared, he had also prohibited the use of the elevator that came directly to the VIP ward. Under the chilling aura, Seung-ho couldn’t meet his eyes and quietly spoke.

“He used the regular elevator to come up to just below the VIP ward, and then used the emergency stairs.”

Seung-ho recited the report he received from the CCTV footage without missing a detail. When going down, he didn’t use the elevator and walked down the stairs all the way.

“It seems it will be difficult to block outside access without completely locking down the hospital, sir.”

Leehyun hated commotions. Information exposed to the outside operated strictly under his calculations, and exceptions were not tolerated.

Therefore, Seung-ho couldn’t help but mention the possibility of noise if they locked down the entire hospital.

Leehyun silently sat up and gently rubbed between Seohee’s brows. Then, he softly smoothed back her messily scattered baby hairs.

“Seohee.”

Shall I take over this entire hospital just for you, hmm? Leehyun whispered sweetly. Just say the word. Then I will clear out every single ant so that not even one can wander around.

At Leehyun’s intensity, Seung-ho quietly stepped back.

***

Lee Joo-yeop. The Deputy Director of Gayun Hospital visited Gayun Foundation. It was around the time the sun was slowly setting.

“Is Director Song Yoosun here?”

When he asked, the secretary with her long hair rolled up calmly checked the schedule and looked up.

“Do you have a prior appointment?”

No matter how she searched, there was no scheduled appointment, so when the secretary made an awkward expression, Joo-yeop puffed out his chest and spoke confidently.

“If you tell her the Deputy Director of Gayun Hospital is here, she will know.”

“……But.”

While the secretary hesitated, Secretary Park came out of the director’s office and bowed his head.

“Deputy Director Lee Joo-yeop.”

“May I go in?”

At Joo-yeop’s question, Secretary Park opened the door as if he had been waiting. With a click, the door closed, and Joo-yeop stepped into the director’s office.

The director’s office, with more than half of its area made of large floor-to-ceiling windows, was neat yet luxurious. Expensive ceramics and sculptures were sensibly placed throughout.

Joo-yeop’s eyes were briefly stolen by the sunset visible through the large windows.

Yoosun knew Joo-yeop had arrived, yet she did not stand up. Without even offering a light greeting, she indifferently flipped through a catalog.

Pfft. Swallowing a laugh, Joo-yeop walked toward her as if accustomed to this.

“I greet the Chairperson of Gayun Hospital.”

Unlike his earlier attitude, as he bowed his head respectfully, Yoosun tilted her head up obliquely.

“What brings the Deputy Director here?”

“I came to give you an answer.”

At Joo-yeop’s reply, Yoosun wore a smile on her red lips, interlaced her fingers, and placed them on the desk.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“I was just worrying that it was getting too late and I might have to find someone else.”

Unlike her warm voice that felt like a spring breeze, Yoosun’s words were merciless. She was subtly implying that it didn’t matter if it wasn’t him, as there were plenty of puppets available.

For a moment, Joo-yeop’s face stiffened, but he let it slide, as if he were used to it.

“They are using the entire VIP ward. The patient information was as clean as if it had never existed from the start.”

It meant there were absolutely no chart records. Yoosun furrowed her brow as if unsatisfied.

“You crawled all the way here with just that kind of information, Deputy Director?”

Acting like you can secure a position with information devoid of any substance. Yoosun bit her lower lip firmly.

“Would that really be all?”

Joo-yeop smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth.

“There is no major external trauma. She isn’t hooked up to an IV, nor are there any signs of CT or MRI scans. However…”

As Joo-yeop paused, Yoosun’s eyes glared fiercely.

“However?”

She bit down on the end of Joo-yeop’s sentence with annoyance.

“It seems she received an OB/GYN consultation.”

“What did you say?”

Yoosun froze in shock. OB/GYN? Does this mean Jin Seohee is carrying Yoon Leehyun’s child right now?

“Are you saying Jin Seohee is pregnant right now?”

Unable to hold back, Yoosun asked again. At that, Joo-yeop let out a slow sigh.

“I cannot be certain of that.”

Finding out this much was already a lot. That is how immense Yoon Leehyun’s grip on Gayun Hospital is. As Joo-yeop spoke awkwardly, Yoosun bit her lip hard with her upper teeth.

OB/GYN. OB/GYN. She had to separate Jin Seohee from Yoon Leehyun by any means necessary. To do that, she needed to create an opening where she would be left alone, but she couldn’t think of a way.

Yoosun gripped the golf ball tightly and didn’t speak for a while, lost in thought. Joo-yeop watched her quietly and waited.

How much time had passed?

“The OB/GYN is on the 5th floor, isn’t it?”

Despite knowing the layout of Gayun Hospital better than anyone, Yoosun asked Joo-yeop as if to confirm. He nodded as if he had been waiting for the question. With his eyes cast down, Joo-yeop observed Yoosun’s expression without missing a beat, but Yoosun was too preoccupied to notice.

“Yes.”

As Joo-yeop answered, Yoosun rolled the golf ball in her hand.

5th floor. If she received an OB/GYN consultation, and if by chance she is pregnant, wouldn’t she need at least one more consultation?

Perhaps Jin Seohee being admitted to Gayun Hospital was an opportunity. An unrepeatable chance to lock her away forever.

But how do I bring her? Yoon Leehyun’s dogs were everywhere.

‘I just need her to come down one floor.’

The problem was that without the keycard, the elevator wouldn’t move to the 4th floor. Moreover, if she had bodyguards with her, the situation would escalate.

What should I do? Yoosun rolled the golf ball across the desk, roll, roll.

“First, find out the day Jin Seohee will have her OB/GYN consultation.”

“And then?”

As Joo-yeop asked what to do next, Yoosun stopped rolling the golf ball.

“When she gets off at the 5th floor, take the elevator immediately and—”

Muttering ‘Card,’ Yoosun abruptly cut off her sentence.

She had almost offered to give him the keycard to bring Jin Seohee to the 4th floor.

She couldn’t give the only remaining keycard to just anyone.

“Seohee”, Yoosun chewed on her name internally and tucked her hair behind her ear.