Chapter 47: Ghosts of the Past

Ria was the artist of today’s special exhibition. A large banner at Haewon Gallery’s entrance read “[JU-LIA: Capturing Landscapes]” in white cursive on an orange background. Mother looked at me and said.

“You two were close in the States, right? Ria’s staying in Korea for a while, so meet up often and get along.”

“What?”

An alarm blared in my head. Close in the States? My casual stance snapped to attention.

This is bad.

Someone close to the novel’s Choi Seung Hyun would be tricky. Despite rumors, my “memory loss” was officially minor, not affecting daily life. If it slipped at an event with bigwigs that I had no memories before age twenty-five, our company’s stock would plummet.

Worse, Father would never let it slide.

Plus, if Ju Ria was close to the novel’s Seung Hyun, she was likely trouble—a delinquent like Han Sung, whom I’d cut off with effort. The thought made me sigh. Father rubbed his chin.

“Is Ria your age? Or a year older? Either way, impress Chairman Joo. A good image now might lead to a marriage meeting. Show them you’ve changed.”

That sealed it—I had to avoid Ria. First, ditch this bouquet. Smiling awkwardly, I backed away, planning to hand it to a staffer and ask Do Yoon to call me as a distraction.

“I’ll check out the exhibition first.”

Mother stood.

“No, we’re heading out too.”

Father adjusted his clothes and stood. Damn, no time to toss the bouquet and escape.

Then a knock came. Seizing the chance, I rushed to the door.

“Must be a guest!”

I flung it open to slip away.

“…Hello.”

My eyes widened. It was the man from outside my office. Stunned, bouquet in hand, I mumbled.

“Uh… from before…?”

Now in a neat suit, he looked surprised too.

“Young Master… I didn’t expect you here.”

“What?”

He smiled, flustered, then composed himself and approached Father politely.

“President, it’s been a while.”

I turned, shocked. Father greeted him with an uncharacteristically warm smile, arms open for a light hug.

“My goodness, how long’s it been?”

As if he’d expected him. I gaped. Who was he? Mother, beside Father, muttered shakily.

“…How?”

Her face was ghostly pale, like she’d seen a specter. Father answered.

“Got in touch recently. He lives abroad but had business in Korea, so I invited him.”

I’d never seen Mother’s face drain so fast. She collapsed onto the sofa, legs weak. Father sat back down, offering the man a seat and glancing at me, frozen by the door.

“Don’t you remember this man?”

Dread washed over me.

“Not… really?”

“You were so young when you parted, it makes sense.”

The man smiled.

“And I’ve aged a lot.”

“Aged? You look the same, Secretary Noh.”

Secretary Noh?

My head spun like I’d been hit with a brick. He faced me, smiling.

“Noh Jae Sik. Good to see you, Young Master.”

Noh Jae Sik? My biological father?

Instinctively, I looked at Mother. Her white knuckles gripped her handbag, veins bulging. She shakily sipped water. Father, oblivious, bombarded him with questions.

“How long’s it been? Twenty years since you were in Korea?”

“Seventeen, to be exact.”

“You left so suddenly, I was upset. You saved my life, and I couldn’t even repay you properly. Did I ever offend you? I lost sleep over it.”

I nearly scoffed at Father’s crocodile tears. If he cared, he’d have tracked him down. Noh Jae Sik glanced at Mother.

“Family issues back then.”

Father nodded casually.

“What do you do now?”

“Running a small business in Vietnam.”

My throat tightened. It matched what Han Sung told me. I’d agonized over finding Noh Jae Sik but decided it was too risky, given the novel’s Seung Hyun’s murky intentions. Yet here he was, walking into my life.

He handed business cards to Father and Mother politely. Father nodded.

“Secretary Noh, if you need help, just say. I’ll do everything I can.”

“Thank you.”

He smiled faintly, then turned to me.

“You used to follow me everywhere, Young Master. Don’t remember?”

“Haha… guess I was too young. Sorry.”

Under their stares, I forced the most awkward smile. He murmured, disappointed, like at the office.

“Shame.”

His expression unsettled me. Did he really return after seventeen years to see how his son turned out? People don’t change that sentimentally, do they?

What rattled me most was the novel never mentioned this. Likely irrelevant to Ji An’s story, so omitted. Was this a real event, or did he just pop up? In a romance novel, no one cares about a villainous side character’s backstory, but this was too much!

Suppressing nerves, I probed casually.

“Must be tough running a business abroad alone. Or did your family emigrate?”

He looked at me, then gave a self-deprecating smile.

“Haven’t married at my age. No family to burden, thankfully.”

Mother cut in sharply.

“Secretary Noh, sorry, but we need to go. VIPs are coming.”

Father added.

“Can you wait? Important guests today.”

Noh Jae Sik shook his head.

“No, I just came to say hello. I have business later.”

He handed Father a small gift box—probably liquor. Father accepted it, pleased.

“Don’t know how to thank you.”

“No need. You seem busy, so go ahead.”

Father nodded and strode out. The office held just me, Noh Jae Sik, and Mother. My mouth went dry. A tense, uncomfortable air settled. I forgot to breathe. Mother said.

“Seung Hyun, go. Ria’s waiting.”

“And you?”

“I… remembered something to check. I’ll follow.”

Obvious lie. She didn’t tell Noh to leave. Reluctantly, I hugged the useless bouquet like a heavy brick and shuffled out. I was going crazy wondering what they’d say next.