Chapter 75: The Kiss That Changed Everything

“Director Lee Ah-seong…!”

“I’m fine. Just tell me what happened.”

It was as if he was forcing himself to stay upright through sheer stubbornness. The life had already drained from Lee Ah-seong’s face, yet he seemed determined to hold onto consciousness long enough to learn what had happened to his daughter.

“Well… we confirmed that she boarded the plane, but she changed her destination during a layover…”

“To where?!”

“She returned to Korea, stayed for a few days, and then departed for the United States yesterday evening.”

The United States.

The moment Go Ha-jin heard those words, his heart sank.

It seemed Chae Jae-yi was really about to do something reckless. He had told her repeatedly to stay quiet and lie low…

But yesterday evening?

“You mean noona was still in Korea until yesterday?”

“…Yes.”

Apparently Go Ha-jin wasn’t the only one who reached that conclusion. Nobody asked why it mattered. Judging by their expressions, everyone was thinking the same thing.

If Chae Jae-yi had been in Korea when the Art Center incident occurred, then she was also a suspect.

And there were plenty of reasons to suspect her.

She had been removed from the Art Center director position, and her violent temperament had caused problems countless times before.

“Bring that brat back immediately! And make sure nobody outside hears a word about this!”

“Yes, Chairman.”

The circumstances themselves were suspicious.

She had secretly returned to Korea, met with nobody, and left for America immediately after the incident.

Whether she was the culprit or not, there was more than enough reason to investigate her.

Of course, there was something else worrying Go Ha-jin far more.

****

“First, refund all reserved tickets. As for the media, release only a statement saying we’re fully cooperating with the police. Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Looks like you’re busy.”

“Haah… you could say that. It feels like I got caught in an explosion. The place hasn’t even officially opened yet, and there’s already a mountain of cleanup work.”

He had lost count of how many phone calls he had received that day.

People were looking for Go Ha-jin from every direction.

After spending the entire day glued to his phone, his throat hurt and his head throbbed.

“Come with me.”

“W-Where are we going?”

“Just come.”

Chae Woo-seok, who had been quietly watching him all day, suddenly grabbed his arm.

The direction was strange.

Why were they heading toward the front door?

“My phone- !”

“Leave it. Your brain needs a break if you want it to keep working.”

He was completely unreasonable.

Chae Woo-seok shoved Go Ha-jin into the passenger seat of his car before finally letting go.

Then he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

Go Ha-jin was already overwhelmed with work. What was this now?

Even after they left the city and merged onto the highway, he couldn’t relax.

“How far are we going?”

“Don’t know. We’re just driving.”

“…Right.”

Darkness had already settled over the world.

Perhaps because it was a weekday evening, the nearly empty mountain highway felt unusually quiet.

“About Noona…”

“I’ll do whatever I can. I don’t know what she suspects or why she went all the way to America, but we still have options. It’s not completely hopeless, so stop worrying so much.”

While Go Ha-jin had been dealing with the Art Center crisis, Chae Woo-seok had been busy as well.

He had been contacting the real estate tycoon whose identity Go Ha-jin had stolen.

If possible, he intended to prevent any meeting between that person and Chae Jae-yi.

There were other preparations to make too.

When it came to this sort of thing, Chae Woo-seok figured he was better suited than Go Ha-jin.

“And honestly, this isn’t the worst-case scenario. It’s better than not knowing she went to America at all. At least now we have time to prepare.”

“…I guess.”

“So let’s think about that later. Tonight, we’re taking a break.”

Chae Woo-seok lowered the window slightly.

The rush of wind filled the silent car.

It felt as though the noise in Go Ha-jin’s head was being carried away along with it.

Like all those anxious thoughts were being washed clean.

And Chae Woo-seok was right.

Ever since the Art Center incident, Go Ha-jin had barely slept or eaten.

Naturally, he had become increasingly sensitive and exhausted.

This was probably the time to rest and organize his thoughts.

“But seriously, where are we going?”

“I told you. I wasn’t thinking. We left on impulse. How could I have planned a destination?”

“Ah.”

Right.

Chae Woo-seok was still Chae Woo-seok.

Apparently he had grabbed the steering wheel with absolutely no plan whatsoever.

Go Ha-jin couldn’t say he felt completely at ease, but he decided to follow along.

No matter where he was, he wouldn’t have been able to feel truly comfortable anyway.

After driving for quite a while, they left the highway.

Soon they found themselves on what felt like an unpaved road.

The darkness made it oddly unsettling.

A country road with almost no streetlights.

Night stretching endlessly around them.

It would have been stranger not to feel nervous.

“…I didn’t do something wrong, did I?”

“Wrong? You’ve done so many things wrong I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Go Ha-jin had been joking.

Chae Woo-seok answered with a joke of his own.

By the time their pointless banter ended, the car had stopped.

It was dark.

So dark that not a single visible light existed outside.

“Here…?”

“Yeah.”

At first Go Ha-jin couldn’t make sense of it.

Then the window rolled all the way down.

Sounds rushed in.

The roar of waves.

The whisper of wind sweeping through empty space.

His ears recognized the answer before his eyes did.

The ocean.

Beyond the headlights, he could barely make out a stretch of sand and the edge of rolling waves.

The salty scent drifting into his lungs seemed to loosen something that had been lodged in his chest.

“I can’t remember the last time I came to the beach.”

“Same.”

There wasn’t much conversation after that.

There wasn’t even much scenery to look at.

Yet it felt complete.

Maybe this was exactly what Go Ha-jin needed.

A quiet place.

A moment to calm down.

“Want to take a walk?”

“Sure.”

Since they had come all this way, staying in the car felt wasteful.

The moment he stepped out after Chae Woo-seok, a cold gust of wind struck him.

The sea breeze was much colder than anything in the city.

“Damn, it’s freezing.”

He was actually considering getting back into the car when something landed on his shoulders.

“You carry stuff like this around?”

“No idea when I threw it in there. Just wear it. Better than freezing to death.”

It was a thin windbreaker.

Even one extra layer made a difference.

Though it looked ridiculous hanging off his much smaller frame.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“I am. That’s why we’re running.”

“Wait- !”

The instant Go Ha-jin adjusted the jacket, Chae Woo-seok grabbed his hand and took off.

The sandy beach swallowed every step.

Trying to keep up was torture.

“This bastard…”

Then pride kicked in.

‘Why did Chae Woo-seok always do whatever he wanted?’

Go Ha-jin shook off his hand and sprinted ahead.

Fortunately, running was one thing he had always been good at.

In fact, he had made money with that talent before.

As a pickpocket.

“What? Hey! Get back here!”

Even Chae Woo-seok was surprised.

Go Ha-jin darted across the sand like a flying squirrel, changing direction unpredictably.

What started as a joke was becoming a matter of pride.

After all, Chae Woo-seok was a dominant Alpha.

How could he lose to someone that small?

Especially with superior eyesight that made the darkness work in his favor.

And yet…

“Why would I stop when you’re chasing me like a serial killer?!”

A person running for their life wasn’t easy to catch.

“If I catch you, you’re dead. Better keep running.”

Go Ha-jin felt wronged.

Normal couples laughed and flirted at the beach.

Why was he being hunted by a predator?

Eventually he stopped thinking entirely.

He simply ran.

Until his thighs burned.

Until his lungs screamed.

Until his heart felt ready to burst from his chest.

Then suddenly his legs gave out.

“Haa… I can’t… anymore…”

Sweat soaked him.

He collapsed onto the sand and tore off the windbreaker.

He felt completely exhausted.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had run like this.

“Then why run so hard, idiot…”

Chae Woo-seok dropped down beside him.

Neither cared about dirty clothes anymore.

As they caught their breath and exchanged insults, laughter slipped out.

At some point they had forgotten why they started running at all.

“Feel better now?”

“Yeah. While I was running… I didn’t think about anything.”

It was strange.

The murder case.

The Art Center disaster.

Chae Jae-yi.

Everything that had consumed his thoughts felt distant now.

Like events from a long-forgotten past.

“Good.”

“…Huh?”

Go Ha-jin turned toward the calm voice beside him.

“I was worried.”

The darkness had become familiar enough that he could clearly see Chae Woo-seok’s face now.

Oddly enough, more emotions were visible in the dark than under bright lights.

His gaze remained fixed on the sky.

He didn’t look like he was lying.

“About me?”

Finally, Go Ha-jin understood.

The sudden drive.

The beach.

The running.

All of it.

Chae Woo-seok had done it because he was worried about him.

Worried.

The word felt strangely foreign.

“Why? Is that not allowed? We’re married. Business partners too. And we’re basically in this together.”

Chae Woo-seok turned his head toward him.

Their eyes met.

Looking slightly embarrassed, he smiled.

Married.

Partners.

A shared fate.

There were so many ways to define what they were.

The more Go Ha-jin thought about those words, the faster his heart began to pound.

Harder than it had while running.

“So that’s why you were wor- ”

Impulse struck.

He wanted to kiss the lips that had just spoken those words.

And before he could stop himself, he did.

Warmth met warmth.

Hotter than the breath they had been gasping moments earlier.

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