AOA 120

“Mugyeong-ssi?”

I moved to follow Baek Mugyeong with a bad feeling. He was still releasing violent pheromones, but I had no choice except to chase him. I felt like something big would happen if I left him alone.

Sure enough, he was not going upstairs to the second floor. He was at the entrance putting on his shoes.

“Are you going out now? Last time you did this, there was an accident. A truck hit you…”

I could not finish what happened. That day Baek Mugyeong was hit by a truck and died. At dawn I received a call from the police and went to confirm the identity of the man lying in the morgue. I was afraid that the words I said would become reality again.

Whether he knew it or not, Baek Mugyeong shouted loudly without even turning back.

“Don’t come!”

I froze when I tried to follow him just in case. In that short time Baek Mugyeong disappeared.

The wide open front door closed slowly without a sound. I stayed frozen and stared at the closed door, then I muttered quietly.

“Why…?”

Baek Mugyeong did not give an answer.

***

[Me: I am going to meet Vice President Baek Jaehan for dinner]

[Me: I just got a call]

[Me: The place is the Ferofen at the Ludan Hotel]

It was natural for me to report to Baek Mugyeong about who I was meeting and when.

Recently we shared schedules while eating together. But if I could not tell him beforehand, or when a meeting came up suddenly like now, I informed him by message.

It was a familiar action, but I thought this time was a little different. Because today I was going to meet Baek Jaehan.

I expected that if I said I was meeting Baek Jaehan, maybe Baek Mugyeong would call me. But almost an hour passed and the number 1 next to the message did not disappear.

“Really…”

I sat on a library bench and stared at the message window for a long time, then I sighed. That night when he stormed out, Baek Mugyeong had not come home for three days already.

I sent messages asking if he was okay, what was wrong, but he did not reply. More exactly, he did not even read them.

He left them unread.

I could not understand why Baek Mugyeong was so angry. He and I both regressed. But unlike me, who was amazed by the miracle, he exploded with anger.

It was the same as when I last talked with Baek Mugyeong before the regression. At that time too he said incomprehensible things, asking why I did that.

I searched my memory and remembered that he also asked what promise I got from Baek Jaehan. That was why I quickly sent a message, thinking if I said I was meeting Baek Jaehan maybe he would contact me. But contrary to what I thought, Baek Mugyeong showed no reaction.

[Me: Do I have to wait long?]

After struggling for a while I typed the words in the message window. But I could not press the send button. I erased it and rubbed my face instead.

Before and after regression, it was common for Baek Mugyeong not to come home. It was also normal for him not to reply to messages.

I was used to being ignored.

I did not care what Baek Mugyeong did outside. I even thought it was fine if he cheated.

But now it was completely different.

I did not know why he was angry, so I worried restlessly. I wondered if something happened to him.

“You should at least tell me the reason.”

I looked down at my phone and swallowed a sigh of frustration.

I knew that Baek Mugyeong left so that he would not yell at me. But I did not know why he left like that. I felt stifled, anxious, and worried.

I thought about going to DS Motors headquarters to meet him, then I gave up. Because of what happened at Baek Jinseok’s birthday banquet, the group atmosphere was already heavy, so doing something rash would be stupid.

I let out a long sigh and closed the message window.

Now I had to go meet Baek Jaehan.

***

Baek Jaehan’s secretary contacted me around lunchtime. With a very clear voice, the secretary said Baek Jaehan wanted to meet, and asked if dinner today would be okay.

I was in no position to refuse unless something special was going on. So I said yes, and then I sent a message to Baek Mugyeong.

I could not even guess why Baek Jaehan wanted to meet me.

Before regression, I had never met him alone. Greeting him at family events was all.

The ones who tormented me were mainly Im Songyoon and Baek Yeongseop. But Baek Jaehan was not just a bystander either. Every time I had a health checkup every three months, he gave orders for me to be injected with manifestation suppressants.

He was the one who carried out the deadliest attacks from the shadows.

Anyway, before and after regression, this was the first time he called me to have a meal together. I was nervous, wondering what this was about.

The number 1 on the message I sent to Baek Mugyeong not disappearing made me more anxious.

“How have you been lately?”

Facing me across the table, Baek Jaehan asked with a friendly face, sounding ordinary.

“Thanks to you, I have been well.”

The reason I was able to have an arranged marriage with Baek Mugyeong was because Baek Jaehan chose me. So it was not strange to say it was thanks to him.

After the short greeting, food came out. The menu was Japanese. Originally the dishes came out as a course, but maybe because Baek Jaehan specially ordered, all the food was placed on the table together. From the refreshing appetizers to warm porridge, assorted sashimi, and sushi.

I put sushi in my mouth first, bracing myself for indigestion. It felt like chewing sand, but I tried my best not to let it show on my face.

Unlike me, who only picked at the food, Baek Jaehan ate aggressively. While eating, he also led the conversation.

“You’re the one who told the bodyguard to search him, right? Who would have known that bastard came with a knife. Thanks to that, the worst was avoided. Father praised you too.”

Baek Jaehan cursed Baek Gyeongbin. As expected, when they tried to search him, Baek Gyeongbin resisted and pulled out the knife he had hidden in his clothes, causing a commotion. Baek Jaehan gnashed his teeth, saying someone who hid a weapon and came there was not even blood.

The topic of conversation changed quickly. Baek Jaehan asked how I was doing, then he said he was curious about how things were between me and Baek Mugyeong. Then, he brought up the real subject.

“I heard from Yeongseop that Mugyeong wants to go back to America. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“Would it still be the same now? Not long ago the Chairman publicly said he would give a big gift if a child is born, remember?”

Baek Jaehan really was Baek Yeongseop’s father. His question was so blatant.

I looked at the burning gaze in his eyes and quietly swallowed a sigh. There was no need to lie here, but I still had to be careful.

“We fought before we could talk properly… so I don’t know either.”

“So that’s why you fought.”

Baek Jaehan interpreted it however he wanted. I did not say no, but I blurred my words, saying it was not only because of that. At times like this it was better to let Baek Jaehan misunderstand.

Maybe because he felt good, Baek Jaehan pretended to worry, saying Mugyeong had no ambition and that Chairman Jeong would not like it.

His fake act made me feel sick, like I was looking at my birth father. But I could not suddenly stand up and leave, so I stiffened my expression and endured.

“Do you have anything else you want to ask?”

It did not seem likely that Baek Jaehan came in person just for this kind of thing. More than anything, I did not want to keep looking at his face, so I asked directly.

Sure enough, Baek Jaehan took the bait right away.

“I wanted to confirm something.”

“Yes.”

When I responded actively, Baek Jaehan smiled with a friendly face.

“I heard you’ve been going to counseling lately? Ah, it’s not like I personally investigated, word just reached me. There must be someone checking into it. So, why counseling? Is Mugyeong making things hard for you?”

Even though I had been anxious, waiting to see what he would ask, for a moment I lost my words. The fact that he lied so calmly, saying he had not investigated, was terrifying.

I thought Baek Jaehan must already know exactly what I had been doing, so why was he asking this.

“As you already know, I lived away from my parents for a long time. Because of that I sometimes… well, I get sensitive.”

Baek Jaehan should know that after I went missing as a child I lived under another name. I spoke in a roundabout way, saying I had a bad relationship with my family. Baek Jaehan laughed again.

“Hahaha. In life, families clash sometimes. What’s the big deal. But you know, Mugyeong also got counseling. In America. They guard patient privacy strictly there. No flexibility. Maybe you know something?”

It was a direct question, without going around it, he was asking if I knew Mugyeong’s weakness. It was certain that he wanted to attack Mugyeong somehow.

It did not seem like Baek Jaehan thought I would lie. Since he and my birth father had arranged the marriage, it made sense he trusted that.

Strictly speaking, I was in a position where I should follow his orders. Normally I should have said everything I knew.

Probably before regression, I would have told him everything, whether I knew it or not. But now it was different.

I did not know exactly what kind of counseling Baek Mugyeong got. Of course I could guess, but I was not stupid enough to tell Baek Jaehan that.

“I don’t know anything about that. I’m sorry.”

Honestly, I wanted to laugh in Baek Jaehan’s face for thinking everything in his own way, but I held back. Instead I lowered my eyes, acting like I was sorry for having nothing to say.

“Ha, I was expecting something. If you got married, you should have found out as much as possible.”

Baek Jaehan furrowed his brows deeply and showed his disappointment openly. He poured out criticism, calling me incompetent. I stayed silent and kept my mouth shut.