RB - 78

78. The Unspoken Emptiness of the Heart

As Sung Ho-yeon hurried toward a nearby convenience store, two vehicles screeched to a halt behind him. Detectives burst out like arrows and shouted in unison:

“Professor Sung Hoyeon, stop right there!”

Sung’s face turned pale as he began to run. He had chosen this location precisely because no one knew about it, deliberately picking a blind spot without CCTV. What kind of misfortune was this?

“Catch that bastard!”

Desperate and running for his life, Sung moved faster than expected, but he was no match for the young detectives sprinting at full speed. As the distance between them closed, his legs gave out, and one detective tackled him from behind.

“Aaargh!”

With an ear-piercing scream, Sung collapsed onto the ground. The pursuing officers quickly cuffed his wrists, eliciting another blood-curdling cry.

“Get off me, you bastards! Do you know who I am?”

Sung thrashed wildly, twisting his body, but the detectives ignored his struggles and recited the Miranda rights.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court. You have the right to an attorney…”

From the sedan that followed, Jung-hyuk emerged. His eyes blazing with fury, he barked at Sung.

“Where’s Han Seo-yeon? Tell me, you son of a bitch!”

The detectives restrained Jung-hyuk, pulling him away from Sung. After a moment of kicking wildly in the air, Jung-hyuk regained his composure. Shaking off the officers, he dashed toward the address they had secured earlier and arrived at Sung’s studio apartment in moments.

“Han Seo-yeon!”

Seeing Seo-yeon lying unconscious on the floor, Jung-hyuk sprang into action. Reflexively, he untied the ropes binding her. A suffocating sense of helplessness pressed down on his chest, making it impossible even to curse. An alien sensation coursed through him—his blood felt like it was reversing its flow before bursting forth from the top of his head, sending chills down his spine.

“Seo-yeon, wake up, Han Seo-yeon.”

Warm liquid was seeping from her body. When he raised his hand, bright red blood smeared across it. Jung-hyuk pressed firmly on her head wound, his hands soaked with the thick, warm blood. Trembling violently, he whispered:

“You’ll be fine. Everything’s going to be okay, don’t worry.”

Though he tried to reassure her, it felt more like a spell cast upon himself. She’ll be okay. She has to be.

A faint, fragile voice escaped Seo-yeon’s lips, barely audible.

“…Don’t leave me, Shin Jung-hyuk.”

Jung-hyuk’s temples throbbed, blue veins bulging. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth as he clenched his teeth tightly. Seo-yeon buried her face in his chest, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lulling her into a sense of security. Holding her tightly, he murmured:

“I won’t leave. I’m not going anywhere.”

Seo-yeon let out a long sigh. Jung-hyuk tightened his arms around her slight frame. Her trembling voice, heavy with sorrow, slipped past her lips.

“…I love you. I truly… love you.”

With those words, she lost consciousness, and Jung-hyuk’s heart shattered into pieces. He pressed his forehead against hers, tears welling up uncontrollably. A sob escaped his lips, landing softly on her nose.

A confession he never thought possible spilled forth. If it wasn’t too late, if he still had any worth left…

“I’m sorry I didn’t say this sooner, Han Seo-yeon. I’ve loved you for so long. Not a single moment has changed.”

At that exact moment, when Jung-hyuk’s tears fell heavily onto Seo-yeon’s cheek, the detectives stormed into the basement.

“Miss Han Seo-yeon! Are you alright?”

If the past was stained with regret, the future had to be different. Jung-hyuk resolved to choose Seo-yeon over everything else—even if it meant sacrificing Taesung Group.

Cradling Seo-yeon in his arms, Jung-hyuk stood up. Feeling her faint breath against him, relief at having found her mingled with the despair of possibly losing her again, like paint blending together. Finally, tears he thought would never fall streamed down his face like a storm. Deep sorrow filled his chest completely.

The crimes of Professor Sung Hoyeon, which had shaken South Korea, came to an end just two days after his escape.

---

Seo-yeon was rushed to the emergency room, where medical staff immediately surrounded her. Blood was drawn from her thin arm, and an IV line was swiftly inserted. After checking her pulse and pupil response, the doctor reassured Jung-hyuk: “Her condition isn’t critical.” But how could Jung-hyuk find peace? Soon, Seo-yeon was taken to the operating room.

Jinhyuk, who had rushed to the hospital upon hearing the news, arrived gasping for breath, bent over and struggling to catch his breath. Even so, he immediately asked about Seo-yeon’s condition.

“Huff… puff, how is Miss Han? Is she okay?”

Jung-hyuk pointed toward the operating room, his expression troubled. Jinhyuk steadied his breathing and stared at Jung-hyuk’s face. It was strange—this man, identical to their eldest brother Shin Junhyuk, looked as though he had lost everything, just like him. An unfamiliar emotion rippled through Jinhyuk’s chest.

“The doctor says she’s not in critical condition. She has a stab wound on her thigh and a head abrasion, but they’re stitching her up now. Just calm down and wait.”

Jung-hyuk explained the situation quite kindly, and Jinhyuk suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to comfort him. This feeling must stem from his affection for their eldest brother, Junhyuk—he convinced himself it was just a misunderstanding.

Beep—the operating room door opened. Both Jung-hyuk and Jinhyuk instinctively turned to the doctor. The doctor hesitated, unsure whom to address regarding Seo-yeon’s condition.

After a brief pause, the doctor announced the new information to both of them.

“Miss Han Seo-yeon is pregnant. Based on her blood test results, she is approximately nine weeks along.”

---

By the time darkness deepened in the sky, Jinhyuk and Attorney Jung had arrived at the lobby of Taesung Hospital. The rain that had poured all day had finally stopped, leaving droplets trickling down the building’s windows. Summer monsoon season had officially begun.

The three brothers of the Taesung family—Junhyuk, Jung-hyuk, and Jinhyuk—whose photos graced the headlines, were enough to draw public attention. Their dazzling appearances could easily grace entertainment pages rather than the social section.

As the saying goes, “The more handsome men, the merrier.”

“Oh, this is why being handsome matters. This filthy obsession with looks. Hey, Jinhyuk, are you starting a fan club? Open an Instagram account—you’ll get flooded with DMs.”

Attorney Jung chuckled as he tossed the newspaper toward Jinhyuk, who reflexively caught it. With a look of exasperation, Jinhyuk glared at Jung before glancing at the paper. Though momentarily irritated by the sensational headline, he quickly regained his composure.

“Chairman Shin Taemyeong’s Hidden Birth Secret: An Autistic Child. Will the Principle of Primogeniture Hold?”

Attorney Jung continued to laugh while scrolling through articles about the Shin family online. However, his fingers furiously clicked the “dislike” button, revealing his contradictory behavior. Indeed, Attorney Jung Seungmin was a reliable rogue on their side.

“Jinhyuk, you’re surprisingly composed. You looked like you’d die without Miss Han Seo-yeon.”

“…Without Miss Han, I probably would have. But she’s here now, isn’t she? Miss Han.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Now, all possibilities are gone.”

“A while ago, outside the greenhouse, you asked me why I hadn’t confessed to Miss Han.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“I think I already knew. That my brother exists in Miss Han’s heart. From the start, this contract relationship was meaningless.”

Jinhyek’s unusually transparent confession startled Attorney Jung. Curiosity got the better of him, and knowing this might be a rare opportunity to hear Jinhyuk’s honest thoughts, Jung pressed further.

“So? Have you decided to put an end to this unrequited love?”

Jinhyuk turned to Jung with a bitter smile.

“The day Miss Han was kidnapped, I prayed just for her to live. I told myself that as long as she was breathing under the same sky, I’d be satisfied. I didn’t expect God to answer in this way.”

In that moment, Attorney Jung saw Jinhyuk as a sage who had mastered the ways of human life. Stunned, Jung froze, his mouth agape. Jinhyuk sternly warned, “If you repeat what I said to anyone, I swear I’ll kill you. And our partnership with Gaham Law Firm will be nullified,” before heading to the VIP ward to see his father, Chairman Shin. Today was the day the legal representative would reveal the will.

“Hey, Shin Jinhyuk, come with me.”

Attorney Jung pulled Jinhyuk close, adding:

“If you go into the will-reading alone, it’ll be disastrous. Do you know how much Taesung Group’s market capitalization is?”

“Why do I need to go in with you?”

“I’m the most reliable rogue lawyer on your side. We need to secure your inheritance properly. Let’s use the ‘youngest son advantage’ wisely. I’ll suck every last drop out of Chairman Shin’s marrow.”

In the VIP room, Shin Junhyuk, Jung-hyuk, and the chairman’s legal representative were already present. The silver-haired representative was a senior alumnus of Attorney Jung’s judicial training institute—a seasoned expert in corporate corruption. Jung quickly bowed respectfully and whispered awkwardly to Jinhyuk:

“Phew, sorry. I can’t beat him—he’s older than history itself. A venomous snake, that one.”

Chairman Shin wore an oxygen mask. Everyone could see at a glance that his condition was dire. Though he had survived, the massive blood loss had left him critically ill. Relying on a ventilator to breathe, the doctors advised everyone to prepare for the worst.