SS - 43

Chills ran down her spine as she stared, frozen, at his despicable face.

His fingers lightly brushed over her chest before dropping away.

“I’ll make sure you can’t walk back to him on your own.”

Only then did Sena realize why Kang-un wasn’t touching her now. If she didn’t comply and break up with Joo-hyuk as he demanded, he intended to take her later—after thoroughly destroying her to the point where she would never dare return to Joo-hyuk.

The terror that had gripped her when she fled home 12 years ago came rushing back. She couldn’t believe the same nightmare was unfolding again.

How could this be happening? After everything I’ve done to protect myself… after all the ways I’ve lived just to survive… How?!

She remembered that day vividly—the day Jicheol’s hand had landed on her shoulder while she sat at her desk doing homework. 

Her room had been left in shambles as she barely managed to escape him, running barefoot through the rain. 

She had tripped over a rock in the garden along the way but quickly got up, opened the gate, and fled outside.

“Kang Sena!”

Hearing Jicheol call out to her from behind only made her run faster, her heart pounding with the overwhelming fear of never returning to that house.

“What are you going to do?”

Lost in the memory, consumed by fear, Sena was abruptly brought back to reality by Kang-un’s voice.

“Why are you going this far?”

“I already told you—it’s revenge.”

“But why like this...?”

“Or should I just kill that bastard instead? Is that what you want?”

No, no.

Without realizing it, Sena shook her head violently.

Tears streamed down her face, scattering in every direction.

“…Fine. I’ll break up with Joo-hyuk. That’s all you want, right?”

“You must never go back to Choi Joo-hyuk.”

“Then how am I supposed to live?”

“Do I really need to spell it out for you? Trust me, you won’t like the help I’d offer.”

He was right—she needed to seek help from someone else, not him.

Sena bit her lip in frustration at her own foolishness, wincing as the pain from her split skin furrowed her brow.

“Alright, time to go home. Showtime, Teacher.”

Kang-un tossed her bag onto the floor.

Unable to straighten her back fully due to the beating, she hunched over, picked up her bag, and fled the building as fast as she could.

Thankfully, no one pursued her. In the middle of the construction site, a black car—likely Kang-un’s—was parked nearby.

She hurriedly walked and walked until she reached a main road, her pace quickening with the fear that Kang-un might change his mind and come back for her.

After walking for what felt like an eternity, the construction site finally disappeared from view, and a busy road emerged. Spotting a passing taxi, she flagged it down and climbed inside.

Through the rearview mirror, she caught a glimpse of her reflection—bruised, bloody, and streaked with tears.

“Joo-hyuk… Hic…”

She had vowed never to leave him, but who could have predicted her resolve would crumble like this?

Yet, there was no other choice.

Just like 12 years ago, she had to protect herself—and now, she also had to protect Joo-hyuk, whom she loved so deeply.

“Miss? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

The taxi driver’s concerned voice pulled her back. She shook her head and assured him she was fine.

When the tears finally stopped, she wiped her face roughly with her sleeve.

The snow that had been falling heavily had begun to melt, leaving dirty slush underfoot that crunched unpleasantly beneath the car’s tires.

It was nearly 11 p.m., yet the house was empty. The maid wasn’t scheduled to come that day, so Sena returned to a cold, dark home.

She changed out of her clothes hastily and went into the bathroom.

Her reflection in the mirror was a mess—not just her face, but bruises covered various parts of her body. Thankfully, her vital areas seemed unharmed, allowing her to move more freely than before.

As she sank into the bathtub, the tension finally began to ease.

“What is this? Why is this happening to me? Huh?”

That night, 12 years ago, she had fled blindly in the rain and taken a taxi to her aunt’s house.

With no money to pay the fare, she begged the driver to wait while she knocked on her aunt’s gate. Her aunt, startled by the sight of Sena drenched in rain and barefoot, bombarded her with questions.

After sending the taxi away, Sena entered the house. Her aunt and uncle offered her a warm drink and a blanket, and she curled up in the living room, trembling as she tried to calm herself.

“What happened? Tell me.”

“Auntie...”

“Yes, tell me.”

“Can I live here with you?”

“Huh?”

“...Would that be okay?”

Looking back now, what else could her aunt have said?

Her niece, barefoot and fleeing her home, was asking to stay. And not just any niece—her late sister’s daughter.

Instead of answering, her aunt’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Do you want to stay here?”

Her uncle asked gently, patting her head.

She nodded.

Please, please let me stay here.

Though she hadn’t believed in anything moments ago, she prayed desperately to every god that might exist.

“Alright, you can stay. Live with us.”

As soon as her uncle spoke those words, Sena pulled the blanket over her head and collapsed onto the floor, sobbing.

“Tell me what happened. Did your father hit you? Or was it that fox-like woman?”

Her aunt’s furious questions rained down on her, but Sena couldn’t bring herself to answer.

If she had been beaten by her father—or even her stepmother—she wouldn’t have run away from home. Though harsh words had been exchanged, neither of them had ever laid a hand on her. She had never feared physical violence from them.

But on that evening, when both of them were absent from the house, Sena faced a fear she had never known before.

After that day, she began living with her aunt. However, her father, Kang Dae-pyo, hadn’t even realized she was missing until her aunt called him the next day to inform him of her situation.

She buried the incident with Jicheol deep inside her. Until her concerned aunt took her to a youth counseling center, she didn’t speak a word of it to anyone, as she rarely opened up about anything.

And now, today, that same fear had returned to haunt her.

She needed to know when Joo-hyuk would return, so she called him—but the call went straight to voicemail every time.

“Why aren’t you picking up…?”

Never before had he been so unreachable, and Sena’s frustration mounted with each failed attempt.

It almost seemed like fate was conspiring to give them the perfect excuse to break up.

“I don’t care what time it is—you should be home by now. At least answer your phone. Call me back as soon as you see this.”

She deliberately sent the message laced with irritation.

Carefully covering the bruises on her eyes and cheeks with makeup, she turned off the living room lights and sat down on the sofa.

Tears welled up again, and she hastily grabbed a tissue to dab at her eyes, careful not to smudge her makeup. She couldn’t let Joo-hyuk see any of this.

How long had she waited there in the dark? It felt like an eternity. Finally, his reply arrived.

---

After sending the message to Sena, Joo-hyuk slipped his phone back into his pocket and took a deep breath.

Though her irritated tone lingered in his mind, she wasn’t his priority at the moment.

He had intended to meet with his father to discuss things, only to find the Prosecutor General sitting there instead.

Pushing open the sliding door, he saw Chairman Choi and the Prosecutor General seated across from each other at a table laden with premium sashimi and expensive sake. Empty bottles littered the table, evidence of their indulgence.

“Excuse me. I just stepped out to make a call home…”

“Haha, newlyweds, eh? That’s how it should be!”

The Prosecutor General laughed heartily and beckoned Joo-hyuk over with a flick of his hand.

Joo-hyuk slowly walked over and took a seat beside Chairman Choi.

“Don’t worry too much, Mr. Choi and I were just saying. Everything will work out fine. The investigation is all just procedural, nothing serious.”

Joo-hyuk didn’t bother responding.

There was nothing to worry about in the first place.

He couldn’t fathom why his father was secretly meeting with the Prosecutor General behind closed doors to smooth over the case, especially since the investigation had already begun. As much as he wanted to storm out of the room, he couldn’t afford to disrespect the Prosecutor General directly.

“My ties with our esteemed Prosecutor General run deep. If we can get through this smoothly, who knows? Perhaps his next position might be in the Blue House, hmm?”

“Oh, come now, Chairman Choi! Do I really look like someone capable of such a role?”

The two clinked glasses, exchanging insincere pleasantries.

“If KMS can overcome this hurdle, it’ll grow even bigger. Growing pains, you know.”

“You’ve raised remarkable sons—one in politics, one in media. Such perfectly harmonized brothers! Truly, I have much to learn from you, Chairman.”

Joo-hyuk’s eyebrows twitched at their conversation.

The Prosecutor General was gravely mistaken. KMS was purely a media company with no ties to politics. What on earth was this talk?

“In the future, I’ll need your continued support, Mr. Choi.”

The Prosecutor General poured sake into Joo-hyuk’s glass as he spoke.

“It seems there’s been some misunderstanding, Prosecutor General.”

“Misunderstanding?”

The warmth in the room suddenly chilled at Joo-hyuk’s words.

“KMS has absolutely no connections to politics. No matter how hard the prosecution tries to dig up dirt during this investigation, they won’t find a single thing.”

“Haha! Have I offended your pride, Mr. Choi?”

“I’m merely stating the facts.”

“Mr. Choi, perhaps you’re still inexperienced in these matters. Let me clarify something: I have the power to fabricate charges where none exist. A simple tweak of a word or phrase could completely destroy you.”

A cold sweat trickled down Joo-hyuk’s spine.