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“Please... stop it.”
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and hurriedly walked toward the motel.
“Everyone else might point fingers, but I thought you, at least, would believe in me. I almost fell for your sweet talk of love.”
The disappointment in his voice lingered in her mind, refusing to fade.
After leaving the divorce papers behind for him, how could she possibly return? And even if she did, who knew what Kang-un might do to her?
Caught between doing one thing or another, she was tormented by her helplessness.
But one thing was certain: for his sake, she had to endure even more. That much was undeniable.
Back in her motel room, Sena threw the convenience store bag onto the bed and collapsed onto the floor, crying uncontrollably for a long time.
---
“What do you mean, you can’t reach her?”
Joo-hyuk furrowed his brows in frustration.
Already on edge, his nerves were further strained by Joo-ah’s call from the counseling center early that morning.
[She hasn’t shown up at the center for several days. We thought maybe she was sick...]
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know where Sena is either.”
[What? How can a husband not know where his wife is?]
“I can’t explain the details right now. Anyway, she’s not at home, and she’s not contacting me either.”
[You don’t even know where she went?]
“I don’t. Try contacting her maternal family. That’s all for now.”
Ending the call, Joo-hyuk tossed his phone onto the nearby sofa.
He had assumed Sena would have gone to her aunt’s house or perhaps to her friend Seo-young after leaving home.
Suddenly, an ominous thought crossed his mind.
He picked up his phone again and dialed Sena’s number. But as before, he was met only with the message that the number no longer existed.
He hesitated to call her aunt’s house. What if she wasn’t there, and they didn’t know she had left home intending to get a divorce?
No, that wasn’t the real issue. The bigger question was why she had suddenly acted so impulsively. None of this made sense.
Just as his thoughts deepened, his phone rang again. This time, it was Sena’s aunt, likely prompted by Joo-ah’s call—meaning Sena hadn’t gone to her aunt’s place either.
“Yes, Aunt.”
[Mr. Choi, what do you mean when you say Sena isn’t at home?]
“Well...”
Joo-hyuk briefly explained the events of a few days ago to Sena’s aunt.
Hearing only flustered “No, no” responses, the aunt remained silent even after he finished speaking.
“Aunt?”
[Sena said she absolutely wouldn’t divorce. What’s going on?]
“What?”
[When I got upset and told her to divorce, she adamantly refused, saying she’d never do it. So why did she suddenly leave home?]
She had insisted she wouldn’t divorce?
Then what could have caused such a sudden change in her heart?
“I’ll try to find Sena.”
[What is she thinking? Please, Mr. Choi, find our Sena. Okay?]
“Yes, Aunt.”
After hanging up, Joo-hyuk sat there in a daze.
Until now, he had believed Sena had deceived him—a cunning woman who lured him in like a snake.
Even amidst those thoughts, something had felt off. Why had she left so suddenly? That question wouldn’t leave him alone.
He had no choice but to meet her.
The reason he hadn’t actively searched for her until now was because he thought she’d eventually contact him out of necessity—if she wanted a divorce, she’d need his signature on the papers.
He called Secretary Park.
[Yes, President Choi.]
“I’m no longer the president.”
[Once a president, always a president. Besides, I don’t have another title to address you by.]
“True.”
[What do you need?]
“I need a favor.”
Joo-hyuk asked him to find Sena. He heard Secretary Park take a sharp breath, clearly startled.
[Understood.]
“How long will it take?”
[It’s hard to say—I’ve never done this before. I’ll do my best to find her as quickly as possible.]
“Thank you.”
After ending the call, he suddenly felt even more restless.
He was desperate to understand why she had left him so abruptly.
If Sena’s confession of love hadn’t been a lie, then how foolish had he been to let her go without searching for her?
Suddenly, his stomach churned. Realizing he hadn’t eaten anything but alcohol for days, he shook his head.
This wasn’t the time to wallow in stupidity.
---
In Sena’s absence, Seo-young, who had taken over Misun’s counseling, abruptly stood up, pushing her chair back.
“What did you just say?”
“Some man put Teacher Sena into a car.”
Misun looked up at Seo-young with wide eyes, puzzled.
“I waited outside after arguing with Teacher Sena that day to apologize, but it was too cold. So I went into a café for a cup of coffee and came back out.”
“And then?”
“Into the backseat? You’re saying he lifted her and put her in the car?”
Seo-young realized that what Misun had witnessed was far from ordinary.
No one would lift a conscious person into the backseat of a car—clearly, Sena had been unconscious when she was abducted by some man.
But according to the center director, she had left home voluntarily. Something didn’t add up.
“Do you remember what the man looked like?”
At Seo-young’s question, Misun slowly nodded. After hearing Misun describe the man’s appearance, Seo-young vaguely recalled who it might be.
It was the same man who had come for counseling with Sena on that day.
“Hold on.”
Seo-young stepped outside and asked Joo-ah for the client records. She quickly found the man’s name: Han Kang-un.
She immediately called Joo-hyuk.
[Yes.]
“Are you sure Sena was home Thursday night?”
[Huh?]
“I’m asking if you’re certain.”
[Yes. She was home Thursday night, but when I woke up Friday morning, she was gone.]
Joo-hyuk’s voice was strained with anguish.
“Do you know someone named Han Kang-un?”
[Han Kang-un? How do you...?]
“Do you know him?”
So he did know.
Suddenly, Sena’s previously peaceful life had spiraled into chaos since meeting Choi Joo-hyuk.
From their sudden marriage to strange entanglements involving a media company CEO, and now kidnapping and running away—all arrows pointed back to Joo-hyuk. Naturally, Seo-young deduced that this man, Han Kang-un, must also be connected to him.
“It seems Sena was kidnapped by a man named Han Kang-un that day.”
[Kidnapped…?]
“Yes, one of Sena’s patients happened to witness the scene.”
A moment later, an animalistic howl of despair came through the phone.
---
Executive Director Han Kang-un of JL Group
In the empty office, Joo-hyuk ran his finger over the sleek black nameplate.
As much as he wanted to overturn this luxurious office, he restrained himself. He wanted to handle everything methodically.
He also knew well that beneath its polished exterior, the JL Group was little more than a den of thugs.
“Oh, who do we have here?”
The executive office door swung open, and Kang-un walked in.
Dressed sharply in a suit, he wore an expensive Rolex watch on his wrist.
As one of the key figures behind the growth of the JL Group—rival to Joo-hyuk’s father, Chairman Choi—it seemed his treatment was quite lavish.
“I’ve got something to ask you.”
“Sit down. Bring us two coffees.”
Without asking what Joo-hyuk wanted, Kang-un ordered coffee from his secretary.
Once the secretary left, Kang-un plopped onto the sofa and crossed his legs.
“What is it?”
His gaze was filled with curiosity as he looked at Joo-hyuk.
“I heard you met my wife.”
“Hmm? I thought counseling sessions were confidential.”
“Yeah, I don’t know the details of the session.”
“So?”
“I’m wondering if you met her again after that.”
“Who? Your wife?”
Kang-un gestured with his fingers, clearly relishing the moment.
“What did you say to her?”
“What do you mean, ‘what did I say’?”
“What did you tell her that made Sena leave home?”
“…Hahaha!”
Kang-un burst out laughing. He doubled over, clutching his stomach, and even wiped tears from the corners of his eyes.
“Your wife left home?”
“Don’t play dumb. There’s a witness who saw you kidnap Sena.”
“Oh really?”
Only after hearing about the witness did Kang-un stop laughing and straighten up.
Just then, the secretary returned, placing two steaming cups of coffee on the table before leaving.
“Kidnapping sounds scary, huh? We just had a little chat.”
“What did you talk about?”
Joo-hyuk swallowed hard and repeated his question.
But Kang-un, seemingly unhurried, picked up his coffee cup and sipped leisurely.
“What did you say to her?!”
Finally losing patience, Joo-hyuk shouted. Slamming his fist on the table caused the coffee in his cup to spill over.
“I told her to leave you.”
“...What?”
“That’s exactly what I said. I told her to leave you.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
Joo-hyuk’s voice trembled, deflated like air escaping a balloon.
“I wanted you to lose the most precious thing in your life. That woman thought I was going to kill her, heh heh.”
Kang-un chuckled, recalling the scene with amusement.
“At this moment, when you’ve lost KMS—the company you’ve devoted your life to—I wanted to see you abandoned by the person you love most.”
“What did you threaten her with?”
With trembling hands clenched into fists, Joo-hyuk barely managed to ask.
“What?”
“There’s no way Sena would just leave me without hesitation. What did you threaten her with to make her walk away without a second thought?”
“Maybe she didn’t love you as much as you thought.”
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