episode_0044

Unlike any other day, I woke up feeling a warm and pleasant sensation in my chest, only to realize the presence of the uncle who shared the same bed with me as we welcomed the morning.

Although it was I who invited the uncle into the room last night and suggested we sleep in the same bed, I couldn’t understand the situation at all.

Why was the uncle trembling in my arms?

Why was my collarbone exposed?

Why was the uncle burying his face in my chest?

Why was I holding onto the uncle tightly as if binding him?

Just last night, we were simply holding hands and thinking about sleeping, but I brought the uncle into the room because I was lonely… I was just scared of being alone…

“I must be crazy for real.”

Even though I felt refreshed when I greeted the morning, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling when I remembered the uncle’s awkward reaction and strange expression.

Unlike me, the uncle sitting at the dining table seemed not only in a bad mood but also somewhat aloof.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, so don’t worry too much. By the way, I didn’t prepare much for breakfast, is that okay?”

Saying so, the uncle nodded his head and showed a small smile. Although I felt relieved to see him acting as usual, the feeling of guilt for serving a simple meal didn’t easily disappear.

“This much is enough for breakfast today. Anyway, I told someone to come here later, so let’s start getting ready.”

After finishing the remaining broth, I nodded to the uncle and started tidying up the table, then returned to the room to prepare to leave.

But I couldn’t understand why the uncle’s grandfather wanted to see me so badly. Even though I was the daughter of a benefactor, we had never met before… Could it be that we had met somewhere before?

Well, I’ll find out once I meet him today. Besides, it’s my first time visiting the uncle’s family home, so I should be prepared to meet not only the grandfather but also other family members.

*

An hour later, I left the house with the neatly dressed uncle and was led by unfamiliar men who came to pick me up to their car, heading towards the uncle’s family home.

Actually, I was surprised to receive such a grand treatment, being told that the limousine brought by those men was for our escort, but when we arrived at the uncle’s family home, I couldn’t help but be amazed to the point where my mouth dropped open.

Although the family home of Jueunhye in my memory also had a large mansion befitting a conglomerate, the more beautiful and spacious garden and the unimaginably large mansion here gave off an exotic feeling that made it hard to believe this was in Korea.

“It’s been a long time, Master Sunwoo. And the lady over there must be Miss Yeui.”

“It’s really been a long time, Mr. Hanjib. How did things go with the request I made before?”

“Well, I was planning to visit Master Sunwoo for that matter… Could you spare some time for me?”

Following the uncle, as we looked around the mansion, he exchanged greetings with the butler who approached us, then signaled me not to intervene and continued their private conversation.

“First, Miss Eunhye is waiting for our chairman, so let me guide you. Please come this way.”

After a brief conversation, the uncle entrusted me to the butler and left for a while, and following the butler, I passed through a long corridor and was finally led to the room where the uncle’s grandfather was waiting.

“Thank you for coming all this way, Eunhye.”

“Oh my, welcome~”

As I entered the room and caught sight of the sturdy, gray-haired man and Mr. Kang Dan-ssi, the gray-haired man who had risen from his seat suddenly approached me and extended his hand for a handshake.

Startled by his sudden gesture, I took a step back, feeling tense since entering the mansion, and the man, seemingly shocked, remained frozen in the same position with his hand outstretched.

Who is this man exactly? Despite his physique, there seems to be a resemblance to Mr. Kang Dan-ssi… Could he be Mr. Kang Dan-ssi’s father?

“Really, I told you to be careful, Grandfather.”

As I looked at the man with a guarded gaze, Mr. Kang Dan-ssi supported him and let out a sigh.

Wait… This man is Mr. Kang Dan-ssi’s grandfather? That can’t be right!

His posture is upright, showing no signs of weakness, and his face, although wrinkled, looks so healthy that you wouldn’t believe he’s in his sixties. What kind of grandfather looks this healthy!

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Jueunhye.”

Seeing a completely different image of Grandfather from what I had imagined in my head, I greeted him stiffly while shaking hands.

“Pleased to meet you… Eunhye, do you not remember this old man?”

“Huh? I think this is the first time I’m meeting Grandfather…”

Grandfather spoke as if we had met before, but no matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn’t recall ever meeting him in Eunhye’s memories.

“Oh my… Ah, Eunhye, it’s understandable that you don’t remember, as it was an incident from your childhood.”

“An incident from my childhood?”

“About 15 years ago, when this old man was stabbed by a criminal with a knife while out for a walk with his granddaughter…”

Grandfather, with a meaningful look in his eyes, chuckled at my stuttering and continued his story slowly.

“The one who found me at that time and asked for help from Yoon Jiseon-ssi, Eunhye’s mother, was you, Eunhye.”

…Huh?

“Oh, Grandfather! How many times do I have to tell you, it wasn’t a girl but a boy who was there at that time?”

“Even this old man thought so, but after meeting Eunhye in person, I am convinced that the child at that time was indeed Eunhye.”

15 years ago… ‘I’ was only 5 years old…?

…Oh my god!?

“Could it be that you were the one who was bleeding and collapsed in the alley that day?”

Carefully asking with a sense of disbelief, Grandfather smiled and enveloped my hand in both of his.

“Indeed… Indeed, it was you who was Eunhye at that time.”

With a proud expression that was hard to put into words, tears welled up in Grandfather’s eyes. Yes, that’s right, such a thing did happen. It was so long ago that I had forgotten about it, chasing after Eunhye’s memories, I had forgotten my own memories.

Could it be that the grandfather who collapsed in the alley that day was Mr. Kang Dan-ssi’s grandfather…?

#

At that moment, Kang Sunwoo carefully examined the materials he had asked a servant, No Sin-sa, to prepare.

The materials provided by No Sin-sa were none other than information about Jueunhye. A while ago, Kang Sunwoo had secretly asked No Sin-sa for these materials.

Feeling guilty about secretly investigating her, Kang Sunwoo wanted to know clearly what had happened to her that day when she returned home in a pitiful state, not wanting to see her like that again.

“Here, the person crossing the street over here is Miss Eunhye.”

Watching the footage obtained by No Sin-sa, Kang Sunwoo followed his wife’s figure with his eyes on the CCTV screen.

Although it was a vague figure, Kang Sunwoo recognized Joo Eunhye in the same outfit as when they first met, and he listened to the words of the sleeping old man while looking at the CCTV footage.

In the next moment, Kang Sunwoo noticed a truck driving on the road. Sure enough, the truck, which was driving at a slow speed, suddenly accelerated when Joo Eunhye was about to cross the road, and started rushing towards her.

Even at a glance, Kang Sunwoo knew that the truck was targeting Joo Eunhye. However, in the video, Joo Eunhye quietly crossed the road as if she hadn’t noticed, bowing her head deeply.

And just before Joo Eunhye was about to be hit by the truck,

Kang Sunwoo caught sight of a young man pushing Joo Eunhye with all his might as he jumped onto the road.

— Screech! Crash!

“…This truck is now wanted, so we should be able to find it soon. And the young man who saved Miss Eunhye was lucky to survive at the time… but he died after being in a coma. The date you mentioned was the day of his funeral.”

‘So, on that day, Eunhye went to the funeral of the man who saved her.’

Thinking of the pitiful appearance of Joo Eunhye returning home covered in bruises, Kang Sunwoo began to understand one by one the actions she had shown that day.

“But… there’s something a bit strange.”

“Strange? What is it?”

“I informed Miss Eunhye’s family about this fact, but unlike her shocked younger brother and mother, her grandparents’ faces darkened, and they remained silent, didn’t they? It seemed as if they already knew everything about this incident.”

And as Kang Sunwoo heard these words, a suspicion began to grow in his mind.

He had heard from Joo Eunhye’s mother that she had been abused in the house because she was an illegitimate child.

Furthermore, he also knew that the perpetrators of this abuse were Joo Eunhye’s grandparents.

‘Could it be… those people did that to Eunhye?’

And as he pondered on these facts, the small doubt turned into certainty, engulfing Kang Sunwoo in anger.