“…That way I can keep you longer.”
Jimin's voice was low, quiet, and so honest.
Sohee barely managed to pull her arm out of his grasp, her breath caught in her throat.
“Are you crazy?”
He didn't answer. Instead, he stood up quietly, not even smiling.
He just kept looking at Sohee with deep eyes.
“Okay, good night. I have to get up early tomorrow.”
The door closed, and only silence remained in the room.
Sohee stood there for a long time without saying anything.
I couldn't figure out what the word 'catch' meant...
'Why on earth... are you being so nice to me... even though you're the son of the organization that killed my parents... why...?'
***
The next day
Jimin had been talking on the phone since morning.
Sohee looked at him from afar and organized the documents.
The call was short and sharp.
“…If the contact point had changed, they should have notified us first.
“Are you guys trying to screw us over on purpose?”
Jimin hung up the phone, pressed his hand to his temple, and frowned.
The expression was unfamiliar. It was an expression Sohee had never seen before.
“...What's wrong? Is there something I can do...”
Sohee asked cautiously.
He answered.
"Hwayang's side has interfered again. It seems they've deliberately changed the internal funding channels."
Sohee froze at the word ‘Hwayang.’
The word was the name of hell that had been engraved in her brain for a long time.
“… Hwa...yang?”
“Yeah. You know that organization.”
Sohee turned her head.
I didn't want to hear that name from his mouth.
Jimin looked at Sohee for a while and then spoke quietly.
“Is everything you know true?”
“...What did you say?”
“Just. You were so young back then, I don’t know who really helped you,
Have you ever thought again about who put you in that situation?
At those words, Sohee bit her lips tightly.
“I... remember everything. Who made my parents like that, who put me in this situation.”
“Yeah. You know that, right...”
"I hate you so much I could kill you. But I won't run away. Like some cowardly family that can't pay back money, kills people, and pretends not to know... I won't do that."
Jimin didn't ask any more questions.
But that short conversation lingered.
And strangely enough, Jimin's eyes looked like... apology.
***
Jimin sat on the sofa in his office, deep in thought.
Then he spoke to Haejin, who was sitting next to him and working.
“...How is Sohee? Does she do what she’s told to do?”
“I’m adjusting well, but sometimes when I’m pouting, I can’t say anything.”
"I see..."
“You didn’t tell Sohee about that, did you? About your parents.”
"yet."
“How long are you going to hide this? He doesn’t even know you’re the son of President Yeonseong.”
Jimin lowered his head.
“…I feel like I’ll collapse if I say anything.”
“But I have to say it someday.
“You know that Hwayang killed her parents... and that Yeonseong killed her.”
"I even considered hiding it. I was worried I'd end up living a life of revenge."
"You... don't like him?"
“I just want to be there for you, don’t worry.”
Jimin lifted his coffee without saying a word.
What was shaking inside was not liquid, but emotion.