“…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 and didn't even smile.
He just kept looking at Sohee with deep eyes.
“Then sleep well. I have to wake up early tomorrow.”
The door closed, and 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... when 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 point of contact had changed, they should have notified us first.
“You guys, are you trying to screw us over on purpose?”
After hanging up the phone, Jimin pressed his temple with his hand and frowned.
The expression was unfamiliar. It was an expression that 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 like they intentionally changed the internal funding channels.”
Sohee froze at the word 'Hwayang'.
The word was the name of hell that had long been engraved in her brain.
“… 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 it all true that you know everything?”
“...What did you say?”
“Just. You were so young back then, 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...”
"I hate you so much I want to die. But I won't run away. I won't do things like that, like some cowardly family that can't pay back money, kills people, and pretends not to know anything... I won't do that."
Jimin didn't ask any more questions.
But that brief conversation lingered for a long time.
And strangely enough, Jimin’s eyes looked… apologetic.
***
Jimin was sitting 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 get pouty, 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 it? He doesn’t even know that you’re the son of President Yeonseong.”
Jimin bowed his head.
“…I feel like I’ll collapse if I say anything.”
“But I have to tell you someday.
“Hwayang knows that Yeonseong killed her parents… You know that.”
"I even thought about hiding it. I was worried that I would end up living a life of revenge."
"You... don't... like him?"
“I’m just here to be there for you, don’t worry.”
Jimin drank his coffee without saying a word.
What was shaking inside was not liquid, but emotion.