The Fresh Air
Jeong Yeon-jae’s phone was unnecessary. Why had he come looking for it?
“So you were checking whether I was alive or dead?” She stirred the hot seaweed soup with the spoon, her voice calm and guarded.
“Sa Hee-eon.”
Kim Ui-jae’s eyebrows twitched at the name in the same instant.
“Hmm… fast as ever. What did you do together?”
“I ate.”
“Just ate? Our young master doesn’t live on food alone. Ah, still no information?”
“How would I? You have none either, so you’re using me.”
Even the sarcasm didn’t bother him. Instead he smiled faintly, scrolling through the tablet as though he had found an amusing toy. Yeon-jae loosened her grip on her phone, the tension in her fingers easing.
“I don’t want to stay here long. Share the materials you need.”
Her lips moved around the spoon without eating. Kim Ui-jae let out a loud, theatrical sigh and rose. Yeon-jae couldn’t help flinching, the instinctive warning rising in her chest.
Kim Ui-jae was closing in, and the same old, instinctive revulsion pressed against her throat like a heavy hand.
He stopped right behind her, arms spreading to pin her against the edge of the table.
“You’ve only been here one day and already you’re restless?”
Her fingers around the spoon turned bone-white. She forced her clenched lips to open.
“First time in a while to see someone so leisurely.”
“It suits you to move.”
“Better than staying still.”
“Then let me move you?”
A large hand suddenly cupped her chin. The pressure was brutal; Yeon-jae bit back a cry, eyes squeezed shut.
“I don’t like filth. Still, Jeong Yeon-jae doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Stop touching my body. It irritates me.”
“After we’ve both bled each other dry, you draw the line? Didn’t you enjoy it?”
“Maybe you’ve done it many times.”
“But it’s my favorite now.”
“Disgusting taste.”
“Sounds like you’re taking it personally. A little… unfortunate, but…”
His words dragged across her lips. The bitter liquid slid down her throat in one swallow.
“Sexual harassment is your hobby? Pathetic for a lawyer.”
“That’s exactly why I’m a lawyer. Not everyone can say things like this. Unlike Sa Hee-eon, how about me? I think you’d like it.”
“You bastard…!”
Jeong Yeon-jae’s eyes blazed with lethal rage. The gaze above her sharpened like a blade. His Adam’s apple bobbed. The hand gripping her chin tightened.
“Young Master! Oh my, what brings you here at this hour?”
The aunt’s voice pulled her back from the edge. Kim Ui-jae released her chin and bowed toward the entrance. Yeon-jae’s gaze followed to the doorway.
“What are you two doing? Did I interrupt something?”
The person who had come to the guesthouse was Sa Hee-eon. The air, the weight of the entire villa, shifted the moment he appeared.
Kim Ui-jae glanced at him with dull eyes. Sa Hee-eon curved his lips in a soft, almost amused smile.
“Hmm… interesting atmosphere.”
Sa Hee-eon’s voice drifted closer. Yeon-jae turned her head and stared straight ahead. Relief and exhaustion washed over her; the world blurred, the moon jar in her vision shattered.
“Miss Jeong Yeon-jae seems a little feverish. What brings you here so early in the morning?”
Fever? Bullshit.
Kim Ui-jae placed a hand on her shoulder as if genuinely concerned. Her jaw muscles locked, lips turning blue.
Sa Hee-eon tilted his head and began to walk toward them.
“I came because we agreed to eat together.”
“Ah…”
“I’m the one who’s sick.”
The moment Kim Ui-jae’s heavy cologne faded behind her, Yeon-jae set the spoon down and stood abruptly.
“Sorry, I already ate. I’ll let it digest and come back later.”
She shoved past Kim Ui-jae and walked by Sa Hee-eon.
“Oh, miss. Your coat…”
“It’s fine.”
Leaving the aunt’s words behind, she stepped out into the cold air. Every breath felt like a lungful of freedom. She refused to tremble.
But her body still shook.
Adrenaline still roared from the bruises, the vulgar insults, the petty cruelty of humiliation. Her heart raced faster than it should. She didn’t know if the pain was fear, exhaustion, or rage. Only that it was all negative emotions was certain.
Dry leaves and grass crunched under her steps. Bent branches scratched her white ankles; red marks bloomed across her pale skin.
Without direction her steps faltered. A rough hand suddenly seized her arm.
Her body rocked; one earphone tumbled from her hand. The silence of the forest shattered into a wave of sound.
“If I take you any farther you’ll fall to your death. You wouldn’t survive another day.”
Yeon-jae looked up at the man holding her arm and around them, lips parting in confusion. Her eyes were wide, filled with frantic panic. The hand gripping her was warm. His skin was warmer than her own cold flesh.
Sa Hee-eon.
She drew a short, startled breath and shook her head.
“Why would I die? I… I just got lost.”
She stood in a place where no path should exist. Somewhere deep in the mountains connected to the guesthouse. The walking trail had been left behind long ago.
Yet she lifted her chin stubbornly, refusing to admit the mistake. He looked at her with one eyebrow raised in disbelief, then held up what he had been carrying.
In his hand was her jumper. He draped it over her shoulders and picked up the fallen earphone.
“You slept with Kim-hyeong, too? You seemed pretty sensitive about it.”
“What…?”
His casual question instantly ignited irritation.
“Even if I look like trash, I still choose my company.”
“But how old are you? Why are you talking to me like that?”
“Why are you the one using informal speech?”
“Because you act like a child.”
“…”
These two idiots.
She yanked her hand free from his grip and walked in the opposite direction. His steps followed right behind her.
The fog in her mind cleared, her vision sharpened. Even if she didn’t know why Sa Hee-eon had followed, she was certain he had saved her before she lost herself.
The trail was flat, but deeper in the forest direction became impossible. One wrong step and she could have fallen hundreds of feet, her body crushed beyond recognition.
…Maybe that would have been better.
She set her mind on the building made of opaque glass.
How absurd it must have looked.
Imagining herself entering the forest without even her jumper made her cheeks burn. A short, self-deprecating laugh escaped her.
“Left.”
It was Sa Hee-eon’s voice that pulled her back from the thought. When she turned left, the trail connecting to the guesthouse appeared.
She slowed to a stop.
“I don’t want to go back until Kim Ui-jae leaves.”
“I already sent him away.”
“…”
“I sent him. So go straight.”