The Fruit of Resilience
Thus, her prison sentence ended at one year and two months.
The four months shaved off the promised one year and six had been earned through an immeasurably earnest demeanor—almost to the point of foolishness.
Inside the detention center, she had swept every trophy from every competition, met countless people, and endured countless beatings.
More beatings than she had expected, given that nearly half the inmates had children of their own. The stigma of being accused of child sexual exploitation had pinned her as the worst kind of criminal.
Of all those who tormented her, the one who hurt her most was the pain of having lost her sister.
The only person who had ever been on her side, within the fractured boundaries of their broken family, was her sister. She had been dragged down from the path of a teacher by the very accusation that had branded their family as that of a sex offender.
When the news arrived, it was a month before her release. The brother-in-law had delivered the message with perfect calm, then uttered a curse as he left the visitation room.
Still, she had endured that hellish life with stubborn persistence. She had to survive. She had to.
“Ah, it tastes terrible…”
The thought of the past brought her appetite crashing to the floor. She emptied the remaining food from her tray, then tore open a strawberry milk pack she had bought from the convenience store.
Next, she played the video transmitted from the body camera on her phone.
[Delivery.
The man’s voice began, his face drawing closer.
When he handed over the money, only his chest appeared in the frame, yet his voice grew unnervingly clear.
It was not a simple request.
She did not want to admit it, but he had been checking who she was. A woman? A man? An ordinary delivery person… or something attached to a tail?
[I need a cigarette. My shift doesn’t allow me to leave my seat.]
The voice of Sa Hee-eon, a name that fit him like a glove. The moment Kwak Dong-cheol had looked at the photo and sighed, she understood instantly.
Sa Hee-eon.
Sahwa.
The man’s voice repeated in the earphones pressed to her ear, languid and detached like white noise. She slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again.
Each time she shut them, the face of the lawyer from that day, the sound of the old man’s wheelchair, the footsteps that had dirtied the floor with the polite words of those men—all rose like shadows.
They belonged to a man whose smooth features could not have created such broken memories.
She set her phone face down and walked into the bathroom. While waiting for the hot water, she forced herself to simplify the situation as much as possible.
What she had learned during her interrogation and courtroom trial was that the father of the child she had tutored had been the Sahwa Group’s chief of staff.
Chief of staff Yoon Jun-mo of Sahwa and broker Jo Sung-jun.
Chief Yoon had been missing for a year. Jo Sung-jun was currently serving time for fraud, kidnapping, and murder conspiracy.
That was everything she had uncovered. No information on Yoon’s family, no trace of Jo’s family either. Jo had even refused to allow visitors. Had Echo Research’s confidence in her been a fatal miscalculation?
Just as her senses dulled and she began to accept this life, the name Sahwa surfaced again—coated with lethal malice.
With the name Sa Hee-eon.
* * *
The next morning, exhausted from poor sleep, Jeong Yeon-jae finished her hurried morning routine in record time.
“Going to work” meant only descending one floor, yet she had never once shown up disheveled. It felt as if she was baring her soul.
She hurried down the stairs to report the previous day’s events. And today, an odd silence lay over the building—from the staircase landings to the very walls.
The guards at the entrance had vanished, and the break room, once thick with the fragrant aroma of mix coffee, stood empty.
Was yesterday’s overtime too heavy? Why hadn’t anyone started work yet…
Still uneasy, she reached for her phone to call Kwak Dong-cheol, but at that exact moment the door in front of her swung open wide, flooding the familiar space with unfamiliar faces.
Her body locked solid. For a heartbeat she hesitated, but a sudden whiff of unfamiliar cigarette smoke brushed the back of her neck.
“Get in.”
A rough hand shoved her forward. Jeong Yeon-jae nearly toppled, steadying herself against the shelf right beside her.
Cold and disgust wrapped around her like chains. Her body froze with sickening fear; her gaze trembled.
Shivers raced from the crown of her head as though ice water had been poured over her.
She slowly turned her head to look at the man who had pushed her moments earlier. The stranger dropped into the old sofa with a thump.
Jeong Yeon-jae recognized the man idly flicking ash from his cigarette on the armrest and curled her fingers into a fist.
Law firm Taeryang’s Kim Ui-jae.
Two years ago, this bastard had dragged her from the abyss and pushed her right back in. She could not tear her eyes away from the arrogant posture of Kim Ui-jae. Vivid memories of that terrifying day burned, yet he looked far too calm.
His pomaded hair, thick and broad shoulders, and sharp eyes all deliberately fixed on her. Jeong Yeon-jae bit her lip hard while watching her colleagues stand aside like curtains.
“Team leader. What the hell is this guy…?”
Her blunt choice of words made Kwak Dong-cheol raise one finger to his lips in a shhh. He lowered his eyes hastily, checking Kim Ui-jae’s expression like a hyena flattened in the face of ultimate power.
“It’s been a while, Jeong Yeon-jae-ssi.”
Kim Ui-jae called her by name, and the people who had been maintaining perfect courtesy all turned their gazes toward her.
Jeong Yeon-jae squeezed her fist tighter, glaring at Kim Ui-jae.
“What do you mean? Why the hell are you here?!”
“Still no manners. You haven’t been hit enough yet?”
“Hah. Just keep relying on your strength and don’t try to intimidate me. Women against men? Not ashamed of your own weakness?”
“Your eyes are still good. Anyway, I heard you caught yesterday’s youngest young master.”
“What about it?”
“Jeong Yeon-jae-ssi personally reviewed the body cam footage. Sa Hee-eon was caught. Not just a little either.”
Kim Ui-jae smiled at her, and that villainous grin revived nightmare memories in Jeong Yeon-jae.
She shot a sharp glance at Kwak Dong-cheol and twitched her eyebrows.
“Team leader, why is this bastard here?”
Her bold declaration made Kwak Dong-cheol’s face turn deathly white in shock. He lifted his shoulders helplessly, head bowed deep to Kim Ui-jae.
“I’m sorry. He’s still uneducated…”
“No need. I’ve already beaten her to a pulp, Kim Ui-jae. But…”
He exhaled a final theatrical breath, rose, and walked toward her with heavy steps. Jeong Yeon-jae instinctively stepped back. A second bulky man blocked her retreat.
When the hand clamped her shoulder, she scowled. Kim Ui-jae, stepping closer, gave a thin, mocking laugh. It was not quite a smile—more like the gaze of someone who enjoyed stepping on insects.
Her heart hammered; her fist trembled.
“A dog that doesn’t recognize its master? Caught the tail of Sa Hee-eon?”
Kim Ui-jae asked with arrogant disdain, then grabbed her chin. The strong grip lifted her heels, yet no one offered help—only wide eyes.
She bit her lip until it bled and spat a curse.
“Master? The hell you say. Who gave you the right to call yourself master? Is this bastard Echo Research’s representative? Answer me, team leader!”
Her venomous outburst made Kim Ui-jae’s face twist. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the saliva on his chest, then nodded with his head and snatched a handful of her hair. Her head was jerked up, and Kim Ui-jae’s face came close—smug, victorious.
“I’m not the representative here. Just a stray dog. So answer me. Did you step on the tail? Did you let your face be exposed?”