A Familiar Stranger

The next morning, for the first time since Da-in had arrived, the backyard overlooking the ocean was opened up.

Park Geun-sik, who had insisted she join them for breakfast, stood her before a table large enough to seat at least twenty people.

Da-in found herself thrown into the gaze of people who had been staring at her curiously since early morning.

"Hello! My name is Lee Woo-hee. I'm twenty-six, currently on leave from law school, and I'll be staying here for a while! Please take good care of me!"

She hadn't even put this much energy into it at her freshman welcome party.

A moment of stillness fell over the table at Da-in's ninety-degree bow. It was a fresh, clear female voice that broke the awkward silence.

"Hello, I'm Han Chae-a. I'm staying here for a little while too. Nice to meet you."

As Da-in slowly raised her upper body, she saw Kwon Hee-jae rubbing his forehead across the table. Then Park Geun-sik, who had set a plate in front of her, tapped her shoulder a couple of times.

It was a signal to stop bowing and take her seat.

Da-in took her seat with as much shyness as she could muster and scanned the assembled people one by one.

Kwon Yeon-woo sat at the center, with Kwon Hee-jae and a woman named Han Chae-a on either side, and beside them was a man who hadn't yet introduced himself.

Half-Korean, she thought.

The man with jet-black hair and blue eyes lightly spun his plate by pressing the tip of his fork against it. For some reason, she found it difficult to meet his gaze.

Without a doubt, this was the man whose eyes she had met through the telescope yesterday.

"Joo Seung-eon, say hello too. What's wrong with you, making the atmosphere so cold."

Joo Seung-eon. Joo Seung-eon. Joo Seung-eon.

Da-in chewed over the strangely familiar name. Then she remembered hearing it while she was digging into the Baekju Sect, and her brows furrowed.

Looks like they've been planning this for quite a while.

"I'm Joo Seung-eon. I'm staying here for a little while too, so please feel at home."

"Yes... hello."

"I see you've already exchanged greetings with the representative?"

At the loaded tone, Da-in's eyes drifted toward Kwon Hee-jae. He nodded calmly, still cutting fish fillet onto Yeon-woo's plate.

"There was a misunderstanding. You must be sore from where you hit me last night. Are you okay?"

"You hit Ms. Woo-hee?"

It hadn't been a hit but a block, but before she could say it didn't hurt at all, Han Chae-a cut in.

The woman glaring at Kwon Hee-jae with wide eyes was like watercolor paint. Her colors were so tender and pretty that you couldn't carelessly brush over them.

Da-in waved her hands, trying to escape the attention now focused on her.

"No, no, it wasn't a hit, just a little bump. It didn't hurt at all. I'm fine."

Da-in smoothed things over with a flat, apologetic smile and gave Yeon-woo a small wave.

Yeon-woo, who had been staring at Da-in, quietly slipped his arm through Han Chae-a's.

"Teacher, Yeon-woo's sleepy."

"You still need to eat. Let's have breakfast, play a little, and then sleep. Teacher will put you to bed."

"Really? Then can I sleep with Dad and Teacher today?"

Joo Seung-eon set down his fork at Yeon-woo's whining and leaned forward to warn him quietly. For a warning to a child, it carried considerable weight.

"Kwon Yeon-woo. Didn't I tell you you'd get scolded by your uncle?"

"I hate you, Uncle!"

"Still can't."

Now she understood who the Rabbit Teacher was that Yeon-woo had been saying so often. And the relationship between Han Chae-a and the man named Joo Seung-eon.

But what was strange was that, in Da-in's eyes, they looked like a family. She couldn't understand it. Wasn't Kwon Hee-jae under NIS surveillance?

The atmosphere here was clearly different from what she'd been briefed on, and it confused her.

Da-in added Han Chae-a's name to her list of people to investigate and then quietly focused on her meal.

Yeon-woo, who had become even more clingy than usual, and Joo Seung-eon, who couldn't take his eyes off his woman. And Kwon Hee-jae, who took in all of it with detached calm. The whole atmosphere was strangely grating.

"Uncle, I'll do it."

After finishing a meal that had felt like a formality, Da-in picked up the vacuum cleaner and dust mop in place of Park Geun-sik.

"You need to go to your part-time job. Aren't you going to be late?"

"I ran two shifts yesterday, so I'm off today. Or should I take the wing over there?"

When she deliberately pointed to the place Manager Kang had told her to stay away from, Park Geun-sik immediately shook his head.

"Not there. I'll go check it out, so you take the first-floor bedroom."

"Yes, yes, don't worry. But what's everyone's relationship? Is he really Yeon-woo's uncle?"

"Yeah, he's the younger brother of Yeon-woo's late mother. There's nothing good to know about it, so just let it be."

So it wasn't a divorce but a widowhood.

She hadn't expected the NIS black agent to actually be blood-related to Kwon Hee-jae. Hard to believe, but they must have their own circumstances.

Da-in felt a brief pang of pity for that arrogant man.

The group led by Ms. Lu happened to arrive and spotted Da-in, exchanging pleasantries. After asking Ms. Lu to tidy up Manager Kang's and Yeon-woo's bedrooms, Da-in dragged the vacuum cleaner along.

The master bedroom — one of only two in this villa. When she opened the double doors, an unexpectedly fresh scent wafted out.

"Excuse me!"

Kwon Hee-jae had vanished after the meal. And no one had looked for him.

A few children's books were visible under the bed — had he slept with Yeon-woo last night? There were traces of a stuffed nose too.

There wasn't much information she needed to find out about Kwon Hee-jae, but Da-in decided to take a look around.

She turned on the vacuum, and its loud noise moved across the carpet. A marble desk, cigarettes, a lighter and ashtray. An instant magazine came into view as she pushed the floor. And there was a wallet, left carelessly alongside a passport.

Her conscience wouldn't allow her to touch someone else's wallet, but a passport was different.

Da-in quietly opened the passport. She could have found out Kwon Hee-jae's passport number any time she wanted, but there was no harm in memorizing it.

And through the passport number, she could also find out who had investigated his route.

"What are you doing?"

Da-in, who had been scanning the numbers into her memory, was startled by Kwon Hee-jae's voice from right beside her and looked up.

Had he showered? He approached, wearing only pants, shaking his hair with a towel.

Da-in quietly tugged at the magazine tucked under the wallet with her fingertips.

"I, I was wondering if there was a Sudoku..."

He frowned at one eyebrow, came closer, and took the magazine she was pointing at. Then he held it out right in front of Da-in's nose.

"Take it."

She'd never been like this before — why couldn't she lift her head? Was it the burden of him possibly recognizing her?

"I'm sorry. For looking without permission."

Da-in bowed her head deeply like a criminal and took the magazine he offered.

But instead of being pulled along, Kwon Hee-jae's face suddenly appeared over the tautly stretched magazine.

His hand swept down like it was brushing her knuckles, then gripped her wrist and yanked it up.

Suddenly with one arm raised in the air, her head turned toward the man.

His eyes, unusually black and deep, pierced into her. Her throat tightened at his gaze, which swept over her face as if trying to strip her bare.

"Why does this face feel familiar?"

It's fine. It's just reasonable suspicion. She just needed to make the vague memory an error. Da-in forced her startled heart to calm down and replied with a casual air.

"W-well, maybe I look a little like my uncle...?"

"Do you think you look like your uncle, niece?"

"No. Actually, that's not it... Then I guess I have a common face. I've never met Yeon-woo's father before."

She tried to pull her hand free with moderate force. She couldn't just beat Kwon Hee-jae up whenever she felt like it.

But if there was something she didn't know, it was the true nature of the man named Kwon Hee-jae. Thinking he'd treat her differently because she was a woman was an illusion. Just like last night, today too he twisted her wrist without hesitation.

"Ah! It hurts!"

"It's bothering me, this... Why does it keep coming to mind, on and off?"

At his muttering, almost like talking to himself, Da-in complained of pain and acted hurt.

Only when she fully took in his pressing gaze without looking away did Kwon Hee-jae finally loosen his grip.

Da-in stumbled backward, clutching the magazine like she was crumpling it. The sharply pulled vacuum cleaner body hit Kwon Hee-jae's leg.

He staggered and gripped the desk, his eyes wavering. A purplish bruise rose on the back of his hand as he clutched his thigh with his other hand.

"Get out."

Wasn't he the price of surviving an assassination attempt?

Of all times, it seemed his unrecovered leg was acting up. His face twisted in pain.

Da-in turned off the noisy vacuum first, then wrapped her aching wrist while saying she'd come back later.

She set the cleaning tools aside and was about to flee the room when fierce curses followed her from behind.

At his self-deprecating tone, bitter with his own situation, Da-in's steps stopped abruptly.

The man's elegant profile, still standing by the sunlit window, was distorted.

Was he trying not to show his pain? His pale face ground his teeth together. It was clear self-blame. The man was now suffering from self-loathing.

She didn't know what had driven him so far, but it was clear he was angry at his own impaired condition.

Damn this meddling.

Da-in, rubbing her reddened wrist, set the magazine on a nearby console and closed the door. With a click, she turned the lock, and the man, who had been catching his breath, lifted his head.

She strode over, even closed the curtains, and suddenly draped Kwon Hee-jae's arm over her shoulder.

"Let's go to the bed."

"What?"

"I said let's go to the bed. Don't be stubborn. I'll help you."

With a chuckle, the man shifted his weight, and a faint groan scattered above her head. She supported his limping body, led him out of the study, and headed toward the bed.

The man's body, leaning on her almost dragging his leg, was damp. Was he sweating? His breath was hot, and the waist she held was slick.

Da-in threw Kwon Hee-jae, who was swallowing his pain, onto the bed and immediately climbed onto his thigh.

She grabbed his foot, where the bones stood out sharply, and pressed hard in the opposite direction. A short scream came from behind her.

"Shit! Be gentle, will you?"

"It has to be like this to loosen up. Is it torn muscle? Or bone and nerves too?"

"All three."

"Ha, that must hurt like hell. Clench your teeth."

"What?"

She turned sideways, shrugged as if there was no other way, and twisted Kwon Hee-jae's knee from behind.

"Aah! What are you...!"

"One, two, three!"

When she suddenly released the hand that had been twisting his knee, the man half-sprang up like a spring and grabbed her shoulder.

Da-in impulsively twisted her body to escape his grip. He must have had to endure tremendous pain. But when muscles were this tense and cramping, this was the best method.

And her method had worked perfectly.

The man's eyes, his face flushed and breathing heavily, wavered as if he couldn't believe it.