The fog, heavy with moisture, grew even thicker. Mount Yeosong, usually visible from a distance, barely poked its peaks out from the shroud of mist.
“Take this money and leave your clothes at a dry cleaner. You understand?”
Yeonwoo stared at the banknotes held out by the driver. Her jeans, caked in mud, felt damp and heavy against her skin.
Having fled Seoul on a dawn taxi, Yeonwoo had headed straight for Moksan-Gun, her mother’s hometown and the place where she had lived until graduating high school. She had arrived in Yangto Township, but rather than going straight to the house, she had gotten off at the bus stop. Her mother would still be asleep, so she planned to wait until daybreak.
As the sun finally rose through the haze, she wandered the road, eyes fixed on the pavement, terrified of missing the sparse bus schedule. Whenever a car approached with blinding, aggressive headlights, she would step closer, hopeful.
That was when the trouble began. Yeonwoo hadn’t realized how wide and deep the puddle at her feet was, and the driver had failed to gauge his surroundings.
“Don’t you have ears? I said I’m in a hurry. You’re a grown woman; why can’t you understand?”
The harsh, chiding voice made Yeonwoo’s heart race. Perhaps because she had spent months suffering under the seasoned obsession and gaslighting of her former boss, the simple act of standing face-to-face with a hostile stranger left her paralyzed.
Feeling as though she had become an entirely different person in the short span of six months, Yeonwoo stepped back. Just then, the car door opened, and a man emerged.
“Oh, the Executive Director has stepped out. I told you to just take it quickly, didn’t I? You’re making a scene out of nothing, miss.”
Through the door, the silhouette of a man in leather shoes was cast against the dim, milky fog. The headlights of the parked car acted as a halo. A black shadow seemed to ripple, and a moment later, the man’s figure became clear, as if he had swallowed the light itself.
He wore a suit tailored with precise, razor-sharp angles, his posture one of absolute control; not a single flaw marred his appearance. When his face finally filled her vision, Yeonwoo’s fingertips twitched involuntarily.
“Executive Director, I am sorry. I will handle this quickly.”
As Nam Seongheon approached, the driver grew desperate. With the groundbreaking ceremony imminent, he was terrified of disturbing the mood of the man who had worked solely for this day.
Seongheon stared silently at the banknotes in the driver’s hand. His gaze was cold.
“I offered the dry cleaning fee, but the young lady wouldn’t take it… And I was worried about waking the owner, who is sleeping right now…”
While the driver offered his excuses, Seongheon slowly lowered his gaze to inspect Yeonwoo’s state. The mud-spattered shirt, the stained trousers, and the sneakers, so ruined they were beyond salvage. He glanced at her suitcase, also caked in dirt, before looking back at her.
“It seems my employee caused an accident on an unfamiliar road. This was quite rude of us.”
As Seongheon apologized, Yeonwoo, caught off guard, bowed her head. She hesitated before opening her lips.
“No, it’s fine. I was the one who was careless. There is no need for an apology.”
She kept her eyes on the ground. The sensation of the damp jeans felt horrific, and compared to the man’s shoes, which didn’t have a single speck of dust on them, her own muddied sneakers felt shameful.
*Please, just go on your way,* she thought.
Seongheon watched the visible discomfort in her trembling hands before taking a wallet out of his inner jacket pocket. He pulled out a single business card, signed it with a fountain pen, and held it out. His gaze swept over her entire body.
“While not in Moksan-Gun, you won’t find it difficult to visit a Seoryang Department Store in other regions.”
*I have already grasped the full extent of the damage you have sustained.*
“I don’t know what significance your current clothes and shoes hold for you, so I would be grateful if you could arrange the compensation yourself. I hope it serves as sufficient recompense.”
*I will compensate you more than enough, so do not continue to be a nuisance.*
To Yeonwoo’s ears, that was exactly what he was saying.
As the headlights of the arriving bus flared, Yeonwoo reluctantly accepted the card with both hands. She finished her greeting and boarded. Seongheon bowed his head until the bus departed; only after it had vanished from sight did he lift his face.
The driver, who had been bowed at the waist, straightened, fidgeting. “Executive Director, I apologize for causing you such unnecessary trouble…”
The driver trailed off, his posture snapping to attention as he realized Seongheon’s gaze was fixed on his chest. Seongheon tilted his head, staring at the badge pinned to the driver’s left breast: the 「Seoryang」 logo.
*‘I’m sorry, but I’m busy… I have a very important person in the car. Money—take this and leave your clothes at the dry cleaner. You understand?’*
Cold air emanated from Seongheon’s eyes. “If you cheapen the image of Seoryang Construction for fifty thousand won, it puts me in a difficult position.”
“…Excuse me?”
“What kind of world do you think we live in these days?”
“…”
“You wore the Seoryang Group badge proudly on your chest while giving a proper demonstration of corporate PR to someone whose identity you don’t even know.”
“A-ah! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Executive Director!”
The startled driver bowed low. Seongheon checked the time, then looked toward the distance where the bus had disappeared. The driver, sweating profusely, muttered, “I truly apologize. I would be grateful if you could think of this as an exorcism of bad luck before a good event.”
“An exorcism. An exorcism, you say.”
“…”
“Let’s do that.”
The employee let out a breath of relief, but Seongheon reached out his hand. He tapped his fingers, signaling for the staff badge. With trembling hands, the driver removed it and placed it on Seongheon’s palm.
“Return the car keys when you arrive at Domyeongjae. You’ve worked hard.”
“…Yes, Executive Director.”
“Because we have to exorcise the bad luck.”
It was a dismissal.
*
Upon entering her mother’s house, Yeonwoo washed herself immediately. She had hoped to see her mother, but she had kept her phone off since leaving Seoul, and her mother had finished her shift earlier than usual and was staying at the dormitory again.
Maybe once a week, if she was lucky.
*If I had known, I should have just taken a taxi all the way here.*
Looking at her ruined sneakers, Yeonwoo let out a sigh and entered the room. Her flight had been impulsive; she had no plan, only the terror that had welled up in the middle of the night.
She collapsed onto the floor, the phone tucked between her clothes. Just looking at it made her fingertips turn cold.
*When you die, I’ll let you go.*
Yeonwoo had been employed at Namseol Industrial Development, a mid-sized firm. Cha Yoonseok, the president’s son, had been promoted to Vice President, and Yeonwoo, who worked in accounting, was assigned as his secretary.
Yoonseok was a playboy who viewed the company as a playground. He used his connections with shadow-world figures to flaunt his power, and eventually, he turned his sights on Yeonwoo. The obsession was relentless—gaslighting, threats, and the terrifying sensation of being watched. She had been convinced that he was capable of breaking down her door to make her pay the price for fleeing.
“Where do I go now…”
She couldn’t stay here; her mother’s house wouldn’t be safe. She had intended to ditch her phone after seeing her mother, but now she felt trapped.
Above the uniform she had left out, she saw her mother’s name tag.
「Domyeongjae. Shin Sun-mi.」
Yeonwoo looked at the business card she had received that morning. It was crumpled from being stuffed into her pocket.
「Seoryang Construction. Nam Seongheon.」
Anyone raised in Moksan-Gun knew the name, though she had never met him. Her mother had worked at Domyeongjae, the family home of the Executive Director, since she was little.
*‘I’m busy today because some important people are coming from Seoul,’* her mother had said. These “important people” must have been this man.
As she traced the memory of his face, the house phone rang.
*Ring. Ring. Ring.*
The sound sliced through the silence like the clatter of twin blades. Yeonwoo turned pale.
*Ring. Ring. Ring.*
*Stay calm. It’s nothing.*
Her breath hitched. The phone rang again. She reached out with trembling hands and picked up the receiver.
“…”
She couldn’t bring herself to say “hello.”
—Hello? Hello? Is that you, Yeonwoo? Yeonwoo-ya? It’s Auntie Jayoung! Goodness, child! Why did you have your phone turned off!
Hearing the familiar voice, Yeonwoo slumped to the floor, her shoulders shaking.
—Hello? Yeonwoo-ya? You’re at home, right? Your mother said you came home earlier!
“Yes, Auntie. It’s Yeonwoo.”
As she answered, there was a commotion on the other end. Yeonwoo’s eyes widened.
—Yeonwoo-ya! Something terrible has happened! Your mother is hurt, right now!
The sound of an ambulance siren faded in over the receiver.