Chapter 4
by GideonMadam Park was standing in the living room.
“Yundo, please. Just seriously consider what your grandmother said.”
He swallowed a sigh. “Mother, why are you doing this? You’re the most rational person I know.”
“It’s all for your own good.”
“I’ve heard enough. I’m leaving.”
“You know why your grandmother is doing this.”
“That doesn’t make it right.”
Cutting Madam Park off sharply, Yundo strode out the front door. His steps were resolute as he crossed the dew-covered garden.
As he passed through the main gate, Dong-yeong, who had been waiting, asked, “How did it go?”
“Exactly as I thought it would.”
Yundo’s deep voice was cold. Sensing the ominous tension, Dong-yeong opened the car door instead of asking any questions. As Yundo climbed into the back seat, Dong-yeong silently got into the driver’s seat and pulled away toward the company.
Yundo stared out the window at the streets blurring past.
In the last three years, he had lost both his father and his younger brother, Yun-seok.
His father, who had neglected his health, had suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes since his youth. He had eventually collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage, remaining unconscious for three months before passing away.
But Yun-seok, Yun-woo’s twin brother, had always been a healthy boy. If only he hadn’t ridden that motorcycle, he would have been studying for the CSAT with Yun-woo right now. In truth, Yundo had been more devastated by his younger brother’s death than by his father’s.
Shouldn’t people die in the order they were born?
The grief of sending his eighteen-year-old brother to the crematorium was unspeakable. But the aftermath manifested in the strangest way. Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon had always struggled with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, but after losing her son and grandson in quick succession, her symptoms spiraled out of control.
The once-impenetrable Chairwoman Kang began delving into superstitions, even turning to shamanism. Before anyone knew it, she was talking about aekmak-i—rituals to ward off evil spirits. She was a living example of how a perfectly sane person could fall prey to a cult.
Yundo spoke coldly.
“Chief Lee. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Hwang.”
“Yes, sir.”
What Chairwoman Kang needed right now wasn’t a ritual to ward off evil. She needed a psychiatrist.
Hyewan had graduated from Hankuk University Law School, a place known for admitting only the brightest minds. The natural next step was to enter law school, but she deferred her enrollment for up to two years. She needed to earn enough for tuition and living expenses.
The prestige of a Hankuk University Law degree was a powerful asset in the private tutoring market. She also reaped the benefits of her first student’s grades improving, a stroke of luck that had helped her early on.
Saturdays were her busiest days for tutoring.
Hyewan left her house in time for her two o’clock session. After a journey involving both subway and bus, she arrived in a neighborhood reserved for South Korea’s elite.
The towering walls cast a long shadow over her.
The mansion where she stopped was the main residence of Sewon Group. Her student, Yun-woo, was the youngest son of the family.
Guided by the helper, Hyewan went up to the second floor and knocked on Yun-woo’s bedroom door.
“Yun-woo, it’s your teacher.”
Yun-woo was unusually quiet and introverted for a boy. He must have heard the knock, but there was no answer.
“Yun-woo?”
A sudden chill swept over her—an unpleasant feeling, an instinct Hyewan hated.
Biting her lip, she glared at the door and then swung it open.
“Teacher’s coming in—Yun-woo!”
Yun-woo was collapsed on the rug beside his desk. Her instincts had proven right again. Throwing her bag aside, Hyewan rushed to his side and laid him flat on his back. There was no pulse.
“Yun-woo, wake up! Ma’am!”
Hyewan began CPR and called out for the helper. A moment later, she heard Madam Park, Yun-woo’s mother, hurrying up the stairs after hearing the commotion on the second floor.
“Teacher, what’s wrong… Oh, Yun-woo!”
Madam Park collapsed to the floor at the sight of Yun-woo.
“Teacher! What’s wrong with my son? Please! Yun-woo, Cha Yun-woo!”
“Madam, call 119 first!”
“Yun-woo! Don’t do this! I can’t live if you’re gone too!”
But Madam Park was already in a state of complete panic. The helper, who had just rushed in, pulled out her phone with trembling hands.
Hyewan had taken CPR classes several times, but this was her first time attempting it on a person whose heart had actually stopped.
Yun-woo, wake up!
Am I doing this right? Is this enough pressure?
Hyewan was terrified. She was terrified that she might kill Yun-woo by performing CPR incorrectly. The helper put the 119 dispatcher on speakerphone.
“He was lying on the floor. I don’t know how long he’s been unconscious. I’m doing CPR, but this is my first time.”
The dispatcher’s voice was calm as he reassured Hyewan and guided her through the next steps. She lost track of how many compressions she had performed on Yun-woo’s chest. Just as her clothes grew damp with sweat, a commotion erupted downstairs. At that same moment, Yun-woo’s body jerked, and he let out a deep, ragged breath.
“Yun-woo!”
Hyewan and Madam Park cried out in unison. Yun-woo’s eyelids fluttered. He was alive.
Overwhelmed with relief, Hyewan collapsed to the floor. Her heart, which had been pounding wildly, screamed with joy.
Once Yun-woo’s breathing and pulse had stabilized, he was handed over to the emergency medical team. After receiving initial treatment, he was loaded into the ambulance with Madam Park.
Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon grasped Hyewan’s hand, thanking her over and over. “My heart is still racing,” she pleaded. “Please, come with me to the hospital.”
Hyewan, already sick with worry for Yun-woo, readily agreed.
Yun-woo had already been moved to a VIP room. Hearing that his condition was stable for the moment, Hyewan felt an immense wave of relief. But while Madam Park had been the one sobbing uncontrollably earlier, it was Chairwoman Kang—who had remained stoic—who finally broke down. She threw her arms around Hyewan and wept.
Hyewan held the older woman warmly, offering comfort now that the Chairwoman’s composure had finally shattered after confirming her youngest grandson’s safety.
Just then, the hospital room door burst open, and a tall man strode in.
“Yun-woo!”
The moment Hyewan heard his voice—having been too focused on Chairwoman Kang to notice his entrance—that night flashed through her mind. That night filled with unbridled pleasure…
Cha Yundo. He was Cha Yun-woo’s older brother and the young Vice President of Sewon Group.
Yundo had been reviewing the business reports that had accumulated during his absence when he received a call from the family housekeeper. He immediately bolted from his office.
The black sedan screeched to a halt. Before Driver Kim could even bring the car to a complete stop, Yundo scrambled out and sprinted into the hospital.
“Vice President! Young Master Yun-woo collapsed suddenly! Thank God Teacher Ko performed CPR immediately. He’s been taken to Hankuk University Hospital.”
The housekeeper’s trembling voice echoed in his ears. It was just like that day a year ago. Why did this have to happen the moment I returned to the country?
Yundo couldn’t shake the ominous feeling. Stepping off the elevator with a restless heart, he stopped before the VIP hospital room. A year ago, he hadn’t even had the chance to stand before a hospital room door. He had been forced to face his brother in the morgue, covered by a white sheet.
Taking a deep breath, he flung the door open to find Yun-woo half-sitting up in bed. Seeing his brother seemingly unharmed, Yundo felt an indescribable wave of relief.
“Big brother.”
Yun-woo called out to him, his voice thick and hoarse. Yundo approached slowly, hiding the turmoil and relief churning inside him.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m okay now. Sorry for making you worry.”
“Don’t be sorry.”
His younger brother, thirteen years his junior, had always felt like a child to him. He had always cherished him, always worried.
In his relief at seeing Yun-woo safe, Yundo had missed the presence of another person in the hospital room. It must be the “Teacher Ko” the assistant had mentioned. But Chairwoman Kang was hugging the woman and weeping, obscuring her face.
“Grandmother?”
At his call, Chairwoman Kang turned. Yundo’s gaze shifted from her tear-streaked face to the young woman.
“Yundo, say hello. This is Yun-woo’s tutor.”
For a moment, his entire world seemed to stop.
“She’s the one who saved Yun-woo!”
Chairwoman Kang’s explanation fell on deaf ears.
The woman was none other than Hyewan.
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