Chapter 5
by Gideon“Yun-woo’s tutor is your ward against bad luck. Just approach him naturally.”
Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon’s voice still echoed in Hyewan’s ears. Her face paled as she looked at him.
“Yundo? What are you doing? You should greet her.”
Her mother’s voice snapped Yundo out of his thoughts.
“I’m Cha Yundo.”
Hyewan extended a trembling hand.
“Oh, hello. I’m Ko Hyewan.”
Yundo gripped her hand firmly. The woman, who had seemed so composed, was now stammering. It was proof that she was more than just flustered.
Hyewan wanted to ask what on earth was going on, but there were things she had to do first.
“I’ll go see Dr. Hwang first.”
His gaze lingered on Hyewan until the very last moment before he left the hospital room.
If no one had been watching, Hyewan would have collapsed right then and there.
What are the odds of a coincidence like this?
It certainly didn’t feel like a good one.
“I’ll be going now. Yun-woo, get some rest.”
“Yes, Teacher. Thank you.”
“Teacher, thank you so much.”
“Don’t mention it. You must have been very startled, so please don’t worry and just rest.”
“I will. Please, go ahead.”
Hyewan bowed politely and left the hospital room. She didn’t want to run into Cha Yundo again. It felt as if her most shameful secret had been exposed. She paced anxiously, her finger pressing the elevator button.
Shortly after leaving the room, Yundo ran into Dr. Hwang. The doctor was on his way to Yun-woo’s room.
“Vice President Cha.”
“I was just on my way to see you, Doctor. Can we talk here?”
If the news was bad, Yundo needed to make sure Yun-woo wouldn’t hear it.
“Of course.”
“Why is my brother like this?”
“I suspect it’s a shock caused by depression and stress.”
Yundo’s brow furrowed at Dr. Hwang’s answer.
“Yun-woo has always been frail, but he has no underlying conditions. Does it make any sense for his heart to stop simply from stress?”
Though Yundo’s reaction was sharp, Dr. Hwang remained unfazed, understanding the reason behind it.
“Vice President Cha, we will conduct tests to find the exact cause as soon as Yun-woo stabilizes. Please, don’t worry too much.”
Dr. Hwang continued.
“Yun-woo has been struggling since President Cha and Yun-seok passed away, hasn’t he? Extreme stress can manifest as physical illness.”
That was the problem.
Yun-woo had been right there when Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon wailed, “Why did you have to be the one to die?”
Unlike Yun-woo, who was frail and slow to learn, Yun-seok had excelled in every aspect of life. Though they were twins born on the same day, Yun-woo had always felt ordinary, and the Chairwoman’s words had left an indelible scar on his heart.
“I understand. Thank you, Doctor.”
After greeting Dr. Hwang, Yundo turned to head back to the hospital room, only to spot Hyewan’s retreating figure.
“Ko Hyewan.”
He felt her startle.
“A word.”
His expression was menacing.
Yundo looked down at her, hands shoved deep into his trouser pockets, radiating an air of sheer authority. Hyewan felt her heart pound for no reason.
Why am I nervous? I haven’t done anything wrong.
She forced herself to stand her ground.
“Fine,” she replied, feigning the same nonchalance he displayed.
They left the hospital room and headed to a nearby café. Two iced coffees sat between them as they faced each other. Only then did she notice how thirsty she was. Hyewan pulled out the straw and drank directly from the cup. There was no need to maintain her composure in front of Cha Yundo.
Yundo watched her intently before asking, “Did you approach me knowing who I am?”
“What a cliché line. If I say I didn’t know, will you believe me?”
“There’s a family photo at my parents’ house.”
“I’m not interested in other people’s family photos. There were no pictures in Yun-woo’s room, either.”
Despite Hyewan’s words, Yundo still looked unconvinced.
She had visited her tutoring students’ homes countless times, yet she never paid any attention to the family photos hanging in their living rooms. It was because she didn’t want to be reminded of her biological father—a man who existed in the world, but not in her life.
“So you’re really telling me it was a coincidence? You expect me to believe that?”
Hyewan was exhausted by this kind of conversation.
“Believe it or not, it’s up to you. But let’s be clear about one thing: you were the one who grabbed me, Cha Yundo.”
Her voice was quiet, yet as cold as ice. Yundo’s brow furrowed.
“That day was clearly a coincidence. But even if it wasn’t, we’re each fifty percent responsible. And I’m not going to shoulder your share of the blame, Cha Yundo.”
She grabbed her bag and stood up. She was about to leave, but felt she had to say this one last thing. She turned to face him.
“Cha Yundo. I’m asking this just in case—do you realize you should be incredibly grateful to me right now? You can act like you’re the one doing me a favor. But I’m asking because you need to know the truth.”
Hyewan had saved Yun-woo. In less than ten minutes, she had literally been through heaven and hell. She had been terrified that Yun-woo would die because of her mistake.
“Name your price. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
So he was this stubborn. Hyewan let out a hollow laugh.
“I have nothing more to say to you.”
She rose from her seat.
“If you want me to quit tutoring, just transfer the payment by tomorrow morning. Then they’ll think I’ve been fired.”
Yundo watched her walk away, her stride steady and composed.
Ko Hyewan had been utterly indifferent from start to finish. As if this were no big deal.
She had left a massive scratch on his pride.
Feeling a strange mix of resentment and lingering regret, Yundo left the brief reunion behind and returned to Yun-woo’s hospital room. Amidst the chaos, the only thing he was grateful for was that Yun-woo was still breathing.
“Are you really okay?”
His voice was gentle, a tone he reserved only for his younger brother.
“Yeah. Sorry for making you worry.”
“Hey. You don’t need to apologize for that.”
Yundo asked gently. “But are you going to keep up with the tutoring?”
Chairwoman Kang answered before Yun-woo could. “Of course he is.”
Yundo and Yun-seok had been hailed as geniuses since childhood. Yun-woo, on the other hand, had never excelled academically. He could barely maintain top grades even with tutors for every subject. But since Hyewan started tutoring him, his grades had improved remarkably. To Chairwoman Kang Ok-seon, Hyewan was a person of great utility in many ways.
“Let him take a break for a while,” Yundo urged.
“Absolutely not. How can you even suggest that with the CSAT just days away? He has to get into college.”
Chairwoman Kang remained adamant. Madam Park, gentle and weak-willed by nature, said nothing. The timid Yun-woo was the same.
Yundo resented Chairwoman Kang’s relentless desire to control the entire family.
“Isn’t Yun-woo’s health more important than university?” he challenged.
“Who doesn’t know that?” she snapped. “But Dr. Hwang said he’s fine. Why drag this out for another year when he only needs to suffer through two more months? Yun-woo, isn’t that right?”
Chairwoman Kang refused to back down, demanding an answer from Yun-woo.
“I… yes, that’s right,” Yun-woo murmured, his voice barely audible as he stole a glance at the Chairwoman.
If I just go home, it’s over for me, Yundo thought. But Yun-woo has to stay here with her.
He stopped arguing for Yun-woo’s sake.
When he fell silent, Chairwoman Kang smoothly changed the subject.
“By the way, Yundo. Yun-woo’s tutor…”
“Let’s discuss this outside,” Yundo said.
This was no conversation to have in front of Yun-woo, who was currently being tutored by Hyewan. It seemed Chairwoman Kang’s judgment was becoming increasingly clouded.
“Yun-woo, focus on recovering.”
“Yeah, Yundo.”
“Take care.”
“Don’t worry. Grandmother, please come with me.”
After saying his goodbyes to Yun-woo and his mother, Yundo led Chairwoman Kang out of the hospital room. He spotted an empty lounge, steered her inside, and shut the door. He loosened his tie with a sharp tug.
“Grandmother, please, have some restraint. How could you say something like that in front of Yun-woo? It’s not even proven that Teacher Ko Hyewan is my aekmak-i or whatever.”
“It is proven. I had Yun-woo ask Teacher Ko for her birth time so I could have her saju read.”
His eyebrows shot up.
“You made a child do that?”
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