"Are you telling me not to read?"
He turned his head to look down at I-yeon. That viscous gaze was suffocatingly quiet.
"Huh? What did I……."
"With a wife staring at me like that, what man could possibly do something else in bed?"
He let out a peculiar sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's not it, I just can't sleep……!"
The man gazed into her eyes, which held not a trace of drowsiness, and set down his book.
"Then I-yeon-ssi, tell me an old story."
"What kind?"
"About us two. For instance, the first—"
"—night?"
Kwon Chae-woo turned completely toward her. His eyebrows twitched slightly, appearing dissatisfied.
"Not that. Our first meeting."
"……."
"I don't want to hear about some kid who only finishes fast."
She cleared her throat. A man in a black raincoat holding a shovel. Around him……. I-yeon tried desperately to erase the image that surfaced immediately.
"……We met in the mountains. I dropped my belongings and Kwon Chae-woo-ssi kindly chased after me to return them. That was the beginning."
Fortunately, changing genres to adapt the story didn't require much effort.
"How classic."
"Yes, ah, it was a very classical meeting."
"Surely not a handkerchief?"
To the man asking playfully, I-yeon smiled as if embarrassed. It was my favorite electric saw. She swallowed those words.
"It was just a small comb."
He chuckled softly as well. Was he picturing their first meeting in his head? Seeing the man with his eyes creased gently, her mouth suddenly tasted bitter.
'From now on, I-yeon-ssi needs to show a more devoted appearance. If we're truly a couple who married for love.'
Lies filled in impulsively were indeed dangerous. Kwon Chae-woo seemed to accept it readily, but sometimes he sent chills down her spine.
That meant he hadn't stopped probing. Therefore, she needed even more sincere and heartfelt lies.
It was mountain beyond mountain.
* * *
"Has Gamunbi Hospital arrived?"
Finally, the day of the first tournament public evaluation had come.
"Yes, we're here!"
I-yeon exhaled short breaths like a boxer, raising her hand.
Behind them lay a dense forest slope with a two-lane road. The people gathered there all gaped upward at a 30-meter tall ginkgo tree.
The grotesquely stretched branches looked precarious even at a glance. Moreover, the surrounding trees were gradually twisting their posture to align with this problematic tree, which was serious.
"Director So I-yeon and two others, correct?"
"Yes. ……Huh?!"
She turned her head to look at the supervisor.
"Two people?"
Of course, in her mind, it was a prestigious hospital consisting of tree doctor So I-yeon, arborist Kye Chu-ja, floral decorator Kwon Chae-woo, and insect doctor Lee Gyu-baek, but in reality, two women were barely scraping by to pay the electric bill.
But to hear there was another officially registered staff member besides Chu-ja, who on earth could they be referring to…….
"It says Kwon Chae-woo-ssi here."
I, the owner, never officially registered him……?
I-yeon froze, not understanding what was happening, but soon pulled herself together. Kwon Chae-woo was right beside her, watching I-yeon intently. She was anxious that his keen perception might notice her agitation.
"Yes, yes……. That's correct. That's right."
I-yeon smoothed her face and smiled.
Actually, it wasn't that she had no idea at all. If someone had secretly pulled strings, only one person came to mind.
That man.
Kwon Chae-woo's older brother, Kwon Gi-seok.
I-yeon pressed her pale forehead firmly and closed her eyes. A man who revealed his existence whenever she thought she had forgotten him. Suddenly, her breath grew short.
—So I-yeon-ssi, have you been well?
He called I-yeon once every three months. She knew full well it was firewood meant to keep lighting the flames of her tension. Just hearing his voice, the threats from that night automatically resurfaced.
As the calls accumulated, at some point, I-yeon genuinely stopped harboring other thoughts. It was perfect submission.
'As expected……, calls weren't his only means of surveillance.'
Her heartbeat pounded throughout her body.
'When exactly will my shackles be released……?'
When Kwon Chae-woo was in a vegetative state, it hadn't been this exhausting. That's how much there was no disruption to daily life.
Not only nursing but all expenses were covered by them, and there was a separate back entrance, so it didn't overlap with I-yeon's living radius.
As if that night was truly a dream, I-yeon quickly returned to daily life. At times, it was even peaceful.
Having escaped that slaughterhouse without losing a single finger was fortunate. Sometimes, the vegetative patient on the second floor seemed like a lifeline.
To the older brother, I-yeon was a hostage, and to I-yeon, Kwon Chae-woo was a hostage.
But ever since he woke up, everything changed.
After Kwon Chae-woo woke up, I-yeon began sprouting seeds of doubt toward Kwon Gi-seok. Could such a figure have achieved nothing for two years?
Perhaps she had stupidly walked into a fabricated prison.
"I-yeon-ssi."
Kwon Chae-woo's hand unconsciously lifted I-yeon's face. His warm palm gently melted her frozen cheek.
"You need to look up. The evaluation has started."
"……Ah."
At the warmth that awakened her spirit, she bit her tongue slightly. Soon, the signal "Green Tree Hospital will start first!" dropped.
I-yeon interlaced her fingers and stretched her arms out straight. Worrying about a problem with no answer now would be of no help at all.
Before long, the recording camera began rolling.
The director of Green Hospital, along with one staff member, wrapped a rope around his waist. After finishing preparations, he gathered the saw needed for pruning and began climbing the tree.
Green Hospital advanced without hesitation, and I-yeon watched their form while surreptitiously gripping her pants.
At that moment, a needle-sharp sigh pierced her ear.
"I, don't quite understand right now."
Each word cut stiffly was as stern as a switch.
"Is I-yeon-ssi planning to do that?"
His face facing hers was utterly contorted.
Since she hadn't told Kwon Chae-woo about the evaluation contents, naturally he wouldn't know. I-yeon shrugged her shoulders and made a hand visor. Her gaze looking up at the sky was quite serious.
"I don't have acrophobia."
"That's not the issue, it's dangerous."
"I still have to do it. I climb trees well, like a monkey."
"……."
Kwon Chae-woo's eyebrows shot up sharply. He barely managed to swallow the nervous words spreading like wildfire.
Climbing trees well, she says. When she's pale as a sheet.
Even though her tension was plainly visible, I-yeon pretended to be fine and stubbornly persisted. How crumpled had the pants she was gripping become.
"……!"
Several minutes passed like that.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out from above. The director of Green Hospital was coming straight down without even attempting to turn toward the branches.
Green Hospital staff sighed with regret, but the director firmly shook his head. As soon as he landed on the ground, he let out a laugh of disbelief.
It was an anticlimactic forfeit.
"It's not like they're telling us to die……."
He murmured thus while looking at I-yeon.
"Director So, think carefully before acting. The branches are bent more than expected, so you can't climb up there."
I-yeon swallowed dry saliva. Chu-ja, who was beside her, also started dissuading her with a look that said this wasn't right.
"Director, isn't it better for us to forfeit too."
"……."
"If you rush in recklessly and an accident happens, what then. Even if we can't make money, we shouldn't do anything that causes loss. Let's just forfeit the same way—"
"Then that's immediate disqualification."
I-yeon's eyes were resolute. At that, Chu-ja snorted and reminded her of her past.
"Who was the one who said she didn't want to do it because of the camera!"
"……I'm saying this because I can do it well enough."
I-yeon avoided Chu-ja's gaze and mumbled.
"Do you really have to accept danger like this. If you just spout some things you don't even mean, customers will line up like candy on a string!"
"That possibility seems almost nonexistent……."
No, you can do it too. Aren't you the woman who even cooked and ate Kwon Chae-woo? When Chu-ja signaled secretly, I-yeon understood the meaning, bowed her head deeply, and fiddled with her earlobe.
"Is Gamunbi ready?"
The person taking notes on a tablet called out to I-yeon.
Kwon Chae-woo blocked her as she tried to step forward and snatched the rope from above her head.
"I-yeon-ssi, it's not too late yet."
"Give it to me!"
She raised her heels and stretched out her arm.
"If you go back home with me like this, I'll give it to you."
"Are you joking?"
"It would be fortunate if it were a joke. Why are you so fearless?"
Kwon Chae-woo twisted his lips as if mocking. Since he had rarely shown such negative emotions, I-yeon faltered.