Flowers Are Bait Novel - Chapter 22

A murderer is a murderer. That simple thought had to remain unwavering. Only then would the guilt of manipulating Kwon Chaewoo, who knew nothing, fade a little.

But Chooja was telling her to go a step further.

“Yiyeon-ah, that guy has no memory.”

“…”

“He’s not the person you saw back then. He’s a completely unknown person, unknown to you and unknown to Kwon Chaewoo.”

Her gaze, which had been fixed on the door, dropped powerlessly.

Coaxing Kwon Chaewoo hasn’t been difficult lately. So she thought that once he woke up, the complicated situations would sort themselves out. She decided to rely on his blindness and nature.

But Kwon Chaewoo wasn’t a switch she could turn on and off. She was utterly disgusted with her own true self.

“…I’ll stay cooped up in the office until morning.”

“From now?”

“I think I need to clear my head a bit.”

She crossed the living room and entered the office. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound, and Yiyeon was meticulously putting on surgical latex gloves. She intended to spend the night making new fertilizer. She skillfully spread a transparent plastic sheet on the table and took out a black container from a small refrigerator.

Soon, creak—the door closed.

Meanwhile, Chooja, left in the living room, completely erased her worried expression and carefully opened Yiyeon’s door.

‘Kwon Chaewoo…’

Chooja’s face was complex as she looked down at the quietly sleeping young man.

Recently, she had received an unwelcome call from the detective agency she had hired to confirm Kwon Chaewoo’s identity.

“Ms. Gye Chooja? We’re pulling out! You don’t have to pay the remaining balance! No, we’ll even refund the deposit, so don’t ever contact us again with that name!”

The call was abruptly cut off as if to escape, and it never came again. When the dumbfounded Chooja tried to call back, the number was already disconnected.

Until then, she had only received one report.

That one person owned the entire unmanaged vast land behind Fir Tree Hospital, including several large and small mountains and other surrounding trails.

The total area, if combined, was an enormous size, a quarter of Hwaido.

“Yiyeon-ah, what on earth did you pick up…”

Kwon Chaewoo was that very mountain owner.

Kwon Chaewoo had another long dream this time.

But the moment he opened his eyes, there was nothing left, like a film thrown into a fire. He narrowed his brows in annoyance, but the regret quickly evaporated.

“…Yiyeon-ssi.”

The warmth tickling his embrace filled his empty insides. She had burrowed into his armpit, curling her back.

Kwon Chaewoo immediately checked her sleeve. Sure enough, the cuff was deeply wet. At this point, even his own dreams, which encouraged such a pathetic state, were displeasing.

“Yiyeon-ssi.”

His sense of time was hazy. Like hunger, he missed her and somewhat impatiently shook her small body. He wanted to quickly see himself reflected in Yiyeon’s eyes and confirm that this was reality.

“Mmm…”

She squirmed and clung even closer.

She was so tense when awake, but in her sleep, she shamelessly snuggled up. The corners of his mouth turned up.

Yiyeon was making all sorts of contorted faces. Her eyelids twitched, and her eyelashes fluttered. The man leisurely rested his chin on his hand, holding his breath as if watching a sprout emerge. She slowly opened her eyes.

“…”

“…”

Her eyes widened, transparent in the sunlight. That was the only thing he possessed. That tight satisfaction filled his stomach.

“Have you been well?”

“Ah…!”

Yiyeon raised her voice to the face that filled her vision.

He, who had always been like a still life lying down, was alive and moving. Blinking, the corners of his mouth turning up, his smooth cheeks becoming appropriately plump. Such small movements felt new.

“…H-hello.”

Yiyeon, in a daze, absently greeted him.

“So, how many days were I released after?”

“…Uh, um. Today is the eighth day.”

“Why did you wake me up so early? You could have punished me more.”

He abruptly tore off the large band-aid on Yiyeon’s neck. As her reddish neck was exposed, he subtly frowned.

“The bruise hasn’t even faded yet.”

“…”

At that, Yiyeon’s expression seemed to waver subtly, then she suddenly began to whimper. Her lips, tightly pressed as if holding back tears, looked awkward. At that small distortion, Kwon Chaewoo’s throat tightened.

“What’s wrong?”

He removed the hand he was resting on and cupped her face.

Now that he looked closely, So Yiyeon’s face was very worn out. Her under-eyes were dark, and her cheeks had sunken.

Kwon Chaewoo gripped her wrist as if to gauge it, then unhappily rubbed her protruding wrist bone.

“What happened?”

His voice, lowered significantly, scraped his vocal cords.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll never sleep alone again. Even if Yiyeon-ssi hates it, I’ll definitely snatch you and go into the room, so tell me straight.”

As he threatened, Yiyeon finally stammered.

“…There were some annoying things. I tried to handle it myself. I was really fully prepared for this, but… just seeing him pass by so casually made me feel like I was going crazy…”

She rambled on with incomprehensible words. Kwon Chaewoo quietly pressed the inside of her wrist. Her pulse was beating so fast it was breathless.

“Yiyeon-ssi, calm down.”

Thanks to the man who calmly met her gaze, Yiyeon slowly caught her breath, which she had been holding back. Kwon Chaewoo gently wiped beneath her eyes with his thumb.

“…Hwang Joyoon.”

At the sudden name, Kwon Chaewoo’s face turned cold.

“What about that bastard?”

“He was standing in our yard all night last night.”

Perhaps Hwang Joyoon wasn’t observing Yiyeon, but Kwon Chaewoo. Since he hadn’t seen him since the briefing, and the man didn’t come and go from the house, he must have thought there was nothing to hinder him.

Yiyeon trembled, taking evidence photos. All the while, Hwang Joyoon brazenly stared back. His subtly curling lips were horrifying.

She reported it, but no one came. Even with the curtains drawn, his gaze clung to her. Her jaw trembled from the bone-chilling sensation. In the end, there was only one place Yiyeon could escape to.

Of course, Kwon Chaewoo wasn’t a switch she could turn on and off, but her heart had already completely tilted to one side. It would be foolish not to shoot when holding a gun.

She was cunning for changing her stance because she needed him. She had no intention of denying that selfishness.

But with this man, with Kwon Chaewoo.

She had a vague belief that he would put a more substantial end to things than the empty public authority. What she needed right now was not lazy protection, but a fierce dog.

There was no longer a hesitant Yiyeon who couldn’t find her way. With unwavering eyes, she turned the doorknob.

“…You’ve been through a lot.”

Meanwhile, Kwon Chaewoo, having heard the whole story, could only manage that one sentence.

He swallowed the rising curses back down his throat. His boiling insides wouldn’t calm down, so he idly clenched and unclenched his fist.

“I’ll take care of it.”

The moment his face contorted, he pulled Yiyeon into a tight embrace. Her small nostrils, pressed against his chest, created ripples like a river.

“Leave things like this to your husband, and Yiyeon-ssi, get some rest.”

“Ah…”

“Just repeat eating and sleeping three times.”

His arms, embracing her, tightened.

“Ah, no. No!”

But Yiyeon struggled, flailing her limbs, and pushed him away. When he reluctantly pulled away, her eyes, meeting him, were somehow filled with distress.

She averted her gaze and scratched her pale cheek.

“I already caught that bug.”