Three years ago........
Youn-Jae's heart hammered in his chest as he sprinted toward the cliff's edge, panic constricting his throat, tightening with every step. The wind howled around him, but all he could hear was the relentless pounding of his heart and the crash of waves below. He skidded to a halt, breath caught in his lungs, and leaned over the edge, his gaze frantically scanning the dark, churning sea. But there was nothing. The sea was an indifferent abyss, its waves crashing mercilessly against jagged rocks, as though mocking his desperate hope.
His hands shot up, raking through his disheveled hair, trembling with the violent frustration rising within him. "Where is he?" The question screamed in his mind, but the ocean swallowed it whole, taking his hope with every crash of the waves. His eyes darted wildly to the narrow path where Andrew had descended earlier, a thin trail winding downward toward the cliffs below. Without a second thought, Youn-Jae turned and sprinted toward it.
He paused only for a brief moment, scanning the steep descent below, his breath ragged, chest tight with dread. His instincts screamed at him to act, to do something—anything—to find Ji-Won. His body moved before his mind could catch up. Youn-Jae ripped off his suit jacket and tossed it aside, his movements sharp, desperate.
Just as he was about to step forward, a voice cut through the chaos, jagged and desperate. "President, stop!" Secretary Min's flashlight beam swept across the ground as he hurried toward him, his voice tight with panic. "It's dangerous!"
Youn-Jae barely registered the words. His body was already in motion, slipping off his shoes, focusing on the narrow, treacherous path ahead. His brother, the Vice Chairman, appeared from the opposite direction, his face contorted with fury. His voice, sharp with anger, carried an undertone of fear. "Don't be a fool, Youn-Jae! You'll only make it worse if you get hurt too!" He scanned the cliffside, his eyes searching for Andrew, but his focus remained split between the cliff and Youn-Jae's reckless actions.
Youn-Jae's gaze never wavered. His mind was consumed with only one thought—finding Ji-Won. Ignoring his brother's fury, he began descending the unstable trail. The earth trembled beneath him, loose rocks tumbling away where Andrew had already disturbed the path. The ground barely offered enough to hold on to, but Youn-Jae's determination was a force of its own. Driven by sheer desperation, he slid further down, his every movement instinctual, frantic.
"Are you really that insane?!" The Vice Chairman's voice broke through again, a mix of rage and helplessness in every word. "Get him back up here, now!" He spun around, eyes wild with fury, turning his frustration on Secretary Min.
Secretary Min tried once more, his voice cracking with urgency as he reached out. "President, please—come back!" But Youn-Jae's focus was razor-sharp, his body moving with a singular purpose, his mind deaf to the pleas behind him. His fingers clung to the last handholds on the rocky path, his body sliding downward despite the wind whipping against him, drowning out the chaos above.
Just before he disappeared completely from view, one of the security personnel rushed over, breathless. "There's another way down, further along the road. We can reach the bottom through there!"
Secretary Min's eyes locked onto the man, a flash of hope igniting in his chest. His head snapped back toward Youn-Jae, but it was too late. Youn-Jae had already vanished, swallowed by the cliffside.
Without hesitation, the Vice Chairman barked orders. "Follow him. Everyone to the cars!"
The group scrambled back to the mansion, rushing into their vehicles, engines roaring to life as they sped toward the road that wound down to the bottom of the cliff. But Secretary Min paused, rooted to the spot, his gaze straining in the direction Youn-Jae had disappeared. For a moment, he hesitated—torn between following Youn-Jae into the unknown or returning with the group.
The weight of indecision settled heavily in his chest. But in the end, duty pulled him away. He turned, his steps heavy with regret, and followed the others, his heart sinking with every step he took away from the cliff's edge.
***
The road was a scene of controlled chaos—ambulances, police, and rescue teams converging beneath the cold, indifferent night sky. The crackle of radios, hurried footsteps, and anxious voices filled the air, layering tension over every movement. Rescue workers, without hesitation, vaulted over the concrete barrier on the left side of the road, rushing toward the cliff. Loose rocks scattered under their feet, tumbling down the steep descent as they moved swiftly to reach the shoreline below.
The Vice Chairman remained standing on the road, arms crossed tightly over his chest, his posture rigid as he maintained an air of calm. His face was pale but composed, his gaze fixed on the distance. Inside, his heart was pounding, but he refused to let it show.
Nearby, Secretary Min was unable to stay still, his worry for Youn-Jae clawing at him with every second that passed. No matter how police officers tried to keep him back, he was relentless, brushing off their protests. Determined, he jumped the barrier and hurried down the dangerous, uneven path. His steps were frantic, his footing nearly giving way as he stumbled after the rescue workers.
At the bottom of the cliff, a bitter wind lashed against Secretary Min's face, but he hardly felt the cold. His eyes darted over the jagged rocks and churning waves. Flashlights flickered through the darkness as the rescue teams searched, K9 dogs sniffing along the shoreline. And then, he saw him—Youn-Jae.
Standing on the slippery rocks, drenched by the crashing waves, Youn-Jae was shouting Ji-Won's name, his voice raw and desperate. Every call cracked, his voice betraying the sheer panic gripping him. Water sprayed up from the rocks, soaking him, but he barely flinched.
Secretary Min's stomach dropped when his flashlight caught the blood trailing down Youn-Jae's forehead, glistening under the harsh light —a gash from where Youn-Jae had stumbled earlier, losing his balance in his rush to get down the cliffside. Without hesitation, Secretary Min pushed his way through the rocks toward him.
"President, you're bleeding!" Secretary Min called out, his voice tight with alarm as he approached Youn-Jae.
Youn-Jae didn't turn, didn't even acknowledge him. "It's nothing," he murmured, eyes locked on the violent waves as he shouted Ji-Won's name again, his voice breaking.
"It's not nothing! You're bleeding heavily!" Secretary Min insisted, his hand reaching out to grip Youn-Jae's arm, his fear for Youn-Jae overriding everything else. "You need treatment, or you'll collapse here. Please—"
But Youn-Jae wrenched his arm free, his voice hoarse and strained as he continued calling. "I don't care! I have to find him!"
Secretary Min's own voice trembled as it rose, sharp with desperation and urgency. "President, if you don't let them treat you now, you won't have the strength to keep looking! You can't go on like this!"
Youn-Jae's voice faltered, and for a moment, he stood frozen. The words finally broke through the haze of panic, and he slumped, his shoulders caving in under the weight of it all. His knees buckled, and he dropped heavily onto the jagged rocks, his head hanging low. His voice, barely a whisper, slipped out, broken, "Fine. I'll get treated here. Just… bring the medics."
As he sat there, eyes never leaving the dark waves, it was as if he'd lost a piece of himself to the relentless sea. The wind and the crashing surf seemed to mock him, indifferent to his pain, each wave a brutal reminder of how helpless he was against the vastness of the ocean.
***
Twenty-four agonizing hours had dragged by with no trace of Ji-Won. Each moment pressed down on Youn-Jae, crushing him with an unbearable weight. But he couldn't give in—not yet. His chest burned with frustration and helplessness as the rescue team called off the search for the night, their faces marked with silent apologies and a defeated fatigue that Youn-Jae couldn't bring himself to accept. Desperation gnawed at him, and he knew he had to make a call no one wanted to make.
Just then, Uncle Baek and Byeong-Ho arrived, pale and shaken, their eyes frantic as they scanned the cliffside where it had all happened. Secretary Min had notified them as soon as the incident occurred, explaining what little he knew and arranging their hurried flight from Jeju. The journey had been a blur, and now, standing on the gravel, reality hit them with relentless force.
"No… this can't be real," Uncle Baek whispered. His fingers clutched the edge of his coat, his knuckles white as he dug into the fabric, trying to steady himself. His gaze locked onto the rocks below, where the waves crashed mercilessly, indifferent to his grief. How had it come to this? How could Ji-Won—the boy he loved like a son—be gone? His knees buckled, and he sank down, unable to hold back the tears streaming down his face.
Beside him, Byeong-Ho knelt in silent disbelief, his face pale, his eyes wide and disoriented. He glanced between Youn-Jae and the raging sea, lips pressed tightly together as if to contain words too painful to speak. The cold wind whipped around them, carrying with it the oppressive silence of loss.
Youn-Jae, his face hollow with exhaustion, approached slowly, feeling as if the world around him had slowed to an agonizing crawl. Seeing the devastation in Uncle Baek's eyes twisted his heart, filling him with guilt so deep he could barely speak. "Uncle… I'm so sorry… it all happened so fast." His voice cracked under the weight of his remorse, and as he explained the events of that night, each word dragged at his conscience, raw and unrelenting.
Uncle Baek didn't respond immediately. He stared, his eyes glassy, at the spot where Ji-Won had disappeared, silent tears trailing down his weathered face. He took a shallow, trembling breath, then finally looked up, his voice breaking in a whisper. "How… how could this happen to Ji-Won?"
Youn-Jae had no answer. He simply stood there, his heart sinking into a chasm as dark and fathomless as the sea before them.
The story doesn't end here.....
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