The next morning arrived far too quickly.
The curtains of Ji-Ah's hotel room were still drawn, leaving the room in a soft gray-blue darkness. A thin line of morning light slipped around the edges, painting the carpet with a pale strip of gold.
Ji-Ah was completely buried beneath the blankets.
Her hair was everywhere.
One arm was hanging off the side of the bed.
Her face was half-hidden inside the pillow.
For once, she looked completely peaceful.
Then...
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Ji-Ah didn't move.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A little louder.
She groaned into her pillow. "...No."
Another knock. "Ji-Ah."
Her eyes opened. "...Who?"
"It's me."
Ji-Ah squinted at the clock.
Then at the door.
Then back at the clock.
Her brain took several seconds to reconnect.
Why is someone knocking this early?
She dragged herself out of bed.
Her oversized sleeping shirt was wrinkled from the night, her hair looked as though she'd fought with the pillow and lost, and she hadn't even bothered putting on slippers properly.
She shuffled toward the door.
The knocking came again. "Coming..."
She unlocked the door and pulled it open.
Min-Ji stood outside. Perfectly dressed. Perfect hair. Not a single wrinkle. Ji-Ah stared at her.
Min-Ji smiled. "Good morning."
Ji-Ah blinked. "...Morning."
Min-Ji stepped inside.
Ji-Ah's eyebrows immediately rose. "Um..."
Min-Ji closed the door behind herself.
Click.
Ji-Ah stared at the locked door.
Then at Min-Ji. "...Did I invite you in?"
"No."
"Then..."
Min-Ji turned around. "I wanted to speak to you privately."
Ji-Ah folded her arms.
Still half asleep. "At seven in the morning?"
Min-Ji ignored the question. "I came because of last night."
Ji-Ah's expression changed.
The sleepiness disappeared slightly. "...What about last night?"
Min-Ji slowly turned toward her. "I know you heard something."
Silence.
Ji-Ah's eyes narrowed.
Min-Ji smiled faintly. "You heard voices outside my room."
Ji-Ah didn't answer. "I know you did."
Min-Ji slipped her phone from her handbag. "I just wanted to save you the trouble of investigating."
Ji-Ah stared at her. "...Investigating what?"
Min-Ji tapped her screen. "Nothing."
She walked closer. "There's no mysterious man."
"No secret."
"No reason for you to keep asking questions."
Ji-Ah frowned. "Then why are you explaining this?"
Min-Ji's smile grew. "Because I know you."
She unlocked her phone. "And I know you won't leave something alone once it bothers you."
She turned the screen toward Ji-Ah.
Ji-Ah looked down.
Her entire expression froze. The video. Her. Ha-Joon. That night.
Her heart dropped. For a few seconds she couldn't breathe properly.
The memory came rushing back.
Ha-Joon barely conscious. His movements sluggish. His voice strangely gentle and honest.
Her trying to get him to lie down. Helping him.
Tucking him beneath the blanket.
Nothing about that night had been what it looked like.
But the camera had captured only fragments.
And without context... It looked terrible.
Ji-Ah slowly raised her eyes. "...Where did you get that?"
Min-Ji didn't answer.
Instead, she calmly locked her phone. "I'll show it to Ha-Joon."
Ji-Ah's stomach tightened. "What?"
"I'll show him exactly what the video shows."
"Min-Ji..."
"And then..." She smiled. "I'll show Madam."
Ji-Ah stared at her.
"Then perhaps the media."
Min-Ji tilted her head. "Imagine the headline."
Her voice became almost theatrical. "Renowned Hanryeon Tech CEO involved in an affair with his secretary while engaged."
Ji-Ah's breath caught.
Min-Ji watched her reaction carefully. "Do you understand?"
Ji-Ah's hands curled into fists. "You came all the way to my room just to threaten me?"
"I'm warning you."
"There's a difference."
Min-Ji smiled. "Is there?"
She stepped closer. "Ha-Joon's reputation would be ruined. His family's reputation would be dragged through the mud. And who do you think they'd blame?"
Ji-Ah swallowed. "...Me."
"Exactly."
Min-Ji's voice remained frighteningly calm. "You would lose your job. Your dignity. Your connections with the Kim family."
She paused. "And Ha-Joon would lose everything he has spent years building."
Ji-Ah looked away for a moment.
Min-Ji continued.
"And then..." She smiled. "I'll marry him."
Ji-Ah looked back at her.
Min-Ji's eyes glittered with certainty. "I'll become his wife. I'll own half of the family's property."
Ji-Ah gave a humorless little scoff. "So that's what you want."
Min-Ji's eyebrows lifted. "What?"
"Money."
Ji-Ah looked directly at her. "That's all you care about. You don't love Ha-Joon."
For the first time, Min-Ji laughed.
Not loudly.
It was almost elegant.
Which somehow made it worse. "Love?"
She repeated the word as though she'd just heard something ridiculous. "Where is love when there's wealth?"
Ji-Ah's expression hardened. "You're unbelievable."
"No." Min-Ji slipped her phone back into her handbag. "I'm practical. You should be grateful I'm warning you. Stay away from Ha-Joon."
Ji-Ah stared at her. "Or?"
Min-Ji smiled. "Or I'll destroy both your lives."
The room fell silent.
Ji-Ah's heart was pounding.
But beneath the fear... Something else was growing. Suspicion.
Because Min-Ji had said something she shouldn't have.
I know you heard voices.
How?
Unless... Ji-Ah's eyes narrowed.
She knew I was listening.
And that meant the man she'd heard last night wasn't some random person.
Min-Ji had something to do with him. Definitely.
Min-Ji glanced toward the clock.
"Oh." She smiled. "You should get ready."
"For the tour." She walked toward the door. "Everyone is probably waiting."
Her hand reached for the handle.
Then she paused.
Without looking back, she added quietly, "Remember what I said."
The door opened.
Min-Ji walked out.
The door closed behind her.
Ji-Ah remained standing in the middle of the room.
Still in her wrinkled clothes.
Still with her messy hair.
Still staring at the door. For several seconds, she didn't move.
Then she slowly exhaled. "...That woman."
She ran both hands through her hair. "I thought she was finally starting to have some sense."
Her eyes narrowed. "She's completely gone."
Ji-Ah looked toward the door again.
Then her thoughts returned to last night.
That voice.
That deep voice.
The irritation.
The reluctance.
The way he'd sounded like he desperately wanted something from Min-Ji.
And now... Min-Ji had admitted there was something she was hiding.
Ji-Ah's expression changed.
"So..." She whispered. "There really was a man."
She looked down thoughtfully. "And Min-Ji knows him."
A tiny spark of determination appeared in her eyes. "Then I'm going to find out who he is."
She glanced at the clock.
Her eyes widened. "...After I get dressed."
She looked down at herself. "...Definitely after I get dressed."
Because there was no way she was going detective-mode looking like she'd just been defeated by a pillow.