SACCHARIN
CHAPTER 28

 

“I just moved one piece for my own sake.”

If there was a burning ambition hidden beneath Shin Chi-woo’s cold face… then honestly, I hoped he’d come out on top. That was the only way it felt like I could survive and make it home safely.

After drying my hair and leaving the shower room, I returned to my room and finally began to relax. My brain had been spinning all day, so I figured maybe I could lie down and rest now—but someone was sitting on my bed.

“……”

The curtain was drawn, so I could only see a silhouette. I had no idea who had taken over my bed. If it was a woman, that would be a relief. If it was a man… I was in serious trouble.

Up until now, the men on this island had barely dared to speak to me—most likely because they were afraid of the name Shin Chi-woo. Thanks to the rumors, I’d been able to protect myself from certain threats… but maybe that protection ended here.

Carefully, I lowered the pouch I was holding onto the floor and slipped my right hand into the pocket of my work uniform. I must’ve had a bad feeling earlier—maybe that’s why I’d wanted to steal a knife from the cafeteria.

My fingers gripped the handle tightly, every nerve in my body on edge.

“……!”

The person sitting on my bed must’ve noticed me—they moved first. The curtain was suddenly yanked open, and the gesture felt far too aggressive.

“Sweetheart… did you know it’s just you and me here right now?”

I didn’t expect someone to pop out like that. The shock hit so hard I thought, Is this what it feels like when your breath stops?

“So what?”

“The crybaby Seo Wan-yi, who used to sob every single day—look at you, all tough now after just a few days here, huh?”

To my surprise, it was the ballerina, shamelessly sitting on my bed. She was clearly waiting for me too. She really shouldn’t scare people like this.

Even so, I didn’t let my guard down. I kept my grip tight on the knife in my pocket. Shin Chi-woo told me to find her, but he never said we were on the same side.

I’d done ballet briefly when I was young, so I knew better than anyone how muscular a dancer’s body could be. She looked like skin and bones to most, but if she came at me seriously, I’d be crushed in seconds. I was wondering what to do when—

“But you know, sweetheart… I saw you steal that knife.”

“…So?”

“What are you gonna do with it? It probably doesn’t even cut that well.”

“You never know. Maybe my knife cuts just fine.”

“Wanna test it out? See if it does?”

She must’ve thought it wasn’t threatening at all—just a cheap tonkatsu knife or something. The way she looked at me with that almost amused expression made me suddenly feel embarrassed.

“Hand it over. If you pull a knife over something like this, you won’t last long around here.”

“……”

“When your life is truly hanging by a thread… when something happens no one could’ve predicted and no one’s there to help you… that’s when you pull it out.”

“Okay.”

“Or if you ever want to end everything yourself—I guess that’s fair too.”

“…….”

“Chi-woo won’t leave you to fend for yourself.”

She stepped closer and held out her hand. When I took the knife out of my pocket and handed it to her, she quietly accepted it. Feeling awkward now that my right hand was disarmed, I clasped both hands together and asked cautiously,

“Do you… know Shin—”

I was going to ask if she knew Shin Chi-woo, or if she’d come because he sent her, but she simply raised a finger to her lips, as if she already knew everything. Then, she turned the question back to me.

“You’ve got some skill, huh?”

“…Sorry?”

“You know how to strike a deal.”

“How did you know?”

“There’s always a way to know things.”

Right after she said that, she rolled up the sleeve on her left arm ever so slightly. Then, almost playfully, she shook her wrist so I could see—there was nothing there. Judging by that gesture, she clearly knew I’d given a watch to Glasses earlier.

“I heard that one was discontinued?”

“…Yeah.”

“Which means it resells for a good price, right?”

“I never checked. I wasn’t planning to sell it.”

“You didn’t sprinkle sugar on it, did you?”

“I still have one… do you want it?”

“I’ve already got plenty. Save it—use it when you need to save yourself.”

She clearly knew what I had, and how I might try to use it. She even knew what I’d talked about with Glasses.

That’s when I started getting confused. Were Glasses and the ballerina on the same side? Or had the ballerina been watching us through some other channel?

I thought I was being careful, but someone had been trailing me. I needed to be more thorough from now on.

“There was definitely no one in the restaurant bathroom…”

“Did you check every stall?”

“Yes.”

“Did you lock the outer door?”

“…Uh, no.”

“Even if you had, anyone who needs to hear will hear, and anyone who needs to know will know. Just like me.”

I guess she had more people she could move on this island. But that wasn’t the important part. There must be a reason she revealed herself before I approached her.

So I did exactly what the ballerina had just suggested. I went over to the door and locked it properly. Then, I checked all the other beds in the room except for my own, which she was sitting on.

With a click of her tongue, the ballerina gestured for me to come over. I stopped my frantic movements and stepped closer to her.

“Fixing the barn after the cow’s gone, huh?”

“You just taught me that, didn’t you? To check more carefully when you’re talking in secret with someone.”

“…Not stupid, I see.”

Looking at her scarred face up close, I naturally thought of Shin Chi-woo. He’d said the ballerina would help me.

‘There’s someone who’ll help you at the factory. Look for a woman with a scarred face.’

‘Tell her this: you’ve started carving a new stone. She’ll understand.’

I’d been so startled earlier, I’d almost forgotten the message Shin Chi-woo asked me to deliver.

“So, about that… I’ve started carving a new stone.”

I left out that the message was from Shin Chi-woo. I figured she’d know without me saying it. And I was right.

She looked at me, smiled slightly, then gave a single nod. She seemed to know exactly what those words meant.

“Let me ask just one thing. What do you plan to do here from now on?”

“…Keep quiet, but I won’t be still. That’s the only way the chairman won’t kill me.”

“Why’s that?”

“My dad… he was one of the chairman’s closest people. If I die for no reason, someone might use that as an excuse to rise up against him.”

“Go on.”

“I don’t think going after someone’s family sits well with most people… In gangster movies I’ve seen, they always use that as the justification to overthrow the boss.”

“Innocent, aren’t you. Talking like you’re in some movie.”

I only knew bits and pieces from the times my dad vaguely mentioned internal power struggles at the company. I figured every company had some kind of factional conflict. I just didn’t know about Shin Chi-woo’s role in all of it.

Even if they called him a traitor now, I knew my dad had devoted his life to Chairman Pyeon Jae-ho. If the chairman killed me, I was sure it would stir unrest even among the factions I didn’t know about.

“But… for someone I thought was an idiot, Chi-woo picked a pretty sharp one.”

“…….”

“Being here is safer than being out there.”

“Um… Chief Shin said something similar. But I really don’t understand what it means—that this island is ‘safe.’”

“You’ll understand when the time comes. Why are you so impatient?”

“I don’t know anything right now… and that’s frustrating.”

I’d landed in the middle of an invisible battlefield, without knowing who was friend or foe. With my father’s betrayal, Shin Chi-woo’s hidden motives, and the island’s secrets… I needed to understand something if I was going to survive.

I’d been observing everyone on this island carefully for the past ten days. If the ballerina was really one of the key players here, and connected to Shin Chi-woo, there was a chance she’d made ties with other powerful people inside the company too.

That’s why it was important for me to form an alliance with her as well. If things went sour with Shin Chi-woo, I might need someone else’s power—someone in her network.

“You’re still alive precisely because you don’t know anything yet.”

“…Still, it’s frustrating to know nothing at all.”

“Did Chi-woo not say anything about my face?”

“Um… no. He just said… to find you.”

“Then take a good look now.”

“Sorry?”

“This is the answer to all your questions.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she raised her chin slightly toward me, as if telling me to take a good look. At first, I thought I’d made a mistake.

I knew everyone called her “Gombo” behind her back. One of the guys who brushed past me at the golf course had called her that too.

“It’s okay. Don’t flinch and turn away—watch carefully.”

“…….”

“Look me in the face.”

“Yes.”

It was hard to guess her age, but she was definitely middle-aged. The long, slender build made it easy to believe she’d once been a ballerina.

She had a naturally small, elegant face. If you looked closely, her features were refined and well-balanced—nothing unattractive about them. If her skin hadn’t been scarred, she definitely would’ve been considered beautiful in her younger days.

“……?”

But as I looked at her face up close, I noticed something strange. Usually, the term “곰보” “gombo” refers to pitted scars in the flesh. But this was…