SACCHARIN
CHAPTER 29

 

 

Unless she was from my grandmother’s generation, it didn’t make sense. There’s a vaccine now, so no one middle-aged today should’ve had smallpox.

At first, when they called her “Gombo,” I thought maybe it was because of acne scars or some kind of skin condition. But looking closely, it wasn’t like cratered marks—it looked more like deep burn scars.

It wasn’t the kind of pockmarked face we typically think of. It seemed like she’d suffered burns from something and hadn’t received proper treatment in time, leaving worse scars. I was just thinking that when—

“So? Do you think I look like a gombo too?”

“No… These are burns…”

Someone had pressed something hot to her face. Who would do that? And why?

“Then who do you think did this to me?”

From the way she asked, it was clear she didn’t do it to herself. So someone else did… No way—

“Chairman Pyeon Jae-ho?”

“Haven’t heard that name from someone else’s mouth in a long time.”

“The chairman… really did that to your face?”

“He said I killed his son, so this is what I got.”

Everyone said Chairman Pyeon locked the ballerina away on this island, never to leave again, until she died. So even while I was showering earlier, I kept wondering—did she really kill his son? Is that why she’s been trapped here for over ten years?

But if I look at the “Pyeon Jae-ho” puzzle from another angle, it all starts to make sense. I could see it in her eyes when she showed me her face—this raw emotion that wasn’t easy to explain.

“I was wronged. Sure, I was blind with love, but I’m not so crazy that I’d kill someone—let alone someone’s child.”

Even if she didn’t spell it out, I could feel it. No, she gave me a hint—there had been an affair between her and Chairman Pyeon.

“Chairman’s wife passed away, Wan-yi. Now she’ll get to see her beloved son again.”

It was about three years ago, wasn’t it? Dad had told me Chairman Pyeon’s wife had died, after years of depression following her son’s death. That meant Pyeon had been married when he was seeing the ballerina. Ah… so that’s why she didn’t kill the son. Now it made sense.

Still… the age difference must’ve been… not small. So, it was love. Or rather, an affair.

I was still staring at her, a little stunned, when she slowly closed her eyes and opened them again, a strange smile on her lips as she touched her own face with her fingertips.

“Have you ever smelled burning flesh? Flesh that’s melting?”

“N-no.”

“I have… It’s so hot… hurts so much… then eventually, you can’t feel anything.”

“……”

“Chiik—chiik—. That sound. I still hear it in my ears.”

Just hearing her say it, my own face felt like it was catching fire. Even the overhead lights felt hot against my skin.

Before I knew it, I instinctively brushed my cheek with the palm of my hand. Nothing was wrong, but the pain she must’ve endured felt almost hallucinatory.

“But you know what hurts more than having your skin melt off?”

“I… I don’t.”

“When the person you love doesn’t believe you… That betrayal—hurts worse than this face.”

It was ironic, talking about love when she’d been in an affair. But maybe, for her, it had been real. Her eyes still burned with a mixture of love and hate.

If she really had been falsely accused of such a huge crime… setting aside the question of morality, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, just as a human being.

“And that bastard… I heard he’s got cancer now, on his last legs. So? Still handsome, even as an old man?”

“Is that really what matters right now?”

“It matters to me. For men, it’s all about the face.”

“……”

“He’s gotta still have that handsome face, just like when I first met him… That’s the only way getting my revenge will feel worth it.”

I never imagined that the ballerina—someone as good as dead to the world—would still be holding onto the hope of revenge. After being cut off from the world for so long, I thought she would’ve given up by now.

She lowered her chin and looked directly at me. Aside from my professor, I’d never seen a woman with such piercing eyes before, and I found myself avoiding her gaze.

There was no guarantee that Chairman Pyeon wouldn’t do the same thing to me. Just seeing what he’d done to her face was enough to know how brutal he could be. Naturally, that made me even more afraid.

“If I had stayed in Seoul… would that have happened to me too?”

“That depends on what Pyeon Jae-ho decides, doesn’t it?”

“I… I’m really scared.”

“That’s why Chi-woo’s doing all this—trying so hard to save at least you.”

“Why?”

“You figure that out. It’d be boring if I just told you, wouldn’t it?”

The ballerina didn’t give me a clear answer. The way she danced around the point with vague, winding words—it was just like Shin Chi-woo.

“Why is Shin Chi-woo trying to save me?”

“Let me ask you first. Why do you think Pyeon Jae-ho spared me?”

“…How would I know what’s in the chairman’s heart?”

“I know.”

“……”

“You’ll know soon too.”

If she spoke like Shin Chi-woo, then the answer must’ve been hidden somewhere in there. But I couldn’t keep chasing riddles like this. I was just barely holding back from shouting, Jesus, what the hell are you even saying? when—

She must’ve been done with what she came to do. The ballerina stood up from the bed and pulled a phone charger out of her pocket, handing it to me.

“If you’re really that curious, contact Chi-woo and ask him yourself. No one will come to this room for the next hour.”

“Shin Chi-woo… I’ll think about it.”

Even if I asked him, it wasn’t like Shin Chi-woo would give me a straight answer. And even if he did, I wasn’t sure I could believe it.

“By the way, do you play golf?”

“Uh, I can fake it a little.”

“Go to the screen golf room. In the women’s bathroom, next to the sink, there’s a broken hand dryer. Unplug it and charge your phone there.”

“…Thank you.”

She tossed the charger onto the bed and gave me a small smile, watching me indifferently. But her expression told me she understood me better than she let on. The place she told me about was definitely a safe spot.

Relieved, I bowed my head in thanks as she walked past me.

“Thank you so much for helping me.”

“Don’t say stuff you don’t mean. Oh, right—hey, did you actually sleep with Chi-woo?”

She had already turned her back, but now she glanced over her shoulder and asked like it had just come to her. I gave a vague, neutral look—neither confirming nor denying.

“Well… sort of.”

“Mmm… If someone else asks like I did, just react the same way.”

“…You think I should?”

“Yeah, ’cause just now, for a second, even I thought—oh, guess that bastard’s not impotent after all.”

“Does it really matter that much?”

“It does. Guys with dicks—none of them would dare touch something that someone higher in the hierarchy has already staked a claim on.”

“……”

“That’s how I managed to stay safe here, no matter what else happened.”

“…Oh.”

“See now? How hard Chi-woo’s been working to protect you?”

She was saying that, ironically, it was Pyeon Jae-ho’s own brand on her as a “traitor” that kept her safe. There weren’t only women on this island, so even if no one talked about it, things could easily happen here.

“But poor Chief Shin, huh.”

“……?”

“You’re this pretty… must’ve killed him not to even touch you.”

“Ah, no, that’s—”

She scanned me playfully from head to toe and cut me off with a finger to her lips. Don’t say it. She already knew everything. I clamped my lips shut and gave a slight nod.

“Anyway, keep your head down and stay out of sight until this all blows over.”

“Yes.”

“I’m off.”

“Take care.”

“You too.”

Click— The sound of the door shutting behind her. I stood there, staring at the door with a complicated expression.

It was a bit uncertain, but it felt reassuring to have an ally. And it was a relief to finally understand at least part of what I hadn’t been able to make sense of until now.

She said I’d be alone for an hour. I’d been tense for so long, constantly watching my surroundings, that my body was sore in places I didn’t even know could be sore. But today—maybe I could rest, even just for a little while.

Still, I couldn’t fully let go of my caution. Even as I changed into more comfortable clothes, I made sure to thoroughly inspect the locker.

Had someone taken something? Installed a bug or a camera?

Luckily, nothing had changed. But if it had been cleverly hidden, there was nothing I could do. I told myself that and let it go.

First, I lifted the mattress and hid the charger underneath. Then I kicked off my shoes, climbed onto the bed, and finally laid down.

“Ugh… I’m so tired…”

It was nice not having anyone glare at me for muttering to myself. Yesterday, I’d accidentally made a tiny noise while stretching, and Glasses had cursed me out like crazy.

“You cry every night—it’s all an act, isn’t it?”

Even if Glasses took the watch and pretended not to know anything, that was fine. Better to keep a spy whose identity I did know close by. Even if she was a thug, I felt better knowing I’d paid the price to confirm she was sharp.