Chapter 111
Yugyeom’s words were etched vividly into my foggy mind. I remained silent for a moment before barely managing to speak.
“…Really?”
I had made various guesses on my own about how this room was originally used.
But none of those wrong answers had come close to what Yugyeom had just said.
“Would I lie to you, miss?”
Yugyeom smiled faintly.
The flow of his words was so natural that I almost accepted them as truth for a moment before realizing the reality.
After all, he had pretended to be drunk when he showed up today. If I fell for it again, it would end up just like last time…
Unconsciously, I touched the back of my neck. The lingering warmth from that memory seemed to still be there.
I almost glanced at the wardrobe in the room but managed to stop myself before my gaze shifted.
Feeling as though my face was growing hot, I looked away when my eyes met Yugyeom’s. Startled, I awkwardly avoided his gaze.
Trying to appear casual despite how flustered I felt, I moved the hand resting on my neck to brush my hair over my shoulder.
Even though I had distracted my hands, my lips felt dry.
Someone, please tell me it’s just my imagination that Yugyeom is watching my neck with an intense gaze right now.
Unable to endure the moment any longer, I stood up from the bed and asked, “How do you know?”
Yugyeom replied as though he’d prepared his answer in advance.
“I overheard it by chance while passing by.”
It wasn’t a particularly convincing answer. It felt like he was just filling in the blank with anything to complete the sentence.
I squinted at him suspiciously, but he added in a soft voice, “Don’t overthink it too much.”
At his words, my mind, which I hadn’t even realized felt heavy, seemed to lighten. It was like a breath of fresh air through an open window.
He was right. I was overthinking everything.
Kang Taejun was dead now. Yugyeom was right here in front of me. There had never been a “sad ending” to begin with.
The time I spent fearing things would unfold like the ending I envisioned was meaningless now.
Before I realized it, Yugyeom was standing right in front of me. He met my eyes and spoke in a languid, low voice.
“Whatever it may be,”
His cold hand covered mine, the familiar temperature bringing me a sense of comfort.
“The key will always be in your hands, miss.”
* * *
After leaving Yeonbyeol’s room, Yugyeom headed to his own in the square.
“So exhausting,” groaned Lee Chan, sprawled out on the floor. His lips puckered in irritation as he complained.
“If we get caught, this alliance or whatever is over, you know that, right?”
On Lee Chan’s computer screen, footage from the square’s CCTV was playing.
As punishment for accidentally revealing Yugyeom’s lie to Yeonbyeol, Lee Chan hadn’t been allowed a moment’s rest until dawn.
He was frantically trying to avoid Yugyeom’s meticulous torment, which might last for days—or even longer.
His task was both simple and aggravating.
Lee Chan monitored the CCTV and informed Yugyeom whenever the guards turned their heads in another direction.
Taking advantage of those moments, Yugyeom managed to sneak into and out of Yeonbyeol’s room successfully.
Unlike the room he had infiltrated in the past, this one was different.
It felt like a princess locked in a tower by a witch. Yet the princess was unaware of where her gaze should rest, adding to the serendipity of today’s meeting.
Returning from a rendezvous with Hawon, Yugyeom managed to outmaneuver the handful of guards in the square and reach the top floor with Lee Chan’s help.
“The whole time, I was on edge about getting caught. If it weren’t for my unparalleled skills, hacking through Baekcheon’s system would’ve been nerve-wracking…”
“And now, I need those unparalleled skills of yours again, Chan.”
At Yugyeom’s words, Lee Chan paled. With his sharp instincts, he knew to be wary of Yugyeom’s smiling face.
“Her name is Ivy. Here’s the address.”
“…That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
Lee Chan stared at the single-line address on the slip of paper and momentarily refused to accept reality.
“You know women hate it when men dig into their backgrounds, right?”
“Background check? No.” Yugyeom tilted his head, pretending not to understand.
“It’s just to prepare. The miss might go there, and it could be dangerous.”
“…”
“If I stop her, she might go with another man.”
Yugyeom’s lips curved into a sly smile. The way his mouth tilted up felt oddly intense.
With his keen intuition, Lee Chan instantly grasped the real reason behind Yugyeom’s request.
He shook his head in disbelief.
For the first—and probably last—time in his life, he felt a flicker of sympathy for Yeonbyeol.
* * *
Baek Hawon’s love for his mother was an indisputable fact.
Pure and blind devotion.
But that love met a cold end during the winter of his sixteenth year.
It was the result of a rebellion instigated by the Ju family, who sought to seize power.
While the Baek family retained their position, they lost something so precious they had never dared to expose it to the world.
Snow-white skin, cheeks as red as roses, piercing eyes.
Among all her beautiful features, the one that shone brightest was her pure and untainted heart—a quality the rebels could never possess, even in death.
It was only natural that I hadn’t anticipated who had originally occupied this room.
The most cherished person’s space. I couldn’t imagine Baek Hawon offering me such a place.
A strange feeling stirred within me. And yet, he refused to meet me. If he wouldn’t face me, there was nothing I could do.
Perhaps I needed to respect his wishes and wait.
But wasn’t this just running away? Couldn’t he at least say something?
Lost in my thoughts, I lay on the bed, blankly blinking up at the ceiling until I realized the sun was about to rise.
Suddenly, I sat up and declared to myself, “No way. I’m opening that door.”
I walked boldly with the key in hand, stopping beneath the stained glass, right above the secret door.
When I hadn’t known, it didn’t matter, but now that I did, my curiosity wouldn’t allow me to ignore it.
In Utopia, I had found the door Yugyeom had hidden, after all. I had a baseless confidence that I could find this one too.
Where could it be? Though I had searched thoroughly before, I began combing through the room from the beginning once more.
“Ha… Should I just ask Jiwoon?”
By the time I reached the part where I had to inspect the books on the wall-to-wall bookshelf one by one, I couldn’t help but sigh.
Climbing the ladder, I rested for a moment with my head leaned against the bookshelf, and something clicked in my mind.
*”The key is in your hands, miss.”*
The words Yugyeom had said earlier flashed through my head. I lifted my head from the bookshelf and looked at the key in my hand.
The silver key, untarnished, was smooth and lacked any special markings or embellishments.
Could it really be my key? Could it open this door?
At that moment, an untraceable instinct flashed through my mind like lightning. I descended the ladder and stood over the floor’s hidden door.
As the colorful light from the stained glass filtered through and painted me with its hues, I raised the key toward the light.
When the light wrapped around the key, letters that had been invisible began to appear.
“…I’m terrible at riddles.”
Ten numbers.
What was I supposed to do with these numbers? Feeling overwhelmed, I read them aloud in sequence.
And when I uttered the final number—
Click.
A metallic sound came from beneath my feet. I froze and looked down at the floor.
It sounded like a lock being released.
I stepped aside from the square outline on the floor and crouched, cautiously pressing down on the surface.
The floor, which hadn’t budged even when I stomped on it, now slid downward in a perfect square shape before gliding aside like an automatic door.
“Wow…!”
Unable to hold it in, I clapped a hand over my mouth in awe.
Beyond the square hole in the floor was a narrow staircase leading down.
It seemed to stretch quite far, as I couldn’t see where it ended. The only way to find out where it led was to go myself.
I hesitated for a moment, but somehow, it felt as though I had already been given permission.
Giving me this key and this room—wasn’t it with the possibility of discovering this door in mind?
“This is… eerie.”
Small lights along the walls lit up automatically as I descended. The further down I went, the more it felt like I was sinking into an abyss.
The place didn’t look neglected, as though no one had been here for ages. On the contrary, it seemed ready for use at any time.
Balancing equal parts fear and curiosity, I descended the steps slowly, one by one.
Not knowing where the stairs led made the journey feel exceptionally long.
Finally, the stairs ended, and at the bottom, I was met with another door. Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand on the doorknob.
The cold touch of metal came with a certainty—I could open this door. Without further hesitation, I turned the knob.
‘It opens.’
The door swung open smoothly.
The dazzling morning sunlight poured in, making my vision flash white.
Standing still with my hand on the knob, I felt the breeze rush in, whispering a welcoming greeting, as though it had been waiting for me.
“…”
And then, with the sea cradling the newly risen sun in the background, I locked eyes with a man.
Baek Hawon.
The eyes, which always seemed like cold abysses, today resembled glimmering blue waves, shining brightly in the radiant light.
I was swept away by the fierce wave and called his name.
“Baek Hawon.”
