Chapter 123
The memory of that forest was only partially clear.
I vividly remembered the words I had spoken, Yugyeom’s gaze on me, the gun Baek Hawoon had snatched without hesitation, and the subsequent gunshots.
I could recall those moments distinctly, but the rest of it was like a foggy haze in my mind.
So, I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where things had gone wrong.
“You’ve been thinking I fired the shot this whole time?”
Yugyeom asked with a narrowed gaze. It seemed he hadn’t expected me to think he was the one who shot at me either.
“I didn’t know.”
I shook my head softly, murmuring.
“No one.”
“…”
“Really, no one ever told me that it was someone else.”
I had never questioned it.
Back then, all I saw was Yugyeom, pointing a gun at me.
But looking back now, I think I had been seeing only Yugyeom with a very narrow perspective.
“I thought for sure… it was you.”
I struggled to piece my thoughts together. However, after clinging to the belief that Yugyeom was responsible for so long, it wasn’t something I could easily resolve in an instant.
“I didn’t even pull the trigger.”
Yugyeom chuckled lightly.
“I wanted to kill you, but I was too afraid of living in a world without you to actually pull the trigger.”
My chest tightened strangely.
I had thought he wanted to kill me and had pulled the trigger, but…
“Then who was it?”
The realization hit me all at once. Knowing that I had suffered through that torment and trauma without even knowing the true cause was infuriating.
“Who was trying to kill me?”
Before I returned, Cha Yeonbyeol was merely a puppet flowing with the fate that had been set. If she had harbored any enemies, then the person who would have killed Cha Yeonbyeol in my future wouldn’t have been Yugyeom—it would have been that person.
But how had it changed? Could it be that in the few days I spent in Baek Cheon before being kidnapped to Utopia, I had unknowingly made an enemy?
“I tried to look into it once, but scouring through CCTV footage and vehicle black boxes yielded nothing. They must have sniped from a distance.”
If they were sniping from a distance, then it was undoubtedly a premeditated attack aimed specifically at me.
Who could it have been?
“It’s strange.”
Yugyeom tilted his head in confusion.
“I thought the Boss would have figured it out by now.”
That made sense. No, it didn’t make sense that Baek Hawoon wouldn’t know anything.
“Maybe he knows but just didn’t tell me.”
I pressed my throbbing temple and spoke irritably.
“Honestly, if someone was targeting you, they would’ve warned me to be careful.”
Yugyeom reached out, gently brushing my hair back. The cool sensation traced softly along my cheekbone.
“Maybe he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want you to know. Still, finding out who did it is difficult, so better not to worry you needlessly.”
Once I removed my hand from my temple, Yugyeom lightly massaged the spot. The pounding in my head seemed to ease.
I lifted my gaze to meet Yugyeom’s.
“I’m starting to regret it now.”
Yugyeom spoke softly, his expression warm with a gentle smile. However, his eyes remained dark. He seemed to think I had made a mistake by voicing my concerns.
I tilted the corners of my lips upward and whispered softly.
“You don’t need to regret it. I’m more scared of not knowing what’s going on.”
It was more terrifying not knowing what was happening. I couldn’t just sit idly by and accept whatever outcome came my way.
Even if ignorance was sometimes bliss, in this case, it wasn’t an option.
***
“The sun has already set. You should’ve woken me up.”
I glared at Yugyeom with a huffy tone.
“Ivy’s room was at the end of the 2nd floor.”
Walking across the gray marble floor of the high-ceilinged living room, a staircase leading to the second floor appeared. I began to climb, asking as I went.
“Is Doshiyu awake?”
“Not sure. I’m not entirely sure myself.”
Yugyeom smiled effortlessly. I eyed him suspiciously.
Was he truly clueless, or was he choosing not to say?
“Must be that way.”
Finding Ivy’s room wasn’t difficult. A cute little sign with her name was hung on a pale lemon-colored door.
Surely Angel decorated this herself? It didn’t seem like her style, but at the same time, it fit in a way.
“Seems like you’d do better.”
I looked up at Yugyeom in front of the door.
“Kids may seem clueless, but they’re sharp.”
Even as the day drew to a close, the orange sunset bathed Yugyeom’s hair in a rich, warm hue. His eyes, looking at me, reflected a similar warmth.
“They can pick up on someone genuinely wanting to help them quickly.”
That strangely brief statement gave me courage. I smiled at Yugyeom and gently knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
A small voice responded from behind the door. Moments later, tiny footsteps pattered as the door opened slightly.
“Big Brother?”
A blonde-haired child with her hair braided into one long plait peeked out from the crack in the door.
I took a deep breath to steady my racing heart and smiled softly.
“Hello, Ivy. It’s not big brother, it’s big sister.”
Waving gently, I spoke kindly.
“Do you remember me?”
The blue eyes that looked at me were filled with confusion. Like a frightened kitten, she seemed cautious but didn’t immediately shut the door.
Ivy studied me with her round eyes for a moment before speaking hesitantly.
“Big sister who was with… big brother?”
“That’s right! We saw each other at the gallery with Angel big brother.”
Relief crossed her face as she recognized me, though her wariness didn’t entirely disappear. Fortunately, she remembered me in a positive light.
“You said you’d help Ivy,” she murmured.
“…”
“I’d love to sit down and talk while eating this,” I said, pointing to the snacks Yugyeom was holding. These were Angel’s favorite treats, prepared with care.
Curiosity flickered in Ivy’s eyes. Her sharp, bright gaze reminded me of the first time we met.
Opening the door just a crack, it wasn’t entirely clear, but Ivy carefully pushed the door open more.
The door swung open fully, and as Ivy looked up at Yugyeom, the sound of something breaking echoed.
Clash!
A sound of shattering glass filled the air. It was clear that Ivy had dropped a cup she was holding.
“Careful…”
I cautiously reached out toward Ivy, concerned I might step on a broken glass shard. But the moment I raised my gaze from the scattered shards on the floor, I froze in place.
“…H-hey, uh…”
Ivy was trembling uncontrollably, her expression starkly different from earlier.
“I… I didn’t see anything…”
Her voice was faint, her breathing ragged as she clutched her chest. It was hard to understand what she was saying, her words barely coherent. She took a step back, stepping onto a shard, and her small foot was stained with blood.
“Ivy? Ivy! What’s wrong?”
I took a step toward her, but before I could move any further, a sharp pain shot up my arm, and I was abruptly held back.
“Careful with your steps.”
Yugyeom’s voice was calm but firm.
“Call Angel. Call Angel!”
I urged him desperately.
When I was talking to her moments ago, she seemed fine—so why now?
Then, it struck me.
‘…When I was talking to her.’
I realized where Ivy’s gaze had been fixed.
From the moment the door opened until now, Ivy had only looked at Yugyeom.
“Sa… save me… I don’t remember…”
Her trembling words seemed directed toward Yugyeom, as if pleading for his help.
Because of Yugyeom?
But even if her reaction was extreme, back in the alleyway outside the club, she should have displayed similar distress.
“I’ll bring Angel.”
Yugyeom gently gripped my shoulder and released it. Just as I was about to step away, I stopped him.
*What’s different?*
Last night, when I saw Ivy, something was different—something triggered her trauma now.
“You’re hurt too.”
Yugyeom’s voice came out strained.
I lowered my gaze to where his attention was. The glass shards, now glistening in the sunset’s deep orange light, glinted ominously.
I raised my head again and met Yugyeom’s eyes, stained a deep orange by the falling light from the window.
‘…No way.’
The only thing different was the color of his hair—orange, glowing like the sunset.
