Chapter 11: The Fall
“Together, just the two of us?”
I was already surprised to learn that Yuri had a paragliding license, but I couldn’t fathom his true intentions in suggesting we fly together. Did he somehow notice I was scared?
Seo bit her parched lips and glanced nervously at Yuri. He was calmly scanning through the paperwork handed to him by the staff and signing without hesitation.
Flying together with him right behind me? What if I screamed uncontrollably or embarrassed myself? Worse, what if I broke down crying like before?
Her mind was racing. Oblivious to her inner turmoil, the supervisor approached, performing a final check on the equipment before confirming all was in order. He then called Yuri over.
Now connected to Yuri, Seo felt the weight of his presence as he positioned himself behind her, securing them together. As they waited for the wind to stabilize, his arms gently encircled her to adjust their posture.
“It’s perfect flying weather,” the supervisor remarked.
“…I see,” Seo muttered, her mind half-blank. She was trying so hard not to reveal her nerves that it felt like her last shred of composure might snap. Below her, the ground stretched far and wide, dizzyingly distant.
If she ran to the edge of the cliff, it would drop straight down.
“You’ll be falling,” Yuri’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“What?” she blurted, startled as if he had read her mind. Turning quickly to face him, she saw him gazing impassively at the vast field below the cliff.
“Paragliding is just a slow fall,” he said matter-of-factly.
“That’s not exactly reassuring…”
If he was trying to comfort her, his words missed the mark. Falling was precisely what she feared.
“You’re not alone.”
“…?”
“You’re not falling alone, Hong Seo.”
“….”
“I won’t leave you to fall alone. Even if this is nothing more than a slow descent, you have me right beside you.”
Yuri looked down at her, his firm expression radiating a sense of resolve. His unyielding lips reminded her of someone.
Just as that thought crossed her mind, Yuri leaned closer, his voice brushing against her ear.
“To everyone else, it will look like we’re flying. Once you take the leap, you’ll feel free.”
And that’s when Seo understood what Yuri was truly saying.
The two of them were trying to play the part of a perfect couple for the world to see. Yuri would take his place as the head of the foundation, and Seo might have to stand by him, pretending to be the happy and graceful wife.
In the face of the worst option, she was choosing the lesser evil—hiding in a place where even Hong Dayeong couldn’t touch her. At least there, she could still breathe.
They would fabricate a life so convincing that everyone else would see it as beautiful and complete.
“So, give it your all and run. It’s nothing to be afraid of.”
At Yuri’s words, Seo finally lifted her head and looked straight at the cliff’s edge. The landscape below seemed peaceful and inviting.
If the descent was slow and the landing soft, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
“Let’s go,” Seo said.
There was a new resolve in her voice.
Yuri, as if waiting for her signal, pushed off and began running. Seo quickly followed, her feet pounding the ground with determination.
They ran and ran, until suddenly—
Her breath caught as she realized there was nothing beneath her feet.
“…!”
For a heart-stopping moment, their bodies tilted downward. Seo instinctively gripped the cord connecting her to the parachute as though her life depended on it.
Before panic could consume her, Yuri’s hand covered hers, steadying her.
“Look ahead. Exhale.”
It was only then that she realized—she had been holding her breath the whole time, pale as a ghost.
“But… I can’t breathe…”
The moment Seo realized her body was airborne, her thighs trembled, and her vision blurred to the point that tears threatened to fall. Instinctively, she turned to Yuri as if asking for help.
Yuri lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.
Startled, Seo gasped, inhaling sharply, and as soon as their lips parted, she exhaled the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“What are you doing…?!”
“Feel the wind. Clear your mind,” Yuri said as he placed a hand firmly on her shoulder.
The weight of his hand pressed down briefly before lifting, and for some reason, it was comforting. The air current steadied their descent, and for the first time, the scenery came into focus.
“…Ah.”
A soft exclamation escaped her lips.
The wind was cool, and her body felt weightless. It was a moment where all the things that had troubled her seemed suddenly meaningless.
Yuri, noticing the tension leave her face, shifted his body and pulled the cord, steering them into a spin.
As they turned, a new view unfolded before them—a vast, shimmering lake. Sunlight danced on its surface, creating glistening ripples.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
Moments ago, her tears had been born of fear, but now her eyes welled with a different emotion as her heart raced.
“See? You can do it, Hong Seo,” Yuri’s low voice cut through the rhythm of her pounding heartbeat.
Seo’s face flushed red.
When the two of them finally touched down, her legs gave out beneath her, and she almost collapsed, but Yuri caught her in his arms.
At that moment, Seo thought, ‘This trembling must be because of the exhilaration of paragliding.’
‘It’s definitely not because of Yuri’s actions.’
—
“We’ve found the right timing.”
On the drive back to Byeolujae, Seo, unable to fight off the drowsiness brought on by the release of tension, nodded off in the passenger seat. In her half-asleep state, she heard Jeong Soo’s voice in her ear.
“Seonjin is preparing a press conference regarding Kang Yuri’s death?”
“There he goes again, acting as if it’s not about himself. Though, I admit it’s odd to refer to it as ‘my own death.’”
‘Well, that’s because he’s not really Kang Yuri…’ Seo murmured internally in her sleep.
“We’re going to that press conference.”
“Does that mean you’ll reveal yourself to the media then? But are you sure it’s okay not to notify the family in advance? Considering Seonjin’s situation…”
“If they know I’m alive, they’ll adjust their strategy.”
“As expected. But, honestly, it’ll be pretty dramatic when you show up. Kang Yuri, the man who came back from the dead.”
Jeong Soo lowered his voice theatrically, as if setting the scene, and Yuri responded with a faint laugh.
‘He’s laughing?’
Seo, now half-awake, cracked her eyes open. She glanced toward Yuri in the driver’s seat, catching sight of his face.
“!”
His gaze was already fixed on her.
His lips curled into a slight smile, as if he’d just witnessed something amusing.
“W-What is it?!”
“You’re awake?”
“I wasn’t sleeping!”
Yuri raised a hand and gestured toward her forehead. Seo reached up to touch it, then glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror.
There, on her forehead, was a faint circular mark.
“Th-This…”
“You can lean on me next time,” Yuri said, patting his shoulder.
The cream-colored knit sweater he wore looked soft and warm, and his broad shoulders seemed perfectly suitable for leaning on. Seo, startled by her own quick observation, chastised herself.
‘What’s wrong with me lately?’
In that fleeting moment, she couldn’t deny she was tempted to actually rest her head on him. She couldn’t understand why she’d felt that way.
“It’s fine,” Yuri added.
“Then maybe you should wipe your mouth,” he teased, leaving her flustered once again.
“What?”
Seo jolted in surprise and brushed her lips with the back of her hand. However, nothing came off.
“You’re so innocent, Hong Seo.”
She heard a laugh.
He really laughed. Out loud.
The way his lips curled upward and his eyes slightly crinkled was so much more charming than she expected that Seo found herself staring at him, forgetting that she was being teased.
In her place, Jeong Soo reprimanded Yuri.
“They say people change when they’re close to death. What happened to you, Yuri? You die and come back, and you’ve changed?”
“Maybe I awakened after facing a crisis,” Yuri said, laughing it off.
Then, as if he genuinely meant it, he gently tilted Seo’s shoulder down.
“By the way, we need to fix the schedule immediately. Since it’s a press conference, you’ll need hair and makeup done, but if we make a reservation, everything will be exposed…”
“I’m fine. Just book it under Hong Seo’s name.”
“You’ve been doing your own styling since you were young and entered competitions, right? Understood.”
“Wait, you do it yourself?”
Seo couldn’t believe it.
Due to the algorithms, she had occasionally come across videos of Kang Yuri playing as a child, and each time, his neat and graceful demeanor had left a strong impression on Seo.
“Of course. You know, he hates others touching him.”
That’s right.
Seo almost forgot.
Kang Yuri avoided contact with others.
Though she didn’t know much, Seo speculated that it might be a symptom like “contact phobia,” similar to characters in movies.
And very few people knew about it.
At least, as far as she knew.
That was the most obvious reason why the man sitting beside her couldn’t possibly be Kang Yuri.
“So, about that,” Yuri began, looking at Seo, “I was hoping you could help me.”
“What? You want me to help with the press conference preparations to avoid any problems…”
“Not that.”
“Then what?”
“Do you know how to do hair styling?”
“…What kind of styling?”
“I just want to feel your touch, Hong Seo.”
