Perfect Possession - Episode 11

Jae-hoon thought Seo-yeon wouldn’t want to hear Mi-ryung’s voice, let alone see her face. He was worried about Seo-yeon being bothered by her call.

Finding Tae-yul was already overwhelming enough, and he didn’t want to add to her anxiety with such unnecessary things. But “Are you crazy?” The words stung, and a dark air rushed into his heart.

“Before you think about my mother, think about why I blocked her calls in the first place.”

Jae-hoon blurted out harsh words, wanting Seo-yeon to understand his feelings better. He regretted it as soon as he said it.

“I’m sorry I said you were crazy.”

Seo-yeon knew why Jae-hoon had said that. So she was going to tell him that he didn’t need to, that she wasn’t going to avoid or run away. But she had hurt his feelings.

“I didn’t mean to say that. Don’t worry about it. Either way, once we find Tae-yul, I plan to face her head-on.”

“Head-on? You don’t mean to say you’re going to confront the Madam…”

“Of course. I have no intention of hiding my son and raising him in secret.”

Seo-yeon hadn’t thought that far ahead, focused as she was on finding Tae-yul. But she knew Jae-hoon was capable of it.

When the Do-young Group had pressured him after finding out he was dating her, he had declared he had no intention of breaking up. Seo-yeon felt relieved, but she couldn’t help but worry about Jae-hoon.

“If we don’t get any leads from that woman today, we have to start over. So, don’t think about anything else.”

“Okay. But I’ll still contact her. I don’t plan to avoid her, but until we find Tae-yul. I don’t want to see her.”

Seo-yeon resented Mi-ryung almost as much as she resented Sung-hee. But on the other hand, she understood why the lady of the Do-young Group wouldn’t approve of her. Who would want their son, the group’s heir, dating a mere secretary?

Seo-yeon hated Mi-ryung only because she had caused her and Jae-hoon to end up like this. She was also surprised by the news that he had blocked her calls, fearing that she would barge in and interfere with the search for Tae-yul.

“I’ll take care of it. Let’s not talk about this anymore.”

Jae-hoon said firmly, and Seo-yeon didn’t bring it up again. Until they arrived at Seoul Station, they quietly thought only of Tae-yul. They had left early in the morning, so they arrived without much traffic.

As the car parked, Hyun-shik turned around and said,

“The train from Changwon arrives at 5:11 AM. It arrives at 8:13 AM, so we still have about 20 minutes.”

“At the station?”

“Too many people moving around might raise suspicion, so the Director and Attorney Yoon’s people are watching. Excuse me for a moment.”

Hyun-shik stopped talking abruptly as a call came in.

“Hello? Yes?”

Hyun-shik, always calm, looked back at the two of them with a surprised expression. He looked at Jae-hoon and said quickly,

“That woman got off at Gwangmyeong Station.”

“What?”

“The woman in Paju just got a call from her friend saying that she got off at Gwangmyeong and would call again later. Even if we move now… we’ll be late.”

Seo-yeon couldn’t breathe at the news that Jeongwon had gotten off at Gwangmyeong. If they missed her, they would have to start all over again, as Jae-hoon had said. Seo-yeon felt like all the blood was draining from her face and just stared at Jae-hoon.

His initial surprise disappeared, and he made a call somewhere.

“It’s me. Did you find her? Okay, I got it. I’ll be right there.”

Jae-hoon breathed a sigh of relief and opened his mouth.

“Just in case, I told Jae-moon to wait at Gwangmyeong Station.”

“Did they meet? Is it the right woman? You don’t know her face.”

Seo-yeon couldn’t believe what Jae-hoon was saying.

“I had the woman I met yesterday send me a picture. They’re together now. Hyun-shik, take the fastest route.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Only then did Seo-yeon realize that he was the kind of person who prepared up to Plan C for everything. She unconsciously grabbed Jae-hoon’s hand.

When she was dating him, she was always holding his hand, so it was an instinctive action born of anxiety. Surprised, she tried to let go, but Jae-hoon held on tighter.

“The fact that she ran away means she knows something.”

He looked at Seo-yeon quietly, without asking why she had grabbed his hand. She nodded silently. Seo-yeon also thought that the woman named Jeongwon held the key.

The two of them didn’t let go of each other’s hands until they arrived at their destination.

The car sped along a shortcut to Gwangmyeong City. Hyun-shik, who was from Gwangmyeong, knew even the small roads as well as he knew his own home. Thanks to him, they arrived at Gwangmyeong Station sooner than expected.

The two of them got out of the car and headed straight to the pottery studio where Jae-moon was with Jeongwon. Fortunately, Jae-moon’s acquaintance had a studio near Gwangmyeong Station, so they didn’t have to worry about being seen.

As the antique pottery studio came into view, Seo-yeon’s legs gave way, and she couldn’t keep up even though she was walking diligently. But she did her best to match Jae-hoon’s pace. Suddenly, his pace slowed down.

“Take a deep breath if you need to before we go in. You look too pale.”

“I’m okay.”

Jae-hoon looked at Seo-yeon intently, as if checking something, and then turned his gaze to Hyun-shik. Hyun-shik nodded and pressed the bell on the studio door. A short bird sound rang out, and the door opened immediately.

“You’re here early.”

Jae-moon patted Hyun-shik on the shoulder and shifted his gaze to Jae-hoon and Seo-yeon.

“She’s rambling. But what’s certain is that she knows your son is the heir to the Do-young Group. Anyway, go inside. Seo-yeon, don’t worry. That woman definitely knows something.”

“Thank you, Teacher.”

Seo-yeon took a deep breath as Jae-hoon had told her to and went inside. The woman, who had been pacing anxiously around the room, froze when she found Seo-yeon and Jae-hoon.

She couldn’t breathe, as if terrified, and her hands trembled. As Jae-hoon tried to approach, Seo-yeon grabbed his arm.

“I’ll do it. Please.”

“You don’t have to push yourself.”

“I’m not pushing myself.”

Seo-yeon thought that the fact that the woman was trembling like that meant that something was wrong. She was worried that she would be too scared to speak.

“Okay. I’ll be here.”

Seo-yeon approached Jeongwon. But the closer she got, the more Jeongwon trembled and backed away.

“You’re… you’re her, right? Don’t you remember me? It was a long time ago, but I vaguely remember. I went to see the sea with my mom once. There was an aunt I met then who brought out an older sister. She even gave me a hairband with a big ribbon on it.”

Sung-hee, who used to drink all day because life was hard, had left the next day with only one bag, saying she was going to see the sea.

Seo-yeon was five years old then. She didn’t like her mom who smelled like alcohol, but she was excited to see the sea.

Until just now, she didn’t know that the aunt Sung-hee had met that day was Haeja. Haeja had brought out her older daughter, who didn’t play with the young Seo-yeon.

Still, she followed her around, so she bought her a hairband. The memory that she had completely forgotten came back to her because of the red dot on Jeongwon’s hand. The older sister she had met that day also had the same red dot on her hand.

“You… you remember me?”

“I remembered because of the dot on your hand.”

“I, I don’t know anything.”

“Please, sister. Where is my son? My mom sent him to Aunt Haeja, right?”

“I, I don’t know. I told you, I don’t know.”

She trembled violently and backed away when she brought up the child.

“I know it’s not your fault, sister. It’s all my mom’s fault, so I’ll never blame you. Please, just tell me where he is.”

Seo-yeon barely managed to resist the urge to rush in, choke her, and ask where Tae-yul was. She was only scared of what she was so afraid of that she was trembling like that.

“I, I told you, I don’t know.”

“It’s not something you can get away with by saying you don’t know. Sister, you know who that person is over there, right? If you don’t tell me, neither you nor Aunt Haeja will be safe. So please, tell me when I ask. I’ll make sure you don’t get hurt.”

Jeongwon, who had been trembling, only turned her eyes to glance at Jae-hoon before dropping her gaze down.

“I, I’ll really be okay, right?”

“Of course. I won’t do anything to you. I’ll give you a reward for telling me.”

Seo-yeon’s heart felt like it was going to burst as Jeongwon was about to open her mouth, and it was hard for her to stand. She staggered, and Jae-hoon quickly approached and supported her.

But Seo-yeon shook off his hand. She was afraid that Jeongwon would be scared and shut her mouth again.

“Tell me.”

“I, I’m sorry. I really didn’t know.”

Jeongwon burst into tears and knelt down, begging with her hands clasped together.

“My mom just told me to take care of him for a few days but then Sung-hee died, and she said that if I kept the child, I would take the blame for everything, so she told me to find a place to send the child. Even then, I really didn’t know. That he was from such a great family. My mom just said he was the son of a rich family, so take good care of him…”

“So where is that child now!”

Seo-yeon couldn’t hold back and screamed, grabbing Jeongwon by the collar.

“Where did you send my son? Where did you send that little thing!”

The pent-up resentment burst out all at once. Everything was her fault, but she felt like she was going crazy that her son was being used for money and being moved around from place to place.

She wanted to tear out her own heart with her own hands and cut off the breaths of Haeja and even Jeongwon in front of her, one by one.

“Tell me! Before I kill you all… tell me…”

Seo-yeon shook Jeongwon and sobbed. She was suffocating, and her whole body was numb. Everything was spinning around Seo-yeon, but she didn’t let go of the hand shaking her by the collar.

Her mind became hazy, and her vision blurred. She heard someone hugging her and calling out urgently. Soon after, she heard a shout, “Do something quickly!” but it gradually faded away.

‘I need to hear where my son is quickly…’

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