Chapter 10

Inside Raine’s bag were her old wallet, her cell phone, an unfamiliar, thick blue envelope, and Ju-ha’s profile photo.

Raine realized that the photo of Ju-ha, which she had forgotten about after putting it in the inner pocket of her bag, was still there.

Moreover, her eyes widened at the unexpected state of the photograph.

Ju-ha’s picture had been covered in scribbles with a black permanent marker.

His eyebrows had been redrawn to make him look like a villain, grotesque monster teeth had been drawn sticking out of his mouth, and horns had been added to his head. As if that weren’t enough, stitches had been drawn all over him like Frankenstein.

After examining the state of the photograph more closely, Raine burst out laughing.

“Pfft!”

The person who had vandalized it was presumably Hayden.

Despite his refined appearance, he seemed to have rummaged through her bag without permission.

But Raine wasn’t angry.

Of course, it was childish behavior for a grown adult to ruin Ju-ha’s picture like that, but looking at it actually made her feel relieved.

For the first time in a long while, she felt a tiny bit reassured, as though someone had appeared in this world where she was all alone—someone who was on her side.

Grinning, Raine tore the photograph into pieces and then checked inside her wallet.

Her identification card, which had been issued more than ten years ago, 3,000 won in cash, and a prepaid transportation card with about 7,000 won remaining were all still there.

The photo on her identification card showed exactly what she had looked like at eighteen.

Although the colors had faded a little, Lee Raine in the photograph still had bright, sparkling eyes.

There wasn’t even a hint of being overweight, let alone the body she had now.

Remembering how Ju-ha had desperately pursued her back then, trying everything he could to win her heart, Raine clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“I was slim and pretty back then, too….”

She turned over her resident registration card, and the address of the house where she currently lived was written plainly on the back.

After checking that, she picked up the thick blue envelope.

No matter how hard she searched her memory, she knew she had never put anything like this in her bag.

This must have been the note Ji Cheon-myeong had mentioned.

Then Raine noticed what was missing from her bag.

“Where did my suicide note go?”

With a slight frown, she decided to first take out the contents of the blue envelope.

Inside were several fairly thick documents folded together, a single note, and two black cards.

Raine unfolded the documents first.

When she saw her signature and personal seal on the contract, she realized that this must have been the contract she couldn’t remember.

The parties were listed as:

Party A: Hayden.

Party B: Lee Raine.

It was a simple contract stating that Lee Raine would undergo certain preliminary procedures required before signing up for the diet program Hayden had researched.

“Is this payment for one night together? What kind of contract is this, anyway? If I want to go on a diet, I’ll do it, and if I don’t, I won’t. ‘Undergo the necessary procedures before signing the contract’?”

Raine was baffled, but soon tilted her head.

“Is there really something I need to do beforehand? This is strange. Besides, wouldn’t it be better for me if I lose weight?”

No matter how she thought about it, the idea that he had slept with her under the pretext of this contract seemed strange.

If it says ‘preliminary procedures,’ does that mean there’s another contract?

Did that diet he supposedly researched have some terrible side effects that require me to undergo tests first?

There was nothing in the contract she was looking at regarding side effects, but Raine still felt uneasy.

Perhaps Hayden had given Raine one night of pleasure in exchange for her agreeing to be used like a laboratory rat.

Maybe nobody would agree to participate in such a diet otherwise, so he had come after her like some stalker, pretending their one-night encounter was something incredibly important.

One bad thought after another ran through Raine’s mind, and she unconsciously bit her fingernail.

The night with such a handsome man had been wonderful, but now she regretted it, wondering if she had somehow signed a contract with the devil.

Then she realized her imagination was heading in a strange direction again.

“Wait, no. Is he acting like this even though he knows we were old friends? Or maybe Hayden….”

As soon as she said his name aloud, Raine felt awkward about how to address him.

At first, she had spoken politely to Hayden, but he had soon started speaking casually to her, just like he had in the past.

The only reason Raine hadn’t protested when he spoke casually to her was because the man on the bed had been far too sexy.

Whether Hayden spoke formally or casually to her didn’t matter.

But apparently, enough years had passed that Raine felt uncomfortable speaking casually to him in return.

Calling him Mr. Hayden felt much more natural than simply saying Hayden.

Considering that Raine had even developed the habit of calling Ju-ha Mr. Ju-ha after they became lovers, despite having grown up together in the orphanage, it wasn’t particularly surprising.

“Could it be that Mr. Hayden didn’t recognize me at first either, and only realized later today through Mr. Ji Cheon-myeong that we used to be friends?”

That actually seemed fairly plausible.

Although the idea of having a one-night stand with an old friend was even more embarrassing.

“If he had recognized me as his friend, he wouldn’t have done that….”

Raine regretted the previous night and turned her attention to the two black cards and the note.

“American Express Black Card.”

She stared blankly at the card in her hand as she read what it was.

Her eyes widened.

“Huh?”

Thinking she must have read it incorrectly, Raine rubbed her eyes with her hand and examined the cards again.

No matter how many times she looked, they were the exact cards she knew.

One had the English name Haydn, while the other clearly bore the name Ji chun myung.

“Eeeh?”

A bewildered cry escaped Raine.

“W-What is this?”

She quickly unfolded the note.

—Ms. Raine, please use them as much as you like.

The card PINs and both men’s cell phone numbers had also been written in neat handwriting.

Raine stared back and forth between the note and the cards, unable to close her mouth.

Then, as though someone had thrown cold water over her, she suddenly regained her composure.

“The diet contract is just an excuse. They’re after my organs.”

If they took out her liver or kidney, she supposed she would lose that much weight.

“Otherwise, the two of them have to be completely insane.”

Raine unlocked the pattern on her phone.

Without needing to think deeply about it, she knew she had to return the cards to their owners.

They had said they would be waiting downstairs, so she should be able to return them quickly.

After briefly considering whom she should call, she dialed Hayden’s number first.

Brrr… Brrr…

The phone rang several times before the call abruptly ended.

“Why would he even write down a number he’s not going to answer?”

Frowning slightly, Raine dialed Cheon-myeong’s number.

Instead of a standard ringing tone, a sweet ballad called “Until You Fall in Love” played.

Then an even sweeter voice answered.

—Yes. This is Ji Cheon-myeong.

“……”

Raine had grumbled because Hayden had hung up on her, but once she actually got through to Cheon-myeong, she became nervous and could only swallow hard.

A brief silence passed through the phone.

As he waited for the other person to respond, Cheon-myeong cautiously asked:

—…Is this Ms. Raine?

Before Cheon-myeong had even finished speaking, Hayden’s disgruntled voice suddenly came from beside him.

—What? Raine? Did Raine already call you?

“……”

Raine could hear Hayden grumbling right next to him.

She listened carefully to their conversation on the other end of the phone.

—Ms. Raine, just a moment.

After asking her to wait, Cheon-myeong asked Hayden in an incredulous tone:

—Don’t tell me… you hung up because an unknown number appeared on the screen?

You said you put your number in the contract, didn’t you?

—I know the number. I just haven’t saved it yet. I memorized it.

—Then why didn’t you answer?

—…I’ve been getting a lot of annoying calls lately, so I just hung up out of habit. I was going to call her right back, but then she called you.

—So you’re saying you made a mistake. What are you complaining about?

At Cheon-myeong’s cold response, Hayden fell silent, as though someone had stuffed a bun in his mouth.

Soon, Cheon-myeong let out a sigh loud enough for Raine to hear and then spoke into the phone again.

—Ms. Raine. I’m sorry. Please, go ahead.

Raine gathered her courage and cautiously asked:

“Um… where are you right now?”

—I’m waiting by the road downstairs.

Raine fiddled with the black cards.

She had called specifically because she wanted to return them immediately, but now that she had to say it aloud, she hesitated.

Is there any way I can return these cards without having to meet them?

Sensing that Raine was uncomfortable, Cheon-myeong backed off.

—If you’re really uncomfortable, we’ll just leave for today. We can meet again another time when you’re comfortable.

At Cheon-myeong’s words, Hayden complained.

—Why are you just leaving? I’ve been waiting all this time just to see her face today.

Perhaps tired of his stubbornness, Cheon-myeong tried to stop him.

—Ah, come on….

But Hayden raised his voice even more.

—I dropped everything and flew here as soon as I found out where Lee Raine was, and now you’re saying we’re just going to leave?

—Well, you’ve seen her face anyway. I’ll buy you a plane ticket when you go back to the States.

—You think you can just make up for everything with money? What about the time I spent? What about the contract I made? There are things Raine and I need to properly confirm, too.

—That’s true, but… the diet-related contract doesn’t have to be carried out today, does it?

—I have to make the chipset. And there’s another contract besides that.

—Another one? What kind of contract?

Silence fell between the two men for a moment.

Then Hayden swallowed a groan.

—I can’t tell you right now. Anyway, there’s something very important.

—Hey, but Ms. Raine is uncomfortable.

The more stubborn Hayden became, the more exhausted Cheon-myeong sounded.

Raine decided it would be better to end this situation as quickly as possible.

She could return the burdensome cards, and as for the contract-related matters, it seemed better to set a date later so she wouldn’t cause them any more trouble.

“Um… I’ll come downstairs now. You said you’re by the road, right?”

At Raine’s response, Cheon-myeong’s voice immediately brightened.

—Yes. I’m there.

“It might take me a little while to get down there. It’s hot, so wouldn’t it be better if you went somewhere indoors?”

Cheon-myeong laughed at her concern.

—I’m in the car, so it’s cool. Take your time getting ready and come out. It’s dark, so watch your step. Or should I come meet you?

Thud!

Before Cheon-myeong could finish speaking, a dull sound came through the phone.

It sounded to Raine like the sound of a car door closing.

“No, it’s okay. I can go down by myself. I’ll see you in a little while.”

After ending the call with Cheon-myeong, Raine roughly combed through her wet hair without even properly drying it.

Then she put her wallet, the cards, the contract, and the other items into her bag and immediately left the house.

The location Cheon-myeong had mentioned was about a ten-minute walk down the narrow alley.

There were several even narrower and more secluded side alleys branching off from it.

Every time Raine passed one, she had the uncomfortable feeling that a ghost might suddenly leap out or that she might become the target of some crime.

The closer she got to the main road, the brighter it became, so going downhill was at least somewhat easier.

But the thought of having to walk back alone was honestly frightening.

Being anxious is just my imagination. Nothing like that has actually happened. It’s fine. I’m fine.

Raine kept repeating that to herself as she hurried along.

She had just passed beneath one of the flickering streetlights in the alley and taken a few more steps toward the road where Cheon-myeong was waiting when—

A dark shadow suddenly emerged and blocked her path.

“Gasp!”

Startled, Raine clutched her pounding heart.

But after taking a closer look at who it was, she let out a relieved breath.

“……”

It was Hayden, wearing an expression of displeasure.

“Are you out of your mind, thinking you could walk down this dark alley alone?”

His words came out in short, sharp bursts, accompanied by slightly heavy breathing.

Raine checked the time on her phone.

It had only been five minutes since she spoke to Ji Cheon-myeong.