Chapter 1

1. A Stranger’s Visit

It was a night of steady autumn rain.

Business hours were almost over, but the café showed no signs of quieting down. The modest-sized hall was packed with people, and a long line of customers waiting for takeout stretched in front of the counter.

Jiseul happily watched her best friend Songi’s café thrive as she busily brewed coffee and boxed up slices of cake. Handling several things at once left her no time to breathe, but she preferred being this busy. If she kept moving nonstop, there was no room for depressing thoughts to creep in.

“Jiseul, over there. Did you see that customer?”

While steaming milk, Jiseul looked up as Songi, who had been manning the counter, walked over to her. For some reason, there was a playful smile on her face.

“What customer?”

Only then did Jiseul straighten up and glance around the café. But it was so crowded that she couldn’t tell who Songi was talking about.

“Who are you talking about?”

When Jiseul asked quietly, Songi subtly pointed somewhere and whispered quickly.

“That guy over there. Gray suit, navy tie. The one with the laptop open.”

Wondering what the fuss was about, Jiseul looked in that direction.

Then she let out a quiet laugh of amazement.

The man who caught her eye was incredibly handsome. He had a cool, intelligent aura and was easily around 190 centimeters tall. His striking features and nearly perfect proportions naturally drew attention. He looked like he could’ve been a model or an actor.

“Wow. He’s ridiculously handsome. No wonder you keep getting distracted.”

Jiseul winked and whispered into Songi’s ear with a knowing smile.

“Getting distracted? Everyone keeps sneaking glances at him, so I just ended up looking too… But seriously, isn’t he gorgeous?”

Even as she spoke awkwardly, Songi couldn’t take her eyes off the man. The other customers in the café were stealing glances at him as well. His presence was just that overwhelming.

Though he did seem a little intimidating.

“Yeah, definitely. So hurry up and get ready to close, boss.”

Jiseul shook her head with a quiet chuckle and returned to making coffee.

Finally, when the clock struck ten at night, an announcement played over the speakers informing everyone that the café was closing. Customers began getting up one by one, and after about five minutes, the hall was almost empty.

But the incredibly handsome man in question didn’t leave.

He glanced toward the counter before continuing whatever he was doing on his laptop.

“You go tell him. The café’s closing.”

Jiseul gently nudged Songi’s shoulder, and Songi nodded before walking out into the hall.

“Um, sir. We’re closed now. We still have to clean up and head home.”

A bright smile spread across Songi’s face as she spoke to him. Uncharacteristically, there was even a faint blush on her cheeks.

Watching from afar, Jiseul saw the man quietly nod. He quickly closed his laptop and picked up his briefcase.

She thought he was about to leave.

Instead, he walked straight toward the counter.

Then he looked at Jiseul carefully.

Jiseul was slightly taken aback. She looked back at him, wondering what this was about, and the man spoke to her in a low voice.

“Ms. Han Jiseul. I’d like to talk with you for a moment.”

“…Yes?”

Caught completely off guard, Jiseul couldn’t hide her confusion. The face of a total stranger who somehow knew her name made her expression stiffen.

‘Did someone from the company come?’

The thought sent chills racing down her spine.

“I came because there’s something I’d like to ask you. If business is over, could you spare me a little of your time?”

Even his voice was attractive. It was polite, deep, and carried a quiet weight.

But Jiseul’s guard instantly went up.

She didn’t want to exchange a single word with anyone connected to the company.

“How do you know my name?”

She asked sharply, her guard fully raised.

The man simply looked at her for a moment without changing his expression.

Then he answered calmly.

“My name is Shin Woohyun. I’m Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon’s younger brother.”

“Ah…”

An unexpected name fell from the man’s lips, and Jiseul’s heart sank.

She covered her mouth without realizing it.

Her fingertips trembled slightly under the sudden wave of tension.

It would’ve been better if he’d actually come from the company.

Anyone but the prosecutor’s younger brother.

Trying to stay calm, Jiseul studied his face.

His overall aura was very different, but there was something about him that resembled Junghyeon. It didn’t seem like he was lying about being his brother.

Junghyeon had strong, masculine features.

He was the kind of person who gave off a dependable, solid impression at first glance.

His younger brother looked similar, yet very different.

His strikingly handsome appearance was enough to overwhelm anyone who saw him, but there was something cold and distant about him.

Come to think of it, Junghyeon had once mentioned him in passing.

He’d said he had a younger brother who graduated from MIT and worked as a programmer in Silicon Valley.

Had he come back to Korea now?

“It won’t take long. There’s something I absolutely need to know.”

The man spoke with calm sincerity, his eyes steady and deep.

Judging from his expression and the atmosphere around him, he didn’t look like someone who would leave without talking to her.

In fact, it seemed he’d deliberately waited until the café had closed.

“Okay… Let’s talk over there.”

In the end, Jiseul pointed toward a seat by the window and answered heavily.

She didn’t want to do this, but there was no way she could turn her back on Junghyeon’s younger brother.

The man immediately sat down at the table.

It was far enough from the counter that Songi wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation.

He had clearly chosen the spot on purpose.

As Jiseul sat down, Woohyun slowly opened his mouth.

“I heard that the last person my brother spoke to before he died was Ms. Han Jiseul.”

Those were his first words.

Even while saying something so painful, his eyes never wavered.

They remained as cold and sharp as ever.

Thinking of Prosecutor Shin Junghyeon, who had always been kind to her, Jiseul quietly nodded.

Looking at a face that resembled his made the longing she had buried come rushing back.

“Yes. The police told me. They said I was the last person he spoke to.”

“What did you talk about with my brother?”

His low voice sounded slightly sharp.

His gaze also felt cold.

He seemed to be a different kind of person from Junghyeon.

“It wasn’t anything special. He asked if we could meet up and have a meal together a few days later. He asked me what I wanted to eat.”

Suppressing the tension welling up inside her, she repeated exactly what she’d told the police.

Because it was the truth.

Woohyun quietly stared at her.

His eyes were complicated, as though countless thoughts were tangled together.

“Where were you supposed to meet?”

“At a Chinese restaurant in Hwangseong Tower. We were supposed to meet three days later at seven in the evening.”

Jiseul answered honestly.

She knew that probably wasn’t what he really wanted to hear, but it was all she could tell him.

“Did my brother say anything unusual? Maybe that he felt his life was in danger?”

“No, he didn’t. And even if he had, he wasn’t the kind of person who would’ve told me something like that.”

Woohyun slowly nodded.

Then he continued.

“I suppose not. It seems you met several times before that as well. Did my brother ever give you anything? Maybe ask you to keep something for him.”

“No.”

“Then were you and my brother in some kind of special relationship? Were you dating or anything like that?”

“No, absolutely not. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t twist things that way.”

Her expression hardened.

Her emotions flared up, and a sharp edge slipped into her voice before she realized it.

The police had asked her the same thing.

She’d reacted the same way back then.

Because that had never been the kind of relationship they had.

“Then what exactly was your relationship with my brother? Judging by everything, it seems you met quite often.”

“He was my benefactor. My lifelong mentor.”

Jiseul answered firmly.

She swallowed back the countless things she wanted to say.

Because that was the truth.

Woohyun silently looked at her for a moment.

Then, with a troubled expression, he asked heavily,

“Do you really think my brother took his own life?”

For a moment, Jiseul’s heart dropped, and she couldn’t find the words to answer.

She tried her best to remain calm, but she couldn’t stop the heat building behind her eyes.

It felt as though a tightly knotted mass of burning emotion was surging up from deep inside her.