Come Back

Trying to silence the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Lee Hae-seong took a deep drag from the cigarette, without showing any sign of agitation, and answered Yoon Hye-an’s question.

“To catch a big fish, you have to go out to the deep sea, cast your bait, and wait.”

“……”

“Because that’s how fishing works.”

Yoon Hye-an, with a confused expression, stared at him as though he didn’t understand the meaning. As he slowly examined the face before him, Lee Hae-seong continued to explain in a flat voice.

“The Yoon Hye-an I investigated might slack off when it comes to practicing dance or acting, but he can be quite diligent when it comes to finding new sponsors.”

“…Sponsors?”

Yoon Hye-an’s voice and gaze trembled, as though he hadn’t expected to hear such a thing.

“There have been more than one sponsor that Yoon Hye-an has gone through.”

“……”

“Am I wrong about that?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

This time, the fearful hesitation and caution disappeared from Yoon Hye-an’s face. Instead, a look of frustration and resentment rose, and he glared at Lee Hae-seong, speaking firmly, emphasizing each word.

“I don’t remember… I don’t remember what kind of person I was… I don’t know either.”

“You don’t remember… how convenient.”

After taking one last deep drag of the cigarette he had barely smoked, Lee Hae-seong crushed the filter in the ashtray.

Yoon Hye-an had lost his memory after waking up from unconsciousness. — He knew that, as it had been covered in entertainment articles. Most people who knew him seemed to believe that he was “pretending to have lost his memory.”

Withdrawing his hand from the ashtray, Lee Hae-seong looked at Yoon Hye-an’s face, which appeared to be full of grievance. It was a youthful face, with a serious expression trying to convey what seemed like a legitimate complaint.

*‘That expression didn’t look cute at all.’*

He didn’t know why that child’s face suddenly came to mind.

Lee Hae-seong turned his head away. He thought that maybe he should’ve asked for alcohol instead of tea, and immediately found a new cigarette to light. Then, as if everything had become tiresome, he spoke in a tired voice, almost like a whisper.

“Alright. Let’s skip the wasted process. Let’s be honest with each other, no more dragging this out.”

He tried his best to exclude his emotions, focusing solely on efficiency, telling himself to treat this like business. After taking a drag from the newly lit cigarette, he delivered the final, concise message to Yoon Hye-an.

“There are two things I want. The first is for you to tell me how and where you got that information. The second is for you to never interfere with Choi Hong-seo or the matters between him and me again.”

“……”

“Now, let’s hear your demands. What do you want? ARA’s advertising model? The lead role in a drama or movie? Or perhaps cash? It’s unusual, but I’m willing to negotiate.”

“I don’t want anything.”

“You don’t want anything?”

Lee Hae-seong slowly mulled over Yoon Hye-an’s words and flicked his cigarette in the ashtray. He wasn’t in a good mood; the man in front of him was making things more complicated than they needed to be.

“If you don’t want anything, then why are you acting this way? Do you expect me to believe that?”

Yoon Hye-an, looking at Lee Hae-seong’s hand hovering over the ashtray, spoke.

“Some people say I’ve become someone else, and others say I’m pretending to be someone else.”

“……”

“But I don’t even remember what I was like before I woke up… I’m just doing what I feel and think right now. People interpret that however they like. Some say I’ve become a better person, and that’s enough for them. Others suspect I’m acting, and some think I’m… copying someone.”

His voice trembled intermittently. However, despite it almost breaking, his voice remained calm and steadily moved in the direction he wanted.

Lee Hae-seong, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, kept his gaze fixed on Yoon Hye-an. No, to be completely honest with himself, he couldn’t help but fixate on him.

“No matter how much you tell me not to imitate Choi Hong-seo, I don’t think I can do that. I’m not trying to imitate him. I’ve never even known where or how I got that information, so I can’t tell you that either.”

*Sigh…*

Hearing the conclusion, a deep sigh escaped from Lee Hae-seong’s lips. It felt like he was trying to console a very stubborn child who had admitted to breaking something.

“So, you want me to believe that it’s just a series of coincidences? One after another, after another?”

“I understand why you’re so suspicious of me.”

“……”

“But even if all those coincidences overlap to the point where it doesn’t look like a coincidence anymore… it still doesn’t mean it’s zero percent likely that they were all just coincidences, right?”

“……”

“Do you have any proof that I learned about you and Choi Hong-seo’s information from somewhere?”

Despite trembling with fear, Yoon Hye-an looked Lee Hae-seong straight in the eye and demanded evidence.

Lee Hae-seong’s eyebrows and the skin under his eyes twitched.

“Yoon Hye-an, I’m not a fool. If this were a coincidence, it would be treated as circumstantial evidence in court.”

“If you had a purpose for this, you would have asked for something from me!”

He looked desperately at Lee Hae-seong, clutching the strap of a high-end designer bag, his body shifting slightly at the edge of the sofa.

For a moment, Lee Hae-seong’s gaze lingered on Yoon Hye-an’s bag. He had heard that Yoon Hye-an had a tendency to indulge in luxury, even going into debt to buy designer items—had he stopped shopping after waking up?

“There won’t be anything like that again. I’ll never ask for anything from you, ever again.”

“……”

“If I ever do ask for something, then you can take action then. You can, right?”

“And what about the pain I feel, watching you imitate that kid and mess with our memories?”

“Please believe me. It’s not imitation. I really haven’t heard anything!”

*Ha…* This conversation keeps going in circles, with no end in sight.

Lee Hae-seong leaned his forehead against the armrest of the chair, covering his face with his hand.

The conversation was going in an entirely different direction than he had expected. The Yoon Hye-an he was facing was different from what he had imagined. He had thought Yoon Hye-an would act more like a fox, and he had planned to ruthlessly expose him.

It seemed that the true cunning move was acting perfectly like a rabbit, but the problem was that the man in front of her, looking at her with a desperate face, didn’t seem to be playing the fox in disguise, as if he were a rabbit.

Everything was just a coincidence, he claimed. It was clear that he was making absurd excuses, yet she couldn’t corner him any further.

Everything was different from what she expected.

Resting his elbow on the armrest, his temples pressed with his fingers as though suffering from an intense headache, Lee Hae-sung squinted and glanced at Yoon Hye-an.

“Or, are you trying to hurt me rather than get my attention? Are you planning to expose the matter with that kid?”

Now, the only possible goal she could think of for Yoon Hye-an was something like that.

“A mere actor like me wouldn’t be able to harm the vice president, would you think?”

“Well, I can’t exactly deny that.”

“……”

“So, are you really trying to set up some kind of plan? What exactly is it that you hold against me?”

Yoon Hye-an shook her head.

“I wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“……”

“I would never say anything bad about the vice president.”

“What… did you just say?”

Lee Hae-sung slowly rose from his relaxed position, his face frozen in disbelief, as if he’d heard a shocking truth.

“So, believe me. If you watch closely, you’ll realize that I don’t want anything, and that I haven’t learned any information… You’ll understand everything.”

Although Yoon Hye-an denied hearing anything, her words strongly suggested the opposite.

“Is it okay for you to say this to me?”

“Why?”

“Don’t you suspect I might spread it around?”

“Would Hong Seo do that?”

“I won’t say anything.”

“……”

“I would never say anything bad about the vice president.”

When she had this conversation with Choi Hong-seo, they were alone in that space.

Is this just another coincidence? Another coincidence piled on top of countless coincidences?

No matter how Yoon Hye-an learned about their situation, the original source of the information had to be Hong Seo.

The child, whom they thought hadn’t left any records or told anyone about them, might have left something somewhere or shared a memory with someone. If there was any clue out there in the world that could provide more insight into the child, Lee Hae-sung couldn’t ignore the possibility of pursuing it.

No traces of external information leaking to Yoon Hye-an were found. If that’s the case, the only place to look for answers was within Yoon Hye-an herself.

“If I find evidence, then you’ll have to meet my demands.”

Yoon Hye-an slowly nodded and answered willingly.

“If you find evidence, then yes, that would be the case. Feel free to look. Really… there’s nothing.”

A deep fatigue set in. She wanted to lock herself in her room, but there were guests waiting on the rooftop.

“Shall we go up now? Yoon Hye-an will be delayed due to another schedule, so she has already requested to come a little later.”

Lee Hae-sung stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and stood up first. As he entered the house to head for the rooftop, Manager Kang approached him with urgent news.

Stopping in front of the stairs leading to the upper floor, Lee Hae-sung looked back at Yoon Hye-an, who was following behind. She was clutching her bag strap across her chest, looking up at him with an anxious expression, unsure of what he would say next.

If this expression were a lie, then Yoon Hye-an surely wasn’t bad at acting.

Lee Hae-sung decided to make a small request of her. With a weary voice, as though he no longer had the energy to be on edge, he sighed.

“There should be a Blu-ray case on the coffee table in the movie room on the second floor. Take it with you to the rooftop first. I’ll follow after making a call.”

“Understood.”

Yoon Hye-an nodded and turned to leave, but Lee Hae-sung watched her closely.

Then he grabbed Manager Kang’s arm as he was about to follow Yoon Hye-an. Staring at her back as she ascended the stairs, Lee Hae-sung muttered in disbelief.

“Just leave her.”

“……”

“She seems to know where the movie room is, so…”