Winter Season Chapter 56

“He also sent a gift with the chauffeur, so make sure to open it.”

His kind attitude, while having no idea what kind of scheme I was plotting behind his back, made me feel unnecessarily uncomfortable. Yihyeon pressed his fingernail hard into the edge of the invitation he was holding and spoke in a small voice.

“Yes. Thank you.”

The call ended with him saying he would see me later. As silence returned, various thoughts swirled through my head. What should I do after I put Gu Jinhyeok to sleep and successfully find out the password? Should I just drink the medicine too and fall asleep? Is it okay if I don’t go back to the office like this?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized there were only things for which I had no answers. For now, let’s just focus on the task at hand today. Yihyeon, having rubbed his face with his dry hands, straightened up the bed and stood up.

The chauffeur, who arrived exactly at the time Jinhyeok had specified, took a suit case and a box out of the backseat and held them out to Yihyeon. Checking the contents, it was a suit set from a famous luxury brand with a bluish tint.

Perhaps because he had spent a fair amount of time between Gu Seunghyeok and Gu Jinhyeok, he didn’t think much of it even though he had received an excessively expensive gift. Yihyeon, having changed into the clothes Gu Jinhyeok sent, climbed into the backseat of the car provided.

The car left Seoul and headed toward the quiet suburbs. Just as it seemed the high-rise buildings were becoming sparse, unkempt greenery began to fill their place.

Yihyeon stared blankly at the trees flashing past and fiddled with the pin stuck in the middle of his tie. Thinking that everything he saw and every action he took would be shared with someone made him a little self-conscious.

The car left the national highway and entered an area presumed to be private property. Unlike the road they had been traveling on, after passing through a tidy forest that seemed artificially created, a high wall and a large iron gate appeared ahead. Behind the men in suits blocking the gate, he caught a glimpse of a building that looked like a glamorous foreign mansion from a movie.

At some point, the black van that had been driving ahead of the car Yihyeon was in slowed down at the gate. When the men in front of the gate, who had their hands behind their backs, approached the van and said something, the door opened and someone stepped out.

Due to the distance, the face was not visible, but the person who got out of the car was a woman wearing a black fur jacket over a long blue dress.

“You should get out and walk in from here.”

At the sudden low voice from the front, Yihyeon snapped out of it and turned his head. The chauffeur was looking at Yihyeon through the rearview mirror. Yihyeon, understanding his words a beat late, gave a small bow and opened the door.

Was it because he had been in a warm place and suddenly came out into the cold wind? A chilling sensation spread down his spine. As he quickened his pace toward the gate, the security guard who had been attending to the woman in the blue dress turned his gaze to Yihyeon.

“Could you show me your invitation?”

Yihyeon silently took the invitation out of his inner pocket and held it out to the man. The security guard, after inspecting the paper carefully, picked up a long detector like the ones seen at airports and lightly scanned Yihyeon’s body. He wasn’t carrying anything that would be a problem, but Yihyeon swallowed hard from unnecessary nervousness.

“A trainee?”

Just then, a soft voice was heard from the side. When he turned his head toward the sound, his eyes met those of a woman with an exquisite appearance.

Even for Yihyeon, who had no interest in celebrities, she was a rookie actress he had seen a few times on billboards while walking down the street. She scanned Yihyeon from head to toe and spoke once more with a smiling face.

“I haven’t seen your face before. Which agency are you with?”

Wondering if she was talking to him, he looked around, but there was no one else except for the guards protecting the entrance. It seemed she had misunderstood something, so Yihyeon lightly brushed the tip of his eyebrow with his finger.

“It’s not like that.”

At Yihyeon’s reply, a look of interest appeared on the woman’s face. During the gap in the conversation, the guard spoke up.

“You’ve been verified. You may enter.”

Yihyeon gave a small bow to the woman and the guard and moved toward the uphill path. The tie tied tightly around his neck and the luxury suit wrapping his body were already uncomfortable.

Just as he was about to steady his heart by clenching his fists, the woman’s voice came over again from behind, accompanied by the clicking sound of her heels.

“Mr. Kwon Yihyeon?”

At his name being called suddenly, Yihyeon stopped and turned his head. Behind him, the woman he had seen at the entrance was coming up, wrapping her fluffy coat around her. Approaching Yihyeon, she extended her arm and let out an eye-smile.

“It seems you’ve come alone without a partner as well. Would you like to escort me?”

How does she know my name? Is she someone sent by Gu Seunghyeok? I hadn’t heard anything about that.

“How did you know my name?”

“I caught a glimpse when they were checking.”

At her action of tilting her black invitation, Yihyeon’s wariness eased. Looking at his face, the woman spoke with an expression as if she were seeing something amusing.

“Why? Are you the son of a precious family whose name shouldn’t even be known?”

“…”

“You said you weren’t one of our people. You don’t look like an athlete either. Then there’s nothing left besides that, is there?”

Yihyeon just watched her silently as she barked up the wrong tree. The woman shrugged as if it didn’t matter and approached Yihyeon’s side, extending her hand.

“It’s my first time going around alone without managers or staff, so it’s a bit awkward. From what I can see, you seem to be around the same age as me, so let’s hang out together.”

Since he couldn’t bring himself to say no to someone talking so directly, Yihyeon let out a small sigh and offered his arm.

As he entered the building entrance with the woman, servants standing still took their coats and bags. Yihyeon bit his lip inconspicuously, feeling awkward at the polite and extreme hospitality of the people.

Following the man who appeared next into the main hall, a large staircase located right in the center caught his eye. It was designed so that going up the stairs led to a second-floor hallway that circled the hall.

The chandelier hanging in the center of the high ceiling was a glamorous design that suited the modern interior, and on one side of the hall, people holding cellos, violins, and string instruments with unknown names were playing soft classical music.

“Wow, this is no joke.”

While the woman beside him marveled quietly and looked around the interior, Yihyeon inconspicuously scanned the people moving about.

People dressed sophisticatedly were gathered in small groups having conversations, and servers in black vests and bow ties were moving among them carrying trays with wine and champagne glasses.

There are more people than I thought.

Among the servers busily moving through the hall, he couldn’t guess who might be the person planted by Gu Seunghyeok. His lips went dry with worry that the plan might go awry if he failed to receive the medicine, and with nervousness about whether he could pull it off properly.

“There’s nothing much to do, so would you like to go over there and grab a quick bite?”

The woman standing beside him lightly pulled Yihyeon, who was scanning the surroundings with a stiff gaze. She led Yihyeon toward the bar where colorful desserts and finger foods were displayed.

“Aren’t you going to eat anything, Mr. Yihyeon?”

The neatly arranged foods all looked glamorous and appetizing, but he had no appetite. When Yihyeon shook his head, the woman held out a wine glass to him.

“Then hold this for a moment.”

It was then that a tall and glamorous-looking man and woman approached. Seeing a few people glancing at them covertly, it seemed they too were celebrities with fairly well-known faces.

Taking champagne glasses from a server passing by, they gave a light nod to the woman standing next to Yihyeon and passed by without saying much else.

“Seeing as they even paid attention to the wine, Taesung must have put quite a lot of effort into this party.”

The woman, who had brought a few pieces of cheese and canapés on a small plate, leaned lightly against the bar table. Yihyeon glanced at the man and woman who had just passed them and spoke.

“Aren’t you acquaintances?”

“When we meet in a place like this, the unspoken rule is to pretend we don’t know each other.”

“Ah…”

“Don’t you come to parties like this often, Mr. Yihyeon?”

“No, it’s my first time.”