Chapter 238.2

Chapter 238.2

As if she were confessing to a crime, the girl went pale and pressed both hands against the bed. “I’m so sorry, I’m such garbage, I’m so sorry…” Her voice cracked as she broke down crying.

Watching her sob, drenched in cold sweat, my fingers twitched involuntarily. My gaze drifted to her slick, trembling nape, and for some reason, my mouth went dry.

Seeing her gasp for breath between sobs, I awkwardly scratched my chin.

—

At twenty-one, Ohn Isu had become a police officer right after graduating high school. She had always worked quietly and diligently.

Even though she had learned, day after day, that the world was full of drunks, that there were far too many people who caused trouble over the smallest things, and that people, in truth, were not beautiful at all, she still thought she could be different.

Until yesterday, she truly believed she was a good person.

What a terrible delusion that had been.

That day, a heavy snowstorm had made it nearly impossible to see. And in that blinding white landscape, the naked man had been even harder to notice.

The moment she turned the handle, her old motorcycle slipped. She swore on her late parents’ graves that it hadn’t been intentional.

But even as she called 119, the words had left her mouth before she could think. “He’s drunk,” she’d said, twisting the report.

In that moment, she wondered if someone like her was the real psychopath hiding in plain sight.

Her heart was pounding wildly, guilt twisting her insides, yet she couldn’t stop lying.

If I report this to my superiors…

More than the victim lying in front of her, what terrified her was Chief Park, a man who knew exactly how to break her apart.

The contempt, the verbal abuse, the casual harassment. All of it came back to her in flashes.

She couldn’t breathe. At that moment, the desperate urge to cover things up outweighed any trace of conscience.

Her parents’ sudden deaths and the debts they left behind had crushed her as soon as she became an adult. Reality pressed down on her shoulders, but she couldn’t let go of Winter Lodge, the only thing left from her childhood.

And in the midst of that struggle, Chief Park had become the blade that cut her sense of self apart. That was when she crossed the line she could never return from.

Even after hearing that there was nothing wrong with Kim Chunbok’s body, she made her fatal mistake: she didn’t turn him over to the police.

Instead, she brought the unconscious man to the Winter Lodge, planning to use him as leverage.

I’ll take good care of you until you recover, sir. I promise.

The situation terrified her. The thought of what might happen next, of being forced to strip, filled her with dread. But at that moment, she had been too desperate to think straight.

People say you only stretch your legs where you know you can lie down. So she begged until her knees burned.

Compared to Chief Park, Kim Chunbok…

Confessing her guilt to Kim Chunbok seemed easier. She told herself she would treat him well. He couldn’t report her if she did. She would be good to him. She would make sure of it.

As Isu carried the bowl of porridge, she stole a glance at the man lazily rolling his shoulders.

Truth be told, Kim Chunbok didn’t look like someone you’d see in a rural village in Gangwon Province.

His pale skin matched well with his sharp, defined features. His pupils were pitch black, almost frighteningly so, yet his gaze, always fixed aimlessly out the window, held a quiet sadness.

His frame was lean and solid, every inch marked with scars.

It wouldn’t have been strange if he had cursed at her or lashed out, yet he simply sat there, calmly admiring the snowy scenery outside, as if nothing had happened.

Because of that, Isu became even more cautious around him, like a hostess tending to a guest at her lodge.

How old was he? He looked young, but the shadows on his face made it impossible to tell.

His long, narrow eyes gave off a fierce impression, yet they were completely empty. Staring too long made him seem like some monk living in a temple.

What kind of person had he been before? He looked like the type who should have every button on his shirt fastened all the way up… but there was something oddly rough about him.

As she secretly traced the smooth line that ran from his tall nose down to his philtrum, their eyes met.

Isu quickly cleared her throat and turned her head away, biting her lip in embarrassment. Before she could think of what to say, he spoke first.

“There’s a listening device in my ear.”

“…”

Ah… oh no… Isu covered her face in guilt.

What have I done…

Kim Chunbok really was a crazy man.