Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Yeonwoo and Haewon’s gazes met directly. He swept his eyes over her attire, then suddenly burst out laughing. His expression was one of utter bewilderment.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

His friends, who had paused their conversation at Haewon’s appearance, glanced at Yeonwoo and asked,

“Hyung, who is she?”

“Yeah, who is it? Is she… your girlfriend, oppa?”

Yeonwoo kept his eyes on Haewon as he replied.

“Does she look like my girlfriend?”

“Well, no, her clothes are just so… casual.”

The man next to him shrugged, his gaze flicking to the skin visible through her robe.

Yeonwoo didn’t answer one way or another. Instead, he reached out and yanked firmly on Haewon’s shower robe tie. As the tie came undone, startling Haewon and those around them, Yeonwoo quickly reached out again and completely closed the front of her robe. The pale skin that had been exposed was now hidden beneath the fabric.

He tightened the sash, tying it securely, and then said,

“It’s chilly out, Haewon.”

He sighed, almost despondently. Haewon instinctively held her breath, watching his every move.

He hadn’t immediately treated her like a crazy woman. Could she interpret that as a positive sign?

Judging by his friends’ reactions, it seemed she did pass for his girlfriend, at least for now.

As she stared at him, implicitly demanding an answer, Yeonwoo unexpectedly stretched his lips into a smile. He cupped Haewon’s cheek with one hand and spoke in a surprisingly gentle tone.

“This won’t take long. Just rest over there, honey.”

Only then did Haewon relax and reply pleasantly.

“Understood.”

“Whoa, seriously…! Unbelievable.”

The man next to him clapped a hand over his mouth. He bombarded Yeonwoo with questions, asking when he’d gotten a girlfriend.

While Yeonwoo dodged the questions with a laugh, Haewon got up and moved to a nearby sofa. She sat in a spot where she could clearly see Yeonwoo, stretched out her legs, and idly scrolled through her phone, pretending to be uninterested in their conversation.

Yeonwoo stopped his friends who were showing interest in Haewon and steered the conversation back to what they had been discussing.

“Alright, let’s get back to it. Where were we?”

“I’m free on Thursday, and Seol-ah and Jisoo are available on Friday.”

“Really? Then just come to work when you’re free. It’s hard for all five of us to match schedules.”

From what Haewon overheard, they seemed to be coordinating work schedules related to an exhibition. And from the looks of it, Yeonwoo appeared to be the leader, with everyone following his decisions.

Mid-discussion, one of the women glanced at Haewon and asked Yeonwoo,

“Oppa, isn’t that unnie the one who was standing outside in a suit earlier?”

Yeonwoo looked at Seol-ah, who had asked the question, and shrugged.

“No.”

“Huh? No…?”

Yeonwoo playfully smiled, watching her eyes widen in disbelief as she repeated the question.

“Yeah. You saw wrong. How could that stiff, stubborn-looking woman be my girlfriend?”

“Oh…”

Stiff and stubborn-looking woman?

She shot him a quick glance, wondering if he was insulting her, and saw Seol-ah biting her lip in confusion.

Indeed, she had reason to be confused. He was lying without batting an eye.

However, Yeonwoo’s overly composed demeanor seemed to make Seol-ah swallow her words, and she didn’t ask anything further.

“If everything’s settled, should we start working? If we want to play tonight, we should probably begin now.”

“Yeah, sounds good!”

“But Yeonwoo. Aren’t you going to introduce your girlfriend?”

One of the men asked, winking at Haewon with a playful expression. Yeonwoo paused for a moment, then turned to Haewon and called out subtly,

“Haewon.”

A mischievous smile played on his face as he looked at her. Haewon felt a slight tension but likewise smiled faintly and stood up. He approached Haewon, put an arm around her shoulder, and led her in front of his friends.

“You’ll be seeing a lot of her, so it’s best to say hello now. This is Lee Haewon. We’re the same age and we live together.”

“Huh?!”

“Oh my god, Oppa! You’re living together?!”

Haewon smiled at his surprised friends.

“Hello. I’m Lee Haewon. Nice to meet you.”

“But since when have you two been dating? I had no idea!”

“It hasn’t been long.”

Technically… it was day one, wasn’t it?

Haewon memorized the names of the people who introduced themselves to her one by one.

There was Dohoon, the same age as Yeonwoo, Junseo, one year younger, and Jisoo and Seol-ah, both two years younger. There was no harm in knowing the people Kwon Yeonwoo saw frequently.

Aside from Seol-ah, who eyed her suspiciously, everyone else was friendly towards Haewon. After the introductions, Yeonwoo dismissed his friends.

“Go on ahead. I’ll grab some food and join you.”

His friends glanced at the two with curiosity and mischief, then chattered excitedly as they went inside.

“……”

Finally alone with him, Haewon let her forced smile drop. Seeing Haewon return to her usual expressionless face, Yeonwoo turned her by the shoulder, meeting her gaze.

“I never dreamed you’d show up looking like this. Amusing, isn’t it?”

“Did it suit your taste?”

“Quite.”

“If you tell me more precisely, I’ll prepare accordingly. To look like the perfect girlfriend.”

Yeonwoo stared at Haewon, then asked as if genuinely curious,

“Why are you going to such lengths?”

“If I don’t, I’m afraid you’ll completely cut me out. You’re the type of person who would, aren’t you?”

“……”

“Then I’d be an incompetent agent who failed a mission directly assigned by the President. And that would narrow my standing within the team.”

Haewon offered a plausible reason, looking up at Yeonwoo with a calm expression. Yeonwoo, who had been staring at her as if trying to see through her, furrowed his brow slightly.

“Are such things important to you?”

“Being called an incompetent agent is worse than death.”

“Ha…”

Yeonwoo let out a low, empty laugh. She couldn’t tell if he believed her or not, but it seemed she had at least avoided overt suspicion.

Yeonwoo finally let go of Haewon’s shoulder.

“Dress like a normal college student. It’s annoying when you attract attention. And I’d prefer you didn’t follow me around inside the house.”

So… she could follow him when he went out?

Before Haewon could ask, Yeonwoo turned to her and said,

“I’ll be working in the studio, then going out at night. You can follow me then if you want.”

“……!”

Yeonwoo left the terrace. Haewon watched his disappearing back and smiled, feeling that she had succeeded. Her gamble, showing up in a slip, had paid off.

Coming down from the third floor, Haewon entered her room and immediately contacted Jung-in. She needed clothes right away if she was to follow Yeonwoo out that night. After she told Jung-in the style she wanted, Jung-in promised to send the clothes via quick service.

Only then did she take off the slip and change into comfortable clothes. She hadn’t expected the slip she’d brought just in case to be so immediately useful.

Haewon chuckled, then pulled a thick book from her suitcase. Opening the bulky cover, she revealed hidden equipment. She put on the headset connected to the device and tuned the frequency, and voices came through the earpiece.

—Oppa. Can I put my canvas here?

—Yeah. Use the chair and locker behind it.

—Hyung, what about me?

The sounds of chairs scraping and items being moved around busily indicated they were setting up the studio. It was the bugging device she had discreetly attached to an item in the studio when she was left alone earlier.

There was nothing special about the conversation; it was just what peers, like college students, might discuss. Haewon recalled their faces again, but nothing particularly stood out. They didn’t seem like they could fight well, nor did they appear bold enough to conspire with Yeonwoo on anything suspicious.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything suspicious…”

Soon after, as the conversation faded almost completely, presumably because they were focused on their work, Haewon took off her headset and stood up. She planned to familiarize herself with the house’s layout before the quick delivery Jung-in had promised arrived.

Yeonwoo’s group left the studio around 11 PM. Haewon, who had been sitting in the living room, rose to meet him.

“Are you finished now?”

“Yeah…”

Yeonwoo lifted one corner of his mouth, scanning Haewon’s attire. The black mini-dress was simple in design, but it highlighted her figure so completely that it felt all the more glamorous.

“Let’s go.”

The women next to him looked surprised with Haewon, while the men eyed her with interest. Haewon held a small clutch in her hand and followed them out.

“But where are we going?”

“To a club. There’s a party tonight.”

Haewon was unenthusiastic but managed to conceal her expression calmly.

In truth, she disliked clubs. They were dark, noisy, and ugly things always seemed to happen somewhere unseen within them.

“It’ll be fun.”

At Yeonwoo’s words, a strange tension filled Haewon.