Small and Fragile Things - Chapter 51

At the same time, fresh fruit and wine were delivered to the top-floor suite of the Samun Hotel. A soft microfiber blanket, a luxury brand shopping bag—oh, and even aspirin.

Both the person delivering and the one receiving moved quietly, but there was no stopping the news from reaching the ears of the hotel’s owner.

Knock, knock.

“Sir, be a dear and open up, will you? Before I use the master key.”

Choi Jihyun grinned widely at the sight of her own flesh and bl00d through the small gap in the door.

“Oppa, do you know how thrilling that just was? Honestly, it’s been ages since I’ve felt such a rush—adrenaline straight to the brain!”

“Just ignore it.”

“Did you not hear me? I said it was thrilling. How am I supposed to ignore it? Move, move.”

“Choi Jihyun.”

“If you didn’t want me finding out, you should’ve gone to a different hotel. Not that it would’ve helped. The second you stepped into any lobby, I would’ve heard about it. Now, come on.”

Il-hyun gave up the pointless back-and-forth with a sigh and stepped aside. It wasn’t like this was unexpected. Whether it was this hotel or a competitor’s, the moment he appeared in the lobby, the news would’ve reached Jihyun. Might as well come here—at least this way it’d be easier to keep her mouth shut.

“Where is she?”

Jihyun was practically buzzing with excitement, like she had wings on her feet.

The reincarnation of a Joseon-era scholar—Choi Il-hyun—bringing a woman to a hotel, in broad daylight? And not even his fiancée, but someone else entirely? How could she not be excited?

The moment she’d heard the news, she’d laughed so hard she nearly stopped breathing, dropped everything she was doing, and snatched up the master key.

“Where is she? You’re not going to introduce us?”

Looking tired already, Il-hyun gestured toward the sofa.

“Sit first. Hear me out.”

“What’s there to hear? I just need one look to know what’s going on. Master bedroom?”

Without hesitation, Jihyun strode over and threw open the door to the largest room.

And there she was—Irang—crouched beside the bed.

“…Wow.”

For a moment, Jihyun fell silent at the sight of her, wrapped in a blanket over a white dress.

Il-hyun, looking at her like one would a stubborn child who refused to listen, finally stepped forward with a reluctant smile.

“Sorry to barge in like this. This is my younger sister, Choi Jihyun—the hotel owner.”

“Ah… hello.”

Irang stood and bowed politely, but before she could even sit back down, Jihyun burst out laughing.

“Wow, so you are a man after all, Oppa. And here I thought… Well, no wonder Jung Songyeon wasn’t enough for you—you’ve got yourself a little girl.”

“That’s not it. Watch your mouth.”

“Mhm. No need to be embarrassed. I’ve met plenty of real perverts in my life—this doesn’t even qualify.”

“She’s the one Muk-hyun’s seeing.”

The humor drained from Jihyun’s face in an instant.

“What…?”

Irang shrank back slightly under Jihyun’s sharp gaze. It wasn’t fear exactly—more like awe.

From the moment she’d walked in, Irang had been struck speechless. Because Jihyun was, without question, the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

“Choi Muk-hyun… has a woman?”

Even with her mouth hanging open, she was stunning.

Instinctively, Irang searched for traces of Muk-hyun in her features. Apart from being equally impossible to look away from, their looks were completely different.

“Jihyun. Step outside with me for a moment.”

“Ha! Now I get it. Kinda makes sense—this is exactly his type.”

“Irang, sorry to interrupt your rest. We’ll step out for a bit.”

“Irang? What kind of name is that? Sounds like a toy.”

Her personality was as bold as her words—and it seemed even Choi Il-hyun, her older brother, struggled to handle her.

Still, that was her business. Irang shook herself back to focus.

“Excuse me!”

The firmness in her small voice made both of them stop.

Avoiding Jihyun’s curious gaze, she spoke directly to Il-hyun.

“When is he coming? You said you’d take me to Muk-hyun. He’s probably… looking for me.”

That white car that had appeared out of nowhere just as she thought it was all over—that had been Il-hyun’s.

At first, she hadn’t even recognized him. Only when she heard the name Muk-hyun did she remember who he was. She’d been in such a rush that she’d accepted his offer without thinking—but later, unease had crept in.

Especially after she learned he was Muk-hyun’s half-brother. The way he’d said it hadn’t exactly sounded like they were close. Come to think of it, even when they’d met before, the atmosphere had been… off.

Still, if not for him, she might never have escaped. So she’d believed his promise to call Muk-hyun and had been waiting patiently.

“He’ll be here soon. Traffic’s bad at this hour.”

“…Okay.”

“Sure you don’t want anything to eat? Not hungry?”

“I’m fine…”

Il-hyun had been nothing but polite—buying her new clothes, bringing her a blanket when she shivered, letting her rest in a warm bed, even fetching medicine when she broke into a cold sweat.

But it all felt different from Muk-hyun’s kindness. Uncomfortably different.

“Then rest for now.”

As time passed, Irang’s anxiety grew.

She had no idea what was happening outside. No way to know if Muk-hyun was really looking for her—or if that was just wishful thinking. It had already been a week since she last saw him.

What if he thought she’d just run away and was angry? What if everyone had left? What happened to the others still there?

What if I caused trouble for him?

Her heart pounded at the thought of the men who had lost her turning their anger on Muk-hyun.

What about Jung-pal? Was Gi-seon safe?

Every possible scenario her mind conjured led to the worst-case outcome.

“…Ha.”

She hated how powerless she was—how all she could do was wait. But for now, waiting was the only thread of hope she could hold on to.

Muk-hyun will come for me.

Curling herself into the corner where two walls met, she sat and began biting her nails.

***

Evening shadows fell, but Muk-hyun still hadn’t found her.

The only good news was that she hadn’t fallen into Kim Deok-gyu’s hands. Security footage from an external camera had shown men in maintenance uniforms moving about in a mess, empty-handed. They’d lost her too.

But was that really good news?

Rain poured outside—what had started in the afternoon was now nearly monsoon-level. A woman alone, with no money and no idea where she was, wandering in this weather… it was dangerous.

Muk-hyun sat slouched on the sofa, smoking.

His expression was almost blank—bored, even—but the pile of cigarette butts at his feet told a different story. He was holding himself back.

The longer he did, the more tension built in the room.

“Kim Deok-gyu?”

His voice came out low and rough, like it had burned down to ash.

“No movement yet. We’ve got eyes on his place—if he shows, we’ll know right away.”

“And the one I told you to find?”

“…Not yet. If he’s really the guy from the villa, it means Kim only uses certain people. Since they lost the girl, he wouldn’t have gone completely to ground yet. Yook’s out there with the boys now—it won’t be long. They’re tearing the place apart looking for him.”

Jung Yoon stifled a sigh rising from deep in his gut. Watching Muk-hyun was nerve-wracking enough, but adding Jung-pal and Gi-seon on a rampage? That was a disaster waiting to happen.

He just hoped they didn’t cause any more trouble. The phone he’d been holding all this time finally buzzed.

“The tattooed guy—they found him! Yook’s bringing him—”

Jung Yoon stopped mid-sentence.

Finding the man before finding Irang… was not good news.

Muk-hyun’s eyes lit up, sharp as a blade.

Jung-yoon swallowed the rest of his words.

It was obvious now where this was headed.