Chapter 14
Around the same time, a luxury sedan entered Daebak-ri. The sleek car, after slowly circling the village, came to a stop in front of the villa Onyu had gazed at for a long time.
A moment later, a young man stepped out of the car. With his neat appearance, tall stature, and crisp suit, he had the kind of gentlemanly image anyone would find appealing.
“It’s been almost ten years, huh?”
With both hands in his suit pockets, the man casually sat down on the wooden bench, gazing without much emotion. In the past, there hadn’t been a bench under this tree—just a swing.
He used to ride that swing every time he visited Daebak-ri as a child.
“Other than the swing being gone, not much has changed.”
As he murmured under his breath, a face popped into his mind.
‘Junhee oppa, you’re like a prince! So cool!’
‘Oppa, I picked this peach for you. Try it! It’s super delicious.’
That child who always smiled brightly and hovered around him—Na Onyu.
Junhee had known that Onyu liked him, but it didn’t bother him much. Being around her made him feel good, and he found her cute, so he let her stay by his side while pretending not to notice.
Sometimes, she got along with him even better than his own younger sister, Heejin.
When Junhee entered high school, Onyu was still in sixth grade. Back then, she was like a little sister to him.
As university life got busy, Junhee stopped visiting his hometown. He and Onyu only occasionally talked on the phone or exchanged texts.
Because of that, he hadn’t realized how much she’d grown.
But the moment he saw her again at the age of twenty, his heart thumped. Seeing her out of her school uniform, she suddenly felt like a woman to him.
‘I studied really hard so I could go to the same university as you, oppa.’
Onyu had said that shyly, her face so beautiful and lovely that Junhee felt like he could’ve accepted her confession right then and there.
But Onyu was well aware of her own position and never crossed the line. They remained close as just oppa and dongsaeng, and she never confessed her feelings.
Even though Junhee could clearly see the depth of her one-sided love, Onyu always did her best to hide it.
Despite her efforts, Junhee gradually began to distance himself from her. He instinctively knew that he might fall for her.
He could date someone like Onyu casually, but he couldn’t marry her. His parents had high expectations, and Junhee had great ambitions of his own.
So before things got too deep, he decided to nip it in the bud. Onyu, always perceptive, stopped contacting him on her own.
‘Na Onyu, they say she became a hotshot CEO. But I guess that was exaggerated. I heard she’s back at her family home these days? Said she came to help with her grandma’s farming? Who knows—maybe she went broke and ran away from debt. She came to our café trying to sell some homemade peach syrup, apparently.’
Junhee slowly stroked his chin, recalling what his younger sister had told him.
“She’s living at her family home, huh…”
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze turning west—toward where Onyu’s home was. At that moment, the phone in his jacket pocket vibrated.
When he saw the caller ID, Junhee quickly uncrossed his legs and straightened up.
“Yes, sir.”
He even bowed slightly, as if the caller were standing right in front of him.
[Prosecutor Kwon, I hear you’re already down there?]
“Yes, I arrived yesterday.”
Junhee’s voice was low and smooth, in contrast to the caller’s sharp and commanding tone.
[I’m mighty disappointed, you know. I wanted to at least feed someone destined for greatness before sending him off. Why didn’t you tell me before heading down?]
“I informed Secretary Kim.”
[Not Kim. You should’ve reported to me directly.]
“My apologies. I’ll be sure to speak to you directly next time.”
[When you’re back in Seoul, you better visit me first. Got it?]
“Yes, sir. I will.”
[So, have you gotten started with things yet?]
“I’m just about to begin. The groundwork is already laid, so if things go smoothly, I should be able to wrap it up quickly.”
[I’m counting on you, Prosecutor Kwon. You know how hard I worked to get you that spot.]
“Of course.”
As the caller’s subtle pressure and self-congratulatory tone increased, the faint smile on Junhee’s lips became stiff.
[I heard your resignation went through. So now you can really start giving it your all. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re rewarded handsomely.]
“Yes, sir. I’ll do my utmost to meet your expectations.”
[Alright, alright. I’ll let you go now. We’ll talk again soon.]
“Yes. Take care, sir.”
Junhee bowed even deeper than when he first answered the call.
The moment the call ended, his face turned cold. He let out a long sigh and rubbed his forehead before finally standing up from the bench.
Before getting back in his car, he cast a sharp, piercing gaze over the village.
Meanwhile…
[How’s it going? Making any progress?]
“I’ve only been down here four days, Grandpa.”
Lee Wan answered his grandfather’s call while rummaging through the storage room at Onyu’s house.
Finding the winning ticket was proving more difficult than expected.
There were so many antique-level items around that he couldn’t just touch things carelessly. Moving and inspecting each item took time.
To make things worse, Onyu had warned him repeatedly to do it secretly. Madam Nam apparently hated anyone else touching the house’s belongings.
If she caught him, he wouldn’t just be kicked out of the house—he’d be kicked out of the village.
That left him with very limited time. He only had opportunities to search when Madam Nam was out working in the fields or attending village meetings.
And on days Onyu helped in the fields too, he had to search the entire house alone.
[Have you talked to the villagers yet?]
“Not yet.”
[Don’t underestimate them just because they’re country folk. You’ll regret it.]
“You sound like you know a lot about this place?”
Frustrated with the unproductive search, Lee Wan decided to ask his grandfather.
The fact that his grandfather had specifically chosen Daebak-ri as the site for a theme park, and the way he spoke about the village—it all felt suspiciously knowledgeable.
[Ahem. You’re busy, so get back to it. And make sure you’re eating well.]
“You take care of your health too, Grandpa.”
Though he knew his grandfather was dodging the question, Lee Wan let it go.
What did it matter if his grandfather knew something about this village? All he had to do was meet the conditions and inherit the company.
“But first, I really need to find that ticket.”
He sighed and looked around the storage, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff. He had no idea where to start again. Just then, the door creaked open—
“CEO Kang?”
It was Onyu, entering in her work clothes.
“You’re back already?”
Lee Wan looked at his watch in surprise. There was still an hour before Onyu and Madam Nam were supposed to return.
“It was too hot today, so we finished early. I was worried Grandma might collapse. It’s only late May, but it feels like midsummer.”
Fanning herself with her straw hat, Onyu continued.
“Grandma’s having dinner at the community center. She’ll be back late, so let’s search together.”
“Really?”
Relieved, Lee Wan nodded. Onyu suggested they change the search location.
“Let’s go to the study behind the house instead of the storage.”
“The study?”
“I’ve already gone through the storage three times. Found nothing. But the study has so many books, I only checked it once.”
“Then let’s head to the study.”
Hearing her reasoning, Lee Wan grew more eager and hurried her along.
Moments later…
Arriving at the study, Lee Wan was left speechless.
How many books could there possibly be?
What the hell, why is there a whole library in this house?
He nearly swore aloud.
Bookshelves were packed so tightly that there was barely enough space to move. Just a glance was enough to tell there were thousands of books.
“There’s a lot, right? That’s why I only searched once,” Onyu said with an awkward smile. Even she had been too intimidated to search thoroughly after the first attempt.
“Shall we start here?”
Since there were some historical documents even museums wanted, they decided to check the ones that were already damaged first.
“Let’s do it.”
Lee Wan rotated his neck and pulled on the white gloves Onyu had handed him to protect both their hands and the books.
They began their earnest search for the winning ticket.
Maybe it’ll just pop up, like ‘Peekaboo! I’m here!’ They silently hoped as they flipped through the shelves.
As the pace picked up, Onyu began reaching for the books on the higher shelves. It was awkward to bring a chair, so she tiptoed to reach them.
“Got it!”
The moment she pulled the book at her fingertips, several tightly packed books tumbled out with it.
“!”
It happened so fast that she didn’t even have time to scream.
Just before the avalanche of books could crash down on her like bullets—Lee Wan pulled her into his arms, shielding her.
