The phone call ended, but the weight of the news lingered in the air of the high-rise office. I stared out at the city lights, the words echoing in my mind.
"Did you hear that, Mr. Lee...?" I asked, turning to the lawyer. "I says I'm pregnant with my baby."
Mr. Lee, ever the composed professional, nodded. "Yes, Sir. I heard it as well. That doctor said I was infertile and would have a hard time conceiving, but maybe he was a quack after all."
"What do you think? Should I believe her?"
Mr. Lee adjusted his glasses. "I think she can be trusted. She doesn't seem like the type to lie about this kind of thing, Sir."
"You're right," I mused, a smirk touching my lips. "I'm not a fool. I'm quite clever, actually. That's why I keep her around."
I turned away, the gravity of the situation settling upon me. If she really is carrying my child, I'm willing to treat her like a queen... but if she's screwing with me, I'm ready to do my worst.
"That's why it's important we make sure that it's mine," I stated firmly. "Mr. Lee, is it possible to do a paternity test while the baby is in utero?"
The lawyer's expression grew serious. "Unfortunately, prenatal paternity testing is illegal in Korea... If word got out that one was conducted on Ms. Baek, it wouldn't be good for your public image."
"Is there any other way?" I pressed.
"We could get an overseas institution to do it," he replied. "I believe that you can simply send a hair sample or your used toothbrush... in lieu of an in-person visit."
I listened, a cold calculation forming in my mind. "It wouldn't be hard to get it done quietly, but..."
"...But what?"
"...We'd also need a sample of the mother's blood at around eight weeks of pregnancy. We'd need Ms. Baek's permission to take a blood sample... but I'm not sure if she'd agree to it..."
"I'll send her to an obstetrician I know," I decided, the solution clear. I would ensure the truth was uncovered, one way or another. The stakes were too high to rely on mere trust.
The phone call ended, but the weight of the news lingered in the air of the high-rise office. Junseo stared out at the city lights, the words echoing in his mind.
"Did you hear that, Mr. Lee...?" Junseo asked, turning to the lawyer. "Ajin says she's pregnant with my baby."
Mr. Lee, ever the composed professional, nodded. "Yes, Sir. I heard it as well. That doctor said you were infertile and would have a hard time conceiving, but maybe he was a quack after all."
"What do you think? Should I believe her?" Junseo inquired.
Mr. Lee adjusted his glasses. "I think she can be trusted. She doesn't seem like the type to lie about this kind of thing, Sir."
"You're right," Junseo mused, a smirk touching his lips. "Ajin's not a fool. She's quite clever, actually. That's why I keep her around."
Junseo turned away, the gravity of the situation settling upon him. If she really is carrying my child, I'm willing to treat her like a queen... but if she's screwing with me, I'm ready to do my worst.
"That's why it's important we make sure that it's mine," Junseo stated firmly. "Mr. Lee, is it possible to do a paternity test while the baby is in utero?"
The lawyer's expression grew serious. "Unfortunately, prenatal paternity testing is illegal in Korea... If word got out that one was conducted on Ms. Baek, it wouldn't be good for your public image."
"Is there any other way?" Junseo pressed.
"We could get an overseas institution to do it," he replied. "I believe that you can simply send a hair sample or your used toothbrush... in lieu of an in-person visit."
Junseo listened, a cold calculation forming in his mind. "It wouldn't be hard to get it done quietly, but..."
"...But what?"
"...We'd also need a sample of the mother's blood at around eight weeks of pregnancy. We'd need Ms. Baek's permission to take a blood sample... but I'm not sure if she'd agree to it..."
"I'll send her to an obstetrician I know," Junseo decided, the solution clear. He would ensure the truth was uncovered, one way or another. The stakes were too high to rely on mere trust.
"I'll send her to an obstetrician I know," I told Mr. Mun. "I'll inform the clinic about the sample. You understand what I'm saying, right?"
"Yes, Sir. I'll make sure Ms. Baek doesn't find out. I'm sorry, Mr. Mun... but your sample won't be making it to the lab."
"Oh, one more thing. She's not seeing anyone else, is she?" I asked, my gaze sharp.
"No, Sir. She stays home when she's not working... and she doesn't see anyone privately except you, Mr. Mun."
I leaned back, a calculating expression on my face. "She's been keeping a low profile, especially after her ex-boyfriend committed suicide. Her parents are dead, and she doesn't have any siblings. I like that she doesn't have anyone around her who could leech off me... but she's too clean, and that bothers me."
"You said she lived with her father after her mother died, right?"
"Yes, Sir. She lived with her father until she was 20... and soon after he passed, she started training to debut as an an actor. It seems that luck was on her side. Keep your eye on her. She's my celebrity girlfriend after all."
I shook my head slightly. "There's no way there aren't any vultures circling her."
"Yes, Sir. I'll keep you updated." Mr. Mun bowed slightly.
"I was worried because you come from humble stock, but you've been quick to catch on," I conceded. "Keep it up. Just don't go around doing anything that could mar my reputation."
"Yes, Mr. Mun. I will keep that in mind..."
A Visit to the Past
Later that night, I found myself standing in front of a memorial, the quiet of the place a stark contrast to the bustle of the city. I was so confused... I feel like everything around me is a mess. I looked at the name engraved on the plaque: JIHO KANG (1963 - 2017).
That's why I came to see you. I needed someone to talk to...
I looked down, a profound unease settling in my chest. I think Ajin is pregnant. And I have a feeling that the baby is mine.
What should I do if Ajin doesn't want to give up on Dohyeok... and wants a family with him?
I hope that the baby is his. Then I'd at least have no reason to worry like this.
But it's strange... The thought of the child not being mine, even if it brought a certain peace, was a hollow one. The obsession was already taking root. The need to know, to claim, was overwhelming.
"...But it's strange... I can't help but think... that I'm going to end up living the same life as you... because I'm your son..."
I stood before the memorial, the turmoil in my heart pouring out. I want to believe in Ajin. I'm trying my hardest to give her my full trust.
I want to believe that she was genuinely trying to comfort me the night I found out you were my real father... that she didn't do it to serve her purposes... and that this is all just a coincidence.
I'm going to trust that Ajin will soon tell me that she's pregnant... talk to me about what we should do, and ask me to come along with her to see an obstetrician.
She'd still tell me even if it is Dohyeok's baby. I'd be happy for her, and I'd pray for her happiness.
For a long time, I've wondered... if the reason why I couldn't leave her was because I loved her or because of my guilt. Maybe it's both. Ever since I met her, there hasn't been a day that I didn't think about her.
Ajin is all I have left in my life now... and maybe that's why I'm so desperate for her happiness. I don't care about my own feelings. All I want is for her to be happy. Things are confusing right now...
...But if this is what it takes, I could live like this. I understand you now. I don't resent you for leaving me anymore.
I'm not sure what I'm saying right now... but I just wanted to come tell you everything... because I'm sure you missed me... A tear traced a path down my cheek as I finally allowed myself a moment of vulnerability in the silent presence of the past.
The quiet of the memorial was shattered by the incessant buzzing of my phone, a sudden, intrusive sound. BZZZZ. I pulled myself away from the plaque, glancing at the screen. It was my mother.
I accepted the call, the sound of her voice immediately grating. A wave of exhaustion washed over me.
"What...? What the hell are you talking about? You startled me enough as it is when you left without saying a word last night."
I could hear a car engine in the background, a loud VROOOM that cut through her frantic words.
"I need to talk to you. Come meet me at my place. I'm on my way home."
"I have an—I mean, I have something to take care of so I can't," I countered, my tone cold and guarded.
"Whatever it is, just tell me over the phone," she insisted, her voice tight.
"This isn't something I can tell you over the phone, so get over there right now. Or would you like me to come to your place instead?"
A terrifying screech of tires—SCREEECH—tore through the line. The sound was so violent, so sudden, it made me recoil. ...?!
"Didn't you hear me? I can't right now. You listen to me and do what I tell you!!!!" she screamed, her voice bordering on hysterical.
I waited, my heart pounding, for her to calm down enough to explain the urgency, the sudden terror in her voice.
"I won't hide this from you, now that you know everything," she finally said, the words cutting me to the core. "She crossed the line."
My hand instinctively went to my face, touching the skin as if to reassure myself I was real.
PZZZT... The sound of the phone crackling was a poor cover for the chilling threat in her tone.
"The minute that all comes to light, Junseo will die. He won't be able to find a reason to keep living. There's no way to know if his father is dead or alive. You had him as a result of an affair and hid it from him... and I used that information as a weapon to survive in your house."
What is she talking about? She's talking about me as 'Junseo'... she's talking to someone else.
"You just keep your head down and keep running that golf resort." Her voice was now a low, vicious snarl, the tone utterly foreign. "If you dare try to turn Junseo against me, I'll show him this photo. The river is very cold in this weather, you know. Remember. If you screw with my life, Junseo's life will be over too."
The line went dead. I stared at the blank screen, the phone slipping from my numb fingers. I had never heard such venom, such terrifying malice from my mother. The call wasn't meant for me. It was meant for someone named 'Mother' in her phone, and she had somehow mistaken my number for her's, or intended me to hear it.
His father... an affair... I was Junseo in her house... My life will be over too... The pieces of a life I thought I knew fractured and fell away, leaving a gaping, terrifying void. My mother had just threatened someone—my real father? the person she was talking to?—and used my life as the ultimate leverage. And she had revealed secrets that meant everything I thought about my identity was a lie.
The phone call from my mother, the shattering revelation, had left me reeling. I barely registered the loud SLAM!! as a woman in a dark cap entered the room, or perhaps the room I was in was part of a larger, public space.
"What the hell was that, Junseo?! Am I your dog?! Why are you being so demanding right now?!" she snapped, her eyes wide with a manic intensity.
Junseo... The name felt foreign, a mask she had insisted I wear. I held up my phone, the screen still displaying the last, chilling message. "The river is very cold in this weather, you know."
"Just listen," I managed to choke out. My grip tightened on my phone, the plastic creaking under the pressure. SQUEEZE.
"You know just what to say to suffocate someone, don't you? How could you say those things in front of my own mother?!" I demanded, the rage and betrayal a bitter taste in my mouth.
"What's wrong with the things I said? You heard her. She threatened me first. She keeps treating me like some kind of parasite. Did you expect me to take it lying down?" she retorted, her voice hard.
"Is that why you said that horrible crap... about me jumping off a bridge? Why don't you ever think about how I'd feel?! Am I even human to you?!" I screamed, the effort of holding my world together finally dissolving. BZZZ... BZZZ... BZZZ. The vibrations of the phone I still held were muffled by my rising panic.
"Take a breath and calm down. I've got to take this," she said, glancing down at the phone in her hand with an indifferent sigh.
"So you called me over here to grill me over that? Do you really have nothing better to do with your life? If you've got something to say, say it," she challenged, seemingly unaffected by my breakdown.
"She recorded this conversation...?" The realization hit me like a physical blow. The words I'd heard—the threats, the secrets—were all deliberately recorded for blackmail.
"Then why don't you take it here?!" I yelled, gesturing to the space around me.
"Why do I have to do that? Also, I'm warning you... but if you yell at me one more time, I'm just going to leave," she threatened, turning her back on me.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?! We're not done talking!! What is up with you today?! This is an important call!!" I shouted, feeling utterly helpless as she walked away.
"Don't you dare follow me out." With that cold final command, she was gone. I stood there, utterly alone, with the fragments of my identity scattered on the floor.
A Vicious Trap
The moment the woman left, Mr. Lee's voice, calm and professional, came over the earpiece. "Oh, really? That's good to hear. Yes, let's proceed as we planned."
The woman... was she one of Mr. Lee's people? Was this entire confrontation orchestrated?
I heard his calm, calculated assessment: "Even if you get through the paternity test this time, what will you do next time? Mr. Mun will want to confirm it more than once."
My world was spinning. Everything—the pregnancy, the paternity test, the explosive argument, and the shocking secrets—was a tangled web of manipulation. I was no longer the one in control.
The woman—the one who claimed she had been using my 'Junseo' identity to survive—was gone. Her words, though directed at an unknown person, had left a deep, corrosive wound. She had spoken of me as a bargaining chip, a ticking time bomb whose very life was tied to a secret I wasn't supposed to know.
I stood there, feeling like a phantom in my own suit. My world was fractured. Everything I'd done—my careful planning, my attempts to understand Ajin—it was all built on a foundation of lies laid by my mother.
I heard Mr. Lee's voice again, calm and calculating, coming through the hidden earpiece. "Even if you get through the paternity test this time, what will you do next time? Mr. Mun will want to confirm it more than once."
The paternity test. My mind snapped back to the present. The test was the immediate threat, the first line of defense against the chaos.
I pressed the small communicator near my lapel. "I made sure to get the blood type right just in case, but I don't think it would be a good idea to have the baby."
The stakes were too high, the web too tangled. A child, regardless of its father, would only cement my place in this nightmare.
"Even if I managed to have a son, he'll become a crawling, ticking time bomb," I said, repeating the bitter echo of the woman's words. "Plus, if I have a daughter, that would be a whole another problem. It's not like I can stop him from taking the baby's hair... and sending it for testing when I'm out of the room."
This wasn't just about confirming paternity; it was about securing the future, my survival. If the child tied me permanently to the Junseo identity, I would forever be at the mercy of my mother's blackmail and Mun's suspicions.
Ajin is All I Have
I left the cold, sterile hallway and drove back to the city, the haunting words from my visit to the memorial earlier that night resurfacing.
Ajin is all I have left in my life now... and maybe that's why I'm so desperate for her happiness. I don't care about my own feelings. All I want is for her to be happy.
I had desperately wanted to believe in her. I had wanted to believe she was genuinely comforting me the night I found out the truth about Jiho Kang, my real father, and that her actions weren't calculated. I was hoping she would simply tell me she was pregnant and let me be a part of her life.
I hope that the baby is his. Then I'd at least have no reason to worry like this. But it's strange...
The woman's confrontation had brutally exposed the extent of my mother's deception, forcing me to recognize that I, too, was a victim of a vicious, calculated plot. It changed everything. My love for Ajin, my guilt over my part in her past, my whole identity—they were all weapons used against me.
"But if this is what it takes, I could live like this," I muttered, the words a hollow promise. "I understand you now, Father. I don't resent you for leaving me anymore."
I was no longer just the heir; I was a pawn in a game of corporate and familial warfare. The question now wasn't whether I could trust Ajin, but whether I could use her—and this situation—to finally break free from the cage my mother had built.
Mr. Lee's calm, calculating voice was the last thing I heard through the earpiece as the woman, his operative, walked away. The orchestrated confrontation had served its purpose: confirming my mother's blackmail and reinforcing my need to escape the "Junseo" identity.
I ripped the earpiece out. My hands were shaking, and I felt sick. My fear had given way to a cold, hard resolve. I had to assume everything about the situation was a lie orchestrated by my mother and perhaps others within the company to keep me controlled.
I immediately called my driver, a man I trusted implicitly. "I need you to do something for me, discreetly. I need you to find a list of all current employees at the golf resort, particularly anyone who has worked there for more than ten years."
"And Sir," I added, my voice low and dangerous, "I need you to find every piece of digital communication my mother has sent or received in the last month. Focus on anything with the name 'Mother' or 'Junseo' in it, especially any files ending in '.m4a'."
Confronting the Lies
Later that night, I drove to Ajin's apartment, my mind replaying the woman's words: "Mr. Mun will want to confirm it more than once". If I got rid of the baby, Mun would demand another test in the future. I needed a permanent solution.
When I saw Ajin, she was looking down, her posture subdued. "It can't be..." I murmured, looking at the object in her hand—a pregnancy test, pink and positive.
She looked up at me, her eyes clouded with an emotion I couldn't quite place. I realized I was still holding the bloody piece of fabric—was it a piece of her clothing, a sign of her fear?
"I made sure to get the blood type right just in case, but I don't think it would be a good idea to have the baby," I stated, the words coming out flat and emotionless, echoing Mr. Lee's cold logic. I was testing her, seeing if she was truly in the web with me or if she was a part of a deeper conspiracy.
"Even if I managed to have a son, he'll become a crawling, ticking time bomb," I continued, quoting the overheard blackmail. "Plus, if I have a daughter, that would be a whole another problem."
Ajin remained silent, only her gaze intensifying.
"I won't let you hurt my baby!" she finally spat, her voice laced with sudden, fierce defiance. She clutched her abdomen protectively.
My eyes narrowed. Her reaction was raw, genuine. If she was acting, she was a master, but the desperate possessiveness felt real.
"I've been trying to tell you... this isn't my baby," she whispered, her chin trembling. "But you never listen to me. You always interrupt."
My breath hitched. Not hers? Not mine? "Then who is the father...?" I asked, my voice barely a tremor.
She looked at me, her expression a mix of anguish and resentment. "Do you really not know?".
I knew what she was implying. Dohyeok. Ajin and I had been fighting for years. If she was trying to leave me, she would choose the one person she truly loved. I had forced her to stay. And Mun would know, I thought bitterly. Mun had warned me there were "vultures circling her".
"You should have been honest with me sooner," I said, a wave of despair washing over me. I wanted to be angry, but the exhaustion was too deep. "Why didn't you leave me?".
"You know why," she replied, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Because I thought I could make it work... I thought I could make you happy. But you never changed. I've always been trying to leave you... since the day I met you."
"Even so, I won't let you go now," I insisted, the old obsession flaring up. She was all I had left, my only tether to a life I thought was real. "I don't care about my own feelings. All I want is for her to be happy," I had told myself earlier, a lie I was now confronting.
"I want to believe in Ajin," I'd thought, but the truth was more complicated: I was trying to save her so I could save the last piece of me.
I turned away, the weight of my own manipulation crashing down. The child was Dohyeok's. The baby was the proof I needed to finally let her go.
But I wouldn't. Not yet. I was Junseo, the one who couldn't be left.
Ajin's confession, that the baby was Dohyeok's, felt less like a heartbreak and more like a cruel opportunity. I could feel the cold, calculating part of my mind taking over, the part trained to survive in my mother's world.
"Then who is the father...?" I had asked, and the answer—unspoken, yet clear—was Dohyeok.
"You should have been honest with me sooner," I said, trying to maintain a facade of disappointment, but the truth was I was relieved. Dohyeok's child meant I had a weapon that could be used against both Ajin's loyalty to him and Mun's suspicions.
"Why didn't you leave me?" I pressed.
"You know why," she replied, her eyes betraying her misery. "Because I thought I could make it work... I thought I could make you happy. But you never changed. I've always been trying to leave you... since the day I met you."
Her words were a final, brutal confirmation of my deepest fear—and my greatest leverage.
"Even so, I won't let you go now," I insisted, stepping closer, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I don't care about the paternity of the child. I will still treat it like my own, just to keep you."
Ajin stared at me, her expression hardening.
"I won't let you hurt my baby!" she spat, clutching her stomach. "You said you didn't want the baby! If you had a daughter, it would be 'a whole another problem' for you! Why do you want to keep me now?!"
"Because you're pregnant," I countered, the simple statement holding a complex, terrible weight. "Because I'm not the only one with secrets anymore. You are carrying Dohyeok's child, and you're still standing here, facing me."
I reached out and gently brushed the tears from her cheek, a gesture that was more possessive than comforting. "Ajin, you need my protection now more than ever. If Mun finds out the child is Dohyeok's, or that you tried to lie about it, he will use it to destroy both of you and Dohyeok. And your mother will never let you leave with the child."
My gaze was relentless. "Stay with me. Let me be the father of this child, and I will protect you from Mun and from my mother. I will give you a better life than Dohyeok ever could. He is a dead man walking in a world you can't imagine."
"Then you should have just told me you knew everything!" she cried out.
"I can't tell you everything," I confessed, the 'everything' referring to the terrifying phone call I had overheard. "I need your trust first. I will marry you, Ajin. Right now. Let me keep you. The child is my shield and my claim. You belong to me now."
I waited, my heart hammering a chaotic rhythm against my ribs. Her refusal would mean total war; her acceptance, a temporary, terrible peace in a life built on lies.