After driving for over an hour, the car came to a stop.
Given the time, the parking lot was completely empty. Just in case, Haeyoung and Yunhyuk wore hats and masks and boarded the gondola they hadn't been able to take last time.
When they arrived at the top, the ranch owner greeted them in casual clothes. They followed the owner deeper into the ranch.
"Baaah"—the sound of sheep echoed in the darkness.
"I don't really know how to handle that, so I'm not sure if there's good footage of what you're looking for. But let's check…"
"Take a good look."
The owner guided them to an old computer, then disappeared and brought out the car.
Haeyoung sat down in front of the computer.
With a few clicks, she found the folder containing the past footage.
Yunhyuk leaned forward, resting his hand on the desk.
"Is it still there?"
"Yeah, it is."
Haeyoung replied as she plugged in a USB drive. The amount of data to check was huge. The files copied slowly.
"This is going to take a while."
Seeing this, Yunhyuk straightened up. He slumped back into the dusty chair, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.
Haeyoung sipped her cooled tea and slowly watched the loading bar move.
"Now ask."
At the low voice, Haeyoung looked at Yunhyuk.
Wasn't he about to sleep? Yunhyuk suddenly opened his eyes again and looked at Haeyoung.
"Ask what?"
"Why I'm helping you get revenge."
Yunhyuk didn't beat around the bush. He was about to say what he had started to say on the balcony before.
That he was wealthy enough not to need the money Haeyoung was giving him, and had no reason to join this revenge plan.
He came along from the start to ask this question.
Yunhyuk's expression was resolute.
"I told you I'm not curious."
Haeyoung feigned indifference and took another sip of her cooled tea.
The heating here wasn't very good, and the back of her neck felt chilly.
"Still?"
"No change. As long as Han Yunhyuk just follows the plan I first proposed—"
"Han Yunhyuk?"
At the formal address, Yunhyuk's eyebrows twitched briefly. But this wasn't in front of the cameras.
Haeyoung couldn't exactly tell Yunhyuk not to call her by her name, but at least outside, she had no intention of treating him so casually.
"...Right. Han Yunhyuk just needs to follow the plan I suggested at first. There's no need to know much else."
"Do you really believe I'll follow through with your plan without even knowing what my own goal is?"
He had a point. Since Haeyoung didn't know why Yunhyuk was involved, she couldn't tell how seriously he was taking this.
Yunhyuk stood up slowly and approached her.
"What if I suddenly change my mind? What if I tell Woo Minji or Jo Sungjun about your plan? What if I even side with Minji and make a fool of you?"
"Would you do that?"
"Maybe."
Yunhyuk stood in front of Haeyoung, looking down at her.
What would you do if I did?
Haeyoung tried not to avoid his gaze.
"I didn't suggest this plan because I completely trusted you from the start. If I had, I wouldn't have dragged a complete stranger into this."
Haeyoung continued calmly and steadily.
"Even if Han Yunhyuk were to abandon my plan halfway through, I'm confident I can finish this revenge one way or another. That's why I don't bother asking. Whatever the reason, if you change your mind halfway, there's nothing I can do to stop it."
Yunhyuk leaned forward, his large hand resting on the edge of the desk. The worn desk creaked under his weight.
Suddenly, his features felt unreal—more natural to see on a TV screen than up close in person.
Yunhyuk's gaze lingered on Haeyoung slowly and deeply. His calm, piercing eyes made her uncomfortable.
"That doesn't seem to be the case."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you have a reason for not wanting to know?"
"Why would I have something like that?"
"You keep blocking me even though I want to tell you."
"That's..."
Right.
Actually, even if he told her, she didn't really want to hear it. Fear would be a more accurate word.
She was afraid Yunhyuk might cross the line she had calculated and predicted. She was scared of what he might be thinking and feeling, and she was wary of finding out.
"Do you like me?"
Haeyoung frowned.
What?
The question was so blunt that she almost couldn't understand it for a moment.
It was a straightforward question. Yet, Yunhyuk's face showed no change in expression.
Was he joking? Or was he seriously asking?
"Me? Han Yunhyuk?"
"Seo Haeyoung, stop calling me that."
Yunhyuk enunciated the name "Seo Haeyoung" with emphasis on each syllable.
It seemed he didn't like being referred to as Han Yunhyuk, especially by her.
"That can't be true."
She shook her head firmly along with her decisive reply.
Yunhyuk tilted his head slightly, a faint smile teasing the corner of his lips.
"Or maybe you dislike me. If it's not that, then there's no reason you wouldn't want to hear it."
"I don't have any personal feelings like that for Han Yunhyuk."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I don't."
Maybe it was because of the unexpected bluntness of his question, or maybe because she had been so firm in her denial—but oddly enough, Haeyoung felt more at ease after that conversation.
Right. She didn't like Yunhyuk. But she didn't dislike him either. And there was no reason Yunhyuk would like her. So there was no reason she couldn't hear the answer now.
She had thought that asking—or hearing—his reasons was some kind of unspoken taboo.
But now, it felt like something she could ask casually, the same way Yunhyuk had.
When they boarded the gondola again after finishing the video transfer, Haeyoung turned to Yunhyuk and asked lightly, just as he had:
"Alright, go on. Tell me—why are you helping me, Han Yunhyuk?"
"So? Why do you seem so desperate to tell me?"
Her tone was light as she asked.
Yunhyuk smiled with his eyes—the kind of smile only someone who's gotten exactly what they wanted wears. Dumbfounded, Haeyoung let out a breathy, half-laugh.
"Take a guess."
"Oh, now you want me to guess? Weren't you the one begging me to ask?"
"It's more fun this way."
Haeyoung turned to look out the gondola window at the night sky. There were no streetlights in the mountains, and the stars above looked so close they might fall.
Why?
If it wasn't about money, or guilt—then what reason did he have to go so far as to appear on a broadcast?
"Is it some family drama? Like you're the rebellious youngest son trying to piss off your parents or something?"
Yunhyuk's eyes widened for a moment before he burst out laughing.
What's so funny?
Haeyoung quietly waited for his laughter to die down.
"Well, you're not entirely wrong. I wouldn't say I needed to piss anyone off, but a bit of rebellion never hurts. If you live too seriously, people start paying too much attention. It gets exhausting."
"So that's not the main reason, then."
Yunhyuk stepped up to stand beside Haeyoung, matching her gaze out the window.
"Are you the type who enjoys deceiving others? Or maybe someone who gets a thrill out of hurting people?"
"Do I seem like a pervert to you, Seo Haeyoung?"
"You want to be a celebrity?"
"If I wanted that, I would've done it already."
She nodded. With looks like his, he could've become a singer, an actor, or at the very least a model—regardless of talent.
"Did your company send you? Like a PR stunt?"
The handsome youngest son of a major conglomerate—of course, he'd be a hot topic. It'd bring publicity to both the company and its new product.
Now that she thought about it, the show had featured Baeho Motors' cars quite a bit. Among all her guesses so far, that one seemed the most plausible.
"That's actually the excuse I used to get permission from the company. Thanks to it, I haven't had to go into the office."
"So that's not the real reason either."
"Nope."
"I give up. That's all I can come up with."
"You're not asking the most obvious one."
"What is it?"
"That I fell for Seo Haeyoung at first sight. That I'm hopelessly in love and just dove in, not thinking about the consequences."
"As if that would ever happen."
"Why do you think that's impossible?"
Yunhyeok gently turned Haeyoung's answer into a question.
"Have you ever met any of those so-called chaebols before?"
"Why would I ever… wait, actually, I have."
A vague childhood memory she'd never thought much of suddenly surfaced.