It’s the second night

Episode 7

Yoo Hae-in staggered back, pulling at her trench coat with both hands. The sudden movement knocked her hood off.

“Why are you doing this?” she shouted.

Not ‘Why are you like this?’ but ‘Why are you doing this?’

His brows furrowed. He had heard that she hurt her head and lost some memories, but was that really true?

When they met at the hospital, it was right after the accident, so she must have been confused. But even after five days, she was still acting this way. Maybe she really couldn’t remember.

So he decided to test her.

“We broke off the engagement, but I was still your brother’s friend and your senior in high school. Shouldn’t you at least say hello?”

He watched her reaction carefully, trying to see if she was lying.

Her round eyes shimmered with uncertainty before she quickly placed both hands in front of her stomach and bowed slightly.

“Take care, senior.”

She lowered her head politely.

He frowned.

Senior?

Take care?

Even the way she spoke was different. The information about her memory loss seemed true.

Before he could say anything else, she quickly turned around. It almost looked like she was running away. But she didn’t go far. She stopped near a truck parked by the road and crouched down.

He narrowed his eyes.

What is she doing?

Then, he heard her soft voice.

“Kitty? I brought food.”

Taejo blinked in disbelief.

This was more shocking than realizing she could see again. More unbelievable than the fact that she once tried to harm herself.

Yoo Hae-in, the proud and arrogant princess, was kneeling on the ground, peeking under a truck.

And she was speaking in the gentlest voice he had ever heard.

“Kitty,” she called again.

A small shape hesitated under the truck before crawling out.

Meow…

It was a kitten. A tiny one.

The little thing rubbed its head against her outstretched hand. And Yoo Hae-in—of all people—gently stroked its fur.

She even smiled.

“Are you hungry? Here, eat this.”

She rummaged through her coat pocket, pulled something out, and placed it in front of the kitten.

It happily ate while she patted its head.

The scene was so warm and gentle, yet it sent shivers down his spine.

Is this really Yoo Hae-in?

Taejo stepped closer without realizing it.

Meow!

Sensing a stranger, the kitten arched its back and backed away, hiding under the truck again.

Yoo Hae-in immediately turned to him, her gaze sharp but not as cold as before.

“I already greeted you! And now you scared the kitten away!” she huffed.

As he took another step forward, her shoulders tensed. She shrank back slightly but didn’t run.

“Wh-why are you coming closer?”

Her eyes were wary, cautious—but she didn’t look away.

How strange.

He felt… regret.

The old Yoo Hae-in would have jumped up, glared at him, and scolded him for bothering her.

Then, if she felt like she was losing, she would’ve pretended nothing happened and walked away.

But this Yoo Hae-in…

She was afraid but didn’t retreat.

Even with lost memories, was it possible for someone to change this much?

It felt almost fake—like she was wearing a completely different mask.

“Are you pretending?” he muttered.
From Yoo Hae-in’s point of view, there was no reason to let go of Seo Taejo. She couldn’t afford to. No matter what, she had to hold on to him.

Maybe that was why she was pretending to have lost her memory—acting like she didn’t know anything.

But her expression showed nothing but confusion. It was as if she truly had no idea what he was talking about.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” Taejo muttered.

Hae-in blinked, looking genuinely lost.

“On purpose? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know whose idea this was, but it’s not helping you at all.”

She didn’t answer, just stared at him with wide, innocent eyes. It was almost too perfect, like a well-rehearsed act.

Slowly, Hae-in stood up. She looked startled—like a deer caught in headlights.

Taejo scoffed at himself.

A deer? Yoo Hae-in?

If anything, she was more like a snake, not some helpless creature.

The sharpness in her eyes was gone.

Before he could say anything, a streetlamp flickered on.

It was from his family’s estate, programmed to turn on automatically when the sun went down. The soft white light illuminated the space between them, making her features clearer.

She looked different.

No makeup. Messy, unbrushed hair. Those sharp eyes that once always glared at him now looked… softer. And unlike before, when she hardly reacted to light, she squinted slightly, as if it was too bright.

Is this really Yoo Hae-in?

Taejo frowned. Something felt strange.

At the hospital, her face and neck had been covered in burns and scars. But now, her skin was clear.

How is that possible?

Just then, a voice called out.

“Who’s there?”

The large front gate swung open, revealing a familiar face.

“Taejo?”

It was his mother, Lee Sukyung.

She glanced around before clapping her hands together in recognition.

“Oh my, Hae-in, is that you?”

Even though Hae-in looked different, Sukyung recognized her instantly and hurried over.

“What a surprise! You two are together?”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked between them.

Did she like Hae-in? Not really.

But she didn’t hate her either.

To Sukyung, Yoo Hae-in was nothing more than a tool—a way to keep her younger son under control.

She always worried Taejo might never settle down. The thought of him staying unmarried forever terrified her.

Hae-in was an opportunity.

Her blindness had been a flaw, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker. After all, it was Taejo’s fault she lost her sight in the first place.

But then Taejo had announced the engagement was over. Sukyung had been furious.

Maybe that’s why she was acting even friendlier today.

Maybe she had already decided—this time, she wouldn’t let Taejo slip away.

“Hae-in, dear, you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

She stepped closer, scanning Hae-in’s face carefully before smiling warmly. Then, without warning, she grabbed the sleeve of Hae-in’s trench coat.

“Perfect! Come eat with us.”

***

It wasn’t an invitation. It was a command.

At first, Hae-in had no idea who this woman was.

It wasn’t until Taejo said, “Stop it, Mother,” that she realized—this was the wife of the Seo family chairman.

Even then, she had politely declined.

“It’s alright. I’ll eat at home. My family must be waiting.”

She gently pulled her arm away from Sukyung’s grip.

But Sukyung wasn’t someone you could say no to twice.
“It’s alright. I’ll eat at home. My family must be waiting for me.”

Hae-in carefully pulled her wrist away from the older woman’s thin hands. It was a polite but firm refusal.

But saying no twice wasn’t an option.

“Oh dear, don’t be so distant! Do you know how worried I was when I heard about your accident? Don’t embarrass me by rejecting my invitation. Come eat with us, hmm?”

At that moment, her father’s words echoed in her mind—Never refuse an elder’s request twice. It’s disrespectful.

And just like that, she found herself dragged into the Seo family’s dinner gathering.

All she had wanted was to feed a stray cat. Now she was sitting at a table with the most powerful family in the country.

“Well then, when were you discharged from the hospital?”

The question came from Chairman Seo Dowoo, head of the Seohyun Group.

He was a man whose face appeared on the news and in financial newspapers almost daily. It was impossible not to recognize him.

Feeling a little tense, Juheung straightened her back.

“Yesterday,” she answered politely.

She carefully accepted the bowl of soup the housekeeper handed her.

“Thank you,” she said, remembering her manners.

But she could feel it.

Several pairs of eyes were watching her, observing her like she was some strange animal in a zoo.

Their stares made her skin prickle.

But she had done nothing wrong, so she had no reason to avoid their gazes.

Instead, Juheung calmly looked back at each of them in turn.

At the head of the table sat Chairman Seo Dowoo.

To his right was his wife, Lee Sukyung.

Across from them sat Seo Taejo’s older brother, Seo Jungwook, and beside him, Taejo himself.

She already knew why they were looking at her like that.

They must be confused.

After all, no one would ever guess that her soul had been swapped with someone else’s.

To them, Yoo Hae-in had completely changed overnight.

Smiling slightly, Juheung met their curious gazes head-on.