The message remained on Do-hyun's phone.
You found the wrong document.
A second line sat beneath it.
Now find the original.
Yerin stared at the screen.
Neither of them spoke.
The room was quiet except for the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.
Do-hyun finally locked his phone.
"We're going back."
Yerin looked at him.
"To Professor Han?"
He nodded.
"If she knows anything about the original document, she might know where it was kept."
Yerin slowly stood.
Her hand instinctively moved to her stomach.
She had only recently begun getting used to the changes happening inside her. Some days she still forgot that there was a tiny life growing inside her.
Do-hyun noticed.
"Are you tired?"
"I'm fine."
"You just woke up."
"I'm still fine."
He gave her a look.
Yerin sighed.
"Don't start."
"I haven't said anything."
"Your face did."
A small smile appeared on his lips.
"I'm just asking."
"I know."
She picked up her coat.
Do-hyun immediately took it from her.
"I'll carry it."
Yerin stared at him.
"It's a coat."
"I know."
"You've become impossible."
"I know that too."
She shook her head.
But she smiled.
They arrived at Han Soo-jin's house later that morning.
The professor opened the door and immediately noticed the seriousness on their faces.
"What happened?"
Do-hyun held up the phone.
"We received another message."
Soo-jin's expression changed.
She stepped aside.
"Come in."
They followed her into the study.
The old room looked exactly as it had the previous time they had visited.
Books filled the shelves.
Old research papers were stacked neatly across the desk.
Several boxes containing documents from twenty years ago were still placed against the wall.
Soo-jin looked at the message again.
Then she looked at Yerin.
"They know you found the copy."
Yerin frowned.
"How would they know?"
"I don't know."
Soo-jin walked toward the cabinets.
"But if they're telling you to find the original..."
She stopped.
"There was one."
Do-hyun immediately looked at her.
"Where?"
Soo-jin hesitated.
"I've spent twenty years trying not to think about it."
Yerin stepped closer.
"But you kept it."
Soo-jin looked at her.
"Yes."
"Then we need to find it."
The professor nodded slowly.
"Help me."
They began searching through the old cabinets.
One drawer after another.
Old reports.
Research papers.
Financial records.
Meeting notes.
Photographs.
Most of them were useless.
Then Soo-jin pulled out a large wooden box from the bottom shelf.
Dust covered the lid.
She placed it on the desk.
"I haven't opened this in years."
Do-hyun removed the dust from the top.
Yerin stood beside him.
Soo-jin unlocked it.
Inside were several folders tied together with old string.
Do-hyun carefully lifted the first one.
Nothing.
The second.
Nothing.
Then Yerin noticed a thin brown envelope underneath the folders.
There was no name.
No label.
Only a faded date.
Soo-jin's eyes widened.
"That..."
She reached for it.
Her hand stopped before touching it.
"That's the one."
Do-hyun looked at her.
"The original?"
Soo-jin nodded.
"I believe so."
Yerin's heart began beating faster.
Do-hyun carefully picked up the envelope.
The seal was old, but still intact.
He looked at Yerin.
"Ready?"
She nodded.
He opened it.
Inside was a thick collection of papers.
The first page carried three names.
Hwang Tae-sung.
Choi Min-seok.
Unknown Associate — Identity Withheld.
Yerin stared.
"The mysterious man."
Do-hyun turned the page.
The information became clearer.
Twenty years ago, the three men had been working together.
They had shared business interests.
They had attended private meetings.
They had trusted one another.
But something had changed.
Someone had begun manipulating financial records and internal reports.
Several transactions had been altered.
Documents had been replaced.
Names had been removed.
And then...
The mysterious man had been blamed.
Yerin read the page twice.
"He wasn't the traitor."
Do-hyun's jaw tightened.
"No."
Soo-jin quietly stood behind them.
"He wasn't."
They continued reading.
The original document explained that the evidence against the man had been deliberately altered.
Someone had taken genuine records and replaced sections of them.
The altered version made it appear as though the mysterious man had betrayed Tae-sung and Min-seok.
But the original records told a different story.
He had actually discovered the manipulation.
He had tried to expose it.
And that was when everything had fallen apart.
Yerin's eyes moved across the page.
"What happened after this?"
Do-hyun turned another page.
There it was.
A handwritten note.
The three men stopped trusting one another.
Another line followed.
Someone benefited from their division.
Yerin looked at Soo-jin.
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You kept this for twenty years."
"I was given only what I was trusted to keep."
Do-hyun continued reading.
"There were meetings after the betrayal."
Yerin leaned closer.
"With whom?"
He turned the page.
A list of dates appeared.
Several names were blacked out.
But one location appeared repeatedly.
A private warehouse outside the city.
Yerin recognized it.
"I've seen that location before."
Do-hyun looked at her.
"Where?"
"In one of the security reports."
They both went silent.
Soo-jin looked between them.
"What security report?"
Yerin explained everything.
The missing staff.
The phones.
The disabled cameras.
The security code.
The records room.
The messages.
And the investigation into her grandmother's poisoning.
Soo-jin listened without interrupting.
When Yerin finished, the professor looked down at the original document.
"I thought that chapter ended twenty years ago."
"It didn't," Do-hyun said.
Soo-jin shook her head.
"No."
She pointed at one of the pages.
"It continued."
Do-hyun read the section again.
Then his expression hardened.
"The security network."
Yerin looked at him.
"What?"
He pointed to a paragraph.
"The same company that supplied the old security equipment to the Hwang organization twenty years ago..."
He paused.
"...later supplied equipment connected to the mansion."
Yerin stared at the page.
Her mind immediately connected the pieces.
The old security system.
The hidden access.
The disabled cameras.
The missing staff.
The strange messages.
The records.
The poisoning.
It had never been one mystery.
It had been one story.
A story that had started twenty years ago.
And had somehow reached them.
Yerin slowly sat down.
"Grandmother knew."
Soo-jin looked at her.
"Yes."
"She knew the man wasn't guilty."
"I believe she did."
"Then why didn't she tell us?"
Soo-jin was silent for a moment.
"Perhaps she was trying to protect you."
Yerin looked down.
For years, she had thought her grandmother had simply been keeping old family matters away from her.
Now she realized it might have been something much bigger.
Her grandmother had known that the past wasn't dead.
It had only been waiting.
Do-hyun sat beside Yerin.
He quietly placed his hand over hers.
"We found it."
Yerin looked at him.
"The original."
He nodded.
"For the first time, we have the complete story."
She looked at the document.
"No."
Her voice was quiet.
"We have most of it."
Do-hyun understood.
"There are still missing names."
Soo-jin nodded.
"And we still don't know who manipulated the records."
Yerin looked toward the old photograph lying beside the documents.
The mysterious man stood beside their fathers.
Three men who had once trusted each other.
Three men whose lives had been changed by one betrayal.
Except...
The betrayal had never happened the way everyone believed.
Someone had made sure of that.
They spent the next several hours organizing everything.
Do-hyun scanned every important page.
Yerin photographed the handwritten notes.
Soo-jin checked the dates against the old research records she still possessed.
Everything matched.
The documents were real.
The dates were real.
The meetings were real.
The altered records were real.
And the mysterious man's innocence was becoming harder and harder to deny.
But there was still one question.
Who had done it?
Yerin leaned back in her chair.
"We can't confront anyone yet."
Do-hyun nodded.
"Not without proof."
"We have enough to know what happened."
"Not enough to prove who did it."
Yerin looked at the final page.
"We need the missing records."
Soo-jin looked at her.
"There may be another copy."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
Do-hyun looked at the location written on the document.
"The warehouse."
Yerin nodded.
"We start there."
Soo-jin looked concerned.
"Be careful."
Yerin gave her a calm look.
"We will."
She placed a hand over her stomach.
"We have more to protect now."
Do-hyun looked at her.
Their eyes met.
He knew exactly what she meant.
They weren't chasing this because they wanted revenge.
They were chasing it because the truth had already hurt their family once.
They weren't going to let it hurt them again.
The months passed quietly on the surface.
But beneath that quietness, the investigation continued.
Yerin's pregnancy progressed.
And by the time she reached six months, everyone around her had noticed how much she had changed.
Especially Do-hyun.
He had become almost ridiculously careful.
If Yerin reached for something heavy, he took it first.
If she tried to climb onto a chair to reach something from a high shelf, he appeared beside her immediately.
If she stood for too long, he reminded her to sit.
If she forgot to drink water, a glass somehow appeared in front of her.
And if she said she was perfectly capable of doing something herself...
Do-hyun usually did it anyway.
One afternoon, Yerin stood in the kitchen holding a small box.
Do-hyun walked in.
He stopped immediately.
"What are you doing?"
Yerin looked at him.
"Nothing dangerous."
"That's not what I asked."
"I'm putting something away."
"Give it to me."
She stared.
"It's light."
"I'll do it."
"Do-hyun."
He walked over and took the box from her.
"I'll do it."
Yerin crossed her arms.
"I'm six months pregnant, not six years old."
"I know."
"Then stop."
"I'm not stopping."
She narrowed her eyes.
He calmly walked away with the box.
Yerin watched him.
"You're unbelievable."
He looked back.
"You're welcome."
She tried not to smile.
She failed.
Later that evening, they were sitting together in the living room.
Yerin was reading through one of the old documents.
Do-hyun noticed.
"You've been looking at that for an hour."
"I'm trying to find something."
"You're tired."
"I'm fine."
He reached over and gently closed the folder.
Yerin stared at him.
"Seriously?"
"Tomorrow."
"I want to finish it tonight."
"You've been working all day."
"So have you."
"I know."
"Then why do I have to stop?"
"Because you're carrying our baby."
Yerin became quiet.
Do-hyun looked at her.
His voice softened.
"I'm not trying to stop you from doing things."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Making sure you don't have to do everything."
Her expression softened.
For a moment, she didn't argue.
Then she quietly said,
"You're getting better at this."
"At what?"
"Being annoying."
He smiled.
"I've had a good teacher."
Yerin laughed.
"Who?"
"You."
She shook her head.
"Idiot."
He smiled.
That night, the mansion was unusually peaceful.
The lights were dim.
The investigation files had been placed safely inside the study.
For once, neither of them was talking about the past.
Yerin was lying comfortably on the bed, scrolling through her phone.
Do-hyun came into the room.
He changed into something comfortable and climbed onto the other side of the bed.
Yerin barely noticed.
She continued scrolling.
For several minutes, Do-hyun said nothing.
Then he turned onto his elbow.
And looked at her.
Yerin continued scrolling.
A few seconds passed.
She finally noticed.
She lowered her phone slightly.
"What?"
He didn't answer.
She looked at him.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Nothing."
She laughed softly.
"Then why are you staring?"
He shrugged.
"Just looking."
Yerin smiled.
"You're strange."
Do-hyun sat up.
Without saying anything else, he got out of bed.
Yerin watched him curiously.
"Where are you going?"
He walked toward the vanity.
A moment later, he returned holding a small bottle of baby oil.
Yerin looked at it.
Then at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Come here."
"I'm already here."
He sat beside her.
"Move your phone."
Yerin smiled and placed it on the bedside table.
Do-hyun carefully lifted the edge of her shirt just enough to reveal her growing belly.
His movements were gentle.
He applied a small amount of oil to his hands and began softly massaging her belly.
Yerin relaxed against the pillows.
Neither spoke for a while.
Do-hyun's expression was completely focused.
Yerin watched him.
"You've become very serious about this."
"About what?"
"Everything."
He looked at her.
"You're six months pregnant."
"I know."
"And we're having a baby."
"I know that too."
"Then I have to be serious."
She smiled.
"You're already acting like a full-time father."
"I am a full-time father."
Yerin laughed quietly.
"You haven't even met the baby yet."
"I've been preparing."
"Preparing for what?"
"Everything."
She shook her head.
"You're impossible."
He smiled slightly.
Then suddenly...
He felt something beneath his hand.
He stopped.
Yerin noticed.
"What?"
Do-hyun looked at her.
"Was that..."
Another tiny movement came.
His eyes widened slightly.
Yerin's smile grew.
"The baby kicked."
He looked down at her stomach.
For a second, he simply stared.
Then he slowly leaned closer and rested his ear gently against her belly.
Yerin laughed softly.
"What are you doing?"
"Listening."
"Can you actually hear anything?"
"No."
"Then why are you doing that?"
"Because I want to."
She smiled.
They stayed like that for a moment.
Then another small movement came.
Do-hyun lifted his head.
A genuine smile appeared on his face.
"Again."
Yerin looked down at him.
"You felt it?"
He nodded.
He placed his hand gently against her belly again.
"Our baby is awake."
Yerin smiled.
"Maybe the baby knows you're here."
Do-hyun looked at her.
"I hope so."
She reached down and lightly touched his hair.
For once, neither of them thought about their fathers.
Or the old documents.
Or the person who had spent twenty years hiding the truth.
They only thought about the little life between them.
Their future.
Their family.
And the happiness they had never expected to find in the middle of everything that had once felt so broken.
Yerin smiled.
"Do-hyun."
"Hm?"
"We're really going to be parents."
He looked at her.
"Yeah."
His voice was quieter than usual.
"I'm happy."
Yerin smiled.
"Me too."
He rested his hand against her belly.
"So happy."
She laughed softly.
"You're going to spoil this baby."
"Probably."
"And you complain that I'm stubborn."
"I never said I wasn't."
She laughed again.
He smiled.
For a few peaceful minutes, the world outside their room didn't matter.
Much later, Yerin had fallen asleep.
Do-hyun remained awake.
He quietly left the bedroom and went downstairs.
The study was dark.
He turned on the desk lamp.
The original document lay exactly where they had left it.
He opened it again.
Something had been bothering him.
He turned to the final pages.
The handwritten notes.
The warehouse.
The security company.
The dates.
Then he noticed something he had missed earlier.
A small handwritten code appeared beneath one of the dates.
Do-hyun frowned.
He took out his phone and compared it with the old security records.
The code matched.
His expression changed.
It wasn't just a location.
It was a reference number.
A record number.
He searched through the files.
After several minutes, he found it.
An old entry.
The record had been created twenty years ago.
And then...
Accessed again years later.
Do-hyun stared at the screen.
Someone had opened the same record recently.
Very recently.
He checked the date.
His eyes narrowed.
The access had happened shortly before the first message they received.
Someone had been looking for the same thing they were.
The past wasn't simply being uncovered.
Someone was still protecting it.
Do-hyun immediately went upstairs.
Yerin was still asleep.
He stood beside the bed for a moment.
Then gently touched her shoulder.
"Yerin."
Her eyes slowly opened.
"What happened?"
He held up the phone.
"I found something."
She sat up.
"What?"
He showed her the record.
Yerin read it carefully.
Her expression changed.
"This is the location from the document."
"Yes."
"And someone accessed it recently."
"Exactly."
She looked at him.
"So we're close."
"Very."
Yerin placed one hand over her stomach.
For months, they had followed clues.
For months, they had searched through records.
For months, they had tried to understand what had happened twenty years ago.
Now, for the first time, they had a direct lead.
Yerin looked at Do-hyun.
"We don't confront anyone until we have everything."
He nodded.
"We gather the evidence first."
"And then?"
Do-hyun's expression became firm.
"We hand everything to the police."
Yerin nodded.
"No revenge."
"No."
"No taking matters into our own hands."
"No."
"We let the law deal with them."
Do-hyun took her hand.
"Together."
Yerin squeezed his hand.
"Together."
Outside, the mansion remained silent.
But somewhere beyond its walls...
the past was moving again.
And this time, Yerin and Do-hyun knew exactly where to look.
They had finally found the original truth.
Now they only had to find the people who had spent twenty years hiding it.
...To Be Continued...