Prey (Lee Seohan) - Chapter 164

Seol Hee-nam’s eyes narrowed. Holding the bottle, he delved into his memories.

Nine years ago, he had lured Oh Kyung-hee with the promise of divorce, only to push her off a mountain, causing her to fall to her death. Her body was
never found.

Since the motive was insurance money, he filed a missing person report and organized a massive search, but to no avail.

Fortunately, he had secured CCTV footage showing himself and Oh Kyung-hee entering the mountain together. Thanks to this, the insurance company accepted the case as an accidental fall and paid out the claim without issue.

Since the amount was so substantial, both the insurance company staff and the police were suspicious. However, by deliberately showing himself wailing and searching for Oh Kyung-hee for days, he managed to erase their doubts.

‘I thought everything had ended there….’

Four years after the funeral, he suddenly received an anonymous text message.

– I’m letting you know that Oh Kyung-hee is alive.

He nearly screamed at that moment.

Oh Kyung-hee is alive? But I killed her!

Even if she had survived, she should have been left to rot somewhere deep in the mountains. How could she be alive?

He was shocked but suspected it might be a trick by the insurance company, so he feigned joy.

– Is that true? Thank you so much. Where is my wife?

The reply contained the address of a nursing home. Suppressing the hair-raising feeling crawling up his spine, he sent another text.

– I’ll go see her immediately. By the way, are you the one who helped my wife? Could I know who you are? I’d like to thank you for saving her.

– There’s no need for thanks. I couldn’t ignore a dying person, so I treated her. I’m simply returning her to her rightful guardian. Apologies for the delay in contacting you; it took time to locate her guardian due to difficulty identifying her.

The sender didn’t reveal their identity. They only mentioned that they had transferred the legal guardianship to the nursing home and asked him to take good care of her moving forward.

When he consulted with Park In-ok about the matter, she frowned deeply.

“Do you believe such nonsense? Someone’s probably playing a prank. Seriously, who would pull such a tasteless joke… Anyway, what about the money? Weren’t you trying to get a loan?’’

“It’s still under review.’’

“Under review for days and days, but no money’s coming through—what are we supposed to do?’’

“Should I check it out? Go there?’’

“We’re on the brink of starving, and you’re worried about Oh Kyung-hee? Do whatever you want!’’

Park In-ok shouted furiously. Ever since their once-thriving business ran out of cash flow and faced the threat of bankruptcy, her hysteria had worsened.

That damned woman! When she was my secretary, she was desperate to seduce me.

Cursing her silently, he made his way to the nursing home—and there lay Oh
Kyung-hee, just as the message had said.

‘……!’

The moment he saw the unconscious Oh Kyung-hee, a wave of fear swept over him.

Someone knew what he had done.

Who could it be?

Gripped by terror, he rushed home and told Park In-ok, who responded with a completely different demeanor from earlier.

“Well, isn’t that fortunate? My goodness, it seems fate doesn’t let people die so easily. Perhaps this is… timely, in a way….’’

“What are you talking about? Fortunate? What do you mean by that?’’

After the company went under, it was the first time he saw Park In-ok smiling so brightly, and he looked at her suspiciously as she spoke.

“Guess what? Through my sister, a marriage proposal came for Seol Suhyeon today.”

“Seol Suhyeon?’’

“Yes, and do you know who the prospective groom is? None other than Cheonkyung.’’

“Cheonkyung? Cheonkyung who?’’

The corners of Park In-ok’s lips lifted dramatically.

“The successor. Do Jeonghan.’’

“Do Jeonghan? The one who came from America?’’

“Yes, that man.’’

He snorted at the absurdity of it.

She used to be a sharp woman, but struggling with money had clearly dulled her mind.

“It’s got to be a scam. Why on earth would Do Jeonghan bother with us…?’’

“Do you think I didn’t doubt it at first? But my sister also found it odd, so she looked into it. Turns out Cheonkyung has been secretly seeking families like ours—ones whose businesses have suddenly collapsed.’’

“Does that even make sense? Why would they do that?’’

“You’re so clueless. Why do you think so?’’

Park In-ok laughed, her eyes gleaming slyly, before continuing.

“Do Jeonghan is looking for a family that won’t say a word, whether he beats them to death or strangles them.’’

“Ah… well, I suppose a chaebol family does need a few lunatics.’’

Now that he thought about it, her words made sense. As he nodded in agreement, Park In-ok continued.

“But do you think Seol Suhyeon is the type to obediently go on a blind date?
Just as I was wondering what to do about it, out of nowhere, Oh Kyung-hee comes back alive! Isn’t the timing just perfect?’’

Park In-ok’s face glowed with elation, as if she’d already seized Cheonkyung’s fortune.

Her expression unsettled him slightly.

“It’s so perfect that it feels suspicious. What if someone set a trap and is waiting for us to step into it…?’’

“This isn’t the time to nitpick over everything! The priority is to make Seol Suhyeon meet Do Jeonghan. We can worry about strange details later. It won’t be too late then.’’

“…You’re right. The important thing is the money.’’

He shared a smile with Park In-ok. She was right. With their company on the brink of collapse, they weren’t in a position to question anything.

Surely, someone had saved the dying Oh Kyung-hee out of genuine goodwill but couldn’t handle the cost of her treatment and decided to pass the responsibility on.

As they had claimed, it must have taken a long time to identify her since she was unconscious—and officially dead.

“At least now we have a way to blackmail Seol Suhyeon. That’s a relief.’’

“Exactly. We’re really lucky, aren’t we?’’

Park In-ok let out a bright laugh.

In the end, they used Oh Kyung-hee to blackmail Seol Suhyeon into marrying Do Jeonghan. With that, they secured substantial financial support from him.