After Yoon Jae-hyuk and his wife left, only Min-hee and Ho-su remained in the sprawling mansion.
“Kang Ho-su.”
Min-hee glared at her son with eyes sharp enough to cut. Ho-su didn't avoid her gaze.
“Are you crazy?” “No, Mom.” “Then how could you say something like that? Right in front of our Seo-ah.” “Our Seo-ah…”
Ho-su lifted one corner of his mouth and gave a bitter smile at her words. Anyone watching them would think Seo-ah, not him, was her child.
“I told you I wasn't interested in getting engaged.” “You're the heir to Sewon Construction! This isn't something you can decide on your own!” “I won't be the heir. Will that solve the problem?”
Min-hee's brow furrowed at Ho-su's words. Then she demanded in a voice filled with fury,
“W-what did you say? Have you lost your mind?” “I'm going to run Next Studio. Hand Sewon Construction over to someone else. This is the age of professional management, isn't it?” “Kang Ho-su! Do you even know what you're saying?” “Yes. I'm saying I'm going to live my own life.”
No matter how much he said, his mother refused to listen. If that was the case, then he had no choice but to give up on her.
Once his thoughts reached that point, Ho-su realized there was no reason for him to stay here any longer. He rose from his seat and turned away.
“Where are you going?” “Home. This isn't my home anymore. It's only your house now.” “Kang Ho-su!”
Min-hee screamed after him in a fit of rage, but Ho-su didn't look back.
He went straight down to the garage, got into his car, and started the engine.
The car sped through the darkness toward Seocho-dong. The mansion reflected in his side mirror—that enormous prison his mother had built—grew farther and farther away.
Ho-su roughly tugged at the tie around his neck, loosening it. Only then did he feel his heart begin to ease.
The next day at lunchtime. At a luxury hotel lounge in Gangnam, Min-hee sipped her tea elegantly as she looked at the woman seated across from her.
“Seo-ah, I'm sorry about yesterday. I hope seeing me helped you feel better.”
Seo-ah wore a pink tweed skirt suit and was fidgeting with the coffee cup in front of her.
“No, Mom. Thanks to you, I had a delicious dinner.” “Even so, he shouldn't have treated you like that.” “Oppa's been incredibly busy lately. Maybe he just isn't thinking about getting engaged right now.” “Really? My Seo-ah is so understanding.” “No, of course I am.”
Min-hee glanced at Seo-ah, who was sitting across from her.
She was the only daughter of Yoon Jae-hyuk, chairman of Hansung Electronics, the largest electronics company in the country. She and Ho-su had known each other since childhood.
Then, sometime last year, she had come to Min-hee herself and said, “I want to make things work with Ho-su, Mom.”
Someone like Yoon Seo-ah wasn't a bad match for Ho-su. It would have been better if she were younger, but people said a four-year age gap was nothing to worry about when it came to compatibility. She was beautiful, just like her mother, and above all, she followed Min-hee's lead well. Whenever she heard Seo-ah calling her “Mom, Mom,” Min-hee secretly felt pleased, as though Seo-ah were already her daughter-in-law.
There was only one problem…
“But, Seo-ah.” “Yes?”
Min-hee set down her cup.
“Are you really okay with things staying like this? With Ho-su being so openly…”
At Min-hee's worried tone, Seo-ah's face stiffened for an instant.
She knew Ho-su didn't see her as a woman. She had already prepared herself for that. But Seo-ah was confident she could make Ho-su hers. Not a single man had ever failed to fall for her. It might be a little difficult, but Kang Ho-su was still a man, after all.
Still, she hadn't expected him to be so blatant about disliking her yesterday, or to flatly declare that they would never get engaged.
“Don't worry too much, Mom. I've been close to Oppa since we were kids, remember?” “That may be true, but Ho-su…” “Mom, you trust me, right? I'll meet with Oppa privately and talk things over.”
After parting with Min-hee, Seo-ah took out her phone as soon as she got into the car.
She found the number in her call history and dialed it.
—Yes, Director Yoon. “Manager Kim, I'd like you to investigate the people around CEO Kang.” —Has something happened? “Check the people he's met recently. Especially whether there's a woman.” —Understood. When do you need it by? “The sooner, the better. Within a week.” —I’ll do my best.
After ending the call, Seo-ah gazed out the window and murmured,
“Ho-su, you don't have another woman, do you? That would be a problem.”
Ha-neul changed outfits several times in front of the mirror.
She put on a dress, then took it off. She put on jeans, then took those off too.
“What am I supposed to wear?”
In the end, she chose a beige knit top and a black skirt.
She spent a long time debating whether to wear her hair down or tie it back, then settled on a half-up style.
“…I should go, right?”
Ha-neul felt as though a heavy stone had been placed on her heart.
Ho-su had said they were just going to eat, but the place he had chosen was a restaurant she had visited several times for shoots. It was also considered one of the must-visit date spots for couples.
“Why does he want to meet somewhere like that? I hate being noticed.”
Yesterday, Ha-neul had asked him not to pretend he knew anything about her.
Instead, he had made her an offer. An offer so ridiculous and dirty it was almost perfect.
“Just enjoy ourselves in moderation? Seriously. Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.”
Ho-su definitely wasn't the senior she vaguely remembered.
He was still kind and easygoing, but beneath that, he harbored a deeply devious side.
“I need to go there and turn him down for good.”
The restaurant overlooked the Hangang River.
When Ha-neul gave Ho-su's name at the entrance, an employee led her to a room.
“He's waiting inside.” “Thank you.”
The employee bowed politely, and Ha-neul returned the gesture with a slight nod.
When Ha-neul opened the door and entered, she saw Ho-su sitting at a table by the window. He had turned his head to the side and was looking out at the view.
Just seeing his profile from a distance was enough to make Ha-neul's heart pound. It felt as though she were returning to that innocent time ten years ago. But she shook her head.
Don't let yourself be swayed. Talk to him properly today. Tell him you can't accept that shitty offer.
Ha-neul walked over to the table and sat across from Ho-su.
“Have you been waiting long?” “You're here?”
Ho-su turned at the sound of her voice.
“I'm sorry. Am I late?” “No. I only got here a little while ago. And it's seven o'clock, right? You're not late.” “Yes.” “Should we order first?”
The meal passed smoothly. The music was soft, the food was delicious, and the night view was beautiful.
With coffee, fruit, and ice cream served for dessert in front of her, Ha-neul's gaze was drawn to the view outside the window.
The lights on the bridge, the headlights of the cars, even the lights from the apartments in the distance—it all looked like a painting. She was thinking that when…
“You seem to like the view out there better than me.”
At Ho-su's languid yet relaxed voice, Ha-neul snapped back to reality and straightened in her seat.
“I had so much I wanted to say before coming here, but seeing you makes all of it feel pointless.” “What did you want to say?” “Do you want to hear it?” “Yes.”
Fine. She would listen to what this man had to say, then turn him down. Ha-neul made up her mind.
“That day at the hotel… why did you disappear?” “I was drunk that day… I really didn't know it was you, senior. I'm sorry.” “No, not that day.” “What?” “I mean ten years ago. Why did you leave me behind and just go?” “Ah…”
At Ho-su's words, Ha-neul let out a short sigh and closed her mouth. Then she swallowed dryly.
She hadn't expected him to bring up that day. She couldn't believe he still carried what had happened ten years ago in his heart.
But she didn't want to make any excuses for it. It had been entirely her fault. She should have at least said something, or properly explained herself the next day.
“When I confessed to you at the café back then, you just said you were sorry and that you didn't like me, then ran away.” “…” “After that, you avoided me every time I went to school until you graduated. Then you disappeared as if you'd never existed.” “…I'm sorry.” “I kept wondering. Why did you do that to me? Did you hate me that much?”
It wasn't that she had hated him. Her circumstances had simply made her withdraw.
“Strangely, I still keep remembering the way you cried at the café. Why does that even stay with me?”
Though he hadn't uttered a single curse, Ho-su's words felt like blades sinking into Ha-neul.
“I really am sorry about back then. So…” “So you want me to forget it? Forget what? That you ran away and left me? That you rejected me? Or that you ran away from me again?”
The room, along with that man's gaze, felt as though it were suffocating her. Even though each thing had been her own doing, hearing them from Ho-su's lips made her chest tighten.
“If you're really that sorry, then you can accept my offer.” “…” “Were you planning to turn me down?” “I’m still thinking about it.” “I told you. If you want, we can just enjoy ourselves in moderation. That's enough for me. You want a casual relationship too, enough to spend one night with a stranger, don't you?” “What did you say?”
The atmosphere between them froze in an instant.
Ha-neul glared at him, but Ho-su smiled leisurely, as though her gaze didn't bother him in the slightest.
“Do you see me as that kind of easy woman?” “Did that sound insulting?” “Yes.”
Ho-su picked up the coffee cup in front of him and took a sip.
“I thought it would be good for both of us. I still want you, and you seem to want something casual enough to spend a night with a stranger.” “…” “So you can do it, right? When would you like to meet again?”