When Ha-neul returned home after finishing her meeting with Ho-su, a text arrived on her phone.
─ [Mom] Ha-neul, I set the wedding date. You don't need to come, and you know what I meant, right?
Ha-neul's brow furrowed on its own as she read the text, and she let out a sigh.
This would be her mother's fifth marriage. And once again, her mother was holding out her hand to Ha-neul.
'How long am I supposed to keep doing this?'
Normally, it was the kind of text she could brush off without a second thought, but today, it pierced her heart.
Ha-neul remembered Ho-su's cold gaze as he watched her leave the restaurant.
“Being abandoned by the same woman twice hurts a lot more than you'd think.”
His quiet, almost growling voice lingered in her ears. Then she remembered how he'd held her and helped her when she lost her footing and nearly fell on her way out of the restaurant.
…It was all my fault.
Ha-neul gazed out the window and gave a bitter smile. Kang Ho-su, and her mother. She could do nothing but blame her own foolishness for being unable to escape either of them.
Near the Hanseong Electronics headquarters, Manager Kim was meeting with a private investigator at a café.
“Did you receive the materials?” “Yes. I've looked them over.”
Manager Kim turned on his tablet.
On the screen was a photo of Ho-su and Ha-neul leaving the restaurant.
“Who is this woman?”
Manager Kim asked, pointing at Ha-neul on the screen.
“She’s the influencer Yoonseul. We haven’t identified her real name yet.” “What else?” “She’s estimated to be around thirty and is currently signed with a company called Blooming Entertainment. She’s a major influencer with around two million social media followers.” “What’s her relationship with CEO Kang?” “I heard she signed on as the advertising model for Next Studio’s new game. But…”
The private investigator hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“CEO Kang’s attitude toward this woman is unusual.” “How so?” “It doesn’t look like a simple business relationship.”
Manager Kim enlarged the photo.
For some reason, it showed Ho-su pulling Ha-neul into his arms as she was about to fall.
“Are you sure about this?” “Yes. It was taken yesterday evening.”
Manager Kim turned off the tablet and stood.
“I’ll report to the director. Thank you for your work.”
The chairman’s office at Seowon Construction.
Min-hee was signing documents when she fell into thought for a moment.
“Maybe Ho-su sees things differently from Seo-a.”
Seo-a was, in a word, the perfect bride.
Hanseong Electronics, run by Seo-a’s father, Yoon Jae-hyuk, couldn’t compare with Seowon Construction, but it was still one of the country’s top companies. And she was a beautiful girl with a good personality. More than anything, Min-hee found it adorable how Seo-a blushed and said that she liked Ho-su.
Min-hee had watched the girl grow up, but she felt it was time for Seo-a to become part of their family.
The problem was Ho-su.
When he quit the company he’d been happily working at a few years earlier, Min-hee thought he was going to learn the business under her. Instead, he announced that he was going to start a game company.
Min-hee snorted at the idea.
A game company? Her son was still so young.
She thought he’d give up before he could hold out for long.
When she learned that the company was struggling, Min-hee expected her son to come to her, hat in hand.
But Min-hee’s prediction missed the mark completely.
Her son sold off several properties in his own name and managed to survive on the proceeds. Then, at some point, the media began taking notice, and his company grew so large that it was now appearing in the financial news.
Next Studio was the first thing Ho-su had done against her wishes.
The good son who used to listen to her was gone.
The engagement was no different.
Since the two had been close from childhood, an engagement and marriage seemed like the natural next step. Seo-a had come to Min-hee first and made her intentions clear, and Seo-a’s family had welcomed the idea, saying, “It would be wonderful if Ho-su became our son-in-law.”
But Ho-su alone opposed the marriage.
Curious about why, Min-hee had once asked him.
“I don’t want a marriage without love.” “What? Love?”
Min-hee couldn’t understand.
“For people like us, marriage is business.” “No. If there’s no love, I’d rather not get married.” “Ho-su.” “You got married for love too, Mother.” “…”
Ho-su’s words left Min-hee speechless.
She, too, had met someone she truly loved, married him, and given birth to Ho-su.
But now…
“So, do I look happy to you now?” “…” “People like us are supposed to meet and marry people like ourselves. Otherwise, we can never be happy.” “But…”
In the end, Min-hee even said the one thing she never should have let escape her lips.
“Did your father look happy when he was living in this house? If he did, would he have had any reason to move down to Jeju Island?”
Thinking about that time, Min-hee closed her eyes for a moment.
While running the company she’d inherited from her father, she had never once wavered. She had handled everything by persuading every executive who opposed her wishes.
But nothing was as difficult as dealing with her son.
“Ho-su, what on earth are you planning to do?”
Seo-a was receiving Manager Kim’s report in her office.
“So this woman was meeting with CEO Kang?” “Yes, that’s right.”
On the tablet Manager Kim held out was a photo of Ho-su and Ha-neul leaving the restaurant.
“What, they weren’t meeting over an advertising contract or something?” “That’s…”
Manager Kim paused before opening his mouth.
“We confirmed that the two of them were the only ones meeting at the restaurant yesterday. And…”
He quietly enlarged the screen, showing Ha-neul in Ho-su’s arms.
“There was a woman… Hah.”
Seo-a let out a hollow laugh, as if the whole thing were absurd.
“Good work. You can go.”
Manager Kim bowed and left her office.
After he left, the sound of something toppling over and something shattering rang out from the office, followed by Seo-a’s scream.
A short while later, she called Manager Kim again.
“Find out everything about that woman. From her past to the present. Don’t leave out a single thing.” ─ Understood.
After hanging up, Seo-a smiled coldly.
“An influencer? All sorts of useless things just keep getting in the way.”
She returned to her desk and sat down, breathing heavily.
“Yoonseul… was it? Looks like you picked the wrong person to meet. You’re not supposed to touch another woman’s man.”
Seo-a huffed for a long while before picking up the intercom and speaking to someone.
“I accidentally knocked a few things over in here. They probably need to be cleaned up and replaced. I’m heading out now, so get this place sorted.”
She slammed down the receiver so hard it seemed ready to break, grabbed her bag, and walked out.
She probably needed to blow off some steam at a club tonight.
“Should I let loose for the first time in a while? I’ve been playing nice for so long that my whole body aches.”
She took out her phone and called the friend she always went clubbing with.
“Hello.”
Several days had passed since her meeting with Ho-su.
After Ji-yeon summoned her to stop by the office, Ha-neul arrived at Blooming Entertainment that morning. As she greeted the employees, one of them approached her and spoke.
“Oh, Yoonseul, you’re here? It’s been a while. You’re still on vacation, right?” “I only have a few days left.”
While Ha-neul was exchanging greetings with the employee, Ji-yeon approached.
“You’re here?” “Yes, sis. I’ll let you get back to work.” “Yoonseul, you’ll come to the next company dinner, right? See you then.”
Ha-neul bowed to the employee and followed Ji-yeon as she led the way. Ji-yeon brought Ha-neul to her desk and had her sit down before speaking first.
“Hey, hey, the contract came in yesterday.” “What?” “Next Studio. The final contract came in from them.” “…Seriously?”
Ji-yeon hugged Ha-neul tightly.
“This is huge! Our Ha-neul is working with Next Studio!” “Thank you, sis.” “Congratulations, seriously! From here on out, you’ve got nowhere to go but up.”
That was when it happened. Clink.
“Hey, everyone. It’s been a while.”
The office door opened, and CEO Lee Tae-hoon walked in. He spotted Ji-yeon and Ha-neul sitting together and approached them.
“Ha-neul, I heard. Congratulations!” “Thank you, CEO.” “If you do well in this ad, your rate is going to skyrocket. Let’s work hard on the preparation, okay?” “Yes.” “Our Manager Kim is going to have to work even harder. Hang in there a little longer.” “Of course, CEO! I’ll give it everything I’ve got!” “Okay!”
Tae-hoon left the office with a satisfied expression.
Ji-yeon looked at Ha-neul and asked,
“But tell me something. You and CEO Kang really aren’t involved?” “What are you talking about all of a sudden?” “I heard it from the CEO, but apparently Next was adamant about signing you. There were other candidates, but CEO Kang supposedly insisted on going with Yoonseul no matter what. And the signing fee is top-tier treatment, too. I wondered if maybe you two knew each other already.” “…There’s no way.”
Ha-neul lowered her head and bit down on her lip. Even the faint hope that she might be able to back out of the contract using its terms had vanished.
“But CEO Kang seemed like a really good guy. With those skills at his age, and his looks…”
Thinking that Ji-yeon would keep praising Ho-su if she stayed any longer, Ha-neul picked up her bag and stood.
“I’ll go first, sis.” “Huh? Already?” “I don’t have anything scheduled today! See you later.”
Ha-neul hurried out after saying goodbye to the other employees, and Ji-yeon gave a knowing grin.
“There’s definitely something going on.”
She was suspicious, but without any evidence, Ji-yeon headed toward the CEO’s office.