RWNH 06

Chapter 6 The First Step

Even though it was midsummer, Lee Soo noticed goosebumps rising on Yeonhee’s neck. She coldly raised one corner of her lips.

Yeonhee pretended she had not heard anything and quickly moved her steps so that her long, flowing hair completely covered her neck.

But Lee Soo stuck close behind her like an annoying leech and continued talking about meaningless things.

“Dad still seems to love Mom a lot.”

When Lee Soo mentioned Manho, who had left for Dubai, and gave her a way out, Yeonhee immediately followed along.

“Oh my. Lee Soo, talking about things like that is so embarrassing.”

“Why? I think you two look really good together.”

“Since we spend a lot of time apart, I guess we become a little more affectionate when we meet. Our daughter has grown up so much. Now you can even have conversations like this with your mom…”

Lee Soo almost spat at Yeonhee, who blushed with a peach-colored face while pretending to be innocent.

She now knew the ugliness hidden behind that beautiful face.

‘No matter what, make sure you hold onto Lee Soo. Don’t underestimate MH Construction just because it’s a small and medium-sized company. It’s a very solid company. Lee Soo will inherit all of it. So do whatever you have to do to win Lee Soo’s heart. That way, you can stay with me.’

Yeonhee’s voice from the copied phone.

In the end, everything had been because of money.

When she remembered Yeonhee’s young face from long ago, when she confessed that she had fallen in love with her father while even signing a prenuptial agreement saying she would not seek his wealth, Lee Soo felt sick.

She had been deceived by Yeonhee’s words about wanting to become a good mother and had sincerely opened her heart to her for all those years.

That was what covered Lee Soo’s eyes and blocked her ears.

‘How could I have been so completely unaware until the moment before I died? How could I have been fooled like an idiot for such a long time?’

Lee Soo clenched her teeth while painfully swallowing her despair.

She would no longer be easily taken advantage of.

Because the thing Yeonhee loved the most would be the very thing that strangled her.

For that moment, Lee Soo endured her anger and returned to her room with a smiling face.

As she entered the house, the phone she had left powered on rang loudly on the table.

The caller was Taegang.

Lee Soo casually ignored his call.

Then, with a calm expression, she took a shower and lay down on the bed.

Tomorrow would be a very important day, so she needed to get enough sleep.

However, even after closing her eyes, sleep would not come.

It was not because of Taegang or Yeonhee.

It was because of the 200 million won.

To be exact, it was because of the initial capital Taegang Kwon had invested into Honey Dream Tree.

Before their marriage, when he said he would boldly invest the money he had saved his entire life into the company, Lee Soo had been deeply moved.

Especially because she had recently failed after proudly declaring that she would succeed without her parents’ help.

The initial capital of Honey Dream Tree was only 400 million won, and Taegang, who invested 200 million won, received 50% of the shares.

He had not invested because he saw the potential of Honey Dream Tree.

He had simply placed a bet to shake Lee Soo’s heart.

If he lost, he could make Lee Soo feel guilty and burdened. If the company’s value increased, that was also good for him.

Even if the company failed, as long as he married Lee Soo, he had calculated that he could inherit Manho’s company.

The 200 million won he invested to gain Lee Soo’s heart had returned as the position of CEO of a company worth 1 trillion won.

It was like trying to steal one gold bar but accidentally becoming the owner of a gold mine.

It was truly an incredible stroke of luck.

And the starting point of that luck was Lee Soo.

“I need to take back the luck I placed in your hands.”

After replaying those painful memories, Lee Soo’s eyes became cold.

The next day, during lunchtime.

“Lee Soo, over here.”

Taegang raised his hand toward Lee Soo as she entered the restaurant.

Lee Soo had avoided his calls all night and sent him a message one hour before lunch, almost like a notification.

Taegang had rushed over immediately.

Her rude attitude annoyed him, but calming Lee Soo came first.

“What do you want to eat?”

Taegang waited until Lee Soo sat down and carefully handed her the menu.

He planned to ease the atmosphere while they waited for the food.

However, Lee Soo silently moved the menu to the side and placed a document on the center of the table.

“First, this.”

“What is this?”

“It’s the document saying that Mr. Taegang is withdrawing his investment from my company. The investment money, 200 million won, has already been deposited into your account, so check it.”

“Lee Soo, is this because of what happened yesterday?”

‘He thinks I’m acting emotionally because I’m angry? Then that’s even better for me.’

Because she did not know how Taegang would react, Lee Soo had simulated various possibilities until right before coming here.

If he became even slightly suspicious, recovering her shares would become difficult.

Fortunately, Taegang moved down the easiest path she had expected.

Lee Soo held back the smile trying to escape and hardened her expression.

She decided to act according to what he believed.

“Sign first. We’ll talk after that.”

Lee Soo looked at him with a cold expression, as if she was throwing a tantrum and showing all her emotions.

“What are you doing right now? Are you trying to completely end things with me? At least listen to what I have to say…”

“Sign first.”

Lee Soo intentionally cut him off with a cold voice.

She judged that pushing him recklessly was the most effective method right now.

And as if she was annoyed, she pushed the document toward him.

Her attitude was something that could never be considered business-like.

“Ha…”

Taegang lowered his head and let out a deep sigh while his face turned red with anger.

He was trying to calm himself down.

If this had been the old Lee Soo, she would not have been able to endure the silence that followed and would have surrendered first.

Because losing him had been more frightening.

But now, she simply watched his next move quietly.

Seeing Lee Soo’s firm attitude, Taegang decided to step back for now and persuade her instead.

He picked up the pen.

Lee Soo quietly swallowed her dry saliva.

“If I sign, will you listen to everything I say until the end?”

“I will.”

During the short moment when he moved the pen across the paper, Lee Soo’s heart pounded wildly.

But she did not show it.

She continued glaring at him as if she was still angry.

“I signed it, so now listen to me.”

Taegang placed the signed document under his hand as if using it as a hostage and spoke in a serious tone.

Lee Soo wanted to immediately snatch the document away, and her heart became impatient, but she turned her head away as if it was not important.

As if everything was only because she was angry at Taegang.

Taegang was stunned by her attitude.

‘It’s not even a profitable company, and the game she released completely failed. She should be grateful that I invested in it. Just because she’s upset, she tells me to take back my investment?’

He wanted to recover the money immediately.

But if that meant the end of his relationship with Lee Soo, things were different.

With a serious expression, Taegang began telling the excuse he had thought of all night.

“Actually, I didn’t tell you, but I’ve had a stalker following me for several months. Somehow they found my number and kept contacting me. Sometimes they even left things in front of my house. I heard noises outside and went out to check, but there were only objects there, so I misunderstood the situation. I never imagined it was something you had left.”

The excuse he had spent all night creating turned out to be a stalker.

From Lee Soo’s perspective, who knew the entire truth, it was such a shallow trick that she almost laughed.

But she made a worried expression.

“A stalker?”

“Even if that was the reason, I shouldn’t have shown you that side of me. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t know that… I misunderstood you, Taegang. A stalker… that’s really terrifying. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

Lee Soo softened her expression and placed her hand over Taegang’s.

“You must have had a hard time, Taegang. Did you report it?”

“Yes. I did. Don’t worry. I’m fine. Lee Soo, are you no longer angry?”

“I’m sorry. I got angry without knowing the whole situation.”

“No. I’m the one who’s more sorry. I showed you an ugly side of myself.”