Chapter 10
[Thank you.]
Only after reading Ina’s reply did Dohyeon finally get up.
He had been sitting on the edge of his bed, still fully dressed, waiting for her message.
As he casually took off his jacket and tossed it aside, his expression gradually hardened.
“Would you… spend the night with me?”
“I want us… to sleep together.”
Even thinking about it again made him let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Ha… Seo Ina. You’re really something.”
He muttered under his breath as he loosened his tie.
A faint, amused smile lingered in his deep, husky voice.
She had actually…
Fearlessly…
Had the courage to say those words to him.
He remembered her again.
Her cheek was still badly swollen from the slap his mother had given her.
The tip of her nose had been red too, showing how much she must have cried alone.
With tear-filled eyes that looked ready to spill over at any moment…
And lips trembling as if she herself couldn’t believe what she’d just said…
She had asked him to sleep with her.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
His fingers, which had been quickly undoing the buttons of his shirt, suddenly stopped.
He walked over to the full-length mirror in one corner of his bedroom and looked up at his reflection.
“What would you have done…”
“…if I’d said yes?”
There was quite an age difference between them.
But to him…
Ina had always been a woman.
Not even once had he ever failed to see her that way.
The only reason he had never embraced her during their marriage…
Was because their relationship had always had a clear ending.
It had been a practical marriage with well-defined boundaries.
That was why he had never crossed the line or slept with her simply to satisfy his own desire.
Although he had always acted indifferent toward her…
Dohyeon knew very well that she was an attractive woman.
When news of their marriage had first spread, every one of his friends had reacted with amazement.
“You were secretly dating Ms. Seo Ina? You’re unbelievable! What a lucky guy!”
“Seriously. You kept a girlfriend that beautiful hidden all this time? That’s impressive.”
“I had no idea there was a goddess like her among Gu Dohyeon’s juniors.”
So Dohyeon knew.
Seo Ina was the kind of woman any man would admire at least once.
Standing silently before the mirror, he bit his lip.
A faint crease appeared between his smooth brows.
“Seo Ina…”
As he quietly spoke her name…
His lips looked redder than usual.
“Are you serious?”
Chairman Gu slowly raised his head and stared straight at Dohyeon.
Early the next morning, Dohyeon went to his family home and told Chairman Gu that he intended to remarry Ina.
“You know I don’t say things like this unless I mean them.”
Dohyeon answered firmly, looking more serious than usual.
Looking surprised, Chairman Gu lowered the newspaper he had been reading and folded his arms.
“Isn’t she the girl you sent out of this house before the agreed time because you got tired of her?”
“…”
“And now you’re saying you want to marry her again?”
Chairman Gu looked up at Dohyeon and asked once more.
Standing perfectly straight, Dohyeon answered,
“Yes.”
It was only one simple word, but it carried unmistakable determination.
Chairman Gu was just about to say something when the bedroom door suddenly flew open.
“Absolutely not! Who says you can get back together with her?!”
Mrs. Hwang shouted angrily.
Chairman Gu frowned and turned toward her.
“You must never allow this. He cannot remarry Seo Ina.”
Her face was flushed bright red with anger as she stood in front of Dohyeon.
“So you’re really trying to drive your own mother to her death, aren’t you? I explained everything to you yesterday.”
“Yes.”
“You explained it clearly.”
Dohyeon’s gaze shifted from Chairman Gu to Mrs. Hwang.
Looking directly into her bloodshot eyes, he spoke firmly.
“I will remarry Seo Ina.”
“Gu Dohyeon!”
“I’ve already made my decision.”
“I’ve decided that’s what I’m going to do.”
“…Ha.”
“No matter what you say, Mother, I won’t change my mind.”
After saying that, Dohyeon bowed respectfully.
Mrs. Hwang immediately grabbed his wrist tightly.
“Absolutely not.”
“…Mother.”
“I said absolutely not. I made myself perfectly clear.”
She emphasized every word as if giving him a final warning.
Dohyeon looked at her calmly before speaking.
“I’m sorry, Mother.”
It was a simple, emotionless apology.
Chairman Gu silently watched him.
“You!”
When Dohyeon refused to back down, Mrs. Hwang raised her voice again.
“That’s enough.”
Chairman Gu closed his eyes and spoke quietly.
“Honey.”
Mrs. Hwang turned toward him in frustration.
“You have to stop him!”
“…”
“You know exactly what’s happened to that family!”
As if her heart were burning, she beat her chest with her fist.
“I know.”
“But he’s the one insisting on getting involved with that family again.”
Mrs. Hwang froze.
“Do you really think Gu Dohyeon made this decision without knowing what he’s getting himself into?”
Chairman Gu’s gaze turned toward his son.
Dohyeon stood silently with his head lowered, looking only at the floor.
“Once you’ve made up your mind…”
“I know better than anyone that nobody can change it.”
At those words, Dohyeon slowly raised his head.
“I won’t oppose it.”
“But that doesn’t mean I welcome it.”
Mrs. Hwang immediately raised her voice again.
“Honey! What are you saying?!”
“Be quiet.”
“Your shouting isn’t going to solve anything.”
He was right.
The only one losing her composure was Mrs. Hwang.
Dohyeon wasn’t shaken by her shouting in the slightest.
He was determined to remarry Ina…
Even if it meant going against his own mother.
“It won’t be an easy remarriage.”
“…I know, Chairman.”
“I don’t know what your real intentions are in bringing that girl back.”
“But you’d better think this through carefully.”
“…”
“And you’d better be prepared for what comes next.”
With those words, Chairman Gu looked away and closed his eyes.
As he pressed his temples with his fingers, he continued,
“That family will become your weakness.”
“…”
“If you think simply having a child to carry on the family line is enough to secure management rights…”
“You’re mistaken.”
“Your own ability must support you.”
“And your wife’s family must also support—”
“I know.”
Dohyeon calmly interrupted him.
“If I act like an idiot…”
“The only person who benefits in the end is Gu Dojun.”
“…!”
Chairman Gu’s eyes widened.
Even Mrs. Hwang looked at Dohyeon in surprise.
After a brief silence, Dohyeon let out a faint, mocking laugh.
“As if I’d let that happen.”
He murmured the words almost to himself.
Then he lowered his hands neatly and looked Chairman Gu straight in the eye.
“I won’t disappoint you.”
“…”
“I’ll come back after I’ve made a detailed plan.”
As he turned to leave—
“I won’t be the one who’s disappointed.”
Chairman Gu’s cold voice stopped him.
“If you fail to meet my expectations…”
“I’ll simply choose Dojun.”
Mrs. Hwang’s body trembled when she heard those words.
“In the end…”
“You’ll be the one who fails to get what you want.”
“It’ll be your loss.”
Most people would have been shaken by those cold words.
But Dohyeon merely paused for a moment.
He showed no emotion at all.
He simply stood there, expressionless, staring straight ahead.
Mrs. Hwang was about to complain about how harsh Chairman Gu was toward their son.
“There won’t be any need for that.”
Dohyeon cut her off firmly.
Then he walked away.
Chairman Gu and Mrs. Hwang silently watched him leave.
Rain had been pouring since early morning.
Ina searched through the piles of moving boxes until she finally found an umbrella and hurried toward the bus stop.
She needed to visit Taesu at the hospital.
Since it was the weekend, the hospital would be crowded.
She had planned to leave early…
But she had overslept.
On weekday mornings, she worked as a private tutor to help pay the household expenses, so she couldn’t spend much time taking care of her father.
That was why she always planned to spend her weekends at the hospital looking after him.
“Hm?”
“I think it’s leaking… Ah.”
She had rushed out of the house and hadn’t noticed.
When she looked up at her umbrella, there was a large hole in it.
“…Sigh.”
“Even my umbrella’s in this condition.”
She let out a quiet sigh and stepped under the bus stop shelter.
After getting off the bus, she still had quite a long walk to the hospital.
Since the bus wouldn’t arrive for another twenty minutes…
She thought she should probably buy a new umbrella first.
She looked around before hurrying into a nearby convenience store.
“…It’s more expensive than I thought.”
She gently touched one of the new umbrellas on display and bit her lip.
Right now, even ten thousand won felt precious.
She still had to pay her father’s hospital bills and repay their debts.
And with Injun still in detention…
She needed to save every single penny to hire a lawyer and clear his name.
“It’s okay.”
“I’ll just run.”
There had to be another umbrella somewhere at home.
She decided she’d make do with this torn one today.
Even though it cost less than ten thousand won…
Buying a new umbrella still felt like an unnecessary expense.
Ina opened the old umbrella again.
Rain poured mercilessly through the torn fabric.
The rain soaked her hair and ran down her cheeks.
“…”
At moments like this…
She couldn’t help feeling sad about how completely her life had changed.
There had once been a time when people envied her because she was the daughter of a wealthy conglomerate family.
Now…
Her reality had pushed her to the very edge of a cliff.
Perhaps because of that…
Everyone who had once surrounded her and her family had disappeared overnight.
But she was okay.
Ina had never cared much about money or status.
Her father had been exactly the same.
He would often sit her and Injun down and say,
“We’ve simply been fortunate enough to receive a wonderful opportunity and live comfortably.”
“Never become greedy for food, clothes, or possessions.”
“Always be grateful for the help and opportunities you’ve received.”
“And always remember to share what you have with others while remaining humble.”
He repeated those words over and over again.
Even after his company grew rapidly and became well known in the business world…
He never bragged about it or took pride in it.
Even though his own management skills had made that success possible…
He always remained humble.
“I’ve simply been blessed with good people.”
“I’ve received a lot of help from those around me.”
Instead of focusing only on expanding his own wealth…
He devoted himself to helping other mid-sized companies that had once been in situations similar to his own.
But when his own company fell into financial crisis…
Every one of those people turned their backs on him.
That was what hurt the most.
She was also angry…
That everything her father had built had been taken away through someone else’s scheme, not because of any mistake he had made.
As Ina stood absentmindedly watching the rain, her eyes slowly filled with tears.
“Ah.”
She spotted the bus she needed approaching in the distance.
Gripping the handle of her umbrella tightly, she hurried forward.
Just then, an expensive imported car stopped in front of her.
The passenger-side window rolled down.
Startled, Ina widened her eyes and bent down slightly.
“Seo Ina.”
“Ah… Mr. Dohyeon.”
Dohyeon was sitting inside, his face as stern as ever.
“Throw that umbrella away.”
