Chapter 5: The Fiancée
“I’m sorry I’m late.”
“What are you apologizing for? Work runs late sometimes.”
As Do-heon followed the server to the table and sat down, Sung-hee, who was seated across from him, welcomed him with a smile.
“I heard your mother hasn’t been feeling well.”
Ji-hyun, who naturally took the seat beside Do-heon, looked dejected.
“I got a call from her on the way here.”
Ironically, it was a call that even Do-heon, her own son, hadn’t received.
But he didn’t care.
He already knew it was just another childish attempt to emphasize how close the two of them were.
“I was really worried. She sounded so weak.”
“I’m sure she’ll recover.”
His mother was the type of person who used her illness however it suited her.
Sometimes it was a weapon.
Sometimes it was a shield.
After surviving a major surgery, she had learned to use her fragile health to get exactly what she wanted.
She was also the very reason…
…he remained engaged to a woman he had no feelings for.
“You’re so indifferent to your mother. That’s why she always complains to me whenever she sees me.”
Without reacting to Ji-hyun’s remark, Do-heon picked up the menu and handed it to Sung-hee.
Touched by what she saw as his thoughtfulness, Sung-hee beamed happily as she looked over the menu.
“They said the dessert cake is made with apricot jam.”
After calling the server over and finishing the order, Ji-hyun spoke again.
“Oppa?”
But Do-heon wasn’t listening.
He was staring fixedly at something.
Following his gaze, Ji-hyun turned her head as well.
A pillar blocked her view.
She couldn’t see anything.
Do-heon could.
Beyond the pillar, tucked away in the farthest corner of the lounge…
…sat Yoon-kyung.
The wall kept obscuring her, so only part of her profile appeared before disappearing again.
“…Oppa!”
Ji-hyun grabbed his arm.
Only then did Do-heon’s eyes shift to her—
specifically, to the hand gripping his sleeve.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.”
With that short reply, he gently withdrew his arm.
The solid warmth disappeared, leaving only empty air in Ji-hyun’s hand.
She clenched her fist.
He wouldn’t even allow a brief touch, let alone link arms with her.
Thanks to Do-heon’s memory loss, she’d managed to become his fiancée.
But three years ago…
Just like now…
All Ji-hyun had ever gained was the hollow title.
“The new wallet from Brand B is gorgeous. They even made a matching men’s version. What do you think, Oppa? Want me to buy you one?”
Forcing herself to smile despite her sinking mood, Ji-hyun spoke even more brightly.
“I haven’t had my current one that long.”
“Three years is a long time. Then what about those shoes from Brand S? I saw the commercial—they filmed it in Italy. Even though I went there last year, seeing it made me want to go back.”
A new bag from this company.
This season’s fashion trends.
A luxury hotel she’d stayed at during her travels.
Ji-hyun always talked about the same kinds of things.
The only subject that occasionally interested Do-heon was piano—her college major.
But since she’d barely managed to graduate, she wasn’t skilled enough to keep his attention even with that.
“You must be busy. They gave you so much work the moment you came back from America. How’s the company?”
“It’s hectic.”
Do-heon lifted his glass and took a sip of water.
“President Kwak is… very unconventional.”
“But thanks to him, I get to see you more often. I should thank Oppa Ji-cheol.”
As if.
The company was on the verge of collapse.
How naïve.
People like her made everything more difficult.
“I’ll help make things easier for you.”
“Before helping me, why don’t you help your own brother first?”
“My work style doesn’t match Ji-cheol Oppa’s.”
“And it matches mine?”
“Of course. I’ll adjust to whatever you want.”
Her sweet smile only made him feel more suffocated.
“The best way to help me is to do your own job well.”
He continued calmly.
“If you’re a parachute hire, people won’t recognize you unless you’re twice as competent as everyone else.”
“My existence is enough.”
She shrugged.
“Why do I need their approval?”
Who cared what those people thought?
The contempt hidden beneath her little laugh made Do-heon quietly turn his gaze toward the window.
“Come to think of it… it’s already been three years since you two got engaged.”
Watching both of them carefully, Sung-hee changed the subject.
“Now that Do-heon’s back in Korea, and considering your ages…”
“Ji-hyun’s still very young.”
“I’m not young! What’s young about being thirty?”
“You’re very young.”
Whether financially or emotionally…
A thirty-year-old who had never truly become independent was still nothing more than a child with an adult’s age.
“I’ve been taking cooking lessons lately. If we’re going to become a family, then I should—”
“Speaking of family.”
Do-heon interrupted her while idly touching his water glass.
“I heard people these days exchange copies of their family registry before getting married.”
He looked at them evenly.
“Imagine thinking you’re marrying someone’s first spouse…”
“…only to discover they’ve been divorced before.”
“…or even have a hidden child.”
“My goodness.”
Sung-hee chuckled awkwardly.
“People these days really have some nerve.”
“What do you think, Mother?”
Do-heon looked directly at Sung-hee.
“You don’t happen to have a hidden child, do you?”
Although the question was directed at Sung-hee…
…both women froze and stared at him.
“W-What are you talking about…?”
“I was joking.”
He smiled faintly.
“Why do you look so shocked?”
“I-I guess you sounded so serious that you startled me. Your charisma is no joke.”
Sung-hee laughed unnaturally.
“There’s no way. We’ve never seen anything like that in the last three years. It was never even mentioned. Right?”
“Of course not.”
Ji-hyun laughed.
“You know Ji-cheol Oppa is my only sibling.”
Then she teased Do-heon.
“You really take jokes too seriously.”
“A hidden sibling besides Ji-cheol?”
She grinned.
“Maybe Narong and Darong?”
“They’re not siblings.”
“They’re your children.”
“Oh… right.”
She laughed.
Listening to the mother and daughter chatting…
Do-heon’s face slowly turned expressionless.
“Do you really want to drive your mother insane?!”
He had clearly seen it.
The word “mother” coming from Sung-hee’s mouth.
The woman standing before her—
Kang Yoon-kyung.
The truth was…
Do-heon had actually arrived on time.
But a work call came in just before he entered the restaurant, and it lasted much longer than expected.
The discussion was confidential, so he’d searched for somewhere secluded to take it.
Eventually, he found a narrow corner tucked away from the main lobby.
After outlining the progress and proposing solutions, he finally ended the call.
Just as he hurried toward the restaurant…
…he noticed two women reflected in the large glass window at an angle.
Sung-hee—
the woman who was supposed to become his mother-in-law.
And Yoon-kyung—
the woman he’d met at work.
Two women who should never have had any reason to know each other…
…were standing face to face, speaking with deadly serious expressions.
“Yoon-kyung… please. Listen to your mother.”
His curiosity had lasted only a moment.
He’d intended to ignore them and keep walking.
But Sung-hee’s words stopped him in his tracks.
“I don’t have a mother.”
“She died three years ago.”
The words “three years ago” caught him like chains around his ankles.
Three years earlier…
He had suffered the accident.
An accident that erased the previous two years of his memories.
Ever since waking up…
Anything connected to that period had instinctively seized his attention.
“You chose to be Kwak Ji-hyun’s mother instead of Kang Yoon-kyung’s.”
“So stop bothering me and go take care of your own daughter.”
Do-heon already knew…
Sung-hee wasn’t Ji-hyun’s biological mother.
If what he’d just overheard was true…
Then it meant his fiancée…
…had a sister.
A sister he’d never once seen.
Never once heard about.
— — —
Yoon-kyung came down to the first floor and hurried toward the hotel’s main entrance.
No matter how much money she was paid…
A blind date she never wanted to attend after work was exhausting enough.
One with an arrogant man who completely lacked basic social manners…
…was even worse.
“I didn’t even want to come.”
“You kept begging me, so I did.”
The man had arrived another thirty minutes late.
Yet he hadn’t shown the slightest hint of apology.
She hadn’t expected much from someone who changed the meeting place without asking her in the first place.
Still…
Being disappointed and being annoyed were two different things.
Just from the way he’d treated the restaurant staff…
…she could tell exactly what kind of person he was.
In one word—
Rude.
He had absolutely no manners.
Even his table etiquette was terrible.
Eating across from him had been uncomfortable.
So Yoon-kyung answered only the questions he formally asked.
She never started a conversation herself.
She remained polite…
…but only did the bare minimum.
This particular man…
…was the illegitimate son of a member of the National Assembly, born from an affair with a hostess while the politician was still married.
These were exactly the kind of blind dates Sung-hee always sent her to.
People with shameful family backgrounds.
Hopeless troublemakers.
Or complete fools lacking even basic intelligence.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
If Yoon-kyung disappeared into one of those marriages—
Sung-hee would benefit.
If nothing came of it—
She lost nothing.
The dozens of blind dates Sung-hee had arranged over the years…
…had never been for Yoon-kyung’s happiness.
They were merely tickets into high-society social circles.
To Sung-hee, what mattered wasn’t the outcome.
It was simply being able to say,
“I tried.”
Yoon-kyung, meanwhile…
…endured the humiliation.
And received money in return.
At first…
The men’s attitudes had disgusted her.
But after experiencing it over and over again…
She became numb.
There was no reason for any of them to like her.
And no reason for her to like them.
In a way…
That made things simpler.
“They’ll bloom next week.”
Stepping outside the hotel, Yoon-kyung looked at the trees across the street.
Even though it was the same city…
The temperature here was noticeably warmer.
Unlike the trees near her office, the ones in front of the W Hotel were already covered in flower buds.
“I wish this had been next week instead of today.”
At least then…
…she wouldn’t feel this exhausted.
Rubbing her sore shoulders, she suddenly remembered something and took out her phone.
A deposit had arrived.
The sender’s name was Sung-hee.
After checking her balance, Yoon-kyung entered the exact amount she wanted to transfer.
She pressed Send.
In an instant…
Every last seven-digit figure in her account disappeared.
After the transfer confirmation appeared…
She tapped the Call button.
Lifting the phone to her ear—
