Chapter 3
A cold smile curved across Iseol’s lips.
Looking at Yooju—who could do nothing but glare at her, unable to hide the panic written all over her face—Iseol spoke in an unhurried voice.
“You still have a lot to learn as an actress.”
She smiled faintly.
“Your face gives everything away. You’re terrified that I’ll expose your little secret to the whole world.”
Iseol knew everything.
She knew about the sponsor.
She knew about the backroom deals between Yooju and their agency’s CEO.
And now that she had Cha Sunho—and the Haeseong Group—behind her, it would only be a matter of time before Shin Yooju’s career came crashing down if she ever decided to speak.
“You’re wondering why I haven’t exposed you already, aren’t you?”
Her gaze slowly traveled over Yooju’s trembling body before stopping on her face.
“Because I want you to live exactly like this.”
Her voice was calm.
Almost gentle.
“I want you to spend every single day consumed by fear.”
She took another step closer.
“That position you’re standing in…”
“…you didn’t earn it with your talent.”
“You’ll always be afraid that the bubble will burst—that everything you’ve built will disappear overnight.”
“You’ll keep wondering when you’ll fall.”
As Iseol closed the distance between them, Yooju instinctively stumbled backward.
A mocking laugh escaped Iseol’s lips.
Brushing an imaginary speck of dust from Yooju’s shoulder, she finished softly,
“So keep living like that.”
A place gained through sponsorship instead of ability was nothing more than a bubble.
One that could pop at any moment.
That was exactly where Shin Yooju stood now.
“Don’t make me laugh! Who says I’m scared?!”
“If you’re going to act tough,” Iseol replied coolly, “try improving your acting first.”
She smiled with open contempt.
“You’re far too obvious.”
“It’s hard to even pretend to believe you.”
Leaving those words behind, Iseol walked out of the makeup room.
* * *
The Haeseong Group Founding Anniversary Gala.
“Hah… huff…”
Hidden inside a quiet restroom behind the magnificent banquet hall, Iseol struggled to catch her breath.
Her trembling hands searched through her clutch until she found her medication.
She quickly swallowed the pills.
Ha…
Slowly steadying her breathing, she looked at herself in the mirror.
Her long hair had been curled and tied into a ponytail.
The salon director’s carefully applied makeup highlighted every delicate feature.
She wore a pure white mermaid gown that revealed the elegant line of her shoulders.
Combined with her naturally graceful and ethereal aura, she looked breathtaking.
Anyone who saw her would have admired her beauty.
But Iseol hated it.
I should’ve worn a black dress instead.
Normally, she dressed only in black.
Black clothes.
A black cap.
Anything that hid her from the world.
It didn’t erase her anxiety completely…
But it made it easier to breathe.
Whenever she dressed up the way she had during her acting career…
The anxiety always returned.
She had taken medicine beforehand.
Yet the symptoms had still flared up badly enough that she’d needed another dose.
[Yoon Iseol’s sponsor scandal is insane. I’m boycotting her from today.]
[Pretending to be pure and elegant while secretly sleeping her way to the top. Disgusting.]
[I used to love her acting. Now I can’t even watch her without feeling sick.]
[“Iseol, the company is taking legal action. Trust us and wait.”]
The voices echoed relentlessly in her ears.
Fragments of memories flashed through her mind.
Unable to bear it any longer, she squeezed her eyes shut and clamped both hands over her ears.
[“President Kwon is unbelievable. Do you know how much money Iseol made for the company? Raon Entertainment became what it is because of her.”]
[“That’s just how this industry works. They found someone who could bring in even more money, so they decided they didn’t need Yoon Iseol anymore.”]
[“President Kwon is ruthless… Iseol’s mother kept asking for her before she passed away. He knew that, but he still refused to stop the commercial shoot…”]
“Stop…”
Her voice cracked.
“Please… stop…”
Unable to hold herself up any longer, Iseol collapsed onto the floor.
Only two years ago…
She had been a star admired by millions.
A woman who lived beneath dazzling spotlights.
Now…
Simply being surrounded by people filled her with overwhelming terror.
Two years earlier, she had finally learned the truth.
The CEO of the agency she had trusted for fourteen years…
The man she had followed like family…
Had orchestrated everything.
Not only had he allowed the sponsor scandal to destroy her…
He had even prevented her from being at her mother’s bedside during her final moments.
The betrayal shattered her.
The longer the trust had lasted…
The deeper the wound became.
She hated herself.
Hated the naïve girl who had believed him so completely…
Who had looked up to him almost like a parent.
Then came the panic disorder that struck without warning.
It became impossible for her to stand in front of a camera again.
Just as she was preparing to leave the entertainment industry forever…
One man appeared before her.
Cha Sunho.
“Are you seeing anyone?”
A rumor that had started as gossip among stock market insiders spread across the country in the blink of an eye.
Her agency remained silent.
That silence became confirmation.
“Yoon Iseol’s Sponsor.”
“Yoon Iseol’s Sexual Favors.”
“Yoon Iseol’s Video.”
Those search terms dominated every portal.
In the middle of that nightmare…
His question sounded almost like mockery.
“If you’re not…”
He looked directly at her.
“How about marrying me?”
She stared at him in disbelief.
“What did you just say?”
It wasn’t that she hadn’t heard him.
She simply couldn’t believe what she’d heard.
“Marriage.”
Sunho calmly repeated the word.
“Why would you and I get married?”
She knew their grandfathers had once shared a close friendship.
Chairman Cha Taehwan of Haeseong Group often said that Haeseong would never have existed without Iseol’s grandfather.
But she and Sunho had met only once.
She had been the model.
He had been the advertiser.
That was the extent of their connection.
So why…
Why was this man suddenly asking her to marry him?
What did he really want?
As she studied him cautiously, Sunho finally spoke.
“I think…”
“…I’m the one person who can help you right now.”
She remained silent.
“If you become my wife…”
His voice was steady.
“No one will ever be able to wrong you again.”
“I won’t allow it.”
The man sitting across from her was offering to silence every false rumor surrounding her.
With the power of Haeseong Group…
He probably could.
But why?
“Why would you do something like that for me?”
Kindness always came with a price.
Or it was simply kindness disguising another motive.
When Sunho remained silent, she laughed bitterly.
“What?”
“Are you offering to become my new sponsor under the excuse of marriage?”
He said nothing.
“Too bad.”
Her smile was razor-sharp.
“I don’t need a sponsor.”
Haeseong Group’s influence stretched into electronics, hotels, department stores, fashion, food, logistics—
There was hardly a corner of South Korea untouched by its power.
She knew perfectly well that a man destined to inherit such an empire would never seek her out just to become her sponsor.
Ordinarily, she would have responded to his proposal rationally.
But cornered as she was…
She had already lost her composure.
To suppress the surge of emotion threatening to overwhelm her, she clenched the fabric of her clothes beneath the table.
She knew her anger wasn’t meant for him.
Yet…
It spilled onto him anyway.
Even after seeing the fury burning in her eyes, Sunho answered calmly.
“That’s not it.”
“Then what?”
Her voice rose.
“Don’t tell me…”
She laughed bitterly.
“…you’re in love with me?”
He neither confirmed nor denied it.
He simply looked into her bloodshot eyes with an unreadable expression.
She scoffed.
“If that’s your reason…”
“…then I refuse even more.”
Her voice was cold.
“People are the least trustworthy thing in this world.”
“How could I possibly believe something as unreliable as love?”
Her heart had become nothing but distrust.
She trusted no one.
Not even the man sitting quietly before her.
After being betrayed once…
She had made a promise to herself.
Never trust anyone again.
If she never trusted anyone…
No one could betray her.
Watching her hide her shattered heart behind layers of sarcasm, Sunho remained silent for a long moment.
Finally, he spoke.
“That’s not the reason.”
He reached into his briefcase and placed a thick envelope on the table.
“I think this will answer your question.”
Iseol accepted it cautiously.
“What’s this?”
“A will.”
Still wary, she opened the envelope.
“My grandfather only revealed this will to me.”
His eyes never left hers.
“If I want to inherit Haeseong Group…”
“…I have to marry Yoon Iseol.”
After reading Chairman Cha Taehwan’s will, Iseol fell silent.
It was true.
The document clearly stated that inheriting Haeseong Group was conditional upon Sunho marrying her.
Sunho spoke again.
“I’m not doing you a favor.”
His tone was firm.
“I’m the one who needs you.”
Not kindness.
Need.
A relationship built not on vague emotions…
But on mutual purpose.
Iseol lowered the will.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
“That’s far more believable than love.”
There was no reason to refuse.
Sunho needed her to become the head of Haeseong Group.
She needed to become Cha Sunho’s wife so the rumors surrounding Yoon Iseol would finally disappear.
So she could hide.
After she accepted his proposal, Sunho quietly said,
“If someone you truly love ever appears…”
“…tell me.”
“I’ll give you a divorce.”
She answered without hesitation.
“That won’t happen.”
She was certain.
For the rest of her life…
She would never love anyone again.
She looked at him.
“If you ever fall in love with someone…”
“…tell me too.”
“I’ll divorce you.”
Sunho replied just as confidently.
“That won’t happen to me either.”
His words carried absolute certainty.
Did he mean he would never ask for a divorce?
Or that he would never fall in love with anyone?
She didn’t ask.
People changed.
If one day, after inheriting Haeseong Group, his heart changed…
She would simply agree to end their marriage.
Their goals had been laid bare.
The deal had been made.
Believing there was nothing left to discuss, Iseol reached to stand.
Then—
Sunho spoke again.
His voice turned ice-cold.
“President Kwon Soojeong.”
A brief pause.
“…And Shin Yooju.”
