Chapter 7
“Oh, you poor, clueless soul.”
“So… if staying were actually possible, I wouldn’t have called you in the first place. And weren’t you the one who told me never to get involved with him? Ugh, I don’t know anymore… What am I supposed to do?”
[Th-that’s not what I meant by not getting involved! Damn it… Why did my brother suddenly decide to move in there? I’ll call him. So whatever you do, don’t leave the apartment, okay?]
“I don’t have anywhere else to go. But I don’t think I can endure this. Should I go beg him tonight? Does your brother have any weaknesses?”
[If he had a weakness, he wouldn’t be Min Seunghyun. But… are you okay at work?]
Even after finishing her banana milk, her stomach continued to growl.
Rubbing her empty stomach, Seo-ah grabbed her wallet and left the office.
“Why work? I only lost a little sleep. I’m fine.”
[No, not that. I mean… are you really going to be okay at work?]
“Huh? Why are you suddenly talking about my company?”
[Nothing. Forget it. Just wait there. I’ll call Min Seunghyun. Whatever you do, don’t move out, okay?]
As if that’s even possible…
Though she had little confidence, Seo-ah promised she’d try and stepped into the elevator that had just arrived.
She tucked herself into a corner and sank into thought.
Could I really survive if I stayed like Ji-hyun says? If he were someone who could be reasoned with, I’d cling to his pant leg if I had to…
Ahhh, I have way too much to deal with…!
She remembered the proposal she’d received from Director Jang earlier that morning.
“Seo-ah, Team C is the face of the Design Center. Can you really afford to be this uncooperative?”
“I… have some personal circumstances right now…”
“Join this TF and I’ll guarantee you a 300% performance bonus. So help us out.”
“T-three hundred percent?”
“Yeah. This project’s a pretty big deal.”
A perfect combination of carrot and stick.
Threats mixed with persuasion.
Thinking about the brutal tongue-lashing she’d heard the new division head deliver at last night’s company dinner, refusing should have been the obvious choice.
But the promise of a 300% bonus had grabbed her by the collar.
And so…
She had accepted the project.
And now there were two Min Seunghyuns in her life.
Everything kept getting more tangled.
It almost felt as if an invisible hand were crumpling up her life however it pleased.
Why has everything been going wrong lately…?
Twisting her body like a dried squid in frustration, she was venting her irritation when—
The elevator stopped on the eighth floor.
The doors opened, and a crowd returning from lunch poured inside.
Seo-ah was pushed farther and farther into the corner until she barely managed to poke her head out.
Just as the doors were about to close—
A tall shadow approached.
“Hold the elevator!”
A hand shot between the closing doors and forced them back open.
It was Assistant Manager Park Young-hoon from the Planning Strategy Office.
Ignoring the annoyed looks around him, he smiled proudly and stepped aside.
“Please, Director.”
Director?
Standing on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of the rumored new division head, Seo-ah froze.
The moment she saw the face behind Park Young-hoon, her jaw dropped.
Her wallet slipped from her hands.
Startled, she crouched to pick it up.
While she was bent over, Seunghyun stepped into the elevator.
The people who had been grumbling about Park Young-hoon’s behavior instantly fell silent at Seunghyun’s arrival.
With an unusually smug expression, Park quietly reported,
“This morning the TF member list was finalized, Director.”
“Send everyone to my office tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir.”
Seo-ah clamped a hand over her mouth, unable even to breathe.
It was him.
Exactly the same man she’d seen that morning.
Though she hadn’t gotten a good look because of her height, there was no mistaking that suit, that voice—
And the face she’d just seen up close.
It was Min Seunghyun.
Even in the cramped elevator, he stood confidently without the slightest hint of intimidation.
Strangely enough, everyone else was tensing their bodies, trying not to brush against him.
It looked like a silent movie.
The only living thing in the entire scene was the one man with the word “arrogance” practically floating above his head.
Soon the elevator reached the lobby.
As Seunghyun stepped out, he casually glanced back while rubbing the back of his neck.
“What is it?”
At Park Young-hoon’s question, Seunghyun shook his head.
“No… I must have been mistaken. Let’s go.”
Only after everyone had left did Seo-ah finally move.
Still standing in the corner, she painfully pinched her own cheek.
Maybe this really is a dream…
Naturally—
It hurt enough to bring tears to her eyes.
Rubbing her reddened cheek, she leaned against the closing elevator door and let out a hopeless sigh.
“I’m doomed…”
[Grandfather’s making a huge fuss. I heard you even checked out of your hotel! Where are you?]
“At the hotel.”
[You’re lying to me too? Don’t tell me… you moved into Ji-hyun’s apartment?]
“No comment.”
[You brat!]
“The signal’s breaking up. I’m in the elevator. I’ll see you at tomorrow’s meeting.”
[Hey! Min Seunghyun!]
Seunghyun deliberately waved his phone around before pressing the End Call button.
Whatever the reason,
he had no intention of becoming nothing more than a tool to satisfy his grandfather’s desire.
Just where had the idea of “everyone else already has great-grandchildren” even come from?
With a weary sigh, he let out a long breath.
Still…
What was with those strange stares I kept getting all day at the office?
8:00 p.m.
When Seunghyun returned to the apartment, he was greeted by the interior renovation crew finishing up.
“Good work. I’m Min Seunghyun.”
“Hello, sir! Our boss repeatedly told us to take good care of everything. I’m Manager Kim. Just as you requested, we’ve cleared everything out.”
Seunghyun looked around the now-empty apartment with satisfaction.
Everything from the living room had been loaded into a moving truck waiting downstairs.
Even that horrifying bookshelf was gone.
Only Seo-ah’s room remained untouched.
Frowning, he asked,
“Why wasn’t this room cleared?”
“Oh, your belongings are in here, sir, so we left it alone. We figured you’d need somewhere to stay until the renovations are finished. Once everything’s complete, we’ll clear this room too.”
Seunghyun remembered the girl from that morning.
Those wide eyes glaring back at him.
Her bright red wrists.
The fact that she barely reached his chest.
And somehow…
The expression on her face hadn’t seemed entirely unfamiliar.
He had told her to move out immediately,
yet he knew perfectly well that wasn’t realistically possible.
Perhaps that was exactly why he’d been even harsher.
Nodding, he deleted the ten missed calls from Ji-hyun on his phone.
After confidently promising that all the new furniture would be installed within a week, Manager Kim hurried out.
Seunghyun carried a chair from Seo-ah’s room into the center of the empty living room.
Even with all the furniture removed, and only the cleaning and wallpapering finished, the place already felt like an entirely new home.
Just as he was admiring the refreshed space—
The front door opened.
“Huh…? My things! Don’t tell me… you cleared out my room too?”
Seo-ah rushed inside.
She was shocked once by the spotless living room,
and then a second time when she saw that her room was still intact.
Seunghyun walked up behind her.
“The only room in this house that wasn’t a complete disaster was yours, so I left it. You clean it up. Until the furniture arrives, I’ll be staying here.”
“What about my other things…?”
“They’re in storage.”
“Really? You didn’t throw them away?”
“Why would I? They aren’t mine.”
Only then did relief brighten her face.
Watching her quietly, Seunghyun headed toward the kitchen.
Seo-ah hurried after him and blocked his path just as he reached for the refrigerator.
A deep crease formed between his brows.
“What?”
“I’ve been thinking about this all day. Please… give me a little more time.”
“Time? Haven’t I already given you enough?”
He pushed her aside and opened the refrigerator, taking out a bottle of water.
Staggering back, Seo-ah grabbed the refrigerator door in panic.
“I’m not saying I won’t leave! I’ve been looking for a place, but everything’s happening too suddenly! Two weeks—no… even just one week. If you give me a week, I can find somewhere to live. Please?”
“If I give you a week, what about me? The furniture won’t arrive for at least a week. I planned to use that room until then. If I give it to you instead, where exactly am I supposed to stay? Wouldn’t that be putting the guest before the owner? This is my house.”
“But if you throw me out right now, you’ll have to move all those new furniture deliveries too! Just use my room! I’ll be fine with nothing but a blanket. I’ll sleep in any empty room. I’ll live like a speck of dust. Please… Director—”
Seo-ah abruptly stopped herself.
She licked her dry lips and swallowed nervously.
“Please. I’m begging you.”
Seunghyun looked down at her and quietly closed the refrigerator door.
She had long eyelashes.
A small face.
Not just her face—
Her height, her hands…
Everything about her seemed small.
Her eyes were a light hazel.
After observing her for a long moment, he leaned against the refrigerator and said lazily,
“If you’ve got nowhere to go, stay in a hotel for a week.”
“A… hotel?”
“If you don’t have much money, then stay in a motel. Plenty of places rent by the month.”
Seo-ah sucked in a sharp breath.
Her fists clenched as her body trembled.
People always said that if someone humbled themselves enough, the least you could do was pretend to sympathize.
Suppressing the urge to throw water in his infuriatingly calm face, she prepared to use her final option—
She started to kneel.
But as though he’d read her mind, Seunghyun grabbed her firmly before her knees touched the floor.
“Why are your knees so cheap?”
“Because I’m desperate.”
“Enough. Just answer one thing.”
She looked like a cicada clinging to an old tree.
As his face drew closer, she instinctively shrank back and hunched her shoulders.
After studying her carefully, Seunghyun narrowed his eyes.
“Your company.”
“…What?”
“Where do you work?”
A chilling thought crossed his mind.
“Don’t tell me…”
“You work for the Taeha Group?”
