The moment the youngest daughter’s wedding was getting underway, it had been Seo Ha-hyun himself who had ignored the trash his sister-in-law-to-be kept shoving at her and personally picked out the man who would become her husband.
If she had no choice but to enter into a political marriage, then at least he would choose a man who would let Seo Min-ah breathe—a man who neglected his family and had no unnecessary possessiveness.
That was the extent of his generosity toward his younger sister.
A partner who would serve as a fence around her, but would not interfere.
Beside such an indifferent man, Min-ah would be free. For Min-ah, who had spent her entire life enduring her family’s coldness and tyranny, perhaps indifference was exactly what she desperately needed.
And yet, this mess?
Seo Ha-hyun grabbed his secretary by the back of the neck, who still seemed unable to come to his senses, and spoke each word as if hammering a nail into place.
“Shut everyone up.”
“…Pardon?”
“Clean it all up so there’s no gossip afterward. I’ll take care of my part.”
His eyes curved pleasantly. A chill ran down the secretary’s spine, and he swallowed hard.
“Dig into Min-ah’s whereabouts too. Go through everything, up to ten years back.”
“The young lady’s whereabouts… there isn’t really much to—”
As if asking, Did she even have a life worth investigating? Secretary Nam let his words trail off.
Seo Ha-hyun smiled as he plucked the petals from the bouquet one by one. It was a dry smile that merely imitated the shape of one.
“Exactly. I thought she’d been quietly trampled to death, but apparently she climbed onto the kitchen counter and even grew a liver while she was at it.”
Seo Ha-hyun’s eyes gleamed like a hunter’s.
“Should I look into the woman who left with her as well?”
“I already know.”
“Pardon?”
Seo Ha-hyun clicked his tongue lightly, as though the startled Secretary Nam was the pathetic one.
“Unless your eyes are completely useless, how could you not recognize a body you’ve looked at thousands of times?”
“Pardon? Who on earth is she?”
“…”
The most troublesome opponent who pushed Black Fury to its absolute limits.
Despite his team’s reputation, Seo Ha-hyun had never once won a championship comfortably or overwhelmingly. And Gong Eungil was the biggest obstacle of all.
A player who was always like an irritating burr under his skin.
Insignificant, yet capable of instantly putting all his senses on edge.
Someone he wanted to crush completely and break her spirit, rather than recruit because he coveted her skills.
On nights when he couldn’t sleep, he would watch recordings of her matches until dawn. She was the kind of player he had to obsess over just to finally shake her off.
Especially her rough style of play, in which she sometimes seemed willing to take down even her own teammates, was the most unbearable thing for Seo Ha-hyun, who pursued flawless performance without the slightest margin for error.
“I never thought Secretary Nam had such poor eyesight.”
“Pardon? Who’s as sharp and quick as I am?”
“Then why didn’t you recognize her?”
No matter how well she had hidden her body and face beneath a cheap dress and sunglasses, how could he possibly fail to recognize her?
That reckless stride. Her neither-good-nor-bad hair. The loud voice accustomed to giving orders. The natural aura that captivated spectators. And yet, her level was nothing remarkable, with decline far more apparent than growth. Years of defeat had worn her down, and the faintly shabby scent of someone who had gone too long without proper care still clung to her.
How could anyone fail to recognize something that troublesome?
“The gap in ability between a club owner and his secretary is getting embarrassing.”
Despite his crumpled expression, his tone had somehow become strangely relaxed.
Before long, the wedding hall began to boil over. Everyone was incessantly chattering, their faces caught somewhere between outrage and excitement.
Seo Ha-hyun leisurely turned around.
He was still gripping the bouquet by its stem.
The world was in an uproar.
—Or so you’d think.
In reality, the world was so quiet that it was almost laughable compared to how much Eun-gil had feared something terrible would happen. There wasn’t a single thing different from yesterday.
Well, there was one thing.
She had let the troublesome person who dangerously crossed the line between fan and stalker into her home.
“Se, Seonbae-nim’s room… It’s really even more di, dirty when I see it again. So, so precious.”
The rooftop room atop a five-story building owned by a loan shark.
Seo Min-ah had once pitched a tent in the front yard, but she had never actually entered the house. Now, however, she was so overwhelmed with emotion that she had already completely forgotten the shock of breaking off her engagement.
Between the wedding dress she had casually thrown off and the empty bowl of jjajangmyeon she had scraped clean—
“So. There it is.”
The inevitable moment had come.
Seo Min-ah lowered her head. For some reason, the jjajangmyeon sauce smeared around her mouth looked particularly pitiful.
“So that Seo Min-ah was a rich heiress after all. The Jegyeong Group, no less.”
“Se, Seonbae-nim. Th-that’s…”
“Your name was the only thing about you that sounded ordinary. You really fooled me completely.”
Eungil rubbed her chin and muttered coldly.
Min-ah took it as sarcasm and shrank into herself. Memories of rejection came flooding back in an instant.
What if she says I’m disgusting? What if she says I’m annoying? What if she says it’s unfair? What if she says she can’t stand looking at me anymore because it’s too miserable?
Then Eungil suddenly bounced in place and threw both arms into the air.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Princess Min-ah!”
Her grin was wonderfully refreshing.
“So you weren’t a stalker. You were a budding sponsor?”
A tiny, adorable greed sparkled in Eungil’s eyes.
“I always thought it was impressive how a jobless person managed to support me so diligently with tonics, sneakers, traveling massages, and everything else. The secret of your birth really is thrilling!”
Then she stared fiercely at Min-ah and issued a warning.
“If your secret had been that you were a volleyball genius, I would’ve been jealous and kicked you out. Got it? I would’ve considered you an enemy. But fortunately, you’re only a rich heiress, so I’ll let it slide.”
Min-ah blinked in bewilderment.
“So stay here for the time being.”
“What?”
“Only until things settle down. For the sake of managing my fan.”
“…”
“You keep being my fan and relieving your stress, and I’ll keep playing volleyball. Nothing changes. And it won’t change.”
I need you for my volleyball.
She hid that embarrassing truth. Weak words did not suit her at all. Feeling awkward, Eungil scratched the back of her neck.
Then Min-ah’s eyes began to sparkle strangely.
“L-Like Seokbong doing calligraphy while his mother makes rice cakes?”
“Huh?”
“Like Dumb and Dumber?”
“Uh…?”
“L-Like half seasoned chicken and half fried chicken?”
“…”
“Th-then… like the crocodile and the crocodile bird?”
Watching her was enough to restore Eungil’s composure almost immediately.
After that, the two fell asleep while watching a volleyball match and chewing on the leftover pickled radish. Their faces were peaceful, without a single worry.
But Min-ah, who had spent too long living timidly, and Eungil, who knew so little about the ways of the world, had rather narrow perspectives.
They had no idea about the legal teams frantically trying to determine who was responsible for the projects canceled by the breakup between Jegyeong and Daeyang.
Nor did they know about the filthy rumors secretly being passed around among the upper ranks of the professional league.
And they certainly had no idea who was currently chasing the mice that had escaped.
The two women had no clue.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The old door shook as though it might collapse at any moment.
Eungil rubbed her sleepy eyes and mumbled,
“…Who is it?”
It was early morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise. The darkness of dawn had barely faded, making it an absurdly early hour.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A long shadow was pounding on someone else’s door without the slightest consideration.
“Who is it?!”
Eungil jumped to her feet, unable to hide her irritation. At the same time, Seo Min-ah instinctively knew.
He’s here!
A chill ran down her spine as if she had been doused with cold water. Her sleep vanished instantly.
“Se, Seonbae-nim…!”
Seo Min-ah barely managed to grab Eungil’s arm as she rushed toward the door.
“Eek!”
Eungil was startled by the state of her fan.
Her hair was flattened in strange directions from being covered in hairspray, her bridal makeup was smeared, and her face was swollen.
“What stood out even more was Min-ah’s suspicious behavior—her pupils had widened dramatically, darting anxiously from one corner to another.
“I-I’m not a volleyball genius, a-anyway.”
“What? You haven’t woken up from your dream yet, have you?”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
“I’m coming out, so stop banging on the door!”
“D-Don’t open it!”
Seo Min-ah clung to Eungil’s arm.
“At least answer him before you go, Seonbae-nim…”
“Your sleep-talking is getting pretty wild.”
Of all things, her one and only fan had to be the type who was a lot of work.
That must have been why, when they first met nine years ago, she had immediately climbed onto the team bus just because she wanted to follow Eungil.
She was truly the kind of person who never knew where she might end up.
So rather than argue pointlessly, Eungil obediently answered.
“If your brother owns a genius volleyball team, then what? Is this because of what I said yesterday? Are you afraid I’ll kick you out?”
“…”
“Ridiculous. A club owner can’t play volleyball anyway. I’m not interested in boring things.”
At those words, Min-ah seemed somewhat relieved.
Eungil crossed the tiny studio apartment in just a few steps and opened the front door.
“Who are yo—”
At that moment, her mind went completely blank.
A man with a smiling face that was as cold as a shadow stood before her.
“…Black Fury?”
Eungil instinctively tried to shut the door.
But a large hand seized the door and refused to let go.
Ah…!
Only then did Eungil remember that Black Fury belonged to Jegyeong.
The reason she had immediately recognized the company logo yesterday was because it was the emblem she saw in every match.
Why is that man here? The Black Fury owner is supposed to be a son of Jegyeong. But Seo Min-ah is also a Jegyeong daughter… Wait. Wait a second. What do you call something like this?
Their tense gazes met through the narrow gap in the door.
The man’s eyes were utterly emotionless, unlike the hand bulging with veins around the door. Eungil, meanwhile, stubbornly burned with defiance.
The difference in temperature only made her angrier.
“Let go.”
“I’m afraid that will be difficult.”
As the struggle of strength continued, Eungil’s pride suddenly reared its head.
For a volleyball player who had never been lacking in physical strength wherever she went, being overpowered by some mere man in a suit was unacceptable.
Even as they struggled, the door continued opening smoothly by half an inch at a time.
Eungil desperately gripped the doorknob, as if she were blocking a spike, but it was useless.
“It’s nice to see you again. Your nose isn’t red today, either.”
At last, the man’s entire face came into view.
Seo Ha-hyun.
His smile was beautiful and perfect, yet Eungil briefly had the impression that he was someone who had never actually learned how to smile.
“Open the door, please, Gong Eungil.”
“You’re the one forcing it open with your strength, so don’t give me that smug grin! Go away! I’m calling the police for trespassing!”
“I already did that.”
“…”
“Because, according to the family register, I’m the eldest brother of the hostage you’re keeping.”
“……!”
“So, is this the newlywed room of the two of you?”
