What was this supposed to mean? There were far too many things to point out, but one phrase stood out as particularly bewildering.
“Big brother?”
She whipped her head around and locked eyes with Min-ah, who had been fidgeting nervously.
“Your brother? You’re siblings? You and Black Fury are siblings?!”
The veins in Eungil’s neck bulged.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Why is the person I accidentally shoved my nose into your brother?!”
“I-I didn’t deceive you! I swear I d-didn’t!”
Min-ah cried out as though confessing, sweating profusely. Her complexion looked even worse than it had at the wedding.
“I-I’m not affiliated with Black Fury! I have n-nothing to do with them! If anything, they’re the team I hate the most! I-I’ll always be Gong Eungil’s person, and that means I’ll always hate Black Fury! Until the day Black Fury is completely defeated, I’ll be with you, Seonbae-nim, even to d-death! They’re a team that fills in their lack of skill with money, a, a damn capitalist team!!”
Seo Min-ah defended herself more passionately than ever, and the man briefly lost his words at his sister’s unfamiliar appearance.
He had never seen her raise her voice and ramble on like that before.
A faint chuckle escaped him.
Fortunately, Eungil wasn’t as devastated as she might have been.
Because something even more ominous had overshadowed the betrayal.
She had a really bad feeling about this.
The die-hard fan who obsessively adored a third-rate player from the league’s worst team and the owner of the undefeated championship team being siblings?
I absolutely do not want to get caught in the middle of this…!
While Eungil was distracted for a moment, the door suddenly swung open with force, making her lose her grip on the handle.
At the same time, the man’s entire body was revealed.
He was tall enough to make even Eungil, who was proud of her own height, feel self-conscious.
She had seen countless male volleyball players close to two meters tall, but she had never encountered someone who made her feel quite so thoroughly looked down upon.
Perhaps it was because of the strangely intense way his gaze traveled down from above, sweeping over her face.
He’s only around 190 centimeters, for heaven’s sake.
And yet, the pressure he gave off despite having an ordinary height was on an entirely different level.
Seo Ha-hyun, dressed impeccably in a black suit, sharply surveyed the two women before speaking as though issuing an order.
“Both of you. Go wash up first.”
The morning sun was already fully rising.
The moment Seo Ha-hyun saw the materials Secretary Nam had painstakingly compiled after staying up all night, he had been dumbfounded.
His youngest sister, who supposedly never made eye contact with anyone in the family for more than five seconds, barely spoke, and rarely expressed emotion, had apparently spent nine whole years obsessively following a single athlete.
Seo Ha-hyun had frowned deeply.
…Was the youngest secretly a completely different person?
There was no better way to describe the sheer absurdity of it.
Seo Min-ah had accumulated an astonishing record, beginning with the incident where she had suddenly climbed aboard Gong Eungil’s team bus.
She had been forcibly removed from matches dozens of times for excessive cheering. She had landed on the Korean Volleyball Federation’s blacklist after sending threatening complaint emails. She had been banned from numerous sports communities for attacking trolls with even harsher comments. She had conducted unauthorized stakeouts near Gong Eungil’s home. She had even provided unauthorized protection under the guise of stalking…
…I thought the youngest had social anxiety.
There was no denying it.
Min-ah had been pouring all her energy into a complete stranger.
Packing lunches for her. Checking her condition every day. Following her to away games. Staying up all night with her. Giving her gifts. Even occasionally going on dates with her.
The list was endless.
And what about Gong Eungil?
Rather than reporting Seo Min-ah to the police, she had actually gone along with her.
She had even known that her face might become publicly recognizable and still stormed into the wedding ceremony and dragged the bride away.
It had been an extremely dangerous move that could have stained her career if things had gone wrong, yet she hadn’t hesitated.
As someone involved in volleyball, it infuriates me.
But Gong Eungil had been like that from the beginning.
From the very start, she had accepted Min-ah’s behavior and sometimes even encouraged it.
So which one of them was more seriously afflicted?
Neither of these two had any experience with reason or romance, and both possessed a pure, blind devotion toward the other.
Seo Ha-hyun knew only one name for that kind of emotion.
And when the search history on his sister’s online shopping list finally showed:
☆ULTIMATE VIBRATION GUARANTEED☆
Seo Ha-hyun had closed the report.
Then, when he discovered the exact same product here, he felt utterly devastated.
An uncomfortable silence hung between the three of them.
Seo Ha-hyun stood leaning against the entrance with his arms folded.
Even while the two women quickly washed up, he never took off his shoes.
His refusal to even step inside was painfully obvious.
“Time is short, so I’ll make my proposal quickly.”
His rational voice flowed smoothly.
“Join Jegyeong, Gong Eungil.”
“What… did you say?”
“Otherwise, your lover will either be forced to sift through nothing but worthless arranged marriage candidates, or she’ll be confined to the house for the next three years.”
At the cutting remark, Eungil’s face twisted.
“You call that a proposal, but it sounds more like a threat.”
“Aren’t they essentially the same thing?”
“…”
Eungil shot a look at the utterly silent Seo Min-ah that clearly said, Is that really your brother?
Frightened, Min-ah immediately shook her head.
“Look. Even if he is technically my brother according to the family register, he doesn’t exactly look like family. I don’t want to discuss my future with someone like that.”
“There is no family in Jegyeong. There is only a group.”
The man replied without changing his expression.
“A family that has been impossible to associate with for generations.”
“…”
“But since a reasonably sensible bastard has finally come along, you won’t be gagged with a chloroform-soaked handkerchief and dragged away.”
The corners of his eyes curved suggestively, reminding Eungil of blood caught on a hook.
Is that supposed to reassure me or scare me?
The man slowly tilted his head and fixed his gaze on Eungil.
His eyes looked bored, but the moment their gazes met, even the harmless air around him felt sharp.
“I chose a man who was suitably stupid and weak and would soon be leaving Korea anyway. But someone deliberately ruined everything.”
“The result was a broken engagement caused by an affair, and the rumor has already spread throughout high society.”
“The rumor is obviously that the bride’s brother is a bastard, right?”
Eungil shot back coldly.
“You should be ashamed of yourself. Setting up such a womanizer as your sister’s partner is nothing to be proud of.”
“If you’ve never had to choose the lesser evil, then you’re probably still inexperienced with the world.”
“Hey.”
“I’m listening.”
“If you’re the kind of people who put your sister in a wedding dress without even asking for her opinion, then just shut up.”
Seo Ha-hyun tightened his brow to suppress the strange exhilaration rising inside him.
Gong Eungil was the same person both on and off the court.
An attacker to the very core.
It had been a long time since someone had provoked his nasty temper this much.
And the more irritated he became, the more thoroughly he put on his human mask.
First, he softened his tone.
“Fortunately, no one recognized Gong Eungil. All that remains is the impression that the bride had a female lover. But…”
Perhaps the cramped studio apartment was bothering him, because he loosened the neatly fastened tie around his neck.
“Unless we kill every witness, there’s a limit to how much we can silence people.”
“……!”
“I’m planning to throw another incident into the mix for now, but I need the two of you to agree.”
“Of course this is a proposal, right?”
“You’ll be torn apart by Jegyeong’s legal team until you’re practically on the verge of death. By the time those perverts get bored, you’ll probably receive a two-year prison sentence for defamation. By then, Gong’s career will be completely ruined.”
“So yes. This is a proposal to prevent that.”
“…”
Eungil let out an incredulous laugh.
“I understand that there’s also serious consideration being given to a plan where Gong abducted Jegyeong’s youngest daughter.”
“…”
“Interesting, isn’t it? The fact that there’s always an even worse hell waiting for you. Ah, could you make that expression again? I want to record it.”
This bastard is insane.
Eungil stared at the ceiling for a moment.
She couldn’t help but feel sorry for herself all over again.
Why is my life so damn difficult?
“So come into Jegyeong and receive lessons on how to become a son-in-law.”
“…W-what? What did you say?”
“Unofficially, perhaps, but I’ll personally teach you with sincerity.”
What the hell is he talking about?
He casually glanced at his wristwatch.
“Given the conservative nature of society, Jegyeong won’t go out of its way to embrace a pioneering image. Still, if you want to remain together with Min-ah—”
His gaze once again clung to Eungil like a magnet.
“You’ll have to marry me first, brother-in-law.”
His eyes curved gently, looking unbelievably kind.
Yet somehow, it sent chills through Eungil and made it difficult to breathe.
“What—”
“I’m saying I’ll keep quiet about your relationship if you let me use my family register. You two seem to have a talent for putting on ridiculous little plays, so humor me in my deception, too. Hmm?”
After bouncing between hot and cold, completely scrambling their minds, he finally seized control with a sly expression.
He was definitely a man who knew how to toy with people.
The two women could no longer follow the flow at all. Their thoughts began to blur.
Seo Ha-hyun snapped his fingers directly in front of Eungil’s unblinking eyes, bringing her attention back.
“Are you going to come to your senses? I’m proposing to you right now.”
“……!”
“If you want, you can play both the daughter-in-law and the son-in-law. No one will have anything to say about it, and it’ll be the path to everyone’s happiness.”
What kind of horrifying monstrosity of a situation is this?!
The ball bounced back and forth.
It shook the net violently and crossed the line again and again.
This conversation truly could bounce anywhere.
Get a grip, Gong Eungil!
She had thought he was boring because he was merely a club owner, but the man was clearly familiar with games.
And people like that were always dangerous.
She couldn’t let herself be pushed around like this.
Eungil moved her fingers as though she were about to serve.
“…You really think news of your marriage alone will be enough to bury the rumors about Min-ah? The labels attached to her—same-sex affair, infidelity, broken engagement—are much more sensational.”
“Don’t worry.”
The gentle smile Seo Ha-hyun had maintained throughout the conversation suddenly turned sly.
It was the most vivid expression Eungil had seen on his face so far.
His intentions and sincerity aligned perfectly.
For some reason, she felt as though she had caught a glimpse of his true nature.
“I have an interesting past.”
At those words, Min-ah visibly flinched.
“Affairs, broken engagements—I’ve done all of that too.”
“There’s plenty more.”
“Truly shameless, disgusting things that would make you sick just hearing about them.”
