CHAPTER 4
The sound of the door closing behind her seemed to fade into the distance.
Without realizing it, Seola raised a hand and pressed it against her chest.
Please, calm down.
Her heart, which had barely managed to endure in front of that overwhelming man, was pounding violently as though it were about to run wild.
Seola hurried into the elevator as soon as its doors began to open, almost as if she were fleeing.
The employee getting off the elevator glanced at her in surprise, but she had no room to care.
‘As I thought…… it was impossible.’
She quickened her pace as though whipping herself into submission.
But she could hardly bring herself to go home.
Even if she went back now, all that awaited her were Eunae’s endless nagging and vicious criticism.
Still, she had to go.
She had to return home, tell them that she had failed, and endure their condemnation.
Ever since the day Eunae and Jinseong had taken Seola in, that was the punishment her adoptive parents imposed on her whenever she failed to accomplish what they wanted.
Every one of those thoughts came from the fact that she knew nothing about the ‘truth.’
About what had happened between her adoptive father, Jinseong, and her biological father.
The two men had been business partners who had built a small company together.
However, the moment Seola’s father died suddenly in a traffic accident, Jinseong’s ugly true nature was revealed.
While the warmth of the dead man had not even faded, Jinseong had shamelessly taken all the company’s funds for himself.
Then, publicly, he became the protagonist of a touching story about how he would honor his deceased friend’s wishes and take responsibility for his friend’s only daughter.
He had shamelessly donned the mask of a benefactor and perfectly disguised his true intentions.
Seola had been five years old at the time.
People applauded him for it.
Thanks to that, Seola was spared the tragedy of being left on the streets, but she had never dreamed of the horrific truth hidden beneath it all.
During the month when little Seola was staying at an orphanage, Jinseong and Eunae had taken every bit of the inheritance her biological parents had left for her.
Seola took out her phone from her bag and checked the time.
The sunlight was dyeing the city brilliantly as though squeezing out its last remaining strength, but the shadows beneath her feet stretched endlessly, almost mocking the light.
‘I really don’t want to go inside.’
Standing before the gray gate, she remained there for a long time, as motionless as the firmly closed door itself.
Eventually, the moment she entered the house with a deep sigh, Eunae’s sharp voice pierced through the air like a dagger.
“Where have you been wandering around until now?”
Seola stopped halfway through taking off her shoes and raised her head.
Her throat felt painfully dry.
“I told you beforehand that I was going to meet the representative of Myunghun Group.”
Eunae’s face twisted into an unmistakable sneer.
“Meet who?
Do you really think the representative of Myunghun Group is so free that he would meet someone like you?
Know your place.”
“I did meet him.”
Eunae stared at Seola as though trying to see straight through her, then eventually twisted her lips with a derisive snort.
“You met that man?”
“Yes.
But it didn’t work out.
I’m sorry.”
Eunae clicked her tongue and spat out a cynical laugh.
Her venomous gaze swept over Seola’s face.
“Where did you learn to pull tricks like that?
There’s a limit to how much you can lie.
Seriously, what were you doing when I gave you the chance, and now you come back here and try to lie to me?”
“I’m not lying.”
Before Seola could even finish speaking, Eunae blurted out what she wanted to say.
“I’ve arranged a blind date for you this weekend.”
“What?
A blind date?
With whom?”
“What does it matter who it is?
You’re going, no matter what.”
Eunae was adamant.
Now that it was certain she could not get Kang Ijun, she once again resolved to sell Seola off if necessary to maintain the life she currently had.
“Don’t waste your breath.
Dress yourself up properly and get ready.
This time, you have to make it work no matter what.”
Seola’s head went numb as though she had been struck with a blunt object.
She barely managed to part her lips and ask cautiously.
“Do I…… really have to do this?”
“You do.”
A fierce glint flashed through Eunae’s eyes like lightning.
There was even something murderous in her gaze.
“He agreed to help your father’s company.”
Regardless of Seola’s silence, Eunae continued to lash out at her even more sharply.
“If you can finally be of some use to us, even this late, that is true filial piety, and it’s the last loyalty you owe us.
Have you forgotten how much your father owed us?”
As Seola grew up, Eunae had repeatedly told her, almost as though brainwashing her, that she had to repay their kindness someday.
She had constantly berated Seola, calling her worse than an animal and nothing but trash if she failed to repay that debt.
“Does it have to be marriage?”
“There’s no method more certain than marriage.
Put that pretty face of yours to good use.
Marry whoever we tell you to marry and make yourself useful.”
The end of Eunae’s words was as cold as a sheet of ice, and all color drained from Seola’s face.
A pain that felt as though her soul itself were being torn apart flashed through her.
“This time, don’t do anything useless and don’t make any mistakes.
Do you understand?”
Seola tightly pressed her pale, bloodless lips together.
Her gaze slowly, yet heavily, fell to the floor.
“……Yes.”
Seola entered her room and collapsed onto the floor in the cold air.
The atmosphere from earlier that day, the man’s cutting voice, and his cold eyes resurfaced in her mind one after another like scenes from a panorama.
When she closed her eyes, the office where he had been standing came back to her with perfect clarity, like a flawless reflection.
‘If he’s that kind of man.’
Seola murmured softly in the empty room and forced the corners of her lips upward into a smile.
“He’ll marry a much more wonderful woman.
Not someone like me.”
A bitter, hollow laugh escaped her lips.
If a man like Ijun were to evaluate her as a potential bride, wouldn’t that have been nice?
The sudden thought made Seola quickly shake her head.
Yoo Seola, do you really think you belong in that perfect world he lives in?
You’re someone who could never have met or reached a man like him in the first place.
Huh?
Just like Mother said, you’re nothing more than someone who has to marry whoever they choose for you and make yourself useful.
And yet, strangely enough, she could not forget that brief but intense encounter with him.
Somewhere deep inside her heart, she was still reacting to him.
Could she really have fallen for him?
A hollow laugh escaped her.
And before long, tears began streaming down her face.
Seola covered her face with both hands and scolded herself.
“Let’s stop thinking about it.”
—
Soft lighting settled over the dining table in the enormous mansion.
The quiet clinking of silverware and forks echoed through the room.
Chairman Kang put down his knife and glanced at his son.
“Did you meet that young lady properly this afternoon?”
The fork in Ijun’s hand stopped briefly in midair.
A tiny crack seemed to pass across his expressionless face.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you personally concern yourself with something so pointless.”
“What do you mean, pointless?”
Chairman Kang’s brows drew together slightly.
“I once received unexpected help from that young lady.
I was simply repaying the favor.
Give and take is the most basic principle, isn’t it?”
Ijun’s dark brows twitched distinctly for an instant.
A faint question appeared on his usually unwavering face.
“Help?
From you?”
“That’s right.”
Chairman Kang smiled calmly and tilted his glass of red wine.
His eyes reflected in the wineglass were as deep as the dark wine itself, making it impossible to discern what lay beneath his expression.
“I did become a little curious.
I wondered what kind of circumstances had led that girl to come looking for you.”
“You certainly take an interest in things you don’t need to concern yourself with.”
“You’re heartless as always.
If your father is curious, can’t you give him at least that simple an answer?
Sometimes you should respect an old man’s curiosity.”
The lingering image of Seola struggling to smile so that she would not break down flashed through Ijun’s mind.
Ijun lowered his gaze to the dining table for a moment, then slowly raised it again and composed an indifferent expression.
“She said that she felt bad about leaving the banquet on her own before I arrived, so she came to apologize in person.
She also asked me to give her another chance.”
“Hmm…… really?”
Chairman Kang nodded slowly, sounding intrigued.
“Then what is your judgment?”
For the briefest moment, it would have been a lie to say he had not been drawn to her.
But that was all.
Ijun looked directly at his father with calm eyes.
“In the end, she was no different from the other women.”
Ijun’s voice was completely devoid of emotion, cold and dry.
His eyes gleamed like transparent ice.
“In any case, I won’t enter into a marriage arranged in the form of shopping for a woman.
I told you clearly before.
I will choose my own marriage partner.”
Chairman Kang tapped his index finger against the dining table.
Despite his advanced age, he had lost none of his imposing presence as he spoke in warning.
“No matter what kind of woman you choose, it will be useless if she doesn’t meet my standards.”
The deep look in Ijun’s eyes grew cold as ice.
He stared straight at Chairman Kang without the slightest hint of wavering.
“This isn’t a marriage you’re entering into, Father.
I’m the one getting married.
Don’t interfere anymore.”
Chairman Kang’s pale eyebrows slowly, yet ominously, rose.
“You heartless bastard.
How can you tell your father to stay out of such an important matter of human life?”
Ijun’s voice dropped even lower.
The air in the dining room froze.
“Father, were you truly happy in your marriage to Mother?”
The blunt question his son had thrown at him struck Chairman Kang painfully.
The chandelier light reflected in the wineglass on the table trembled violently.
Time, which had seemed to stop for an instant, began moving again, and Chairman Kang slowly raised his head.
His gaze shifted restlessly as though wandering through the past.
“Happy……?”
A bitter smile, as though it had been suppressed for a long time, passed across his lips.
It was as though he had suddenly felt a pain that tore deep into his heart.
