Chapter 1

The rain that had poured down for three straight days had finally begun to let up.

I looked down at the hem of my soaked mourning dress and silently blamed the sky. If only the sun had been warm, would I have felt a little better by now?

I had been standing alone in the empty house until I finally collapsed onto the cold sofa. My body, which felt as though it were on the verge of complete exhaustion, desperately demanded rest.

And with good reason.

For the past three days, I had barely eaten and barely slept. I had pushed myself far beyond what my body could endure.

Even so, I couldn’t easily fall asleep.

I had no idea how I was supposed to live from now on, and the uncertainty ahead of me felt like a wall I couldn’t see past.

I didn’t have the confidence to live alone in this enormous, eerie house.

I remembered the last conversation I’d had with my husband in this house.

It had been our first wedding anniversary.

Although we’d been husband and wife for an entire year, my husband had always been more distant with me than a stranger. That day, he had said something strangely meaningful.

—No matter what happens, protect this house.

It was so dry and utterly unromantic that I could hardly believe those were words exchanged on a wedding anniversary.

Thinking about it now, it almost seemed as though he had known what fate awaited him.

And yet I was the one person who knew better than anyone that such a thing was impossible.

If he had known his fate, none of this would have happened in the first place.

What had he meant?

What had he intended?

Hot tears rolled down between my closed eyelids.

I think I had been sadder over the past three days than I had realized.

People had talked endlessly about me behind my back.

You inherited that enormous fortune all for yourself.

What a lucky woman you are.

But I was far more deeply consumed by the despair of never being able to see him again than by the joy of inheriting everything he had left behind.

Only after everything was over did I realize that what I felt for him had never been mere curiosity.

I would probably never even get the chance to confess these feelings.

The white ribbon I had been wearing in my hair suddenly slipped loose and fell.

I gently touched its ticklish end before covering my flushed face with both hands.

The voices of the mourners who had pitied me for becoming a widow at such a young age still clung to my ears and refused to disappear.

Because of them, I hadn’t been able to forget for even a moment that I had lost my husband.

Every second, I had been forced to acknowledge the tragedy that had befallen me.

And accept it.

I had been sobbing like that for quite some time when the sound of the doorbell cut through the silence of the house.

Startled by the unexpected interruption, I hurriedly rose to my feet.

A strange sense of fear made every hair on my body stand on end.

There was no one left who should have any reason to come to this house.

“……Who is it?”

“Open the door.”

It was the moment when the fear that had been building inside me reached its peak.

Unbelievably, the voice coming from beyond the front door belonged to my dead husband.

I had seen him buried with my own two eyes.

I had watched them bury him in the cold earth.

“It’s me.”

Who are you?

The first place Sua met her husband, Hajin, had not been a blind date.

Several months before that, the two of them had happened to meet by pure coincidence.

Of course, at the time, Sua had never once imagined that the arrogant heir to a weapons company would eventually become her husband.

The event had been organized by LOW, a world-renowned weapons manufacturer, for veterans of the war. Virtually every military official had been required to attend.

Sua was no exception.

At the time, she was serving as a first lieutenant in the army.

Her family, in particular, was a prestigious military family that had produced distinguished generals for generations. Her grandfather had even served briefly as Minister of National Defense, so the family carried considerable influence and prestige.

As a result, Sua’s attendance at the event carried symbolic significance.

That was ultimately why, after being pressured by her superiors, she had found herself spending her time at this tedious gathering.

“Lieutenant Chae!”

Sua had been watching the hands of the clock move endlessly when a familiar voice called out to her.

She immediately sprang to her feet and turned around.

“Come over here for a moment.”

It was Lieutenant Colonel Shin Cheolwoo, who had always treated Sua kindly.

“Yes, sir.”

Sua approached Lieutenant Colonel Shin without suspicion, only to find herself face-to-face with a tall man.

He wasn’t wearing a military uniform, so he appeared to be someone from LOW.

He wore a suit buttoned all the way to his throat, though Sua could easily imagine that there was a well-built body beneath it.

His flawlessly smooth skin, high nose, and red lips were particularly striking.

Was there someone like this at LOW?

She was curious, but that was as far as her interest went.

She assumed he belonged to a completely different world from her and therefore had nothing to do with her.

“I’ve wanted to introduce you for a while. This is Executive Director Doha Hajin. He had been living abroad until recently, but he just returned to Korea. He’s also the man designated to become LOW’s next heir after Chairman Doyeong.”

Sua lowered her head politely.

Lieutenant Colonel Shin then introduced Sua to Hajin.

“First Lieutenant Chae Sua. She’s the granddaughter of former Minister Chae Jeongho. The two of you are likely to cross paths often from now on. Why don’t you get to know each other?”

Just as Sua had done moments earlier, Hajin openly studied her.

Despite her youthful face, there wasn’t a single wrinkle in her military uniform, and there was discipline in her eyes.

For some reason, at that very moment, he smiled.

It was an inscrutable smile.

But it lasted for only an instant, so neither Sua nor Lieutenant Colonel Shin noticed it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

Rather than bowing to Sua, Hajin extended his hand as though offering a handshake.

The space between Sua’s eyebrows narrowed.

“……Me?”

“Yes. I’ve always respected Minister Chae Jeongho very much.”

A lie.

There wasn’t the slightest trace of sincerity in Hajin’s words.

And what was more, he didn’t even bother trying to hide it.

“Then, Lieutenant Chae, why don’t you stay here and talk with Executive Director Do? I’ll go see the colonel.”

Having failed to notice the subtle battle of wills between the two, Lieutenant Colonel Shin walked away with a proud expression.

Sua let out a quiet sigh.

I was just going to sit quietly until I could leave. Now I’ve got a headache to deal with.

“Would you please accept my handshake?”

Hajin spoke softly as he watched her.

He was still holding his hand out toward her.

Sua considered it for a moment before shaking her head.

“I’ll pass. There isn’t really any reason for Executive Director Do and me to become close.”

Rather than looking awkward at her blunt refusal, Hajin seemed intrigued.

“Lieutenant Chae, aren’t you interested in getting promoted?”

“Even if I get promoted, I’ll do it through my own ability. It has nothing to do with your company.”

“As I’d heard, you’re very much like your grandfather.”

Hajin’s words hovered somewhere between praise and mockery.

Sua’s expression hardened even further.

“Honest. Upright.”

“You’re very much like your father as well, Executive Director Do. Arrogant and carefree.”

They had exchanged only a handful of words, but Sua could already tell that she and the man before her were different in every conceivable way.

“Interesting.”

Well, it wasn’t unexpected.

The environments they had grown up in were completely different, and so were the environments they would live in from then on.

“You seem to dislike our company. Because there’s too much corruption? Because we have a lot of skeletons in the closet?”

Hajin, who didn’t seem to consider a lack of morality a particular flaw, and Sua, who had to be more moral and honest than anyone else, were so diametrically opposed that it seemed impossible for them ever to find common ground.

“But would the military even function without our company?”

“……”

The pointed question struck home.

Sua merely moved her lips, unable to offer any rebuttal.

Hajin burst into laughter again and again, as though he found the whole thing immensely entertaining.

He looked almost like a child who had discovered an interesting new toy.

Sua felt that if she stayed any longer, she would only end up getting drawn into his game.

She quickly gave him a polite nod and turned to leave.

“First Lieutenant Chae Sua.”

But apparently, Hajin had no intention of letting her go just yet.

His red lips clearly articulated her name.

He wasn’t her superior, so Sua had every reason to ignore him.

And yet, as though under some mischievous spell, she turned her head toward him.

“Let’s meet again next time.”

“……”

“We could meet privately, too.”

He spoke with confidence.

It was undoubtedly confidence backed by something.

Sua thought for a moment about how she should respond.

Then she answered firmly.

“No.”

“There won’t be any reason for Executive Director Do and me to meet privately.”

At that, Hajin suddenly reached his arm toward her.

Sua instinctively went on high alert at the unexpected movement.

Her trained body reacted naturally, preparing to strike at his vital points if necessary.

But Hajin’s hand wasn’t reaching for her body.

It was reaching for her beret.

His long fingers gently corrected the slightly crooked angle of her beret.

Only then was Sua’s uniform completely immaculate.

Hajin smiled in satisfaction.

Then, suddenly, he leaned toward her ear and spoke.

“Don’t be so certain.”

The cold scent of his cologne reached Sua with startling intensity.

He was so close that it felt as though he might touch her at any moment.

Sua held her breath.

Hajin leisurely watched her flustered reaction before continuing in a low voice.

“You never know what the future holds, do you?”