Chapter : 04
The next day, the wedding was finally held.
Early that morning.
After finishing his morning workout, Tae-heon was working in his study.
It was an ordinary morning like any other, but the word “marriage” had taken up a corner of his mind.
There was the justification that his grandfather was seriously ill, but even so, it had only been two days since he had met his blind date.
In reality, he was bringing a complete stranger into his home as his wife.
‘…A stranger?’
The hand holding his fountain pen stopped.
Was that really true?
On the surface, she was certainly someone he did not know.
A twenty-two-year-old woman named Ji Min-chae. Information he had only confirmed through documents.
However, above that name, another face appeared in his mind.
The face that had made his heart sink the moment he first saw her at the blind date.
A person who looked exactly like Young-ho’s younger sister, yet was not Young-ho’s younger sister.
“Yes, she really is a stranger.”
Tae-heon pushed that face out of his mind and lowered his gaze back to the documents.
Some time later, Tae-heon went to work and attended a meeting.
It was a meeting concerning the full-scale implementation of DH Electronics’ industrial safety integrated control system.
It was a technology designed to detect and prevent accidents at factories and work sites in real time.
Furthermore, it was a system that made it impossible to manipulate whether inspections had been carried out and preserved the actual conditions as records.
The plan was to install it without exception not only at DH’s factories but also at the work sites of its partner companies.
It was the project Tae-heon had devoted the most effort to since becoming CEO.
“Why has the full-scale implementation schedule been pushed back by two quarters?”
Tae-heon pushed his tablet PC toward the head of the project.
On the screen was a roadmap that had been repeatedly delayed.
“Well… there was strong resistance from the partner companies, so we decided to push the priority back….”
“Of course they’re going to resist. Their failures to follow the rules will remain on record exactly as they are.”
At the cold voice, the project head fell silent.
“Who can guarantee that no accidents will happen during those two quarters? What about guaranteeing that no one will get hurt? If their resistance costs less than a human life, bring that calculation to me right now.”
To him, there was no more expensive waste than failing to prevent a tragedy that could have been stopped simply because of negligence in management.
In extreme cases, someone could even lose their life because of it.
Just as his friend and younger sibling had.
‘That’s why we have to hurry.’
So that he could build the world he dreamed of as quickly as possible.
To him, efficiency meant the fastest path to reaching that world.
“I’ll deal with the resistance myself. Put the schedule back where it was, and finalize the first implementation sites within this quarter.”
Afterward, Tae-heon left the company and headed to a salon.
Even if the wedding was going to be held simply, they still needed to make the necessary preparations.
‘It’s an inconvenient time with my schedule this tight. Still, since everything will be finished in a single day, it’s actually efficient.’
As he changed his clothes and had his hair styled, he thought about it.
This marriage was the choice that would produce the most certain results at the lowest possible cost.
It would ease his grandfather’s anxiety, while allowing Tae-heon himself to quickly return to his normal routine.
If he could gain all of that in exchange for clearing his schedule for just one day, it was more than a worthwhile bargain.
Tae-heon was certain that once this wedding was over, he would be able to return to his ordinary life.
After the styling was finished, Tae-heon met the bride, who had come downstairs after completing her preparations upstairs.
It was their second meeting.
When he saw that familiar face again, he somehow felt that he should not treat her carelessly.
“Ah, hello.”
The bride standing before him greeted him shyly.
“Hello.”
Tae-heon returned the greeting and looked over her appearance.
She looked elegant in a mikado dress with a subtle sheen and a clean, uncomplicated silhouette.
Her large eyes and slightly drooping outer corners made her look gentle, while her coral-colored lips gave her face a warm, lively glow.
If he had to put it simply… he could describe her as pretty.
But none of those things could conceal the freshness of a young bride.
For example, the innocent look in her untainted eyes.
The pleasantly rounded baby fat on her cheeks.
The expression that could not hide her awkwardness and shyness.
Things like that.
‘She’s still young. She must be confused too.’
His gaze, which had been looking at the woman who would become his wife with a little sympathy, now fell upon her neatly clasped hands.
They were slender hands with delicate joints.
Her carefully folded fingers reminded him of So-yul.
When she used to play with dirt in the yard, her hands had been so small and slender that she would hide them behind her back whenever she was afraid Young-ho might scold her.
‘Am I thinking about that again? They only have the same face.’
Tae-heon withdrew his gaze and cut off the thought once again.
After leaving the salon, So-yul sat beside Tae-heon in the back seat of the sedan.
A deep, woody scent filled the tip of her nose.
It was a mature fragrance she had never smelled before.
And it suited him.
‘Tae-heon oppa, you seem even more handsome today than you did when we met for the blind date….’
Even in a situation this frightening and nerve-racking, her heart fluttered foolishly at the sight of him.
His masculine, solid, well-built body filled out the dark charcoal three-piece suit perfectly.
His thick eyebrows, cool eyes, and high nose formed features with perfect balance.
His face, completed by a sharply defined jawline like a sculpture, seemed to make even the air around him tense.
And his height was another matter entirely. When they had stood facing each other earlier, she had to tilt her head back just to look up at him.
“I’m sorry that we had to rush into this marriage.”
While So-yul was sneaking glances at Tae-heon, he spoke.
So-yul shook her head.
“No. After hearing the circumstances, I thought we had no choice but to hurry. Your grandfather is ill.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
At that moment, Chief Choi, sitting in the passenger seat, gave them an update.
“Ms. Ji Min-chae’s parents have arrived at the hospital.”
“Her younger sister must have come too.”
At the words ‘younger sister,’ So-yul’s heart jumped.
Putting on the calmest expression she could, So-yul recited the story her parents had created.
“Unfortunately, my younger sister won’t be able to attend the wedding. She was suddenly involved in an accident yesterday and is currently hospitalized.”
At the unexpected news, the front of Tae-heon’s eyebrow furrowed.
“An accident? Was she badly injured?”
At his reaction, So-yul’s eyes widened.
His expression looked serious.
There even seemed to be a hint of inexplicable anxiety in it.
“Uh, ah, no. Her life isn’t in danger. She just fractured her leg a little. But since the accident only happened yesterday, they said it would be better for her to rest today.”
So-yul answered with an awkward smile.
“Which hospital is she in? I’ll arrange for her to be transferred to a hospital with a good doctor.”
“No! It’s really okay!”
So-yul firmly declined.
She was perfectly fine and sitting right in front of him.
She could not possibly tell him about a hospital where she was not even admitted.
Tae-heon moved his lips as though he wanted to ask something more, but soon pressed them shut.
“…Tell me if you need anything. That much isn’t difficult. I know what it feels like when a family member is sick.”
“Yes. If I really need something, I’ll let you know. Thank you for worrying about her.”
So-yul quietly sighed in relief.
She had been terrified that he would continue asking questions, but it seemed she had managed to get through it.
The words her parents had said yesterday came back to her ears, reminding her of what would happen if things went wrong.
“We can’t let the family’s ashes end up scattered somewhere like the side of the road.”
So-yul shuddered slightly.
That absolutely could not happen.
Therefore, she had to get through this one day successfully.
‘But… just now, was Oppa worried about me or about Min-chae unni?’
She found it ridiculous that she was wondering about something like that even in this situation.
Tae-heon was curious.
What was So-yul like now?
Not her older sister, but So-yul herself.
Had she been doing well all this time?
Would it be all right for him to see her face from time to time now?
He wanted to confirm it for himself.
‘An accident?’
Tae-heon’s face, turned toward the car window, crumpled once again.
“So-yul says it’s difficult for her to see us anymore. She’s living happily with her family, but whenever she sees us, she keeps thinking about her deceased parents and Young-ho….”
That had been the message from a friend who had been concerned about So-yul after she was adopted, delivered on behalf of Young-ho’s friends when So-yul was in her third year of middle school.
After hearing that, Tae-heon could no longer contact So-yul.
She had entered adolescence and must have been even more sensitive at that age.
Tae-heon had also been studying abroad in the United States at the time and was approaching the period when he would have to enlist in the military.
And so, their contact was cut off.
Three years ago, when Tae-heon’s younger brother Tae-seung passed away, a funeral notice was accidentally sent to So-yul as well because of a mistake by his secretary.
So-yul, who had become a high school student, had grown considerably.
In Tae-heon’s eyes, she was still a child, though.
He was happy to see her, but there were so many mourners that he could not have a long conversation with her.
All he could say was that it had been a long time and that he was grateful she had come.
In truth, there had been so many things he wanted to ask her even then.
‘Today is the wedding, so the situation probably isn’t much different from back then.’
Would he be able to see her once she recovered?
He wanted to see that girl, now grown into an adult, at least once.
