AGR 02

“Speaking of Kwon Jae-eon.”

Won-i, sitting across from Yi-seo with Yi-seo nestled between her thighs, brought up Kwon Jae-eon yet again.

Kwon Jae-eon was the youngest grandson of Kwon Seok-ho, chairman of the Taeseong Group, where Yi-seo worked. He was also the CEO of TS Motors, one of the group’s subsidiaries.

“He’s changed women again.”

As she spoke, Won-i swiftly traced the outer corner of Yi-seo’s eye with an eyeliner pencil.

“Apparently, at yesterday’s department store opening ceremony…”

She drew a few quick lines with different makeup pencils, then smudged them with her fingertips. After repeating the process several times, Yi-seo’s eyes in the mirror looked sharper and more striking.

“He showed up with Sienna, you know. You know who I’m talking about, right? Sienna from Pink Flow.”

Of course she knew.

Sienna was a member of the hottest girl group around these days.

“She’s ridiculously beautiful. I honestly thought she was a doll.”

Won-i continued listing the women Kwon Jae-eon had dated.

“Everyone calls them his Monthly Girlfriend. Because Kwon Jae-eon switches women every single month.”

“Monthly Girlfriend?”

“Yeah. Last month, it was actress Lee Sol-mi. The month before that, Executive Director Jung Yi-kyung from Wonchang Trading. Before her, the hospital director’s daughter from Sanho General Hospital. Every single one of them is gorgeous and glamorous.”

“Wow. That’s quite an impressive lineup.”

Yi-seo offered a halfhearted response, prompting Won-i to continue.

“And yet, none of them ever makes it to the finish line. He keeps them by his side and has fun with them, but apparently, he never lets anyone get too close. The moment they cross the line, he cuts them off. No mercy.”

As she spoke, Won-i held up her right hand and made a slicing motion across her throat.

“Men are always told that handsome guys are entitled to act like they’re worth something. By that logic, Kwon Jae-eon is worth as much as the richest chaebol heir in Korea. His face is practically a fortune in itself, so naturally, he gets to play the womanizer.”

Womanizer Kwon Jae-eon.

Scumbag Kwon Jae-eon.

Punk Kwon Jae-eon.

Yi-seo had heard those words so often that her ears practically ached.

At just thirty-one, Kwon Jae-eon had already become the CEO of TS Motors, the precious youngest grandson of the Taeseong family.

Even within Taeseong, a company renowned for its exceptionally good-looking members, he was praised for his extraordinary appearance. Unfortunately, his behavior was an absolute disgrace.

Despite holding the title of CEO, he put work last and devoted himself to alcohol, women, extravagant parties, and expensive hobbies like hunting and racing.

He managed to create a scandal wherever he went, keeping Taeseong Group’s public relations and legal teams frantically busy.

The documents in Yi-seo’s bag after work were also related to Kwon Jae-eon. The PR team had asked the legal team to cross-check them and provide legal advice.

Apparently, a rumor had circulated in financial circles that he had attended an unofficial Formula racing event on Jeju Island, where he had enjoyed a wild party with the race queens.

The guest list was filled with people notorious for causing scandals, and the whole affair had sparked an uproar, with everyone saying that birds of a feather flocked together.

Of all the attendees, Kwon Jae-eon stood out the most.

And yet, women couldn’t seem to leave a man like him alone. They practically threw themselves at him.

The world really was going to the dogs.

Yi-seo’s own friend, Won-i, was a perfect example.

Won-i was the prized daughter of Serin Department Store, the second-largest player in the industry. What on earth could she possibly be lacking that made her so desperate for Kwon Jae-eon? Why was she so obsessed with becoming his next Monthly Girlfriend?

“What on earth do I have to do to date Kwon Jae-eon?”

Yi-seo thought her friend was ridiculous. Still, it was a matter of personal taste, and none of her business. So she simply lent Won-i her face to work on.

Her curiosity easily satisfied, Yi-seo fixed her gaze on the hand mirror she was holding.

It was fascinating to watch her reflection change from moment to moment under Won-i’s fingertips.

Even so, the makeup felt strange on her face, and she kept lightly running the tip of her tongue over her lips.

“Stop licking your lips.”

Won-i gave Yi-seo a sharp smack on the shoulder.

“You look incredibly sensual when you do that.”

At Won-i’s words, Yi-seo let out a soft, breathy laugh.

Sensual?

Honestly, it was a word that didn’t suit Yi-seo at all.

“What’s so funny? You just don’t realize it. When you wear makeup like this, you look like you’re deliberately trying to seduce someone.”

There she went again.

Yi-seo chuckled and gently pushed away Won-i’s hand, which was holding the makeup pencil. She also lowered the mirror onto the table.

“That’s why I told you I wasn’t going to wear makeup.”

Then she pulled her bag closer and took out a thick stack of documents.

Looking at her as though she were hopeless, Won-i remarked, “Why wouldn’t you wear makeup? You’re this pretty.”

Pretty?

Yi-seo gave a faint, unimpressed laugh and began reading through the documents.

She had a mountain of work to get through, all because of Kwon Jae-eon, the man Won-i was so desperately waiting to see.

“Listen carefully, Yoon Yi-seo.”

Frowning at Yi-seo’s behavior, Won-i pulled out a hair styler and began curling her long hair.

“You didn’t come here to work. You came to help me. So, please, put those scraps of paper away.”

Even as her hair was pulled this way and that, Yi-seo kept her eyes on the documents and answered quietly.

“I can’t. If I don’t work on them whenever I get a chance, I’ll have to sacrifice this entire weekend, too.”

All because of your precious Kwon Jae-eon.

Yi-seo swallowed the rest of that sentence and furrowed her brow.

“Fine.”

Apparently finished styling Yi-seo’s hair in no time, Won-i shaped her fingers like hooks and gave the curls a final touch. Then she firmly cupped Yi-seo’s small chin in her hand.

“But here’s the deal. Once we open the folding doors to the private room later…”

She gently tilted Yi-seo’s chin up and shook it a little, smiling sweetly as she continued.

“I want you to look up once every twenty-five minutes and keep your head up for five minutes. That means twice an hour. Show people this precious face of yours.”

“What kind of request is that?”

Yi-seo chuckled despite having her chin held in place.

Won-i put on a pitiful expression and whined, “This is a party I’ve been planning with great ambition! Of course you have to help me.”

“You said I only had to make up the numbers.”

“And to make up the numbers, you have to show them your face. Your face!”

Yi-seo couldn’t understand why she needed to show her face at such regular intervals just to make up the numbers, but it hardly mattered.

As she always did, she quickly lost interest and nodded.

She gently pushed away the hand gripping her chin, returned her gaze to the documents, and rapidly scanned the printed text.

Her hand moved without hesitation as she pulled out a highlighter and drew thick lines beneath the sentences she needed to remember.

“But, Won-i.”

Won-i, who had been clearing away the scattered makeup tools on the table, turned to look at her.

“Hmm?”

“About Kwon Jae-eon. Does he have some connection to the FIA?”

“Why?”

“He attended an F2 event on Jeju Island, but it wasn’t the kind of competition open to the general public.”

Yi-seo continued scanning the text, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“It’s called unofficial, but as far as I know, invitations to this event only go to former FIA-affiliated drivers and people connected to the organization. It’s basically a kind of reunion.”

“He used to be a driver.”

“…What?”

Only then did Yi-seo lift her eyes from the documents and look at Won-i.

“Kwon Jae-eon really did race professionally. Formula One, no less.”

That was an extraordinarily unusual case.

“The CEO of TS Motors used to be an F1 driver?”

“Yep.”

“Isn’t he the chairman of Taeseong Group’s most cherished grandson?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why would he do something so dangerous?”

Racing was an undeniably captivating sport. It was understandable as a hobby.

If someone simply wanted to enjoy the speed on a safely designed circuit, driving an expensive machine decorated in bright, flashy colors, Yi-seo could understand that.

But he’d actually been a professional driver?

“I heard he did it briefly while studying abroad. It started as a hobby, but he was so insanely talented that he ended up competing professionally.”

Won-i was thrilled that Yi-seo had finally brought up Kwon Jae-eon of her own accord, and she eagerly continued.

“He started when he was eighteen and raced until he was twenty, I think. Apparently, he even took home a Grand Prix winner’s trophy at some point.”

For an instant, Yi-seo’s heart sank.

A Grand Prix? Which year?

Kwon Jae-eon was thirty-one now. If he’d raced between eighteen and twenty, that would have been…

Roughly the same period.

“…Then why did he quit?”

Yi-seo was usually uninterested in just about everything, so Won-i took her unusual curiosity seriously and answered with a fairly solemn expression.

“He got too big to race in F1.”

Since Yi-seo had never seen Kwon Jae-eon in person, she knitted her brows slightly.

Won-i tapped the bridge of Yi-seo’s nose with the tip of her index finger and smiled.

“Kwon Jae-eon is 192 centimeters tall.”

Then she puffed out her shoulders with both hands and continued.

“His shoulders are this broad, his chest is huge, and his hips are about this wide. And his legs? They’re ridiculously long.”

After illustrating practically every part of a man’s body with her hands, Won-i raised both thumbs and flared her nostrils proudly.

“I’m telling you, his physique is absolutely perfect.”

Whenever Won-i saw a gorgeous suit displayed in the department store, she wanted to see Kwon Jae-eon wearing it. And whenever she imagined him in one of those suits, she wanted to strip it right off him.

“Just wait until you see him. You’ll be gasping, too.”

Won-i let out a breathy, bashful laugh and suddenly reached toward Yi-seo.

Then she unbuttoned about three buttons of Yi-seo’s shirt.

“You should take a good look at him, too. Kwon Jae-eon is coming today.”

Remember, you have to keep your head up for five minutes every twenty-five minutes.

With that final reminder, Won-i gathered her belongings and firmly pressed the button that opened the wooden folding doors.