IDMPYU 42

42. I Still Like It.
The Einspänner, thick espresso topped generously with whipped cream, tasted surprisingly good. Ji-hyun licked her lower lip regretfully as she set down her now-empty glass, the bottom of which was visible.

“You like sweet things, don’t you?”

Seung-ho’s words grated like leftover sugar in her mouth. He was still holding his glass, gazing at her intently.

Feeling the pressure from those unmoving, pitch-black eyes that seemed nailed to her, Ji-hyun tried to suppress her pounding heart.

Those beautifully shaped eyes that stared at her in silence seemed strangely gentle, but she quickly brushed it off as a trick of the mind—there was no way someone with a personality like his could look at anyone kindly. She repeated it to herself like a mantra.

Shin Seung-ho was strange. He’d be cruel one moment, then kind the next, only to act indifferent again like nothing happened.

“Hey!”

Like right now…

“Huh? What?”

Startled, Ji-hyun flinched at his indifferent voice, as if her thoughts had been exposed.

“Do you realize your face is as red as if it’s about to explode? Don’t tell me you’re drunk from just a cup of coffee?”

His eyes, scanning her face intently while leaning closer, had lost their earlier softness and turned sharp.

Feeling awkward under his unwavering gaze, Ji-hyun raised a hand to her cheek. The faint warmth from the alcohol still lingered under her skin.

“Ah, I guess some of what I drank earlier is still in my system.”

“You drank? What? Alcohol? With who?”

The air around them changed. The lazy mood vanished, replaced by irritation in Seung-ho’s voice, as he interrogated her.

“Huh?”

“I said, who did you drink with until your face turned red?”

“With some friends… just a little…”

For some reason she didn’t understand, Ji-hyun felt the need to tread carefully. Her hesitant reply didn’t seem to please Seung-ho, who mocked her with a smirk.

“What a drinker. I send you home to rest, and you go meet friends and drink instead?”

‘You’re the one holding a glass right now…’

Ji-hyun pouted in protest.

Even as an adult, being in front of him made her feel like that flustered high school girl again. Then, she suddenly recalled something different from back then—the white walls of his apartment.

“Um, I’m more curious about something else.”

Seung-ho, looking surprised by the unexpected question, nodded.

“Go ahead.”

Ji-hyun thought of the morpho butterflies with blue wings he used to love. They were everywhere in the mansion where he once lived.

“Do you not collect butterflies anymore?”

“…”

“I didn’t see any in your apartment… you used to like them.”

Instead of replying, Seung-ho placed his glass down and stared at her. Leaning back in his chair, his relaxed gaze somehow made her feel tense. She added unnecessarily,

“Did you get tired of them? They were quite pretty…”

He ran a long finger along the glass. The same fingers that once pinned and preserved butterfly wings.

“I still like them.”

His deep, low voice echoed like it came from a cave, making Ji-hyun shudder. She knew he was talking about butterflies, yet her chest warmed uncomfortably at how much it sounded like a confession.

“…Huh?”

“I still like them. The butterflies. And the joy of collecting them.”

“Then why don’t you do it anymore?”

As if amused by her naive curiosity, he chuckled and turned his head.

“Who knows… why do you think?”

But he didn’t answer.

Fortunately, the once difficult and awkward work had become more familiar over time. Even the mountains of research he made her do weren’t so bad anymore.

Whenever he asked her to bring snacks, Ji-hyun would go overboard and bring back multiple items. Seung-ho would narrow his eyes as if displeased, but thankfully never said much.

It wasn’t that his picky taste had changed or that he suddenly appreciated her efforts. It was simply that he was too busy to complain. While operating the large printer in the corner of the living room for his files, Ji-hyun tilted her head.

These weren’t ordinary documents. Most were either detailed stock analyses or filled with English technical jargon. Even without understanding everything, she knew this wasn’t normal scholarship foundation work.

‘Should I ask what this is about?’

Just then, the front door opened with hurried footsteps—Min-woo. He rushed in waving what looked like an invitation.

“Hey, hey, Shin Seung-ho, we’ve got a situation.”

“I told you before…”

Don’t just barge in here like it’s your house!

Seung-ho’s glare at the approaching Min-woo was icy.

“This isn’t the time for that. Do you know what this is?”

Startled by the frosty stare, Min-woo remembered his purpose and hurriedly continued.

“It’s an invitation from Shinyang ES.”

Seung-ho’s brows shot up.

“What?”

“A party for major shareholders.”

A party? What nonsense.

Seung-ho tossed his pen and looked at the invitation. He scoffed.

“What a joke.”

“You know what’s even funnier?”

Min-woo, now fuming, pulled out a tablet and showed him the attendee list.

“Your name’s not on it. No Shin Seung-ho anywhere. Can you believe this?”

Seung-ho cut him off with a bitter laugh.

“So they want a fight.”

His older brother, Shin Myung-ho, was clearly using his executive status to remove Seung-ho as a contender for succession in the Shinyang Group. Myung-ho wasn’t even hiding it anymore.

“What are you going to do now?”

But Myung-ho overlooked one thing. Typically, not being invited meant you couldn’t attend—but Seung-ho was different.

He was one of the top shareholders and a VIP of Shinyang ES. If the company bore the Shinyang name, there was nowhere he couldn’t go.

“Of course I’ll attend.”

“Yes! That’s more like it. Go crush him!”

Ji-hyun, meanwhile, stared at the printer’s screen, pretending not to hear. But the conversation was too revealing to ignore.

Beep beep beep—

The printer finished. As Ji-hyun gathered the papers, Seung-ho turned toward her.

“You get ready, too.”

“Huh? For what?”

It wasn’t just Ji-hyun who was shocked. Min-woo blocked Seung-ho’s way.

“You’re not seriously bringing her too, are you?”

“She’s my assistant. Of course she’s going.”

Frustrated by Seung-ho’s calm tone, Min-woo groaned internally.

‘I showed him the guest list to warn him… and he’s taking the worst possible card instead!’

“You know who’ll be there, right?”

“Who?”

“Park Chae-rin.”

Wait… Chae-rin?

She was the treasured granddaughter of the chairman of Rivernic, a company rivaling Shinyang in power. Their families had secretly been arranging a marriage for some time.

“You know her personality, right?”

While studying in London, Chae-rin had fallen for Seung-ho at first sight and shamelessly pursued him. There was no way she’d leave Ji-hyun alone.

Hearing Chae-rin’s name repeatedly, Seung-ho scowled in irritation.

“What does she have to do with me?”

Min-woo rubbed his forehead.

‘It’s not you—it’s her that Chae-rin has a problem with.’

What Seung-ho didn’t realize was that it was because of Chae-rin that his time in London had been so peaceful. Any woman who tried to approach him had been driven away—not by Min-woo, but by Chae-rin.

He remembered a conversation they had on a sunny lawn.

“I’m going to marry Shin Seung-ho.”

Shocked by her bold declaration, Min-woo dropped his sandwich. Chae-rin’s expression was full of confidence, as if she was destined to always stand in the light.

‘Should I call that naïve or delusional? Not all rich girls are like this, but wow…’

Trying to be gentle, Min-woo asked,

“Um… Does Seung-ho know about this plan of yours?”

“Would he hate it? I’m the granddaughter of Rivernic’s chairman. Grandpa will say yes for sure.”

She believed wealth and family status were the only things that mattered in choosing a spouse. Her attitude screamed shallow elitism.

“What if Seung-ho says no?”

As if she hadn’t considered that possibility, Chae-rin frowned.

“He wouldn’t. It’s beneficial for both of us.”

Min-woo didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth: Seung-ho absolutely detested Park Chae-rin—and always would.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Min-woo noticed that the cold, arrogant man before him had the same icy expression Chae-rin did.

‘If only their feelings were mutual, this could’ve been a happy ending.’

“You know you and Chae-rin are pretty similar?”

“If you say one more thing about that annoying girl, get out.”

Seung-ho’s tone was ice-cold as he scanned confidential Shinyang ES data.

“You really are alike—especially in how annoying you are.”

That obsessive thoroughness, the way they bulldoze through what they want, and the utter obliviousness to others—Ji-hyun, now pale at the thought of attending such an uncomfortable event, didn’t realize what was happening.

Min-woo kept glancing at Ji-hyun with pity. He wanted to warn her: Run, before you meet the female Shin Seung-ho!

Poor thing…

But suddenly he froze. Seung-ho, who he thought was looking at the tablet, was glaring right at him.

“If you keep that up, I’ll gouge your eyes out.”

“See? Even the threats are the same!”

Suppressing his fury, Seung-ho raised a hand toward the door.

“Get out. Now.”

Min-woo fled, and silence fell between the two. Ji-hyun couldn’t stop thinking about the name Chae-rin.

Who was she? She seemed close to Seung-ho… but what’s it got to do with me?!

She shook her head. Then Seung-ho said something that broke her train of thought.

“We’re nothing.”

“…What?”

Surprised by how he seemed to read her thoughts, Ji-hyun looked at him. He had been watching her.

“Me and Chae-rin. There’s nothing between us.”

She didn’t know why he was saying this. But his voice, low and murmured, sounded surprisingly sweet.

“I… I see.”

Not knowing how to respond, Ji-hyun blushed. The winter sunlight streaming through the large windows warmed the living room.