MR 06

Chapter 06

First Disclosure.

They said she suffered from dizziness and headaches due to chronically low blood pressure, but the reflection in the mirror showed a complexion so pale it was almost bloodless, and a body so thin that a light push would send it toppling.

“Have you even been eating?”

Compared to the ill-tempered eldest daughter, she was the frail youngest lady who had been sickly since birth—so with a face like that, running around like a mad dog must have been enough to startle anyone.

After scrutinizing the lifeless face from every angle for a long while, I made up my mind.

“Alright. Whatever it takes, first I need to eat well and sleep well to recover my health. It’s because my stamina is low that my personality couldn’t hold up either. Hey there, you colorless, pale thing. Let’s start by getting back the color you’ve lost.”

First, I tied up the waist-length hair into a single bundle and washed my face. After roughly patting it dry and dabbing on some lotion from the vanity, sure enough, I was hungry.

I crept quietly to the door, pressed my ear against it, and checked for any signs of movement outside. After hesitating a moment, I silently turned the doorknob and opened it just half a finger’s width. Peering through the gap with rolling eyes, the house was—as expected—dead silent.

“…Did they leave?”

It was early for work, but no matter how long I waited, not a single small sound could be heard. When my stomach growled again, my body moved before I could even try to endure it.

“Good grief. What is this?”

But when I went straight to the kitchen and opened the fridge, it was completely empty—nothing but clear bottled water lined up in neat rows, not even a single side dish container.

Unable to hide my disappointment, I trudged back toward my room, then thought to check the pantry just in case.

“Oh……!”

There it was—like an oasis in the desert, a single bag of bread sitting all alone. I cheered silently and quickly tore open the plastic.

I even found a toaster tucked in the corner and started toasting the bread, when it suddenly hit me—I hadn’t eaten anything since being discharged from the hospital.

The fact that I hadn’t really felt hungry made me think I probably wasn’t the type to be all that interested in food, but… just smelling the bread toasting golden-brown made me this happy?

“Hehe, that looks delicious.”

It was right then, as I was humming to myself, that it happened.

Suddenly, the door across the way swung wide open, and a man appeared—wearing a classic suit that fell with tailored precision, not a single wrinkle out of place.

My eyes met his as I stood there frozen awkwardly in my pajamas.

“…Want some bread?”

Ding— The toaster’s alert sound rang out cheerfully through the quiet living room.

“No, thank you.”

The cold dismissal made the breath I’d been holding burst out of me.

The person who said let’s be a real married couple yesterday sure is chilly this morning.

I watched his indifferent back heading straight for the front door, but felt I should at least see him off, so I scurried after him.

“Have a good day.”

“Baek I-jun.”

He turned sharply as if about to say something in response to my greeting, then his eyes fixed on a single spot and he closed his mouth. I tilted my head at the puzzling behavior.

“Why?”

“Your ankle.”

“……”

“What happened?”

When I followed his gaze downward, what came into view was a red scrape clearly visible beneath the hem of my pants that didn’t quite cover my ankle. I hurriedly pulled down my pajamas, flustered.

“This is—I went to the main house yesterday, no, that’s not it……”

Why would the main house even come up here?!

Blood can’t lie—I guess I took after my twin, because I clearly had no talent for lying.

“…I fell down the stairs.”

It was obviously not an injury from falling down stairs, but I couldn’t very well tell the truth either. With the marital relationship already this awkward, adding family discord on top would do me no good.

“I see.”

He stared at me expressionlessly as I awkwardly tried to smooth things over, then spoke dryly and stepped out the door.

“You should get that looked at. It looks like a deep cut.”

Watching his receding back, I thought: That man might know quite a lot about me.

And he might be pretending not to know quite a lot, too.

* * *

[Han Je-ha. 30 years old. Youngest grandson of Chairman Jin Sa-un, founder of Moyeon Group. After graduating from Stanford MBA, assigned to headquarters, rose through ultra-fast promotions to rapidly emerge as Moyeon’s successor. Current head of Strategy Team 2, Moyeon Electronics Business Support TF.]

When I searched the three characters “Han Je-ha” on a portal site, an enormous amount of information poured out.

So he was an even more impressive and famous person than I’d thought. Just looking at his career, he’s a third-generation chaebol who walked the elite course even among the golden spoon class.

[The youngest daughter and her husband, whom Chairman Jin especially cherished among his five children, died in an unfortunate accident, and the grandson he raised himself afterward—rumors abound that Chairman Jin actively intervened in Executive Director Han’s marriage, which became a hot topic in society.]

Mother called my marriage an important contract. Not merely a paper agreement, but a “marriage contract” that can’t be easily broken and is maintained long-term—something like families being bound together.

[Executive Director Han’s marriage partner is the eldest daughter of Chairman Baek Seok-u, head of Baekya, referred to as Ms. Baek. It was Moyeon—relatively weak in the fourth industrial sector—forming an alliance with Baekya, which was emerging as a game changer in that field, to give strength to a grandson lacking the support base of parents, according to sources.]

I don’t know the detailed circumstances, but it was clear this was a marriage beneficial to both sides. Still, if I had to pick—judging by Mother’s attitude and the company sizes—the side that would suffer more if this marriage fell apart was, with high probability, my family.

I’d guessed as much, but seeing with my own eyes that it was a publicly known arranged marriage—enough to be on the internet—left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Setting aside the fact that the parties’ opinions weren’t reflected at all—what must it have felt like to live in a world where everyone knew that?

“Is this me?”

The wedding was held privately, but there were three or four photos that looked like paparazzi shots.

A woman in a mermaid-line wedding dress, and behind her, a man in black formal wear walking toward the ceremony hall at a slight distance.

He wore the same expressionless face as always, and my profile in the photo looked quite dark for a bride about to be married.

“So we really did get married.”

It’s not the Joseon era—there’s no way I would have meekly accepted an arranged engagement for the family’s sake. And yet, the reason I willingly walked into that ceremony hall on my own two feet was, as I suspected, probably because of the “Managing Director position at the Planning & Coordination Office.”

However that process went, it was an undeniable fact that he and I were now in our third year of marriage.

Though there had been a period of separation—a rough patch—we had lived as a thoroughly window-dressing couple under mutually agreed conditions. Now even those conditions were gone, though.

“There’s even stuff like this?”

Maybe because of the third-generation chaebol background, he attracts so much attention that everything imaginable is out there.

Height 187, hobbies include chess, swimming, flying. I wondered what “flying” meant—turns out he holds a CPL (Commercial Pilot License).

“He sure lives diligently.”

Next to his name, related search terms appeared: “Han Je-ha’s wife,” “Han Je-ha’s spouse,” “Ms. Baek,” “Moyeon Electronics stock price,” “Baekya recruitment,” and other keywords.

After hesitating a moment, I touched “Han Je-ha’s wife.” The moment I tapped it, what unfolded was a flood of articles from two months ago.

[Moyeon Electronics Executive Director Han Je-ha’s Wife, Vehicle Half-Destroyed in Accident on Gangnam Dosan-daero]

[Baekya Chairman Baek Seok-u’s Eldest Daughter in Critical Condition After Traffic Accident… Currently Unconscious]

[“Suddenly Accelerated” — Testimony Regarding Moyeon Family’s Ms. Baek’s Accident]

[Executive Director Han Je-ha’s Wife Ms. Baek’s Accident, Revealed to Be Vehicle Defect]

[“I’m Just Waiting for My Daughter to Wake Up”… Chairman Baek Seok-u Dispels Family Discord Rumors]

Because her husband and father are famous businessmen, the traffic accident articles alone easily exceeded ten pages. And through it all, my name was uniformly “Ms. Baek.”

Continuing to scroll, this time marriage articles from a much earlier date appeared. The disclosed information must have been extremely limited, as the content was all identical—instead, there were numerous analytical articles about the strategic partnership between the two companies that formed the backdrop of the marriage.

Stock prices of both companies rebounding immediately after the marriage announcement, Executive Director Han Je-ha’s succession of Moyeon Group becoming visible, Baekya’s rapid rise in business rankings……

Scanning countless headlines dispassionately, my hand suddenly stopped—because of one interview article that caught my eye.

[[Exclusive] Moyeon Electronics Executive Director Han Je-ha, First Public Disclosure of Love Story with Wife]