TMBF-03

CHAPTER 3

At Kwon-yeol’s words, Hee-jo’s inferiority complex, which she had suppressed again and again, surfaced once more.

Did he want her to say that she had chosen this?

Because then he could become free from the burden in his heart?

Because he could finally break free from the shackles of that day?

Then she gave a bitter laugh, mocking herself.

‘This is truly pathetic, Yoon Hee-jo.’

Apparently, even Madam Jin Seo-ryeong, Kwon-yeol’s mother, could see these ugly sides of her all too clearly.

“Hee-jo, which of these men do you like as your future sister-in-law?”

“Future sister-in-law…?”

“Hee-jo, you’re practically part of our family, too.”

“Whoever Kwon-yeol marries will become your sister-in-law.”

Lately, Madam Jin Seo-ryeong had increasingly been saying things like that to Hee-jo.

Under the pretext that Hee-jo was practically part of their family as well and therefore deserved to have her opinion respected, Madam Jin Seo-ryeong had been issuing an endless warning.

Do not take advantage of Kwon-yeol’s guilt and sense of responsibility.

If she dared to harbor a dream she had no right to dream of, the kindness born of sympathy and pity would come to an end.

Yes, it was time for her to leave Kwon-yeol’s side.

Eight years had already passed.

‘That’s the right thing to do, isn’t it, Oppa?’

[…Someday, I hope our Hee-jo meets a good person, just like she’s always wished, falls in love, gets married, has children, and builds a happy family of her own.

It’s Oppa’s wish to watch Hee-jo live an ordinary and happy life like that.]

Her deceased brother had told her in a birthday letter to live a happy and ordinary life, but it was a contradiction.

She could never be happy without her brother.

Even so…

The reason she had been able to endure until now was because of her first love, Kwon-yeol.

The friend her brother had brought home for the first time.

He had been cold and taciturn, but sometimes he would casually pat her head with a careful hand.

He would fill her pockets with candies and chocolates labeled in English, French, or German.

And now, he was the only person with whom she could share memories of her brother.

Only by staying beside Kwon-yeol did she feel that she might be able to find even the shadow of the word ‘happiness.’

So she had swallowed her sorrow, hidden her feelings, and endured somehow, enduring again and again.

But eventually, the time to choose had finally arrived.

Hee-jo instinctively knew that this was the moment when she had to let go of ‘happiness’ and choose ‘ordinary.’

Because Beom Kwon-yeol belonged to a world that was billions of light-years away from the word ‘ordinary.’

The heir to Beomho Group had to marry the daughter of a family so powerful that she could not even dare compare herself to her.

“It was my choice.”

At Hee-jo’s answer, the area beneath Kwon-yeol’s eyes twitched faintly.

“It was your choice?”

“Director Lee is a very good person.”

“I thought it would be all right if his son was the one.”

He had just narrowed his brow and was about to say something.

A sharp vibration sounded from the inner pocket of his jacket.

Kwon-yeol’s brow furrowed as he checked the screen.

“I’ll take this call for a moment.”

“I’ll leave first.”

“No, wait.”

Kwon-yeol looked directly into Hee-jo’s eyes as he spoke.

“Until I come back.”

As though under a spell, Hee-jo couldn’t say anything and simply watched his broad back disappear into the distance as he brought his phone to his ear.

“……”

He must have said it without attaching any meaning to the words.

But to someone who was secretly in love with Kwon-yeol, they sounded completely different.

‘Oppa will probably never know that a frog can tremble so hard its heart might stop from a thoughtless word he casually throws out.’

It was at that moment, as Hee-jo let out a small sigh at her own silly thought.

“Ms. Yoon Hee-jo?”

Hee-jo turned her head at the high-pitched voice that suddenly flew toward her like an arrow and struck her ears.

Click, click.

The woman approaching with the lively sound of high heels was a glamorous beauty dressed from head to toe in high-end brands.

“My dad really is the best.”

“I actually got to meet the famous master of traditional knotting like this.”

“Oh, Kwon-yeol won’t be coming back anytime soon.”

“Why don’t we have a little chat while he’s gone?”

Every time the woman spoke, the long diamond earrings dangling from her ears caught the light and emitted a dazzling glow.

Yet they didn’t look excessive at all.

There was an effortless ease unique to someone who had naturally worn expensive things since long ago.

Yes, this woman belonged to the same world as Kwon-yeol.

Recognizing that at first glance, Hee-jo drew a deep breath.

Her hand tightened around the clutch.

For some reason, she had a bad feeling.

The headache that had stopped because of Kwon-yeol seemed to be returning.

“Do you… know me?”

“I’m Kim Jeong-yeon.”

“I was promoted to Executive Director of the fashion division at Sayeong Trading this year.”

“Well, honestly, it’s thanks to my grandfather’s influence.”

“But I’m still trying my best to keep up.”

Kim Jeong-yeon raised the corners of her red-painted lips.

“Because if I marry Kwon-yeol, I’ll have to properly support him from behind the scenes, right?”

At the word ‘marriage,’ Hee-jo’s heart sank with a thud.

Whether she knew what was going on inside Hee-jo or not, Kim Jeong-yeon continued speaking with a slightly flushed face.

“Oh, did I ever tell you how I know you, Ms. Yoon Hee-jo?”

“Last week, I was exhausted from shopping, so I went to rest in a VVIP room and happened to meet Kwon-yeol’s mother.”

Promoted to Executive Director at such a young age.

Grandfather’s influence.

A department-store VVIP room she had entered simply because she was tired from shopping.

As expected, Kim Jeong-yeon was the daughter of an extraordinarily powerful family.

Unlike Hee-jo, she had every qualification to marry the heir to Beomho Group.

“I heard there’s a scholarship student she’s very fond of.”

“She said the whole family adores you because you’re exceptionally intelligent.”

A scholarship student she was fond of.

At those words, Hee-jo almost let out a hollow laugh.

There truly could not have been a better way to describe her existence in the eyes of the head family of Beomho Group.

“But she told me not to worry.”

“…Worry?”

Kim Jeong-yeon looked at Hee-jo with a deliberately concerned expression and spoke very slowly and gently.

As though explaining something to a child who knew nothing about the ways of the world.

“A scholarship student can’t become family, after all.”

“This may sound a little harsh, but no matter how close you were to her friend’s younger sister, you’re ultimately still a stranger.”

The woman who might become his wife knew everything.

She knew what kind of relationship Hee-jae and Kwon-yeol had shared.

She knew what had happened between them.

The fact that Madam Jin Seo-ryeong had told her everything meant that this woman named Kim Jeong-yeon had an extremely high chance of becoming part of their family.

Almost a hundred percent.

A bad feeling never missed its mark.

“I’m not that narrow-minded.”

“Even after I get married, I won’t mind meeting you once in a while.”

“Perhaps on the anniversary of your brother’s death.”

Hee-jo steadied her breathing.

She couldn’t fall apart here.

‘Because Oppa is watching over me from heaven.’

She had already decided to give up on her unrequited love anyway, so she decided to think that perhaps this was for the best.

“There won’t be anything for you to worry about.”

At Hee-jo’s answer, Kim Jeong-yeon smiled, her eyes narrowing.

“Just as Mother said.”

“You really know your place.”

“Oh, don’t take it the wrong way.”

“I meant it as a compliment.”

Hee-jo knew that very well, too.

That was exactly why Madam Jin Seo-ryeong and the rest of the Beomho Group family had shown even a superficial amount of affection toward her.

“You’re very unfortunate about what happened to your brother.”

“But if you think about it, it wasn’t really Kwon-yeol’s or Beomho Group’s fault, was it?”

Hee-jo drew a deep breath.

…Kim Jeong-yeon wasn’t wrong.

It wasn’t their fault that Hee-jae died.

Fifteen years ago, Hee-jae and Kwon-yeol, who had entered the business administration department at Hanguk University, quickly became close.

Their naturally similar builds, combined with the fact that they exercised at the same time and did the same workouts, made their physiques remarkably alike.

Even Hee-jo sometimes mistook them for each other when she saw them from behind, so it was understandable how others could have been fooled.

Who could have known that would become the cause of a tragedy?

At the time, Chairman Beom wanted Kwon-yeol to marry early and personally arranged a blind date for him.

The woman happened to be a junior from university whom Hee-jae had feelings for, and the woman liked Hee-jae as well.

Kwon-yeol, who knew this better than anyone, made a proposal to Hee-jae.

“You go to the blind date instead.”

“Forget about worrying and, if you want her, hold on tight.”

“I’ll take care of whatever happens afterward.”

“…How can I do that?”

“Betraying Grandfather is my goal.”

“So you live happily with Jung Ji-hyun.”

“That’s how you can help me.”

Kwon-yeol dressed his friend in his own clothes, styled his hair similarly to his own, and handed him his car keys.

Thus disguised as Kwon-yeol, Hee-jae parked the car in the hotel’s underground parking lot and stepped out.

“Beom Kwon-yeol!”

“Who are you?”

“Chairman Beom, you should suffer and be ruined for once!”

“Just like me!”

He was stabbed in the abdomen with a knife.

A man who held a grudge against Beomho Group had mistaken Hee-jae for Kwon-yeol and killed him.

When the Beomho Group family heard that Kwon-yeol had been stabbed and was in critical condition, they hurried to the hospital.

There, they found Kwon-yeol muttering something with unfocused eyes, completely out of his mind.

“Open your eyes, Yoon Hee-jae.”

“Please…”

“You have your little sister, the one you can’t live without.”

“If you just come back, I’ll give you everything I have…”

“Just come back alive, please.”

But Hee-jae ultimately passed away, leaving behind only his younger sister, his sole surviving family member.

From that day onward, the Beomho Group family generously supported Hee-jae’s younger sister.

They provided everything from food, clothing, and shelter to anything she wanted to learn.

A small amount of guilt.

Relief that Kwon-yeol had not died.

Sorrow for the fact that she had been left alone.

And compassionate pity.

All of those emotions became tangled together into something complicated.

“It was simply an unfortunate accident caused by a series of coincidences.”

Her flame-red lips spat out the words like a blade, ruthlessly carving up Hee-jo’s heart.

“So from now on, I hope you won’t use that as an excuse to approach Kwon-yeol.”

“If you need money, contact me instead.”

Hee-jo slowly steadied her breathing.

Then she remembered something Hee-jae had always told her.

“If someone says something that puts Hee-jo down, you must never just sit there and take it.”

“Otherwise, Oppa’s heart will hurt.”

I don’t want to hurt Oppa’s heart because of someone who isn’t even important.

“You’re being rude.”

At the unexpected words, Kim Jeong-yeon blinked at Hee-jo with a bewildered expression, as though she had been struck on the back of the head.

“What did you say?”

“R-Rude?”

“You should also consider that what you’re doing is discourteous.”

Kim Jeong-yeon had been looking down on her by flaunting her father and grandfather.

Hee-jo wanted to show hChapter 3