Chapter 16

It was the size of a business card, but didn’t look like a typical one. It felt like a piece of art—high-quality square paper with a funky design, her name, phone number, and email address written in stylish script.

Beneath the wrapping, she saw what the box was. A fountain pen.

“Look, it says she’s getting engaged soon. The tag is ‘the gift I prepared.’ See, it says ‘International delivery to my fiancé-to-be.’ Must be a Korean.”

It was the very same fountain pen she’d seen on Se-hee’s phone. Her hands trembled. She set the box on the desk, and now Ryu-il’s gaze was on her.

“What?”

“…No… nothing…”

She awkwardly forced a smile.

“Nothing, really.”

Engaged? Really? That woman who told her to sleep with Ryu-il from afar was now sending an engagement gift so publicly? As she blinked in shock, Ryu-il looked at her with interest.

“Interesting thing you brought.”

“…”

“You keep it. I don’t use fountain pens.”

“What? Oh, no. I don’t use them either… mmph.”

Suddenly, his lips were on hers. She didn’t hesitate to lean into him. His wheeled chair rolled backward, and his hand slipped inside her robe, grabbing her bare skin. After all his indifference, his touch was rough and urgent. Her robe slipped off, and boxes and papers scattered across the desk.

“Mm…”

A low m*an escaped his lips, and she clung to his neck, forgetting her embarrassment. She didn’t know why she was doing this, but in this moment, she just wanted her misery to be covered by something else. Everything was going her way, so why did her heart still pound so anxiously? She didn’t want to look into her own depths, so she squeezed her eyes shut.

Just for this moment, she felt as if she’d beaten that box lying helplessly on the floor. Hating herself for thinking that, she hurried to lose herself in the pleasure he offered. When she was wrapped in his solid warmth, trembling, it felt as if everything disappeared like a lie.

***

After s*x, she bravely stroked his jaw. Ryu-il quietly watched her, not moving. Her aching body couldn’t budge. Feeling tears welling up again, she quietly spoke.

“…Senior Executive Director, people say you look like someone…”

“What?”

“Between your mother and father.”

She knew he didn’t have parents, but since she didn’t have a father either, she didn’t feel it was rude to ask.

“I’m told I look a lot like my dad. My eyes are exactly the same, apparently. My mom always said I didn’t resemble her at all. But there aren’t any photos, so I don’t know if that’s true.”

“I’m told I look a lot like my father, too.”

Ryu-il stroked her cheek gently as he spoke. Whenever she came to him, he was cold, but surprisingly, after s*x, he was quite gentle.

“My grandfather said the older I get, the more I look like him.”

By grandfather, he meant Chairman Ryu Won-jong. When she blinked, Ryu-il briefly spoke about his father.

Ryu-il’s father was Chairman Ryu Won-jong’s most beloved son, but after refusing an arranged marriage and marrying one of the staff, he fell out of favor.

So he couldn’t manage any major subsidiaries, but, taking advantage of the times, founded Wigang Home Shopping and achieved tremendous sales. Then, on the way to visit his father-in-law’s tomb, he and his wife died instantly in a car accident, Ryu-il explained calmly.

“Ah…”

It was the first time she’d heard about his family. She hesitated, then asked with difficulty,

“Do you miss your father?”

“Not really. I don’t remember him.”

Ryu-il answered briefly.

“Being told I resemble him doesn’t mean much. It’s more about the people around me.”

She’d heard from Kyung-won that Chairman Ryu Won-jong wanted to give Ryu-il the home shopping business. She hadn’t understood why he’d want to hand over a home shopping company to a construction executive, but now she had some idea.

It was the home shopping company his father had built, so he wanted to give it to Ryu-il. But since construction and home shopping were so different, he sought outside cooperation through an arranged marriage.

Her gaze landed on the fountain pen box on the floor. Lee Min-hee could give Ryu-il more than a fountain pen. She could give him the subsidiary his father built.

“Hoo…”

While she was silent, Ryu-il blinked slowly and grabbed her arm. His eyes were already clouded. She really couldn’t take it anymore, but his lips moved down to her chest, taking her n*pple into his mouth. Her body, already oversensitive, now protested with pain. His swollen p*nis pressed hotly against her thigh. Her thigh, still heated from before, trembled.

But she moaned and spread her legs. Her thoughts kept swirling, making her even more tired. She didn’t want to think anymore. She wanted to forget the fountain pen, Lee Min-hee, the engagement, and even herself lying beneath him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried out.

That night, she shed a few tears but didn’t clutch him and cry as usual. She didn’t even remember the end and fell asleep as if fainting.

* * *

She woke to the sound of unfamiliar birds. For several minutes, reality didn’t register, and she just blinked vacantly. As memories of the previous day and the lingering pain in her body slowly returned, she sighed deeply.

In the spacious, beautiful room, Ryu-il was nowhere to be seen. Was she supposed to go back to Seoul now? Was everything everyone wanted from her finished? She hesitated, then got up and went to the bathroom to wash. Her reflection in the mirror was a mess. She’d begged him to stop and then lost consciousness…

She took fresh underwear and clothes from her large backpack, feeling almost like she was on a trip. She was glad Ryu-il didn’t see her like this. The way she’d packed so thoroughly showed she’d planned to spend the night.

She tidied the messy sheets and folded the robe lying on the floor. Then she saw the fountain pen on the ground.

“Ah…”

It was ridiculous. She’d delivered a gift from Ryu-il’s fiancée and spent the night with him. Would he end up discarding the fountain pen, or her?

The answer was obvious, so much so that it was embarrassing to even wonder. Wasn’t it Lee Min-hee who’d ordered her to sleep with Ryu-il? She was just one of the staff used for the marriage game she couldn’t understand.

She had to remember that.

She was just staying at beautiful Ryu Gil-jae, not living there. Whatever she did inside Ryu Gil-jae, she had to return to her own world through the backyard. All of this was, in the big picture, just another kind of job.

She lowered her eyes, and suddenly the room phone rang. Startled, she realized she was the only one in the room and had to answer.

“H-hello?”

Her voice was awkward and hoarse, but the voice on the other end was bright and cheerful.

—Hello, good morning. You requested a morning call at this time.

“Ah…”

She checked the time. It was just past 10 a.m. Ryu-il would never wake up this late, and she doubted he’d request a morning call, but she answered anyway.

“Yes, I’m awake.”

—Thank you. Room service will be sent up soon. You ordered egg benedict and salad with ham; would you prefer coffee or green tea for your drink?

One thing after another. She stiffly held the receiver and answered awkwardly.

“Um, well… Senior Executive Director isn’t here right now. Can I ask him when he gets back?”

—Oh, Senior Executive Director said the meal was for the lady in the room.

Her mind went blank. She rolled her eyes, then managed to reply,

“…Then, coffee, please.”

Soon, a beautiful breakfast was delivered to the room. Every dish was so luxurious she hesitated to touch them. Since Ryu-il had ordered it, she decided to eat before leaving. But as she picked up her fork, a strange feeling welled up inside.

Under the bright sunlight, the view beyond the windows was beautiful. The sea was visible in the distance, with blue trees refreshing her eyes. The wide-open room was comfortable, and the vegetables in the salad were crisp.

It was a luxury she’d never experienced or even imagined. The vague thought, ‘It’d be nice to have money,’ was nothing compared to feeling it with all her senses.

She was lost in complicated thoughts, but surprisingly, the warm food was so delicious that she ate enthusiastically.

She thought she’d just leave after eating, so she cleaned her plate and brushed her teeth. Only then did Ryu-il return. She’d thought he’d gone to work, but he was dressed casually. Seeing her surprised face, Ryu-il spoke offhandedly.

“I was at the gym downstairs.”

“Ah… I thought you went to work.”

“It’s Sunday, so there’s no construction, and since I’m on a business trip, I’m taking the day off.”

He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, drank it in big gulps, then looked at her.

“The sea’s just a short walk away. Want to go?”

It was a casual offer, but somehow it made her heart race. It had been ages since she’d seen the sea. Seeing Ryu-il outside Ryu Gil-jae was as refreshing as the distant ocean.

“Yes.”

Her mother, Kyung-won, Lee Min-hee—none of them wanted this for her, but she couldn’t help but nod.

“Let’s go. I want to see the sea.”