Chapter 1 (Part 4)

Having remembered everything, she bit her lip hard and tried to calm herself.

She thought she would never see that man again. She thought everything would be fine.

“Lee Seo-hye.”

Hwa-woong called out to Seo-hye, who was standing blankly in front of the house again.

Seo-hye had to move towards the study with a heavier step than ever.

“If you handle everything so emotionally, you won’t have anything to say even if you lose something precious. Or are you saying it doesn’t matter anymore if your mother’s life is cut short?”

As soon as she entered the study and closed the door behind her, he criticized her for leaving the house without permission, avoiding his watchful eye.

He also threatened not to pay for her mother’s hospital bills using this as an excuse.

Seo-hye clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms, forcing out words she didn’t mean.

“…I’m sorry. I won’t stay out overnight without telling you again.”

Hwa-woong scrutinized her closely to see if she was sincere or just making excuses to escape like a slippery fish.

“I promise.”

Only then did Hwa-woong slowly lower his fiercely raised eyebrows and speak.

“Yes, that’s how it should be.”

“….”

“And don’t go to the academy until your sister’s wedding. It would be a disaster if a reporter saw you coming and going from the house.”

Seo-hye’s face turned ashen.

“No…! There’s still three months until the wedding! Are you telling me to stay cooped up at home all that time?”

“I’ll get you everything you need. I’ll also give you the income you’d earn from the academy for those three months.”

At this tyranny disguised as generosity, Seo-hye stomped her foot and shouted.

No matter how much Director Han acted as Hwa-woong’s eyes and ears to monitor her, it was better than the dreadful people in this house.

In other words, spending time at the academy was much more liberating than being confined at home.

“That’s not the issue! If you cut off the only way I can go out, I…!”

Seo-hye took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

“Anyway, no one knows I’m an illegitimate child of this house except Director Han. Even if a reporter follows me, it won’t be a problem! They’ll just think I’m the second granddaughter who didn’t inherit your talent for painting! There’s no way the fact that I paint for you will ever leak—”

“Shut up! It’s not about you painting instead, it’s about you repaying the debt you owe this house!”

Hwa-woong became furious every time Seo-hye mentioned painting on his behalf.

Seo-hye had no choice but to resign herself to his menacing gaze.

“…Then once every two weeks…let me visit my mom. Please allow that.”

He pursed his lips tightly, clearly displeased.

“Even so, wouldn’t a little breathing room help me paint better?”

At Seo-hye’s pointed remark, Hwa-woong grudgingly agreed.

Without saying goodbye, she turned and left the study.

Every time she directly faced the reality where she couldn’t do anything as she wished, her heart ached as if it were blocked.

As she raised her arm to rub her chest, the man crossed her mind fleetingly.

The man who made her feel good, letting her forget everything.

“Sigh.”

How long had it been since she ran away, and already she missed being in his arms?

***

A distinct crack began to form on Do-jin’s smooth forehead.

It was due to the room bell that had been ringing every 10 seconds for the past few minutes.

Soon, with a click, the door opened, and the sound of footsteps passed through the reception room and stopped in front of the bedroom.

The mysterious visitor knocked twice on the bedroom door before opening it wide.

Only then did Do-jin slowly sit up.

He locked eyes with a man in his mid-thirties with a neat appearance.

“I was sure you were here, but since there was no response, I took the liberty of coming in out of concern.”

Despite Do-jin’s displeased expression, the man continued speaking.

“Nice to meet you, young master. I am Yoo Seok-young, your new secretary. Congratulations on your return to Korea after 7 years. I will be in charge of supporting all operations at Seonghan Hotel, where you will be newly appointed.”

A bitter smile appeared on Do-jin’s lips.

“It seems the Chairman isn’t too upset. Instead of kicking me out of the group, he personally assigned me a secretary to work.”

“…The Chairman was genuinely concerned about your well-being after the incident yesterday. Regarding the unfortunate event—”

“Tell him I broke a rib.”

At Do-jin’s dry sarcasm, Seok-young lowered his gaze and closed his lips.

Do-jin had arrived in Korea yesterday and met with Chairman Won, who threw a nameplate at him during their meeting.

“By the way, did you remove the painting hanging at the lounge entrance?”

Seok-young flinched but couldn’t answer.

The reason Chairman Won threw the nameplate was that Do-jin tried to break off an arranged marriage on his own. So, he didn’t want to keep the painting sent as a wedding gift from the other family at the hotel.

Do-jin quietly observed Seok-young, who remained silent while grooming his eyebrows.

Even though he had expressed his intentions so clearly yesterday, it seemed his grandfather had no intention of breaking off the marriage arrangement.

Since his mother, unable to bear the weight of being the group’s eldest daughter-in-law, had committed suicide, it had been 7 years since he left Korea to work at a branch in the United States.

However, a few months ago, his grandfather, claiming he had given him enough leeway, coerced him into returning to Korea to oversee the main branch of Seonghan Hotel.

While he was at it, he also forced him into marrying the granddaughter of a famous painter’s family, under the pretext of expanding a new business in the arts sector at the group level.

His grandfather was already eager to manipulate him as he pleased, using his hospitalized father as leverage, as if having him in the palm of his hand wasn’t enough.

Marrying the partner his grandfather had chosen would mean making more enemies rather than family.

That’s why as soon as Do-jin arrived in Korea, he went straight to Chairman Won and expressed his thoughts, even saying things he didn’t mean about his father.

“Call off the marriage. Otherwise, I’ll step down from hotel operations.”

“Are you saying you don’t care what happens to your father?”

“After not seeing each other for 7 years, any affection that existed between us is gone.”

“You, you…! How could such a child come from us…! The wedding date has already been set, and now you’re saying this!”

“Then perhaps you should get married instead, Grandfather.”

And as he exited the Chairman’s office, a nameplate flew at his back.

“If you’re going to do it, fix your bad habits before you go.”

Having defied his grandfather’s wishes like that, he expected to be cast out of the group.

But sending a secretary? That old man, really.

“Young master. If we remove the painting in just a day, it will cause talk. How about leaving it at the lounge entrance for about two weeks?”

As Do-jin listened to Seok-young’s cautious suggestion, something flashed through his mind.

The silhouette of an artistic woman looking at the painting at the lounge entrance.

His gaze, which had turned eerie, gradually settled on the bed.

“Young… master?”

“…Did you see a woman when you came in here?”

“A wo…man, sir?”

Seeing Seok-young’s sincere expression, Do-jin’s eyes twisted.

“Young… master, are you alright?”

“I’ll get dressed and come out. Wait outside.”

Do-jin clearly instructed Seok-young to leave.

As soon as Seok-young hesitated and left, Do-jin got out of bed and picked up the shirt he had tossed aside carelessly.

Even as he put on the shirt and fastened the buttons, a smirk kept escaping him.

After wrestling with his grandfather and returning to the hotel to personally take down the painting, a woman annoyingly wouldn’t move aside.

And to top it off, she even started crying.

The most ridiculous part was that he got excited watching the crying woman. He couldn’t help but laugh at himself as he looked down at the front of his pants, which had grown tight.

So when he happened to meet her again at the bar, he handed her the key. She was a woman who had turned his reason upside down to that extent.

But she vanished without a trace.

He shifted his unsettling smile to the center of the bed.

A vivid scarlet stain spread on the sheet that wasn’t fully covered by the blanket.

“…Sh-should I go first? Guys… seem to like this kind of thing.”

The veins on the back of his hand, which was tightening the tie, bulged violently.

“You even lied so I wouldn’t want to let go.”