Chapter 1 (Part 6)

In Cheongun-dong, the most grand dinner table to date was set.

The dining table, which had been changed weeks ago for today, had seats reserved for the Chairman of Seonghan and Do-jin, while Hae-mi and her family were already seated.

As Seo-hye, who joined the kitchen later than them, entered, Hae-mi gave Seo-hye a displeased vertical glance.

“Are you the main character?”

Seo-hye, taken aback, stopped in her tracks.

Hae-mi wore the dress that Seo-hye had tossed aside last year, saying it was too small for her. It was the best outfit in the wardrobe.

Compared to them, wrapped in newly acquired expensive designer clothes, she would look quite shabby.

“The Chairman of Seonghan is arriving.”

Before there was a chance to make excuses, they all quickly stood up and headed to the entrance upon hearing Mr. Kim’s report.

As Seonghan’s Chairman Won Eung-soo entered the yard through the wide-open front door, Seo-hye felt a strange thrill.

Even though his hair had turned white, his stature was imposing, and he had a different kind of dignity compared to Hwa-woong.

The traces of time he endured to become the head of a company representing an era were majestically etched as wrinkles. Perhaps that’s why he seemed strong despite being an old man.

He shook hands vigorously with Hwa-woong and entered the living room. Then he gave Hae-mi a light hug.

Before sitting down, Chairman Won sought understanding.

“Do-jin is running a little late because he had an important meeting about international hotel recruitment.”

Seo-hye briefly saw the disappointed look on Hae-mi’s face.

She didn’t want to take Hae-mi’s side, but the man was quite something.

Today’s appointment wasn’t arranged in a hurry; it had been planned for months.

As the conversation was in full swing, Chairman Won, upon hearing from the secretary that Do-jin would soon arrive, looked at Hae-mi.

“It seems my grandson will arrive soon. Our Do-jin is quite aloof. But once you get to know him, he won’t be like that, so please understand him, Ms. Hae-mi.”

“Oh, of course. It would be more difficult if he were too affectionate from the start, wouldn’t it?”

“I like that Ms. Hae-mi seems to have a good personality, but who is sitting next to you…?”

When Chairman Won’s gaze turned to Seo-hye, Hwa-woong responded with a stiff expression.

“Ah, yes. She’s our second granddaughter, but she’s very shy. Chairman, would you like a drink?”

It was obvious that Hwa-woong didn’t want her to exchange a single word with the Seonghan chairman. However, Seo-hye didn’t particularly feel disappointed.

She hoped this marriage would proceed without any issues, so that Hae-mi, who always tormented her, would get married as soon as possible.

“But Ms. Hae-mi majored in dance, didn’t she? With such an excellent grandfather, why not paint?”

“Haha. I guess I’m more talented in using my body than my hands.”

“Chairman?”

It was at that moment.

“The young master has arrived.”

Upon hearing the report from the Chairman’s secretary that Hae-mi’s future husband was entering, Seo-hye shifted her gaze languidly toward the kitchen entrance.

In her deliberately lowered line of sight, she caught sight of a pair of solid, long legs stepping in a measured stride.

Thinking, “Those legs are really long,” she gradually lifted her gaze, but for some reason, her lower abdomen began to cramp.

“……”

Feeling a strange unease, she wrapped one hand around her stomach and raised her eyes a bit more. The moment she took in his face, she coughed abruptly.

The man had a presence more pronounced than the bright kitchen lights, and he carried a fatal aura that left everyone speechless.

And Seo-hye already knew that mysterious aura.

Just a few days ago, at the hotel…

He was the man she had spent the night with.

“I’m sorry for being late. I’m Won Do-jin.”

The sensually low voice was unmistakably his.

His eyes, dark and decadent compared to his radiant appearance, momentarily settled on Seo-hye.

“!”

As Seo-hye flinched her shoulders greatly, it detached from her with indifference.

Unlike Seo-hye, he went and sat down with a colorless face devoid of any emotional disturbance.

While Hwa-woong spoke to him, Seo-hye felt as if her heart might burst through her skin, unable to breathe properly.

His pretending not to know her felt like the calm before the storm.

“Hello, Do-jin, I’m Hae-mi.”

And at the moment Hae-mi’s shy voice, which she had forgotten, pierced her ears, Seo-hye’s hands began to tremble.

“I wanted to meet you earlier, Do-jin, but since you’ve been in the United States, I’m only seeing you now. We don’t have much time until the wedding compared to others, so let’s meet often. Tomorrow is fine too.”

Instead of the unresponsive Do-jin, Chairman Won praised Hae-mi’s sociability.

Throughout the meal, the only ones not smiling were Seo-hye and Do-jin.

Seo-hye felt like she was going crazy.

The fear that everything would be over if discovered, the despair that the man who had given her a brief warmth, other than her mother, was ultimately her sister’s fiancé.

The rice she barely swallowed and these emotions intertwined, causing her stomach to twist painfully.

She pressed her upper abdomen with her small hand, praying over and over for this time to pass quickly.

But then.

“It’s about the painting you gifted.”

For the first time, Do-jin spoke.

Despair filled Seo-hye’s pupils in an instant.

“…No, it’s not abuse, more like exploitation of talent….”

The secret she had confided in him turned into a noose, tightening around her neck once more.

“I’d like to hear directly from the artist about the meaning contained in the painting. It seems like a very splendid piece.”

Hwa-woong began to ramble with a hearty laugh.

“For an old man like me, I paint landscapes hoping that busy modern people can take a moment to enjoy a scenery where they can imagine living leisurely, even if only in their hearts.”

He was merely listing the meanings of the landscape painting.

“The landscape painting sent to our future grandson-in-law is particularly grand with a magnificent scenery, isn’t it? I painted it that way because, as you are a person of great capacity, I hope you find leisure more often.”

Hwa-woong’s plausible flattery filled the kitchen with harmonious laughter.

However, Do-jin simply drank his wine and set it down, his face growing a bit colder.

“So, it doesn’t contain a sorrow meaning, enough to make the viewer cry?”

“Sorrow? Haha, if anything, it embodies the pursuit of ideals and joy. The viewer won’t cry but will smile broadly.”

Do-jin laughed softly. Everyone might have taken it as a pleasant thank you, but Seo-hye knew otherwise.

That night, if he believed what she had said, he would think the gifted painting wasn’t drawn by Hwa-woong, and he would consider that this family was mocking him.

Her mouth went dry with fear that he might even bring up having met her.

If what happened between them was revealed, not only Hae-mi but also an enraged Hwa-woong would stop her mother’s treatment.

Just as Seo-hye was about to bury her despairing face further down,

“The reason Seonghan wants to form an in-law relationship with the artist is solely because of the value of this artist alone.”

With Do-jin’s remark, the atmosphere suddenly turned bleak.

“If this artist were to join the Seonghan Art Foundation through an in-law relationship, what more appropriate equivalent exchange could there be? In the art field these days, he is the most influential person among the younger generation.”

Everyone’s expressions hardened like stone as they mulled over whether they had heard wrong.

“However, I don’t want to go through with this marriage.”

“Do-jin, you… right now!”

Eung-soo shouted in anger, but Do-jin was unfazed.

“That said, I can’t marry the elderly artist, and if I back out, my old man will surely collapse.”

Faces filled with astonishment were afraid to hear what he might say next.

“If I must, I will choose the person to become my wife. I think the younger sister sitting over there would be nice.”

When his gaze turned to Seo-hye, a lightning bolt seemed to strike in the silent air. Everyone’s faces froze as if hit by lightning.

“Why are you so surprised?”

Even after turning the atmosphere upside down, his steady voice remained calm.

“If I have to do it anyway, I’d rather marry a woman I find more appealing.”

He made it clear that he held the upper hand in this marriage.

“Whether it’s the first granddaughter or the second, it doesn’t matter, right, artist?”

At Do-jin’s question, Hwa-woong’s lips trembled uncontrollably.

“Well, that, that child is…!”

Before Hwa-woong could finish his answer, Eung-soo roughly pulled his chair back and stood up, leaving the kitchen with a furious face.

Do-jin’s gaze returned to Seo-hye, who had turned pale as if she were ill.

“Young master, the Chairman wishes to see you.”

But just then, Eung-soo’s secretary called for Do-jin, and he buttoned his jacket as he rose from his seat, leaving behind a desolate silence, as if a typhoon had swept through.

***

As soon as Do-jin stepped out of the gate and into the Chairman’s car, an ear-splitting shout erupted.

“How dare you disgrace me?!”

“……”

“I should have known when you suddenly agreed to come here so compliantly! And what? The second one?! Of all choices, you pick a girl with no background…!!”

“……”

“What we need is a traditional! Pure! Lineage in the art world! That worthless household is only useful for its tradition! I will never accept a bastard who hasn’t properly inherited even that tradition, so know this!”

Do-jin, who had been listening quietly, slowly opened his lips.

“If I get married, I’ll have to have children, won’t I?”

“…What… did you say?”

“Unfortunately, the first one doesn’t interest me. But the second one, well, even just meeting her eyes does.”

Do-jin’s gaze lazily dropped downward.

Following that gaze, Eung-soo couldn’t help but let the words “crazy bastard” slip out of his mouth.