Chapter 2 (Part 3)

She had been like that for quite a long time.

It was only after a long time that she realized the room was shrouded in darkness, and she hurriedly got up to grope for the lamp.

It was already past six-thirty.

By now, they were probably all having dinner together at the hotel with that man.

Apologizing for yesterday’s events and enjoying luxurious dishes in a harmonious atmosphere.

“Sigh.”

Disliking even the thought of it, she left the room to drink cold water and calm her troubled mind.

As she went down to the first floor, Mr. Kim, who was in the living room, spoke to her.

“All the maids have left for the day. Please take care of your own meal.”

Mr. Kim’s tone was curt, but it didn’t carry any hostility.

Seo-hye was about to head to the kitchen when she remembered something and stopped to call out to him.

“Mr. Kim. I haven’t washed the handkerchief yet. I’ll give it to you as soon as it’s cleaned. Thank you for yesterday.”

“Yes.”

Hearing his concise reply, Seo-hye turned away again.

“Miss.”

But this time, he called Seo-hye back.

Seo-hye turned around to look at him again. His hair, similar in age to the late Hwa-jun, was now sprinkled with gray.

He couldn’t be more than in his early fifties. Well, Mr. Kim had to attend to Hwa-woong, run Hae-mi’s nonsensical errands, and keep an eye on her. He must have many unspeakable troubles.

“Yes. Do you have something to say?”

He hesitated, biting his lower lip gently before releasing it and meeting her gaze again.

“May I ask if you plan to stay in this house even after Kim Hyo-young passes away?”

Seo-hye’s brow furrowed deeply. She pondered what she was hearing from someone who was supposed to be monitoring her.

Of course, she planned to leave this house once her mother passed away. She would run away without looking back.

“…I haven’t thought about it since my mother is still alive. Why do you ask?”

“It’s nothing.”

Leaving only discomfort behind, he stood up and headed to his room.

Just as Seo-hye’s suspicious gaze was fixed on the back of his head, the intercom rang.

Mr. Kim stopped and turned towards the intercom.

The family was dining with Do-jin now, so who could be visiting at this hour?

Seo-hye watched Mr. Kim closely, filled with curiosity.

“!”

Mr. Kim was startled when he identified the visitor, causing Seo-hye to flinch in response.

“Miss, miss!”

“Well… it seems to be the grandson of Chairman Seonghan.”

Seo-hye’s eyebrows shot up sharply.

In the meantime, the intercom rang once more, and Mr. Kim went outside for a moment.

Soon after, Mr. Kim returned, followed by a man.

“…Ah….”

Seo-hye’s lips slowly parted in surprise. The man’s gaze pierced into her open mouth as if it would dig right in.

Seo-hye quickly closed her mouth and looked behind him.

She wondered if the location had changed and he had come with Hwa-woong and the family, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

The man was alone.

“……Miss.”

When Mr. Kim called her in a troubled manner, the man instead spoke to Mr. Kim.

“If you don’t want to be the cause of breaking off the marriage, you should quietly rest.”

Mr. Kim let out a groan and instinctively took a step back.

Since he had been warned that the moment he informed Hwa-woong of his visit, the blame for breaking off the marriage would fall on Mr. Kim. He pursed his lips and tried to hide his presence as much as possible.

Watching this brief hierarchy play out, Seo-hye felt that Mr. Kim’s stature seemed smaller than usual, and she even felt a bit sorry for him.

“Rest. I’ll leave in thirty minutes.”

Do-jin gestured toward the sofa with his chin.

He was someone accustomed to instructing those older than himself.

As Mr. Kim hesitantly headed to the sofa, Do-jin’s gaze shifted to Seo-hye.

“Where’s your room?”

“Over there.”

“It’s not ‘over there,’ it’s Won Do-jin.”

At his gentle correction, Seo-hye shrank her shoulders.

“Even though you know something deeper, it seems you don’t know my name.”

W-what is this man saying with Mr. Kim right there?

With a face drained of color, she stepped back.

Watching her retreat step by step with interest, he suddenly reached out and grabbed her waist.

Startled by his strong grip, she let out a gasp, and soon found herself pressed closely against him.

“Crazy…”

She was so surprised that a curse slipped out.

He let out a low chuckle.

“Cursing, quite a fierce greeting.”

When Seo-hye looked up at him with a frightened face, he quickly lowered his head.

His heavy scent filled her nostrils, making it hard to breathe.

“Where is it, your room?”

As his murmuring voice cracked at the end, a strange sensual sensation clung thickly to her ears.

She rubbed her ears against her raised shoulders and pointed to the stairs with her fingertip.

“Ah. The, the second floor….”

He took Seo-hye’s hand. If she lost her mind, it was so tenderly intertwined that she could mistake it for a lover’s, making her feel like a fool for a moment.

When she came to her senses, she found herself entering her room on the second floor.

Just as she was about to call his name in a panic, the door slammed shut.

He trapped her between the door and himself, looking down at her.

“Ah… wait a minute. You said you wanted to have dinner. They went to the hotel, my grandfather and sister.”

“They’re probably having dinner with my secretary.”

“…What did you say?”

“If I asked you to come out, you’d be too scared to come out, wouldn’t you?”

A dark gaze settled directly on her.

“I need to see you. I want to see your face.”

“……”

“I also need to do more than that.”

Her thoughts tangled like a skein of yarn.

She couldn’t understand a word of what this man was saying.

“I moved your family out of the way for a bit because I thought you might be too stupid to come out, worrying about their eyes. Do you understand?”

Seo-hye’s lips moved like a goldfish, opening and closing repeatedly.

But no sound of protest came out.

How could there be such an outrageous person?

In the end, wasn’t it that Hwa-woong, Hae-mi, and Chae-seon were all played by this man?

“……Why did you do such a thing?”

“Do you want the painting?”

At the sudden change of topic, Seo-hye’s eyes widened.

“The painting hanging in the hotel. Do you want it? I was thinking of giving it to you.”

A wave of contemplation surged violently in her eyes.

“Since it’s a gift I received, no one will know if I secretly give it to you.”

Her lips moved quickly, unable to resist the irresistible temptation.

“……You have a lot of money?”

He furrowed his brows, pondering her question, then laughed a beat later.

“Yes. And if I have a lot of money?”

“You can buy other paintings…. So please give me the painting hanging in the hotel. I want it.”

“Then what do I get in return?”

“What…”

“……”

“What do you want?”

Seo-hye was excited just by the possibility of obtaining the painting she had completely lost.

It was a painting she had painstakingly drawn for her sick mother.

A painting she had clung to for a long time, grinding ink and changing water every night so that greedy Hwa-woong wouldn’t find it.

Even earlier, when she picked up the brush, she became even more desperate, as there was no guarantee she could paint as well as that painting.

“I worked at the academy for a year without pay. So I can’t give you money right now.”

“……”

“But if what you want is money, I’ll pay you back, even if it takes years. Name your price.”

“If you say you’ll marry me.”

“……What?”

“Just promise. Then I’ll give you the painting. It doesn’t matter if you promise here and then change your mind later.”

Ever since he told her to pick up the cigarette butt, she felt that this man was clearly not in his right mind.

Saying it doesn’t matter if she changes her mind after saying she will marry him? Is he someone who only cares about the current mood?

“Anyway, Chairman will push for a marriage with Artist Lee’s family. In that case, I should marry you, Lee Seo-hye.”

“……”

“If you agree, everything will be resolved.”

“……”

“So answer me. If you say you’ll marry me, I can be more assertive.”

At his relaxed tone, Seo-hye’s mouth went dry.

What should I do? Since he said I can change my mind, should I just say I’ll marry him and get the painting first?

In the meantime, he closed the distance by a span. As their abdomens completely touched, her mind became even more dazed.

She exhaled with some difficulty, caught in a strange feeling, and said,

“……I-I’ll do it. Give it to me.”

After all, words can be taken back.

To give the painting to her mother, who didn’t have much time left, she decided it would be much faster to appease this man and get the painting back than to paint it again.

“Then go lie down.”