Chapter 3 (Part 1)

Not satisfied with that, Seo-hye dropped her phone onto the desk like a sweet potato just taken out of the fire, staring at it with frightened eyes.

The day before yesterday, Do-jin had personally entered his number into her phone and even pressed the call button, but she hadn’t saved it.

She didn’t believe he would call again, and she was worried that if she saved it and Hae-mi found out, she would be terribly harassed.

So, she didn’t save it out of annoyance.

Moreover, since there had been no contact for two days, she naturally forgot that he had taken her contact information.

Bzzzz-

The phone rang again.

She hesitated whether to answer it or not, but considering his personality from their previous encounters, she figured he wouldn’t stop at just one attempt, so she answered.

“……Yes.”

• Save it now.

Surprised by Do-jin’s words, as if he could see right through her situation, she looked around briefly before answering a beat late.

“I’ll… take care of it myself. It’s my phone, after all.”

• Are you always this prickly?

“Pardon?”

• You didn’t seem that way that day. You were gentle and kind, the Seo-hye from that day.

Her cheeks warmed for a moment. Knowing he was her sister’s fiancé, she wondered how he expected her to remain as gentle as she was that day, making her voice more troubled.

“Why did you call?”

• To ask when you’re coming to pick up the painting.

“……Are you really not going to send it to the place I mentioned?”

• No, I’m not.

He was firm.

She pressed her lips tightly together, then released them as she thought of another way.

“If all goes well, I might be able to go out next week or the week after. I’ll contact you when I can.”

• That’s too far away.

“……”

• In the United States, I was abstinent the whole time, but it was all undone thanks to you, Seo-hye.

She was restless because of his unabashed words.

She stood up from her chair and spun around in place.

• How about it? If I climb over the wall, will you do it with me?

“What?!”

She was so flustered that she raised her voice, then covered her mouth with her other hand.

Instinctively, she glanced out the window. Her eyebrows shot up quickly.

In front of the gate was a black sedan that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar.

In front of it stood a man holding an umbrella, looking up at Seo-hye’s room.

The rain made the street darker than usual, and the man’s face in the black suit was more distinct than usual.

The hand holding Seo-hye’s phone began to tremble slightly.

“……Why did you come?”

• I told you. Because I want to.

She almost let the words “crazy guy” slip out but managed to hold them back.

When Seo-hye didn’t say anything, a faint laugh came through.

The deep laughter resonated particularly well in her ears, making her ears itch and her whole body feel strangely twisted.

“I’m going to hang up.”

• Make sure to save my number. I’ll check.

“Okay. Go inside.”

After taking the phone off her ear, Seo-hye quickly pressed the end button.

Her heart was pounding so fast, it was almost unbearable, as if she’d been caught doing something bad.

She sneaked a glance at the call log to check the call duration.

2 minutes and 40 seconds.

Thinking it was quite long, she decided to save the name.

[Won.]

However, after typing just one part and staring silently at the screen, she pressed the edit button again.

Using just “Won” seemed too familiar.

But she couldn’t write out all three syllables of his name either.

After thinking for a moment, she saved it under the safest name.

***

Mr. Kim, who was fixing a broken wall clock in a corner of the living room, stood up when the intercom rang.

He went to check the screen with an expressionless face and let out a rough breath.

Hae-mi, who was watching TV on the sofa, tapped her shoulder with the remote and asked.

“What’s up? Who is it?”

“Uh, uh, Miss. The grandson of the Seonghan Chairman has arrived.”

“What?!”

Hae-mi exclaimed and jumped off the sofa.

She then knocked on Hwa-woong’s door and went to Chae-seon’s room, banging on the door loudly.

“Mom! Come out! Do-jin is here!”

Having informed the family of Do-jin’s visit, Hae-mi hurriedly went upstairs.

She threw off her loungewear, changed into her most expensive dress, and quickly applied makeup.

She even pressed cushion foundation onto the scratches on her neck and collarbone, which she had scratched badly after drinking last night.

Finally, she sprayed on some perfume and headed downstairs. At that moment, Do-jin was entering the living room.

Chae-seon, who met Do-jin before Hae-mi, quickly threw on a cardigan and welcomed him.

“Oh my, what brings you here without notice? If you’d called, I wouldn’t have been in such attire, haha.”

“It’s fine. By the way, I heard the artist isn’t feeling well.”

“Oh dear, yes. He slipped on the stairs this morning… I believe his arm is fractured. The shock was quite severe, so he’s bedridden. He’s sleeping now, so please, have a seat.”

Chae-seon asked Mr. Kim for tea and then led him to the sofa. Hae-mi quickly ran over and sat right next to Do-jin.

“Do-jin.”

Do-jin gave a small nod before getting to the point.

“Yesterday, I informed the foundation that the artist expressed his intention to participate in the program, so they canceled the other artist, Kim Kang-ha, whom they were in the process of recruiting first.”

“Oh….”

Chae-seon, looking flustered, closed her mouth and glanced at Hwa-woong’s door.

“And today, after the accident involving Artist Lee, I heard they tried to contact Artist Kim Kang-ha again, but it was unsuccessful.”

Chae-seon’s face grew darker, perhaps anxious about what would be said next.

Hae-mi felt the same way.

She was very anxious that Do-jin, who was troubled by Hwa-woong’s retraction, might hold them responsible and cancel the marriage.

“It’s too late to find another famous artist like the two of them, so we’re considering bringing in Seo-hye as a substitute.”

“What?!”

“No way!!!”

Chae-seon and Hae-mi shouted in unison to refuse.

However, Do-jin’s gaze immediately turned fierce.

“Between Ms. Hae-mi and Ms. Seo-hye, who has more talent in painting?”

“That….”

Hae-mi chewed her lip and trailed off.

“I’ll go with the title ‘Granddaughter who inherited the painting skills of Artist Hwa-woong.’ This should suffice as a replacement.”

Hae-mi clenched her fists tightly. She had no alternative to counter his words.

Besides, if they had said no from the beginning, it might have been different. But since it seemed like the program would go awry because of Hwa-woong, it made them look like they were causing a small inconvenience to Seonghan.

But Chae-seon continued to resist until the end.

“I’m sorry, but that child won’t be able to. She attends art academy five days a week.”

“I heard she hasn’t been going to the academy since the day before yesterday.”

“……”

“Do you think I would try to recruit your busy granddaughter without checking something like that?”

Chae-seon and Hae-mi were at a loss for words.

Soon, Hae-mi’s eyes began to swell up red, as if they were about to burst.

It seemed like the marriage partner was going to shift from her to Seo-hye.

It was then.

With a click, the bedroom door opened, and Hwa-woong appeared.

Do-jin stood up and greeted Hwa-woong.

“Artist, are you feeling better?”

“I came out because it was noisy outside, and you’re here… I’m fine. But you’re saying you’ll take Seo-hye instead of me?”

Hwa-woong’s expression was very displeased, but Do-jin explained more clearly.

“Yes, Artist. Since it seems you’ve heard everything, I’ll get straight to the point. Only someone like your granddaughter can carry the title of a talent donation.”

Hwa-woong let out a groan.

The young man was as cunning as could be.

From the first meeting, he tried to assert that he had the upper hand in the marriage.

He invited them to dinner the other day but didn’t even show his face.

Then, he forced participation in the program in a threatening manner. And now, since it’s not working out, he’s dragging Seo-hye into it.

For whose benefit?

If he let Seo-hye go like this, wouldn’t it just be doing a good deed for Seo-hye?

Especially since Do-jin seemed to prefer Seo-hye over Hae-mi. Creating a connection between the two like this would be a disaster.

Hwa-woong wanted to slap himself for pretending to fall down the stairs since morning.

Thinking that Do-jin would back down easily if he injured his arm, he devised a plan, but he ended up getting caught in his own trap.

“……Then I’ll do it in two weeks.”

“I heard you have a crack in your arm. You shouldn’t overdo it, especially since your hands are the most important part. It’s not like you’re pretending to be injured, right?”

When Do-jin’s gaze fell on Hwa-woong’s casted right arm, he flinched.

“Please call Seo-hye. If she says she’ll do it after asking her opinion, we’ll proceed that way.”

The air in the living room turned as cold as ice.