There was no reason for her to be overly shocked.

Everyone attending today’s event was acquainted with her father and already knew the circumstances surrounding her family.

Naturally, they would know both Ji-hoon and Hyejung by face.

And the relationship between Ji-hoon and herself was also something widely known.

But now, everything had changed.

Because she had discovered the filthy secret hidden beneath that seemingly ordinary relationship.

And she had discovered it alongside a man she had never met before.

“I’d appreciate it… if you pretended not to know.”

It unsettled her deeply, feeling as though this stranger had suddenly witnessed the most shameful part of her life.

And shame could easily become weakness.

More than anything, Da-hye did not want this matter becoming public knowledge.

At least until she fully understood the situation and resolved it with her own hands, she wanted no one—not even her father—to know the truth.

And she especially wanted to keep hidden the fact that she knew about the two of them.

“…Please.”

Lowering her chin slightly, she spoke quietly.

“Hmm.”

Yet instead of answering, the man merely released a low breath.

Every second spent staring down at his polished black shoes felt unbearably long, like an entire hour passing.

She waited anxiously for his response, tension tightening through her body when the man suddenly stepped even closer.

“A favor?”

The corners of his voice lifted softly.

“Do you even know who I am?”

At the unexpected question, Da-hye’s eyes trembled as she slowly looked up at him.

Up close, his eyes carried a strangely captivating color.

From afar, they had seemed nothing more than pitch-black, too dark to discern any depth within them.

But now that she stood before him, Da-hye could see a faint indigo hue shimmering beneath the black.

He was beautiful.

Beautiful enough to make her wonder whether a man was even allowed to look like that.

Elegant. Refined. Almost unreal.

Instead of answering, Da-hye slowly shook her head.

Because she truly did not know who the man standing before her was.

“You’re making requests without even knowing who I am?”

At that, the man let out a faint, amused breath and slowly moved the hand resting at his side.

Watching him nervously, Da-hye flinched slightly.

“…!”

For some reason, even his smallest movements made her body react sensitively.

Seeing that, the corners of his lips curved lightly upward.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m not a bad person.”

“…Pardon?”

“Here.”

The man pulled a silver case from inside his jacket and handed her a business card.

Accepting it, Da-hye’s eyes immediately fixed upon the name engraved clearly across the card.

Han Seo-hoo.

Yet despite his words telling her not to be afraid, Da-hye could not relax at all.

If anything, her body only stiffened further.

Because the man before her was just as extraordinary as his appearance suggested.

Han Seo-hoo, Vice President of UJ Electronics, was the third-generation heir of the UJ Group and a rather infamous figure within business circles.

Da-hye had once heard her father mention his name before.

“Vice President Han? His madness is famous. That fearless brat pushed aside all his cousins to take the vice president seat at UJ Electronics, and now they say he’s even aiming for the main headquarters. At this rate, the entire UJ Group might end up in Han Seo-hoo’s hands. What was the phrase people used? Ah right—they say he’s quietly insane. Honestly, it fits perfectly.”

Outwardly, he carried himself with elegance, building a flawless and respectable reputation.

But people said that the moment anything stood in his way, that hidden madness surfaced.

A well-mannered delinquent.

A calm lunatic.

An elegant madman.

Da-hye knew all sorts of rumors followed him.

‘Of all people… it had to be Vice President Han Seo-hoo who saw this.’

Furrowing her brows faintly in discomfort, Da-hye lowered her gaze.

At the sight, Seo-hoo let out a soft laugh.

“Why? Is my name troublesome?”

“Ah. No, not at all. It’s nice to meet you… I’m Kyung Da-hye.”

“……”

“I don’t have a business card yet.”

Carefully slipping his card into her clutch, Da-hye bowed politely.

“I deeply regret that you had to witness something like this, Vice President.”

“……”

“But I sincerely hope you’ll keep what you saw a secret. I would greatly appreciate it.”

Once again, she asked him earnestly.

After quietly watching her for a moment, Seo-hoo finally gave a short nod.

“And if I keep it secret?”

he asked.

Looking directly at him this time, Da-hye answered firmly.

“Then I’ll handle it myself.”

For a brief moment, something flickered within his otherwise calm eyes.

“Handle it.”

An amused smile spread slowly across Seo-hoo’s lips.

“Well, I suppose that’s the right word. It’s practically comparable to a traffic accident.”

Murmuring the words almost to himself, Seo-hoo stared down at her increasingly pale face before speaking again.

“And a hit-and-run, no less. Don’t you agree?”

Tilting his head slightly, he spoke as though asking for her agreement.

At that moment, the sharp line of his jaw—clean as though carved by a blade—caught the light and seemed to gleam faintly.

Biting lightly against her lip, Da-hye lowered her gaze again.

“Please keep it secret until then, Vice President.”

Feeling as though she could not leave without hearing a definite answer from him, Da-hye remained standing stiffly in place, as though her feet had been nailed to the floor.

“Is that all you need from me?”

Soon, Seo-hoo’s voice drifted toward her.

The deep tone rolling low from his throat was rich enough to make her chest tremble strangely.

“…Pardon?”

“The secret. I was wondering if that’s truly the only thing you need me to do.”

The faint trace of amusement lingering around his lips disappeared completely.

Though he spoke politely, there was an undeniable pressure in the atmosphere surrounding him.

Silently, Seo-hoo’s gaze swept over her eyes, nose, and lips before he gave a slow nod.

The moment he agreed so easily, the tension that had frozen her entire body seemed to melt away little by little.

“Very well.”

“…Thank you.”

“However, Miss Da-hye.”

She thought the conversation had ended, but Seo-hoo called out to her once more.

Having just begun to step away, Da-hye slowly looked back up at him.

“If something else comes up that you need me to handle, contact me.”

The unexpected words blanked her mind for a moment.

At the same time, Seo-hoo smiled again and lightly tapped near the corner of his eye with his index finger.

“If you need CCTV footage, let me know. It was all captured very clearly here.”

Even as he leisurely turned away, that subtle smile still lingered at the corners of his lips.

And strangely enough, as Da-hye watched him leave, the stiffness that had locked her body slowly melted away.

***

“Da-hye! I’m a little late, right? Sorry, sorry.”

From afar, Ji-hoon came hurrying toward her.

What exactly had just happened to her?

Quietly replaying the sight of Ji-hoon and Hyejung whispering and kissing in the emergency stairwell, Da-hye slowly lifted her head at the sound of his voice.

“Ah. The ceremony already started.”

Pressing a hand to his forehead, Ji-hoon wore an apologetic expression.

How was she supposed to look at this man from now on?

That thought suddenly overwhelmed everything else.

Unable to answer, Da-hye merely stared blankly down at the table.

Completely unaware of anything, Ji-hoon gently placed a hand on her shoulder and bent slightly toward her.

“Are you upset…, Da-hye?”

At that moment, Da-hye found herself staring at his lips.

Those same lips that had hungrily devoured Hyejung in the stairwell only moments ago.

“Are you crazy? Why would I do anything with a boring idiot like her? I already told you—I’m just going to use her and throw her away.”

“She just looked like some pretty decorative object. I wasn’t attracted to her at all.”

Those were the lips that had spoken such cruel words she could scarcely believe her ears.

Da-hye’s body trembled violently.

The back of her head still felt numb, as though someone had struck her so hard a gaping hole had been left behind.

From the beginning, theirs had been a strategic engagement arranged between families rather than a relationship built on love, so the possibility of him seeing another woman was not what shocked her most.

But the fact that the woman was her own stepsister, that changed everything.

With that gentle, sincere-looking face.

Knowing he had been secretly holding hands with her stepsister while planning to betray her all along made her feel as though her entire world was collapsing.

And the fact that Hyejung—whom Da-hye had genuinely tried to accept and care for like a real older sister—had maintained such a filthy relationship behind her back…

That alone was horrifying enough.

But they even had a child together.

“Da-hye? Haha, what is it…? Is there something on my face?”

When Da-hye continued staring silently at his lips, Ji-hoon laughed awkwardly and touched his cheek.

Without a word, Da-hye slowly shook her head and quietly pushed away the hand resting on her shoulder.

It was the same disgusting hand that had shamelessly groped Hyejung’s waist and hips.

The thought alone made nausea surge violently through her.

Feeling sick to her stomach, Da-hye hurriedly swallowed a mouthful of cold water.

If she could, she wanted to grab Ji-hoon by the collar right that instant and humiliate him in front of everyone.

“Oh, you’re here? Team Leader Kang?”

But Da-hye could not act so recklessly.

The moment Jooho spotted Ji-hoon from afar, he immediately approached them with bright steps.

Today was an important day—the day marking the conclusion of her father’s lifelong career in Oriental studies.

She could not ruin such a meaningful occasion because of herself.

And more than that, acting impulsively now was not the right choice.

For the moment, she had to endure it.

Suppressing the violent emotions threatening to burst out of her, Da-hye turned toward Jooho.

“Team Leader Kang, why are you so late? Do you know how long we’ve been looking for you?”

Smiling warmly, Jooho clasped Ji-hoon’s hand.

“I apologize, Professor. The traffic was terrible……”

Trailing off, Ji-hoon cautiously glanced at Da-hye’s expression.

At that moment, from the distance, Hyejung emerged from the restroom while adjusting her clothes.

Da-hye’s gaze instinctively drifted toward her.

After leisurely looking in Ji-hoon’s direction, Hyejung slowly began walking over.

“……”

Then, the moment her eyes met Da-hye’s, she deliberately slowed her steps.

The corners of Hyejung’s lips curled upward strangely as she looked directly back at Da-hye without avoiding her gaze.

Under the lights, her vivid red lips glistened provocatively.

Instantly, Da-hye’s brows twisted sharply.

‘She’s carrying Kang Ji-hoon’s child.’

No matter how many times she thought about it, the situation was utterly absurd.

As if flaunting it openly, Hyejung slipped the lipstick in her hand back into her clutch before slowly pressing her lips together.

Then she curled one corner of her mouth upward in a mocking smile.

Apparently, her lipstick had smeared during that heated kiss with Ji-hoon, and she had gone to the restroom to fix it.

‘So this is how she’s been hinting at it all this time… while stupid me never noticed a thing.’

Her insides churned violently.

She wanted nothing more than to escape this place immediately.

Just as her face flushed red with anguish, someone appeared behind the smirking Hyejung.

“Ah.”

Da-hye’s gaze, once fixed solely on Hyejung, slowly shifted beyond her.

A man stood there holding a half-filled glass of red wine in one hand, watching her with unreadable eyes.

In an instant, elegantly dressed guests flocked around him as though they had been waiting for his arrival.

“Vice President!”

“Vice President Han…!”

The other undeniable center of attention at this celebration hall—

Han Seo-hoo.