Han Seo-hoo paid almost no attention to the crowd gathering around him like drifting clouds.

Instead, he kept his gaze fixed solely on Da-hye, leisurely sipping his wine with composed ease.

“Vice President Han, fancy seeing you here!”

“It’s been a while. We met at the UJ Hotel anniversary event before. Do you perhaps remember me?”

Influential figures surrounded him from every direction.

Every single one of them was a renowned name in the business world.

Chairmen old enough to be his father—or even grandfather—approached him one after another, bowing respectfully as they greeted him.

Seeing that, Da-hye realized the rumors calling Han Seo-hoo one of the true powers of the corporate world were not exaggerated at all.

“Yes. Good evening.”

Only then did Seo-hoo casually turn toward the chairmen greeting him and give a slight nod.

At just a few words from him, business cards immediately appeared from all directions and were eagerly offered into his hands.

It almost looked like desperate attempts to win even the smallest fragment of his attention.

He appeared somewhat young to already hold the title of vice president, yet the atmosphere surrounding him was overwhelmingly commanding.

Perhaps that was why even among so many distinguished figures, Han Seo-hoo stood out the most.

“What are you staring at so intently, Da-hye? Team Leader Kang must be hungry. Hurry and put some food on a plate for him.”

Da-hye, who had been silently watching Seo-hoo with an unreadable expression, finally turned her head at Jooho’s words.

“That won’t be necessary. First, I should greet your acquaintances properly, Professor.”

At that, Ji-hoon gently took Da-hye’s hand and looked down at her warmly.

Today, he needed to firmly establish himself in front of Jooho’s associates as Da-hye’s fiancé.

Because to Ji-hoon, this engagement with Da-hye was an opportunity to earn the complete trust of his father—the man who held absolute control over all management rights within Samyoung Trading.

And Da-hye had known from the beginning that Ji-hoon had never agreed to this engagement without expecting something in return.

After all, if a mere research team leader at Samyoung Trading became engaged to Kyung Da-hye, he would be able to rise above his many siblings and take control of the management division.

Still, Da-hye had not believed that was the only reason Ji-hoon agreed to marry her.

Because every time he treated her with devotion and care, those suspicions slowly faded from her mind one by one.

‘Which face is the real Kang Ji-hoon?’

Staring at him with a stiffened expression, Da-hye eventually lowered her gaze.

“Shall we go then? Come along. I’ll introduce you properly. Ah! Dr. Kim…! Our Team Leader Kang is here, so come say hello for a moment.”

With an excited face, Jooho gestured for Ji-hoon to follow and began walking away.

Ji-hoon lightly patted Da-hye’s shoulder before bending toward her.

“I’ll be right back. You’ll be okay on your own, right?”

But Da-hye said nothing.

She merely stared blankly at the table in silence.

“Da-hye……. Are you feeling unwell?”

Ji-hoon asked worriedly, his brows knitting together.

“No.”

Da-hye shook her head and answered briefly.

“Then… are you upset because I was late?”

“……”

“Haha, I’m sorry. I’ll hurry more next time. Don’t be mad, okay?”

With the same gentle, considerate smile he always wore, Ji-hoon finally turned away.

The sigh she had been desperately holding back escaped the moment he left her side.

“Haah…”

The shoulder he had touched seemed to ache unpleasantly.

Biting down on her lip with a conflicted expression, Da-hye turned her head—

“…!”

—and met Seo-hoo’s gaze once again.

Even while speaking with the people gathered around him, Seo-hoo had still been watching her.

“Handle it, huh. Well, it’s practically comparable to a traffic accident.”

The words he had spoken earlier resurfaced in her mind.

That low, refined voice overflowing with leisure and composure.

In an instant, heat rushed through Da-hye’s entire body.

She suddenly felt embarrassed for boldly declaring that she would handle everything herself and asking him to keep it secret.

Seo-hoo must have witnessed every second of her pathetic inability to say a single word to Ji-hoon.

Her face burned red.

But soon, Seo-hoo’s gaze drifted away again.

Wearing a perfectly polite smile, he calmly looked over the people surrounding him.

After staring at him absentmindedly for a moment longer, Da-hye also turned away and tightly gripped her glass of water.

***

Though she did not even enjoy wine, she had emptied several glasses in succession, leaving her stomach churning unpleasantly.

Even sitting still, the image of Hyejung and Ji-hoon kissing replayed endlessly in her mind, tormenting her.

Instead of remaining on the sixth floor where the exhibition was still in full swing, Da-hye escaped one floor below to avoid people’s eyes and stood blankly before the restroom sink, replaying everything that had happened to her.

“Kyung Hyejung…… since when? Since when exactly…….”

With unfocused eyes, she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

“If she’s really pregnant… then that disgusting affair must’ve been going on for a long time.”

Though some of her makeup had smudged, she lacked even the strength to fix it.

She simply let out a helpless sigh while blankly staring into the mirror when—

“Ah, so when exactly are you sending her away again?!”

A familiar voice suddenly echoed from somewhere in the distance.

Instantly, Da-hye hurriedly turned off the restroom light.

Then she pressed herself flat against the wall and stared into the dark hallway.

“I told you to wait a little longer, didn’t I? Hmm?”

“How much longer am I supposed to just keep waiting?!”

Holding her breath, Da-hye listened carefully as the two voices slowly drew closer.

Hyejung and Jinhee.

Da-hye sharpened her hearing instinctively.

“Right now Kang Ji-hoon’s practically glued to your father’s side, introducing himself everywhere as Kyung Da-hye’s fiancé.”

“……”

“So what happens if we send Kyung Da-hye back overseas now? We need to cleanly wrap up that awkward relationship with Ji-hoon first before sending her away.”

At the conversation drifting toward her, Da-hye’s body stiffened all over again.

“What if Ji-hoon really does end up getting engaged to that b*tch?! What about the baby in my stomach?!”

“Lower your voice. Has Team Leader Kang lost his mind? Why would he actually marry her?”

The two women leisurely passed by the restroom and headed toward the end of the hallway.

Da-hye silently watched them before slowly following after them.

“Father wants Kyung Da-hye as his daughter-in-law, not me.”

“That’s only because she’s your father’s biological daughter. He’s worried Professor Kyung’s assets might end up going to Kyung Da-hye, so he picked her as the engagement partner.”

“……”

“But once they realize that’s not actually the case, they’ll immediately want to switch the engagement to you instead. And Chairman Kang is obsessed with grandchildren, so once he hears you’re pregnant, he’ll be even happier.”

What exactly did those words mean?

Biting down hard on her lip, Da-hye stared fixedly at their backs.

Their footsteps toward the emergency exit were growing faster.

“Still… she is Dad’s real daughter. No matter how much more Dad loves me, I’m still not actually his blood……”

Hyejung’s shoulders drooped gloomily.

At that, Jinhee grabbed her wrist and stopped in front of the emergency exit door.

At the same moment, Da-hye hurriedly hid herself deeper into the corner.

“What is this, the Joseon era? Who cares about bloodlines? Money matters more than blood.”

Jinhee shot Hyejung an almost playful look before continuing.

“Once they find out all of Professor Kyung’s assets are under your name and mine, they’ll realize Kyung Da-hye is nothing more than a daughter in title.”

“You think so……?”

“Of course! Besides, we’ve already gotten our hands on that b*tch Seungmi’s assets too. Once Chairman Kang gradually learns how pitiful Kyung Da-hye’s actual situation is, he’ll change his mind immediately.”

At that instant, Da-hye’s heart dropped violently.

All of her father’s assets were under their names?

And beyond that, how had her mother’s assets ended up in their hands too?

Her entire world did not merely collapse.

It felt as though the sky itself had shattered into pieces and come crashing mercilessly down upon her.

Her vision went white.

The shock slamming into the back of her head was even greater than when she had witnessed Ji-hoon and Hyejung kissing earlier.

“Actually… I already told Ji-hoon that Dad transferred the Gangnam building that used to be under our family’s and that woman’s name over to mine.”

“Good. Keep slipping things like that into conversation little by little. Make it naturally reach Chairman Kang’s ears so he understands your position in that household.”

Da-hye nearly screamed aloud.

The strength drained from the hand bracing herself against the wall, and she slowly collapsed onto the floor.

‘…Why is the house I lived in with Mom—and the building under her name—in Kyung Hyejung’s possession?’

The home the three of them now lived in had been personally designed by her mother.

Every detail of the interior had been filled with Seungmi’s care and devotion.

Even the trees in the garden had been personally chosen and planted by her mother.

It was a place overflowing with her warmth and love.

And Da-hye herself had been born there, growing up surrounded by precious memories with her mother until the day Seungmi died in that accident.

To both her mother and herself, that home carried immeasurable meaning.

Yet now—that precious home belonged to Kyung Hyejung.

It was something she had never even imagined possible.

“Chairman Kang only chose Kyung Da-hye as Team Leader Kang’s fiancée because he mistakenly believes she monopolizes your father’s affection.”

“…So. When are we sending her back? To France.”

“Soon. Just wait a little longer.”

“I’m so sick of her! I hate seeing her in our house! I can’t stand sharing the same space with her!”

“I hate it too. Do you think I’m staying quiet because I enjoy this?”

Jinhee let out a mocking laugh and tightly held Hyejung’s hand.

“I’ve already talked your father’s ear off about it.”

“Telling him to send Kyung Da-hye away again?”

“Mm. We already agreed to send her back to France in a month regardless of the engagement. Once she leaves this time, she probably won’t ever set foot in Korea again.”

“Really? Huh? Really?”

“Yes. So stop worrying and just keep a tight hold on Team Leader Kang. Take good care of yourself and the baby.”

Listening to their conversation, Da-hye lowered her head and let out a hollow laugh.

“Chairman Kang said that the moment Team Leader Kang officially becomes connected to our family, he’ll immediately hand over the director position to him. And the second he secures that position, he’ll cleanly cut ties with Kyung Da-hye.”

“Mm.”

“You just need to marry Team Leader Kang, become a good wife who supports her husband and takes care of her father-in-law properly. Then the shares of Samyoung Trading will eventually become yours too.”

“Of course. I’m going to do incredibly well. Director? That’s nothing. I’m going to make my Ji-hoon sit in the vice president’s chair someday.”

Watching Hyejung quietly burn with ambition, Jinhee smiled with satisfaction.

“That’s right. That’s my daughter. If you take after me, you’ll succeed.”

At those words, Da-hye—still crouched in the darkness—slowly lifted her head.

“Look at your mother. Do you know how many years I spent trying to take Professor Kyung for myself?”

Da-hye’s eyes widened.

Without realizing it, her head slowly turned toward where the two women stood.

“Seungmi, that pathetic b*tch…Do you have any idea how hard I worked to tear her away from Professor Kyung? I pushed and pushed, but she clung to him like a parasite until the very end. No matter how humiliated she was, she refused to let him go. Honestly, if that accident hadn’t happened, she’d probably still be refusing to divorce him by now.”

“Seriously, that woman was insane. She knew perfectly well that my step-father was sleeping with you, Mom, yet she still endured everything. I don’t understand how someone could be that desperate.”

“Exactly. When a person’s heart becomes that twisted and obsessive, they’re bound to meet a miserable end sooner or later. Still, who would have thought she’d die in such a pathetic way? Honestly, it suits her.”

Slowly, Da-hye rose to her feet.

“But in the end, you still got Dad, Mom, didn’t you? That makes you the winner.”

“Then you make sure to become the mistress of Samyoung too. Understand?”

Watching the two women laugh together, Da-hye’s eyes turned bloodshot red.

They were not human.

They were devils wearing human skin.