“Wow! I haven’t seen you at breakfast for days, hyung.”

Se-jun greeted Se-hyeon and Ji-an with a sly smile as soon as they entered the dining room.

“What kind of wind blew you in this morning?”

At that moment, Woo Seung-beom joined the conversation, glancing at Se-hyeon as he did so.

Yang Jin-hee, who entered the room alongside Seung-beom, swept her gaze up and down Se-hyeon and Ji-an, who were standing side by side.

“Why are you coming down so late, Ji-an?”

“I apologise.”

At Jin-hee’s remark, Ji-an lowered her head politely.

Although the staff had already prepared everything, Ji-an usually came down at least an hour before mealtime to help with the arrangements.

But today, because of Se-hyeon, she had come down late. He hadn’t let her leave the dressing room until he was completely satisfied, which had delayed them until breakfast time.

Fortunately, they had arrived a little earlier than Seung-beom and Jin-hee.

“I delayed her because of my work preparations. Was there something urgent you needed her for?”

Se-hyeon interjected suddenly. Standing beside him, Ji-an glanced up at Seung-beom with wide eyes, then quickly averted her gaze.

As if nothing had happened, Se-hyeon now stood immaculate and composed.

His dark grey suit and perfectly styled hair made him look even more striking than usual.

The wine-coloured tie complemented the suit flawlessly.

“Pick one for me.”

He had insisted that she choose his tie.

Ji-an simply handed him the tie he wore most often.

‘At least you still remember this one.’

He muttered to himself as he tied the knot.

“Let’s eat.”

Cutting off the conversation, Seung-beom spoke sharply, took his seat, and left no room for further chatter. The rest followed suit and sat down.

“Director Woo, keep your Saturday free this week.”

During the heavy silence, when not even the sound of chopsticks could be heard, Jin-hee’s voice broke the tension.

Se-jun frowned and responded.

“What for?”

“I’ve arranged a meeting. She’s the second daughter of Song Construction. The chairman is quite fond of her as well.”

Se-hyeon let out a soft laugh, knowing full well that Jin-hee’s words were deliberately aimed at him. She was flaunting her potential marriage in front of Ji-an, acting as if she didn’t exist.

‘So transparent.’

Se-hyeon ignored their conversation, focusing on his meal while casually stealing glances at Ji-an to make sure she heard everything.

“You’re almost thirty already. It’s time to get married this spring.”

“Come on, I should at least like the person first. I haven’t even seen her face yet, and you’re already telling me to marry her?”

Se-jun grumbled, his irritation clear in his half-mocking tone. Rumour had it that Yang Jin-hee had even visited a famous fortune-teller to find out about Se-jun’s marital fate.

She was obsessively calculating who should become her daughter-in-law. Although Se-jun wasn’t the son of the legal wife, he was still Woo Seung-beom’s second son, and there seemed to be no shortage of women lining up to marry him.

“Feelings grow after marriage. Besides, you can’t chase after love when choosing a spouse.”

These words were aimed squarely at Se-hyeon. When Se-hyeon returned to Korea, Jin-hee deliberately introduced him to women from problematic families, or who she believed she could easily manipulate, all in the name of motherly concern.

“Mother.”

As if anyone didn’t see through her intentions!

Se-hyeon had no intention of dancing to Yang Jin-hee’s tune, so he chose his wife himself.

“Our hyung here has quite the reputation as a romanticist.”

Se-jun, shifting his gaze to Se-hyeon, who was seated opposite him. Ji-an, who had been quietly eating beside Se-hyeon, paused mid-air with her chopsticks.

“You two got married so suddenly, yet you look at her like that? How does someone even manage that?”

Se-jun narrowed his eyes slightly, as if trying to read Se-hyeon’s thoughts. His voice was full of false curiosity.

“You’re handsome and a great actor. You should have just become an actor. You’ve got all the qualifications.”

He laughed loudly and mockingly. The atmosphere instantly turned cold, and Ji-an put down her chopsticks and took a sip of water.

Woo Seung-beom’s child born outside of wedlock.

Whenever Ji-an looked at Se-jun, who was not much younger than herself, an uncontrollable rage would rise within her when she thought of her mother, who had endured the pain of her husband’s affairs and illegitimate children.

“Ugh! Is a dog barking this early in the morning? Why are they so noisy?”

“Come on, hyung. Lighten up. I was just joking.”

Se-jun responded with a sly grin.

“If you’re told to attend a marriage meeting, just go. Why all this talk first thing in the morning?”

Unable to tolerate it any longer, Seung-beom scolded Se-jun sharply. But Se-jun showed no signs of backing down as he continued.

“Father, is there no family you want to form ties with? You still have one son left – make use of me while you can. Of course, if she’s pretty, that’s even better.”

Se-jun spoke sweetly, trying to please Seung-beom as always. Se-jún and Se-hyeon were complete opposites in temperament.

While Se-hyeon was rigid, methodical and precise, Se-jun was sociable and charming, effortlessly winning over those around him.

Even with their father, Seung-beom, Se-jun always spoke with effortless familiarity.

“Darling, just look at him. He always does whatever he’s told. This child has never once troubled me, not even when I was pregnant with him.”

At last, Se-hyeon could no longer hold back. He put down his chopsticks with a sharp clatter, lifted his gaze, and locked eyes with Yang Jin-hee, who was seated beside Se-jun.

“This one seems eager to get pregnant.”

At Se-hyeon’s sudden remark, Ji-an’s eyes widened in surprise. Even Yang Jin-hee, who hadn’t expected him to say such a thing, seemed taken aback for a moment.

“Get pregnant first. That’s your job. You’ll do exactly as I say.”

She could still hear the words Jin-hee had once said to her.

Since she wanted a child so badly, he might as well fulfil that wish.

“If you have time, why don’t you come with us to the hospital? In person.”

Se-hyeon emphasised the last part deliberately, carefully watching Jin-hee’s expression.

After locking eyes with Se-hyeon for a moment, Jin-hee shifted her gaze to Ji-an.

Startled, Ji-an quickly lowered her head.

“I was planning to anyway. You’ve been married for three years now. It’s about time you had a child, don’t you think?”

“That’s exactly why we’re trying now. Father seems to want one as well.”

An invisible tension stretched across the dining table as the two of them exchanged sharp words while masking them with polite smiles.

Ji-an swallowed nervously, feeling like a criminal on trial. She knew perfectly well that Se-hyeon had deliberately brought the subject up because he considered her to be one of Jihee’s people.

‘Is this what it feels like to sit on a bed of nails?’

Ji-an fidgeted uncomfortably, biting down hard on her lip.

“That’s good. People have been gossiping, saying that you’re avoiding having children on purpose.”

Seung-beom, finally breaking the silence. Still locking eyes with Jin-hee, Se-hyeon replied coldly.

“I’m curious what rumours those might be. I’m even more curious to know who’s spreading such nonsense.”

‘Arrogant bastard.’
At Se-hyeon’s blunt sarcasm, dripping with sharp undertones, Jin-hee’s lips twisted.

‘So meticulous—he doesn’t leave even a needle’s gap.’
That’s why she had worked so hard to ruin his marriage: to create a chink in his armour.

But Se-hyeon broke free from her grasp, mocking her efforts. He had the audacity to act as if he owned the world. There wasn’t a single thing about him that pleased her.

She had agonised for so long over how to destroy this seemingly perfect man. But perhaps heaven had finally answered her prayers.

The very blood relative of Se-hyeon’s chosen wife had walked straight into her grasp. Now, she could hold his weakness in the palm of her hand.

Whether Se-hyeon realised it or not, Jin-hee curved her eyes into a mocking smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll personally accompany my daughter-in-law. After all, the future of our family’s bloodline is at stake.”

‘Bloodline huh?’

Se-hyeon gave a faint, sarcastic smile and slowly rose from his seat.

Turning slightly towards Seung-beom, who was sitting at the head of the table, he said:

“I’ll head to work now.”

After offering a polite bow, Se-hyeon left the dining room. Staring blankly after him, Ji-an quickly stood up, bowed, and hurriedly followed him out.

“Is it real or an act? Hard to tell.”

Se-jun muttered, his eyes filled with curiosity as he watched the two of them leave. It had certainly been a complicated breakfast.

After finishing breakfast with Seong-rim, Ji-an quietly slipped out of the house. Fortunately, Yang Jin-hee had a lunch appointment and had gone to her usual shop, enabling Ji-an to leave without arousing suspicion.

She even had to shake off the chauffeur to sneak out — she didn’t want anyone to know who she was meeting.

She had arranged the meeting far from home, in a place where the chances of running into someone she knew were slim.

Thanks to Se-hyeon, her face had become somewhat recognisable, so Ji-an dressed differently from usual.

She pulled a hat low over her face and wore jeans instead of her usual clothes. Instead of a coat, she wore a long padded jacket and wrapped a scarf around her face, covering most of it.

Her large eyes darted around cautiously as she scanned her surroundings.

‘Does this make me look even more suspicious?’

But there was no time to worry about that now.

Seeing nothing unusual, she quickly slipped into a small restaurant specialising in blood sausage soup at the far corner of the marketplace.

“Hey!”

A man who immediately recognised her waved his hand.

Even after all these years, he looked exactly the same — and at the sight of him, Ji-an’s gaze turned cold.