Without asking for permission, Yang Jin-hee strode confidently across the office and sat down on the sofa. With practised ease, she crossed her legs and removed the scarf around her neck, setting it down carelessly beside her.

“Secretary Ha, could you get me a strong Americano? Add two pumps of vanilla syrup.”

She addressed the nearby secretary as though ordering at a café.

“Yes, madam.”

“Oh, and please make it iced—my throat feels so dry.”

The secretary bowed politely and quickly left the room.

Se-hyeon said nothing. He simply watched her, his gaze cold and unreadable.

Meanwhile, Yang Jin-hee pulled a compact mirror from her bag, checked her reflection, gently pressed her lips together, then took out a lipstick to touch up her makeup.

“So this is the new release. Pretty.”

She murmured, smiling with satisfaction as she rubbed her lips together.

‘What on earth was she trying to do?’

Se-hyeon leaned back in his chair and let out a quiet, mirthless chuckle. He couldn’t hide how absurd he found the whole situation.

Then, without a word, he nodded to Tae-hoon, who was still standing beside him, instructing him to step out.

At that moment, Secretary Ha returned and placed a glass of iced coffee brimming with ice cubes on the table in front of Yang Jin-hee.

“Mmm, thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”

She said sweetly, lifting the cup and taking a loud sip through the straw.

Everything she did was tasteless.

‘You really can’t hide that you used to work at a bar.’

Se-hyeon thought, watching her with a faint smirk of contempt.

Finally, he spoke.

“Looks like you’ve come to a specialty coffee shop. I take it the flavour suits your taste?”

His voice was laced with sarcasm, but she only smiled back at him, flashing her teeth in amusement.

“Right? Secretary Ha really knows how to brew a cup. By the way, does the Executive Director’s office keep vanilla syrup in stock now? The Chairman’s office didn’t have any, so I had to tell them to bring some in.”

“Haahaa”

Se-hyeon couldn’t help but laugh — a sharp, unfiltered chuckle in response to her bold reply.

Ever since Yang Jin-hee was promoted to Executive Director, Se-hyeon had been on high alert, her attempts to keep him in check becoming more obvious by the day.

It was plain as day.

Her own son was still stuck in a low-level team leader position, and she was clearly growing anxious.

As Se-hyeon laughed aloud, Yang Jin-hee narrowed her eyes slightly and continued.

“I’ll keep it brief — I’ve been so busy lately.”

She said, drawing out the words with practised ease.

Slurp.

After taking another noisy sip of her coffee, she reached into her bag and took out a large envelope.

Opening it, she spread its contents out on the table, one sheet at a time.

“The Chairman asked me to help look into potential candidates for you. I’ve personally selected a few excellent women.”

Five documents were laid out in front of him.

Even from a distance, it was clear that they were profiles, each belonging to a different woman.

The documents were practically résumés, complete with photos and neatly organised biographies.

Absolutely laughable.

With his arms crossed, Se-hyeon silently watched Yang Jin-hee continue with her little show.

“If someone catches your eye, just let me know. I’ll arrange a meeting right away.”

“……”

“You’re really going to just sit there and stare like that?”

Yang Jin-hee frowned, clearly disapproving of his silence. However, given the amount of Botox she had had, her eyebrows barely moved. This made her expression look almost grotesque.

Despite the anxious look in her eyes, she still pretended to be composed — how pathetic.

She was desperately trying to advance Woo Se-jun’s career while putting on an act like she wasn’t the least bit concerned.

No matter how devotedly she hovered around Chairman Woo Seung-beom, offering him her heart, soul, and more, the man remained unmoved.

“Our Se-jun, really! You gave him the title of Executive Director the moment he came in? How is that fair?”
“I—I’ll look into it. I’ll find Director Woo a proper match, a good woman. Just leave it to me.”

Se-hyeon had overheard everything.

She had clung to the chairman, shedding crocodile tears, and clearly gained his approval, resulting in this ridiculous parade of bridal candidates.

Se-hyeon let out a quiet scoff.

“If they’re such a good match, why don’t you set them up with Team Leader Woo? I’m not looking to get married anytime soon.”

Yang Jin-hee scowled.

“How old do you think Se-jun is? It’s too soon to be talking about marriage.”

“Oh, but didn’t you say it was such a great opportunity? It seems like your son should take it instead. Wouldn’t it be nice if the older brother made a little sacrifice?”

Se-hyeon’s tone dripped with sarcasm, which went unnoticed. The corners of Yang Jin-hee’s lips twitched slightly as she struggled to hide her reaction.

“Does the Chairman know about the women on the list you brought?”

“I haven’t told him yet. He just asked me to look into it.”

“Ah, I see.”

With that, Se-hyeon stood from his seat and reached for the jacket hanging on the coat rack beside him. He slipped it on smoothly.

“I have a meeting to attend.”

As he walked past the sofa, Yang Jin-hee suddenly sprang up, grabbing her half-empty coffee cup.

Splat.

Without hesitation, she hurled the contents right into his face.

“Ah, f*ck.”

Se-hyeon wiped his face with one hand, glaring furiously, his voice low and simmering.

“The hell did you just say? You arrogant little bastard. I’ve let it slide long enough—do I look like a joke to you?”

“Ma’am.”

Se-hyeon said flatly.

“Wh-what? Ma’am?”

“Yeah. Ma’am.”

The expression on Se-hyeon’s face disappeared. Looking down at Yang Jin-hee, he glared at her and spat out his words as if grinding them between his teeth.

“Playing mother now? You’re a joke.”

At this blunt rebuke, Yang Jin-hee’s cheeks flamed crimson.

“I’m not marrying any woman you choose for me, so drop it.”

“……”

“And don’t you ever barge into my office again! Today is the last time I will let it slide.”

At that moment, Joo Tae-hoon, who had been waiting outside, hurried in.

“Madam, your car is ready. Please follow me.”

“Understood.”

Startled, Yang Jin-hee found herself half-dragged from the room by Tae-hoon. Even as she left, she kept shouting, but Se-hyeon ignored her.

He glanced down at his coffee-soaked suit and exhaled sharply.

He’d played along with her transparent schemes for long enough; watching them any further was intolerable.

“I already have more than enough on my plate.”

He muttered, yanking off his tie in an attempt to calm down. To handle the aftermath of the incident, Se-hyeon moved swiftly and precisely.

He met with the bereaved family multiple times — they were still refusing the autopsy — and tried to reason with them.

He personally inspected the workplace where Mr Cheon had been assigned, the deceased. He also conducted face-to-face interviews with employees from the same department.

While investigating the sudden deaths of two employees, several facts came to light.

Two days before his death, Mr Cheon had broken up with his partner and had reportedly become depressed. The woman in question, Ms Eun, was also employed by the company, and the two had been having an affair.

When Mr Cheon threatened to reveal their relationship to Ms Eun’s spouse, she panicked and allegedly staged his death as an accident.

After uncovering the truth, Se-hyeon issued press releases in an effort to restore the company’s damaged reputation and concluded wage negotiations with the labour union.

By the time the storm had blown over, two whole months had passed in the blink of an eye.

“It looks like you didn’t just mess around overseas.”

 Chairman Woo Seung-beom said, smiling with satisfaction as he looked at Se-hyeon.

He had praised his eldest son endlessly behind his back, always emphasising that he was the true heir.

But now, sitting directly opposite his father, Se-hyeon remained expressionless.

“You’re not getting any younger. Time to start thinking about marriage.”

Seung-beom finally said, bringing up the topic once more. Ever since that explosive confrontation in the office, Yang Jin-hee hadn’t spoken to Se-hyeon at all, not even at home.

Seung-beom was, of course, trying to use this to his advantage to arrange a marriage for Se-hyeon, and he understood that perfectly well. In their world, people made deals like this all the time — it was nothing unusual.

“I’m really not thinking about marriage right now.”

“Your mother chose these women after careful consideration. At least meet them once.”

The chairman pressed, sliding the stack of profiles across the desk again.

A thin, crooked smile tugged at Se-hyeon’s lips. He stared at the papers, then lifted his gaze to his father.

“Who exactly do you mean by ‘my mother’?”

His real mother had died more than twenty years ago, so long ago that he could barely remember her face. He had no interest in hearing another woman given that title.

“My mother’s been gone for decades.”

“Well, after twenty years, you ought to be able to call her ‘Mother’.”

“Stay out of my marriage. I have zero intention of marrying any of the women she chooese.”

Se-hyeon rose, crossed the room, gripped the door handle and paused.

“If you like them so much, why not take one as a concubine? Since she put so much effort into choosing them, they’d suit that role perfectly. I’m sure the other mistresses would get along.”

“You insolent brat! What did you just say?”

“Oh, I’d heard you already have several, Father. I wonder if Madam knows.”

Se-hyeon turned his head, his eyes cold and razor-sharp.

“Use protection, Father. I’m not exactly keen on the idea of getting a new half-sibling at my age. Just imagine the headlines if you died in bed — how embarrassing would that be?”

With a faint scoff, he left the chairman’s office. Angry shouts followed him down the corridor, but he ignored them.

As he walked, he pulled out his phone and muttered.

“It’s me. Meet me tonight — let’s grab a drink.”

A stiff drink was the only remedy for his endless work-related stress. Scowling at his pounding headache, which felt worse than ever, Se-hyeon headed for his office.