Her head was spinning.

An investment of 50 billion won – not a hundred or two hundred, but five hundred. And it wasn’t even a loan with conditions – it was given freely.

An investment without conditions. Even within the family, it felt like a heavy burden.

No matter how wealthy someone was rumored to be – even worth billions – money was precious to everyone. Yuhyeon was no exception.

Her mouth went dry.

However, unlike her, Eunhyuk was full of enthusiasm for the new business venture.

“The hotel may be over 40 years old, but the structure is solid. When we’re done, it will look like a brand new building. And now that we’re flush with cash, I hope to replace all the room furnishings as well.

“The wedding business… sure, it’s a great idea. But the amount of investment is too much.”

Eunhyuk’s expression immediately changed.

“I’m not getting it for free, Noona. I’ll pay it back – with what I earn from now on.”

“I know. But he’s already decided to invest in the Jaewon Group – if we accept his investment on top of that, it might not look good.”

“Do you think I’ll fail?”

Eunhyuk’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just think we have to be careful when it comes to accepting investments.”

“I didn’t want to treat it like a family loan. I wanted it to be a business-to-business deal. But… I didn’t expect you to object.”

“Sorry to take the wind out of your sails. But this really isn’t the right time, Eunhyuk…”

His shoulders slumped.

She felt sorry for him – he had obviously been looking forward to this. But with the previous 10 billion won still unpaid, accepting more money now felt premature.

“If you’re really against it, then I’ll arrange for the investment to be returned. I’ll give instructions to the accounting department.”

“Let’s do the wedding business ourselves. Just by being married to him, the hotel rooms will be booked and the banquet hall reservations will pile up.”

Even though she tried to comfort Eunhyuk, the disappointment didn’t seem to go away easily.

“I understand. But Noona, you have to understand this – this sudden rise in popularity won’t last forever. I heard that your husband has been looking for an office building lately. If he moves his company soon, our hotel won’t have this advantage anymore.”

Soo-min took a deep breath.

“You’re right.”

“I thought this would be a chance to make up for my last mistake… but it is what it is.”

Eunhyuk shrugged.

‘Even if you’re upset, there’s nothing you can do about it, Eunhyuk. The hotel has to grow on its own, without anyone else’s help – only then can we be proud of it. Besides… this is a contract marriage. I don’t want to burden him any more than I already have.’

As she left the CEO’s office and headed for her own, she ran into a team member.

“Director, have you just arrived?”

A team member appeared behind her, dragging some special indoor equipment – a special ladder normally used for arranging flowers in high places.

“Did the flowers wilt?”

“Yes, well… a new employee left the heater on in the banquet hall.”

“Ha…”

A sigh escaped her.

“They dried up completely.”

“Let’s take a look.”

Soo-min went to the banquet hall with the team. When she looked up at the ceiling, the sight that greeted her was drooping, withered flowers and branches, all shriveled and hanging limply.

“What a waste… If we had more time, we could have used artificial flowers… Right?”

“No matter how much of a waste it is, we can’t use artificial flowers.”

“The workers should be here soon.”

It felt like such a shame to just throw away Elena’s arrangement.

“Let’s just replace the baskets. We’ll need more flowers-white roses and hydrangeas, heart pickers too. Oh, and double the usual amount of lisianthus and baby’s breath.”

“Got it! I’ll put the order in.”

It looked like the next few days were going to be busy.

Soo-min rolled up her sleeves and tried to remember the last flower arrangement.

Two hours later, when they were told that the flower truck had arrived, she went with the team to the back garden of the hotel.

Even while unloading the flowers, she couldn’t stop thinking about Eunhyuk who had looked so disappointed earlier.

‘He really wanted to pursue the wedding business… but accepting such a huge investment is just too much.’

She stayed silent and focused on her work, but her heart remained uneasy. She pressed her lips together tightly.

By the time they finished moving the large number of flowers – so many that the entire team had to help – it was lunchtime.

A notification buzzed from the phone in her pocket.

[When she checked the time, it was already noon.

Soo-min finished taking the rest of the flowers to the workshop and went up to the suite.

Lunch for two was set in the living room.

She glanced to the side, almost instinctively.

“What about Ivan?”

“He went out-said he had plans with a friend.”

“He has friends in Korea?”

“The chairman has a wide network. Of course, his children make friends all over the world.”

“Oh, right. I saw some of them at the wedding, but I forgot.”

“Before we eat, there’s something I want you to see first.”

Yuhyeon handed Soo-min a set of documents.

“This is…”

They were the same papers she had seen in Eunhyuk’s office that morning. But this time there was an extra page – an investment agreement.

At the bottom of the clearly written, concise contract was the name Sergie Vasiliev.

Next to it was Eunhyuk’s signature and a blank space for the hotel’s partner.

“You said you heard the gist of it, so I’ll skip the explanation. All that’s left is for you to sign, Ms. Soo-min.”

“No, I can’t accept the investment.”

“But my brother-in-law wants this project to happen.”

“Eunhyuk is still inexperienced in business. Just because he wants it doesn’t mean he should jump into every opportunity, he might seriously regret it later.”

“Is that because of the 10 billion won he lost?”

“……”

She couldn’t argue with such a direct statement. It was true. This whole situation had started because of that failed 10 billion won investment.

One mistake wasn’t enough to define someone’s abilities, but Eunhyuk often made impulsive decisions.

Unlike her cautious attitude, Yuhyeon seemed to have a different perspective when he started to speak.

“No business leader is perfect. It’s natural to fear failure and have doubts before accepting a major investment. But there’s no more foolish decision than letting an opportunity slip through your fingers. That’s the way business works. If you let fear of failure keep you from moving forward, if you keep procrastinating, you’ll stay right where you are. And that means you’ll never succeed.

“Do you ever feel that kind of fear, Yuhyeon?”

“I’m human – I can’t afford to be overconfident. That’s why I always weigh the pros and cons carefully before I make an investment.”

“But… isn’t a 0.01% return way too low? It’s not even comparable to bank interest…”

It was practically the same as giving the money away. Even if he collected interest for a whole year, it probably wouldn’t be enough to cover the cost of one of Yuhyeon’s suits.

“In that case, Clitie Hotel’s shares would be okay, too.”

“Our hotel’s stock isn’t worth much, as you know.”

Clitie had been a neglected subsidiary within the Jaewon Group, and its stock value had been poor.

Even though it had doubled thanks to Yuhyeon’s involvement, no one knew when it might fall again.

“I’m looking at the future value of Clitie Hotel. I have no intention of cashing in anytime soon.”

“……”

“I understand that you want to be cautious, Soo-min, even about things that seem certain. But I’m not an outsider. I’m family. Eunhyuk is my brother-in-law.”

Yuhyeon made it clear that he had no intention of withdrawing the investment.

He had already met with Eunhyuk that morning and signed the contract. Whether she wanted it or not, it looked like another large amount of money was coming in.

“But… the chairman won’t approve it either.”

“Who’s going to stop me from investing my own money?”

“But still…”

“Soo-min, I am much richer than you can imagine.”

“Ah…”

At a slight movement of Yuhyeon’s finger, his secretary stepped forward and handed Soo-min a pen.

She looked back at Yuhyeon.

‘Is this really okay?’

Sure, she could borrow the money using shares as collateral, but she didn’t feel confident standing behind the decision herself.

Still… she couldn’t crush Eunhyuk’s spirit either.

It weighed on her all day.

‘Shouldn’t I at least give him a chance to make up for his past mistake? Just once?’

“Sigh…”

In the end, she signed the document with her hand, but it didn’t feel right.

After she finished signing, the secretary handed the contract to Yuhyeon.

Only then did Yuhyeon smile and pick up his chopsticks.

“I believe in my brother-in-law. He’ll do well. Come on, the food is getting cold. Eat up.”