Chapter 06
Manager Min. Min Yu-rim.
Cheonmyeong Department Store, VIP exclusive seller.
She had originally been an aspiring celebrity, an idol trainee. She even made it into a debut lineup but failed, and afterwards, through a relative’s recommendation, she started working at the department store.
“It’s beautiful.”
The item Kang Da-som had ordered was an emerald necklace from the British company Delphinus. In Korea, there was only a single store for it, inside Cheonmyeong Department Store.
It was one of those brands so exclusive that ordinary people wouldn’t even recognize the name.
“It must have been hard to get. Thank you so much.”
Inside the luxury leather case was the Royal Emerald Pendant-K31. Only a hundred were produced worldwide each year, and this one was the thirty-first piece.
“Not at all. I just got lucky. I really didn’t expect the Hong Kong branch to have one.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“It’s my job. No problem at all.”
Manager Min smiled as she fastened the pendant around Da-som’s neck. She knew this necklace better than anyone.
The Hong Kong branch had a canceled reservation, right? So I quickly sent Team Leader Lee to pick it up.
It was the same necklace Jung Ha-na often bragged about wearing. Da-som stood before the mirror.
The diamond-studded chain wrapped around her slender neck, and a large emerald sparkled brilliantly.
Looks like a nouveau riche thing.
Even to her own eyes, it didn’t suit her at all. But whether she realized it or not, Manager Min kept showering her with compliments.
“Would you unfasten it?”
“Oh, yes.”
Coming up behind her, Manager Min moved Da-som’s hair aside and unclasped the necklace. In the mirror, Da-som could see her face reflected.
“By the way, I heard you ranked number one in sales this month? Congratulations.”
“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, miss.”
Before meeting Kang Da-som, Manager Min had been just another average seller.
Sometimes Yoon Sung-hoon would stop by and boost her sales, but she knew well that he had sellers in multiple department stores he rotated around.
Thanks to Da-som spending enormous sums, Min Yu-rim could now walk proudly among colleagues who once looked down on her.
It was like an addictive drug she couldn’t quit—life felt good these days. Even if Da-som showed up an hour late, it didn’t matter. Compared to other customers who might arrive late and then scold her as if it were her fault, Da-som was practically an angel.
She was putting the necklace back into its case when Da-som suddenly spoke.
“But you know, I’m thinking of switching department stores next week.”
“Haha, what are you talking about?”
The hand covering the box trembled. Da-som idly played with her jewel-encrusted nails as she said it casually.
“Because I’m not satisfied here.”
“What? All of a sudden? Did I do something wrong? If something bothers you, please tell me.”
“Really? Can I be honest?”
“O-of course. I’ll do my best to fix it!”
The pleasant mood from earlier had vanished in an instant. Manager Min was so flustered she didn’t even notice that Da-som had switched to speaking down to her.
“Listen, Manager Min.”
“Y-yes, please.”
“I boosted your sales this much, and you still think it’s okay to see my oppa? Don’t you think you’re crossing a line?”
“What do you mean?”
“You enjoy playing around with my brother while dressing me up, huh?”
Da-som let out a dry laugh and leaned in close to her face.
“I-I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Why are you saying this?”
Manager Min’s face turned pale. She sweated coldly, muttering it was a misunderstanding, a false accusation.
A misunderstanding? A false accusation? Not a chance.
It wasn’t Da-som who had noticed.
It was the second woman—Min Yu-rim.
Back when Da-som and Yoon Sung-hoon had been married less than a year, Min Yu-rim had shown up, announcing she was pregnant.
She threatened that unless she was given an apartment in Gangnam, she wouldn’t get rid of the child. In the end, she walked away with both an apartment and land.
While Min Yu-rim rolled her eyes nervously and fidgeted, Da-som remained utterly calm.
Da-som held out her hand.
“Your phone.”
She didn’t need proof. The phone itself was the proof.
“Miss, no matter how much you suspect, this isn’t right—”
“Should I call someone over?”
“…”
“Think I won’t? Really? Better calculate carefully.”
The silence stretched—ten seconds feeling like an hour.
Everyone knew whose side people would take if suspicion fell. Other sellers were like vultures, waiting for Min Yu-rim to fall.
They would secretly rejoice at hearing that Yu-rim, who had gotten arrogant under Da-som’s protection, was exposed for having an affair with Sung-hoon, sending Da-som into a rage.
Yu-rim was at least relieved this was happening inside a private room, just the two of them.
“I-I was wrong. I’m so, so sorry. I’ll never do it again, I swear.”
“Your phone.”
“Hhhhk… please. I’ll do anything, just forgive me this once.”
Forgetting the tightness of her suit skirt, Yu-rim dropped to her knees, sobbing.
Da-som leaned down slightly and touched her cheek. Her hand was icy cold.
“Don’t cry. I didn’t bring this up to yell at you.”
Her tone and expression softened.
“Get up. What if someone walks by and sees? What will they think?”
“I-I really…”
“Or would you rather they see?”
It was essentially a command. Yu-rim staggered back to her feet.
“My brother, Director Kang Young-jun. You know him, right?”
Of course she did. The eldest son of Chairman Kang of UL Cables, the successor to the company.
UL Cables wasn’t a household name, but it specialized in submarine cables. One out of every three submarine cables worldwide was laid by UL, and their technology was more than ten years ahead of competitors.
Kang Young-jun, the chairman’s eldest son, was ranked among the top three richest people in their twenties in Korea.
No high-society seller could possibly not know him.
“If you do what I say, I’ll make Director Kang your exclusive client. Okay?”
Da-som held her hand out again, coaxing her as if she were a child.
Yu-rim’s mind spun, while at the same time, Kang Young-jun’s name flashed wildly in her thoughts.
Though he rarely came to the department store, when he did, the amount he spent in a single visit equaled years’ worth of an average VIP’s purchases.
Yu-rim glanced at Da-som’s outstretched hand. She didn’t even need to ask what it meant.
After some hesitation, she pulled out her phone and fiddled with it.
“You think I don’t know my oppa flirts around with sellers like it’s shopping for merchandise? Do you think you’re the only one I could offer this deal to?”
Yu-rim knew this in her head. From the beginning, he was that kind of man. When Sung-hoon had brought Da-som, she had assumed it wouldn’t last long.
But he kept seeing Da-som, and what’s more, he kept boosting sales under her name.
Compared to her anxious days, waiting for when Sung-hoon might suddenly return to her, the recent surge in sales Da-som brought her had been far too sweet to let go.
“I-I won’t see Representative Yoon again.”
“That goes without saying.”
“Can I really be Director Kang’s exclusive seller?”
“Hasn’t anyone told you? You’re too easy to fool.”
Da-som coaxed her gently.
The phone in Min Yu-rim’s hand finally touched Da-som’s fingertips.
* * *
At the Seonam-dong main house, the Yoon family was in chaos, preparing for Chairman Yoon’s birthday.
“Said he was too busy with work, but look who’s here.”
Leaning against the wall with one hand, Yoon Joon-hwan gave a crooked glance at Yoon Jin-woo. He was the eldest son of the Cheonmyeong Group, Jin-woo’s older brother.
“I skipped last year, so I had to come this year.”
“And the year before that, you came?”
“Ugh, why do you complain whether I come or not? Should I just leave?”
“You came this far, where do you think you’re going? Grandpa waits for you every year on his birthday—if you left after showing up, he’d flip the whole table.”
“Then maybe stop nagging me.”
“Ha, says the one who was told he could never be a celebrity. Who told you to try? Auntie, bring coffee and snacks to the room, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jin-woo sat down in the annex living room that Joon-hwan used. The house had changed so much in the past few years. In this enormous place, Jin-woo felt there was no room that truly belonged to him.
“Where’s little brother?”
“Sung-hoon? Obviously glued to Grandpa’s side all day, fawning as usual. Oh, he said he’s bringing a woman? The youngest daughter of UL Cables.”
“He invited her?”
“That’s what he says.”
Joon-hwan sipped his coffee indifferently.
The two exchanged casual small talk.
When conversation ran dry, Jin-woo stood up, saying he’d rest in his room.
As he walked down the corridor toward his room, he overheard a voice.
“Da-som, about Yu-rim… it was a misunderstanding, I swear. That Manager Min seduced me first. Since it’s Grandpa’s birthday, can’t you come just this once? Please, I’m begging you.”
