Chapter 15 …
“I’m hungry. Make me something to eat.”
Sitting cross-legged at the dining table, Nayeon swept her hair back, still clearly not fully appeased. She had gotten worked up over something trivial and acted out so dramatically.
After spending the night at a hotel near the airport, she had rushed over first thing in the morning.
As always, Chaido hadn’t answered her calls. But she knew that wasn’t his true feelings.
Thanks to her father, who had worked as Chairman Cha’s driver, she had been coming in and out of this household for over ten years.
After her father’s accidental death, Chaido had handed her control of a business, and she had risen to the position of CEO.
If Chaido were to get married, it should naturally be her.
Hadn’t Chairman Cha always said he wanted a daughter-like daughter-in-law?
Not long ago, Nayeon had even forced a promise from him to fully support her after threatening to “die” if she couldn’t marry Chaido.
Chaido, expressionless as ever, had simply gone to work, leaving her to handle things herself. In truth, it wasn’t a matter that concerned him much.
So she assumed that, while she wasn’t around, he had impulsively done something with someone else.
She had no doubt that Chaido would eventually experience a blazing, passionate love with her—it was just a matter of time before he realized it.
“Take one of these each and use them.”
She set a few small boxes down in front of the servant carrying the dishes.
“CEO… why all this…?”
The servant’s face immediately revealed her surprise, which made Nayeon beam.
“Just report to me immediately if anything happens. Every single thing. Especially regarding that woman, Yusehee.”
To get on Chairman Cha’s good side, she had handpicked even the servants, selecting those easy to manage. Although Secretary An had recently been a bit difficult, she could always replace her.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s anything unusual. He rarely comes home except for dinner together…”
“Dinner?”
“…Yes. And then each to their own room…”
Nayeon scoffed. It was hardly child’s play. She waved her hand dismissively, feeling there was no need to hear more.
As expected, Chaido—who was squeamish around women—wouldn’t do anything like marriage. After all, the money lost because of Yoo Hyung-jin was no small sum, so he probably just wanted a daughter to run the household.
When had he even been a prosecutor?
Thinking of a woman so weak and insignificant, Nayeon felt a sense of relief.
Her expression brightened, as if a heavy weight had been lifted, and she looked up with a radiant smile.
“Father!”
Chairman Cha, having woken late, shuffled into the dining room.
“Well, well, CEO Song. How was your business trip?”
Nayeon quickly rose and shyly smiled, holding the chairman’s hand.
“Please just call me Nayeon, like before. Are you feeling better?”
Her voice was gentle, as if the previous tantrums had never happened.
In truth, it had been more like a vacation than a business trip. Thanks to Chaido, she had simply put her name on a resort without doing any actual work.
“You’re an adult now; there’s no need for such fuss.”
She could feel the chairman’s thick hand brushing over hers. Even when her father had been his driver, he had subtly flirted with her even at thirty. Thankfully, there were plenty of other ways for him to release that energy, so he hadn’t aggressively pursued her.
Naturally handsome even at his age, he was skilled at enjoying the attention of women while keeping appropriate boundaries.
“I’m feeling left out.”
Nayeon sat down, freeing her hand from Chairman Cha’s.
“Just because my brother got married, you immediately call me CEO Song. That’s unfair. You could’ve told me in advance.”
At twelve years old, she had fallen in love with Chaido at first sight when she saw him standing next to her father. She had vowed to marry him once she became an adult.
The situation was increasingly working in her favor.
Whether out of guilt or pity for her father, who had died in an accident, Chaido now owed her a kind of debt.
At first, Chairman Cha had opposed it. He didn’t mind her coming and going but had no intention of accepting a driver’s daughter as part of the family.
Even though he himself had once been a low-level gangster.
Still, Nayeon had maneuvered carefully and finally earned some recognition. And then, suddenly, marriage? It felt like a slap in the back.
“It’s just filed on paper, so don’t put too much meaning into it.”
He had taken out a glass and pursed his lips.
“It’s not going to last long anyway.”
“But… over time, feelings could grow…”
Chaido wasn’t exactly the type to give his heart so easily, but who could predict the ways of humans?
Despite her gaunt, makeup-free appearance, Yusehee’s natural looks were not entirely unattractive to men.
“I’ve waited over ten years, and now I’m completely being pushed aside. You have no idea how sincere I’ve been.”
Her voice trailed off as if on the verge of tears. Chairman Cha leaned back in his chair, tired of her complaints.
“That doesn’t mean there’s no way.”
“…….”
“Just get pregnant first. There’s no order to having children. Then Chaido will have no choice.”
Nayeon paused, lowering the hand she had been wiping her eyes with.
“Men have something called responsibility. That’s why Chaido ended up under me in the first place.”
Responsibility. A word utterly incompatible with Chairman Cha, who had never married and enjoyed the company of countless women. She had always wondered where he had learned to raise Chaido.
He probably never stayed long with any one woman, and it didn’t seem like he had truly loved anyone either.
“I made a mistake… taking in a tiger cub.”
The chairman’s sigh no longer registered with Nayeon. Her mind was busy calculating.
“Besides, our family needs a gentle and kind daughter-in-law like you.”
The wife of Chaido, who washed her own underwear… the position of wife was bound to be hers eventually, and she might as well enjoy the fun in the meantime.
“Meal preparations are done, CEO.”
Nayeon smiled satisfactorily and nodded at the servant. After all, she would be the one to occupy this mansion.
Later, when the relaxed meal was over and tea was being served, Yusehee brought the laundry she had run through the dryer.
During the dinner she usually had alone with Chaido, Chairman Cha and Song Nayeon naturally joined.
Having scolded Yusehee earlier about her clothes shrinking in the dryer, Nayeon smiled brightly as if nothing had happened when Chaido returned home.
“This isn’t fair. You promised to marry me.”
“Did I?”
Chaido answered casually, as if she had broken a trivial meal appointment, and sat down.
After touching up her makeup, Nayeon’s face shone. Yet it was clear that Chaido’s first love had not returned.
His gaze toward her was indifferent, no different from how he looked at the servants or Secretary An.
“I’ll eat well.”
Nayeon accepted the plate Chaido had served, glancing between him and Yusehee.
“Aren’t we having a ceremony? Even if it’s formal, it’s a lifelong dream for a woman. I understand… you’ve always been a bit insensitive about these things.”
Nayeon teasingly pretended to know him well, and their eyes met. She corrected her words on her own without needing him to speak.
“Got it, Director Cha.”
Chaido, treating Nayeon as invisible again, refilled Yusehee’s plate. But he didn’t engage her in conversation.
Nayeon posed no threat to him. To Chaido, women were merely food to fill his hunger, their beauty merely decoration for the table.
“I’m fine. I don’t think a ceremony is that important.”
Yusehee answered on Chaido’s behalf, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.
“After all, it’s not a marriage based on love…”
Chaido’s hand, holding the serving spoon, froze.
“True.”
Nayeon muttered with a wry smile.
“After losing all my family and going through all that chaos, why would I have a wedding? Falling in love suddenly would be weird, unless you pretend to live alone, as people say.”
Ah, was that too honest?
Feeling embarrassed, she dabbed her mouth with a napkin, then playfully scrunched her nose.
“I have nowhere to go for a while… can I use a room in the honeymoon suite?”
