ALRE 05

Chapter : 5

On the shoulder of the highway, a woman stood stamping her feet, her face twisted in distress.
The headlights lit up her familiar field jacket, short hair that looked soft to the touch, and chubby cheeks reddened from the cold.

“Cha Dong-hoon! I told you, I broke up with that blind date guy! I’m not lying — the bus broke down! I’m on the highway to Daegwallyeong right now! It’s freezing to death out here! If I turn into a popsicle ghost, are you going to take responsibility? Huh? Oh, I get it, you’re all cozy at the Palace Hotel, having fun, right? Fine! I’ll crawl there if I have to!”

Ha… that lunatic.

The woman, fuming and bravely trudging ahead on her own, was without a doubt CEO Kang Joo-sik’s precious daughter — the one from Room 1004.
What a riot.

The night in Daegwallyeong was bitterly cold — the temperature would drop below minus nine degrees.
But where on earth did she think she could go on foot?

Jaewon couldn’t help but let out a laugh that slipped through his lips.
She reminded him of his own hopeless younger sisters.

“Boss, isn’t that the woman we saw earlier in front of the hotel?”
Jisoo, sharp-eyed as always, recognized her immediately.

“Looks like it,” Jaewon replied, exhaling a shallow sigh as he looked at Lee Young’s retreating back.

He could easily guess what was going on in that little head of hers.
Since the car was stuck in traffic and barely moving, she must’ve thought it would be faster to walk than to wait for another ride.

She probably still firmly believed CEO Kang was with him right now. How troublesome.
If she weren’t the boss’s daughter, he’d have ignored her and driven right past.

But life’s unpredictable.
If that girl were to get hurt walking alone on this dark road tonight, how could he ever face CEO Kang again?

It seemed fate had thrown him into the unwanted job of babysitting a woman.

With a sense of responsibility, Jaewon took his hands off the wheel and turned to Jisoo.
“Here. Take the wheel.”

He got out of the car and quickly walked toward the shoulder.

“Mother of—!”

Lee Young screamed when someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder.
“What the—! Why are you here?”

Piercing black eyes that seemed to see right through her soul met her gaze.
Why him, of all people?!

“…Don’t tell me you followed me?” she stammered, stepping back in shock.
“Who followed who?”
“Th-then why are you here? Did you take the express bus? I didn’t see you get on. Were you hiding somewhere?”
“Stop talking nonsense and come with me.”
“W-where are we going?” she asked anxiously.

“You said you were headed to the Palace Hotel, right?”
“Huh? H-how do you know that?”
“Well, your voice carries. Anyone within fifty meters could’ve heard you.”

Okay, maybe she had gotten a bit loud earlier.

“I’m going there too,” he said.
“So… this is just a coincidence?”
“Come on.”

Lee Young glanced at his back as he walked ahead and hurried to follow.

“You getting in or not?”
He pointed to the SUV parked by the road.

Inside, she could see a woman sitting in the driver’s seat.

“As you can see, I’m on a business trip. Make up your mind.”
“So, you’re going to the Palace Hotel?”
“Yeah.”

What a crazy coincidence.
Unbelievable — but given the situation, she had no choice but to believe it.

“But you have to promise — don’t tell my dad.”
He didn’t reply, just opened the driver’s side door.
The woman behind the wheel moved to the passenger seat.

Watching that, Lee Young hurriedly climbed into the back.
“E-excuse me.”

Tch. A guy who already has a girlfriend going on blind dates? Honestly, her dad should know better.

Lee Young looked at the elegant, beautiful woman beside him and drew her conclusion.
From the backseat, watching the two of them together, they really did make a perfect picture.

She pouted, tousling her short hair out of habit.
Then her eyes met Jaewon’s in the rearview mirror.

That look — sharp, intense, predatory.
She shrank back instinctively.

Lee Young had never been intimidated by a man before, but this one caught her completely off guard.

“Oh, right.”
Suddenly remembering something, she pulled out her phone to call Dong-hoon — maybe he was still on his way here.

As soon as the line connected, his voice burst through:

“Kang Lee Young!”
“Oh, hey, Dong-hoon.”
“Where are you? Seriously, where? You’re driving me crazy. You should’ve just gone on the blind date — why’d you even come here?”
“Relax! I’m in a car now, okay? I’ll be there soon, so just stay where you are.”
“Kang Lee Young, when you get here, you’re dead. You made me worry to death! You’re going to be the end of me.”
“Why are you so worked up? Is it… that time of the month?”
“What?! Unbelievable — yeah, it’s that time!”
“Heh. I’ll bring you pads, then. Wait for me.”
“Be careful on the way. I’ll be waiting.”
“Got it. Hanging up now.”

After the call, Lee Young found his eyes again in the rearview mirror — those eyes that could practically kill with a glance.
She quickly looked down.

“So cold,” she muttered.
His eyes weren’t just cold — they were freezing.

Without a word, Jaewon reached forward and turned up the heater.
Jisoo glanced at him curiously as he adjusted the air vents toward the backseat.

The car crawled forward, inch by inch through traffic, stopping and starting again.
Frustrated, Jaewon lowered the window.

Whirrr.
Cold air rushed in.
“Cough, cough!” came from the backseat.

He immediately rolled the window back up.
Jisoo’s surprised eyes flicked toward him, but Jaewon just kept driving as if nothing happened.

After a while, when he checked the rearview mirror again, Lee Young was nodding off, lulled by the warmth.

So carefree.
Jaewon turned up the volume on the classical music, letting her sleep comfortably.

“Boss, how do you know her?” Jisoo asked quietly, after confirming that Lee Young was asleep.

“She’s the daughter of CEO Kang Joo-sik — Human Interior Company,” he answered briefly.
“Oh… I see.”

Jisoo fell silent, lost in thought.
Jaewon had no intention of saying more.

He just wondered what CEO Kang would say if he found out about this situation.
And also…

Who the hell was that day guy she’d mentioned on the phone?

If CEO Kang ever learned the truth, he could probably sue for fraud.

“You know my daughter, right? Lee Young. She’s grown up so well, just like her mother.”

Really, though — that description couldn’t be more wrong.

Jaewon chuckled under his breath. Jisoo noticed but didn’t comment.
He simply looked at Lee Young through the mirror again — peacefully asleep in the backseat.

Cute, when she’s sleeping.

As the traffic cleared, he slowly picked up speed.
Finally, the car was moving smoothly again.

“Lee Young, wake up.”
He called her name.

Maybe because she was younger than his youngest sister — or maybe because her antics were just so ridiculous — he found himself talking to her casually.

“Huh? Oh, we’re already here?”

She seemed perfectly comfortable speaking informally too, as if they’d known each other for ages.
Well, falling asleep that easily in a stranger’s car said it all.

“You sure can sleep anywhere.”
“Guess I dozed off for a bit. Wow, it’s gorgeous!”

Looking out the window, she gasped in awe.
A snowy field — a pure white world that truly took one’s breath away.

Her childlike excitement made him smile.

“Thank you, Jung Jaewon-ssi! I hope you two have a great time. Oh — and you look really good together!”

Cheerfully, she grabbed her backpack and hopped out of the car.

Jaewon sighed deeply. He didn’t even want to know what kind of misunderstanding she’d gotten into now.
He turned to the still-sitting Jisoo.

“Well? Why aren’t you getting out?”
“Oh, right.”