Chapter 6 …
At that moment, Seonghun’s fingers twitched, curling inward. The relaxed look on his face cracked in an instant.
Frowning, Seonghun uncrossed his legs and straightened his posture.
“Have you been drinking?”
“No. I’m clearer than I’ve ever been.”
“That can’t be. The Choi Juyoung I know isn’t someone who’d make a proposal like this while in her right mind.”
“…….”
I don’t know when you ever saw me enough to say ‘the me you know,’ but—
“There are a lot of sides of me you don’t know, Mr. Bae Seonghun. And also…”
Trailing off, Juyoung pulled out a tablet PC from the shopping bag.
Seonghun looked at her as if to say, Weren’t you just bringing clothes? Why is that coming out of there?
But he didn’t say anything. He waited until Choi Juyoung spoke first.
Juyoung placed the tablet on the table and lightly tapped the screen with her fingertip.
Since there was no password, the home screen appeared immediately.
She swiped the tablet, turning it so Seonghun could clearly see what now filled the screen.
Against a stark white background were densely packed black letters—Juyoung’s stock holdings list.
“And I own quite a lot of things… quietly.”
Seonghun knew she owned stocks. But ones she’d been holding in secret?
The moment he lifted the tablet to examine the list, a fissure appeared on his face.
A bigger crack than when Choi Juyoung had proposed marriage.
“What is this?”
“The second son isn’t interested in management at Seongun Valerian, and the third—by all accounts—follows you closely, Mr. Bae. He doesn’t seem particularly ambitious either.”
“So what exactly are you trying to say?”
His low voice was gentle, but the sensation brushing her ears was electric. A chill ran down her spine.
Bae Seonghun was no reckless pup ignorant of danger.
He was, so to speak, a predator.
At the very top of the food chain, calmly tightening his grip around his prey’s throat.
One wrong word here, and her neck would be torn open without mercy.
“There won’t be a war between brothers over the throne. But does your uncle think the same?”
“So that’s why you’ve been quietly buying Seongun Trading shares?”
The tablet he tossed down showed that her holdings included Seongun Trading, one of the Seongun Group’s key affiliates.
The amount wasn’t massive, but it was enough to wield influence.
“I won’t interfere in your private life.”
That was precisely why Choi Juyoung had thought of Bae Seonghun as the best option.
Among the candidates, he had the cleanest public image—and the highest chance of accepting a deal.
“If a fight over the throne breaks out in the future, the shares I hold will be a great help to you.”
She didn’t know love.
She had no interest in marriage, or in expanding her family on paper.
But if it meant protecting her memories with her mother, she could marry a hundred times over.
“If necessary, I can transfer my Seongun Trading shares to you. We can draw up a contract.”
“…….”
“So, Mr. Bae Seonghun—marry me. There’s no relationship clearer than one defined by numbers and a contract in our world, is there?”
After that, Juyoung waited for his answer.
She didn’t expect him to say yes on the spot. Marriage wasn’t child’s play, and business had to be handled carefully.
He’d probably refuse—or say he needed time. His mind would be calculating furiously.
“There’s nothing clearer than numbers and contracts.”
At that moment, Seonghun leaned forward and pressed the tablet’s power button. The brief light illuminating his face disappeared.
“But even clear numbers and contracts can be manipulated if someone wants to swindle you.”
“So… is that a no?”
“I said I’ll consider it.”
Thankfully, Bae Seonghun reacted just as she’d expected.
“To make your 고민 a little easier, I’m willing to put 1% of my Seongun shares on the table.”
Juyoung made a bold bet for the ending she wanted.
On paper, the number one might seem insignificantly small.
But 1% of a top-tier KOSPI-listed conglomerate was anything but trivial.
And offering to transfer it unconditionally? There was no more drastic proposal than that.
“While I’m at it, I thought I’d make up for the mistake I made with you. Would this be enough?”
“Even if you pay for it, the recipient should be the one to decide. That’s an awfully expensive pair of underwear.”
“Then give me change.”
Juyoung curled the corner of her lips slightly.
Just minutes ago, the balance of power had tilted entirely toward Seonghun because of what had happened that day.
But now?
The scales were perfectly level.
From this point on, Choi Juyoung no longer had to watch Bae Seonghun’s mood over that incident.
Impressive.
Seonghun let out a short breath, half incredulous.
“Your intentions are clear, Ms. Choi Juyoung.”
He met her eyes briefly, then stood up with the tablet. He had another schedule—this was as much time as he could spare.
As he left the office, he asked,
“How did you get here?”
“By car. My secretary drove.”
“That male secretary from before? Where is he now?”
“Waiting outside.”
“Then I’ll walk you to the first floor.”
Unnecessary.
But at a time when she needed to stay on his good side, she couldn’t ignore his courtesy.
Juyoung smiled smoothly and nodded.
They got into the executive elevator.
When Seonghun pressed the button marked “1” and stepped back, their reflections appeared side by side in the mirror.
After passing through the mirror once, Seonghun’s gaze landed on Juyoung.
It was too intense to be mere observation.
“…….”
Too many past mistakes to call it interest.
Yet she knew the lazy way his eyes used to narrow.
What is it? Does he have something to say to me?
The fine hairs on her arms prickled, but Juyoung forced herself to ignore it.
“Why? Do you have a question for me?”
Seonghun turned his head and looked at her directly.
“I do, but I haven’t fully figured you out yet, Ms. Choi.”
“What is it? Ask me anything. If I can answer it, I will.”
“I don’t like beating around the bush either. So if you think it’ll be hard to answer, you don’t have to.”
She should’ve realized something was off when he took that long to preface it.
“How did you know my underwear size?”
She was going to regret saying ask me anything.
“For someone with no known romantic history, you went into a hotel with a man very naturally. And for someone supposedly inexperienced, your size choice was pretty spot-on.”
His sticky gaze slid over her body—face to chest, then down, pooling between her thighs.
Where his eyes lingered, an invisible, clinging trace seemed to remain.
Those obsidian eyes fixed on her face again.
Juyoung unconsciously held her breath.
“When you say you won’t interfere in my private life… does that mean you don’t want me touching yours either?”
“If you’re asking whether I have a man hidden away—no. I don’t.”
“Then how did you know the size?”
For some reason, his voice sounded excited.
Only then did Juyoung begin to understand the kind of man Bae Seonghun was.
He reacts to stimulation.
If so, getting his attention was simple. She just had to play along—dirty, the way he wanted.
“I figured a hundred would be enough.”
Juyoung leaned slightly to the side and lowered her gaze at an angle, as if indicating exactly what she’d been looking at.
Following her gaze, Seonghun burst out laughing.
What Choi Juyoung was staring at was his ass.
“Was I wrong?”
“The back’s right, but the front’s a bit tight.”
As if pulled by a magnet, Juyoung’s eyes moved to the front.
In the straight fall of his suit pants, the only curve was between Bae Seonghun’s thighs.
Not the back—the front…
His heavy build was pushed to one side, as if searching for room to breathe.
