Chapter 9
“Oppa! Don’t say things like that.”
Soo-ah pushed Yi-chan away as if she didn’t want to hear it.
“It’s because my sister is so stiff and dull that even Dad and Mom felt uncomfortable when they were with her. Who would welcome a daughter who doesn’t even know how to act cute?”
Hyun-a struggled to swallow the emotions boiling inside her.
It was too humiliating and infuriating to simply suppress.
More than hearing them gossip about her, she couldn’t accept the fact that Soo-ah and Yi-chan were together.
Touching even the younger sister of the woman he was about to marry—he was truly the worst kind of bastard.
And Soo-ah and Yi-chan had a ten-year age difference.
Ah… what should she do? What should she do now?
“Then Soo-ah, try acting cute for oppa.”
“If I take my clothes off, you have to say you love me too.”
Soo-ah said seductively as she stood up and started to remove her top.
“Sure. I love you. Hurry and let me hold you.”
Even as Yi-chan snickered mockingly, Soo-ah didn’t seem hurt at all and kept pressing herself against him.
The moment Soo-ah began taking off her clothes, Hyun-a panicked and had no choice but to step out.
Watching her younger sister and her fiancé having sex was something she absolutely refused to see.
At the sound of the door opening, Soo-ah—wearing only underwear on the sofa—and Yi-chan—shirtless, his pants visibly bulging—froze like a paused screen and stared at Hyun-a.
“H-Hyun-a. Why are you here…? This is…”
“U-Unni!”
“Baek Soo-ah. Put your clothes on.”
Hyun-a quietly picked up the knit sweater that had fallen beside Soo-ah and handed it to her.
“Hyun-a, don’t misunderstand. Soo-ah said she wanted coffee at my place, so we just came together.”
“……”
Hyun-a didn’t even bother replying. She simply grabbed Soo-ah’s wrist once she got dressed.
“Hyun-a. Say something. This is getting awkward. She’s not even your real sister anyway, so don’t make such a serious face.”
Yi-chan was afraid Hyun-a might tell Chan-su or Chairman Young-woong.
Even though Soo-ah wasn’t related by blood and wasn’t even registered in the family registry, Baek Woo-sik still introduced her as his daughter at official events.
He couldn’t deny that the elders would be horrified if they found out.
“I’m not in the mood to hear your excuses right now.”
“Hey… you’re being too harsh. You know I hate awkward situations. What am I supposed to do when women won’t leave me alone? Soo-ah was the one who asked me to lunch first.”
“Oppa!”
“Soo-ah, you said you liked me and asked me to eat with you.”
“Yi-chan oppa, stop.”
As Hyun-a’s gaze turned sharp, Yi-chan’s voice faltered.
“Alright, alright. I just have to hold back until the wedding, right? This won’t happen again.”
Soo-ah looked stunned, as if shocked by how quickly Yi-chan had turned away from her.
“Unni… I mean… I…”
Watching Soo-ah struggle to come up with excuses made Hyun-a sigh.
If only Soo-ah would clearly see that Jung Yi-chan was a man who only cared about himself.
“Soo-ah. Does Mom know you’re doing this?”
“……”
“Let’s go home first.”
Hyun-a grabbed Soo-ah’s wrist and walked out.
“Hyun-a! You’re not mad, right? I mean, you shouldn’t have left my body so lonely!”
Yi-chan’s crude excuse echoed through the closing door.
“Ha… selfish bastard.”
Hyun-a muttered under her breath while pressing the elevator button.
Soo-ah had followed her out in confusion, but seeing Yi-chan calling only for Hyun-a until the end made her feel resentful.
“What if Yi-chan oppa starts hating me because of you?”
“If he hates you over something like this, then he never truly liked you.”
“Unni!”
Soo-ah shouted angrily.
She had always disliked the way her sister acted cold and superior.
When Hyun-a had been away, Soo-ah had seen it as her chance to get closer to Yi-chan. She had deliberately held back from sleeping with him while teasing him on the edge.
But then she heard the wedding between him and Hyun-a had been moved up, and she became desperate.
Today had been the day she planned to make Yi-chan her man.
If Chairman Young-woong or CEO Jung Chan-su found out she had slept with him, they would never allow him to marry Hyun-a.
But she hadn’t expected her sister to appear there.
“You don’t even want this marriage anyway. Just give Yi-chan oppa to me. You’ve lived your life however you wanted, and now you’re even marrying into a chaebol family. Isn’t that unfair?”
“Soo-ah…”
“If you hadn’t appeared, everything would’ve been mine. I’d be Dad’s only daughter. Then the chairman wouldn’t care so much about Baek Woo-sik’s bloodline. Yi-chan oppa was originally mine.”
Hyun-a was shocked by Soo-ah’s words.
To her, this marriage was almost a sacrifice for her family.
She never imagined that Soo-ah would see it as a privilege.
If she could, she wanted to cancel the marriage and run back overseas.
“Yi-chan oppa doesn’t love you. The one he loves is me.”
“Yi-chan oppa loves every woman in the world.”
“Hah… and you’re okay with that?”
“…It’s an arranged marriage.”
It wasn’t about love.
It was a business deal for the benefit of their families.
Hyun-a would gain Chairman Young-woong’s support.
Yi-chan would gain the chairman’s shares.
There was no love or happiness there.
“You’ll never be happy for the rest of your life. At least we love each other… so you’re the one who should step aside.”
Love each other…?
How could Yi-chan trick such a naive girl with nonsense like that?
Hyun-a felt worried for her younger sister who believed he loved her.
“Yi-chan oppa… will never fix that habit for the rest of his life.”
“You can tolerate him cheating and a loveless marriage, but you think I can’t?”
“I…”
“You’re selfish, unni. Do you want everything for yourself?”
“Soo-ah. What would it take for you to give up Jung Yi-chan?”
Why couldn’t she understand that Soo-ah herself was one of the things Hyun-a was trying to protect?
“Then… break off your engagement with him. If you do that, I’ll give up too.”
“That’s up to the chairman…”
“Didn’t the chairman say he’d approve it if you brought another man he liked? Then go find one now.”
Soo-ah sneered coldly.
“…If I break off the engagement, you really have to give up Jung Yi-chan.”
At that moment, someone came to Hyun-a’s mind again.
Lee Yoon-gyeom.
No… Jung Yoon-gyeom.
If Chairman Young-woong truly considered Jung Yoon-gyeom family, then maybe…
Maybe it didn’t have to be Jung Yi-chan—maybe Jung Yoon-gyeom would be acceptable.
At the one moment in Hyun-a’s life when she had clung desperately to survival, Jung Yoon-gyeom had been there.
Her light became clearer and sharper.
For some, it was desire.
For others, it was hope.
“If you’re really that determined, unni… then I’ll give up Yi-chan oppa too.”
Soo-ah spoke confidently because she knew Hyun-a had neither the courage nor another man.
Stupid sister. If she just disappeared, I’d become the mistress of the Hwamyeong Group.
No matter who she brought, there was no man better than Jung Yi-chan.
And yet she secretly hoped her sister would break the engagement.
She didn’t want Hyun-a to occupy such a good position alone.
The sisters said nothing more until the elevator reached the ground floor.
The opening party for artist Hong Se-ra’s solo exhibition was held at Hwamyeong Gallery.
Guests from political and business circles who wanted connections with the Hwamyeong Group filled the gallery’s first and second floors, along with congratulatory flower wreaths.
“This is the girl who will marry our Yi-chan. Say hello. Hyun-a, this is painter Lee Myung-gu, famous for his pine tree paintings, and this is the gallery—”
“Hello, I’m Baek Hyun-a.”
“Our Hyun-a studied advertising design, so she has a good sense for art.”
Se-ra smiled as she held Hyun-a’s hand.
“Oh my. Then the next director of Hwamyeong Gallery will be your daughter-in-law.”
“Then I should start teaching her soon. Hyun-a, since we’re talking about it, come work starting next week.”
“Madam… I…”
“If you’re going to be family soon, why call me madam? That sounds distant. Call me Mother.”
“……”
For Hyun-a, who was already thinking about breaking the engagement, those words wouldn’t come out of her mouth.
Hong Se-ra continued introducing Hyun-a to people, and she had to keep smiling painfully at faces she couldn’t even remember.
Hyun-a stepped out into the garden terrace and leaned against a sculpted bench.
She raised her champagne glass to the moonlight and gently swirled it.
The golden bubbles shimmered, and the moon seemed to sink into the glass.
The cool yet elegant color reminded her of a certain man.
What should she say to him?
Would he accept her proposal and take the risk?
“Yoon-gyeom.”
Hyun-a unconsciously murmured his name.
“Did you call me?”
A shadow fell over her shoulder.
Hyun-a looked up.
Startled, the glass slipped from her fingers.
She tried to grab it before it fell.
Ah—it’s going to drop.
Hyun-a squeezed her eyes shut.
A man’s hand covered hers and steadied the falling champagne glass.
“Y-Yoon-gyeom!”
Her startled heart pounded rapidly.
The back of her hand burned as if on fire, and the sudden closeness of his scent left her flustered.
