Chapter 32. Secret

After staying in the penthouse for a few days, Yooa returned to the vacant lot where construction had finished. Lee Jun wanted her to remain in the comfortable and safe penthouse, but Yooa refused.

Everyone finds comfort in different places, and until they were married, she needed a place to be alone and think.

“I like it there.”

The place was no longer just a “vacant lot.” It had grown thick with trees, enough that it offered complete privacy from onlookers. The security system was also perfect.

“No one can stop Yoon Yooa once she’s made up her mind.”

She said she didn’t care what kind of trees were planted, but insisted there be at least one old jujube tree. At her firm request, Lee Jun shook his head.
In the end, he blamed himself for failing to stop her from returning to the camper, just as she wished.

“Am I the only one… who doesn’t want to be apart?”

Just seeing her briefly during his commute wasn’t enough.
Every time he saw the white camper glowing softly with warm orange lights in the dark, his eyes softened with longing.

Even the thought of her sent his heart racing.

Yoon Yooa.

He had developed a terrible habit.

While preparing for GRIP Company’s new product launch, he accidentally wrote Yooa’s name when signing off on an event where the first 500 customers to buy a camper would receive a waterproof tent.

With his chin resting on his arm atop a mahogany table, Lee Jun muttered:

“Even when you’re not next to me, you make me think only of you.”

And he hoped—she felt the same.

Sitting in the camping chair she loved, when sunlight shimmered through the leaves and dazzled her eyes, he wished she would think of him at least once.
While drinking coffee, reading a book, or walking—just once.

Lee Jun’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“Yeah. I shouldn’t ask for more.”

Yooa had said herself that she would marry him. There was nothing in the world he feared now. Even the tangled fight over TaeGyeom Group shares with his aunt seemed laughable today.

He’d heard that Joohee was secretly buying TaeGyeom Group stock, even going so far as to involve loan sharks from Myeongdong. But he wasn’t shaken.

Before, his sole goal had been to acquire TaeGyeom Group.
Now, after envisioning a future with Yooa, his goals had changed.

To build a happy family.

To wipe the shadow from Yooa’s face and make her smile—that had become his new goal.

To achieve that, he still needed to obtain TaeGyeom Group, but not for the old reasons.
Before, it was to block Joohee. Now, it was to protect Yooa.

Because Yoon Yooa seemed like a woman with many secrets.

✦ ✦ ✦

Lee Jun remained unaware—until Secretary Kim entered with a grim expression.
Typhoons, after all, gave no warning until they arrived.

“Who? Sung Ji-hye?”

He had never heard that name before.

“She’s the daughter of the CEO of Hanseo Newspaper.”

“And?”

Lee Jun’s sharp tone made cold sweat bead on Secretary Kim’s forehead.
He had no idea why she was here, and clearly, Lee Jun was looking up at him as if he were wasting his time.

“She said she came on the recommendation of the museum director. I thought it might be a personal appointment we weren’t aware of, so I came to check.”

“The museum director? Ah—my aunt.”

She had begged her grandfather for a respectable social title years ago and opened a small art gallery.

“She should’ve just stuck to spending money like before. Why trouble everyone else?”

He had hoped that her silence meant she had matured, but she was the same as ever.

Aunt had tossed him a bomb because she thought her nephew might be bored.

“I guess she finally found a woman to her taste.”

Lee Jun muttered coldly, and Secretary Kim pressed his lips into a straight line.
He knew from experience that Lee Jun wasn’t looking for an answer.

“Shall I send her away?”

Tap, tap.

Lee Jun rhythmically tapped the table with his index finger.
His aunt had heard Yooa say she would marry him. She saw it with her own eyes and heard it with her own ears. And yet now she acted like she didn’t know?

Ignoring Yooa was the same as disrespecting him.

“This matter—”

“……”

“Yooa must not know.”

“Yes, Executive Director. I’ll handle it discreetly.”

It was a trivial matter not even worth Yooa’s attention.
He didn’t want her to hear about it and force a bitter smile.

He even felt sorry for the woman standing outside, unaware and sent by his aunt.

“Leave the newspaper CEO’s daughter be for now.”

He could’ve made up a polite excuse and sent her away, but since she came without invitation, he wanted her to pay a price.
Only then would his aunt—and anyone else she tried to send—give up hope.

“Did my aunt not warn her that I’m not a nice person?”

✦ ✦ ✦

After that, Lee Jun deliberately threw himself into work.

Development of a new tent—designed to launch alongside the camper—was tight but going well.
This time, instead of influencers or celebrities, they planned to recruit family-based testers through social media.

Since the PR and strategy teams were organizing the campaign together, Lee Jun considered inviting Yooa as well.
She would no doubt catch the small details he would miss.

“Phew…”

Stretching his stiff neck side to side, Lee Jun habitually reached for the intercom but stopped and picked up his phone instead.

As the signal rang, Secretary Kim’s voice answered.

“Still there?”

“Yes, Executive Director.”

It had been over an hour.

Frowning at the time, Lee Jun furrowed his brow.

Usually, women sent by his aunt would storm off in 15 minutes, angry that he made them wait.

Every single one of them.

This was the first time it hadn’t happened—his expression hardened.

“What should I do?”

Apparently, she was sitting calmly, politely declining refreshments.

Secretary Kim looked flustered.

“I’ll go see her.”

Lee Jun scoffed. His aunt must be quite determined.

A woman who waited over an hour for him must either desperately need his aunt’s help—or already owed her.

Click.

The sound was faint, but Sung Ji-hye immediately stood up.
Her eyes quivered as she saw Lee Jun walking through the open door.

TaeGyeom Group’s heir, Kang Lee Jun—ruthless in personality, but his looks covered all flaws.

Seeing his back alone made Ji-hye feel as if light radiated from him—perhaps because she knew of his power and influence.

“I’m Sung Ji-hye. My father is the CEO of Hanseo Newspaper.”

“Is that your only merit?”

“Sorry?”

“You don’t seem to have anything else going for you besides that.”

She was groomed head to toe, nails to hair, dressed as if elegance were inherent.
But did she truly believe she could pass just by sitting there looking refined?

Ji-hye bit her lip at his cutting words.
Just for a moment, Lee Jun caught the flash of ugliness in her expression before she forced it back into place.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable by coming unannounced. Your aunt told me you’d be here and asked me to give you this.”

“You’ve got the title wrong.”

“Excuse me?”

“Isn’t she the ‘director’ to you? Or… do I have a cousin I don’t know about?”

Listening to their exchange, Secretary Kim felt a pang in his stomach.

Lee Jun treated Yooa with such affection it could make others feel lonely just watching.
But toward other people, he could be icy cold.

And Secretary Kim, pretending to see nothing, continued typing away.

“Are you upset I came without telling you?”

Ji-hye asked without a trace of redness in her cheeks.
Was this shameless confidence?

Lee Jun hadn’t told her to come in, or to sit.
The longer the silence dragged on, the tighter Ji-hye’s grip became on her handbag.

“What’s your reason?”