Chapter 6
“Is the reason you’re delaying the marriage really just because of a job? Someone as capable as you could easily be recruited by Hwamyeong even after you marry. What are you worried about? What position would you like?”
Chairman Jung Young-woong brushed off Hyun-ah’s carefully gathered courage as if it were nothing.
“I think it’s right for me to work in place of my father… And there’s my younger sister Sua’s tuition too. I need time to get a job and settle down.”
“How much money could you possibly make with such petty earnings? You’re going to be Chan’s bride. Do you think I would just ignore that?”
Chairman Jung Young-woong turned his gaze to Chan-soo.
“Father. I’ll look into a position for Hyun-ah at headquarters. Hyun-ah, you majored in advertising design, right? There’s a perfect position where you can make use of your abilities, so don’t worry. These days connections are also a form of ability, you know?”
“See? Where else would you find a father-in-law who thinks of you like this? Chan-soo, make sure she can start work immediately.”
“Yes, Father. Don’t worry.”
“Chairman… I…”
Hyun-ah lowered her head, her lips moving silently.
“Father. I think Hyun-ah is just embarrassed. Sitting next to Chan like that, they look good together.”
“I think Oppa Chan still wants to enjoy life more than marriage right now.”
“Ahem… Hyun-ah, are you sulking because Chan didn’t go to pick you up today?”
When Jung Chan-soo shot Chan a sharp glare, Chan awkwardly fiddled with his glass.
“Hyun-ah, I told you earlier it was fine.”
Chan frowned, wary that Hyun-ah might say something unnecessary. If his grandfather found out he hadn’t picked her up because he was with another woman, there was no way the old man would let it pass.
“A man wanders outside because he doesn’t have a place to settle. Once he has a family, all of that will be resolved.”
It didn’t sound like something Chan-soo, who had filled the tabloids with rumors of countless affairs even after marriage and tormented Hong Sera, had any right to say. But no one pointed it out.
“Now that you’ve returned, Chan will probably get his act together.”
It was an unspoken message telling her to overlook a man’s occasional amusements.
“Right, Hyun-ah. Even if you say no, you know your opinion doesn’t matter much, don’t you?”
Sera didn’t like how lukewarm Hyun-ah seemed about marrying Chan.
Regardless of the rumors surrounding him, Chan was the one who would eventually inherit the Hwamyeong Group. She was already worried that bringing Yoon-gyeom in as an adopted son might shake Chan’s position.
On top of that, an embezzlement scandal had recently erupted at the company. Suspicion was directed toward Baek Woo-sik and Jung Chan-soo. The embezzled money and the evidence had both vanished into thin air, leaving everything in chaos. At a time like this, she wanted a big issue to distract people and quiet things down.
“Our Chan just gets lonely easily.”
“That’s right. Once Hyun-ah is here, he won’t be so lonely at night anymore.”
Chan grinned slyly.
His gaze moved from Hyun-ah’s plump, tempting lips down along the slender line of her neck before stopping at her chest.
“Hyun-ah. Please become a good wife. If a woman does well, a man won’t have any reason to wander outside.”
“……”
Hyun-ah felt as if something she’d eaten had lodged in her stomach.
She knew, logically, that she was supposed to marry Chan. She tried to respond, but hiding her emotions was difficult, and she forced herself to swallow them down.
“Fortunately Mother is such a good wife.”
At Yoon-gyeom’s words breaking the silence, the corners of Sera’s eyes rose sharply.
“Then Father won’t have any reason to wander outside.”
“Jung Yoon-gyeom.”
Chan-soo called his name, his eyes fierce.
“Yes, Father. Is something bothering you?”
Yoon-gyeom answered calmly, his expressionless face making Chan-soo’s fist tremble with rage.
“You—”
“You must have no education. How rude.”
Sera was furious that Yoon-gyeom had mocked Chan-soo’s womanizing.
How dare someone of unknown origins, who had rolled in from who-knows-where, say something she herself had never dared to say aloud.
“If you want to become part of this family, you should watch your words.”
“I thought Mother would be a good example of a wife for Sister-in-law.”
Sera bit her lip, her brow furrowing. Her glare looked as if she might devour Yoon-gyeom on the spot. Even Hyun-ah shrank under the tension.
“It seems I was mistaken.”
“You!”
As Sera’s voice rose, Chairman Jung Young-woong slammed the table loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Do not cause a disturbance during a meal.”
At his single remark, silence fell over the table again.
For someone over eighty, he still radiated strength and controlled everything around him. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced between his failed creations—Jung Chan-soo and Jung Chan—and then stopped on Yoon-gyeom.
“Jung Yoon-gyeom.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“What do you think? Do you think Hyun-ah suits our Chan as a partner?”
Setting down his glass, the chairman alternated his gaze between Chan and Hyun-ah, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
Everyone’s eyes quickly turned toward Yoon-gyeom.
“……”
Hyun-ah found herself concerned about his answer.
Her eyes caught the bandage she had placed on Yoon-gyeom’s cheek, stretching from his jaw to his cheekbone—a small proof of the brief moment only the two of them shared.
She remembered treating the scratch on his face earlier in Chan’s penthouse after a woman had clawed him.
<It’s nothing serious like this.>
When Hyun-ah said she would treat it, Yoon-gyeom wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. Perhaps it stung, because he squinted one eye.
Seeing him pretend it didn’t hurt even though it did made Hyun-ah’s chest strangely ticklish.
<Still… it’ll scar.>
She took out ointment and a bandage from her bag.
<I get hurt a lot too. If you get hurt again, tell me.>
She smiled faintly, showing him the bandage wrapped around her finger. She had cut it on a piece of paper while reading on the airplane.
<Can I get hurt again then?>
Yoon-gyeom’s finger briefly touched the finger wrapped in the bandage before pulling away.
The sensation sent a tingling through her, making her throat dry.
<Next time…>
If he were hurt again, she wished she could be the only one to treat his wounds.
For the first time, a desire toward a man quietly raised its head.
From that brief conversation, Hyun-ah felt the illusion that the distance between them had shortened.
Perhaps he was aware of her too.
That was why she didn’t know what kind of expectations she was placing on his answer.
“They look good together.”
Even though she knew it was the most he could say, Hyun-ah’s heart deflated like a punctured balloon.
What had she been expecting?
“Alright then. What do you think of Hyun-ah?”
“Father!”
Chan-soo cried out in shock.
Had the old man lost his mind?
At first he hadn’t liked Hyun-ah, but before Woo-sik regained consciousness, he wanted to tie Hyun-ah and Chan together. It absolutely had to happen.
It wasn’t because of friendship with Baek Woo-sik.
Friendship… rather than that, Woo-sik had always been more like a damned rival he constantly clashed with.
Baek Woo-sik was the one who had filled him with an inferiority complex.
<I may have failed in raising my children, but perhaps I’m lucky with people. To meet a child like Yoon-gyeom after Woo-sik… It seems Woo-sik kept worrying about refusing the adoption.>
Even Yoon-gyeom had been introduced by Baek Woo-sik.
At least when it came to his son Chan, he didn’t want him to feel such inferiority.
But now his father was starting to weigh them on the scales again…
Every time Chan-soo saw Yoon-gyeom, resentment built up inside him.
“Representative Jung. I did not ask you.”
“Father, I’m worried that the brotherly bond between Chan and Yoon-gyeom might be damaged.”
Despite the rebuke, Chan-soo tried to hide his displeasure. If he openly showed his teeth, he had more to lose.
The old man’s obsession with Woo-sik’s daughter, Hyun-ah, irritated him even more.
Does that old man know something?
No. It must just be anxiety. As long as there was no evidence, there was nothing to fear.
“Then I’ll ask Hyun-ah instead. Do you dislike our Chan?”
Hyun-ah had never imagined Chairman Jung Young-woong would ask for her opinion.
“I… It’s not that I dislike Oppa Chan. I’m only twenty-five. I’ve been abroad for a long time, so I need time to adjust to life here.”
She felt nothing for Chan—neither liking nor disliking him.
But after meeting Yoon-gyeom, it had become painfully clear that this marriage went against her feelings.
Besides, her father was critically ill. She didn’t want to rush into marriage.
“Hyun-ah. Then this oppa can help you adjust after we get married.”
Chan casually placed his hand over hers.
Hyun-ah quickly pulled her hand away and grabbed her glass of water.
“I was just thirsty,” she said with a smile, but Chan frowned.
“To be honest… I’d like to try dating before marriage.”
“You mean with Chan?”
Dating a man she felt absolutely nothing for…
“Well… I’m not sure.”
She couldn’t reveal her true feelings in front of Chan-soo and Hong Sera, so she dodged the question.
“So you like him but don’t love him… Strategic marriages only require mutual goodwill, but I want to give you a chance too, Hyun-ah.”
“Father… what are you talking about?”
Sera looked dumbfounded.
“Go ahead and choose someone yourself and bring him here. If he’s at least half the man your father is, I’ll approve.”
At those words, Hyun-ah’s gaze instinctively turned to Yoon-gyeom.
But feeling as if she’d done something wrong, she quickly looked away.
“Father!”
“Grandfather!”
“Hahaha. Woo-sik’s daughter is practically my granddaughter. Would I force her into a marriage she hates? Hyun-ah, still… I would like you to become part of our family.”
“……”
“Family” essentially meant marrying Jung Chan.
Hyun-ah met Yoon-gyeom’s eyes across the table. For some reason, she felt as if he were laughing at her for being manipulated like a puppet, and emotion surged in her chest.
Today, Baek Hyun-ah felt strangely unlike herself.
Ever since meeting Jung Yoon-gyeom, her emotions had been rising and falling like waves, her heart pounding strangely.
She was someone who had always been called robotic for never showing emotion.
“Hyun-ah. The chairman only said that because he was happy to see you. Don’t take it too seriously.”
Chan-soo desperately needed Baek Hyun-ah right now.
<Cases like this are rare, but sometimes patients miraculously regain consciousness. I’m optimistic… but you’re saying you don’t want the family to know?>
<Not just the family—no one should know there’s a chance of recovery. Unless you want to be held responsible if he doesn’t recover. I’ll reward you generously.>
Baek Hyun-ah, the only weakness of Baek Woo-sik—who stubbornly refused to die—had to remain useful.
“Your father would want you to become stable.”
Chan-soo shamelessly exploited Hyun-ah’s weakness.
