Chapter 10
“Sister-in-law.”
Even without looking in the mirror, she could feel how red her face must be right now.
“Be careful.”
The low sound of his laughter tickled her ear.
“Why are you out here alone? Lee-chan is inside too.”
“……”
She didn’t want to admit that she had run away because Jung Lee-chan was being annoying.
“I just… came out for some air. What about you, Mr. Yoon-gyeom?”
“You called me.”
Hyun-a swallowed hard at the soft voice that seemed to resonate against the back of her head.
“I didn’t.”
Bringing the champagne glass to her lips, Hyun-a replied curtly.
No. I should look more attractive to him… If only I could speak in a sweet voice like Soo-a.
She felt pathetic for not even knowing how to appeal to a man.
“Is your ankle okay?”
Yoon-gyeom’s gaze landed on her ankle bone. Embarrassed for no reason, Hyun-a wiggled her toes and lightly overlapped her feet.
“…Yes.”
“That’s good.”
The end of Yoon-gyeom’s eyebrow lifted slightly before settling again.
“You know that habit is the same as the Chairman’s? Lee-chan oppa does it too…”
Hyun-a tried desperately to find something to talk about.
If she said nothing, it felt like he would just leave.
“You resemble the Chairman a little. Is that why he favors you?”
“Good thing you didn’t say I resemble CEO Jung Chansu.”
Tilting her head, Hyun-a studied Yoon-gyeom’s expression.
“…You don’t like the CEO?”
“CEO Jung Chansu doesn’t like me.”
Even Hyun-a, who hadn’t witnessed it many times, could sense the blatant hostility and disregard Jung Chansu and Jung Lee-chan showed toward Yoon-gyeom.
Fidgeting with her champagne glass, Hyun-a eventually set it aside.
“I saw you before… at Hwamyeong City Hotel.”
Yoon-gyeom’s eyebrow twitched again.
“Your girlfriend, right? She was pretty. Have you been dating long?”
“Are you asking that sincerely?”
For a moment, his gaze deepened.
“Pardon?”
“I thought you were interested in me.”
“…Me?”
Hyun-a’s eyes widened in surprise.
“There’s no way.”
Knowing her feelings must never be discovered, she feigned ignorance.
“Then stop staring.”
“Maybe you’re the one interested in me.”
She hoped the repeated eye contact wasn’t just hers alone.
“I am.”
“Uh…”
Hyun-a stared at him blankly at the unexpected answer.
“But you shouldn’t look at me. Lee-chan exists.”
“It has nothing to do with Lee-chan oppa.”
She hated it—hearing Jung Lee-chan’s existence confirmed from his lips.
“Your fiancé would be upset.”
“Lee-chan oppa doesn’t need me anyway.”
So… it would be nice if you needed me instead, Mr. Jung Yoon-gyeom.
“The Chairman wants Miss Hyun-a.”
Chairman Jung Young-woong’s lingering attachment to Baek Woo-sik was sacrificing her.
“The Chairman cares about my father.”
It was an undeniable fact that Baek Woo-sik, once an abandoned man with nothing, had caught Chairman Jung Young-woong’s eye and risen to the very top of Hwamyeong Group. Hyun-a had also benefited from that favor.
“If you hate it, don’t force yourself.”
How can you say that so easily when you’re also part of Hwamyeong Group?
“How can I quit?”
She asked as if she didn’t know the answer, though there was only one possibility in her mind.
If Jung Yoon-gyeom became my fiancé instead…
“You just need to find someone the Chairman approves of.”
“Everything sounds so easy for you.”
Suppressing the emotions rising in her chest, Hyun-a gazed quietly at his face.
Under the moonlight, the lines of his profile were breathtakingly beautiful.
Their eyes met, and slowly Yoon-gyeom’s face drew closer, narrowing the distance between them. Seeing her reflection filling his eyes, Hyun-a closed her own.
The night breeze brushed lightly against her skin.
Suddenly, a strong grip wrapped around her wrist and pulled her forward until her cheek touched Yoon-gyeom’s shoulder.
“People…”
He pulled her tightly into the space behind a bench. Voices of several people chatting drifted down from the terrace above.
Yoon-gyeom’s voice whispered beside her ear.
“Go inside first.”
It wouldn’t be good if others saw them together.
“No.”
When the hand that had been touching her withdrew, Hyun-a felt an unexpected emptiness.
If she stepped away now, it felt like the connection between them would disappear forever. Even as she slowly lifted her head, she couldn’t bring herself to leave.
“…The missing funds. They say Baek Woo-sik embezzled them. And that him lying in bed now is all an act.”
“President Baek isn’t that kind of person…”
Hyun-a couldn’t believe what she was hearing from the people above the terrace.
Is this what Mother meant when she said Father caused an incident?
“The money disappeared, but there’s no evidence. Even the audit team seems stuck.”
“Couldn’t it be CEO Jung Chansu?”
The man’s voice lowered, but she clearly heard the name Jung Chansu.
“Why would the Chairman’s son do something like that? If he just waits, the entire Hwamyeong Group will be his.”
“But if Baek Woo-sik had stayed healthy, the succession might’ve gone to him. The board even talked about dismissing CEO Jung Chansu because of that failed project, but everyone’s too busy watching the Chairman’s mood…”
“If the Chairman marks you, the Strategic Planning Office moves immediately and you’re finished. Even dictators aren’t this bad.”
“Jung Yoon-gyeom, that bastard.”
“They call him the Chairman’s dog. Heh.”
Worried for him, Hyun-a glanced at Yoon-gyeom’s expression, but he looked calm.
As if he were used to such things, he merely raised one eyebrow slightly and tightened the arm around her shoulder, reassuring her instead.
What a strange man.
“Maybe Jung Yoon-gyeom did the same thing to Baek Woo-sik.”
“They say it was a cerebral hemorrhage, but maybe the Chairman had him do it to recover the money.”
What are they even talking about?
Hyun-a knew her father had long suffered from health problems. While she believed Yoon-gyeom could never do such a thing, his warning to trust no one echoed in her mind.
Shrinking her shoulders, Hyun-a leaned closer to him.
A bitter smile briefly appeared at the corner of his mouth before disappearing.
“The prosecutors were trying to bring Baek Woo-sik in for questioning, but the day before that he collapsed and became a vegetable.”
“I knew it. He always acted so clean, but people like that are the ones who hide the most.”
“But you know something? They say Baek Woo-sik barely had any assets left. He must’ve already moved everything somewhere else. His wife and daughter are left with just a house.”
“How can we understand what people that smart are thinking?”
Hyun-a couldn’t believe her father was being named the prime suspect in embezzlement.
“Looks like CEO Jung Chansu has arrived. Let’s go greet him. Anyway, people like us just need to stand on the right side if we want to stay in the company.”
After chattering for a while, the three men returned to the gallery.
Silence fell between Hyun-a and Yoon-gyeom.
“I’m going back inside now. What about you, Miss Baek Hyun-a?”
As Yoon-gyeom stood up, Hyun-a grabbed the sleeve of his jacket.
“My father’s situation… it has nothing to do with you, right?”
“If I say it doesn’t, will you believe me?”
Looking down at her with a serious expression, Yoon-gyeom’s eyes felt as cold as ice.
“Mr. Yoon-gyeom… when you told me not to trust anyone, was it related to this?”
Her voice trembled faintly.
But she couldn’t endure not knowing. She realized again that there was nothing she could endure with her own strength alone. She couldn’t trust anyone, and she knew nothing.
“The company funds disappeared, and we still don’t know whose pocket they ended up in.”
Embezzlement…
Hyun-a’s vision went dark.
“It means the evidence has disappeared.”
“My father wouldn’t do that.”
She murmured quietly.
“The one who can’t speak is always at a disadvantage.”
“Do you also think my father did it?”
Thinking about how unfair the situation must have been for her father made her chest feel tight.
“Don’t worry.”
His voice was gentle, as if trying to comfort her.
“If no evidence appears, it’ll remain just rumors and eventually be buried.”
“That’s not the issue…”
“I can’t recklessly deepen your suspicions, Miss Hyun-a.”
“Mr. Yoon-gyeom… was my father set up?”
“Can you think of anyone who would set such a trap?”
“……”
Hyun-a swallowed the name that came to mind.
“The Baek Woo-sik I know…”
Yoon-gyeom frowned slightly, as if troubled.
“…would be the one laying the trap, not the one falling into it.”
“……”
“And that President Baek Woo-sik is not someone who would embezzle money.”
When Hyun-a lifted her head, their eyes met.
“I believe that.”
Again.
Hyun-a felt the same way she had eight years ago.
What is this man? What is he to me…?
Her heart churned like a storm at sea, unable to find calm. The feelings she had long hidden surged up and shook her.
If it’s this man… perhaps this man could be the solution to all her problems.
“Thank you for believing that.”
The man who had told her to trust no one was believing in her father.
Hyun-a became convinced that Yoon-gyeom was on her side.
“Mr. Yoon-gyeom… can you hold my hand?”
Hyun-a clung to him with a desperate voice.
