Chapter 06
One child had been conceived with a woman from a bar.
The other had been fathered with a young actress.
The woman from the bar had been paid off to keep quiet, while the actress had remained silent in exchange for his backing.
Advertisements featuring the actress, whose career had flourished under Hakseon’s sponsorship, were plastered all over Seoul.
The once all-powerful Kang Hakseon had now become a toothless tiger.
He had brought it upon himself.
There was no such thing as a secret that lasted forever.
Watching her father’s downfall, the happiest person of all had been Sua herself.
The problem was Mihyang.
“Go upstairs.”
Worried that Mihyang might have another episode, Sua hurried up the stairs.
Though Mihyang had embraced her husband’s illegitimate children as if she were a stone Buddha, every time she saw them, she suffered in silence.
As though her husband’s sins were somehow her own fault.
“My daughter. He didn’t hit you, did he? Hmm?”
The moment Sua returned to the bedroom, Mihyang carefully looked her over from head to toe.
“I told you… you could at least pretend to do what your father wants. Why won’t you listen, hmm?”
Only after confirming that Sua wasn’t hurt did Mihyang finally relax enough to scold her gently.
“Mom. A man twenty years older than me is honestly out of the question.”
“That’s… You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for sending you there. I’m just… powerless.”
“…Why are you apologizing?”
Seeing Mihyang blame herself softened Sua’s anger.
The already frail woman looked even smaller and more pitiful.
“It hurt me too. I couldn’t just hand you over to any man. You’re my beautiful daughter.”
Her slender hand lovingly caressed Sua’s cheek again and again.
Soon, Mihyang’s eyes began to sparkle.
“Sua… do you know what kind of dream I had when I was pregnant with you?”
At the familiar question, a bitter smile tugged at Sua’s lips.
Her mother’s story about the prenatal dream had become a habit.
She brought it up as naturally as breathing.
“It was a beautiful night. A fairy descended by walking across the Milky Way and gave me the most beautiful robe made of feathers.”
Mihyang’s expression became dreamy.
“From that moment on, I knew. You would become the greatest treasure of my life.”
Sua simply looked at her in silence.
Mihyang had been Hakseon’s second wife.
His first wife had died of illness without ever having children.
Because Sua was Hakseon’s first child, Mihyang had become his official wife.
And from then on, her life had completely fallen apart.
Years of gaslighting and abuse at Hakseon’s hands had steadily broken her spirit.
“My daughter… I live because of you. You’re my treasure.”
Mihyang’s shining gaze traced every feature of Sua’s face.
“So… okay? Just pretend to go along with what your father wants. If you get hurt… I really won’t be able to go on. Please, Sua.”
Holding Sua’s hand, Mihyang gently patted the back of it as she pleaded.
Sua swallowed the tears threatening to spill over.
“Sua… you’re your mother’s only hope. You know that, don’t you?”
Blood had gathered on Mihyang’s cracked lips as she whispered.
“…Okay. I’ll do it. So please, get some sleep.”
Sua nodded reassuringly.
Only then did a smile bloom across Mihyang’s face.
“Good. You must be tired. Get some rest, my daughter.”
After Mihyang left, Sua stared at the calendar.
“Ha…”
Another suffocating day had come to an end.
She was diligently saving every penny so she could leave this house as soon as possible.
Living as Kang Hakseon’s daughter was unbearable.
If she had been alone, she would have run away long ago.
But she couldn’t leave Mihyang behind.
Just three more months.
Then she would finally qualify to apply for an overseas assignment with Taesan Group.
It was the safest path, both financially and professionally, to take Mihyang away—a woman who believed leaving this house would bring disaster.
She had joined the company and endured four years for this very moment.
Until she could support Mihyang entirely on her own, without relying on her father’s money or influence.
She wanted nothing more than to escape this hell with her mother.
Once they left this place, Mihyang’s condition would surely improve.
Just hang in there a little longer.
Until then, she would have to endure these endless blind dates…
…and this miserable house.
Steeling herself once again, Sua opened her bag.
As she sorted through its contents in preparation for work, she found the crumpled napkin and the broken lipstick.
She had deliberately tucked them away in front of her blind date to provoke him.
When she unfolded the napkin, an eleven-digit phone number appeared.
Even though it had been scribbled hastily, the handwriting was unexpectedly elegant.
The events of the blind date came flooding back.
Remembering Byeon Gi-nam sitting there deathly pale, his lips trembling helplessly, made a mocking smile spread across her face.
Then she thought of the other man—
The one with an aristocratic face who spoke such cheap, vulgar words.
He was… unusual.
He had left quite an impression.
His overwhelming physique.
His commanding presence.
Though… at the end, he almost seemed like a normal person.
…No. Can anyone who drives a convertible in the middle of winter really be called normal?
What a strange man.
Sua was about to throw the ruined lipstick and napkin into the trash.
Instead, she slipped them back into her bag.
For some reason, it felt safer to throw them away at the office.
The black sports car pulled into a detached house in Hannam-dong.
Leaving the convertible roof open, Taejo crossed the stone pathway.
Unlike most young people who preferred high-rise apartments, he stubbornly insisted on living on the ground floor.
As soon as he entered through the front door, he stopped before another entrance.
He had deliberately instructed the interior designer to build multiple layers of security around this second doorway alone.
As he rubbed his ears, which had become overly sensitive to the sound of the wind, his phone vibrated just as he was opening the second door.
“Why did you skip today’s meeting again? I wasn’t even asking you to come to the office! I specifically arranged a video conference to accommodate you!”
The voice booming from the phone sounded loud enough to burst a train boiler.
“Mr. Yoon Sung-sik, you’re as lively as ever. What’s your secret?”
“Yoon Taejo!”
The roar made Taejo immediately pull the phone away from his ear.
“My ears are going to bleed, Father.”
“Ah… sorry. Are you okay, son?”
The furious voice instantly turned into one filled with concern.
“Even at your age, I guess yelling first and thinking later is still a habit.”
“Sigh. Taejo… it’s about time you at least showed your face at the company.”
Sung-sik’s tone quickly softened.
“Is now really the time for a lecture? Looks like someone got stabbed in the back pretty badly, huh, Dad?”
Taejo chuckled as he finally lit the cigarette he’d been holding back all day.
It had happened after signing the investment agreement with the Vietnamese government to build an automobile manufacturing plant.
The moment construction began, the local government demanded an enormous additional investment under the pretext of regional development.
“I told you so. I said those bastards were going to betray you.”
“President Park pushed so hard for it.”
The U.S. and Vietnam branches had fiercely competed over the project.
The winner had been President Park, head of the Vietnam branch.
“Are you getting senile already? His specialty is talking a big game.”
“You’ve really got no respect for your father.”
“You know I haven’t been sleeping. I’m not exactly sane.”
Laughing quietly, Taejo took off his jacket and tossed it into the trash before beginning to unbutton his shirt.
“You’re still like that? Still can’t sleep?”
“…Yeah.”
“You should just stay at the family home… And don’t skip your hospital appointments. Your mother is worried sick. Speaking of which, why did you miss your counseling session again today?”
“Who was it that ordered me to inspect the hotel today?”
“…Was that today?”
“You had all the hotel elevators replaced with glass ones. Planning to send me there permanently?”
“Ahem. Never mind that. So, what did you think of the renovation plans?”
“Not bad. But someone needs to tighten up guest management in the lounge. That six-star title deserves better.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
“There were too many flies buzzing around.”
“…Another stalker? Who was it this time? An actress? A model?”
“Nothing serious. I got rid of her. Honestly, why did you and Mom have to make your son so handsome? It’s exhausting.”
“Ahem. Well… your mother and I certainly put in some effort.”
Taejo could practically picture his father grinning proudly on the other end.
“By the way, Vice Chairman… your handsome son’s ears are starting to hurt.”
“Fine, fine. But when are you finally going to—”
“Vice Chairman.”
“…Right. Get some rest.”
The moment Taejo lowered his voice, Sung-sik hurriedly ended the call.
Smirking, Taejo placed his phone on a nearby cabinet.
One by one, the clothes he had been wearing landed in the trash.
He couldn’t stand the lingering scent of the woman who had clung to him at the hotel.
He had been seconds away from calling security to throw her out.
If not for that amusing spectacle.
He remembered the woman who had watched the disgusting pervert with utterly dead, expressionless eyes.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
His long fingers tapped lightly against his belt before unfastening it.
“Kang Sua…”
He took another drag from his cigarette.
She had never told him her name.
But his unusually sharp hearing had caught the greasy pervert saying it.
And he had heard her voice, calmly rejecting the man every single time.
“Aren’t you cold?”
That clear, low voice had cut cleanly through the wind.
“Excuse me… are you okay? Please, stay with me.”
Kang Sua’s voice sounded almost identical to the one in his memory.
The silhouette he had seen through blurred vision…
The strangely familiar scent…
That overwhelming sense of déjà vu had made him interfere in someone else’s business—something he normally never would have done.
“…It was her, wasn’t it?”
It certainly seemed that way.
The woman who had shared the elevator with him…
Three years ago.
