Chapter 15
“When I go to gatherings, all the girls just talk about Kang Serin. They’re busy copying everything she buys.”
Meanwhile, Seungjo, the person in question, sat quietly eating his buckwheat noodles, indifferent to the conversation. Having taken off his suit jacket, he was neatly dressed in a simple shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
“Looks like he’s good in bed too, right?”
At that moment, Sangyoon smirked, running his hand down his suit pants, speaking excitedly with spit flying from his mouth.
“Who was it again? When I was in college, I once saw some girl coming out of my grandmother’s room. I only caught a glimpse of her in passing, but even her side profile was insanely pretty. This is a secret, but I actually followed her in secret that day.”
“Ha!”
Seungjo, who hadn’t reacted at all during the marriage talk earlier, let out a curse-like laugh through his clenched teeth.
“She was wearing a school uniform, but her body was amazing. She had wide hips and a big chest, but her sneakers were so worn-out that she looked poor. You’ve never seen her, have you?”
“……”
The corner of Seungjo’s mouth stiffened coldly, but Sangyoon didn’t notice at all.
“I almost dragged her straight to my room! Wanted to get a proper look at that cute face… and, well, do other things…”
“……”
“But then the girl noticed I was following her, got scared, and ran off. Damn it…”
“You’re disgusting.”
With a loud smack, Seungjo slammed his chopsticks down. The chopsticks were slightly bent.
Before Sangyoon could even register what was happening, Seungjo had already smacked the back of his head.
“Be grateful nothing happened that day. Otherwise, you’d be lying in a hospital bed like a corpse right now, unable to eat this crap.”
“W-what? You punk, how dare you talk like that to your older cousin…”
Leaving the stunned Sangyoon behind, Seungjo walked out of the noodle shop, pulling his phone from his suit jacket pocket.
He checked the message Sun had sent earlier that morning:
[Just like you asked, I just fed her some porridge. But she barely managed a few spoonfuls. Her eyes are so swollen… it’s breaking my heart.]
Thank you for your help.
Seungjo replied briefly and headed towards his car.
An arranged marriage… It had come sooner than expected, but for Seungjo, it was always one of the unavoidable things in life.
He believed Haejoo would soon be okay.
* * *
“Jongha had buckwheat noodles and buckwheat pancakes for lunch today!”
Haejoo was leaving the office with Boyoung from the same department. They were on their way to search for some materials for the upcoming post-lunch meeting.
With her short hair and a flushed face, Boyoung glanced at her phone with excitement.
“I love buckwheat noodles and pancakes too… I wish I could’ve eaten with him, but I guess the timing didn’t work out.”
Haejoo smiled faintly. Boyoung had just started dating.
“I heard today the Chairman, CEO, Executive Director, and other Taehwa family members had lunch together! I’ve seen the three of them leaving during lunch before… turns out it was to go eat buckwheat noodles! Isn’t that surprising?”
Boyoung’s boyfriend worked as the secretary to CEO Taesangyoon. They had met through a friend on a blind date, and by chance, the guy turned out to be someone from the same company.
Looking at Boyoung, who had been glued to her phone all morning, Haejoo found her quite endearing.
During lunch breaks, Boyoung often chattered excitedly, asking Haejoo to help choose outfits for upcoming dates. Haejoo felt envious of her.
Looking at the buckwheat noodle photo Jongha had sent her, Boyoung dragged Haejoo over to the large glass window.
“Daeri-nim (Assistant Manager), see that alley over there?”
“Near the elementary school?”
“Yes! If you go down that alley, you’ll find a small shop behind the school! There’s no restaurant sign or anything, but apparently, it’s a secret spot where Taehwa family members often eat!”
“Ah…”
“It’s like one of those hidden gems that only people in the know go to! An elderly lady runs it, and she doesn’t take reservations or let people line up. Basically, it’s almost impossible to get a taste unless you’re lucky. Only the Chairman, the CEO, the Executive Director, and their secretaries get to eat there!”
Hearing that, Haejoo’s eyes softened as she unintentionally thought of Seungjo. Boyoung smiled brightly.
“Jongha said even actress Lee Gayoun used to go there often! That’s Executive Director’s mother, you know!”
“……”
“Isn’t it amazing? Lee Gayoun was really beautiful. Elegant and classy… Executive Director looks just like her! Honestly, when I joined this company, the most shocking thing wasn’t the high salary but how perfect our Executive Director’s face was!”
Haejoo blinked her eyes awkwardly.
“My mom always says if Lee Gayoun hadn’t passed away in that accident, she would’ve outshined all the popular actresses these days!”
“Boyoung…”
“I mean it! My mom sometimes watches dramas and says none of the current celebrities compare to Lee Gayoun.”
“She… really was beautiful.”
“And she was so admirable too! All that money she earned as an actress… she donated every single penny after marrying Chairman Tae.”
“……”
“Everyone envied Lee Gayoun not because she married into a chaebol family, but because Taehwa was the one lucky to get her as a daughter-in-law, according to my mom.”
Boyoung suddenly covered her mouth, laughing so hard she started snorting.
“You won’t believe this—when my mom was pregnant with my little sister, she did prenatal education by staring at Lee Gayoun’s photos, praying for her baby to be born with that face!”
“Your mom must have really liked her.”
“Yeah! But the heavens were cruel… my sister turned out to be totally boyish, like a general! Honestly though, if anyone were to have a child that looks like Lee Gayoun, it’d probably have to be the wife of Executive Director Tae Seungjo, right?”
Blushing at her own words, Boyoung laughed again while Haejoo gave an awkward smile.
A child that looked like Seungjo would undoubtedly be incredibly handsome and beautiful. But that position—being Seungjo’s wife—belonged to Kang Serin, Head of Strategy at Sungjin Group.
Feeling a sharp pain in her chest, Haejoo took a deep breath. Together, the two resumed walking past the window.
And just then, Haejoo ran right into Seungjo entering the lobby alongside the Chairman and CEO.
“Family dynamics are weird, aren’t they? They fight like hell over business rights and management succession, but here they are, walking back in together after having lunch.”
Avoiding Seungjo’s cold and deep gaze, Haejoo greeted him politely. His eyes lingered long on the top of her head before moving on. Even that fleeting gaze made her heart pound.
Just then, a text from Seungjo arrived:
[Come to the Seocho-dong residence after work.]
It was the usual: calling her over for sex.
But today, Haejoo had no intention of going.
* * *
“Why is my makeup such a mess today?!”
Serin’s sharp voice rang out inside a Cheongdam-dong hair salon. She slammed her iced americano down on the vanity like she was throwing it.
Coffee spilled over the counter as the staff around her hurried to clean up the mess.
“S-sorry, ma’am! I’ll fix it right away!”
Even Chief Park, the head makeup artist, was trembling pale. This happened often whenever Serin was in a bad mood.
“What’s with that woman anyway?”
Snatching up a tissue irritably, Serin angrily wiped off the carefully applied lipstick.
Her makeup had been fine, but she picked a fight over it anyway.
‘Listen carefully. If Ms. Kang Serin plans to become part of this family, she’d better remember this.’
‘Seon Haejoo… she’s not a servant in our Taehwa household. She’s my employee.’
‘So don’t make any mistakes with my employee again. Especially concerning Madam Hong.’
Ever since yesterday, Serin’s mood had hit rock bottom.
In front of her grandmother and a woman he was supposedly considering for marriage, Seungjo had walked out with the daughter of a mere employee.
Serin’s plans to leave a strong first impression on Seungjo had gone up in smoke, and that alone was enough to make her furious.
“So annoying… seriously!”
Serin thought back to Haejoo, who had stood quietly next to Madam Hong like a shadow.
She had a noticeably pretty face. Even though she tried to hide her presence, there had been a calm, soft aura about her.
“And she’s been by the Madam’s side for over ten years?”
