Chapter 6
The garden of the mansion was lined with old, towering pine trees.
Il-bong loved sitting on the bench under the trees, watching the pond.
Her secretary, however, was tense. It was about time for Il-bong’s grandson, Han Yu-jin, to arrive.
“Ha! Look at that! Even the koi have partners!”
The moment Yu-jin stepped into the garden, Il-bong shouted out. He glanced toward the pond she was pointing at.
A pair of elegant koi swam side by side, looking like they shared the same noble bloodline.
“How do you even know if they’re a couple or not?”
“You never let me win a single word, do you? No wonder you’re so hopelessly uncharming.”
Il-bong took the koi feed from her secretary and scattered it generously over the pond.
At moments like this, her secretary thought she really seemed like one of those typical old grandmothers in the neighborhood.
Her attire was plain as well—no one would believe she was the chairwoman of Hanwool Group.
But even the flawless businesswoman Il-bong had one worry that constantly weighed on her.
“Grandma, are you really going to bring up marriage again the second you see me?”
Clench—Il-bong gripped the feed as if she would hurl it.
This wasn’t the first time, so Yu-jin discreetly shuffled sideways and hid behind the secretary like a block of wood.
Il-bong, of course, wasn’t going to pelt her secretary with fish food in her grandson’s stead.
“Come out from there! You’re tall as a beanpole and poor Secretary Shim can’t even hide you properly. Damn it! You’ve got the looks of a leading man in a drama, but you can’t even charm a single woman?”
“Charm them, you say.”
“I arrange meetings for you every time, telling you to at least see someone!”
“Fine, fine. I’ll meet them.”
Il-bong narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.
“You sure talk a good game.”
But she knew this grandson of hers would just wriggle out of the next arranged date too.
Whenever she thought about her one and only grandson, Il-bong would shake her head and say: He’s a free spirit.
Yu-jin hated being tied down to a family or household.
But Il-bong, convinced that her only male heir had to be secured, had been talking about engagements since he was still a minor. And the moment he became an adult, she had thrown him into blind dates one after another.
As much as Il-bong found it frustrating, Yu-jin was equally sick of it.
Splish-splash—the koi greedily devoured the feed, and Il-bong let out a dismissive snort.
“You said you flew back last night, right? Did you unpack everything?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like the house?”
“You seem to know the state of it well, don’t you?”
“And the lady upstairs—do you like her too?”
Yu-jin’s lips parted slightly, and then a slow smile spread across his face.
So that’s what this is.
With that single question, he understood his grandmother’s intentions.
Choi Seung-ah is Plan B, isn’t she.
From experience, he knew arranged dates always fizzled out.
So even if Plan A failed, she had prepared a backup in Seung-ah.
The woman was already living in the house, and she didn’t seem like the type to leave easily. That meant Yu-jin had no choice but to face her daily.
Il-bong must have calculated that far. She made it look as though she rented out the room even though she knew exactly when Yu-jin would be returning to Korea.
When their eyes met, Il-bong gave a sly smile that said: Yes, you’ve guessed correctly.
Another new strategy, huh.
But if he brushed off even her trump card, that would only crush her spirits all the more.
If he couldn’t drive Seung-ah out, then using the situation to his own advantage might not be a bad idea.
He would play along with the game Il-bong had set up.
For that, he needed to know what kind of person Choi Seung-ah was. And since they were living under the same roof, he could naturally get close to her and even create opportunities for more intimacy.
The higher the expectations, the sharper the disappointment when things didn’t work out. If it looked promising but then failed in the end, even Il-bong would lose steam.
But one thing nagged at him—until now, Il-bong had only ever set him up with daughters of political and business elites.
So what on earth did she see in Choi Seung-ah that made her bring her into the house without even considering her background?
The evening was filled only with the sound of crickets. Seung-ah tiptoed through the front gate as though she were a petty thief.
Light spilled faintly from inside the house—Yu-jin must be home.
Well, of course. It’s his house, after all.
She wanted nothing more than to slip in quietly, so she shut the door without a sound.
But when she turned around, she spotted his leather shoes—the very ones she had stepped on earlier—placed conspicuously in the entryway.
Ugh. Her conscience pricked at her chest.
But that’s his own fault anyway.
The shoes weren’t the only trace of Yu-jin. From inside came the soft sound of music.
Under the warm glow of recessed lighting, the atmosphere resembled that of a wine bar.
The blend of Yu-jin’s taste and her own created an oddly intoxicating scene. She was still half-dazed when a deep voice came from behind.
“You’re back?”
Startled, Seung-ah spun around.
A refreshing scent of shampoo rushed into her nose.
“D-did you just shower?”
It didn’t look like he had just showered—it looked like he had deliberately prepared to seduce someone.
Otherwise, why would he appear in nothing but a bathrobe in front of a woman?
“This.”
He waved a piece of paper between his fingers.
She knew exactly what it was—that damned contract.
“I’m not signing.”
“So I was completely conned, huh?”
“How tragic. Why don’t you go complain to your grandmother instead?”
“I already saw her today.”
He strode closer.
Was he angry? She didn’t even have the composure to check.
With his broad shoulders and sculpted body peeking out from the robe, he looked like he had stepped out of a famous photographer’s portfolio. And he was drawing nearer, step by step.
Flinch.
As she stiffened, Yu-jin brushed past her.
“I’ll leave it here.”
He placed the contract on the dining table, then lifted the glass top covering it.
“Best to slip it under here. That way, you’ll see it every time you eat. Got it?”
He probably knew the paper was meaningless. He just wanted to toy with her.
But Seung-ah wasn’t even looking at the contract.
Her eyes were glued to the water dripping from Yu-jin’s hair. Droplets slid down to his collarbone, tracing his pale skin before disappearing into the robe.
The robe. That was the problem.
The belt was carelessly tied, loose enough to unravel a little more with every movement.
It felt like it could slip off completely at any moment, revealing everything beneath.
Had he tied it like that by accident? Or was it a deliberate ploy to throw her off balance? Yes—that had to be it!
Suddenly he seemed like a demon, luring his prey before devouring their soul.
“Miss Choi Seung-ah?”
“Yes.”
“What are you staring at so intently?”
“Your body.”
He reflexively looked down at himself. Then a sly grin tugged at his lips.
“Well, aren’t you shameless.”
“……”
“If you want a better look, just say so. Of course, you’d have to pay a price.”
Gasp!
At the word price, she snapped back to her senses.
“You’re not my type at all!”
“That’s surprising. Usually, I only hear the opposite.”
“And why do you keep speaking informally to me?”
“Did you expect respect after stomping on me like I was a cockroach?”
“…I said I was sorry. If you really were a cockroach, I’d have crushed you completely.”
Whether he used polite speech or not—she didn’t care anymore.
What mattered was escaping this devilish man before she got swept away by his dangerously seductive aura.
Avoiding his lingering gaze, Seung-ah bounded up the stairs.
Forget him. She had work to do.
She pulled her laptop from her bag—the very one he had brought back to her earlier.
But a small pang of guilt kept resurfacing. Maybe that’s why the teddy bears scattered around the room seemed to glare at her.
Shame on you, Seung-ah. You dirtied someone else’s shoes…
If those expensive shoes got scuffed…
And he even returned your laptop—doesn’t that count as helping you?
Argh! Shut up!
She wasn’t going to care. His damn shoes were none of her concern.
Yu-jin had just finished the last of his wine in the study when he stepped into the kitchen for another bottle. That’s when he heard the faint, scratchy sound coming from the entryway.
Scritch, scritch.
He turned his head toward the noise.
Someone was there. It had to be that round-faced woman.
He thought she’d run upstairs earlier and stay hidden. But there she was again, scritch-scritch, as if working on something.
“What are you doing?”
“Eek!”
The small figure crouched on the floor jumped in fright.
Seung-ah held a shoe brush in one hand and his leather shoe in the other—the very pair he had worn earlier.
“I cleaned them. What do you think?”
She lifted the polished shoes proudly, gleaming like new.
But Yu-jin didn’t spare them a glance. Instead, he stared at her eyes, sparkling with confidence.
“Look, will you?”
“I am looking.”
“No, not at me—the shoes!”
Her big shining eyes were begging for praise.
“Well? What do you think?”
When he asked, she nodded eagerly, waiting for judgment.
But all he could think was—what about the shoe polish smeared all over her face?
“You’d better wipe that off.”
“Huh? Look closely. They’re spotless, no scuff marks, and shiny!”
Yu-jin couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.
Seeing his twitching cheeks, Seung-ah frowned.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Did you smear the shoe polish on your face instead?”
“…What?”
He handed her a tissue. She meekly accepted it.
“I guess I got carried away. Still, not bad, right? I once watched someone polish shoes when I was little.”
Chatter, chatter—she was far more focused on her accomplishment than the black stains smudging her temples.
“Hold still.”
Yu-jin pulled another tissue and slowly reached toward her face.
Surprisingly, she closed her eyes and waited obediently, as if trusting his touch.
Her long lashes fell gracefully, and he realized—though they’d been sparring nonstop, she really was a beautiful woman.
When nothing happened for a while, she opened her eyes again.
Up close, he could see the trembling of her clear pupils, the blush rising on her cheeks.
“I-I’ll do it myself!”
Flustered, she darted into the bathroom.
Yu-jin chuckled softly and crumpled the useless tissue.
Now he understood why Madam Il-bong had chosen Choi Seung-ah.
She has a cute side to her.
And he realized he had misjudged earlier.
When he spoke with his grandmother, he thought arranged matches were her priority, with Seung-ah as a mere fallback.
But now he saw it was the opposite. With such charm, no wonder Il-bong had been swayed.
Choi Seung-ah is Plan A.
