Episode 1
“I hope it snows on Christmas. I’ll have this warm drink in my hand, ah, and take the snow as my snack. And then… let’s kiss. We’ll say ‘Merry Christmas’ to each other—promise me…”
A faint piano melody seeped softly into the room—it was a carol. Christmas, huh… Had the date already come around so quickly? Taehwa rotated his wrist and checked his watch.
Membership Club The One. In the VIP room, the day was already nearing its end, yet the executive’s confessional rant, carried by pent-up grievances, had been going on for two hours with no sign of stopping.
“This cancerous element should be eradicated, shouldn’t it? I can overlook his arrogance, claiming the chairman’s line, but using company funds like his personal safe is unacceptable.”
He was talking about Kim Taeyoung, Executive Director of Samyoung Trading, who had been meticulously pocketing illegal commissions through various side agreements.
Three quietly buried sexual harassment scandals, daily verbal abuse toward subordinates… His character was so flawed that discarding him would hardly be a loss. A deeply flawed executive with a reputation to match.
“……”
The executive clicked his tongue in frustration, then glanced anxiously at Taehwa, who simply swirled his wine glass. This was the first time the executive had seen the CEO in person, after waiting a whole month for a private meeting.
The man was far bigger in person than he had appeared on the field. Strong thighs supporting a wine glass, large hands, a sharp nose, and eyes so deep and dark they seemed to pierce everything—this was Jeong Taehwa, the legendary pitcher who had delivered the Korean Series victory to the perpetually last-place Samyoung Unicorns.
The executive had never imagined he would be asking Taehwa to remove Kim Taeyoung, the obstacle to his own promotion. While the executive was thinking this, Taehwa set down his wine glass.
“I’ll help you.”
‘…Help me.’
The faint voice brushed past Taehwa’s ear, making a crease form between his brows. Unaware, the executive’s face only showed excitement at the seemingly effortless agreement.
“They said that if I go to CEO Jeong, things would go smoothly.”
‘They said if I go to Jeong Taehwa, nothing is impossible…’
The overlapping voice made Taehwa frown again. This time, he even pictured the woman who had followed him with her brown hair covering her back, sitting neatly with her legs bent at right angles.
Shaking off the image of the woman trailing him, Taehwa addressed the executive.
“Shall we discuss the conditions?”
The executive’s displeasure was evident; he had not expected a condition to be attached. But he would ultimately accept. As the next candidate for promotion, his next target position was Kim Taeyoung’s.
“I heard it’s almost leaning toward Samyoung.”
Taehwa placed the contract for Malaysia’s 101-story landmark, a project sure to go to Samyoung Trading, on the table. The executive immediately protested, as expected.
“Are you asking Samyoung to forfeit the Malaysia 101 Building? That’s a project that will define our company for years! I’ve heard things are straightforward, yet you make such a preposterous demand.”
Indeed, Taehwa silently agreed. It was a preposterous demand—he could simply reject it. But he couldn’t, which was why the executive was so heated.
Only a week ago, Taehwa himself had been in the same position, making the same demands to another executive. He remembered how, then, he had stormed out when he had heard things that should never be spoken.
Now, the critical leverage, the choice of whom to imprison or release, the joint manipulation of corporate deals—his most demanding and unscrupulous client, Seo Minju, was seeking exactly this level of high-level information.
And even now, Seo Minju had been pacing outside the building for a week, waiting to see him.
“Can Kim Taeyoung be removed for sure?”
How to humiliate the audacity of Seo Minju asking such a thing…
“CEO Jeong?”
Do you really think I’m a fool?
“That won’t do. Excuse me.”
Taehwa rose. Today, he would firmly scold Seo Minju for storming in yet again. He would make it clear that nonsense wouldn’t work, and she should leave immediately.
“Charge the bill for Room 3 to me, and book the next available room. Let me know.”
He instructed Kyungjun, who had followed him, and called the elevator. His mind was set entirely on grabbing Seo Minju and giving her a stern warning.
“Just ten minutes, and I’ll handle it—”
Bang! Taehwa abandoned the elevator and chose the stairs, slamming the emergency exit door behind him. Kyungjun, who had been monitoring what was happening outside the building for a week, couldn’t hold him back.
Striding fiercely across the first-floor lobby, he threw open the exit door, and sharp air slammed into him.
“Haa…”
The world he faced was entirely white. Snow covered everything, as if ready to erase any mistake, yet it overwhelmed Taehwa with an oppressive sense of helplessness.
Every nerve stood on edge, like stepping into a bottomless swamp. And to think… my sister marrying him—what a wicked woman.
“Wow, God, am I not pitiful?”
Minju, now a white snowman from walking from the subway to the building, looked resentfully at the sky and brushed off the snow.
Heavy snow fell as if someone were dumping a whole sack of flour. For some, this might have been a romantic white Christmas. For Minju, struggling on heels through the snow, it was nothing but an impossible, harsh path home. She felt no joy in this white Christmas.
“A taxi will be hard to get.”
The same could be said on a snowy Christmas Eve.
Sighing deeply, Minju looked up at the cube-shaped building. Perhaps it really was better that he didn’t come… What was my fortune today? Her energy drained, thoughts tangled.
The winter wind was too biting for her coat alone; the narrow awning didn’t shield her from the snow. The flakes kept piling, freezing her fingers and toes, making her curl up more and more.
“Serves you right, Seo Minju.”
Today, Jeong Taehwa wouldn’t show up either. She was already exhausted from the pointless waiting. Yet, she couldn’t shake the thought that she had to meet him, so here she was again, as always.
In front of The One’s entrance, Minju stamped her feet, curling into herself under the eaves.
“Ugh, it’s cold.”
Should she just go home, wash in hot water, and leap into a warm bed? Or rush to a convenience store for a heat pack? That was her thought when—
Suddenly, her arms were seized, and she was pressed against the building wall.
“Are you crazy?”
A deep voice growled as a large shadow completely blocked her vision. Minju felt trapped, as if pushed outside the boundaries of the white world, entirely in the shadow of the man.
“Jeong Hyungwoo?”
Beneath a prominent nose, his lips parted fiercely as he descended close enough that his nose nearly touched hers. Taehwa’s anger radiated in waves, a tangible heat washing over Minju’s face.
She understood why this towering man was so agitated—he was furious over her words, insisting on finding him. Minju quietly traced her anguished, trembling eyes over his face.
“You came down…”
No, she wished he hadn’t. The gift she had waited for—the “Santa” of her dreams—was no longer welcome. Yet, she moved her frozen lips to greet him.
“Me… rry, haa… Christmas.”
