Episode 2
Something had gone wrong.
Just like Ga-eun, President Joo Seok-jin seemed to have grasped that the situation had taken a strange turn. An awkward expression crossed his face.
With a short breath, he pulled out his phone and dialed someone.
“Secretary Tak, wasn’t the person I was supposed to meet today Yoon Hye-jin?”
—My apologies, sir. Ms. Yoon Hye-jin left for Paris a little while ago.
“Suddenly?”
—I only just received the notice myself… I’m very sorry.
Seok-jin studied the woman who had introduced herself as Oh Ga-eun.
Just as she had said, he needed to talk with her a little more to confirm whether she truly knew how to keep her mouth shut.
“Come here right away. As fast as you can.”
After ending the call with Secretary Tak, Seok-jin—uncharacteristically—pressed a hand to his forehead once before meeting Ga-eun’s eyes.
“Do you have a moment?”
“…Yes.”
Ga-eun sat back down across from him, watching him with open suspicion.
An interview to hire a wife.
She had never heard of such a thing.
The world the chaebols lived in was clearly a place where things happened that ordinary people couldn’t even imagine. To think someone would interview candidates for a wife they intended to spend the rest of their life with.
“What I said earlier was a mistake,” Seok-jin said calmly. “I would appreciate it if you could pretend you didn’t hear it.”
“…I’m not sure what you mean.”
Of course she knew exactly what he meant. Ga-eun simply pretended not to.
“The entire conversation we had.”
“Ah, well, things like that happen. If that’s what you’re worried about, you don’t need to be. I’m not the type to go around talking.”
Even if she did tell someone that Jushin Retail’s President Joo Seok-jin was interviewing women to become his bride, who would believe her?
This wasn’t some idol dating scandal. Who would be interested in the marriage affairs of chaebols—
Actually… there might be people.
Otherwise, there was no reason for a man as powerful as him to be so flustered in front of a mere job seeker like her.
“I don’t believe in promises made only with words.”
Seok-jin suddenly took out his wallet and placed a white sheet of paper in front of her.
A check?
Ga-eun glanced at the paper, trying to count the number of zeros printed on it.
But…
It was completely blank.
“Write down your account number.”
Taking a fountain pen from his jacket pocket, Seok-jin set it on the paper.
Ga-eun’s eyes widened.
It was the exact same fountain pen she had once considered buying as a gift for Han-gyeong—until she saw the price tag and turned away because it cost even more than a suit.
“Why would I write down my account number?”
“Isn’t that what you want? Compensation for keeping quiet.”
“No, I’m saying I’ll keep quiet anyway. What compensation?”
Ga-eun sprang to her feet, waving her hands.
It seemed like he would give her whatever amount she asked for, but she had no intention of accepting it. Money she hadn’t earned with her own work—unless it was the lottery—was not something she should take. The moment she accepted it, something far beyond her ability to handle would surely follow.
“Oh Ga-hyeon—”
“Oh Ga-eun. It’s Oh Ga-eun.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Afraid she might leave just like that, Seok-jin cast an anxious glance toward the lounge entrance.
Normally Secretary Tak moved with unnecessary speed—why was he so slow today of all days?
“Seriously, you can trust me,” Ga-eun said. “I’m not the type to run my mouth, so don’t worry.”
“I’d simply like to make things certain. There he is.”
At Seok-jin’s words, Ga-eun turned her head in the direction he pointed.
A man wearing thick-rimmed glasses came running in from the entrance at full speed and hurried toward them.
“Haa… haa… President…”
“Why are you so late?”
“My apologies. But… who is this?”
“I made a mistake. I thought this woman—no, this lady—was Ms. Yoon Hye-jin.”
For five years, Tak Ji-hoon had worked as President Joo Seok-jin’s secretary.
In terms of meticulousness, he was practically failing as a secretary.
But he possessed one extraordinary ability that couldn’t be acquired through effort alone—exceptional intuition.
Even now, just from the atmosphere between his boss and the woman, Secretary Tak immediately grasped the situation.
His boss must have mistaken this woman for Yoon Hye-jin and accidentally revealed information about the contract wife—a matter that absolutely had to remain secret.
“Nice to meet you,” Ji-hoon said, extending his hand. “I’m Tak Ji-hoon from the secretarial office of Jushin Retail.”
Reluctantly, Ga-eun took his hand.
“Please consider what happened earlier as something that never occurred. If you promise not to reveal it, we will compensate you with an amount you’ll find entirely satisfactory.”
“Excuse me?”
Ga-eun was starting to feel genuinely scared of these people who kept insisting on compensation when she had already said she didn’t want anything.
If she accepted money, it felt like they might even assign someone to follow her twenty-four hours a day to make sure she kept the promise.
“Whether you people interview wives or interview husbands, I have absolutely no interest in it, and it’s none of my business. If you keep this up—!”
Ga-eun pulled her phone out of her handbag.
“I’ll just call Dispatch right now and tell them President Joo Seok-jin is looking for a wife. So please stop.”
“You’re saying you truly won’t reveal anything?” Secretary Tak asked.
Ga-eun pretended to press the keypad.
She didn’t even know Dispatch’s phone number, but if she wanted to leave this place safely, she had to act tough.
Otherwise, who knew what these ridiculously powerful people might do to her?
“Ms. Oh Ga-eun,” Seok-jin said calmly. “First of all, I sincerely apologize for my mistake. If my words or actions offended you in any way, I truly regret it.”
Seok-jin stood up and bowed his head politely.
His respectful attitude softened the sharp thorns that had risen in Ga-eun’s heart.
“…Then may I leave now?”
As she got up, she noticed the secretary standing there with a troubled expression.
For some reason, her chest felt a little heavy.
What if he got fired because of this?
Turning back toward Seok-jin, Ga-eun spoke.
“Do you have 100,000 won?”
“…I probably do.”
Seok-jin opened his wallet and looked inside.
But all he could see were pristine white checks—each for large sums, none for a mere 100,000 won.
“You don’t even have 100,000 won?”
“Secretary Tak, do you happen to have any cash?”
Secretary Tak opened his own wallet.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have 100,000 won either.
“All I have is 5,000 won…”
“Then give me that.”
At Ga-eun’s request, Secretary Tak obediently took out the 5,000-won bill and placed it in her hand.
“There. I’ve received compensation for keeping quiet. Five thousand won.”
“Um… if you give me your account number, I can transfer more immediately.”
“Five thousand won is more than enough for me. It’s not like this is some incredibly valuable secret.”
“Still…”
“I have one request too,” Ga-eun said. “Please don’t tell anyone you met me. If rumors start spreading that I’m somehow connected to your boss, five thousand won won’t even begin to cover the damage.”
With uneasy eyes, she glanced around.
Maybe she had watched too many movies and dramas, but if someone took a photo—
Just imagining it made her dizzy.
Her face could end up plastered everywhere, packaged as some kind of Cinderella story.
The person who needed her meeting with Joo Seok-jin to remain a complete secret the most…
Was actually herself.
“If you change your mind later,” Seok-jin said, “you can contact the number on that business card.”
“Let’s all work hard to make sure that never happens. All three of us.”
Even after leaving the hotel lounge, Ga-eun kept glancing behind her, checking whether someone might be following her.
President Joo, worried about his reputation, might even hire an assassin for all she knew.
If an assassin attacked—
I’ll just stab him with my high heels.
Ready to take off her heels and use them as weapons at any moment, Ga-eun headed home.
After the absurd interview, Ga-eun spent the next few days scouring every corner of portal sites and online communities, searching for President Joo Seok-jin’s name.
A week passed with no rumors appearing anywhere.
It didn’t seem like any nonsense about her being President Joo’s secret woman was going to surface.
“Then I guess it’s time to return to normal life.”
Putting her wallet and ID photos into her bag, Ga-eun headed for the district office.
She planned to apply for the Youth Employment Program run there.
In a generation overflowing with people whose résumés were dazzling enough to make your jaw drop, Ga-eun’s qualifications were painfully modest.
An unremarkable four-year private university.
She had spent all her time working part-time jobs just to pay tuition, leaving no room for study-abroad programs or competition awards.
“First, I’ll get a job somewhere small and build experience.”
Clutching at the faintest straw, Ga-eun was about to enter the district office when she suddenly stopped.
Over the past few days, she had been so worried about the incident with President Joo that she had forgotten something important.
That damn Jung Han-gyeong worked at her neighborhood district office.
“I really need to move soon!”
She didn’t want her ex-boyfriend to see how pathetic she looked as a struggling job seeker.
Just imagining how he would secretly laugh at her made her bite her lip.
“Ugh… I feel like I’m about to cry, and now someone’s calling…”
It was Dain, her friend.
“Hey, Dain.”
—What are you doing?
“What else? Nothing.”
Dain was her friend from high school.
Unlike Ga-eun, she had attended a prestigious university and had even landed a job at Jushin Retail before graduating.
She was a Jushin Retail employee.
—Hey, by any chance…
Dain began cautiously.
Ga-eun suddenly felt dizzy.
“What’s with the hesitation? Just say it.”
—I’ve been debating whether I should tell you this or not…
“Just tell me. I’m fine. Is it about your company?”
Maybe Dain had heard something about her meeting President Joo and had called out of concern.
—No. It’s about Han-gyeong.
“We broke up.”
She didn’t want to hear another word about that guy.
They were strangers now. There was no reason—no justification—for her to listen.
—Really? Good for you. You did well breaking up with him. You dumped him, right? Please tell me you dumped him.
“Yeah. I did.”
—When did you break up?
“A while ago.”
It felt awkward to say they had broken up exactly a month ago, so Ga-eun answered vaguely.
—Seriously, I couldn’t believe it. The guy our department’s newest hire is dating… turns out it’s Jung Han-gyeong.
“I… see…”
So he had dumped her and quickly started dating some successful woman from a big company.
While talking to Dain, Ga-eun stared at Han-gyeong, who sat behind a civil service desk smiling at people.
A stable government job.
A new impressive girlfriend.
Looks like your life is going great, Jung Han-gyeong.
—You said it’s been a while since you broke up, right? Because the new girl says they’ve been together for six months…
“Six months?”
—Yeah.
“Dain, I’ll call you back later.”
Six months.
A dry laugh escaped her.
That meant he had been juggling both of them since the time he passed the written exam and was preparing for interviews.
With those short little legs of his, he had managed to run a two-timing marathon.
“You bastard. I’m trying to live like a decent person, and you keep pushing me toward being immoral? Fine. You’re dead today.”
Blowing her bangs aside with a sharp puff of breath, Ga-eun marched into the district office—
Her eyes locked precisely on one target only.
Jung Han-gyeong.
