SBC 02

Chapter 02

“Ah.”

Yoon Sung-hoon frowned as he turned around. After steadying his trembling, he tightened his robe and stood up as if annoyed.

“I’ll go.”

He poked his head out the door. Someone outside was saying something.

Calm down.

The moment his body brushed past hers, Kang Dasom truly wanted to die.

So this is what ‘the worst’ feels like.

No matter what, I have to get out of this.

She had no intention of giving him her first time.

Even now, just thinking about how stupid she must have looked to him before her regression made her shiver with rage.

On the nightstand beside the bed sat a pale pink leather handbag. Rising naturally, she opened it.

It was just a hunch—but inside, she found an extra packet of pills. Sleeping pills.

The instant she saw them, memories of the past flooded back as vividly as yesterday.

Around the time she met Yoon Sung-hoon, she had received an acceptance letter as the first Asian to be admitted into France’s Charmant Ballet Company.

“A ballet company?”

“Yes. If you allow me, I’ll quietly leave home after I finish school. Please.”

“Do you think I fed and clothed you for this? I only let you dance because I thought it would be better than you pretending to be smart with books. Don’t be ridiculous—just graduate, get married, and do your duty as a wife.”

“Mother, what do you mean, marriage?!”

“Shut up! Who’s your mother? You’re just a concubine’s daughter! We put you in the family register and you dare act ungrateful?”

Dasom’s mother, Lee Soyoung, a famous former actress, had died under mysterious circumstances not long after giving birth.

Chairman Kang, unwilling to reveal to the world that she’d been an unwed mother, hastily placed Dasom under his household register.

Suddenly forced to accept a child she didn’t want, Seo Miyoung—his legal wife—hated everything about Kang Dasom.

To make matters worse, as Dasom grew older, she resembled her late mother far more than her father, Vice Chairman Kang Hyun-gu.

When the stress became unbearable, Dasom had gone to a doctor for the first time. Diagnosed with insomnia, she had been prescribed sleeping pills. From that day on, she always carried extra pills hidden in her handbag.

She pulled them out, slipped them between the sofa cushions, and then went to the entrance.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Two bottles of whiskey showed up when I didn’t even order them. Damn it, so annoying.”

“I ordered two,” she said.

“You?”

Yoon Sung-hoon’s eyes widened. He had been about to scold the staff, but Dasom tucked her damp hair behind her ears and smiled gently.

“I thought it’d be better than running out later. I should’ve told you beforehand—sorry.”

“One bottle would’ve been enough, but… ah, whatever. Leave them. They’re not even that expensive.”

A staff member came in and placed two bottles of whiskey, glasses, and a cheese plate in the middle of the table before leaving. Dasom deliberately asked for it to be set on the dining table, not the sofa.

Just then, a light flickered from Sung-hoon’s phone on the sofa.

[Younger Brother]

Dasom froze at the name. It was a call from Yoon Jin-woo, his younger brother. Suddenly, memories of Jin-woo’s miserable life before her regression resurfaced.

Born the youngest of a wealthy conglomerate family, he had dreamed of becoming an actor. But without a single real hit, he had ended up a third-rate celebrity, reduced to family variety shows.

On TV, his wife always appeared sweet and affectionate—but behind the scenes, she was sleeping with his older brother. Surely, he must have known.

If he knew, then why?

Raising another man’s child—his brother’s child—as if it were his own, treating it with kindness… What was he thinking?

As the youngest of the Cheonmyeong Group, Jin-woo rarely attended family events, so little was known about him.

But one thing was certain: he, too, had been cursed with a tragic fate, no less than hers.

Dasom picked up the phone and handed it to Sung-hoon.

“You’ve got a call.”

Clicking his tongue at the caller ID, Sung-hoon looked ready to decline it. Dasom gently grabbed his wrist.

“It’s family—you should answer.”

“Forget it. You’re more important to me than family.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t have much time today?”

With a playful pout, she wrapped her arm around his and deliberately pressed the accept button. She grinned as he coughed awkwardly and answered the call, retreating to the inner room.

“Yeah, it’s me. Didn’t I tell you not to call? What is it?”

As soon as he closed the door, Dasom snatched the pill packet hidden in the sofa and quickly crushed it between her fingers. She mixed the powder into the whiskey and sat down calmly.

“What was that about?” she asked when he returned.

“Nothing. That brat never calls, then suddenly bothers me.”

Annoyed, Sung-hoon switched off his phone in front of her and tossed it aside, unwilling to be disturbed again.

“What did he say?”

“He asked if I pressured his cosmetics ad to be canceled. I’ve never even heard of the brand. Why yell at me when it was Dad’s doing?”

“You mean the Vice Chairman? He pressured his youngest son’s ad to be canceled?”

Feigning ignorance, Dasom drew him into conversation—stalling for time until the drug dissolved fully.

“Oh, did I not tell you? Our youngest ran off to be an actor or whatever. Barely scraped into some drama recently. Mom hates it.”

It hadn’t been the Vice Chairman’s decision alone—his wife, Madam Jang Ju-bin, had pushed for it.

Unlike other conglomerates, how had Cheonmyeong Group avoided scandals about illegitimate children?

Because the Vice Chairman was faithful? What a joke. Sung-hoon was the spitting image of his father in his youth.

Back then, Vice Chairman Yoon Joon-seok had caused endless trouble with young starlets, and it was always Jang Ju-bin who cleaned up after him.

Now, their youngest son wanted to be an actor? Of course she couldn’t stand it.

“…Enough about that. Let’s drink.”

Sung-hoon downed his glass in one gulp. Dasom clinked hers against his and urged him to drink slowly.

That night, Yoon Sung-hoon collapsed on the bed.

Dasom, who had long surpassed her limit, clenched her teeth and endured. She stayed alert, heart pounding, until he finally slumped forward.

“Huff… urgh…”

Snoring, he showed no sign of waking. Dasom straightened her clothes and silently looked down at him. The moment her body relaxed, a wave of nausea surged.

“Ugh… ugh…”

She bolted to the bathroom and vomited everything she had swallowed. For a long while, she cried in silence, terrified he might wake, terrified of having to live through this hell again.

Only after retching over and over could she stagger out. Looking down at Sung-hoon sprawled across the bed, she slowly extended her hand.

Her long fingers brushed his throat. Carefully, both hands circled his neck.

What if she used a pillow?

If she pressed down now, couldn’t she kill him?

In an instant, countless thoughts and impulses consumed her.

Because of you, my life was ruined.

Back then, she had been weak. He had seemed kind to her.

Though forced into meeting him, she had once thought—Maybe if it’s him, it’ll be okay.

But it was all lies.

What he wanted wasn’t her—it was UL Electronics’ vast capital, necessary to secure his place as Cheonmyeong Group’s future chairman.

Yoon Sung-hoon was trash. And she had been too naive, too young.

No.

Killing him wouldn’t make him feel even a fraction of her pain.

She would repay it—twice, thrice over.

So that living would be more painful than death.

That night, Dasom sat in silence, watching him sleep until morning.

The next day, after breakfast in the hotel room, they got into the car. Sung-hoon didn’t mention the previous night at all.

Too prideful to admit he’d blacked out, he instead thought himself lucky—at least he’d still managed to sleep with her.

Even though she’d refused him the second time, it didn’t matter. The bite mark on her pale neck was proof enough that she was his now.

Throughout the drive, Sung-hoon kept glancing at her. Everyone knew she was Chairman Kang’s illegitimate daughter.

A UL family daughter, yet she hardly spent any money. Pretty enough, but embarrassing to be seen with.

“Dasom, should I buy you some clothes?” he offered, softening his tone as much as he could.

To his surprise, instead of pushing back, she accepted without hesitation.

He immediately turned the car toward the department store and dressed her to his taste.

Though she wore no makeup, once styled she looked presentable.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes.”

“Then wear this from now on.”

“….”

“Why so quiet?”

“Honestly, I can’t afford to dress like this every day. You know I…”

“Unbelievable, for family to treat you like that. Don’t worry—my woman won’t be looked down on. Use this without hesitation.”

He handed her his credit card.

That night, Dasom had thought it through. It wasn’t realistic to expect an easy, one-sided annulment between two conglomerate families.

What a fool.

So she decided to use him.

Perfectly, without raising suspicion—she would make the breakup happen on her terms.