Chapter 4
Chairman Gong’s side notified him of the broken engagement, and Seung-hyuk accepted it without objection.
On the day when the wedding was supposed to be held, he stopped by the hotel to handle the aftermath.
The hotel required him to pay an enormous penalty fee. Even for Seung-hyuk, who had never once known financial hardship, it was a considerable sum—but he didn’t regret it one bit. In fact, he almost laughed as he handed over the money. Compared to the price of having to live married to Gong Seol-ah, it felt like a bargain.
As he left the hotel with a lighter heart, he suddenly remembered his first arranged meeting with Seol-ah. It had been one of those formal setups where everything had already been decided by the parents, and the couple only needed to exchange greetings.
The stench of cigarette smoke mixed with heavy perfume wafting from Seol-ah had been unbearable. She wore a skin-tight miniskirt that revealed the figure she had carefully maintained, with looks that could be considered attractive if one were generous—but to Seung-hyuk, she inspired no interest whatsoever. He had originally thought it didn’t matter whom he married, but Gong Seol-ah had exceeded even his worst expectations.
During the entire meeting, he had remained silent, and eventually Seol-ah was the first to speak.
“I can’t live in Gangwon-do.”
“Suit yourself.”
His curt answer made her brighten.
“Then after marriage, you’ll transfer to the Seoul main hospital, right?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then…?”
“Where you live is entirely your choice. But I have no intention of leaving the Gangwon branch.”
Her eyes narrowed sharply.
“Then when will you return to the main hospital? Aren’t you supposed to inherit it once the chairman retires?”
“Is that the only reason you agreed to this marriage? Because you thought I’d inherit the main hospital?”
He countered her question with one of his own. Her tone grew heated with anger.
“Why else do you think I came here? Who in their right mind would abandon the Seoul headquarters to rot in some tiny countryside branch? I’ll never live like that. So you’d better move back to the main hospital immediately!”
Her voice rose to an intolerable pitch. Seung-hyuk finally sat forward from where he’d been leaning casually against the sofa.
“Let me make this clear. I have no intention whatsoever of leaving the branch, and I have neither ambition nor desire to take over the main hospital. So the decision is yours—go through with the marriage, or call it off.”
“What did you just say? Do you even realize? If this marriage falls apart, you’ll be the one who loses out the most!”
Her temper flared all the way to the top of her head. Seung-hyuk rose to leave. He had a train to catch back to Gangwon, and his clinic schedule couldn’t wait.
“Sorry, I’ve got to go. Like someone said, it’s such a tiny place that even a short absence hits hard.”
“Where do you think you’re going, walking away in the middle of this conversation?!”
As he passed by her, she grabbed at the sleeve of his suit. The disgust he’d been suppressing was about to explode. With slow, deliberate firmness, he pried her hand off.
“By the way—either smoke or wear perfume, but not both. The stench is unbearable.”
Her face turned a furious shade of pale blue.
“Just thought you should know,” he added dryly, before leaving without hesitation.
After all, it had only been his father’s will that forced the engagement in the first place. He had never given his heart to anyone, never even fallen in love, so he had assumed marriage would simply be another thing to endure.
That was why the broken engagement felt like a relief. And the person responsible for it was sitting right in front of him now.
Seung-hyuk gazed across the table at the woman opposite him. The fact that he’d met her here today, by sheer coincidence, was astonishing.
At first, he hadn’t recognized her. After all, she looked entirely different from the night at the hotel bar. Then, she had worn her hair down to her waist and heavy makeup on her alluring face. Now, her hair was tied neatly back, and she wore light blue straight-cut jeans cuffed above the ankle with a peach blouse buttoned to the top.
Most of all, the makeup was gone. He realized now that the strange impression he’d had that night had come from how heavily she’d painted her face. Without it, her translucent skin glowed under the late summer sunlight.
When she had turned to look at him, the sight had stolen his breath away.
He couldn’t let her slip away again. He’d been restless and hollow after she disappeared that night—there was no way he’d watch her vanish a second time.
That was why he’d grabbed her wrist without hesitation. When she pretended not to know him, he’d deliberately mentioned that night, and her ears had instantly flushed red. He had noticed at the hotel bar too: she was terrible at hiding her feelings.
“What’s your name?”
She kept her eyes fixed on her coffee cup, and he grew impatient. Somehow, he had managed to get her into the hotel café, but she gave no sign of softening toward him.
At last, she lifted her gaze. Her long lashes fluttered once, twice.
“Do I really need to tell you my name?”
“Then should I just call you Room 304? Whatever you prefer.”
“…It’s Chae Yoo-joo.”
Chae Yoo-joo.
He rolled the name on his tongue. It was a lovely name, perfectly suited to her.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-nine.”
She clamped her lips shut again.
“You know, my wedding was ruined because of you,” he reminded her.
She had followed him here only because of that remark, but her mind was in turmoil.
Why had the engagement broken off? She had told the errand agency to delete the photo, not to send it.
“Why do you say your marriage was ruined because of me?” she asked, anxious.
He sipped his coffee before answering.
“Because someone sent our photo to my fiancée. The one of us going into the hotel room together.”
Thud.
Her hand trembled on the cup handle, spilling coffee over the table.
“Are you alright?”
He quickly passed her a napkin, frowning.
“I’m fine,” she muttered, wiping frantically.
Ah… I was too late. My message telling them to delete it came too late.
She realized now that the silence hadn’t meant the photos were deleted. It had meant they’d already been sent. She hadn’t had the clarity to check properly that night, too overwhelmed by the rush of emotions after their encounter.
But what use was regret now? The damage was done.
She bit her lip hard. This had been her original plan, and yet she felt no satisfaction.
“More importantly—aren’t you curious about me at all?” he asked suddenly.
She didn’t answer.
She already knew enough about him from the investigation she’d commissioned. And right now, she couldn’t think straight. Something about this was wrong. Her chest tightened painfully, and she couldn’t meet the steady gaze of his dark brown eyes.
“This is kind of disappointing,” he muttered.
It wasn’t a boast, but women had always flocked to him. Even she had been the one to approach him first. And now she acted like he didn’t matter at all. He found it unfair.
“I’m Hyun Seung-hyuk. Thirty-five years old. A surgeon at Hyun Hospital’s Gangwon branch.”
He pushed his business card across the table.
The neatly embossed letters blurred in her vision.
“I come to Seoul about once a month.”
“Excuse me,” Yoo-joo cut him off.
“I’m sorry your marriage ended. But what does that have to do with this? Do you expect me to take responsibility?”
She tried to sound firm, but her voice trembled slightly.
“Responsibility…”
He repeated her words thoughtfully, almost caught off guard.
She pressed on.
“Just because two consenting adults spent a night together, does that mean they owe each other anything?”
For a moment, a crazy thought flickered through his mind.
“If there is a responsibility to bear…” he said, sitting up straighter.
“W-what responsibility?”
Her eyes wavered uncontrollably.
Looking at her, he began to speak slowly.
“It might sound like I’m insulting myself, but honestly, my ex-fiancée wasn’t a great match. Still, marriage to her guaranteed many advantages.”
He drove his words into her like a predator circling prey.
“But when the marriage collapsed, I ended up in quite a bind. The reason for the breakup was pinned on my ‘scandalous private life.’”
What is he trying to say? Yoo-joo swallowed nervously.
“My family still insists I get married. But from now on, the prospects they bring me will all be compared to my ex-fiancée, which means they’ll be far inferior.”
Her instincts screamed danger. She was rarely wrong about such feelings.
Regardless, he continued.
“I don’t want to be dragged into another marriage like that. That’s why I’d like you, Chae Yoo-joo, to take some responsibility.”
“…What exactly are you asking me to do?” she finally whispered.
Seung-hyuk calmly voiced the insane thought that had come to him earlier.
“Pretend to be my wife. At least until this whole mess blows over.”
