Chapter 25
The Lioness of the Yeongdo Group.
Before that, she was Seo Hyewon, the precious daughter of Eunmyeong Construction.
Born the third child of a prestigious family, she lived her life under the noble virtue of noblesse oblige. Yet, there was one enormous stain upon her otherwise flawless life.
[He is my son.]
She had always worried about her overly optimistic, naive daughter—but that one reckless act shattered her perfectly pristine life.
[I’ll give you whatever you want. Anything.]
The boy resembled her husband too much.
Such problems existed everywhere. Even her own brother-in-law had made a scandal out of a similar issue. But she never imagined it would become her problem.
People comforted her to her face and sneered behind her back. The anger she couldn’t express burned quietly within her. The fireball that fell into the greenhouse of her life flared up fiercely—but she couldn’t show it.
Because Seo Hyewon was not allowed to.
“It must be eating her up inside, but what can she do? I understand.”
“You think there’s more to it?”
The vulgar gossip slipped through the curtain, but Hyewon didn’t flinch.
She was calm—serene as the sea.
Eunse, on the other hand, had gone pale as a sheet.
And the rest of us hesitated, unsure whether to let go of the curtain or not.
“Honestly, if the daughter did her part properly, would the illegitimate son have risen that high? Even if he’s a man—he can’t do a thing right, that’s why this happened.”
“I heard about that too. Apparently, he caused trouble again recently, and they had to clean up the mess.”
“Exactly. That’s why all the Yeongdo shareholders only look to Executive Director Ha. Just look at how the stock rose after his promotion. What does that tell you?”
It means Yeongdo Group belongs to Ha Yoonjae.
No one had forgotten, but hearing the words spoken so casually still brought a shallow smile.
Light footsteps followed.
“Still, Executive Director Ha’s got it rough, doesn’t he? Always cleaning up someone else’s mess.”
“Such a waste. If only he’d been born into a proper family.”
“Oh please, you think you’re the only one who regrets it? If we’d known he’d marry someone like her, everyone would’ve spoken up. Even Madam Yang said—”
Hyewon turned away; she had no intention of listening further.
Eunse was trembling, head lowered, but Hyewon simply said softly,
“Let’s go.”
If you’re not going to start a fight, it’s better to pretend you didn’t hear.
That was how Seo Hyewon had always lived—gracefully, proudly, with quiet dignity.
But just as she turned completely away, a clear voice spoke up.
“Please stay here a moment, Mother. Miss.”
The rest of us smiled brightly at Hyewon and Eunse.
“You really don’t need to see this.”
“Hey—what are you planning to do…”
Swish!
Before Hyewon could finish, she pulled back the curtain and strode in.
The gossiping ladies froze mid-sentence as we approached.
“This line here—”
“Oh! I was just saying how interested I am in this style—”
Their feigned ignorance was almost laughable. We pushed our glasses up the bridge of our nose and leaned in suddenly.
“Ladies.”
“Oh my!”
“Kyaah!”
They knew someone was coming, but not that we’d shove our face right in—so they screamed.
Unfazed, we straightened and said evenly,
“It seems there’s been some misunderstanding. I’d like to correct it.”
As we stepped forward, one step at a time, the women instinctively backed up until they hit the wall.
Now, their voices couldn’t be heard outside the curtain.
“Wh-who are you?”
“You’ll figure that out as we talk.”
We brushed off introductions and looked them over carefully. Then, lowering our voice slightly, we got to the point.
“You mentioned cleaning up someone’s mess.”
That one sentence made it clear we’d heard everything. Behind our lenses, our eyes curved sweetly.
“Does helping one’s younger brother count as cleaning up a mess?”
“W-what are you talking about?”
“Who do you think you are? Manager! Someone get the manager!”
“Move aside right now, what are you trying to—”
“Then what should we call it when someone gets sent overseas after a scandal with a lover, or when they’re still keeping a mistress after marriage?”
Silence.
It was as if someone had poured ice water over them.
One of the women on the left, pale as paper, covered her mouth and stammered,
“H-how did you—”
“Madam Kang!”
Bingo.
Of course, we didn’t actually know any of their personal affairs. We’d just tossed out the most common rumor in their social circles—and she’d taken the bait perfectly.
We smiled radiantly at their panic.
“W-what nonsense are you spouting?!”
“Do you even know who we are, to speak such madness?”
“Exactly.”
We clasped our hands behind our back and tilted our head.
“Why do you people insist on judging others from half-heard gossip? Hmm, my lovely ladies?”
“……”
“Since you know so much about your children’s scandals, shall we make things equally ugly together?”
The soft eyes that had seemed kind a moment ago now glimmered cold blue. The sudden pressure in the air made one woman snap,
“What do you want?”
At least she was quick-witted.
We released our hands from behind us and smiled faintly.
“You really don’t know?”
Then pointed toward the curtain.
“Apologize.”
The sudden apology from the women caught Hyewon and Eunse off guard.
Especially Hyewon—apparently, she knew their faces.
“See you at the next gathering.”
That was all Hyewon said. The women, on the verge of tears, muttered excuses and left in embarrassment.
What happened after wasn’t our concern.
Right on cue—or perhaps by perfect, intentional timing—the personal shopper and the collection session began.
As the polite staff explained the items, Hyewon, calmly examining a bag, spoke without looking up.
“How did you do it?”
She couldn’t possibly have heard what happened behind the curtain.
We answered with a slightly awkward smile.
“I just explained the misunderstanding truthfully. Though I might’ve gotten a little emotional.”
“Maybe a bit too fast to act, don’t you think?”
“Even if I did, I couldn’t help it with you there, Mother. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize.”
For the first time, Hyewon—who had remained expressionless even when insulted to her face—looked directly at us.
Her deep brown eyes fixed on ours.
“I’m just… surprised.”
“Pardon?”
“The daughter-in-law I knew wasn’t this warm, or confident, or outspoken. I didn’t think she had the spine to handle a situation like that.”
“……”
“Though I suppose it’s presumptuous to think I know you from just a few meetings.”
Our throat felt tight, and our neatly clasped hands tingled slightly.
Of course, she had no idea just how different we really were. Still, our mouth felt dry.
We smiled faintly.
“I’m just doing my best.”
A little as though our true self had slipped out.
Hyewon didn’t press further. Instead, she gestured toward the display.
“Pick one you like.”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly—”
“Take it.”
Firm and decisive. Then, with that same polite grace as when we first met, she patted our shoulder.
“If you’ve received something, it’s only right to give something back, isn’t it, dear?”
In other words—she wouldn’t owe us anything.
So that’s why they call her the lioness.
We didn’t argue and bowed slightly.
“Yes, Mother. Thank you.”
“Drive safe, Mother.”
At the end of this rather eventful day, Hyewon paused before stepping into her car.
“Wait.”
She dismissed the chauffeur briefly and turned back to us.
“You don’t need to try too hard.”
It seemed unrelated to the farewell, but we stayed silent and waited.
“Executive Director Ha doesn’t want that, and neither do I. I think you already know.”
She gripped the car door lightly, then stepped closer.
“I won’t treat you awkwardly anymore. You don’t seem like the kind of person that would work on.”
It sounded like a reflection on the new Joo Aejeong she was only now beginning to see.
We gave a faint, awkward smile, but Hyewon continued quietly,
“No one in this house believes you two began with good intentions. So don’t waste your effort.”
Her gaze was steady, unblinking, as she whispered,
“No matter how hard you try, being second… is still being second.”
As if she were speaking not just about us—but about herself and her husband.
For once, we couldn’t find a reply.
Without waiting, Hyewon turned and stepped into the car.
Eunse, who had hesitated nearby, bowed instinctively as Hyewon entered, then startled and hurried into the car herself—carrying the bag we’d given her.
As the car drove away, we stood alone, brushing our chin thoughtfully.
“Second, huh.”
We mulled over Hyewon’s meaningful words and murmured with a dry laugh,
“Not the two-hundredth, Madam? You’re giving me far too much credit.”
