Chapter 8
Dohoon had a meeting with the CEOs of partner companies at Seolhyang.
They were all busy people, so after a brief greeting, he was about to pay the bill and leave.
Strangely, even from a distance, Eunha’s figure standing in the courtyard caught his eye in an instant. Since running into her here by chance was also a surprise, he had decided not to ignore her and was just heading down to the garden.
But then he overheard their conversation, and he was utterly flabbergasted.
If that was the situation, had she only told him about it this morning, he could have handled it himself. He would have put everything else aside and gone to her house first.
“I didn’t know you’d arrange a meeting like this so soon today. I’d heard the stories were ongoing, but…”
Thinking about what she had been enduring all this time, she still felt like she was choking, her breath catching in her throat.
“Fortunately, Mr. Dohoon happened to recognize me and stepped in at the right time.”
If he hadn’t, she might have ended up waiting on that man all night long.
The thought made her feel newly grateful. She was hesitating, her lips twitching as she debated whether to say thank you, when an unexpected remark popped out of Dohoon’s mouth.
“So, dinner.”
“Pardon?”
“Have you eaten?”
Eunha’s heart dropped with a thud.
She never expected dinner talk to suddenly come out of his mouth in this situation.
He said he had an appointment here, so he must have already eaten…
Of course, Eunha hadn’t managed a single spoonful of food, only struggling with Chansuk.
“…Have you not eaten?”
“I asked first.”
“…”
Although they had met twice now, thinking back, they had only been physically intimate; they had never shared a meal. Even at the hotel this morning, he had flatly refused, saying he didn’t think about food.
Eunha hesitated for a moment, avoiding his eyes slightly as she answered.
“Yes. I’ve eaten.”
She was hungry and didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t want to have dinner with him. For some reason, she felt ashamed, as if her shortcomings had been exposed by the situation with Chansuk just moments before.
She thought she had hit rock bottom, showing everything when she begged for marriage because she needed money, but it was strange to discover there was still more shame left to feel.
“Good. Then, I’ll contact you soon after setting the date for the formal meeting between the families.”
“Yes.”
That was the end of it. Dohoon turned and left, and only then did Eunha release her tense mind and take a proper breath.
The Pyeongchang-dong mansion where the Jeil Family lived.
Dohoon had come here early in the morning.
At one time, Dohoon had also lived here with his grandfather, Lee Hak, and his parents.
But when his womanizing father, Il-jun, brought in his mistress Seon-ju and the son she had borne him, Se-hoon, the beginning of the end commenced.
Dohoon’s birth mother, Hye-ryeon, who was already physically weak and suffering from depression, died young from a drug overdose not long after they moved in. Swallowed by shock, Dohoon refused food and water for a while and fell ill, confined to his bed.
Then, he suddenly realized it. The reason Seon-ju was so desperate to worm her way into this house and settle down was to get Jeil Group.
And his own mother, Hye-ryeon, had also wanted Dohoon, not them, to have Jeil Group.
After realizing that, Dohoon gritted his teeth and persevered. Because he didn’t want them to take Jeil Group away from him no matter what.
He wanted to take Jeil Group and become a son his mother could be proud of.
That thought still hadn’t changed. It was also why he had chosen to enter this unreasonable contract marriage with Eunha.
Lately, Lee Hak was pitting his two grandsons against each other in a competition for the successor position.
Dohoon didn’t care what it was. He was confident he could win any competition.
But Lee Hak named marriage as one of the criteria. Something about a person who manages a household well also being good at managing a company.
It also seemed like a jab at Il-jun, who had failed to build a happy family and was still fooling around with any woman he could find.
While Dohoon understood Lee Hak’s intention to some extent, for him, who had decided never to marry in his life due to the trauma of his mother’s death, it was a bolt from the blue.
In the meantime, Se-hoon had promptly married the woman he was flaunting as his girlfriend, and recently, the new Jeil Food product he was said to have planned was getting a good response even before its official launch, helping him solidify his position within the group.
A sense of crisis swept over Dohoon—that if he wasn’t careful, the group might really be taken from him.
Lee Hak was not a man of two minds; he was someone who prioritized the company’s stability. If he felt Dohoon didn’t meet his standards, he could appoint Se-hoon as his successor at any time.
So, while Dohoon was contemplating whether he should even enter a contract marriage, he met Eunha. Since she came to him of her own accord and agreed to his difficult conditions, it worked out well for Dohoon too.
Dohoon recalled Eunha standing in the ‘Seolhyang’ garden a few days prior. Was it because her situation was difficult? She looked haggard and exhausted.
So, without showing any other displeasure, the question of whether she had eaten came out first.
The momentarily wavering look in her eyes, the lips she slightly bit and sucked on. Right then, Dohoon had intuitively known what her answer would be.
Sure enough, Eunha quickly changed her expression and lied nonchalantly, saying she had eaten.
He briefly considered, out of a pointless stubbornness, taking her out to eat together anyway, but he let it go. There was no reason to torment her that much, nor any absolute need to share a meal.
‘Am I that uncomfortable to be around?’
If she doesn’t even want to share a single meal, then marriage…
A peculiar smile formed at the corner of Dohoon’s mouth.
At first, he thought he wouldn’t have any particular feelings no matter who he married, but it seemed like marrying Eunha might be a little interesting.
Of course, for her, it would be a difficult marriage above all else.
“Dohoon-ah, to what do we owe the pleasure? Gracing us with your presence so early in the morning.”
Seon-ju spoke warily upon seeing Dohoon appear first thing in the morning. She was tense due to his appearance but tried to act composed.
“Brother-in-law! Hello?”
Hari, Se-hoon’s wife who had married into the family and lived in the main house, also greeted Dohoon cheerfully. The voice of Hari, who was said to be a rookie actress, was higher than usual.
Since she prioritized looks above all else in a man, Dohoon had caught her eye more than Se-hoon even when she was pursuing marriage with him.
It was true that Dohoon was much taller, more handsome, and had a perfect aura compared to Se-hoon.
“Grandfather called for me.”
At Dohoon’s words, Seon-ju’s face momentarily stiffened before she forced it to relax. It was disconcerting that Lee Hak had summoned him first thing in the morning.
‘What are those two scheming now?’
Seon-ju felt worried whenever Lee Hak and Dohoon talked alone. She was afraid they might be making major decisions behind their backs.
Dohoon stepped inside the house as naturally as if it were his own. He looked so comfortable that one would believe he lived there all the time, not just someone who visited occasionally.
Of course, it was the house he had lived in until he became an adult, but he had been living outside for years now, only visiting occasionally for business. It was remarkable how natural he seemed.
When Dohoon moved out on his own, Seon-ju had cheered, feeling like she had finally taken over not just the master bedroom but the entire house.
But perhaps that was just her delusion, because every time Dohoon visited, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being an outsider again.
Not that she could kick him out when Lee Hak had summoned him. Seon-ju reluctantly welcomed him.
“That’s good. Come more often. It’s nice for us to see your face too.”
As Seon-ju uttered these insincere words, the corner of Dohoon’s mouth twisted up crookedly.
“If I’d known you’d welcome me like this, I would have visited more often. I thought you disliked seeing my face, Mother.”
Seon-ju flinched at Dohoon’s provocation but quickly regained her composure and retorted.
“Why would I dislike you? There’s no reason to dislike you. The Chairman has been looking particularly tired lately, so if you come and fawn over him, wouldn’t that make things a bit easier for me too?”
Seon-ju never lost in a war of words either. Dohoon let out a stifled laugh. It was amusing to see her hide her expression, pretending nothing was wrong when it was obvious she was burning with anxiety inside.
Amidst this, Hari was busy being captivated by Dohoon’s deadly smile all by herself.
“You’re here?”
Just then, Lee Hak came out of his study and called for Dohoon.
“Yes, Grandfather.”
Dohoon quickly straightened his expression and greeted him respectfully. The two looked so alike they could be carbon copies of each other.
This, too, annoyed Seon-ju. Her husband, Il-jun, was Lee Hak’s son, but he took after his mother’s side and didn’t look much like Lee Hak.
But his grandson, Dohoon, not only looked exactly like Lee Hak but also had a similar personality.
If her own son, Se-hoon, had taken after Lee Hak, how much better would it have been? Unfortunately, Se-hoon was the spitting image of Il-jun, who took after his mother.
People inevitably pay more attention to those who resemble them.
One way or another, Seon-ju spent every day on tenterhooks, worried that Se-hoon might appear less favorably in Lee Hak’s eyes compared to Dohoon.
“If you’re here, come in. Why are you standing at the entrance? Follow me in.”
“Yes.”
After briefly glancing at Seon-ju, who was looking at him with bewilderment, and Hari, who was just smiling foolishly, Dohoon followed Lee Hak into his room.
“So, you’re finally saying you’ll get married?”
After receiving Dohoon’s call yesterday afternoon, Lee Hak had been waiting for him since morning.
When Dohoon expressed his intention to marry over the phone, Lee Hak told him to come to the main house immediately to discuss it in person.
“Yes.”
Lee Hak slowly looked over Dohoon’s face, which remained impassive.
Lee Hak was also aware of the trauma Dohoon held regarding marriage.
Given that his birth mother, who had been in a strategic marriage with his father, died young, it was only natural he had strong negative feelings about marriage.
So, knowing it might take more time, Lee Hak was pleased that Dohoon was deciding to marry relatively early. It meant he was that ambitious for Jeil Group.
“You’ve thought well. I was starting to think you had no interest in Jeil Group, since you’ve been silent all this time.”
“That could never be.”
Dohoon looked at Lee Hak with a smile. It was the determined gaze of someone who would never back down once they set a goal.
