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A few days later, on her way to work, Sena thought about Joo-hyuk while riding the shaking subway.
That day, she had firmly declined his offer to drive her home and instead took a taxi. Thanks to fixing her makeup in the taxi, her relatives hadn’t noticed the faint bruise marks on her face.
Several days had passed, but there was no contact from Joo-hyuk. She could have reached out first, but for some reason, she didn’t feel like it. After all, it was her fault for ruining the mood that day.
Maybe he’s regretting this marriage by now. Since it’s not a marriage born out of love or genuine feelings, wouldn’t it be better if he did?
But no matter how she tried to rationalize it, an uneasy feeling lingered in her heart.
Above all, if this marriage fell apart, the person who would suffer the most would be her father, President Kang, and inevitably, the repercussions would fall back on her.
When she got off the subway and emerged above ground, sweat began to bead on her forehead under the scorching morning sun. As she approached the familiar building of Siman Office, a familiar silhouette greeted her.
It was the last face she wanted to see—Kang Ji-cheol.
“Running into an unwelcome face so early in the morning? What do you want?”
At Sena’s question, Ji-cheol furrowed his brows deeply.
“I didn’t exactly come here because I wanted to.”
“Sure, I believe you.”
“I heard you got hit. Are you okay?”
He tilted his head slightly and examined both sides of her cheeks.
“Just tell me why you’re here.”
“Father sent me with a message.”
“If he wanted to send a message, why didn’t he just call? Why send someone in person?”
“Go ask him yourself.”
He spat on the ground.
How could Ji-cheol not harbor resentment toward their father?
Sena wasn’t unaware of that.
But did that mean she felt sympathy for Ji-cheol? That was another matter entirely. Her hatred for Ji-cheol was as strong as her anger and resentment toward their father.
“Spit it out. I need to get to work.”
“He said not to overstep your boundaries.”
“Overstep my boundaries?”
Sena let out a derisive chuckle.
“And what happens if I do overstep?”
“What?”
“What else could happen besides this marriage falling apart?”
“Kang Sena.”
Ji-cheol called her name. His face was still twisted with displeasure, showing no signs of softening.
“Do I still look like the naive fourteen-year-old Kang Sena to you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t mess with me. Leave me alone as long as I’m obediently going along with this.”
“…”
“The only reason I’m going through with this marriage is because of Auntie’s family. If it weren’t for them, I’d have no reason to agree to this marriage.”
Sena spoke in a low tone, carefully enunciating each word.
President Kang and Ji-cheol had come to tell her to meet her fiancé and ensure that she didn’t say anything reckless, insisting that the marriage must go forward. And Ji-cheol had quietly threatened Sena in a voice too soft for President Kang to hear.
“Do you want your cousin to suffer what you’ve been through? Or do you want to see how your aunt’s shop goes bankrupt?”
Knowing that his words were no idle threat, Sena decided to quietly comply with her father’s wishes. If there had been any other way, she might have ignored him, but unfortunately, she had no leverage or weapon to fight back with.
“I always hated how strong-willed and sharp-tongued you were when we were kids. You haven’t changed one bit, Kang Sena.”
“Is that why you did those things to me?”
At her question, he clenched his jaw and closed his sneering mouth tightly.
“Go tell Father that. Oh, wait. I’ll just call him myself…”
Sena pulled her phone out of her bag and dialed her father’s number after searching for it in her call history.
[Hello?]
“It’s me, Sena.”
[Oh. What is it?]
President Kang’s tone shifted noticeably, as if he hadn’t saved Sena’s number, making it clear how little regard he had for her.
“Stop sending Kang Ji-cheol to me.”
[What kind of tone is that to use with your older brother?]
“And don’t contact me at all until the wedding.”
[What? Are you serious?]
President Kang’s voice grew increasingly agitated as he listened to Sena’s demands.
“If you have something to say, either tell me directly or have your secretary contact me. Don’t send Ji-cheol.”
[Kang Sena, you…!]
“And never lay a hand on me again. Do you understand?”
Her voice trembled with rising anger as she spoke.
“If you can’t promise that, then consider this marriage off.”
[You, you…!]
“What will it be? Will you make that promise, or should we cancel this marriage?”
[Are you saying you don’t care what happens to your aunt?]
“The person who needs and wants this marriage is you, Father, not me. So, unless you want trouble, leave me and my aunt’s family alone while I obediently go through with the wedding.”
It was ironic, wasn’t it? The more desperate party issuing threats. Though she might reluctantly agree to the marriage under duress, it was important to remind him that it was him who needed this marriage, not her.
[Do whatever you want!]
And with that, the call ended. Staring at her hardened expression reflected on the now-black screen, Sena swallowed hard.
She wondered when—if ever—she would see a bright smile on her face again.
Would such a day ever come?
“You heard me, right?”
Shaking off her thoughts, she turned to look at Ji-cheol.
She didn’t miss the flicker of shock crossing his rigid face. He probably couldn’t even imagine someone threatening their father like that.
“Can you leave now?”
“Kang Sena…”
His voice dripped with barely contained malice.
Sena didn’t wait for a response or for him to turn around—she brushed past him and entered the building.
As soon as Ji-cheol disappeared from sight, she felt a cold sweat trickle down her spine. She had put on a brave front, but it had taken immense courage to stand up to him like that.
The weight of Ji-cheol’s lingering gaze bore into her back, making her unable to wait for the elevator. She practically ran up the stairs to the fourth floor, bursting through the doors of Siman Office. Though there was no sign of Ji-cheol following her, fear had gripped her tightly, leaving her no choice but to act this way.
Seol-young and Joo-a looked at her with puzzled expressions as she stood there, pale-faced and gasping for breath.
“What’s wrong?”
“What happened, Teacher Kang?”
Both of them jumped up from their chairs in alarm.
“Is someone chasing you?”
Seol-young approached Sena.
“No! It’s nothing!”
Sena extended her hand to stop Seol-young from moving further. If Ji-cheol had followed her, he might run into Seol-young if she opened the door to check outside. She absolutely couldn’t let that happen.
“Then why are you acting like this?”
“I… I took the stairs.”
Breathing heavily, Sena managed to answer Seol-young.
“The stairs? On such a hot day? Why?”
“D-dieting. I’m trying to lose weight.”
“Lose weight? What weight do you even have to lose?”
Seol-young gave her an incredulous look before heading toward the water cooler instead of the door.
“Want some water?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Sena thanked Seol-young and cautiously glanced outside through the closed glass door. To her relief—and contrary to her fears—there was no sign of Ji-cheol outside.
Perhaps, foolishly enough, he hadn’t followed her at all. He might not have chased her from the start—it was just her fear playing tricks on her.
Pathetically so.
“Teacher Kang, are you sure you’re okay? Do you want to take a personal day off and rest?”
Joo-a asked again, clearly worried.
“I’m fine, Director.”
“You look really pale. Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yes, I am.”
“If anything happens, make sure you tell someone—even if it’s not me, at least tell Teacher Seol-young.”
Sena forced a bitter smile, realizing how fragile she must appear to them for them to be this concerned.
But what lingered more in her mind was the phrase Joo-a had used: “If anything happens.”
“Ah, um…”
“Hmm?”
“There’s something I need to tell you both.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Seol-young, come sit here too.”
Seol-young, who had been sipping her freshly brewed coffee, returned to the table with a confused expression.
Sena swallowed nervously, this time for a different reason altogether.
“Why are you hesitating so much?”
Seol-young forced a laugh, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere.
“I’m getting married.”
Sena dropped the bombshell like an unexpected airstrike.
“Who’s doing what?”
As expected, Seol-young was the first to react. Joo-a, on the other hand, could only stare at Sena with her mouth agape, slowly shaking her head.
“I’m getting married.”
“You’re… getting married?”
Seol-young repeated Sena’s words, one by one.
“Wait, Teacher Kang has a man in her life? Did I not know about this, Teacher Im?”
“Can’t you see my expression? I’m more shocked than you are right now, Director.”
“True. Looking at your face, it really seems that way.”
The two exchanged glances over Sena before turning their attention back to her.
“Who is he? When did you meet him?”
“If I tell you who he is, will you know him, Teacher Im?”
“Well… probably?”
At Joo-a’s chiding tone, Seol-young awkwardly scrunched her nose.
If she revealed his identity, they might recognize him, but she couldn’t possibly say here and now that her fiancé was Choi Joo-hyuk, the CEO of KMS. At least not right this moment.
“When did you meet him?”
“Hmm? Not long ago. About a month or so?”
“A month? And you’re already getting married?”
Seol-young nearly jumped out of her seat.
“When’s the wedding?”
“…In two months.”
“What? Two months?”
“I’ll introduce him soon. Time’s flying by. Let me get ready for my counseling sessions.”
Seeing Seol-young fully prepared to bombard her with even more questions, Sena quickly turned to leave.
But there was no completely escaping Seol-young.
“Were you meeting this guy recently when you said you were busy?”
“Yes.”
“How did you meet him? Is he trustworthy?”
“We met through a matchmaking setup.”
“A matchmaking setup?”
“My father introduced us.”
“Your father?”
Seol-young’s voice grew even louder. Though Sena hadn’t expected them to be reassured, it felt like she had stepped on a landmine.
“Don’t worry. He’s really a good person.”
“Really? You’re saying he’s good even though your father introduced you?”
She couldn’t blame them for being skeptical.
Seol-young, who knew Sena’s past better than anyone, had every reason to doubt.
“Yes, he’s really a good person.”
Even if he might regret this marriage later.
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