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“It’s your coldness that left me no choice.”
“Don’t blame me. I know you’ve had a lover since England.”
“I was going to break things off after the wedding.”
“Really? Some of your men seemed rather angry at me.”
“What?”
Seok-kyung had met a few of Joo-eun’s lovers recently. They all said the same thing.
“I’m the only one who can make Joo-eun happy. Marriage is just a facade; our relationship won’t change.”
Knowing all this, he had intended to pretend not to know. Just because mutual fault lessened the guilt didn’t make it any less wrong.
“Let’s each live our own happy lives.”
Leaving those last words, Seok-kyung turned away.
“Just you wait! You’ll end up being my husband!”
Joo-eun shouted at Seok-kyung, who was walking further away.
Seok-kyung got in his car, started the engine, and drove past Joo-eun, who was standing in the middle of the parking lot.
He shook his head, watching her red face, still fuming, in the side mirror.
The thought that he had to become the CEO of Baedo Group before she could do anything filled his mind.
________________________________________
After Chief Lee quit the company, Eun-chae, though physically tired from work, spent her days in a very pleasant mental state.
Thanks to that generous investor she didn’t know, Eun-chae’s salary had increased, and she no longer needed to look for other jobs.
She thought she would gain experience here for only a few years, until her credit improved enough to get a loan from a first-tier financial institution.
By then, she could somehow save enough money to buy a house to live in with her parents and gradually pay off Seok-kyung’s debt.
She was still walking in the dark, but it felt like she was at least walking with a flashlight in her hand now.
Ironically, thanks to Seok-kyung.
On the weekend, after roughly cleaning her studio apartment and coming out to throw away the trash, Eun-chae looked up at the sky for a moment, enjoying the summer sky and the hot air.
However, the heavy weight of Seok-kyung in her heart didn’t lighten in the slightest.
Just then, someone blocked her path, casting a shadow over her.
Startled, she turned her head to see who it was, but a palm flew towards her face.
Staggering, Eun-chae barely regained her balance and saw Joo-eun’s face in front of her.
Ha, she got hit again.
It wasn’t as strong as when Madam Cha hit her, but she tasted blood, as if somewhere inside her mouth had been cut.
“What are you doing?”
Eun-chae glared at Joo-eun and asked.
“How dare you ruin my wedding?”
Joo-eun, who was furious, trembled not only in her voice but also in her body as she took a step closer.
“Who ruined whose wedding? I clearly told Seok-kyung-ssi to marry you!”
“Hmph! And yet Seok-kyung-ssi wants to break off the engagement?”
“What happens between the two of you is between the two of you...”
“You left because you cheated!”
Eun-chae was speechless at the words that came out of Joo-eun’s mouth.
How on earth did Joo-eun know that?
It was a secret only Seok-kyung’s family knew, and the reason for the divorce that Madam Cha had covered up.
It was obvious that someone had deliberately leaked it to Joo-eun, and Eun-chae’s hands trembled with fear.
“If you’re going to sleep around, go find another man! Why are you shaking up my man?”
“I didn’t shake him up.”
“Liar!”
Joo-eun shouted.
Her face was bright red, and her bloodshot eyes looked almost deranged.
“I heard you used to live in an apartment under Seok-kyung-ssi’s name? Don’t think I don’t know that Seok-kyung-ssi frequented that place!”
“He was just pitying me...”
“There’s no way he was just pitying you! He even stayed the night!”
That was something she couldn’t have known without checking the apartment’s entry records. Someone must have bribed someone at that apartment to find out.
“You’re vile. Seducing a man who’s about to get married.”
There was no room for excuses.
“I don’t see him anymore. It’s been a long time.”
“Hmph. You stirred things up and now you’re trying to deny it? Why? You didn’t want to give him up when I was going to have him, but now that I’m trying to take him back, you still don’t want me to have him?”
“It’s not like that. From the beginning, I had no feelings for Seok-kyung-ssi...”
“Shut up!”
Joo-eun shouted again.
“You have no feelings, but Seok-kyung-ssi is head over heels for you? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re right. So go and keep an eye on Seok-kyung-ssi.”
“What?”
“I really have no feelings for Seok-kyung-ssi, so go and...”
“You little!”
Eun-chae gasped as she saw Joo-eun’s hand swing through the air. But the hand stopped midway.
“What are you doing?”
It was Hyun-woo.
The smell of chicken wafted from the bag he held in his other hand, the one not holding Joo-eun’s wrist.
“Who are you again? Oh, you’re from Studio FIRST, right?”
“That’s right. Ha Joo-eun-ssi, isn’t it? What is the meaning of this?”
“What kind of relationship do you have with Lee Eun-chae? Are you two dating?”
Joo-eun glared back and forth between Hyun-woo and Eun-chae, her eyes flashing.
“Ptooey! You dirty bitch!”
She spat on the ground along with the insult.
It was an unimaginable sight, considering her well-known image as a ballerina.
“I’m warning you, stay away from Seok-kyung-ssi. If you don’t, I’ll ruin both you and Seok-kyung-ssi.”
Having said her piece, Joo-eun turned around, stomped away, hailed a taxi, and left.
Eun-chae bit her lip tightly and stared blankly at Joo-eun’s retreating figure.
Even after hearing such insults, she had nothing to say. She had embraced Seok-kyung and been embraced by him, knowing he had a fiancée and was about to get married.
Whatever the beginning, she deserved the insults.
What should she do to avoid causing any harm to Seok-kyung? How could she make him give up on her and marry Joo-eun?
“Eun-chae-ssi.”
Hyun-woo called out to Eun-chae, who was lost in thought.
“Ah, Section Chief.”
Only then did Eun-chae realize Hyun-woo was there, and as she looked at him, a single tear she had been holding back ran down her cheek.
“A-Are you alright?”
Hyun-woo asked in a flustered voice, not knowing what to do.
“I’m fine. What brings you here?”
Eun-chae quickly wiped the tear from her cheek with her hand and asked back.
“I bought some chicken.”
“Ah...”
“I thought we could eat it with some beer in front of the convenience store.”
Holding up the chicken bag in his hand, Hyun-woo looked at her awkwardly, and Eun-chae made up her mind.
She couldn’t let this man get caught up in her mess too.
“I’m sorry, Section Chief.”
“Right. The situation is a bit...”
“No.”
Eun-chae cut him off and shook her head.
“Please don’t come looking for me anymore.”
“Eun-chae-ssi.”
“That would be for the best.”
“What on earth happened? Can’t you tell me?”
Hyun-woo pleaded with a desperate voice, but Eun-chae coldly turned her back.
“Please don’t come again.”
Saying it to him one more time, Eun-chae returned to her studio apartment.
Without air conditioning, the humid room was filled with the loud noise of the evaporative cooler.
Eun-chae went to the bathroom and checked her face in the sink mirror. Perhaps she had gotten used to being hit, as she didn’t feel much pain.
There was a faint handprint, but thankfully, it wasn’t bruised.
What should she do?
She washed her face with cold water and thought blankly.
Life was too bitter and exhausting.
________________________________________
The commotion outside the door made Seok-kyung look away from the monitor and towards his office door.
What’s all this noise about?
Before the question could fully form, his office door burst open, and Hyun-woo, with a furious expression, strode in.
“What is the meaning of this? Come out here right now!”
Secretary Won, looking flustered, blocked Hyun-woo’s path and tried to push his chest with his hands to get him out, but Hyun-woo didn’t budge.
“I have something to say to the CEO!”
Hyun-woo completely ignored Secretary Won as if he were invisible and shouted, looking straight at Seok-kyung.
There was only one reason for that man to be so angry.
Instinctively knowing it was about Eun-chae, Seok-kyung pushed back his chair and stood up.
“It’s alright, Secretary Won. Please go out.”
“...Yes, CEO.”
Secretary Won glared at Hyun-woo helplessly and went outside.
“Sit down.”
Seok-kyung sat on the main seat of the sofa and gestured for Hyun-woo to take a seat. However, Hyun-woo, who had approached the sofa, didn’t sit down but remained standing, looking down at Seok-kyung.
“What is the matter?”
“Do you love Lee Eun-chae-ssi?”
“...Do I have to answer that?”
“Yes. You absolutely must answer. Do you love Lee Eun-chae-ssi?”
Seok-kyung looked up at Hyun-woo silently for a moment.
What was the intention behind this question? Why was this man so angry?
“So?”
“I don’t need your excuses. Just tell me the truth.”
When Hyun-woo didn’t back down, Seok-kyung stood up and faced him directly.
“Yes. I love Lee Eun-chae-ssi. Is that enough?”
“No. Do you truly love her?”
What kind of question is this?
Seok-kyung frowned.
It wasn’t something a mere section chief should come to the CEO’s office and interrogate him about in this manner.
“Why am I having this conversation with Section Chief Kang?”
“Because I love Lee Eun-chae-ssi.”
Ah, so that’s it.
Only then did Seok-kyung fully realize the true meaning of Hyun-woo’s presence around Eun-chae.
So he was lingering because he liked Eun-chae.
The impatience he had felt, thinking Eun-chae might have fallen for Hyun-woo even though it seemed like Hyun-woo was the only one suffering, subsided.
He felt foolish for childishly treating her cruelly out of jealousy.
“So?”
“I don’t want to see the woman I love being insulted, assaulted, and crying for no reason because of you, CEO.”
“Insulted and assaulted? What are you talking about?”
Who insulted and assaulted whom?
He asked back, confused by the incomprehensible words, but Hyun-woo didn’t answer.
“If you don’t truly love her, don’t play with someone’s feelings and just leave her alone.”
“Who is playing with whom?”
Sparks flew in Seok-kyung’s eyes. The same was true for Hyun-woo.
The two men glared at each other for a long moment.
“I understand what Section Chief Kang is worried about. Don’t worry. My feelings for Eun-chae are genuine, and I’m not playing with her.”
“Yes, I sincerely hope so.”
They didn’t growl, but the two men stared at each other, openly displaying their hostility and anger, before parting ways.
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