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Surrounded by countless reporters, Alysha stood on the platform without even wearing sunglasses. This clearly indicated her intention to reveal her identity to the world. The two of them focused on the TV screen.
[I am Yoo Taeryeong, the eldest daughter of Inno Group and former CEO of Inno Fashion. I urgently arrived from Germany this morning because I could not stand by and watch my half-sister, who sacrificed for me, be subjected to a witch hunt.]
The moment Alysha began, a reporter suddenly interjected with a question: Wasn’t she brutally driven to Germany after losing her husband and company to her half-sister? Alysha responded to the question with a scornful smile, as if it were absurd.
[Do I look like someone who would lose anything or be driven out to you all?]
The surroundings instantly fell silent. It was a simple question, but Alysha’s intention had been precisely conveyed to the reporters. She hadn’t been robbed; she had voluntarily handed over both her husband and the company and left for Germany of her own accord. As if to prove it, Alysha’s appearance was dazzling, adorned in luxury from head to toe. More than anything, she looked confident, arrogant, and happy.
[It was my mother, Jo Young-hee, who treated her own daughter, suffering from stomach cancer, as an object and sold her into a contract marriage, and my father, Jo Young-guk, turned a blind eye to that daughter. It was my half-sister, Joo Sehee, who saved me from despair.]
At Alysha’s declaration, the quiet space stirred. Some continued taking photos, others busily typed on their laptops.
[I only met the Hanshin heir once, at a matchmaking event. It was my sister who had the wedding, lived as a couple, and fulfilled the roles of wife and daughter-in-law. I already had a man I loved in Germany. When I confessed that to my parents, they threatened to cut off my hospital fees, and after my discharge, I lived a controlled life under surveillance.]
Alysha paused, as if overcome with emotion, then continued, [My sister, despite enduring various insults and assaults from our parents, silently held my place and managed Inno Fashion well. And she helped me leave for Germany, where the man I loved was, even providing ample funds. When my mother found out, she tried to physically assault me at Inno Fashion’s shareholders’ meeting, and my sister, while pregnant, stopped her. I will release supporting documents and videos later.]
Half-truth, half-lie. Who would dare doubt her when she blended them appropriately and even presented evidence?
[At first, I disliked my half-sister, but Sehee was the only one who worried about me when I was sick and wished for my happiness until the very end. I will also submit hospital records, but Sehee was the only one who visited me and kept me company.]
A meticulously crafted repertoire, without a single flaw. Kang-joon must have directed it from beginning to end. Sehee suppressed a smile, glared at Kang-joon, and asked, “Was your plan, Kang-joon, to use Sister Alysha as a shield instead of me?”
“What’s wrong with that? She’s not going to live in Korea anyway, so she wouldn’t care if her image was trashed.”
Kang-joon raised an eyebrow at Sehee’s silence. “Don’t feel even a little bit sorry. I’m grateful they brought us together, but that’s that. What they did to Sehee was despicable and deserves punishment.”
His voice, usually so gentle with Sehee, was resolute now, as if telling her not to feel any guilt. “Even Alysha is no exception. She played me for a fool and she must pay the price, but I tolerated it because of you, Sehee. So she should be grateful instead. I’m forgiving her for being that much of a shield.”
Sehee suddenly remembered the day they reunited at the airport. Seo Kang-joon, a man who was so terrifying, difficult, and overwhelming that every single second with him felt suffocating. That man had now become someone she couldn’t live without. Ultimately, it was love, and because of that, he had become her everything. Would the day ever come when I would hate or resent you, like that? Sehee smiled gently and spoke as if pouting, “You could have at least given me a heads-up.”
“I wanted to give you a surprise event.”
“If I received that event twice, I’d probably faint from shock.”
“So, you don’t like it?”
At Kang-joon’s serious question, Sehee quietly shook her head. She could understand Kang-joon’s decision. She knew it was done for her sake and, as Kang-joon said, that this was the best method. If there was one thing she was curious about, it was how Kang-joon had persuaded Alysha.
“Just tell me one thing. How on earth did you persuade her?”
“I didn’t say much.”
Do you think I’d believe that? Tell me right now. When Sehee threatened him with her eyes, Kang-joon feigned fear and obediently confessed, “I told her if she protected my woman, I’d protect her man too.”
“Sister’s man?”
Unable to immediately grasp the meaning, Sehee blinked her large eyes. Perhaps finding her cute, Kang-joon burst into laughter and hugged Sehee.
“Look closely at the screen. See where Alysha’s gaze is fixed.”
Sehee, reluctantly turning her gaze back to the screen, finally spotted an unfamiliar man. Alysha and a man with a proper demeanor, like a former student council president, and a gentle face were exchanging glances. Did she already get a boyfriend in that short time? Of course, it’s Alysha, so she’s capable of it, but to threaten someone with a complete stranger as bait? Sehee thought Kang-joon had gone too far and looked at him, and Kang-joon revealed a shocking truth.
“That guy is Heo Kyung-soo.”
“What? But Kyung-soo died...”
Wait, no way. Sehee’s eyes widened.
“He didn’t die. He perfectly deceived me to get the woman he loved.”
Again, Kang-joon’s expression was so calm that Sehee couldn’t get a read on him. Should she comfort him? Should she be angry with him? But even Sehee thought Heo Kyung-soo had gone too far. To deceive his brother, whom he cherished like his own, all for love. He looked innocent, but to have pulled off such a deception against Kang-joon, he seemed to have a lot of guts.
“I’m barely holding myself back from really killing him.”
As a faint hint of anger flickered across Kang-joon’s calm face, Sehee burrowed into his embrace. As if to soothe and comfort him, she interlocked her fingers with Kang-joon’s large hand and said in a gentle voice, “Don’t hold back, just forgive him. Thanks to Kyung-soo’s deception, we met and fell in love like this.”
“Why is that his fault? Even without this, we were destined to meet anyway.”
Kang-joon’s expression was too serious to be a joke, so Sehee suppressed a smile and asked, “Are you telling me you believe in fate right now?”
“If we’re not fate, then what are we?”
“I can’t live like this, really.” Kang-joon said, hugging Sehee tightly as she finally burst into laughter. “That’s why I told you, you don’t need to feel even a tiny bit sorry.”
“I won’t feel a speck of regret, just as you said, Kang-joon. But me...”
As her words trailed off, Kang-joon lowered his gaze. Looking into his stubborn eyes, Sehee slowly began, “Kyung-soo... I miss him.”
At her words, Kang-joon frowned. Why on earth? What would she do by seeing him? To Kang-joon, who was grumbling with his eyes, Sehee asked coyly, “No?”
“Do you miss him that much?”
Kang-joon looked deeply into Sehee’s eyes, which quietly nodded. As if trying to gauge her sincerity. Instead of avoiding his gaze, Sehee stared even more intently. She wished this feeling of missing the man he cherished like his own brother would be conveyed. As if her sincerity was delivered, Kang-joon sighed and said, “If Joo Sehee wants to see him, she should.”
Who do you think you’re commanding? Kang-joon grumbled under his breath.
________________________________________
10:00 PM. The day that began the moment they arrived at Incheon Airport was finally over. Alysha and Rex, dragging their exhausted bodies, arrived at a suite in a five-star hotel. Of course, this luxurious room had also been booked by Kang-joon. Alysha tossed her handbag onto the sofa and seethed.
“Crazy bastard! Ah, I can only curse.”
Isn’t this truly too much? He gave them no time to adjust to the time difference, dragging them around relentlessly until they felt sick. The press conference was over, so it should have been enough to let the media outlets write and publish articles based on that. Instead, Kang-joon had arranged interviews with all media outlets, from large to small. And not just in one place, but making them rush around from one location to another. For Alysha, it was the first time in her life a day had been this grueling.
“Rex, you say something too!”
Unlike Alysha, who couldn’t control her anger, Rex still hadn’t lost his smile. “I’m fine.”
“What’s fine about you? Your amazing brother is doing this to screw us over!”
“I’m fine as long as I have you. Are you not?”
Alysha’s burning anger melted away under his gentle, downward-curving eyes.
“Wh-who says I’m not? I am too!”
She really was, actually. That’s why she was doing this crazy thing. To Alysha, who was grumbling internally, Rex said seriously, “Alysha. When we meet the Director tomorrow, we need to thank him.”
“Why us?!”
Alysha glared fiercely, as if she couldn’t tolerate it, and Rex burst into laughter. “You know it too. That I did something I shouldn’t have done to the Director because of you.”
“That’s ridiculous. Thanks to that, your brother also met Joo Sehee!”
“And that’s why he gave us this chance to be forgiven.”
Rex caressed Alysha’s head as she blinked her eyes rapidly, as if utterly dumbfounded. “If the Director had acted according to his personality, he would have truly killed me, you know? But here I am, alive as Rex, and you came to me, and we’re together. So now, I’m fine with anything. As long as you’re by my side.”
“Rex...”
Alysha’s eyes welled up. Now that she knew what true love was, her aching heart felt warm and profound. Because of the man in front of her, who was willing to die for her, who abandoned the only brother he relied on, who abandoned the name Heo Kyung-soo, and who even did something reckless.
________________________________________
Kang-joon proved again today that he was a man who kept his word. After Alysha’s press conference this morning, the situation was completely reversed. As soon as the press conference ended, major and minor media outlets flooded with articles. Madam Jo’s past, her accumulated corruption, and even videos of her abusing others exploded onto the scene simultaneously, as if this timing had been awaited. In particular, the video of her indiscriminately assaulting Sehee in the Inno Fashion office and the video of her assaulting Alysha and Sehee at the Inno Fashion shareholders’ meeting caused immense public outrage. Surrogate marriage, fake bride, wife’s half-sister, Hanshin heir, Inno Group’s illegitimate child. The truth hadn’t changed, and her face was still widely known one way or another. However, with the real-time barrage of exposé articles, the public’s perception of Sehee drastically changed. The unilateral witch hunt against Sehee now shifted into widespread condemnation and criticism directed at Madam Jo. How she tried to use her twin sister, who lived a difficult life, as a surrogate to hide her own infertility. How she not only drove her useless sister to death but also tormented her young niece. How she treated even her own biological daughter, suffering from stomach cancer, as an object. How she even rejected Hanshin’s final offer, given by her niece’s last act of generosity, and hired someone to harm her four-month-pregnant niece. Now, Sehee was nothing more than a pitiful victim in the eyes of the public. People cheered for Sehee, who, despite years of torment from her aunt, who held wealth and power, refused to yield and ultimately brought her aunt down. Everything, from beginning to end, fit together perfectly, like flowing water. All of this was thanks to Kang-joon’s meticulous scheme. And it happened in just one day, or more precisely, in half a day. She couldn’t help but feel a mix of relief and bitterness. She had lived a tough, desperate life, but she realized anew that it was still a world where she couldn’t control things entirely on her own. She knew that without this man, it wouldn’t have been resolved so cleanly.
Sehee’s gaze turned to Kang-joon. Kang-joon, who had calmly said he did nothing, was now transferring mango sherbet, which had just been delivered, to a plate. Her chest warmed for no reason, and Sehee slowly approached and hugged Kang-joon from behind.
“Thank you, Kang-joon. For protecting Pré and me.”
My face might be widely known, and I might receive some sympathetic glances for a while, but so what? I can live confidently and at ease for the rest of my life. I don’t have to pass on that stigmatizing label to Pré. That was enough. Kang-joon turned around, embraced Sehee, and replied casually, “What did I do?”
This man, usually arrogant even about the smallest things, was always like this in front of Sehee. Humble, gentle, and warm. But Sehee knew. Everything, from beginning to end, was Kang-joon’s doing. The moment Madam Jo was hospitalized, Sehee handed over all the data she had to Kang-joon. Kang-joon then used it at a brilliant timing to maximize synergy. To conceive all of this, and to move people and the media like pieces on a chessboard, according to his whims. Sehee’s lips trembled. I truly love this world I live in, looking down through you. But instead, she uttered different words.
“Tell me now.”
To Kang-joon, who narrowed his eyes as if asking what she meant, Sehee smiled, her eyes crinkling prettily, and said, “Seo Kang-joon, your wish.”
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