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For a moment, Haejoo almost dropped the glass she was holding.
Jinhan’s baseless speculation made her scoff.
Even when the scandal first broke, there were times she had just hoped it would be resolved somehow. But now that things were being settled, her feelings became subtly complicated.
The Dojun Haejoo had experienced was straightforward and honest to the point of being pure, making Jinhan’s remarks uncomfortable. Therefore, it was wrong to start suspecting a matter that was still under investigation.
“In the future, Director, it would be best if you didn’t run into Dojun-ssi.”
“This isn’t something to simply brush aside.”
“Director!”
“CEO Park Dojun could have come to find Haejoo-ssi much earlier. If he had, things wouldn’t have escalated like this.”
“He must have had his own personal reasons.”
A shadow fell over Jinhan’s face.
He swallowed the words he was about to say and then spoke.
“Don’t take CEO Park Dojun’s side in front of me, Haejoo-ssi.”
“……!”
“It’s unpleasant.”
He stood up abruptly and went to the refrigerator.
What he took out was beer.
As soon as he popped open a can, he gulped it down and twisted his neck back and forth.
“Haejoo-ssi, haven’t you ever had such suspicions?”
“About what?”
“That you were being subjugated by someone else without even knowing it.”
“……”
“I have a feeling that CEO Park Dojun had all the plans in his head.”
“……”
“I brought that up when Haejoo-ssi wasn’t here during the day, and we ended up arguing.”
It wasn’t as if Haejoo had no questions she wanted to ask Dojun.
The fact that he hadn’t actively resolved things when he found out about their marriage and had just let it go.
Jinhan was asking about that very point now, so it was something she had to address.
“You’re saying Dojun-ssi waited years, planning everything?”
“That’s right. CEO Park Dojun avoided answering.”
Haejoo stood up from her seat. She picked up her bag and stood away from the sofa.
“Do you really think divorce is the only answer?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Honestly, I have no interest in dating or marriage.”
“So?”
“If I live as a show window couple with Dojun-ssi, wouldn’t it reduce the troublesome things?”
“Haejoo-ssi!”
“I know what you’re worried about, Director. So, I hope you can trust me and wait for the promised year.”
It was a matter Jinhan could no longer interfere with. One side of his heart ached as if a hole had been punched through it, but he didn’t show it.
“Fine. I’ll wait and see.”
“Then I’ll be going now.”
It was when Haejoo was about to leave Jinhan’s office.
Someone knocked from outside, and he raised his voice.
“Who is it?”
There was no reply.
Jinhan, who had passed Haejoo, opened the door himself, and Yoonji smiled brightly.
“Let’s talk for a bit. Oh, you had a guest?”
Haejoo approached the door. She quietly bowed to Yoonji, who had come in a simple outfit today, and then left.
Jinhan watched her walk away.
Then, he scolded Yoonji, who had already come inside the office and taken a seat on the sofa.
“I told you to wait until I contacted you.”
“You weren’t going to contact me anyway.”
“I have nothing more to say. Go back.”
“I won’t do the constipation medicine commercial.”
“Tell that to your manager.”
Jinhan felt disgusted when he thought about the hardships he had gone through because of Yoonji. His heart had already turned away long ago, and even being in the same space was uncomfortable.
“Let me appear in that movie Lee Haejoo is going to film.”
“It’s already too late.”
“I heard auditions are just starting now.”
“Haejoo-ssi has already been cast as the lead, Sohee, so don’t pester me.”
“I heard there’s another female lead?”
It seemed Yoonji had heard something through her manager.
Jinhan inwardly resolved to tighten security on what his managers said.
“Director Kwak will be handling the casting himself.”
“I know I can at least get an audition if you say something, Director.”
“Why are you suddenly showing up like this?”
Jinhan, who was already in a bad mood, raised his voice.
He got a headache just thinking about the numerous opportunities Yoonji had squandered.
“What if you get betrayed after putting so much faith in Lee Haejoo?”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“There are some kids I hang out with who know CEO Park Dojun a bit.”
“So what?”
“He’s very meticulous, and anyone who becomes useless disappears without a trace…….”
Yoonji made a gesture of slitting her throat with the side of her hand.
“They say he’s so ruthless that people of all ages tremble in front of him.”
“What are you trying to say to me?”
“Isn’t it common knowledge among us that Lee Haejoo wasn’t well-off?”
“Yoonji-ya!”
“Do you think someone like that would give up Park Dojun?”
“……!”
“Money, power, and he’s even handsome.”
“You’re now…….”
“A nobody became a great entrepreneur and appeared. And if they’re already married?”
Jinhan hadn’t even considered this part.
He had been so focused on the immediate problems that he felt a belated stinging sensation in the back of his head.
“I heard a few other things, but I’ll stop here for today.”
“How on earth did you find out about such things?”
“If you’re curious, let me audition.”
Yoonji was subtly provoking Jinhan. And in a very underhanded way.
He wasn’t someone to be swayed by the desperation of a has-been actress whose prime had passed.
He coldly retorted, intending to make Yoonji come crawling back on her own.
“Just because you do this doesn’t mean you’ll get a role. You’ve already missed out on a lot.”
“Director knows everything you can do. Then, I’ll be going now.”
After Yoonji left, turmoil spread in Jinhan’s mind.
Haejoo’s mention of a show window couple lingered, even making him feel impatient.
“If they really don’t get a divorce?”
For Jinhan, there was no chance.
Being with Haejoo as a lover might only be possible in a dream.
He wondered how much Yoonji knew.
He had picked up his phone in a fit of anger but put it down with difficulty.
________________________________________
Haejoo, having returned home, couldn’t get out of the car right away.
Jinhan’s words came to mind, and her mood sank.
“Dojun-ssi deliberately…….”
Haejoo guessed that the person who spread the marriage rumors was Kyung-ae or her older sister, Yura.
Especially Yura, who was self-centered like Kyung-ae and whose jealousy towards Haejoo was beyond imagination.
She had disliked it from the start when her younger sister, whom she had been separated from in childhood, suddenly appeared. Despite being born under the same parents, she felt inferior to Haejoo’s strikingly different beauty.
During middle and high school, male students would even ask Yura to pass on gifts or letters to Haejoo.
On such days, the house would be in an uproar.
Yura would scream and yell, and if she still wasn’t satisfied, she would grab Haejoo by the hair.
Since Kyung-ae treated Haejoo badly, there was no way Yura would have cared for her younger sister.
“I think my sister spread the rumors.”
It was actually Yura who had stolen thirty thousand won from Kyung-ae’s wallet.
Yura’s actions were just like Kyung-ae’s.
Then one day, Yura had said sarcastically.
‘Hey, I heard some crazy bastard is going around beating up all the guys who try to hit on you.’
‘…….’
‘You must be happy? That kind of thug likes you.’
‘…….’
‘You’d be perfect marrying someone like that and taking care of him in prison.’
While pretending not to care, Yura monitored Haejoo’s every move. Then, when Haejoo married CEO Park’s son, who was only rumored to be a loan shark, she had been so happy.
Just thinking about what happened back then made Haejoo shudder.
“Let’s go inside first.”
As Haejoo was pulling out of the garage, Dojun’s car pulled in.
After waiting for a moment, he got out.
“What are you doing, not going in?”
“Let’s go in together.”
The two entered the living room side by side and went up the stairs.
Haejoo went to her room, put down her bag, and then opened the door to the dressing room.
Dojun had already come in and was taking off his shirt.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Haejoo waited in her room.
Thinking Dojun would have finished changing, she opened the door and almost had a heart attack.
He was standing right in front of the door leading to the dressing room.
“You startled me.”
“Did you pick out the outfits well?”
“I think I need to see more when they arrive.”
“You went to talk about me, didn’t you?”
Dojun’s intuition was frightening.
Haejoo thought there was no point in trying to deceive him and spoke honestly.
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you to divorce again?”
“Director seems worried because Dojun-ssi’s character is so strong.”
“Who’s worried about whom.”
Dojun left the dressing room.
Haejoo, having taken off the dress she was wearing, cleanly removed her makeup.
After showering and going downstairs, she saw Dojun looking inside the wine cellar.
“Shall we have a glass of champagne?”
“Sure.”
Dojun took out Gosset Celebris Rosé from among the wines he had stored. As he poured it into the glass, an apricot-colored liquid with a clear glow filled it.
He handed Haejoo the glass of champagne.
“It seems women especially like this champagne.”
“You must have had many women around you?”
“There were some.”
“Really?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t have had any women at my age?”
Haejoo’s eyes wavered.
“If you met other women while we were married, isn’t that cheating?”
“Cheating? Is it cheating?”
Haejoo finished the champagne in one go.
She slammed the now-empty glass down and snapped in a sharp tone.
“You talk about cheating so confidently?”
There were indeed many women around Dojun.
Without exception, they somehow knew his unlisted phone number and sent messages and called him day and night.
Dojun couldn’t have been more annoyed and bothered.
But Haejoo’s reaction was interesting.
With a playful glint in his eyes, he feigned ignorance and replied.
“There’s no need to hide it.”
“Unbelievable.”
What did he do so well to be so confident? Did he think no men had approached her all this time?
Haejoo picked up the champagne bottle herself.
She felt insulted at the thought of competing with such childishness and poured the rest of the champagne into her empty glass.
Even at her sudden action, he didn’t seem to want to stop her.
“Looks like you’re craving a drink?”
“My throat was a bit dry.”
At Dojun’s provocation, Haejoo gulped down the champagne. She usually had a weak tolerance for alcohol and never drank more than one glass of wine.
But not now.
From the moment she realized he was her savior, she had faced an unexpected turning point.
With even her most hidden trauma exposed to Dojun, even the slightest bit of wariness had faded away.
“Then you should drink water. Want some water?”
“No, thank you.”
“Anything else you’re curious about?”
Ah, he was infuriating. She just wanted to hit him once.
Haejoo, her throat and insides burning, poured more champagne down her throat.
Her intention to watch Dojun with suspicion was starting to flow in an unexpected direction.
Even as she slowly got drunk, Haejoo’s twenty questions continued, using the alcohol as an excuse.
“How many women have you met until now?”
Haejoo was confident she would be fine. She wasn’t dating Dojun, nor did she have any feelings for him.
Haejoo confidently told herself that she was only asking out of pure curiosity.
“If I tell you, will you tell me too?”
“Tell you what?”
“How many men you’ve met until now.”
Men.
Haejoo had only worked for a living and had been immersed in work even after becoming an actress.
She couldn’t trust people in a reality where her closest family had become her enemy.
So, dating was one of the things that didn’t exist in Haejoo’s life.
To such a woman, Dojun asked about the number of men she had met.
“If Dojun-ssi tells me first, I’ll tell you too.”
“I’ve met quite a few.”
An indescribable sense of betrayal swept through Haejoo’s depths.
Dojun was so confident that not a single expression changed on his face.
Champagne continued to go down Haejoo’s throat.
Then, Dojun grabbed her wrist.
“Stop drinking.”
Just like her swaying vision, Haejoo’s emotions also fluctuated. She didn’t know why, but she felt bad.
“Let go. When did you change your mind about telling me to drink?”
“You drank half a bottle of champagne by yourself.”
“Are you regretting me drinking it?”
Dojun, having released Haejoo’s wrist, took the glass away and placed it on the table. He tilted his head crookedly and stared intently at Haejoo.
“Are you drunk?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Give me the champagne!”
Jinhan’s words came to mind: someone like Dojun couldn’t have been left alone by women. Haejoo felt wronged, as if she was the only one who had lived naively.
Well, having been married off like a commodity, what more could she expect?
She stubbornly defended the empty glass and the champagne.
Haejoo, having filled Dojun’s glass as if it were hers, also poured into her own.
“Delicious.”
“You’ll completely lose it if you keep going.”
“Interference.”
“Don’t get drunk.”
“Don’t order me around.”
This time, Dojun poured the champagne down his throat. He gulped down the drink he would normally sip and enjoy, like beer.
“The wind I made always blew in only one direction.”
“So, you did make wind.”
“But the person on the receiving end didn’t know it.”
“You must have loved that woman quite a bit?”
It was something that happened when Dojun wasn’t known to be her husband.
Haejoo decided to be generous and let that much slide.
His eyes sounded cold. By then, he had become hazy, and the look in his eyes as he gazed at her was filled with loneliness.
“I must have, since I did that.”
“Some people got to love and had a good time.”
“What about you?”
A subtle anger rose within Haejoo.
To be married without even having a proper date at her young age.
Haejoo, feeling inexplicably sad, crossed her legs in front of Dojun. Then, she spoke of the crazy guy Yura had mentioned, as if he were a boyfriend she had dated.
“There was someone who fought for me, risking everything.”
“……!”
“He liked me so much that any man who tried to touch me…….”
Haejoo pretended to hit her own cheek with her fist and pressed down hard.
“Everyone called him crazy.”
“But you didn’t care?”
Haejoo dredged up an old memory.
Her feelings at the time when Yura had told her about the man she called crazy were……
“It’s not a crime to love me.”
“Does that mean that bastard can do whatever he wants?”
Dojun’s voice was unusual, but Haejoo didn’t notice. She was already feeling the effects of the alcohol and leaned her head back on the sofa.
She felt like her eyes would close any moment.
“He was the only person who fought for me.”
“Did you perhaps…… like him?”
Haejoo’s eyes had already closed. Dojun’s gaze as he looked at her was cast back three years.
“Because he’s my hero.”
It was Haejoo’s reply, leaning on the alcohol.
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