MFYBS 30

Chapter: 30

As the thought suddenly crossed her mind that the other two weren’t suffering while she alone had been miserable, Haeru felt wronged.

She wanted them to suffer too.

The easiest way was to make Jaryeon and Taejun lose trust in each other, become possessive, and fight.

Deliberately, she placed a hand on Taejun’s shoulder—the very sight of him made her sick.

Then she lightly brushed at his spotless shoulder with her fingertips.

“Hm? You had something on you.”

Afterward, she forced a smile onto her lips.

“Oh, thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Aren’t you going home yet?”

“Ah… I still have a lot of work today.”

“Really? Then let’s have a meal together sometime.”

It was an ordinary conversation.

But Haeru wanted to make Jaryeon jealous.

So she suddenly leaned in close, as though sharing a secret, and whispered into Taejun’s ear.

When she finished, she stepped away from him and discreetly glanced toward Jaryeon in the distance.

She saw Jaryeon’s expression twist before she abruptly turned around and walked away.

Once Jaryeon had left, the corners of Haeru’s lips, which had been forced upward, fell immediately.

“Then I’ll be going.”

Bowing politely in a businesslike manner, she walked past Taejun.

Unable to adjust to her suddenly cold attitude, Taejun instinctively grabbed Haeru’s wrist as she passed.

As though she had touched an insect, she violently shook off his hand and raised her voice.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Startled by her abrupt change in attitude, Taejun quickly raised both hands with his palms open and bowed his head slightly.

“Ah! I’m sorry.”

“That was unpleasant. Next time, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t touch me without my permission.”

After sharply rebuking him, she left the company building.

Watching her walk away, Taejun let out a long sigh.

“What… did I do wrong?”

Her attitude had changed in an instant, but no matter how hard he retraced everything in his mind, he couldn’t figure out why.

Friday night.

Having been invited to dinner by Chairwoman Kim Myungsook, Haeru headed to the main house.

Muyeon’s family had already gathered around the dining table.

Naturally, Muhyeok was there as well.

But seeing someone she hadn’t expected—I Kanghoon—she was genuinely surprised.

“Oh? Hello.”

She greeted Kanghoon warmly before taking her assigned seat.

Coincidentally, it was next to Kanghoon and directly across from Muhyeok.

Muhyeok stared at her without blinking.

Wanting to avoid his persistent gaze, Haeru kept her head lowered as she quietly ate.

As casual conversations and routine responses flowed around the table, Muyeon’s father, Vice Chairman Chae Myungmu, who was seated beside Muyeon, suddenly spoke.

“Today, I invited the two of you because I wanted to thank Haeru for helping Muhyeok settle into the company, and also because Muyeon unintentionally ruined Kanghoon’s work. I wanted to express my gratitude and offer an apology, so I hope you’ll enjoy the meal.”

It seemed Vice Chairman Chae Myungmu had been bothered by the fact that both Kanghoon and Haeru had remained silent throughout the meal.

With his gentle expression, he looked back and forth between the two of them.

Both nodded politely.

“Yes. Thank you for the meal.”

Even though everyone encouraged her to eat comfortably, Haeru couldn’t relax in the slightest.

Despite the abundance of dishes before her, every bite felt difficult to swallow, and the food simply rolled around inside her mouth.

She drank water several times, clasping together her hands, which had grown sweaty from nervousness, while nodding at Chairwoman Kim Myungsook’s lecture-like advice.

Perhaps because Muhyeok was sitting directly across from her, her eyes remained on Chairwoman Kim Myungsook at the head of the table, but all of her attention was fixed on Muhyeok.

Strangely enough, after the first few minutes, Muhyeok no longer seemed conscious of her at all and focused solely on eating.

Haeru had barely eaten when, while smiling politely in response to Myungsook’s lecture, the naturally considerate Kanghoon placed a piece of stir-fried squid—her favorite—on top of her bowl of white rice.

The squid dish had been just out of her reach, forcing her to stretch her arm every now and then.

Perhaps Kanghoon had noticed.

He smiled as he placed a large piece of squid on her rice.

Startled, she flinched.

At the same time, her leg moved involuntarily and accidentally kicked Muhyeok’s foot beneath the table.

Muhyeok looked up.

For only a brief moment, their eyes met.

Swallowing hard, Haeru acted as though nothing had happened.

She turned toward Kanghoon, placed the squid onto her spoon, lifted it slightly, and bowed her head with crescent-shaped smiling eyes.

“Thank you.”

“Eat plenty.”

Kanghoon quietly smiled back.

As she smiled and exchanged glances with Kanghoon, she could feel a burning gaze against her cheek.

But she absolutely refused to turn her head.

She knew that if she met Muhyeok’s eyes again, her heart would undoubtedly pound out of control.

Her neck had become so stiff she had to massage it with one hand.

Everyone else’s bowls were already noticeably emptier.

Meanwhile, Haeru’s rice had only decreased by about as much as bird feed, as though her bowl magically refilled itself.

After taking a drink of water and rinsing his mouth, Kanghoon looked toward Muyeon.

Muyeon, seated across from him, raised her eyebrows and nodded encouragingly.

Gathering his courage, Kanghoon finally spoke.

“Chairwoman.”

As Kanghoon unexpectedly addressed Kim Myungsook, Myungsook, who had finally paused her lecture and been quietly eating soup, shifted her gaze to him.

She slowly placed her spoon on the table.

It was a habit she had developed through years in business.

Whenever someone spoke to her, no matter how busy she was, she always gave them her full attention.

No matter how young or poorly dressed the other person was, that never mattered to her.

“What is it? Do you have something to say?”

Kanghoon’s family had long been one of the country’s major money-lending families.

Now they had even produced a bank president—a family that made money by managing money.

Because of that, Kanghoon’s grandfather, Lee Kangcheol, had done a great deal of business with Myungsook.

Whenever Kanghoon visited his grandfather’s home, he occasionally met Myungsook there.

However, intimidated by her presence, he had never spoken with her much.

But today he had come with a purpose.

“I heard you’re expanding into the fashion industry.”

“That’s right.”

Kim Myungsook’s eyes lit up.

Whenever business came up, she looked like a child who had just been handed a new toy.

Leaning forward slightly, she fixed her eyes on Kanghoon.

“In that case… I think I might be able to help.”

Muyeon’s eyes widened at Kanghoon’s serious proposal.

She excitedly interrupted him.

“Really? You’re going to do a collaboration?”

Vice Chairman Chae Myungmu, who had been quietly listening beside her, leaned forward.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… since the company is expanding into fashion, Kanghoon is already a well-known artist. Even rumors that we’d be collaborating would create enormous publicity, so I suggested it.”

“Really?”

Kim Myungsook listened carefully to her granddaughter without even blinking.

Normally, because they argued every day, she tended to dismiss Muyeon’s opinions immediately.

But this time she listened with the focus of a student paying attention during an important lesson.

“So? You’re saying you really can do it?”

“I’d like to.”

As everyone around the table flushed with excitement at what seemed to be the beginning of a major business deal, Muhyeok, who had been quietly eating, poured cold water over the mood with a dry response.

“We’ll review the proposal.”

Since nearly all practical business decisions passed through Muhyeok, his opinion carried considerable weight.

Without even looking up, he spoke in a cold, emotionless tone.

He almost sounded angry.

His dismissive attitude—as though the proposal were beneath consideration—instantly chilled the atmosphere at the table.

Haeru felt it too.

Reading the room, she cautiously looked up to study Muhyeok’s expression.

But despite everyone watching him, he simply continued eating without giving anyone a glance, as though he were either starving or simply unhappy to be there.

Haeru couldn’t understand his reaction.

This was a perfect opportunity.

If handled well, it would not only strengthen his position in the company but also silence those who questioned his abilities.

So why was he acting as though someone had just slapped him across the face, wearing such an icy expression?

She couldn’t understand it at all.

Muyeon, sitting beside him, couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

Trying even harder to smooth things over, she laughed awkwardly.

“This idiot just doesn’t know what he’s talking about! Don’t take it personally. ‘Review it’? Come on.”

Although Muyeon wasn’t interested in the company itself, she still understood the overall situation Muhyeok was in and how the company operated.

Even though the siblings argued constantly like ordinary brother and sister, she still wanted him to succeed—not fail.

But Muhyeok’s expression darkened even further.

Looking up sharply at Muyeon, he asked in a low, intimidating voice,

“And exactly what is it that I don’t understand?”

His tone was openly irritated.

Unable to fight with her younger brother in front of her friend, Muyeon bit down hard on her lip as her eyebrows twitched.

It was something she always did when trying to suppress her anger.

Even after receiving her silent warning, Muhyeok remained completely unfazed.

“It seems Muhyeok doesn’t like me very much.”

With a bright smile still on his face, Kanghoon met Muhyeok’s eyes and spoke in a tone tinged with disappointment.