ALDA 04

 Chapter – 04

“A Love Doomed to Die”

The Man Named Cha Young-hoon

It was Park Mi-jung.

Her red lips curved beautifully as she looked down at Eun-hee from afar.

Unlike the startled Eun-hee, her expression was one of genuine delight.

Eun-hee, flustered, hurriedly pushed herself up. Her eyes darted around, scanning the space.

Pale moonlight poured through the darkness.

A long wooden desk beneath it, a transparent sliding door beyond, and past that—a small terrace leading into a tall forest of trees.

Only then did she realize she had been moved to the director’s office after she collapsed.

She couldn’t know what exactly happened between the two of them, but it seemed Mi-jung had come after Cha Young-hoon’s visit.

Eun-hee took one shaky step, then another, toward where Mi-jung stood.

Mi-jung’s eyes swept over her trembling body as she asked again,

“How did it feel when he slapped you?

Was it just… painful?”

There was no trace of restraint in the curiosity on her graceful face.

It was such a strange question that Eun-hee didn’t know how to respond. Instead, her cheeks flushed red.

Mi-jung let out a small sigh, her eyelids trembling.

“Forget it… pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Eun-hee wondered if her silence had embarrassed Mi-jung.

With a pale face, she spoke softly.

“I’m so sorry… especially on a day like this…”

“You don’t owe me an apology. You didn’t do anything wrong.

I should be the one apologizing—for saying something so thoughtless.

It’s just… it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem, so I said too much.”

Mi-jung bit her lower lip, her voice fading away.

Eun-hee’s curious gaze cautiously studied her.

Their lives had always drawn parallel lines that would never meet.

Mi-jung had been born into wealth, supported by her affluent parents, and now served as the chairwoman of an arts foundation.

There was no imaginable overlap between them.

Their eyes met—quietly, directly.

The moonlight between them was almost painfully bright.

Under that light, Mi-jung slowly lifted her wrist—her expression solemn, like a priest offering a sacred sacrifice.

The chiffon sleeve slid down without resistance, revealing a pale wrist.

Across it, deep, raw wounds were etched in scarlet.

“Ah… what… what is that…”

Eun-hee gasped, her trembling hand covering her mouth.

“Who do you think did this?”

Mi-jung’s voice was mournful.

Eun-hee couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

The daughter of Park Hee-dae, chairman of Hosan Construction—raised like a flower in a glasshouse.

If she had done this to herself, she wouldn’t have shown it so openly. That possibility was dismissed immediately.

Under the bright moonlight, the wounds were clearly visible.

Some had already started to heal; others were fresh, the blood still vivid.

It was unmistakably the trace of repeated violence.

Realizing the gravity of it, Eun-hee’s pupils quivered violently.

Though the late-summer air wasn’t cold, goosebumps prickled all over her skin.

While Eun-hee stood frozen in shock, Mi-jung regained her composure, lowering her arm as she spoke calmly.

“Now, do you understand what I meant when I said it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem?”

“Who… who would do such a thing to you?”

“Who knows? Maybe it started with losing my parents young… with the pressure to be perfect under everyone’s expectations. Maybe all of it built up into frustration and resentment. That’s as much as I can guess.”

There was someone else who fit that description.

A man burdened by family expectations, who lived to fulfill them.

A man both Eun-hee and Mi-jung knew.

“Yes, you’re thinking of him right now.

The man who carried you here after you collapsed.

The one who showed up like a knight in shining armor.”

“…”

“Cha Young-hoon. It was him.”

“…”

“On the surface, he looks polished. But inside—he’s a mad dog. A real bastard.”

Ah.

Eun-hee felt something inside her snap.

She had thought of him as shameless, maybe rude—a man who always looked at her with a mocking glint.

They’d had petty clashes, childish ones, born from a bad first impression.

But that was all.

She’d never imagined he was capable of something like this.

Yet the moment she saw those wounds, she thought of him.

Could he really be that vile?

She recalled his eyes earlier—how he’d looked at her as she collapsed.

Hungry. Possessive.

But then… why had Mi-jung told her to sleep with such a man?

Why?

It didn’t make sense.

Eun-hee’s thoughts tangled in confusion.

Mi-jung broke the silence she’d graciously allowed.

“Eun-hee. Please help me.”

Eun-hee lifted her dazed eyes to meet hers.

“Do you remember what I said last time?

I took it back right after—I thought I must have lost my mind.

But could you reconsider it… just once more?”

“…”

“In the end, it’ll be something that saves both of us.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Earlier, I noticed you seemed desperate for money. Am I right?”

Shame flooded back, and Eun-hee’s head sank.

Being poor isn’t a crime.

And yet, it always makes you lower your head.

You become a sinner without sin—like now.

“I’ll make sure you’re compensated well.

Think of it not as a proposal, but a plea.

A desperate request—with a generous reward. What do you say?”

But before she could go further, Eun-hee, finally regaining her senses, spoke quietly.

“I don’t see how your… proposal would help with what’s happened to you.”

“I need you to watch him.

More precisely—to find something that could destroy him. His fatal weakness.”

“Why not just report him?”

Mi-jung gave a hollow laugh, pressing her forehead with one hand.

“That man put Chairman Dae-ah in prison. Do you know who that chairman is?

He was a close friend of Cha Young-hoon’s grandfather. Practically family.

And still—he threw him in jail.

The man who once doted on him as a child.

That’s who he is.”

“…”

“You think a simple assault charge would shake him?

With no evidence? Not that man.”

Still, the logic didn’t add up.

If she wanted dirt on Cha Young-hoon, she could have hired someone—discreetly, professionally.

She had the means. Money was her surest weapon.

Before Eun-hee could voice that thought, Mi-jung spoke again—almost as if she’d read her mind.

“To be honest, not just anyone can do it.

It has to be someone like you.”

Eun-hee gave a small, bitter laugh inside.

Mi-jung said she was the only one who could do it.

But she didn’t know that Eun-hee and that man were anything but friendly.

Not that it really mattered.

There was no need to think long about her answer.

Did Mi-jung see her as some lowlife? Someone desperate enough to sell herself?

But she wasn’t that kind of person. She refused to be.

“I’m sorry. It’s true that I need money…

but I won’t take part in something like that.”

Eun-hee’s tone was firm.

Mi-jung sighed, visibly tired—but still, she didn’t give up easily.

“Eun-hee.”

“…”

“Yes, it’s dangerous. It means confronting evil itself.

And yes, it means… giving your body.

I know it’s not something easy to accept.

But even if it’s not moral, it is just.

So please… think about it one last time.”

She paused, meeting Eun-hee’s gaze squarely.

“I’ll give you a week.

No more than that—I can’t wait longer.”

Mi-jung’s pleading face made Eun-hee close her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them again, she still hoped this was all a dream.

But only the cold, unyielding reality remained.

There was nothing left to think about.

She bowed her head politely to take her leave.

Then, after walking a few steps toward the door, she stopped.

Turning back, Eun-hee faced Mi-jung’s hollow, empty eyes and asked quietly,

“What do you gain from all this… if you go that far?”

Ah.

Mi-jung gave a lonely smile—as if she’d been waiting for that very question.

“A reason to break off the engagement.

And freedom… from the monster named Cha Young-hoon.”