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CHAPTER 06
I closed the textbook and examined it from every angle.
At first, I thought he had deliberately brought one of the extra new textbooks piled up in a corner of the teachers’ office just to annoy me.
But then I saw his name written with a permanent marker across the top edge of the pages.
“Ah! How did I not realize this?”
As far as I remembered, Kim Dohwan’s grades in the original story were absolutely terrible.
Whenever Nam Juyeon and Lee Segye took a mock exam, they were always in the top 0.1%, while Kim Dohwan consistently ended up in the bottom 0.1%.
Naturally, once Lee Segye eventually found this out, there was no way she would just leave Kim Dohwan alone.
She wasn’t the kind of person who could see someone in need and simply pretend not to notice.
Until the day before the mock exam the following month, the two of them went back and forth between each other’s houses almost every day to study.
The result was astonishing.
Even though Lee Segye spent all that time teaching just one person, she remained in the top 0.1%.
And even though Kim Dohwan spent all that time studying, he remained in the bottom 0.1%.
The sad part of the story was that after that day, Lee Segye never passionately taught anyone again.
It was probably just one of those minor episodes that I had forgotten.
There was no point tearing my hair out and regretting it now.
“Review… Yeah. Let’s just think of it as reviewing.”
Looks like I wasn’t going to bed early today either.
On the way from the bus stop to school, I checked the time once.
“It’s nice to have plenty of time today, unlike yesterday.”
I had been late yesterday, but today it looked like I would be able to arrive at school normally.
Actually, if I had run like I normally did yesterday morning, I probably could have arrived just in time.
But I deliberately walked quickly enough to be late.
I was now too scared to run down the road shouting about being late.
It was basically a trauma from the day I had bumped into Han Yuna twice in a row.
“Even if the person I bump into is one of the Three Kings, I’m done with running into people on the way to school.”
As I rubbed my goosebump-covered arm and continued walking, a familiar car parked in front of the main gate caught my eye.
A black limousine.
There was no doubt about it. It was the car Kim Dohwan usually rode in.
“Speak of the devil.”
Since I had already seen him once, I couldn’t just ignore him and walk past.
Just yesterday, I had tried to quietly pretend I hadn’t seen him and escape, only to get caught.
‘I really want to stop buying every kind of drink in every flavor from the school store.’
The moment I got close to the rear passenger door, it opened.
As expected, Kim Dohwan was inside.
“Oh my, Young Master of Cheonghwa Group, you’ve finally arrived? This humble servant dares to greet his young master.”
I spoke in a completely soulless, flattering tone.
My dull, unfocused eyes were an added bonus.
I could swear even an automatic answering machine would sound warmer than me.
‘Ah. Come to think of it, the fact that Kim Dohwan is from Cheonghwa Group is something only Wi Jinha knows.’
Unlike his older brother, who was publicly known, Kim Dohwan himself was a private figure.
I remembered a scene later in the story where the female protagonist, Lee Segye, discovered that Kim Dohwan was a third-generation chaebol and began avoiding him.
Their misunderstanding went on for such a long time that many readers had apparently dropped the novel around that part.
‘If the person who liked me were a third-generation chaebol, I’d be thrilled. Why would she hate it?’
I stopped myself from getting lost in that thought and focused on the situation in front of me.
‘Why is he reacting like that?’
I had expected him to laugh and enjoy my behavior, but Kim Dohwan looked slightly flustered.
“Hey, Kang Beotkkot, wait!”
“Beotkkot? Don’t tell me the ‘Hwadan’ I know is…”
“No, hyung. That’s not what I meant…”
Apparently, Kim Dohwan’s older brother was also in the car.
‘But what does that mean? Hwadan? Did he plant cherry blossom trees in the flower garden he takes care of?’
Even if that were the case, his words didn’t make sense.
One of the car doors was still open while the two of them continued their serious conversation.
I felt like I was the only person who couldn’t follow what they were talking about.
‘What the heck? Let me join the conversation too.’
They were clearly talking about me, but I had absolutely no idea what they were saying.
Just when I was filled with so many questions that I couldn’t even begin to understand what was happening, the rear passenger door on the opposite side opened.
Someone I had never seen before got out of the car.
Black hair, black eyes.
He had the same ordinary appearance as Kim Dohwan.
Except, just like Kim Dohwan, his actual looks were anything but ordinary.
‘Wow. The older brother of one of the Three Kings has a pretty impressive face too!’
If Kim Dohwan had the appearance of a prickly cat, this man had the appearance of a gentle, big dog.
Unlike Kim Dohwan, who kept his forehead exposed, this man’s hair covered his entire forehead, which probably made him look even more gentle.
‘Is he a college student?’
He was wearing black slacks and an orange oversized pullover sweater.
His clothes were a little too casual for a working adult.
The moment our eyes met, his face suddenly went pale.
‘Why are you looking at me like you’ve just seen a ghost?’
I blinked blankly, and the man became even more restless.
“I should have warned him. I’m sorry. I’ll apologize to you on Dohwan’s behalf.”
“Excuse me? No, you really don’t have to apologize.”
I didn’t want someone I’d just met to apologize to me on someone else’s behalf.
Besides, Kim Dohwan wasn’t exactly the type to bow his head to anyone.
Maybe I had sounded too cold, because the man gave me an awkward smile.
“Beotkkot, you’ve grown so much. Well, I suppose that’s natural. It’s already been more than five years since we met at the celebration party for the opening of the Hwadan Hotel. How’s the chairman’s health?”
“…What celebration party? Have we met before?”
My guard immediately went up to its highest level.
‘What is Hwadan? And what’s this Hwadan Hotel? More importantly, we met at some celebration party?’
I instinctively tried to step away from him.
Then—
“Ahh…!”
“Beotkkot, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
An intense headache suddenly hit me without warning.
It was so severe that I couldn’t even keep my body upright.
If the man in front of me hadn’t caught me, I wouldn’t have had the strength to remain standing. I would have fallen forward and rolled across the ground.
‘Huh? Why is my body suddenly doing this?’
Even with my eyes closed, I could vaguely see a familiar yet unfamiliar scene.
A magnificent chandelier hanging from a high ceiling.
Expensive food arranged on tables.
People smiling and laughing.
The cheerful sound of laughter.
Everything sounded muffled and unclear, as if I were hearing it underwater.
Occasionally, broken voices could also be heard.
‘Chairman Kang, it’s been a long time…’
‘…They say he still hasn’t forgotten?’
‘The child is the only one who ended up suffering. How could a husband…’
‘Exactly. Because of… she fell out of Chairman Kang’s favor…’
Several groups of people who had been gathered in corners of the hotel were having heated conversations.
Then they looked toward a certain place, cleared their throats awkwardly, and scattered.
‘There can’t be anything more awkward than someone overhearing a secret conversation they’re having.’
And it would be even worse if the person listening was the very person they were talking about.
‘Gossiping about Hwadan inside the Hwadan Hotel. This is why stupid people always ruin things no matter what they do. It happened years ago, too…’
The person who now stood alone where they had been gathered tilted the champagne glass in their hand.
Then I noticed a huge wall mirror on the side.
A young girl with a cold, emotionless face was staring straight at me from the mirror.
‘I might as well have cut off one of their subordinates’ heads right in front of their commander.’
The girl had red eyes and a twisted smile that didn’t suit her young age.
That girl looked like me, only slightly younger than I was now.
“What is this…?”
But that wasn’t the only strange thing.
My long-held memories, in which no one had ever called me by my name, began to fade.
Memories of teachers calling me by my number.
My father calling me his daughter.
My classmates calling me their friend.
And then several unfamiliar memories became clear.
Teachers calling me by my name.
My classmates calling me by my name.
The many people responsible for educating me as an heir calling me by my name and also calling me young lady.
My father still called me his daughter.
But unlike the feeling that those actions were something he had to do out of obligation, there was a warm feeling in them, as though he was genuinely treating me as his daughter.
“Oh my god… how…?”
Even my father, who had originally been the father of a nameless extra, had changed into Chairman Kang, the head of Hwadan Group, a famous company comparable to Cheonghwa Group.
‘So that means I’m the only daughter of Chairman Kang of Hwadan Group right now?’
Maybe because my memories had changed, my head felt hazy, almost as if the blood were draining from it.
I even felt nauseous, but it wasn’t unbearable.
I suppressed my confusion and searched through the newly entered memories from my past.
As my mind gradually returned to normal, individual objects that had previously appeared only faintly began coming into focus.
Somehow, I was being held by a man I had never met before.
Not one of the Three Kings, but Kim Dohyun, Kim Dohwan’s older brother.
‘Looks like you’re confused too. It’s okay. I’m confused too.’
Kim Dohyun was looking down at me with an expression overflowing with confusion and concern.
“What’s wrong? Beotkkot, are you feeling sick?”
“What happened, hyung?”
“I just suddenly felt a little dizzy. Maybe that’s why. I think I’m already starting to forget things at this age. I couldn’t even recognize your face right away.”
At my words, Kim Dohyun smiled brightly with a relaxed expression, as if asking what I was talking about.
His harmless expression was practically that of a golden retriever.
Kim Dohwan, who I hadn’t even noticed approaching, looked at the two of us with an expression that clearly said, Seriously?
‘Are those two really biological brothers?’
Even I, who knew the original story, had to wonder because their images were complete opposites.
The person who pulled me out of the swamp of my thoughts was Kim Dohyun, the embodiment of harmlessness.
“Anyway, don’t forgive Dohwan until he apologizes to you first. I’m serious.”
“Hyung!”
“If you’re insisting that strongly, then I’d be grateful.”
I quickly gave him a positive answer before Kim Dohwan could say anything beside me.
The decision had been made without asking the person involved, but no one complained.
Well…
No one except Kim Dohwan.
