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Chapter 01
Zzzziiiing.
The phone on the bedside table vibrated.
Despite finally falling asleep in the early hours due to severe insomnia, less than two hours later, the world woke Choi Ju-young.
“Ha…”
Groggily clinging to consciousness, Ju-young pushed back her falling hair, tidied it, and checked her phone.
The screen lit up with the name “Secretary Shin.”
Ju-young pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear.
“Yes, Secretary Shin.”
―The arrival is expected in 30 minutes, sir.
“Ah… 30 minutes?”
With her barely open eyes, Ju-young glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
It was 7:30 AM.
“Okay. I’ll be ready and come down by 8.”
―Yes, sir. I’ll contact you again once I arrive.
The call ended. Ju-young set down her phone, exhaled deeply, and pushed back her hair that was covering her face before stepping out of bed.
Once back in Seoul, she would stop by the shop first, so no makeup was needed.
Deciding to shower first, Ju-young went to the kitchen, drank a glass of water, and entered the bathroom.
The shower didn’t take long.
Even without makeup, factoring in drying and getting ready, 30 minutes would be tight.
Ju-young sat at her vanity, applied skincare products, and grabbed the hairdryer.
Vwoooosh.
Even at the lowest setting, the dryer’s noise rang in her head.
Looking at herself, Ju-young realized just how worn down her body had become.
Well. Even with sleeping pills, she could barely fall asleep. If her body were healthy, that would almost be comical.
Ju-young checked the time on her phone while drying her hair.
07:50
No sooner had she checked the time than Secretary Shin contacted her.
[I will arrive in 10 minutes. If you need more time, I can wait outside.]
[No, I’ll be ready on time.]
After replying to Secretary Shin, Ju-young set down the dryer and went to the kitchen, pulling a shot glass and coffee capsule from the drawer.
She placed the shot glass under the coffee machine, inserted the capsule, and pressed the button.
With a hum, espresso poured into the glass.
Ju-young sipped her espresso and returned to the bedroom.
Her favorite spot in the room was the large circular window beside the bed.
From anywhere in the bedroom, she could see the waves through the window, and now, as the sun rose, its reflection glittered across the water.
“Even if I hate mornings, this is nice.”
Ju-young had loved the summer villa on Oido since she was young.
Every summer, she would pester her mother to visit the villa, turn on the air conditioning, and watch the sea from the bed.
When sleepy, she would nap in her mother’s arms, eat the meals her mother prepared, laugh, talk, and enjoy every moment.
It had been happy and fun.
The laughter never stopped.
But those happy, joyful moments no longer existed. She could hardly sleep, let alone laugh.
Now, the summer villa was a refuge she visited when life became hard.
Though she could no longer feel those moments, coming to the villa made her feel as if she were still with her mother.
“Mom.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ju-young picked up the photo frame on the nightstand and gently traced her mother’s cheek with her fingertips.
Her mother had been ticklish, laughing loudly even when poked in the side.
Ju-young had inherited that sensitivity.
They had spent countless hours chasing, tickling, and laughing together… but now…
“It’s quiet.”
These were moments that would never return.
Moments she tried to recall, clinging to fading memories.
“I have a blind date at 12, so I should go. I’ll come again, Mom.”
Ju-young placed the frame back and left the bedroom.
It was time to hide her vulnerability.
She stopped by the shop for hair and makeup, put on the outfit Secretary Shin had prepared, and arrived at the blind date location.
Ju-young opened her eyes. The fatigue was evident in her gradually revealing gaze.
“And the other person?”
“I just spoke with the restaurant staff. He arrived early.”
Her slender fingers twitched. He was still here? Why?
Ju-young turned her head to look at the traditional hanok across the window.
At a high-end Korean restaurant fully booked a year in advance, today she was having a blind date.
To be precise, the blind date was scheduled.
About an hour ago.
‘It’s an hour past the scheduled time… why?’
Her blind date was Bae Sung-hoon, eldest son of Seongwoon Group, ranked in the top 10 of Korea’s corporate hierarchy.
His profile, received a few days ago, was flawless.
Education, family background, appearance—he could be called perfect in every way.
Would someone like him, in his position, need to wait an extra hour for a blind date? Absolutely not.
Then what? Was there some information about him that she hadn’t gathered?
Whatever it was, something had gone wrong.
“Secretary Shin, do you think I should go on this blind date?”
“…I think there’s no choice.”
Though her answer sounded evasive, Ju-young understood it perfectly.
A smirk escaped her.
“Of course. What power do I have? In my world, I’m just weak.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault, Secretary Shin.”
“….”
“If there’s any fault, it lies with me—the one who has always had everything taken away.”
Ju-young popped two headache pills she always kept in her car and drank water.
“I don’t want to drag the meal out. Tell them to serve all the courses at once.”
“Yes.”
Nodding, Secretary Shin got out of the car, circled around, and contacted the restaurant staff.
Meanwhile, Ju-young put on her previously removed high heels—10 cm tall.
Soon, the rear car door opened, and the fatigue vanished from her gaze.
Her heels clicked swiftly as she entered the restaurant.
“Ms. Choi Ju-young, we’ve been waiting for you. I’ll show you to your room.”
Before she even entered, staff who recognized her guided her to the room.
“Have a good time.”
Ju-young nodded at the staff who opened the sliding door and entered.
At that moment, the scene inside made her hesitate.
‘What the…?’
The long table already had the main dishes, and Bae Sung-hoon, her blind date, was eating while talking on the phone.
She had expected a delay, but not that he would be eating first.
As her predictions continued to fail, he slowly lifted his head and met her gaze.
“…”
In that instant, Ju-young felt her heart tear.
The man’s calm, languid eyes were threatening.
‘It’s nothing.’
Sung-hoon, having briefly made eye contact, returned to his task.
He ended the speaker mode and held the phone to his ear.
“Don’t worry about me. Keep going.”
Even with the blind date present, he didn’t end the call.
He never intended to.
Ah…
Ju-young finally understood the situation.
She wasn’t the only one engaged in this silent power struggle.
She put down her handbag and clicked over to Sung-hoon, snatching his phone.
Sung-hoon’s eyes narrowed.
“What are you—”
“Thirty-one, eldest son of Seongwoon Group.”
Ju-young had Secretary Shin research Sung-hoon.
Not to make the blind date succeed, but to overturn it.
“He went abroad at 13, entered the military at 20, then completed an MBA in the U.S. and returned as the CEO of Seongwoon Hotel.”
Even though such information could have been hidden, Ju-young confidently briefed him.
Her goal was to leave a negative impression.
“Both parents are alive, the second sibling is world-renowned ballerina Bae Sung-yeon, the third is still studying abroad.”
“….”
“I’ll skip the rest of the family and group details—they’d just be tedious to mention.”
Ju-young slammed the phone down and sat across from Sung-hoon.
“I didn’t go deeply into his relationships with women.”
Her red lips curved into a professional smile.
“If it’s okay, could you tell me directly? I like certainty.”
