🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 07
How big could it be?
An abruptly inappropriate curiosity bubbled up in her mind.
Her face flushed. Although she was purely curious, she never intended to ask this in front of him.
Joo-Young turned her head as if nothing had happened. Passing by the elevator mirror earlier, their eyes met briefly.
She calmly tilted the corners of her mouth into a small smile.
Now was not the time to let him look down on her. She needed to subtly pique his curiosity and present herself as a suitable marriage partner.
“I’ll remember that.”
“Remember what? I buy my own underwear.”
Ding!
—1st floor.
As the elevator doors opened, Joo-Young stepped out first and this time looked straight at Sung-Hoon.
“You never know. Maybe I’ll have another chance to give you underwear as a gift.”
Sung-Hoon followed her out, speaking as he walked.
“In that case, I’ll look forward to it.”
“….”
The tone of genuine anticipation left Joo-Young speechless. Why did this man take such things so seriously? Was he a pervert or what?
“I’ll be going now.”
Keeping her thoughts to herself, Joo-Young got into the back seat that Secretary Shin had opened for her. She rolled down the window to look up at Sung-Hoon standing by the car.
“Please consider the proposal I made today carefully and give me your answer.”
“I will.”
Secretary Shin, having circled to the front, spoke just as the two finished their conversation.
“Shall we depart, sir?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Secretary Shin shifted the gear, and the car began to move slowly.
“Alright then.”
Joo-Young gave a small nod toward Sung-Hoon, rolled up the window, and rested her head against the headrest.
She was exhausted. Truly, she didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.
Was it because of everything that happened since morning? No. Joo-Young had been pushing herself for the past few days. Ever since the Oido villa issue erupted, she hadn’t had a single day to rest peacefully.
“Ha… my head hurts.”
“There’s headache medicine in the back seat, sir.”
“I’ll take it later. I don’t even have the energy to open the cap right now.”
“Understood. If it gets too bad, let me know. I’ll pull over briefly and give you the medicine.”
Joo-Young, too drained to say more, just gave a faint acknowledgment and closed her eyes.
The Oido villa issue seemed to have reached a rough resolution. Sung-Hoon would likely pretend to deliberate for a bit before taking her hand, since the proposal was too good to reject.
The remaining matter was divorce.
She had no intention of maintaining a lifelong marriage with Sung-Hoon. But if she divorced him, the Oido villa would revert to Chairman Choi Kwon-Yong.
To avoid losing the villa, the grounds for divorce would have to lie with Sung-Hoon…
In that case, Chairman Choi would use every possible means to squeeze the maximum alimony from Sung-Hoon—or rather, Sung-Woon Group.
But that wasn’t the only problem.
Sung-Hoon was an unpredictable man. Could she really be okay marrying him?
Married or not, a man who had been discreet about his private life wouldn’t suddenly become reckless. He didn’t seem like the type to interfere with hers either.
However, the fact that she still didn’t fully understand what kind of man Sung-Hoon was made her uneasy.
She had the feeling he could see through her vulnerable true self.
She didn’t want him—or anyone else—to see that weak side of her.
“Secretary Shin.”
Joo-Young lifted her heavy eyelids.
“If we go to the Oido villa now, will it disrupt the schedule too much?”
“I think it might be a bit too much today. Tonight, you have dinner with Director Jin Hye-Soo at the Taekyung Museum, and she leaves for Paris tomorrow.”
She couldn’t rest at her leisure. Not that resting would ease her mind anyway.
“Understood. Let’s proceed with today’s schedule as planned.”
“Yes, sir.”
Joo-Young closed her eyes again, wishing for a moment that she could just fall asleep and never wake up.
Sung-Hoon visited his family home for the first time in a while.
He was supposed to have a meeting regarding underperforming hotel branches, but postponed it after Joo-Young’s sudden proposal.
He needed tonight alone to sort out his thoughts.
But his mother, Min Yu-Young, somehow found out he had no evening schedule and insisted over the phone that he come home. About two hours ago, he received her complaints about how hard it was to share a meal with him.
“Has Sung-Hoon arrived?”
Yu-Young, accompanied by the long-serving housekeeper, Jin-Joo, greeted him at the front entrance.
“I’m back. It’s been a while, Ms. Jin-Joo.”
“Yes, young master.”
Sung-Hoon greeted Jin-Joo and walked down the long hallway to the living room with Yu-Young.
As a child, this hallway had felt wide and vast, but now it didn’t feel as large. Had he grown too big, or was it never really that spacious?
Perhaps everything seemed enormous and otherworldly in his childhood ignorance. Back then, Sung-Hoon was…
“Sung-Hoon.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Yu-Young’s call snapped him out of his thoughts.
“What happened with that CS Group daughter you went on a meeting with? Didn’t it go well this time either?”
Had she asked yesterday, he would have answered honestly: it didn’t go well. He and Choi Joo-Young weren’t a match.
But now, he wanted to leave some room for uncertainty before making a final decision.
“I’m not sure.”
“What??”
Yu-Young suddenly grabbed his right arm. Her face lit up with a smile.
“So, if you’re not sure, that means you don’t entirely dislike her, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Phew. That’s a relief.”
Min Yu-Young was delighted over such a small hint, as if she had won the world. It left a faint mark on the wall of Sung-Hoon’s poker face.
“Actually, your mother and I were worried. It seems like you still don’t open your heart to anyone outside our family.”
“….”
“We raised you with the same love, but did we unconsciously treat you differently?”
“….”
“Your mother and I…”
Yu-Young stroked his right arm.
“We want you to be truly happy.”
Close to midnight.
Joo-Young arrived home, showered, and collapsed onto her bed. Drinking with Director Jin Hye-Soo had made her consume more alcohol than she usually could.
“Ah… my stomach hurts.”
Lying on her stomach, she reached into a plastic bag on the floor.
She had a habit of not eating snacks while drinking. Knowing this, Secretary Shin had brought her electrolyte drinks, chocolate milk, and hangover medicine for the next morning.
As she sipped the electrolyte drink, her phone vibrated. She glanced at it—Sung-Hoon’s name flashed on the screen.
The alcohol buzz instantly vanished. Why was he calling now…?
“Yes, this is Choi Joo-Young.”
Hastily putting down her drink, she answered.
—Where are you?
“At home.”
—Did you shower?
A sudden, unexpected question. What was he playing at? But until she gave a definitive answer about the marriage, she had to make a good impression. Reluctantly, she answered:
“Just now.”
—Then that won’t do.
What wouldn’t?
—I came to talk, but since you showered, go home today. I’ll contact you through my secretary tomorrow.
Before she could even wonder, Sung-Hoon had cleared it up.
No… more than that.
“Go home… Mr. Baek Sung-Hoon, where exactly are you?”
—In front of Choi Joo-Young’s apartment.
An unexpected guest, at an unexpected late hour, had arrived.
