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Chapter 16
Crunch, crunch.
Hyena crushed the ice into small pieces and swallowed them.
The housekeeper, who had been watching nearby, shuddered at the harsh grinding sound.
But Hyena calmly kept chewing the ice in her cup to the very end.
Ice was the least of her concerns.
What was really scraping at her nerves was…
“What will you do now? You’re in big trouble.”
Hyena gripped the glass tighter.
Even then, her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Shame and humiliation had spread deep into her body.
“If you know your place, you should crawl accordingly.”
“……”
“Who knows? Maybe someone will pity your pathetic life—doing nothing except leeching off others—and show you some mercy.”
A few days ago, Hyena had run into Choi Ju-young at the CS Group headquarters by chance.
Hyena had replayed Ju-young’s words over and over again. She couldn’t forget them.
Because they infuriated her.
As infuriating as they were, Ju-young wasn’t wrong.
When Choi Kwon-yong’s feelings changed, Ko Hyena would be discarded. And even if she wasn’t thrown away, her life would end the moment he died.
Choi Kwon-yong might throw her luxury bags and gift her a black card, but he never gave her a single position or role within CS Group.
So she had no right to claim ownership over anything in the company.
Why? Why won’t he give me a chance?
Because she hadn’t given birth to a child carrying his blood?
Bang!
Unable to contain her anger, Hyena slammed the glass onto the tea table, almost shattering it.
Why isn’t it happening?
She had seduced Choi Kwon-yong into sleeping with her without condoms several times—so why!
“Ha…”
A sigh boiled up from deep inside her core.
It was something she worried about often, but the frequency had increased lately.
That, too, was because of Choi Ju-young.
“Haha! To think she worked so hard to preserve memories of her dead mother. I like it, haha!”
During breakfast, Choi Kwon-yong skimmed a few articles related to Ju-young.
Included were pictures of Ju-young shopping at a CS department store with Bae Sung-hoon.
The two looked quite like a couple, and since the article came out, CS Group’s stock price had been rising for days.
Rumors even spread that CS Group and Seongwoon Group might become in-laws.
Everything was going according to Ju-young’s plan. At this rate, things could truly become dangerous.
“That damn bitch.”
Someone like Ju-young, daring to pity me? Offering me mercy?
When all she did was waste her life sulking because of the Oido summer villa?
The one with a tragic life wasn’t Hyena—it was Ju-young. It was Ju-young who lost her mother because of a father obsessed with women.
The one who truly deserved pity, the one with a tragic life, was Choi Ju-young.
“Hey!”
Hyena turned around and shouted.
The housekeeper rushed over.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“The herbal medicine I drink every day—did I prepare the ingredients myself like I told you?”
“Of course.”
“Aagh! Then why isn’t it working!”
Despite drinking herbal medicine every day for two years—supposedly good for pregnancy—she hadn’t seen even the faintest sign of morning sickness, let alone pregnancy.
What was the problem? Was the medicine faulty?
She had visited the most famous doctor in Seoul for fertility issues…
No way.
A sudden, ominous thought flashed through her mind. Hyena shot up to her feet.
“Prepare the car.”
“Are you going out, ma’am?”
“I think my body has been weak lately. I need new medicine.”
Hyena immediately began getting ready to leave.
A part of her felt it couldn’t be true—but sometimes “no way” was exactly when danger struck.
She needed to confirm it for sure.
The doctor she needed was someone impossible to see without a reservation. But CS Group’s wealth made the impossible possible.
“I’m just as busy as you are, so let’s get straight to the point.”
The doctor had squeezed her in between appointments, and Hyena didn’t even bother thanking him before jumping straight into her question.
“If I’ve taken herbal medicine for two years and still can’t get pregnant, does that mean there’s a special reason?”
“A special reason…? Ah, are you suspecting that the medicine was—”
“No! Not that!”
Legally, she was nothing, but everyone knew Ko Hyena was the mistress of Choi Kwon-yong, chairman of CS Group.
For that reason, Hyena made sure to maintain perfect dignity whenever she was outside.
She wore calm, elegant outfits, avoided flashy accessories, and even controlled her tone and voice.
But whenever something didn’t go her way, Hyena reverted to her old vulgar self.
Just like now.
“I’m asking if there’s some fundamental disease or past procedure that could make the medicine ineffective!”
“…No. Nothing like that.”
The doctor froze for a moment but quickly understood what she was implying and shook his head.
“Then why isn’t it working!”
“Do you still drink cold beverages these days?”
“…Tch. Not that again.”
“Ma’am, as I’ve told you many times, your body must be kept warm. Only then can the herbal medicine reach maximum effectiveness.”
“All the money I’ve poured into this clinic for two years…”
Hyena frowned.
“You’re telling me I can’t get pregnant because of iced coffee?”
“I apologize. Since you’re here, would you at least like acupuncture—”
“Acupuncture? You quack.”
Before the doctor even finished speaking, Hyena stood up.
As she exited the office, the waiting chauffeur approached.
“Is your consultation finished?”
“Would I be out here if it wasn’t?”
“……”
“Keys.”
“Here they are, ma’am.”
The chauffeur cautiously handed her the car keys.
“I’ll go down first. Pay the bill and come after.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Hyena ignored the doctor completely and left the clinic.
The entire three-story building was the clinic and operated strictly on reservations.
Because of that, clients rarely encountered each other, and there was even a private underground parking lot.
But Hyena had come without a reservation today.
CS Group’s influence had gotten her an appointment, but it couldn’t magically open a spot in the underground parking lot.
“…You.”
Just as she was heading toward the outdoor parking lot where she’d parked:
A man passing the building called out her name.
“Ko Hyena?”
“Who the hell are—!!”
Hyena turned sharply, frowning.
And the moment she saw who had called her, her face drained of color.
Of all people—fuck.
The first thing that greeted Ju-young when she entered the swimming pool was the night view of Seoul through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
Anyone would have gasped at the view, but Ju-young simply muttered, “Nice,” and turned away.
The sunbed she had requested in advance was already prepared. A cushion, drinks, and finger foods were set beside it.
She placed the cushion behind her back and reclined, then opened her laptop and resumed reading the documents she hadn’t finished at work.
The operating hours of the Seongwoon Hotel’s indoor pool ended at 10 p.m.
Right now, it was 10:20 p.m.
The pool should’ve been closed for cleaning—but someone was still swimming.
And Ju-young didn’t so much as glance at the swimmer as she kept her eyes on her laptop.
Step, step.
Wet footsteps echoed through the space. Someone was approaching her.
Ju-young only lifted her head when a shadow stretched across her laptop.
Bae Sung-hoon, freshly out of the water, was breathing heavily with his chest rising and falling.
“Swim.”
Ju-young closed her laptop.
“Are you done?”
“I should do more.”
“Then go and—”
Her words cut off.
On Sung-hoon’s neck was a faint but unmistakable mark—the kiss mark she had left.
Ju-young unconsciously swallowed. Things she hadn’t noticed a moment earlier now came sharply into focus.
Wet, drooping hair.
Breathing slightly ragged from swimming.
And the undeniable mark she herself had left on his skin.
