ASE 22

Chapter 22

“Could you back off a little?”

Hye-na frowned deeply and pushed Taekyung’s chest with her hand.

At first, Jin Taekyung didn’t budge—but then he seemed to change his mind, gave a short, mocking laugh, and went to sit down across from her.

“Did you bring the money?”
“…You leech.”

Thunk.

Hye-na pulled a thick envelope of cash from her handbag and placed it in front of him.
The weight alone spoke volumes about the amount.

Taekyung eagerly picked up the envelope, grinning from ear to ear after glancing inside.

“Ha~ I knew it. Women who marry rich men are just built different.”
“How long are you going to keep demanding money? I think I’ve given you more than enough.”
“Oh, really?”

The smirk vanished from his face in an instant. With a flat expression, Taekyung glared at her as if he could kill her.

“If you want to keep my mouth shut, this isn’t enough. One wrong word from me, and everything you wear, eat, and enjoy goes up in smoke. Got it?”

“The chairman gives me cards, not cash. I don’t have the kind of money to hand you lump sums like this all the time. You get that, right?”

“How’s that my problem?”
“What?”
“If you’re broke, that’s on you. As long as I get my money, everything’s fine on my end.”

Under the table, Hye-na’s clenched fist trembled.

How did she ever fall for this man?

Back then, Jin Taekyung had seemed cool—riding a motorcycle with one hand, cigarette in the other, like something out of a magazine spread.

But now she knew better.

Jin Taekyung was nothing more than trash who’d never outgrown his delinquent days.

“I’ll call you again next time. Bring more cash like today. If you don’t have it, sell something from your house and come up with it. Got it?”
“……”
“I said, got it, Hye-na? I’m not a mind reader.”

Reluctantly, Hye-na nodded, and only then did Taekyung smile again.

“See? That’s better. No need for either of us to get ugly if you just behave.”

Rising from his seat, Taekyung slipped the envelope into his pocket. Then, as if he’d suddenly turned into a gentleman, he gave a polite bow.

“Well then, miss—enjoy your lunch.”

He chuckled and sauntered out of the room.

Even as the course meal kept coming, Hye-na didn’t touch a single bite.

Madam Min Yoo-young had disappeared from public life for about seven years after becoming pregnant.

The first child born between Chairman Bae Sung-won and Madam Min was also completely hidden from the media for six years.

Then, after all that time, Madam Min and her first child finally appeared at the opening ceremony for Seongun Hotel’s new Jeju annex.

That first child was Bae Sung-hoon.

But now, they were saying—Bae Sung-hoon wasn’t actually the biological child of Chairman Bae Sung-won and Madam Min?

“Chairman Bae Sung-won is Type A, Madam Min is Type O. And Bae Sung-hoon is…”

While going through the file prepared by Secretary Shin, Joo-young paused when she saw the line.

“…Type B.”

A child born from parents with blood types A and O cannot have Type B or AB.

So whose child was Bae Sung-hoon?

Was he an illegitimate child of Chairman Bae’s from another woman?
Or… did Madam Min have an affair?

Either way, it was unthinkable for a couple so famously devoted to each other.

Then what on earth happened?

As she turned the next page, Joo-young froze at a photo of Madam Min standing beside a beautiful young woman.

“Who’s this?”
“Her name’s Heo Sun-young. She’s Bae Sung-hoon’s biological mother.”
“…Come to think of it, she does look pregnant there. Where is she now? Get in touch with her as soon as possible.”
“That’s… not possible.”
“What?”
“She passed away—four years after Mr. Bae Sung-hoon was born.”

Joo-young’s hand stopped mid-turn. Her pupils trembled.

“She… passed away?”
“Yes. And this is just my theory, but… Madam Min may have suffered a miscarriage during her own pregnancy and adopted the baby of her acquaintance, Ms. Heo Sun-young.”
“You’re saying that baby was Bae Sung-hoon?”
“Yes, ma’am.”

It wasn’t an impossible story.

If both women were pregnant around the same time, their due dates could’ve lined up. That would explain why Bae Sung-hoon’s birthday fit the official timeline perfectly.

And if Madam Min hadn’t miscarried, there’s no way Bae Sung-hoon would have been raised as Seongun Group’s eldest heir.

Even so—would anyone, even a close friend, really adopt another woman’s child so readily?

Especially since Madam Min later had two more children—Bae Sung-yeon and Bae Sung-hyun. It wasn’t as if she’d become infertile.

“For now, I’ll look into this personally. Secretary Shin, keep investigating as well.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And what about Chairman Arden’s visit to the Gangnam branch tomorrow?”
“He’s scheduled to arrive around 3 p.m. and stay for about an hour.”
“I see. Any word from the chairman?”

By “the chairman,” she meant Chairman Choi Kwon-yong—her father.

“He said he’ll be attending.”
“…Right.”

A sigh escaped her lips. Just the thought of seeing that detestable face again gave her a headache.

“Alright, that’s all. You can go.”

After dismissing Secretary Shin, Joo-young opened her tablet and reviewed the next day’s itinerary in detail.

But before long, her mind began to drift—to thoughts of Bae Sung-hoon.

“It’s feeding, isn’t it? The same way you ‘fed’ Hong Do-yoon, Ms. Choi Joo-young.”

The food Bae Sung-hoon had bought her—she’d given it to Secretary Shin instead.

There hadn’t been any hidden meaning in it.

She simply hadn’t wanted to eat it herself. Throwing it away seemed wasteful, so she gave it to him.

“Why that face, sweetheart? You look like you’re about to cry.”

She’d been startled when he said that at the party last night.

She already knew he was perceptive—beyond the ordinary—but she hadn’t realized he could read even the subtlest shifts in her expression.

With him, it always felt like there was no hiding anything.
Like he could see straight through her.

“…Stop it. Stop, Choi Joo-young.”

Her thoughts kept spiraling deeper.

This wasn’t like her—getting lost in useless emotions.

The next day, around 3 p.m. as scheduled, Chairman Arden of ELDO Group arrived at the CS Department Store’s Gangnam branch.

Joo-young greeted him warmly as he stepped out of his sedan.

“It’s an honor to see you again, Chairman Arden.”
“The pleasure’s mine, President Choi.”

The chairman returned her smile and shook her hand firmly.

“This is Chairman Choi Kwon-yong of CS Group.”
“A pleasure. I’m Choi Kwon-yong.”
“Oh! So you’re the famous Chairman Choi. What an honor to finally meet. I’m Arden, from ELDO Group.”

Seeing an opening, Joo-young smoothly inserted herself between the two men.

“This way, please. Director Hong Do-yoon, you too.”

She led them to the first floor luxury section.

The purpose of Chairman Arden’s visit today was to inspect ELDO Group’s flagship brand stores and confirm the future site for the new “Verdung” boutique.

They also discussed potential duty-free expansions and strengthening collaboration with CS Department Store.

Though the meeting lasted barely an hour, they covered a range of business topics.

The final stop was a women’s fashion boutique—one of ELDO’s top three brands by sales.

“President, a moment—”
“If it’s not urgent, later.”

Secretary Shin approached quietly to whisper something, but Joo-young cut him off.

Now wasn’t the time for distractions—her focus needed to stay on Chairman Arden.

But the moment she stepped inside the store, she instantly regretted that decision.

“Well now… isn’t that your partner, President Choi?”

Right there in the middle of the store—

Bae Sung-hoon was shopping.