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Chapter 06
Five years earlier, in Seoul.
It was a scorching summer day, just before college graduation. A corner of a welfare facility.
Hidden away in a remote spot beyond the nuns’ sight, a young man lay down with one arm under his head.
His ankle swung lazily in a sloppy posture. A university textbook covered his eyes to block out the sun.
It was Seo Tae-joo, the notorious chaebol troublemaker, who had come to a children’s welfare center under court-ordered community service.
What he was doing right now was obvious to anyone.
Perfect slacking off.
“Pathetic brat.”
For a moment, it felt as if the voice of Vice Chairman Seo Moon-su—the man Tae-joo had once naïvely called father—echoed inside his head.
“When are you finally going to come to your senses?”
“…There’s no place for me in Taekwang, the company Vice Chairman built with blood and sweat. You know that.”
“That ridiculous rebellion of yours…! What exactly do you think you can do outside Taekwang?”
“Well. There is someone who always says, after drinking, that I’m the kind of guy who could squeeze cactus juice in the desert and sell it to survive. So maybe I’ll just try whatever.”
Crash!
His cheek still seemed to sting from the file clip that had been thrown straight at his face.
Seo Tae-joo removed the book covering his eyes and lightly touched the wound.
It hurt as much as his mood.
“…Damn, that hurts.”
He laughed faintly and covered his face with both hands.
He wasn’t just a little tired.
He’d already spent the previous night partying wildly. Some idiot’s birthday party on a yacht, attended by elegant older women carrying champagne.
The largest cruise ship that could dock in South Korea, if he remembered correctly.
The corners of Seo Tae-joo’s lips curled upward.
Being a delinquent heir isn’t something just anyone can pull off.
It had been a three-night, four-day party filled with spoiled rich brats. Even pretending to fit into that crowd took effort.
Still, he had accomplished his original goal, so it was fine.
…Though community service had been waiting for him the moment he returned.
Forty hours. What kind of absurd punishment is that?
Reason for sentencing:
Violation of traffic laws and obstruction of official duties.
The news has probably broken by now.
[South Korea’s biggest problem child enjoys billionaire heirs’ private cruise birthday party until right before beginning court-ordered service…]
Seo Tae-joo scoffed with his eyes closed.
Yeah, keep talking. The louder you make it, the more grateful I’ll be.
From major national media outlets to cheap local tabloids, everyone loved criticizing his decadent private life.
Not that any of it affected him mentally.
If anything, he could still comfortably nap at this welfare center.
Nothing could disturb Seo Tae-joo’s composure.
…Except the sound of a piano.
Someone was playing piano and interrupting his peaceful sleep.
Seo Tae-joo frowned.
…For an annoyance, why does it sound like that…
Sweet.
Elegant.
His swinging foot stopped.
Then he abruptly sat up.
His hangover was already giving him a headache. The piano was getting on his nerves.
Who the hell is playing piano alone at this hour?
He strode toward the sound.
Just let me catch whoever it is…
How dare they interrupt his rest on a day like this.
His irritation twisted deeper.
But the moment he saw the person at the piano—
His steps halted.
A woman was playing.
Her long straight hair flowed down her back, her figure slender and perfectly upright.
One of his eyebrows lifted.
Ding—
The woman sensed his presence and immediately stopped playing.
She turned around smoothly from the piano bench.
What the…
Seo Tae-joo stared at her for a moment.
Why is she pretty?
While he paused, the woman fully turned toward him.
Her features were cold and flawless, almost icy.
She looked directly at him.
“Until three o’clock.”
…What?
His eyebrow twitched.
For a second, he thought he’d heard wrong.
But inside the small auditorium with only a piano, there were only the two of them.
“…What did you just say?”
The woman didn’t even furrow her brow.
She remained dignified like a doll.
“This hall is reserved only until three.”
Then she turned back around.
Click.
Her neat hand closed the piano lid.
Even that movement was perfectly composed.
“After three, the kindergarten kids use this place for choir practice. So if you want to rest here, remember that.”
Seo Tae-joo laughed in disbelief.
More importantly… informal speech?
His expression hardened instantly.
Do you know me?
He spoke coldly.
“Who said I was using this place?”
“It’s your business, but since you disappeared after arriving for community service and ended up here looking exhausted, I just gave you advice.”
Her words fired out like a machine gun.
Seo Tae-joo realized one thing immediately:
You can’t beat this woman in an argument.
At the same time—
His interest in her flared.
A crooked smile formed on his lips as he approached the piano.
“You talk like you know me well.”
“It’s hard not to know your name in Korea these days. You know that too.”
The woman organizing around the piano lifted her head indifferently.
“Seo Tae-joo.”
After finishing, she turned to him.
“You might not know me, but I’m quite familiar with you.”
Facing him directly, she began listing things even he didn’t care about.
As if opening a faucet.
“…Seo Tae-joo. The problematic youngest son of Taekwang Group. Once the company’s sole heir, but for years now known nationwide as a public disgrace. Currently skipping out on community service after receiving punishment for a motorcycle accident several weeks ago. For reference, the streetlight you crashed into was destroyed and had to be replaced. Human casualties: one man in his thirties who got startled nearby and fell over by himself. Hospital diagnosis: minor bruising and skin damage around the buttocks. He is currently insisting on outpatient treatment.”
“……”
“Was anything I said wrong?”
Her chin lifted slightly.
As if challenging him.
“Ha.”
Seo Tae-joo was speechless.
What the hell is wrong with her? She’s completely…
A psycho.
Within minutes, he’d formed a clear judgment.
She looked perfectly normal, but recited his history in a voice more mechanical than an answering machine.
Meeting her felt like talking to a robot.
Nothing about this encounter was ordinary.
Crossing his arms, Seo Tae-joo smirked.
“And who are you?”
This time, she seemed genuinely shocked.
“You really… don’t know me?”
Her confidence left him momentarily speechless.
“…Am I supposed to?”
“Not necessarily… but I’m almost as famous as you are. Though for good reasons.”
She cleared her throat awkwardly.
Seo Tae-joo placed a hand on his waist.
Wow. So I’m famous for bad reasons?
Which made him angrier because it was true.
“Anyway, nice meeting you like this. I honestly didn’t expect to see you here.”
She said strange things, gathered her belongings to her chest, and spoke in a crisp voice.
“You’re probably in a terrible mood today too, so I won’t bother you. I’ll be polite and leave first.”
His eyebrow rose.
What is she even talking about?
“How do you know I’m in a bad mood today?”
“Oh. Reading newspapers is a habit of mine.”
She laughed as if his question were obvious.
Then turned gracefully and walked away.
Her neat footsteps gradually faded.
What’s with that woman?
Seo Tae-joo stared after her longer than intended.
Huh…
Then his eyes caught something.
Something had been left on the piano.
The woman’s belongings.
Trying not to care, he still found himself looking.
A newspaper.
Rustle—
Seo Tae-joo opened it absentmindedly.
As expected, the headline waiting for him was exactly what he thought.
Shit.
He pressed a hand to his temple.
[Rebellion within Taekwang’s collateral branch: Vice Chairman Seo Moon-su to pass succession rights to nephew instead of biological son?]
So that was the day.
The day Seo Tae-joo was sent here for community service…
Was also the day his cousin Seo Tae-moon returned to Korea.
Seo Tae-moon, fresh off completing a master’s degree in America, had been appointed as an outside director of Taekwang.
Newspapers and broadcasts had been obsessed with the story all morning.
Naturally bundled together with Seo Tae-joo’s community service sentence.
What better gossip existed?
The former crown prince of Taekwang losing his heir position to a cousin from the collateral family—
Then spending the day emptying trash bins full of dirty diapers at a welfare center.
That was why his mood had been rotten since morning.
“What the hell. That woman knew everything from the beginning?”
Seo Tae-joo muttered harshly.
He hated admitting it—
But his pride had taken a hit.
If she knew all that, she could at least not have been pretty.
“Damn it.”
He ruffled his hair roughly and coughed.
Hm?
His eyes caught something again.
Something was tucked between the newspaper pages.
He pulled it out.
[Meditation Club “No Brain” — Accounting Ledger]
A university club?
His face twisted.
And what kind of ridiculous club name is that?
His gaze lowered.
A large logo from Korea University was printed on it.
Wait. That’s my university. We attended the same school?
No wonder she’d looked familiar.
Seo Tae-joo flipped through the ledger with one finger.
Not because he was curious about her name.
Inside was a brief memo.
The handwriting was sharp and precise—
Very much like her.
<If you find this ledger, please return it to the treasurer immediately. Phone number: 0XX-XXX-XXXX (Yeo Jae-kyung)
P.S. There will be a reward.>
Yeo Jae-kyung?
Seo Tae-joo narrowed his eyes.
He’d definitely heard that name before.
Then suddenly—
Something surfaced in his memory.
Staring at the name written in the ledger, he spoke aloud.
“…The only daughter of Hanrim?”
