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Chapter 2
Han Kang-yoon
As soon as Kang-yoon entered the house, he headed straight to his grandfather’s study, where he had been summoned.
“Did you call for me?”
“Come here and sit down.”
Although he had turned ninety this year, Han Tae-soo, Kang-yoon’s grandfather, remained remarkably healthy. He was the chairman of the Kangsan Group and one of the most influential figures in Korea’s business world.
“I heard you went on a blind date today?”
“Yes.”
“Well? How was it?”
Kang-yoon discreetly observed the anticipation on his grandfather’s face.
“She seemed like a good woman. I’d like to meet her again.”
“Hoho… Is that so? Good, good.”
Kang-yoon had attended several matchmaking dates arranged by the family before, but he had never reacted like this.
A smile spread across Han Tae-soo’s face. His final wish before he died was to see his grandchildren married and have great-grandchildren.
“Still, your mother must truly think of you as her own son. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have introduced such a fine young lady to you.”
“Yes. I suppose so.”
Kang-yoon answered without the slightest hesitation.
The “mother” his grandfather referred to was his aunt by marriage, Jin Hyun-sook.
As far as Kang-yoon knew, his biological mother had died giving birth to him.
He knew nothing about what kind of woman she had been or how she had met his father.
Having been raised by Jin Hyun-sook since childhood, Kang-yoon had followed her as if she were his real mother.
Of course, it had been a tremendous shock when he grew older and learned that he was not her biological son but a child his late father had brought home from outside the family.
But Kang-yoon was smart. He understood exactly how he needed to behave if he wanted to remain part of this family.
Academics, sports, music, art—even his height and appearance.
Kang-yoon excelled so greatly that he completely overshadowed Kang-moon.
Yet he never flaunted his talents or abilities.
He knew that he was safest as long as he remained beneath Kang-moon.
Jin Hyun-sook had always been kind to him, but only because he never threatened Kang-moon’s position.
Whenever Kang-yoon received more praise from his grandfather or showed exceptional talent, a coldness would subtly appear in her demeanor.
Everyone else believed that Jin Hyun-sook cherished Kang-moon and Kang-yoon equally.
But Kang-yoon knew all too well that the moment he surpassed Kang-moon, she would cast him aside.
“I’ll head upstairs now.”
“Alright. Get some rest.”
After bowing respectfully, Kang-yoon walked down the hallway and headed for the second floor.
Just then, he ran into Jin Hyun-sook, who was coming downstairs.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome home. How was the blind date?”
Her neatly pinned-up hair and lightly made-up face, barely marked by age, gave her an elegant appearance.
Meeting her gaze, Kang-yoon smiled faintly.
“She was pretty. She seemed kind, too.”
“Hmm. Sounds like you like her. Are you planning to see her again?”
“I think so.”
“Good. I’m sure you’ll make the right decision. You must be tired, so go get some rest.”
“Yes. Good night.”
As he watched her descend the stairs, lightly patting his shoulder on the way past, Kang-yoon’s eyes narrowed.
Jin Hyun-sook was the sort of person who drifted away whenever you tried to get close but gently approached whenever you tried to keep your distance.
Kang-yoon understood that it could not have been easy for her to lovingly raise a child her husband had brought home from another woman.
In fact, he was grateful that she treated him kindly at all, even if only because appearances mattered in a family like this.
And strangely enough, Kang-yoon had liked her since childhood.
Though she gave him only a fraction of the love and attention she gave Kang-moon, his heart would race whenever she called his name or straightened his clothes.
“He grew up without knowing a mother’s love. At least he has his aunt.”
Whenever he overheard family members whispering such things, Kang-yoon would bite his lip and endure the sadness.
He had grown up believing that if he became an admirable adult, Jin Hyun-sook would one day be proud of him.
Yet the more accomplished he became, the more firmly she turned her back on him.
“I’m exhausted. Seriously.”
Normally, he worked out at the gym before dawn, showered, and went straight to work, so he only took a quick shower when he came home.
But today he was unusually tired and wanted to soak in a bath for the first time in a long while.
He poured a few drops of lavender oil into the bathtub and lowered himself into the water.
As the warm water enveloped him, the tension that had gripped his body all day finally began to ease.
“Bora… Yoon Bora.”
The name rolled smoothly around in his mouth like a polished bead.
They had only met once today, yet her face refused to leave his mind.
Beautiful women constantly tried to attract his attention, so he had never been particularly interested in beauty itself.
But Bora was a kind of beauty he had never encountered before.
Her skin was flawless and pale like polished porcelain, without a visible pore. In contrast, her eyebrows were dark and her eyelashes long.
Her high nose and vivid red lips fit the classic image of a beauty, but what left the strongest impression was the unique aura she possessed—something ordinary women lacked.
He liked the fact that even though her family had fallen on hard times and the business she had built through her own efforts was collapsing, forcing her into a matchmaking meeting as though she were being sold off, she remained neither desperate nor servile.
And on top of that, she was a woman Han Kang-moon had once shown interest in.
“Han Kang-moon… For all his flaws, his standards sure are high.”
Unlike Kang-yoon, Kang-moon indulged heavily in women and pleasure.
He always had a girlfriend, yet he constantly cheated, juggling two, three, even four women at once, often causing dramatic fights.
And it was always Jin Hyun-sook who had to clean up the mess.
Perhaps because her husband himself had carried on an affair while his lawful wife was pregnant, Jin Hyun-sook seemed to tolerate Kang-moon’s behavior as something inherited from his father.
“She doesn’t want Bora paired with her own son. But if Bora gets involved with me, Kang-moon won’t be able to do anything with her anymore, so she’s handing her over to me instead…”
How irritating.
Snorting, Kang-yoon ran a hand through his damp hair.
“Fine. Let’s see if things go the way she wants. This could be fun.”
If Bora ended up living under the same roof, watching Kang-moon throw a fit would certainly be entertaining.
And if Bora managed to coax his grandfather into revealing the family secret that Kang-yoon had long been curious about, perhaps even Jin Hyun-sook might one day kneel before him.
The thought improved his mood.
After showering, he went to the second-floor kitchen, grabbed a can of beer from the refrigerator, and popped it open.
Just as he was savoring the sharp fizz sliding down his throat—
“Give me one too.”
Kang-moon, apparently having arrived unnoticed and already thoroughly drunk, leaned his forehead against Kang-yoon’s back and mumbled.
“You seem drunk enough already. Why don’t you go to bed?”
“Hehe. Hey, brat. When your big brother asks for something, you’re supposed to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ and hand it over.”
Big brother, my ass.
Kang-yoon had always been suspicious even about their birthdays, which were only a day apart.
Since childhood, he had wondered whether Jin Hyun-sook had deliberately altered his birth date to ensure that Kang-moon remained the eldest son.
No matter how he looked at it, there wasn’t a single thing in which he was inferior to Han Kang-moon.
So how could that idiot possibly become the heir to Kangsan Group?
“Don’t drink too much. Go to sleep.”
“Hey, Han Kang-yoon.”
“What?”
Kang-moon stopped him just as Kang-yoon was heading back toward his room with a beer can in hand.
“I heard you had a blind date today. How was it? Was she hot?”
The grin on his face was unbearable, but as always, Kang-yoon kept his expression blank.
“Yeah. She was beautiful.”
“Oh? Big boobs too? Real or fake?”
Kang-yoon frowned at the vulgar remark.
Normally, he would have ignored it.
But the moment Bora’s face came to mind, an unexpected surge of irritation rose within him.
“If you’re drunk, go to bed. Stop running your mouth.”
“Ohhh… Look at you. Acting like a man now? Want to go a round with me? Huh?”
Kang-moon threw playful punches into the air and struck a sparring pose.
Kang-yoon sighed.
Since childhood, the two of them had learned horseback riding, golf, swimming, kendo, judo, boxing, and many other sports together.
In every single one, Kang-yoon’s skills had been vastly superior.
Yet whenever they competed directly, he had never once beaten Kang-moon.
He still remembered the cold look Jin Hyun-sook had given him the one time he beat Kang-moon in a swimming competition as a child.
So even during sparring, he always let Kang-moon win despite the fact that the latter was barely a match for him.
Unaware of this, Kang-moon often mocked him, saying that having a bigger frame was useless if he couldn’t throw a punch properly.
Watching Kang-moon’s half-lidded drunken eyes as he lazily tapped Kang-yoon’s solid chest, Kang-yoon suddenly imagined those same eyes leering at Bora’s body.
His neck immediately stiffened.
“Hey!”
“Ah! Damn it! You—!”
Unable to actually hit him, Kang-yoon merely thrust his fist toward Kang-moon’s face.
Startled, Kang-moon flopped backward onto the floor.
The sight of him sprawled there like an idiot only fueled Kang-yoon’s anger.
“…Go to sleep.”
Ignoring Kang-moon’s flailing, he walked past him, entered his room, and slammed the door shut.
“Piece of trash…”
A worthless parasite.
A useless fool who couldn’t tell heaven from earth.
How dare he think he had a chance?
Suddenly, the image of Bora’s pale cheeks flushing shyly came to mind.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Kang-yoon picked up his phone and typed a message.
Ms. Bora, it was nice meeting you today. I’d like to have lunch with you tomorrow.
The messenger showed no change for several seconds.
Then the “1” indicating an unread message disappeared.
Holding his phone, Kang-yoon slowly closed his eyes.
