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Chapter 4 …
Yeonwoo hurriedly pulled her hand away from Mugeol’s thigh and quickly leaned her upper body back after having bent toward his lower half.
“Ah…”
A pained sound slipped through her parted lips.
The flashing red emergency alarm that had been blaring in her mind abruptly stopped.
The moment her eyes met his, Yeonwoo had no idea where to look, so she could only stare blankly at some random spot on Mugeol’s pants.
“I heard these were expensive.”
At that moment, Mugeol’s deep voice cut through the air, and Yeonwoo slowly lifted her head toward him again.
Tilting her neck back to look up at the tall man made the back of her neck ache, but she had no room to care about something like that.
“They’re handmade by a master craftsman, stitch by stitch… something like that.”
Mugeol added with a faint smile.
Only then did Yeonwoo hurriedly open her mouth and spring to her feet.
“I-I’m so sorry…! I’ll pay for the cleaning.”
Now was not the time to stand there in a daze.
“I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”
As her apologies continued, Mugeol watched the crown of Yeonwoo’s black hair as she repeatedly bowed.
His eyes sparkled with interest as he looked at the woman who genuinely didn’t know what to do because she felt so sorry.
“And this was the first time I was coming to properly greet a family that’s discussing a marriage alliance with mine. My personal shopper insisted I buy the most expensive pair among all the expensive ones.”
An amused smile slowly spread across Mugeol’s face.
“And this is what happened.”
Unfortunately.
Those two words struck Yeonwoo right in the ears.
Her head lowered on its own.
“I’m sorry. I’ll… somehow compensate you…”
Her voice trembled as she spoke without raising her head.
If he was wealthy enough to have a personal shopper who selected his clothes…
No, if he was someone who might become this family’s son-in-law in the first place, then his wealth was surely on an even greater level than this household’s.
The pants worn by someone like him…
Just how much would they cost if they were supposedly the most expensive among expensive ones?
Would she even be capable of paying him back?
“Ha…”
As Yeonwoo frantically calculated the possible cost in her head, it felt as though her chest was tightening, and an involuntary sigh escaped her lips.
It even felt as if every hair on her body was standing on end.
Less than two hours ago, she had gone through hell after losing Jiyeong’s diamond necklace worth millions of won right before her eyes.
And now…
She had just dumped yogurt all over a pair of pants that rivaled that diamond necklace in value—or might even be worth more.
Today really…
“What terrible luck.”
When Mugeol voiced the very words she had been about to say, Yeonwoo’s eyes widened.
“That’s exactly the kind of expression you’re making.”
He finished her thought for her and casually curled the corners of his lips.
“If… if you could give me your business card…”
Still dazed by his strikingly handsome face, Yeonwoo finally came back to her senses and held out her palm toward him.
But when Mugeol didn’t react, she realized her mistake and quickly glanced around.
“Oh… no.”
Then she spotted a memo pad and a ballpoint pen on the desk.
Hurriedly, she scribbled down her phone number and handed him the note.
“Here’s my number.”
“…”
“After you have them cleaned… if you let me know the cleaning cost… I’ll compensate you.”
Holding the note lightly between his index and middle fingers, Mugeol looked down at the phone number that began with 010.
“Please… make sure you contact me.”
Her throat had gone completely dry, and she pressed her lips together.
Just as Yeonwoo waited anxiously for his answer, only her eyes darting around—
“I’ll speak with my shopper and contact you.”
Mugeol slipped the memo into the inner pocket of his jacket.
“Of course, I did suddenly appear and startle you, so it’s partly my fault. You don’t need to look quite so hopeless.”
His words felt like a tiny opening breaking through the collapsed sky above her, allowing a ray of light to shine through.
“Y-Yes… Then please do contact me. I’m truly sorry.”
He was Chungho’s guest.
And on top of that, he was the man currently discussing marriage with Jiyeong.
That only made her mistake feel even heavier.
If she didn’t resolve this properly, she had a feeling the consequences would be enormous.
After saying that, Yeonwoo finished cleaning up the spilled fruit and yogurt.
Just then, Jiyeong’s voice came from outside the study.
“Huh? Dad… Weren’t you in the study?”
“Yeah. I got an urgent phone call for a moment.”
“Then where’s Oppa Mugeol?”
Just as confusion crept into Jiyeong’s voice, Yeonwoo hurriedly finished cleaning up and stood.
Before Jiyeong could open the door herself, Yeonwoo quickly flung it open first.
“W-What… what are you doing?”
Jiyeong, who had been talking with Chungho in front of the study, immediately frowned at the sight of Yeonwoo suddenly appearing.
She then carefully examined the inside of the study that Yeonwoo had just walked out of.
“What were you doing in there? In the study when the owner wasn’t even here?”
Her voice trembled uneasily as she asked, and then her gaze fell upon the ruined fruit plate in Yeonwoo’s hands.
“You…”
At that very moment, Mugeol naturally stepped out of the study and came to stand behind Yeonwoo.
“…Oppa Mugeol.”
Jiyeong’s eyes shook as much as her voice.
She looked once at Mugeol’s calm expression.
Then once at Yeonwoo, whose face somehow seemed slightly flushed.
“I told you to leave the fruit and come back downstairs. What were you doing? Why does the fruit look like that… and what were you doing in there with Oppa Mugeol all this time?”
As she spoke, Jiyeong’s face was steadily turning red.
Then her casually lowered gaze landed on Mugeol’s ruined pants.
The white stains splattered across the fabric immediately caught her attention.
What is that?
With that expression, she stared fixedly at the front of Mugeol’s pants.
Mugeol let out a quiet chuckle and slightly lowered his chin.
“Where are you staring so intently? You’re making me embarrassed.”
At those words, Jiyeong let out a short gasp and hurriedly dropped her eyes to the floor.
“N-No, that’s not it. I just thought… there was something on your pants.”
Then she noticed that Yeonwoo’s sleeve had the exact same white stain.
Looking again, she saw that the yogurt bowl on the fruit plate had overturned and made a complete mess.
“You… Don’t tell me you spilled that on Oppa?!”
Jiyeong glared at Yeonwoo.
Yeonwoo lifted her head, intending to confess.
She flinched and parted her lips.
Just as she was about to speak—
“I.”
“…!”
Mugeol stepped beside Yeonwoo from behind and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
To Yeonwoo, that touch felt like a silent gesture telling her not to say another word.
Her slightly parted lips froze.
The touch was so natural and gentle that both Yeonwoo and Jiyeong, who had been watching, were left stunned.
“I did it.”
“…Excuse me? What did you say?”
“It was my mistake.”
Speaking calmly, Mugeol lowered his gaze to Yeonwoo.
“I’m sorry. You went through the trouble of bringing it.”
As though bringing the entire situation to an end, Mugeol politely bowed his head toward Yeonwoo, driving the point home.
At the same time, he slowly withdrew the hand that had kept her rooted to the spot.
Jiyeong’s eyes widened in shock, practically shooting blazing lasers.
Of course, that sharp gaze was directed at Yeonwoo, who was meeting Mugeol’s eyes.
“Ah… N-No, it’s okay. Then I’ll…”
Yeonwoo felt nothing but gratitude and guilt toward Mugeol for covering up her mistake by claiming it as his own.
Eager to escape the uncomfortable atmosphere, she bowed to Chungho before hurriedly rushing down the stairs.
Jiyeong’s dissatisfied gaze remained fixed on her retreating figure.
* * *
“Haah… What on earth have I gotten myself into?”
Meanwhile, after fleeing Jiyeong’s house, Yeonwoo collapsed onto the stairs leading down to the underground level.
Just as she was about to calmly replay everything that had happened—
“Yeonwoo?”
A familiar voice came from behind.
“Ah… Director?”
She had only just managed to catch her breath when Yeonjin suddenly appeared.
Go Yeonjin.
The half-sister of Go Seunghee.
Like Seunghee, she was one of the candidates to become the next chairperson of the Yeowoon Foundation, and currently served as the director of the Yeowoon Art Center.
“I came to see your father, but they said there are guests upstairs, so I thought I’d wait here for a while.”
Yeonjin said with a bright smile.
Yeonjin was the illegitimate daughter whom the chairman of the Yeowoon Foundation had fathered outside his marriage.
Perhaps because of that, she and Seunghee—the true princess born to the lady of the Yeowoon household—had always been bitter enemies.
Unlike Seunghee, however, Yeonjin had adored Yeonwoo ever since she was little.
Gyeongseok would occasionally even work as Yeonjin’s driver, so the two families remained fairly close.
“But what are you doing here?”
“Ah… I was just about to go inside.”
“Really? Then let’s have a cup of tea together. It’s been a while.”
She affectionately wrapped an arm around Yeonwoo’s shoulders.
Then she stared intently at Yeonwoo’s face with a curious look.
“But you really…”
“…?”
“The older you get, the more your aura resembles Madam Go’s.”
The unexpected remark brought Yeonwoo to an abrupt stop.
“Madam Go” was how people referred to Seunghee, the mistress of this house.
“Your eyes, your lips… Especially when you smile just a little—you look even more alike.”
Yeonwoo hesitated, not knowing how to respond.
Just then—
“Director, you’ve arrived. Yeonwoo, hurry inside and come eat.”
Gyeongseok abruptly opened the door with a stiff expression.
Then he quickly ushered the dazed Yeonwoo into the house.
As though he was deliberately preventing Yeonjin from saying anything more about that strange resemblance.
