Chapter 5 …

Gyeongseok had long since realized that his daughter resembled the lady of the house.

At first, he dismissed it as nothing more than a coincidence.

It’s probably just my imagination.

Perhaps it was because they both had those deep dimples beneath their eyes whenever they smiled.

Or because whenever they stared blankly into space, their dark gray eyes looked the same beneath the sunlight.

At first, Gyeongseok didn’t think much of those similarities.

But at some point, they began to make him uncomfortable.

No…

More than uncomfortable, he started denying them altogether.

It was probably around the time the rumors began to spread.

“I heard Go Seunghee had a child with her first love!”

“In the end, that first love abandoned her, and she abandoned the baby too.”

“They say she left a newborn in front of a church in Namhae one winter over twenty years ago. One of the church members supposedly saw it while going to dawn prayer.”

“I’ve heard that story too. They say she secretly gave birth while she was already married.”

“Oh my goodness… Then she had another child before their daughter was born? If President Jung ever found out, wouldn’t that be grounds for divorce?”

Those rumors about Go Seunghee and her first love had always followed her like a shadow.

It all began with people saying that before marrying Jung Chungho, Go Seunghee had once been engaged to her first love.

But the rumors gradually escalated.

People began claiming that even after her marriage, she had continued an inappropriate relationship with that man and had secretly given birth to his child while she was still married.

Having worked as Jung Chungho’s chauffeur for nearly thirty years, Gyeongseok instinctively knew those rumors weren’t entirely baseless.

On the surface, Chungho and Seunghee looked like a happily married couple.

But the reality was different.

Even during their honeymoon period, they argued so fiercely that anyone watching felt uneasy.

And every single one of those fights involved the man who had once been Seunghee’s first love.

After one particularly heated argument with Chungho, Seunghee would often spend the night away from home—as if she had somewhere she could always return to.

“I know you’re still secretly keeping in touch with that bastard! Don’t think I don’t know!”

“Hah. I already told you it’s over.”

“If you’re going to meet him behind my back, then hide it until the end! Stop leaving traces everywhere and dragging my face and my family’s reputation through the mud!”

Their conflicts only grew worse.

Eventually, around a few years before Jiyoung was born, they even lived separately for nearly two years.

Not long after ending that separation and getting back together, Seunghee gave birth to Jiyoung.

After that, Chungho never brought up Seunghee’s first love again.

And Seunghee, who had always seemed unable to fully devote herself to married life, appeared to finally settle down, dedicating herself to supporting Chungho and raising their child.

But recently, those old rumors had begun circulating again.

Right around the same time his own daughter had started resembling Seunghee more and more.

At first, Gyeongseok tried not to pay attention.

But there was one detail that kept bothering him.

Namhae.

The very place where people claimed Seunghee had abandoned the baby.

And the timing.

It was exactly when Seunghee and Chungho had been living apart.

His own daughter—the girl he had happened to adopt from an orphanage—

had originally been a baby abandoned in front of his elderly mother’s house in Namhae.

During the exact same period when Go Seunghee had been living apart from Chungho.

Over twenty years ago.

After losing both his wife and daughter in one tragic accident, Gyeongseok had been overcome with grief.

He had gone back to his hometown of Namhae, where his elderly mother lived alone, intending to stay for a few days.

That was when he found Yeonwoo.

“My goodness! What on earth is this…?! Gyeongseok! Come out here!”

It had just passed five o’clock in the morning.

His elderly mother had discovered a newborn baby wrapped tightly in a blanket in front of the gate.

Attached to the bundle was a note.

[Please raise this child. Born December 28. Female.]

“…Mother… I think Yeongseon must have sent our Minjeong back to us from heaven. So I’d pull myself together and keep living. I’ll raise this child as if she’s our Minjeong.”

And that was how Gyeongseok came to raise Yeonwoo as his own daughter.

But recently, after the announcement that the Yeowoon Foundation would be selecting its next chairperson, those rumors had resurfaced once again.

This time, accompanied by very specific details.

Namhae.

A winter over twenty years ago.

Coincidentally, they matched the exact place and time Gyeongseok had first held Yeonwoo in his arms.

How could he not be disturbed?

But even more unsettling than the rumors themselves…

“How is it that the older you get, the more you look like Madam Go?”

…was Yeonwoo’s face, which had been slowly growing more and more like Go Seunghee’s.

“Dad. What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“Hm? Ah… it’s nothing.”

Pulled from his thoughts, Gyeongseok turned around to find Yeonwoo standing behind him.

He looked at her with troubled eyes.

“Come on. The director is looking for you.”

Completely unaware of what was weighing on his mind, Yeonwoo smiled brightly before turning away.

Watching her retreating figure, Gyeongseok finally let out the sigh he had been holding in.

“…Haa… It can’t be.”

He clenched his fist tightly as his eyes darted back and forth.

From the living room, Yeonjin, who had been quietly sipping her tea, watched him with an unreadable expression.

One week later.

Monday morning.

The long-awaited first day at Roydi Headquarters.

As Yeonwoo stepped nervously into the lobby, someone spotted her from afar.

“Yeonwoo…!”

It was Jiseon, her university senior, smiling brightly as she walked over.

Fortunately, Jiseon, who had graduated from the same university, already worked at Roydi Headquarters.

Even better, she was a senior employee in the very department where Yeonwoo would be working.

“Ah, sunbae.”

Her heart had already been pounding from nerves.

Seeing Jiseon immediately made Yeonwoo feel a little more at ease.

“Oh? You’ve got quite the presence. You don’t look like a rookie employee at all.”

Jiseon gave her a thumbs-up as she admired Yeonwoo’s outfit.

She wore neat slacks, a crisp white shirt, and a dark navy jacket that perfectly matched the pants.

Embarrassed by the compliment, Yeonwoo rubbed her cheek.

“I didn’t want to stand out too much. I tried to dress as inconspicuously as possible.”

“You’re gorgeous. But honestly, your face stands out so much that you’d attract attention no matter what you wear.”

Chuckling, Jiseon lightly poked Yeonwoo’s arm.

The two naturally continued chatting as they crossed the lobby.

“I heard today’s also the interns’ first day. The lobby feels so lively for once.”

At that, Yeonwoo glanced around with a slightly excited expression.

Just as Jiseon had said, countless people with eager faces hurried by, all dressed in fresh new business attire.

“You see all those people whose suits practically scream brand new, with every hair perfectly in place? Ninety-nine percent chance they’re all new hires.”

Jiseon giggled as she took out her employee ID card from her bag.

“I probably look just as obviously new, don’t I? This outfit is brand new too…”

Laughing along, Yeonwoo reached into her pocket to pull out her own employee ID.

That was when—

“Wow… what is that?”

Jiseon stared in one direction with eyes practically glazed over in admiration.

Yeonwoo paused just before tapping her ID against the scanner and followed her gaze.

A man was walking toward them with calm, measured steps.

Countless eyes throughout the lobby discreetly followed him.

A plain white dress shirt.

Black suit pants.

His clothes were no different from what most people in the lobby wore.

Yet somehow…

He alone seemed to be surrounded by a halo.

Was it because of his long, well-proportioned limbs?

Because he stood a full head taller than almost everyone else?

Or because his unreal proportions completely ignored the laws of perspective?

By the time Yeonwoo found herself absurdly thinking that he looked less like someone going to work and more like a model walking down a runway—

“I’ve never seen a face that handsome in this company before…”

As the man drew nearer, Jiseon’s jaw slowly dropped.

Yeonwoo found Jiseon’s expression amusing and shifted her attention to the face receiving such extravagant praise.

Then—

“Ah!”

The instant she recognized him, she gasped.

Her employee ID slipped right out of her hand.

The man had already reached her.

He bent down and picked up the card she had dropped.

“I guess you’re really happy to see me.”

Looking down at her wide-eyed face, he smiled gently.

“So happy that your hands went completely limp?”

It was none other than Mugeol.

The moment Yeonwoo realized that the man standing before her was the same man from a week ago, heat rushed to her face.

Completely unaware of the turmoil inside her, Mugeol placed the employee ID back into her hand.

“Ah…”

Like a fool, she couldn’t even finish her sentence, only letting out a flustered sound.

“It’s been a week, hasn’t it, Ms. Chae Yeonwoo?”

“…!”

He spoke with an utterly casual expression.

“About those pants back then…”

At the word pants, Yeonwoo’s eyes flew wide open.

She immediately grabbed Mugeol by the wrist.

“You can’t just come looking for me at my company…!”

Cutting him off before he could finish, she pulled him with all her strength.

“Come with me. This way…!”

And just like that—

Mugeol was dragged outside the company.

Not as the eldest son of the Roydi Group…

But as a brand-new employee of Roydi Group’s Corporate Strategy Planning Team—

Barely two minutes after reporting for his very first day of work,

with Yeonwoo firmly gripping his wrist.