🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 02
One year earlier.
“Young lady this time is better than the previous candidates. She’ll be a big help to our group as well. So let’s do well this time, son.”
At the breakfast table—one of the few times the family was expected to gather together—Hajoon’s mother, Yoon Mi-kyung, slid a single photograph toward him.
“She’s twenty-two. She recently came back from Germany after studying ceramics. You know Taon Hotel’s CEO? He stayed unmarried for so long because he was pouring all his love into this youngest daughter.”
Despite Mi-kyung’s continued explanation, Hajoon didn’t even glance at the photo.
His younger sister, Ha-min, tried to sneak a look, lifting her head slightly, but Mi-kyung clicked her tongue and Ha-min immediately pouted, biting her chopsticks.
“Look at it, Hajoon. What do you think? Isn’t she pretty enough to stand next to you?”
Mi-kyung, who had a reputation in elite circles for arranging strategic marriages, kept talking as if she couldn’t afford to waste a single word.
For Hajoon, marriage was nothing more than a secondary, cumbersome business arrangement.
He had no intention of rushing into it.
He knew he had to prove his ability to inherit the Gwonil Group, but he didn’t see any need to strengthen his position by tying himself to another family.
“I heard Taon is building a premium hotel in Jeju. If we connect with them, they’d naturally hand the construction contract to Gwonil Materials, wouldn’t they?”
“I understand Jeju Premium The Taon is already being handled by another company, and marriage has nothing to do with my work.”
“Oh, I know! My son is capable enough to succeed without a strategic marriage. But it feels like a waste to pass up such a catch… The Taon Group is basically land-rich, after all.”
“….”
“You’ve heard, haven’t you? The Taon CEO has terminal cancer. People say he’s so obsessed with his youngest daughter that he wants to marry her off before he dies.”
As Hajoon quietly ate, Mi-kyung grew increasingly restless.
Through her network in high-society wives’ gatherings, she had heard rumors that Taon’s youngest daughter would soon enter the matchmaking market.
And when the proposal from Taon had actually come to Hajoon, she had nearly squealed with delight.
If the CEO, Lee Seong-chan, died soon as rumored, much of his vast fortune would go to his beloved youngest daughter.
And since the girl had no interest in business and only cared about ceramics, it would be easy for Hajoon to eventually take control of it.
Still, no response came from Hajoon.
“She’s ten years younger than you. That’s quite a gap, but these days it’s not unusual.”
“Wow, she really is young. She must really want to marry my brother.”
“Seo Ha-min, be quiet.”
Ha-min, who spoke without thinking, was immediately scolded and shut her mouth.
Mi-kyung smiled again softly.
“Younger is better. Healthier for having children, and prettier kids too. You need healthy eggs…”
Hajoon let out a dry laugh. Even while pressuring him to marry, she spoke as if selecting a breeding animal.
Seeing his increasingly cold expression, Mi-kyung waved her hands.
“Anyway, your father also said it would be good for Gwonil Materials.”
Seo Tae-guk, who had been reading the newspaper silently, lowered it.
“Your mother isn’t wrong. You’ll have to marry eventually, and it’s hard to find a better match than Taon’s second daughter.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
“The Taon Hotel family, and a girl who studied art in Germany… I’m sure even the chairman would approve.”
“….”
“I don’t doubt you can rise to the top without in-laws, but refusing such an opportunity would be foolish. I hope the day comes soon when you fully take over Gwonil Electronics. Go meet her, at least.”
With Tae-guk’s backing, Mi-kyung looked at Hajoon with a satisfied smile.
“I’ll have your secretary arrange the time and place. Just go see what kind of girl she is.”
Once Tae-guk had mentioned Chairman Seo of Gwonil Group, the meeting could not be ignored, even if only as a formality.
Hajoon’s schedule was already packed anyway. He decided he could go, observe briefly, and end it quickly.
Hajoon walked toward the hotel lounge, followed by his secretary.
“You might be late, so I informed them you may arrive later. They said it was fine, but…”
Checking his watch while waiting for the elevator, Hajoon saw that he was already two hours late.
A previous meeting had run longer than expected, and traffic had delayed him further.
It was his fault for not accounting for the time properly.
Still, even if this was a business arrangement, arriving late wasn’t something that could simply be excused.
“Let’s go.”
His secretary looked worried, as if wondering what they would do if the woman had already left.
“We should at least show up.”
The meeting place was Taon Hotel itself—essentially the woman’s home territory.
Even if late, he needed to leave at least the impression that he had attended.
At the lounge, a server greeted him with a bright smile and guided him inside.
The woman was still waiting.
His secretary bowed and quietly left.
“Please enjoy your time.”
The server led him to a private room inside the lounge restaurant and disappeared.
Since the match had been initiated by the woman’s family, they were likely displeased by his delay.
What kind of mood would she be in after waiting this long?
He rubbed his furrowed brow with his finger.
Late and no apology—if he simply said he had no intention of marrying, she might even throw something at him.
Water or wine, anything thrown at him would at least make this end faster.
But the woman’s reaction would be far from what he expected.
Knock, knock.
A heavy knock sounded from beyond the door.
Inside the room, Eunjae responded while looking around at a large ceramic piece placed as interior decoration.
“Yes, come in.”
The head chef, who had been checking on her frequently due to the man’s lateness, had been visiting her repeatedly.
He was close with her father, so he seemed genuinely worried.
She had already been informed through the secretary that the man would be late, and the room was full of beautiful ceramics—she didn’t mind being alone at all.
Straightening up from the ceramic piece she had been examining, Eunjae turned around.
“Sir—”
But when she turned, it wasn’t the chef in a tall hat who stood before her.
It was a man in a well-tailored suit.
Their eyes met.
Time seemed to stop.
Seo Hajoon was standing right in front of her.
For the first time in twelve years.
She had only occasionally heard his name from her brother Dojae, and even that was rare.
So seeing him now felt unreal.
“…Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
A younger Hajoon flashed through her mind like a scene from a film—his expression cold, but his voice careful, trying not to scare her.
He had been handsome even then, but now—grown into a man fully matured—he seemed even more striking.
For a brief moment, silence filled the room.
Unlike her tense expression, the man’s face showed almost no emotion as he stepped inside.
He walked toward her.
“Sir?”
