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Chapter 16
“An investor I know personally.”
“……”
“Am I not allowed to know people?”
At Kang Dasom’s words, Yoon Jinwoo flinched for no reason. He had heard, in passing, how Kang Dasom was treated in her household.
The daughter of a mistress.
“…No, I spoke out of turn.”
Jinwoo lowered his gaze. That was when he noticed the evening dress slipping off her shoulders. He couldn’t understand how a person could be so thin that clothes simply refused to stay on.
Dasom gently touched the torn edge of her sleeve. Jinwoo, realizing something was wrong, quickly removed his coat and draped it over her shoulders.
“Thank you.”
Clutching the coat, she whispered softly. Jinwoo frowned as his eyes fell on the dress again—the fabric at the hem was torn, snagged on something.
“Careless.”
“Sorry. That was my fault.”
“I wasn’t asking you to apologize.”
Feeling oddly awkward, Jinwoo cleared his throat and looked away.
It was supposed to be a birthday party. Even if it was a formal event, normally afterward friends and acquaintances would stay behind to celebrate. But now, the hall was deserted save for staff bustling about to clean.
“Why did you even throw this kind of birthday party?”
It seemed nothing more than a display, and Jinwoo couldn’t understand her reasoning. Dasom, wrapped in his coat, tilted her head up.
“You know… as a child, I don’t remember ever being congratulated on my birthday.”
Not once. In fact, no one in her family had ever remembered the day. The only memory she had was in high school, when a close friend had stuck a candle in a Choco Pie and given it to her.
“Even if it’s fake… just once, I wanted to experience something like this. To hear people clap, to be told ‘thank you for being born.’”
“Does that sort of thing really comfort you?”
“It doesn’t comfort me. But it consoles me. Try it sometime—you’ll see.”
“I doubt that will ever happen.”
At his blunt refusal, Dasom laughed softly. Her light makeup suited her far better than the heavier look she’d worn when meeting Yoon Sunghoon. Perhaps it was the lighting, but she seemed more radiant now.
“I’ll get us a room. Wait in the hall.”
“Alright.”
A few minutes later, Jinwoo returned to the lobby with a keycard. They rode the elevator to the top floor.
The room was a suite overlooking the Seoul skyline. Seo-young Hotel wasn’t the country’s top hotel, but its five-star suites easily cost several million won a night.
“They said this was the only room left.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
Jinwoo muttered defensively before she could even comment. Dasom settled into the sofa.
“Mind if I order room service?”
Though it was her birthday party, she had barely eaten, spending the whole evening greeting people. Jinwoo rolled up his sleeves and nodded.
Dasom called for wine, cheese, and dessert. Until the service arrived, neither spoke.
“Your driver will be waiting. You should drink lightly and head back soon.”
“There isn’t one.”
“…What?”
“My brother gave me Secretary Baek, but I sent him away first.”
Jinwoo froze, wine glass in hand. He looked down at it awkwardly, but Dasom defiantly downed the drink.
“I’m not taking you home.”
“I’ll sober up before I leave. What about you?”
“I didn’t bring a car.”
“How modest.”
“Sometimes in Seoul, a car is more trouble than it’s worth.”
But that wasn’t the only reason. His manager, Lee Sang-tae, had offered to drive him. Normally Jinwoo would have accepted, but strangely he hadn’t wanted to tonight. He couldn’t explain it, but it felt as if his manager had betrayed him somehow.
“Dasom-ssi…”
“Call me noona. Speak comfortably.”
“……”
“Fine, then only when it’s just us. I’ll talk comfortably too.”
She crossed her legs, placing her empty glass in front of him. The wine had left her lips a deeper shade of red, making them all the more striking. Jinwoo suddenly found his tie unbearably suffocating. He loosened it and set it aside.
“Suit yourself.”
“That sounded rude, don’t you think?”
“You told me to drop honorifics first. So what I say is up to me.”
“There’s still such a thing as manners.”
“If you wanted manners, you shouldn’t have told me to drop them.”
“You’re quick with comebacks, aren’t you.”
Jinwoo only shrugged. With a sigh, he refilled her glass. She lifted it lazily, and their glasses clinked.
A strange woman.
The more he looked at her, the more unreadable she became. Suspicious. And yet, at the same time…
What are you thinking?
He forced the thought away. Whatever her act was—real or fake—Dasom was Sunghoon’s fiancée.
Surprisingly, after the first glass, she barely touched the wine. Instead, she ate the fruit and cheese with quiet focus. Her small, slender fingers plucked at the food delicately—it looked almost endearing.
“Don’t you have an interesting story to tell?”
“I’ll be leaving once we finish the wine. What story would that be?”
“Anything. Tell me about yourself.”
“Why would I do that for you…?”
Jinwoo trailed off as their eyes met. Her gaze was steady, unwavering, and for a moment he couldn’t speak. No words came to mind. The only real connection between them was Bi-yoon Film.
“If someone you trusted failed to take your side in a crucial moment… what would you do?”
Dasom paused, glass in hand, and met his gaze.
“Who has the final say?”
“Me.”
“Then cut them off. If you can’t, replace them.”
“…That’s cold.”
“What was their reason?”
She swirled her glass slowly, a red arc tracing the inside.
“Was it truly a choice made for your sake?”
Her words pierced his chest, echoing the same advice she’d once given him at the Yoon household.
“……”
“Whatever it is, think carefully.”
She didn’t press further, but Dasom had a good idea. Likely his agency. If Jinwoo trusted anyone, it would be his manager, Lee Sang-tae, who had been with him since his debut.
But would he ever realize that Sang-tae was a fraud?
Later, that very man would found his own company, dragging Jinwoo and other actors with him—using double contracts to pocket millions. Dasom didn’t know the details, but she remembered a furious call from Jung Hana back then.
‘After everything I did for him, how could he! I’m hiring a lawyer—he’ll be sued for sure!’
She had ranted over the phone about losing several hundred million won to Sang-tae.
“Forget it. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
Embarrassed, Jinwoo drank and looked away.
“There it is again.”
“What?”
“You always avoid people’s eyes when you’re embarrassed or don’t know what to say. Is that a habit?”
Her voice came from beside him, and he turned his head. Yet he still couldn’t quite look her in the eyes.
“Not really.”
His voice was barely audible, and even Jinwoo himself was surprised. He didn’t usually act this way. It was only with her. Something instinctual warned him against meeting her gaze directly.
“It’s not a habit.”
“Then look at me properly.”
“……”
“We’re in the middle of a conversation, aren’t we?”
Suppressing a sigh, Jinwoo finally met her eyes. But as the wine trickled down her throat, his gaze followed—down her neckline, against his will.
I must be out of my mind.
