TCE 06

Chapter 06

In South Korea, when ranking chaebols, the unshakable name that always made it into the top five was Yeongdo.

Ha Yoon-jae was the eldest son and executive director of Chairman Ha Tae-won of the Yeongdo Group. But the treatment he received as such a precious heir was far from favorable.

The reason wasn’t anything complicated. Simply put, Ha Yoon-jae was half-blooded.

“The firstborn grandson of the deep-rooted Yeongdo lineage—and at the same time, an illegitimate child shunned by the family.”

Because of that, he and Go Woo-ri, the eldest daughter of nouveau riche Go Kyung-chul, made for an oddly perfect match.

But when the “best possible use” for an illegitimate child fell apart, how resentful must that have been?

“Losing the chance to get rid of a thorn in your side right before your eyes… no wonder she’s furious.”

Her habit of smiling while spitting venom was, in a way, understandable. After all, how many wives in the world could possibly like their husband’s love child?

And right now, the most important thing to her wasn’t even the appraisal of a body that wasn’t really mine.

“Take care on your way.”

And so ended a short meeting in which someone had been striking, but no one had been struck.

Chairman Ha, who had been silent the whole time, had already left the drawing room with his secretary halfway through. Even while he was there, not once had he looked in our direction.

It was as if we didn’t exist at all, but that didn’t matter.

“Let’s meet again next time. Not as briefly as today, but at length. I’ll be in touch soon.”

With an oddly meaningful farewell, Hye-won smiled.

“Yes, Mother. Please buy me something delicious next time.”

Flinch.

After enduring her snide remarks quietly all this time, one sentence from me made her pupils visibly tremble.

She wasn’t the only one surprised. Even Yoon-jae raised an eyebrow at my cheeky reply. But when he saw Hye-won’s expression crack while I kept smiling sweetly, he quickly stepped in.

“We’ll be on our way now.”

It was a simple and effective way to break the tension before it escalated.

Thanks to that, Hye-won batted her long lashes once, regaining her usual composed smile.

“Alright. Good job. Take care.”

With Yoon-jae’s polite farewell, the two of us headed down from the front yard toward the parking lot. The moment we disappeared down the steps, her face twisted.

“How dare she.”

The sudden surge of anger was aimed squarely at Ae-jung—who had shamelessly called her “Mother.”

Her displeasure toward Yoon-jae was also included.

No longer hiding her feelings, Hye-won spun around sharply and strode into the house. Eun-se, who had been waiting, immediately latched onto her furious mother.

“Mom, doesn’t she seem weird to you?”

Though her daughter was precious enough to be the apple of her eye, Hye-won rolled her eyes at her especially chattery tone.

But Eun-se leaned in closer and whispered conspiratorially,

“She seems… like a different person.”

Hye-won had felt that too. She couldn’t put it into words, but sometimes, when their eyes met, there was an odd sense of unfamiliarity.

After taking a breath, Hye-won gave a dismissive snort.

“She probably just looks neat because she’s been getting herself together for the wedding.”

But Eun-se crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

“No, that’s not it. Last time she came, she had her bangs down so far it was frustrating just to look at, kept her head down, and barely even answered. But today, she looked straight at you. She still didn’t answer much, though.”

“What’s so strange about that in this situation?”

Hye-won gave an exasperated sigh.

A man who already had a fiancée suddenly brought home a woman no one had ever heard of, then promptly registered their marriage.

Her plan to send him off as a son-in-law to Ha Seong Apparel—a company with nothing to offer but money—had been completely derailed, but thanks to Chairman Ha’s tacit approval, it had come to this.

“Mother?”

Even after thinking it over, her anger didn’t subside, boiling all the way up her throat. Hye-won could barely hold it in as she strode quickly away.

* * *

“Did I make a mistake?”

It wasn’t until we crossed the wide yard and reached the parking lot that I asked.

Pushing her glasses back up her nose, which had slid down again, I looked at him.

“She seemed really angry the moment I called her ‘Mother.’”

Though I suspected it was wrong, I kept my expression fairly shameless. His head tilted slightly in disbelief.

“Did you hit your head or something?”

It was the kind of thing that could be considered rude under normal circumstances, but right now it was the most appropriate question for me.

Or suspicion, perhaps. Scratching my cheek awkwardly, I shrugged.

“Well… maybe another person’s soul has taken over mine.”

That was the perfect truth without even 1% of a lie. But judging by his face, he didn’t believe even 1% of it.

“I’ll send the rest of the money after we hold the wedding, so keep that in mind.”

Money? What money?

I blinked, not understanding, and his expression turned cold.

“Stop pretending it’s none of your business. If it’s something you decided, then take responsibility for it.”

“……”

“Instead of wasting time feeling unnecessary guilt, just do what you’re supposed to do.”

Her dry lips pressed together before parting again.

“So it wasn’t a marriage for love… and there’s money involved too?”

No wonder he broke off an engagement with someone rich, beautiful, and capable like me. At least with a reason like this, it hurt my pride less. But knowing the truth didn’t exactly feel good.

“How pathetic.”

As someone who loved beautiful things, I let out a derisive laugh.

“Can I ask you something?”

I took a step closer, my gaze indifferent and without emotion.

“Why, Ju Ae-jung… no, why me?”

The more I spoke, the more my mind felt like it was collapsing, but I forced myself to finish the question.

If he asked why I was suddenly asking, I could just say I didn’t remember. Since he already thought I was strange, I wouldn’t lose anything.

“Actually, now that I’ve said it, I am curious.”

Even assuming Ae-jung had taken the money, and Yoon-jae was this shunned by his family, why choose a powerless woman like her?

For the first time, a hint of emotion seemed to flicker in Ha Yoon-jae’s eyes.

“Why?”

“Oh, no reason, just…”

“You never asked me that before. Why do you want to know now?”

Good lord—she registered a marriage without asking that question? Ju Ae-jung, what were you doing?

Holding back the urge to grab myself by the collar and shake, I put my hands on my hips and pressed harder.

“Well, we’ve already registered the marriage, so I think I’m allowed to be curious now.”

A faint smirk tugged at his lips for the first time—but it quickly vanished, replaced by a cold pour of ice water.

“Because if I marry you, someone with nothing, I won’t become the accessory of a woman who has too much.”

“……”

“If you didn’t understand that, I can explain it again.”

Oh, how kind of him.

Still, his infuriatingly sweet-yet-cutting answer let me piece things together.

“So basically… if he married Go Woo-ri, he’d be forced out of Yeongdo and become a son-in-law. So he married Ju Ae-jung instead, using her as a shield?”

And the public humiliation Ae-jung would suffer as “the mistress” was covered with money?

Wow. What a bastard.

Even if it wasn’t my own business, it was the worst reason I’d ever heard.

“Ugh, whatever.”

I didn’t know how I’d ended up in this body or where the real Ju Ae-jung was now. But the most urgent thing was figuring out if I could return.

And the only clue my instincts pointed to was my real body.

I had no intention of letting the situation grow more serious. Raising my hands, I brought the conversation to a close.

“Okay, got it. Let’s just wrap this up and head straight to Hannam-dong.”

That house—the one I’d planned to leave forever, yet somehow had to go back to. The one I’d bought with my wealth five years ago despite having plenty of money and more than enough luck. The one where I had to meet Go Woo-ri.

If my death was a lie, she would definitely be there.

The thought made me even more exasperated.

“Isn’t this whole situation just… disgustingly ugly?”

“…Ugly?”

“Oops—habit. Not that I can openly insult your family to their face.”

Not that they were the only ones I wanted to insult.

I shoved my bothersome bangs back and turned away. But just as I was heading for the parked car, Yoon-jae’s hand gripped my arm firmly.

“Ah!”

Pulled off balance by the sudden grab, my body stumbled toward him.

He caught me tightly, as if I’d been pulled in by an invisible rope. Our faces were suddenly so close it felt like shackles I couldn’t escape.

“Wow.”

Up close, wearing glasses, Ha Yoon-jae was… much as I hated to admit it—

“Ridiculously handsome.”

I had to go see my body, which might have been strangled to death not long ago. Yet here I was, staring at an impossibly beautiful man who was exactly my type, almost forgetting the seriousness of the situation.

The reason I’d never noticed before was simple—I’d never faced him this directly, and I’d never seen such a vivid expression from him.

A furrowed brow. Firmly pressed lips. Sharp, clear eyes.

Beauty isn’t just about what’s visible. There has to be a light that encompasses it. And right now, Ha Yoon-jae had that light.

Caught in the grip of a man whose looks were painfully my type, I swallowed hard.

And just as his hold on my arm tightened, he spoke.

“You… what are you?”