TNV 25

When he rebuffed her with an expression as indifferent as his voice, Jin Hayoung’s lips drooped, her face filling with hurt.

“Mr. Muhyeon—no, oppa… do you really hate me that much?”

Her voice, asking while she slightly lowered her gaze as if wounded, carried a hint of childish pleading.

It seemed she was trying to act close by using the excuse that she’d known him since childhood, but unfortunately for her, such shallow tactics didn’t work on Muhyeon.

“I think I already told you before that I’m not interested. Is your memory that bad?”

“You know I’ve liked you for a long time. It’s not a light feeling. So maybe you could think it over just once more—”

“That’s your problem, Jin Hayoung.”

With an annoyed expression, Muhyeon cut her off.

“There’s no reason for me to be interested. So stop bothering me. And stop hovering around me using my mother as an excuse.”

“The director considers me daughter-in-law material too.”

“…….”

“She said that in every way, there’s no one more suitable for you than me. If you think about it carefully, you’ll see that Mother is right—”

“I’m not that good of a son.”

Irritation seeped into Muhyeon’s voice as he replied.

“You picked the wrong line, Jin Hayoung.”

Before the conversation could drag on any further, Muhyeon turned away. That was exactly the limit of patience he could offer to an acquaintance of his mother.

But Jin Hayoung didn’t seem to know when to push and when to retreat. She immediately chased after him and grabbed his arm.

Muhyeon violently shook her hand off, hard enough to make a sound. When he turned back with an unmistakably displeased expression, Jin Hayoung stared at him wide-eyed, clearly shocked.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“We’re not done talking yet.”

Though she’d tensed up at the icy look he’d given her—one she’d never seen before—she still stood her ground. That alone was almost admirable.

Thinking he might turn away again, Jin Hayoung hurriedly continued.

“There’s no one who can match you as well as I can. I’m close with your mother too, so even after marriage—”

“Director.”

When Muhyeon corrected her form of address, Jin Hayoung frowned in irritation. But perhaps thinking she needed to play along for now, she quickly changed her expression.

“I’m close with the director too, so I could live like a daughter to her—”

“Then just become her foster daughter. No need to go through the trouble of marriage.”

“That’s not what I mean! What matters is that I like you. In order to cater to you, marriage has to be the premise—”

Looking utterly uninterested, Muhyeon glanced at his wristwatch.

“I’m way better than any other woman, aren’t I? There’s nothing about you I don’t know. I really can adjust to everything!”

“If you know everything, then why don’t you know that I dislike you? Are you pretending not to know?”

“……You could give me one chance, at least. What is it about me that you hate so much?”

“The persistence of chasing someone around and refusing to take no for an answer, even after they’ve clearly said they don’t like you.”

Without even a second of hesitation, Muhyeon replied as if bothered. Perhaps she was left speechless by that.

Unable to find any more excuses to stop him, Jin Hayoung merely chewed on her lip. Leaving her behind, Muhyeon turned away without regret.

But this time, it wasn’t Jin Hayoung’s hand that stopped him—it was another person’s voice.

“Oh my, so you two were out here?”

Damn it. I’ve been had.

The moment he saw his mother approaching with a smile, Muhyeon realized it. The reason Jin Hayoung had clung to him all this time was precisely because of his mother.

Now he understood why she’d kept bringing her up. It seemed the two of them had grown far closer than he’d thought. After all, his mother had followed them out after barely five minutes.

“I didn’t see my son, so I came out to look for you and get some fresh air—but you weren’t alone? I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”

“No, Mother. We were just about to head back in.”

Watching Jin Hayoung reply calmly as if nothing had happened, Muhyeon let out a scoff. After being rejected so clearly just moments ago, she was still calling her ‘Mother’—it was absurd.

And ‘we,’ at that.

To anyone else, it was the perfect word to misunderstand that the two of them had slipped away from the party to enjoy some private time together.

And Muhyeon’s mother, Sunok, was more than ready to fall into that misunderstanding.

“Oh my, really? Did you talk things through?”

“Hehe, of course. The night air is still chilly, so let’s go back inside, Mother.”

As Jin Hayoung naturally linked arms with her, Sunok beamed, then gestured for Muhyeon to come along as well.

Jin Hayoung’s shamelessness was no longer surprising. With a cold expression, Muhyeon spoke.

“I’ll make this clear right now. I have no intention of marrying Jin Hayoung.”

At his heavy yet razor-sharp words, both women stopped and turned around at the same time.

Shock filled Sunok’s face, while disbelief flooded Jin Hayoung’s. Neither of them had expected him to go this far.

Maybe Jin Hayoung hadn’t—but shouldn’t his mother have had some idea?

Thinking that their biggest commonality was completely disregarding his will, Muhyeon continued.

“I won’t interfere with the two of you getting along since you suit each other so well. But I’d like you to leave me out of it. Today is the last time I’ll endure this for Mother’s sake.”

With every word Muhyeon spoke, the expressions on both women stiffened further.

Still, without sparing Jin Hayoung even a glance, he addressed only his mother.

“Whether I marry or not, and if I do, who that person will be—I’ll decide that myself. I know my own preferences better than anyone.”

“M-Muhyeon…”

“I’ll head in first. I just got an urgent call from the company.”

As he turned and walked through the lobby, he didn’t hear any footsteps following him.

He’d managed to shake off one bothersome person, yet he didn’t feel relieved at all. After all, he couldn’t avoid having to comfort his deeply hurt mother later.

Once inside the car, Muhyeon started the engine with a weary expression. And instead of heading to the company, he began driving toward Yangpyeong.

***

—Around the time Song Chaeyun quit school, people carrying gift boxes were seen frequently coming and going from the vice principal’s house. Sometimes they were fruit boxes, sometimes gifts wrapped in cloth, but it seems it happened at least five or six times.

“What about the account tracing?”

—It’ll take some time.

“If the cash was sent in fruit boxes, there’s a good chance no separate account was made. Still, just in case, check it thoroughly until the end.”

—Got it.

After arriving at the villa, Muhyeon stared at the detached house in the pitch-dark night.

A faint light was leaking from behind the blinds covering the windows.

The call he’d had with Junha on the way hadn’t been long. But it was more than enough to infer that what happened to Song Chaeyun had been orchestrated by someone.

What rotten luck.

Clicking his tongue briefly in discomfort, Muhyeon felt a strange irritation rise.

To have one’s future blocked by someone you don’t even know—without realizing it yourself.

As discomfort and anger mixed together, an impulse surged within him to march straight up and knock on the door of the detached house.