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Chapter 11
She never truly learned how to laugh.
She never truly learned how to cry.
Su-yeon rode the village bus from the stop near Jung Yoon-jae’s peach orchard to reach her elementary and middle school.
By dismissal time, the school gate was always crowded with parents waiting for their children. In those moments, she was reminded she had no one. The loneliness clawed at her, but instead of crying, she chose to steel herself, whispering silently—
Don’t break. Be stronger. Always stronger.
At school, the bullying never stopped.
Her textbooks were ripped. Her homework notebooks disappeared. Someone even stuck a large sign on her back that read, “Orphan Princess from Seoul.”
Whenever she fought back, the blame still fell on her.
No matter who started it, no matter how badly they tore her clothes or poured milk into her bag—
the one punished was always Su-yeon.
One day, Yong-soon found out.
She stormed into the school, her voice like a crack of thunder.
“My Su-yeon would never hit someone for no reason! If she did, then she had a damn good reason. What’s so special about being without parents? Ain’t none of us living forever—so why torment a child who’s done nothing wrong? And shame on you, teacher, for scolding the victim! If it happens again, I don’t care who it is—I won’t sit quiet. Remember that.”
The cruel label stuck to her—“the cursed child who devoured her parents overnight.”
But if she wanted to shed that mark, she had no choice but to bite down, to endure every cutting stare and poisonous whisper.
As the years passed, as Yong-soon grew frailer, Su-yeon realized: the only person left to protect her grandmother was herself.
So she endured. Fiercely.
By high school, she moved into a dormitory in Seoul.
The warm conversations with her grandmother, the laughter in their tiny room—vanished.
The more she missed Yong-soon, the more she drowned herself in study. Success wasn’t even a word she understood yet—only that she could fight loneliness through discipline.
Without the luxury of private tutors, she still claimed first place in her class. Not just her class, not just her school—she rose to the national ranks.
The villagers marveled.
“A dragon was born in Yong-su Valley.”
Slowly, the shadowy label of “cursed child” faded from memory.
But in the process, Su-yeon became someone who no longer knew how to laugh or weep.
By twenty-eight, Chae Ha-yoon was a woman dulled to emotion.
The meeting began.
Employees filled the conference room, and Su-yeon, standing a few steps behind, let her gaze rest on Yoon-jae.
Not the twelve-year-old boy she once knew.
Now, when he spoke his opinion and turned the pages of his materials, there was an invisible authority about him.
The sharp strength of a leader.
The man before her was not just a talented architect but the very face of Do-won Construction, Korea’s number one builder.
After nearly two hours, the meeting ended. Su-yeon helped Secretary Kwon gather the documents.
“Managing Director Jung…” Kwon said with awe. “Even as a man, I have to admit—he’s incredible. You know, women say they’re most drawn to men who are absorbed in their work. Are you like that too, Secretary Chae?”
“I’ve never thought about it.”
Kwon studied her quietly, then lowered his voice.
“I know it’s personal, but… are you seeing anyone?”
“No.”
“What? How? You’re smart, diligent, beautiful, and perfect in every way—why on earth aren’t you dating?”
Su-yeon gave a faint smile. “I like work more than relationships.”
“That’s disappointing… but good news too. Don’t tell me you’re anti-marriage?”
The word anti-marriage sounded foreign.
Love, marriage—all of it felt like a world that belonged to other people.
“Then how do you feel about office romance?”
“Maybe you don’t know yet, but… it’s forbidden in our company.”
“What? Seriously? Who even makes such outdated rules?”
“Someone… who still believes in outdated rules.”
Kwon groaned with a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of the world.
Back at her desk, Su-yeon opened her files to organize the meeting notes.
Her phone buzzed.
An unfamiliar number.
Spam, maybe?
She hesitated, but when the persistent ringing didn’t stop, she finally answered.
“Hello?”
“Is this Secretary Chae Ha-yoon?”
“Yes, but shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?”
“This is the Do-won Group Secretary’s Office.”
Her brow twitched.
“I know the official number. That’s not it. Who are you really?”
“I am the private secretary of Madam Kim So-hye. This is my personal phone. The Madam wishes to meet you.”
“…Me? Why?”
“You’ll hear the reason from her directly. I’ll be waiting outside your office at the end of the day.”
The line went dead.
Cold silence filled the space.
Kim So-hye.
The woman Yoon-jae had warned her about most.
What could she possibly want with her?
If she learned Su-yeon’s true reason for working here…
Her chest tightened. Anxiety coiled in her gut.
She waited thirty minutes after everyone else had left, then finally slipped out of the building.
A black luxury sedan pulled up.
A woman stepped out, holding the door open.
After the briefest hesitation, Su-yeon walked toward it.
A few steps away.
Yoon-jae was waiting in his car, worried. Su-yeon hadn’t looked well the day before, and he wanted to make sure she was all right.
And then—
A car he knew too well.
The impossible unfolded before his eyes.
“Whether you believe me or not is up to you, Managing Director. But I can promise this—there will be no scandal between Madam and me, no disgrace that forces me to resign.”
Su-yeon slid into the sedan as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Yoon-jae’s chest grew heavy.
The image of her gasping for air before collapsing at the sight of fire was carved into him. The memory of her narrow, suffocating room—empty of furniture, empty of warmth, lined with nothing but instant food—haunted him.
He didn’t fully trust her yet, but he had wanted to. He wanted her to be different from the secretaries Kim So-hye had planted before.
And now…
Seeing her climb into that car—her car—his lips twisted in a bitter smile.
He exhaled harshly, dragging his hands down his face.
Even knowing every secretary before her had been So-hye’s pawn, he hadn’t felt this sour.
His heart plummeted.
“Never trust people so easily.”
His father’s words came back to him, sharp as knives.
And then the sedan carrying Su-yeon pulled away.
“Where are we going?” Su-yeon asked.
“The Madam is waiting at her residence.”
Silence thickened the car.
It was midsummer, the air still heavy even in late afternoon. People trudged through the heat, rushing to their destinations.
Su-yeon’s thoughts tangled endlessly.
Kim So-hye—the eldest daughter of one of Korea’s wealthiest families. Less than a year after the tragic accident that killed Yoon-jae’s mother, she had married into the Jung household despite Chairman Jung’s objections.
Through social events and press coverage, Su-yeon had seen her face many times.
Now, the car passed rows of thick trees and bustling streets, until it finally came to a stop in Han-nam-dong.
