Chapter 5
Yoon-seo couldn’t regain her composure easily.
Was this pair of glasses really telling only the truth? Were the words she heard truly Joo-seok’s inner thoughts? Until she had heard Driver Oh’s and Mrs. Kim’s thoughts, she had believed it was true—but now she felt confused.
“Are you tired? Then shall we leave?”
Seeing Yoon-seo remain silent, Joo-seok asked again.
“Well… you must be tired too, Chief. You have so much work.”
Yoon-seo finally pulled herself together and asked.
“I always am.”
‘Of course I’m tired. I’ve got more than enough work just from that bastard Seung-woo, and President Jung Seung-woo nags me nonstop too. But this life will be over soon. Once Seung-woo is taken care of.’
Taken care of. Did that mean getting rid of him entirely?
Feeling chills run through her, Yoon-seo clenched her fists tightly.
He had clearly been Seung-woo’s closest friend—someone who would even jump into fire for him. Seung-woo had trusted Joo-seok’s visible achievements and passion enough to place him in the chief secretary position at such a young age.
“President Jung hates seeing people rest. You look like you’ve lost as much weight as I have, Chief.”
Yoon-seo deliberately added unnecessary words to hear more of his inner thoughts.
At the very least, she wanted to know what “taken care of” meant.
‘You know that already, why ask? He’s been like that forever—can’t stand seeing people relax unless he bullies them. Anyway, I just want to go home now.’
“Yeah, well. If you’re done eating, let’s go.”
Joo-seok stood up from his seat.
No—she had to know what “taken care of” meant.
When Joo-seok turned his gaze away from her, Yoon-seo panicked and quickly stood up.
If she didn’t make eye contact, she couldn’t read his thoughts.
“Chief.”
She hurried over to Joo-seok.
“Just a moment.”
Deliberately meeting his eyes, she smiled softly and wiped his cheek with a handkerchief.
“There was something on your face.”
Joo-seok’s brows furrowed briefly.
‘What kind of move is this? Could it be that she knows I used to have feelings for her? Thinking about it pisses me off again. If it weren’t for that bastard Jung Seung-woo, she’d probably be with me right now.’
Yoon-seo widened her eyes, then quickly took a deep breath and lowered her gaze.
She had no idea Joo-seok had liked her. Not even a little.
It made sense—back then, her eyes had been fixed only on Seung-woo. Every word he spoke, even the quiet breaths he sometimes let out, she had stored deep in her heart. She hadn’t had room to think about anyone else.
“President Jung gives you a hard time, doesn’t he? Still, stay strong. It’s because he trusts you and knows you’re capable.”
Unlike her usual self, Yoon-seo spoke a lot, gently rubbing Joo-seok’s cheek with the handkerchief.
“Gives me a hard time? It’s an honor. Thanks to having a good friend, I’m in a position far above my station.”
‘Look how pretty even the things you say are. Why did someone like you end up marrying a guy like Jung Seung-woo? Do you know I drank soju alone at home on your wedding day?’
Yoon-seo struggled to hide her shock. She had heard Joo-seok missed the wedding because of a car accident.
But that wasn’t true. He had chosen not to come.
The more she learned, the more her thoughts felt completely overturned. Yoon-seo looked straight into Joo-seok’s eyes again.
“But still, don’t you sometimes hate President Jung? He makes you work too much, and if you make even a small mistake, he scolds you harshly.”
She asked with trembling lips forced into a smile.
‘Should I pretend I’ve lost my mind and just kiss her? That guy won’t even exist in this world by next month anyway—would it really matter if I claimed her first?’
Yoon-seo felt as if her heart had dropped straight to the floor.
Seung-woo entered the house with heavy steps.
Whenever Chairman Jung summoned him, it was usually to meet important guests. With Seung-won gone, Seung-woo was called in his place to make appearances.
If only it weren’t for his mother.
From childhood, Seung-woo had watched Seung-won’s mother, Mi-sook, mistreat his own mother, In-hye. Each time, rather than feeling pity, he felt irritation toward the situation itself.
So he endured Chairman Jung’s obvious favoritism toward Seung-won, gritting his teeth.
Even when he inherited a hotel on the verge of collapse, he only wanted to revive it and prove himself—to show what kind of person the one he had looked down on truly was.
Then, while hiring a secretary, he noticed a woman.
A woman who seemed to resemble his own misfortune. A woman who spoke calmly about having heavy family debt, wearing a faint smile.
Keeping her by his side, sometimes scolding her harshly, he couldn’t stop his feelings from drifting toward her.
Five years passed like that.
His mother began pressing him to marry. She said he needed a strong family alliance so Seung-won wouldn’t look down on him.
Around that time, Seung-won was scolded by Chairman Jung over illegal gambling and sent abroad. In-hye insisted they seize this opportunity.
She had brought up marriage ever since Seung-woo became hotel president, but he had always refused, saying he had no time due to work.
“Is marriage all that’s needed?”
“Yes. Once you’re married, you’ll be treated better. Preferably into a good family.”
“I’ll marry. But I’ll choose who I marry. If not, I won’t marry at all.”
In-hye thought that marrying at all was better than nothing. With a stable family and children, the chairman might view him more favorably as a successor. And since Seung-woo never missed social events, she assumed he would meet a suitable woman.
But Seung-woo brought home a woman from an unknown family.
“Do you even understand what I meant? A marriage like that is worse than not marrying at all!”
After meeting Yoon-seo, In-hye lashed out at him. That was the first time Seung-woo looked at his mother with contempt.
“I told you I wouldn’t marry unless it was my choice.”
“Then don’t marry at all!”
“Then I won’t just refuse marriage. I’ll quit the hotel too.”
In-hye slapped Seung-woo at those words. Even so, he didn’t back down.
“Fine. Marry whoever you want. But until you become the successor, give it everything you’ve got. Win your father’s approval.”
That was the condition she set in exchange for allowing the marriage.
Seung-woo agreed.
It wasn’t because he wanted to be the successor. More than that, he didn’t want Yoon-seo to suffer any harm.
After that, Seung-woo handled not only hotel work but also every task his father assigned, without complaint.
“Ha…”
Working was better. Meeting people beneath his level at his father’s summons exhausted him to the core, even for a short time.
Adjusting his tie, Seung-woo entered the living room and clicked his tongue softly.
Yoon-seo was sprawled on the sofa, still dressed as if she had just come in.
It was a disheveled 모습 he had never seen since marriage.
A woman who took two steps back whenever he took one forward—making him hesitate every time he approached.
A woman who flushed and let out faint moans when he finally pulled her into his arms after holding back.
I know you don’t love me. I know I’m not someone worthy of that. So even when you’re beside me, I’m always anxious.
But even so, I can’t let you go.
Because I could never bear to see you in another man’s arms.
He strode toward her. Her messy hair irritated him. Raising his hand, he smoothed it down.
She opened her eyes.
“Have you forgotten where the bed is now?”
After saying that, Seung-woo removed his hand from her hair.
Yoon-seo blinked repeatedly, trying to wake herself.
After learning the shocking truth from Joo-seok, she had rushed home in a daze. She felt she had to tell Seung-woo somehow and had waited here, only to fall asleep.
She had to tell him.
But now that she saw him, she didn’t know what to say.
Seung-woo never believed anything without evidence. How could she convince him that his most trusted friend and secretary was plotting to betray him?
She thought honesty was the best approach, so she had brought the glasses. Reading Seung-woo’s thoughts terrified her, but in this situation, she had no choice but to put her feelings aside.
“President.”
She said that and sat up.
Thinking she should explain the glasses first, Yoon-seo reached toward the table. Still half-asleep, she missed them.
The glasses fell under the table.
“What’s that?”
Seung-woo looked down at them. Afraid they might be broken, Yoon-seo hurried off the sofa, but in her panic she slipped and fell hard onto the floor.
“What are you doing now?”
Seeing her make mistake after mistake, Seung-woo let out a small laugh. But Yoon-seo was desperate.
What if the lens cracked? What if it lost its power? That couldn’t happen.
As she reached for the glasses, Seung-woo’s hand snatched them up first.
“No!”
Yoon-seo shouted and stood abruptly. Seeing her act this way for the first time, Seung-woo’s eyes widened. He looked back and forth between the object in his hand and Yoon-seo, then asked in a dazed voice,
“What is this?”
“They’re glasses. Please give them to me. I’ll explain.”
Her face showed desperation and urgency he had never seen before.
One corner of Seung-woo’s mouth lifted.
He didn’t care about the glasses at all. What intrigued him was this unfamiliar side of Yoon-seo.
Enough to want to savor it.
“I know they’re glasses. Where did you get them?”
With a mischievous smile, Seung-woo hid the glasses behind his back.
Like a child.
“President.”
“Why can’t you explain? Did you go to an antique shop or something?”
“I said I’ll explain. Just give them to me first.”
Yoon-seo lunged at him.
Seung-woo easily stepped aside. Yoon-seo stumbled and lost her balance. Seeing her fall, Seung-woo quickly grabbed her arm—but in doing so, he dropped the glasses.
The sound of the glasses hitting the floor and Yoon-seo stepping to regain balance happened almost at the same time.
Crunch.
At the sound of the glasses shattering, Yoon-seo’s face turned completely pale.
