Jun Mi So?

A former top actress who left the entertainment industry quietly a few years ago, along with her divorce.

How many years ago was it exactly?

7 years? 6 years?

There were rumors that she retired after suffering burns from a fire incident.

The ex-wife of Park Chang Soo, CEO of Kim Hae Ri’s agency, Sanulrim Entertainment.

From what I heard from their company’s management director, she still maintains an odd relationship with her ex-husband, CEO Park, even after the divorce.

That Jun Mi So…… How did she end up with Cha In Woo?

Yeo Eun’s gaze shifted from Jun Mi So’s face to Cha In Woo.

Cha In Woo, who had thrown off his artificial smile, clenched his molars tightly.

His jaw was firmly set and his eyes turned cold.

It was the first time he showed such a reaction, him being someone more meticulous about managing his image than anyone else.

Looking at such Cha In Woo, Jun Mi So smiled faintly and glanced over Yeo Eun.

“Not the CEO’s fiancée.”

Moving a step closer to Cha In Woo’s side, Jun Mi So brushed his shoulder with her fingertips.

“Don’t tell me you’re having an affair?”

Her fingertips rose again, slightly touching under his chin.

Yet Jun Mi So’s gaze never left Yeo Eun.

Was she wearing colored lenses?

Her bluish-gray eyes felt somewhat eerie.

“With such a young and pretty lady?”

Then she pulled Cha In Woo’s chin towards her, making direct eye contact.

“I’m starting to feel a bit hurt, you know? Mr. Cha In Woo?”

Cha In Woo, who didn’t brush off Jun Mi So’s hand, only spat out in a cold voice.

“Just move along.”

“I don’t want to.”

Jun Mi So’s eyes were full of unusual light as she looked at Cha In Woo provocatively.

Finally, Cha In Woo stood up from his seat.

“Ms. Yeo Eun.”

Cha In Woo’s face was flushed red.

“I had something to say, but today doesn’t seem to be a good day. Let’s do it next time.”

Cha In Woo’s fingertips trembled slightly, unable to hide his embarrassment behind his broken mask.

“I’ve already paid, so take your time eating.”

As Cha In Woo left the place as if escaping, his hand was clearly grasping Jun Mi So’s wrist.

Watching that scene blankly, Yeo Eun couldn’t move for a long time.

“What did I just see?”

He was a person without any flaws except for subtly guarding against Cha Do Ha.

The impression from what she saw through the media and meeting him in person was similar.

A gentleman among gentlemen, a man who knows loyalty, upright and righteous Cha In Woo.

She never imagined that such a Cha In Woo would show a side like he just did.

“There’s something between him and Jun Mi So, right?”

It couldn’t be nothing, given the sticky atmosphere that flowed between them.

Moreover, the emotion Jun Mi So showed towards Cha In Woo, who was with Yeo Eun, was clearly jealousy… or something similar.

“And yet they say Hanju Group isn’t lenient towards scandals?”

Ridiculously, a sense of betrayal welled up.

Perhaps it was an even more intense emotion than when she came across the news of Cha Do Ha’s engagement.

Cha In Woo was always ranked as the number one bachelor in the business world whenever they surveyed the top grooms in each field.

A man full of loyalty and sincerity who would never seem to betray his wife.

That was his trademark.

“While having a fiancée… dating a retired actress who’s a divorcée and seven years older?”

It couldn’t be anything but shocking.

To think that Cha In Woo would betray public expectations.

“At this point, one might wonder if it’s just in the blood of the Cha family.”

Yeo Eun laughed dejectedly and, feeling unnecessarily heated, downed the aperitif on the table instead of water.

* * *

Seated at the desk in the director’s office of HJ Gallery, Cha Hyun was busy reading articles on her tablet.

The articles, which were few just yesterday evening, had swelled to dozens in just a day.

Related articles continued to pour in, and intertwined with entertainment news, Do Ha’s name had even dominated real-time SNS trends.

“What on earth is the head office’s PR department doing? Can’t they take down even one of these articles?”

Just as Cha Hyun, frowning in dissatisfaction, put down the tablet as if throwing it, the intercom rang.

Cha Hyun answered the intercom irritably.

“What.”

−Artist Jung Mi Hee… has arrived.

A bright smile spread across Cha Hyun’s face, which had been crumpled with irritation.

“Really? Tell her to come in right away.”

A moment later, as the director’s office door opened, Mi Hee entered.

Dressed impeccably in a blouse with a large collar and a gray pantsuit, Mi Hee approached Cha Hyun, elegantly swaying her long hair with clear curls.

“Aunt.”

Mi Hee, who called Cha Hyun aunt, came closer and spread her arms wide.

“Sister-in-law, welcome.”

Cha Hyun, spreading her arms in the same way to Mi Hee, embraced her without hesitation.

The hands patting each other’s backs were affectionate.

Mi Hee was Cha Hyun’s most cherished junior.

A beautiful, intelligent woman with wise thoughts and good intentions.

That’s why she introduced her to her twin brother Cha Kang without hesitation.

Fortunately, the two who fell in love at first sight eventually promised to marry, and Cha Kang, who had been predetermined for a political marriage, negotiated with Chairman Cha Ji Seop and took Mi Hee as his wife.

Although the public rumored it as a political marriage between Hanju Group and Youngdo Pharmaceuticals, the two were clearly a couple bound by love.

And their love continued to burn faintly without fading even as time passed.

That is, until that incident.

Shaking off the old memories that surfaced again, Cha Hyun let go of Mi Hee and asked.

“What brings you here? Someone who rarely leaves Heyri?”

Although Mi Hee hadn’t committed any crime, after Cha Kang’s accident, she shut herself in Heyri and focused solely on pottery as if practicing asceticism.

Perhaps because of that, turning her back on the world, Mi Hee still looked young and beautiful, as if she had avoided the ravages of time alone.

“Did something happen?”

“A meeting for the exhibition.”

“Exhibition?”

Mi Hee smiled brightly and rummaged through her bag, pulling out a file and handing it over.

“No, how can there be an exhibition of artist Jung Mi Hee that I don’t know about?”

Cha Hyun, receiving the file, furrowed her brow.

Looking at her, Mi Hee smiled awkwardly.

“I’m sorry, Aunt. I can’t do exhibitions with Hanju. You know that.”

That was truly regrettable.

After Cha Kang’s death, when Mi Hee shut herself in her Heyri studio, Chairman Cha Ji Seop imposed various restrictions on her.

One of them was that she couldn’t have any connection with Hanju Group unless she returned to Seoul.

Cha Hyun always found this unfortunate.

To think that HJ couldn’t hold an exhibition for such a talented artist. There was no greater loss than this.

After skimming through the file, Cha Hyun playfully frowned.

“Oh my. You’re going ahead with our rival, Luang?”

“Yes, Director Kwon is handling it.”

If it’s Luang’s Director Kwon, then it can be trusted.

Cha Hyun nodded and returned the file to Mi Hee.

“But still, why make a precious artist come all the way to Seoul? Director Kwon Bom should visit Heyri.”

Mi Hee smiled faintly at Cha Hyun’s words.

“I said I’d come out. I have other business to attend to as well.”

“Because of Do Ha?”

At Cha Hyun’s question, Mi Hee’s smile crumpled somewhat bitterly.

“Yes.”

“You saw the articles?”

It hadn’t even been 24 hours, and it was already this noisy. No matter how secluded in Heyri, Mi Hee couldn’t have missed it.

The smile had already faded from Mi Hee’s face as she nodded.

“Who decided it?”

“Of course, the Chairman.”

As Chairman Cha Ji Seop was mentioned, Mi Hee’s face hardened somewhat unpleasantly.

“Do Ha said he didn’t want to. But what can he do against such forceful insistence.”

Before Cha Kang’s death, the relationship between Mi Hee and Chairman Cha Ji Seop wasn’t that bad.

Although in the early days of their marriage, there was some subtle disrespect towards her for being the daughter of a small pharmaceutical company, as time passed, Chairman Cha Ji Seop grew fond of Mi Hee and came to favor the younger daughter-in-law more than the elder.

Even when Cha Kang asked for permission to run for office, he readily agreed, saying he was permitting it because of his wife, not him.

Such a father-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship completely fell apart after the incident six years ago.

That beautiful daughter-in-law became an incompetent one overnight who couldn’t even capture her husband’s heart.

How incompetent must she be to lose her husband to a young girl?

And to an actress nobody, at that.

Chairman Cha Ji Seop openly berated Mi Hee in such ways.

Knowing well the deep emotional rift between the two, Cha Hyun quickly tried to smooth things over.

“ST jumped the gun with the articles. They’ve only had a blind date, nothing’s been decided yet. It probably won’t even lead to marriage……”

“I don’t like it.”

“I know. How could you like it when ST did what they did to Youngdo?”

To Mi Hee, ST was nothing more or less than the enemy that ruined Youngdo Pharmaceuticals.

To form an in-law relationship with such a place, how could she like it?

But Mi Hee shook her head, saying it wasn’t that.

“No. It’s not about that.”

After hesitating for a moment, Mi Hee spoke again.

“It’s about Do Ha’s feelings.”

“Do Ha’s feelings?”

“Do Ha has a woman, Aunt.”

Mi Hee grasped Cha Hyun’s hand and carefully began to speak.

Her wavering brown eyes were full of maternal love for her son.

“Marriage should be with someone you love.”

“Are you talking about Kim Hae Ri? She’s not acceptable. Her conduct is so……”

“Not Kim Hae Ri.”

At that moment, Cha Hyun firmly closed her lips.

Someone Do Ha likes other than Kim Hae Ri.

Do Ha’s woman.

There was one person that came to mind.

“You know, don’t you? The person Do Ha is seeing.”

Haah.

Cha Hyun let out a long sigh and gathered her thoughts before asking.

“How did you find out?”

“Do Ha came to see me.”

Her mind became complicated.

The fact that Do Ha went to see Mi Hee means he’s contemplating.

It means he’s struggling to find an answer.

“He seemed to be in deep thought.”

Cha Hyun furrowed her brow.

This wasn’t part of her plan.

When ST was mentioned as Do Ha’s potential marriage partner, Cha Hyun opposed it.

But the condition Chairman Cha Ji Seop put forward instead of marriage to ST was quite appealing.

To place Do Ha on the same level as In Woo and evaluate his true worth as a successor.

When such Chairman Cha Ji Seop said he needed a woman to draw in Do Ha, Yeo Eun immediately came to mind.

Having known Do Ha’s tastes since childhood, Cha Hyun knew at first glance that Do Ha would like Yeo Eun.

Aside from her pretty face and body that stimulates male desire, everything from her way of speaking to her behavior, her way of thinking and upright manner of treating people.

Everything about Yeo Eun would touch Do Ha’s heart.

He would be moved by her approach of choosing the direct method in everything, contrary to her fragile and delicate appearance.

After all, Do Ha had said he liked tennis the most, a sport where you can face the ball honestly without fakes, even in sports.

Especially when she digs into his heart with clear eyes full of stories, Do Ha would have no choice but to embrace Yeo Eun, finding himself in those depths.

She thought that ultimately, even if just to possess Yeo Eun, he would strive to become the owner of Hanju.

But she couldn’t just give her to Do Ha unconditionally, so she verified and verified again.

In the process, she came to realize that Yeo Eun was a more and more decent girl.

While proceeding with the matter, judging that she was worthy of Do Ha’s embrace, she felt sorry for Yeo Eun.

From Cha Hyun’s perspective, while Do Ha was a nephew she cherished dearly, he wasn’t a good man.

A playboy and a philanderer, and on top of that, a bad man who doesn’t know how to show even a bit of sincerity.

Cold in character, dry in emotions.

That’s why she treated Yeo Eun more harshly.

It meant to never give her heart to Do Ha.

If she knew and prepared in advance, the wounds Yeo Eun would receive would be lessened.

But… Do Ha’s heart is moving?

“Who is it?”

Cha Hyun, who had been lost in thought, raised her head at Mi Hee’s question.

“Hm?”

“Who is Do Ha’s woman, I asked.”