Yeo Eun, who bought four bottles of beer at the convenience store, trudged up the villa stairs.

It was the summer before last when she moved to this villa, built nearly 40 years ago.

After being evicted from the Nonhyeon-dong apartment where she had lived for about 10 years, she moved to a multi-family house in Bangbae-dong.

While living there, her mother started getting sick, and eventually she withdrew the deposit to cover her mother’s medical expenses.

That’s how she ended up moving here.

Though located in downtown Seoul, this place was just cheap, and there was a reason for that.

The old building seemed to have reached the end of its lifespan, the central heating system often broke down, and with no security or cleaning staff, it sometimes looked like a lawless zone.

When she first moved in during autumn, she didn’t think much of it, but after spending the winter there, she finally called the landlord.

The house was too cold, and it even became scary at night.

If possible, she wanted to terminate the contract and move elsewhere.

But she couldn’t.

[That’s why it’s so cheap. Do you think this deposit and monthly rent are even possible in Seoul?]

Not a word of that was wrong.

For her and her elder brother, who had to work 24 hours a day split up, a house in downtown Seoul was desperately needed, and this was the only house they could afford with the money they had on hand.

After spending her first winter in this house, winter became the most frightening season for her.

“In a few months, it’ll be winter again.”

She was about to face her third winter here.

Just the thought made her shoulders hunch.

Arriving at her front door like that, Yeo Eun searched for her keys in her bag.

Opening the door and stepping inside, she gazed with blurry eyes at the mail on the kitchen table.

Electric bill, gas bill, water bill.

Mixed in with various bills was also an invoice from the hospital.

Despite earning a not insignificant amount of money each month, it felt somewhat miserable to worry about even the most basic living expenses as if she were extremely poor.

Placing her bag on top of the mail, she opened a can of beer.

The phone call she had received from the landlord a few days ago was stuck in her throat like a thorn, and she felt like she needed to drink some beer to get it down.

“Calling this a house and asking to raise the rent.”

Yeo Eun’s expression was sorrowful as she looked around the small two-room house.

“This is why I… cling to Cha Do Ha.”

If only she could get Cha Do Ha, if only he would accept her…

Not just these wretched bills, but her mother, the house, the debt, everything would be resolved.

Yes. With Cha Do Ha alone, everything would be fine.

“But why is that one thing so difficult?”

It’s just work, but it’s so hard to even eat a meal face to face with that man.

When she sees his face, she can hardly breathe, and when she lowers her gaze, her chest feels tight.

That man’s tone, his gaze, his every action.

Everything bothers her, and she keeps mulling over how he might think of her.

He told her to maintain boundaries, but she hated herself for trying to blur those boundaries as if she hadn’t seen them.

Yeo Eun, having emptied one beer, crushed the can with her hand.

Just then, her phone on the table vibrated.

It was Ji Soo.

Yeo Eun smiled faintly and, instead of replying, sent Ji Soo a photo of the beer can.

Immediately, a reply came back.

After the message was a map of a whiskey bar in Hannam-dong.

The thirst couldn’t be quenched with just a can or two of beer anyway.

Without hesitation, Yeo Eun got up to go meet Ji Soo.

* * *

Ji Soo was not only a school senior and work superior but also a good drinking buddy.

Meeting Ji Soo like this, Yeo Eun drank hard liquor and lightly poured out her feelings.

Knowing that she had been overwhelmed with many things recently, Ji Soo also calmly listened to her story.

“You know, senior. Mom’s surgery costs, hospitalization fees, treatment costs, and nursing care expenses.”

On top of the loan interest and living expenses she had to handle every month, truly astronomical amounts of money were being spent.

“Astronomical amounts of money are going out.”

But recently, her elder brother In Tae lost his job, so she ended up shouldering everything alone.

Ji Soo could only look at her with pity.

“How can someone have such bad luck?”

Ji Soo, who attributed her misfortune to fate, refilled the empty glass.

“I wonder if it’s because you’re too pretty that your fate is so harsh.”

She was sincere.

Yeo Eun was the prettiest woman she had seen in her 31 years of life.

And bad things always seem to follow pretty women.

That’s why the saying “beauty brings misfortune” didn’t come about for nothing.

For this reason, Yeo Eun had always been extremely sensitive to being called pretty.

The pretty face jinx was also born from such words.

But today, her reaction was somehow different.

She just raised her glass, smiled faintly, and spoke in a bitter voice.

“I’m not that pretty, apparently.”

“Who? Who said such a thing?”

To say that the great Seo Yeo Eun isn’t pretty, are they crazy?

Ji Soo jumped up in disbelief.

Looking at Ji Soo like that, Yeo Eun smiled bitterly and uttered a familiar name.

“Cha Do Ha did.”

Cha Do Ha. The name that’s been sticking to Yeo Eun’s lips the most these days.

“Hey, Cha Do Ha is!”

Ji Soo’s voice suddenly grew louder.

Feeling the gazes of those around them turn towards them, she hesitated, and in that moment, Yeo Eun spoke again.

“I’m not upset. It’s natural.”

After all, that man’s girlfriend is Kim Hae Ri.

Yeo Eun smiled broadly and sipped her drink.

Looking at Yeo Eun with disapproval, Ji Soo grumbled sulkily.

“What nonsense. No matter how I look at it, you’re much prettier than Kim Hae Ri.”

Really, Cha Do Ha. How can he have such poor eyesight?

Ji Soo’s fingers gently stroked Yeo Eun’s hair.

Yeo Eun, offering her hair to Ji Soo like a child without wariness, smiled brightly.

“But it wasn’t bad.”

She was sincere.

“The pretty face jinx.”

The pretty face that had driven half of her life into misfortune.

Even her grandmother said that she ate her father because she was too pretty.

Her grandmother, who usually never contacted her, showed up at her father’s funeral and ended up slapping her cheek.

[This is all your fault. I knew that pretty face of yours would bring great disaster someday.]

What followed was even more outrageous.

[Everything should be in moderation. Being too eye-catching attracts even ghosts. From a young age, you’ve been carrying all sorts of bad energy with that bewitching face, and in the end, you ate your own father. Oh, my poor son.]

Her cheek stung and her heart ached, but she couldn’t say a word.

[Being pretty is useless if you just spew bad energy like poison.]

The abuse inflicted by her grandmother whenever she saw her had already become routine since she was very young.

If even family was like that, how could strangers be any different?

During her school days, she was mistreated by her peers just for being pretty.

[It’s annoying. Getting extra points just for your face.]

Even the results she achieved while working to the point of nosebleeds were often dismissed as being due to her face.

Thus, for her, a pretty face was a curse.

Cha Do Ha was the first person to tell her that she wasn’t particularly pretty.

“Thanks to that, I think it’s broken.”

It feels like the chains that have bound her for a long time are melting and becoming limp.

“By telling me I’m not pretty, it actually made me feel more at ease.”

So she was half happy about it.

“It’s like, ‘Ah, this is a project that can work.'”

Despite the risks involved, it gave her enough reason not to let it go.

“It’s as if my long-standing jinx is telling me something.”

Her pride is screaming that she shouldn’t be jumping into this kind of thing.

That she shouldn’t be swayed by Cha Hyun’s threats.

But the environment surrounding her and the jinx that has bound her were pushing her back, saying she must absolutely do this.

“To catch Cha Do Ha.”

That she needs to catch Cha Do Ha to survive.

“So right now, how I feel is.”

Yeo Eun, who had emptied half of her remaining drink in one go, continued.

“If only Cha Do Ha would accept me, I feel like I want to bow down and worship him.”

The alcohol must have been too much.

“It’s really hurting my pride, but that’s how I feel.”

Speaking is slightly burdensome.

“If I can just succeed in this project, and save my mother’s life.”

The words that had been tightly held back burst out, painfully cutting through her throat, indicating she must be drunk.

“This time, I really want to quit Persona.”

Yeo Eun put down her glass and grabbed Ji Soo’s arm.

“I want to quit, and study again. Then enter university… and do what I originally wanted to do.”

Then she rested her forehead on Ji Soo’s shoulder.

“I want to live my own life too. Really.”

Her eyes were a bit hot.

* * *

“Who said such a thing?”

“Cha Do Ha did.”

LI Construction Director Kwon Yi Han, who was drinking, perked up his ears and paid attention.

“Are they talking about you?”

It was about him.

Probably that woman is sitting right behind this chair he’s leaning on.

That woman with sad eyes, Seo Yeo Eun.

“Stop paying attention. Continue with what you were saying.”

As Yi Han sitting across from him tried to stretch his neck as if to look over the backrest, Do Ha changed the subject.

“So Druid Nine accepted our proposal?”

“Yeah. 100% compliance. We won.”

Yi Han, who had barely managed to stop focusing on the situation behind the backrest, continued his report on the Geneth Holdings investment.

“As you instructed, we requested a company separation from Druid Nine’s side? That seemed quite tempting to them. Their representative said, as expected of Geneth Holdings…”

While looking at Yi Han eagerly continuing his report, Do Ha couldn’t actually concentrate on his words.

It had been like this for a while.

Ever since Seo Yeo Eun set foot in this place.

From the moment she took a seat behind him, his ears had been open only to that woman.