A Bad, Bad Act (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3
I had boldly declared I’d give it a try, but I didn’t actually have a plan.
Still, I couldn’t just sit idle, so Yeo Eun decided to go with the classic approach.
She would keep chipping away, banking on the old saying: “No tree falls after being struck just ten times.”
Yeo Eun called Cha Hyun and demanded Cha Do Ha’s weekly schedule.
True to her impatient nature, Cha Hyun immediately emailed her the requested information.
It included Do Ha’s weekly schedule along with some basic background materials.
When Yeo Eun opened the email, her brow furrowed in displeasure.
It was because of Cha Hyun’s note:
“He likes… pretty women.”
Yeo Eun let out a quiet sigh and took off her glasses, placing them in the drawer.
“Make the most of what I’ve got? She might as well be telling me to use my looks if necessary.”
She even undid her tightly tied-up hair.
“I’ll follow your orders.”
After all, this whole mess had started with the “pretty face” curse already warping things from the beginning.
It couldn’t possibly get any worse.
It was time to break past her limits and deliver results.
She had plenty of weaknesses, after all.
Yeo Eun got up from her seat, grabbed her portfolio, and left the office.
* * *
Tuesday morning.
After attending HJ Department Store’s relaunch event, Do Ha finished the ribbon-cutting ceremony and made a round through the store.
Listening to explanations from the department store executives and encouraging staff might seem simple, but it was actually quite important.
For HJ Department Store, it demonstrated significant corporate interest from headquarters, boosting employee morale.
Meanwhile, Hanju Group’s Public Relations Department would have already taken plenty of high-quality photos of Do Ha, Hanju’s new face.
As Chairman Cha Ji Seop would say, it was a perfect win-win—a polished performance pleasing both sides.
Do Ha glanced at his watch on his left wrist.
No matter how elegant a show might be, it gets tiresome if it drags on too long.
One needed the sense to wrap things up at the right moment.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
If he stayed any longer, he’d likely end up having an unwanted lunch meeting with executives from Hanju Properties, which owned HJ Department Store.
Sure enough,
the HJ Department Store representative opened his mouth with a troubled expression.
“Department Head, the omakase Japanese restaurant on the 13th floor is truly exceptional…”
“Mr. Cha In Woo isn’t even here—how could I possibly have lunch with your Properties executives?”
He phrased it politely enough.
But he didn’t hide the deadly sharpness in his eyes.
Hanju Properties.
A subsidiary company he’d soon begin overhauling entirely.
Having lunch with executives from such a place was utterly absurd.
“Besides, most of you here probably don’t have the luxury of gleefully splurging 200,000 won per meal on omakase.”
His words carried unmistakable thorns.
Yet a few tactless individuals quickly brushed it off as a joke, chattering about how, with their salaries, 200,000 won wasn’t even a big deal.
But even they were left speechless by what came next.
“If you’ve got that kind of spare cash, you’d be better off clearing out your desks.”
The message was clear: the show was over.
They’d already taken plenty of polished, PR-ready photos—there was no need to be courteous any longer.
“Let only those who won’t be asked to vacate their desks enjoy omakase.”
Satisfied, Do Ha watched as the Hanju Properties executives’ faces turned increasingly pale, then promptly turned to leave.
Behind him followed his executive secretary, Team Leader Kim Jung Joo.
“Department Head.”
He recalled he had about an hour before his next appointment.
He’d been considering grabbing a simple bowl of udon with Team Leader Kim Jung Joo during the break.
“Ms. Cha Hyun called a moment ago…”
But an unexpected obstacle suddenly tripped him up.
“She’s sent someone…”
Before Kim Jung Joo could finish her sentence, Do Ha stopped walking.
Diagonally across from where he stood,
a familiar face locked eyes with him and quietly bowed her head.
It was her—image trainer Seo Yeo Eun.
“…She asked if you could review her portfolio.”
Portfolio.
Do Ha’s gaze landed on the thick booklet tucked under the woman’s arm.
Hah. So she was really going to push forward like this?
Keeping his eyes fixed on her, Do Ha called Cha Hyun.
Embarrassment flashed briefly across the woman’s face as she watched him.
Soon, Cha Hyun’s cheerful voice rang softly from the receiver.
—Do Ha?
“What exactly are you trying to do? I already said no.”
—Don’t refuse. It won’t cost you anything.
Cha Hyun continued reassuringly.
—Just pretend to go along with it, and I’ll handle everything…
“Handle what, exactly? If I obediently play along with Chairman’s little doll games, will you marry that ST Group heiress in my place, Ms. Cha Hyun?”
—Is marriage such a big deal? It’s about reclaiming your father’s rightful position—the one you’d have inherited had he lived. Don’t you feel sorry for your father, who died so unjustly?
Inevitably, Cha Hyun brought up Do Ha’s late father.
Six years had passed since Cha Kang, second son of Hanju Group Chairman Cha Ji Seop, died in a car accident—but his name still couldn’t be spoken lightly,
by the Chairman’s strict decree.
Yet Cha Hyun was different.
Being twins, perhaps, only Cha Hyun had never let go of the thread tied to Cha Kang, continually digging up the past.
Do Ha disliked this intensely.
He hated seeing his father used so carelessly.
“Let’s not talk about my father. I really don’t want to hear it.”
But Cha Hyun showed no sign of stopping.
—Grandfather’s already made up his mind. You know that. Once he decides something, it’s happening. Just let him have his way. What I’m saying is…
After a brief pause, Cha Hyun continued.
—I’m not telling you to get married. Just play along quietly as his doll for now, and take what you truly want.
Take what I want?
“What makes you think you know what I want?”
Do Ha sneered, curling the corners of his mouth coldly.
“What if I say I want the entire Hanju Group?”
Apparently, that was exactly the kind of response Cha Hyun wanted to hear.
It was obvious from the receiver that her tone had grown more animated.
—What’s the problem? Just take it! The capable always claim what’s theirs. Once you’re strong enough, you can marry whomever you please. Do you really think someone like that ST heiress would dare covet you?
Power, women, money—
she rambled on, insisting it was only natural for the capable to claim everything.
—Only by standing at Hanju’s peak can you obtain what you desire. There are things in Hanju that only the one atop the pyramid can ever possess.
As if she already knew what he was seeking, Cha Hyun calmly added,
—So just take the training. I deliberately assigned you a pretty one. But don’t think she’s just a pretty face—she’s smart too. She’ll be useful in many ways.
A smart woman—useful in many ways.
Do Ha’s gaze slowly swept over the woman standing frozen before him, staring back with wide eyes.
Before he realized it, his steps were already carrying him toward her.
Without another word, he ended the call, slipped his phone into his suit, and approached her.
Her face, pale almost to translucence, held a delicate flush that resembled the tender flesh of a peach.
“Ms. Seo Yeo Eun.”
At hearing her name spoken, her dark brown eyes widened.
“Yes, Department Head.”
“Want to grab a meal together?”
It was a somewhat spontaneous invitation.
* * *
The place Do Ha led her to for lunch was a tiny udon shop in Euljiro.
The space felt aged, with only five tables inside.
It was the last place anyone would imagine a chaebol heir frequenting.
Yet Do Ha walked in with evident familiarity and took a seat first.
Without even asking, he ordered three servings of udon.
Team Leader Kim Jung Joo, who’d arrived slightly late after parking the car, sat down first, followed by Yeo Eun.
Once seated, she placed her portfolio on her lap and quietly surveyed her surroundings.
She simply didn’t know where else to look.
Of all places, she’d ended up sitting directly across from Do Ha—wherever she turned her eyes, he remained in view.
Their second meeting.
It felt strange.
Yesterday at HJ Gallery, he’d seemed like a dazzling, beautiful work of art.
Though brimming with raw arrogance, perhaps due to his innate elegance, it felt as if he were entitled to behave exactly that way.
Do Ha, who effortlessly shifted between carefree charm and refined decorum, captivated every gaze—including Yeo Eun’s.
But today, he was completely different.
Was it because he was wearing a full suit?
He seemed rigid, heavy—as though trapped within some rigid framework.
Did that make him look awkward?
No—this image fit Do Ha just as perfectly.
Especially his uniquely cold, sharp gaze, which matched his current demeanor and created a tension entirely different from yesterday’s.
Yet he didn’t feel entirely disconnected from the man she’d seen yesterday.
The lazy, languid aura radiating off him was exactly the same.
Same intensity. Same density.
Perhaps that’s why even breathing felt difficult around him.
This heaviness felt slightly uncomfortable.
‘Right—it is uncomfortable.’
Yeo Eun finally tore her lingering gaze away from him and quietly slurped up a strand of udon.
Then, Do Ha suddenly spoke.
“Doesn’t taste good?”
Surprised, Yeo Eun looked up.
He’d been the one to invite her to eat—yet since then, he hadn’t uttered a single word.
Not during the car ride together to the restaurant.
Not even after the udon arrived on the table.
He’d been so indifferent toward her, she almost wondered if he’d forgotten she was there.
He hadn’t even glanced her way—yet now, out of nowhere, he spoke.
It was almost bewildering.
A brief silence followed.
Had she been so flustered?
She couldn’t even recall what he’d just asked.
“…I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked if it suits your taste.”
Embarrassment flooded her ears, making them burn.
Missing such a simple question—
it wasn’t very professional of her.
“No, it’s delicious.”
Yeo Eun quickly answered and resumed eating her udon.
Truthfully, she hadn’t even had the presence of mind to properly taste it.
Ever since Do Ha asked if she wanted to eat together—and she’d nodded as if in a trance—she hadn’t been herself.
Tense and rigid, she sat up straight and diligently ate her udon.
Just as she’d finished about half the bowl—
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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