A Bad, Bad Act (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 4

“Are you really here to sell something?”

Cha Do Ha spoke again.

His dark eyes quietly held Yeo Eun as he set down his chopsticks and continued.

“It’s been about 50 minutes, yet you haven’t once asked me to look at your portfolio.”

Cha Do Ha’s gaze pointed toward the portfolio resting on her lap.

Yeo Eun, having put down her chopsticks, clasped both hands together and stared straight at him.

Even looking again, he really had an incredibly handsome face.

There wasn’t a single awkward angle.

But he was excessively cold.

Especially those pitch-black eyes of his.

It was as if they lacked the soul every person should naturally possess—when you met them, you couldn’t feel any warmth, enough to make your heart freeze.

How on earth was she supposed to persuade a man like this?

“If I ask you to look at least take a look, will you?”

“No.”

The answer shot out mercilessly without even a second of hesitation.

For a moment, she felt unfairly treated.

If he wasn’t going to look anyway, why did he suggest eating together?

Was he trying to give her false hope?

She briefly felt the urge to question him.

But Yeo Eun, who hadn’t uttered a single word, simply swallowed her frustration.

In truth, she had expected Cha Do Ha to refuse.

What went against her expectations was the very situation of eating together.

“I also thought you wouldn’t look at it.”

At Yeo Eun’s reply, one of Cha Do Ha’s eyebrows crooked sharply.

“Then why did you come?”

Yeah, why did I come?

When I didn’t even have any plan.

Yeo Eun, speechless at Cha Do Ha’s question, swallowed hard.

“You’re not going to ask me to look at the portfolio, and you’re not going to ramble on about the benefits of image training either.”

With her lips tightly shut, Yeo Eun couldn’t even breathe properly under Cha Do Ha’s uncomfortable stare.

He looked at her as if he might swallow her whole, then twisted one corner of his mouth into a crooked smirk.

“I’m asking why you dolled yourself up so prettily.”

In that instant, it felt like someone had struck the back of her head—she snapped wide awake.

It was an extremely blunt question.

The voice was blunt too.

She felt like she already knew how she appeared in his eyes, even without asking.

“To fell a tree…”

When told to become Cha Do Ha’s image trainer even if it meant using the honey trap, she took off her glasses and redid her hair.

She had picked out clothes from the morning and put extra effort into makeup because she was going to meet Cha Do Ha.

“I decided to swing the axe ten times.”

Hoping that if she looked pretty in his eyes, he might at least glance at the portfolio once. But it was an illusion.

Or perhaps a misunderstanding.

Cha Do Ha was not a man of that level.

Even while saying she was pretty, the eyes looking at her were as sharp as ever.

“Decided to swing the axe at the tree ten times?”

Cha Do Ha mulled over her words, tilted his head sideways, and let out a cold scoff.

Even the scoff was so chilly that, though it was only mid-September, it felt like her hands were freezing.

Perhaps it was her heart that was freezing.

At that moment, Cha Do Ha withdrew his smile and slowly scanned Yeo Eun.

“That tree.”

For an instant, the look in Cha Do Ha’s eyes changed color.

“Do you think it will fall?”

It resembled the languid gaze of a well-fed predator with prey right in front of it.

A somewhat bored yet slightly sticky strange gaze that clung made her palms itch.

Yeo Eun barely swallowed the tension that had dryly filled her throat and opened her mouth.

“Maybe…?”

At her answer, Cha Do Ha tilted his head sideways.

A faint smile flickered across his beautifully drawn lips.

“Why? Because the axe is pretty? But it’s still just an axe, isn’t it?”

“…”

Team Leader Kim Jung Joo, sitting beside them, choked on her water and started coughing, but Cha Do Ha didn’t stop.

“You know you’re not on that level, right?”

It felt like cold water had been poured over the top of her head.

“Surely you don’t… think you’re that pretty, do you?”

A chill ran down her spine, piercing to the bone.

She cursed herself for dressing up just to land this one contract. She felt ashamed and pathetic.

After all, she was nothing more than an axe.

In Cha Do Ha’s eyes as he looked at her, a cruel, sneering malice shimmered.

“Go search it. Actress Kim Hae Ri scandal.”

Having calmly thrown out that cryptic remark, Cha Do Ha stood up from his seat.

“We’ll talk afterward.”

“Wait a moment.”

Yeo Eun hurriedly grabbed Cha Do Ha as he tried to leave.

She was just an axe at best, but she couldn’t go back like this.

“I heard from Director Cha Hyun that you attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony at today’s Hanju Department Store renewal event in place of the chairman. For such an occasion, a red-toned tie would have been better than the gray tone you’re wearing now.”

Cha Do Ha’s brow creased slightly.

“If you chose a gray tone close to black to create a solemn atmosphere, it makes sense in that regard, but I thought demonstrating authority would have been more appropriate.”

“Authority?”

“Yes. Authority is red, Director. A cold smile dominates the other person more than frowning.”

Cha Do Ha’s expression changed subtly.

“And I’d appreciate it if you recognized that I’m… not just a pretty axe.”

Swallowing her self-loathing with effort, Yeo Eun continued, hiding her trembling voice.

“Because this axe is pretty sharp too.”

At that, the corner of Cha Do Ha’s mouth lifted ever so slightly into a smile.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Then, just as familiarly as when he entered, he left the restaurant.

“Haa.”

Only then could she breathe.

Her chest ached sharply.

“Do I really have to go this far?”

A deep sense of self-loathing was leaving a severe wound on her heart.

* * *

What a funny woman.

Do Ha, now in the car, looked out the window and thought of the woman he had left at the restaurant.

Her face turning deathly pale without a trace of color had been quite a sight. The way her pale skin flushed peach was rather nice too.

He also liked how her tightly clenched hands trembled.

For a very brief moment, he had wondered what she would look like in bed.

What kind of face she would make if he crumpled all the world’s troubles into that slender body.

Her name was Seo Yeo Eun.

The name of the woman who quietly stimulated his sadistic desires.

“Seo Yeo Eun…”

Do Ha quietly repeated the woman’s name, scoffed, and turned his gaze away from the window.

“Director.”

Team Leader Kim Jung Joo, who was driving, suddenly turned around and called him.

Then, with a very troubled expression, she held out his work phone.

“It’s the chairman.”

The chairman.

Do Ha gave a bitter smile, picked up the tablet beside him, and spoke.

“Reject it.”

Among the Hanju Group, who would dare reject a call from Chairman Cha Ji Seop?

Probably only Do Ha.

He pretended not to see the incessantly vibrating phone, opened the tablet, and pulled up next year’s first-quarter business plans by affiliate.

At that, Team Leader Kim Jung Joo made a tearful face.

“B-but still, you should at least report today’s renewal event to the chairman…”

Do Ha, still not lifting his eyes, asked calmly.

“Do you really think it’s just about reporting the renewal event?”

It was obvious why Chairman Cha Ji Seop was calling.

The report was merely an excuse; his real purpose lay elsewhere.

“Our chairman has an answer he wants to hear from me. And I don’t want to give that answer. So just drive. The light changed.”

At the cool reply, Team Leader Kim Jung Joo, who had been gauging his mood, seemed to accept it and put the phone away.

At that moment, the phone rang again.

This time it was Team Leader Kim Jung Joo’s phone.

Do Ha narrowed his brows in annoyance and set down the tablet.

“Old man.”

He would probably keep harassing Team Leader Kim Jung Joo until Do Ha answered.

“Put it on speaker.”

As soon as Do Ha gave permission, Team Leader Kim Jung Joo hurriedly turned on speakerphone.

“Why are you tormenting someone who’s working?”

—Your aunt apparently picked a pretty one and sent her, so why are you being so stubborn?

Chairman Cha Ji Seop ignored Do Ha’s words completely and just said what he wanted.

—What? Should I send an even prettier one?

At Chairman Cha’s blunt words, Do Ha’s face turned icy.

—I sent a pretty one exactly as you wanted, so set a blind date with ST’s second daughter.

In the end, the image training was just an excuse.

That woman was merely bait sent to turn him into Hanju’s puppet.

And very pretty bait at that.

* * *

Seven months ago, his grandfather, Chairman Cha Ji Seop, had come to America to see him.

[Isn’t it about time you did something as a member of Hanju? How long are you going to waste that brilliant mind?] [Do I look like I’m just playing around? I’m busy too.] [I know what you’re up to. I’m saying use that outstanding talent for Hanju.] [Do I really have to do something like that?]

Use it for Hanju?

As if anyone cared about that garbage.

Do Ha didn’t even bother to scoff.

To such a Do Ha, Chairman Cha added words he knew Do Ha couldn’t refuse.

[Your brother is already doing your share, so shouldn’t you help him?] [I never asked him to.] [That troublesome mess your dead father left behind—In Woo is stepping up to handle it in your place, and you say that?]

This was exactly why he didn’t even want to talk.

By tangling the past and present like this.

So he shot back even more crookedly.

[Am I the only one who should be grateful? The grandson is cleaning up the mess the chairman’s son made, so the chairman should be grateful too.]

For a brief moment, silence fell between them.

But Chairman Cha, showing no emotional turmoil whatsoever, quietly spoke.

[That’s why I… gave the company to In Woo. So you help your brother. That’s what you and I have to do.]

Annoyance surged, but he couldn’t refuse.

[Take the Strategic Planning Headquarters at the main office. We need a thug to wield the blade in place of your soft brother.]

A thug.

It was a modifier that suited him perfectly.

And something he could do better than anyone.

[And one more thing. Lend your fancy face to Hanju. They say a guy like you needs to step forward to change the company’s outdated image.] [You’re asking for a lot. I feel like playing the little brother role is already done just by taking the headquarters.]

But at the next words, even Do Ha had to shut his mouth.

[If you lend your face, I’ll set your mother free.]

He couldn’t find any justification to refuse.

No—this was exactly what he had desperately wanted for the past six years.

[I’ll lend my face. But I won’t take responsibility.]

He accepted, but he had no intention of going along easily.

Above all, he didn’t want to break the position he had worked so hard to build.

[You know, right? That I’m literally a thug. Of course, a slightly different kind of thug from what the chairman wants.]

At his words, Chairman Cha let out a short laugh.

[I know very well. But once you become the face of Hanju, you’ll have to stop acting like a thug.]

Thug Cha Do Ha.

It was an image he had deliberately created over the past six years.

Having established himself as a wastrel of Hanju who lived freely and indulgently enjoying pleasure, he quite liked that position.

At the very least, no one would see that version of him as a blade that could oppose In Woo, Hanju’s successor.

Moreover, that image served as decent camouflage and a sufficient shield for the things he was secretly doing.

So he had to remain a thug from now on too.

A thug who lies around in women’s skirts chasing pleasure.

[Why are you doing this? If you take even that joy away from me, what am I supposed to do?] [Just bring women home.] [Bring women home—are you telling me to get married or something?] [Marry ST’s second daughter.]