It was a place Da Jung had never dared to come.

A place where she wasn’t curious about what was being sold. A place she had never properly looked at.

The man who entered as if familiar and walked as if it were his own home casually ordered and carelessly took off his watch. Each of his actions flowed naturally. His movements were concise yet dignified.

He was like a sculpture. Da Jung felt self-conscious about the sneakers she had hastily put on in the morning.

That’s right. Rather than liking it, she felt self-conscious. There was no one who looked shabbier than Yoon Da Jung here. And no one who shone brighter than Lee Jae Ho.

The man scooped some salad onto Da Jung’s side plate.

“Do you remember that day? The day we ate kalguksu.”

Da Jung didn’t answer.

“You put some kalguksu on my side plate, didn’t you? I was happy then.”

She silently looked at the plate piled high with salad.

“So I’m returning the favor. I hope Yoon Da Jung will be happy too.”

After saying absurd things about not being able to end it, he suddenly changed when the food arrived as if nothing had happened. Da Jung couldn’t even laugh out of disbelief. To compare kalguksu with this. The kalguksu was only 8,000 won. The food here would be much more expensive than 80,000 won.

“I don’t want to eat.”

If he really wanted to repay the 8,000 won kalguksu, she wished it would be returned with something worth exactly 8,000 won. By this point, she wondered if the man was doing this on purpose. Did he want to punish her for leaving without a word in this way?

“You must be hungry.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’ve been hardly eating.”

Da Jung’s eyes widened.

“How did you kn……”

“Don’t make me force-feed you.”

At that moment, the steak arrived. An appetizing plate was placed on the table where the conversation had momentarily paused.

“Da Jung. This is what I wanted to do with you.”

The man whispered as he cut the meat with familiar movements.

Da Jung.

That form of address that sounded like a musical note scratched at her heart. Come to think of it, he had never called her that in the countryside. He had always said “Yoon Da Jung”…

She wanted to point out the strangely familiar form of address as well.

“I’ll take you to nice places, feed you good things, and show you only good things.”

“I’m not eat……”

“If you don’t eat this, you can’t leave here.”

Jae Ho’s brow furrowed deeply as he spoke firmly while slicing the meat.

He placed the plate of sliced steak in front of Da Jung. She looked alternately at the plate and then at Jae Ho.

“Why are you making me speak like this?”

“……”

“Tenderloin. You like it, don’t you? It should taste good.”

“Jae Ho.”

“Enough.”

Jae Ho’s face hardened coldly as he sliced the steak in front of him somewhat irritably.

“One week. I gave you one week. Time for you to return to work. Time for me to miss you enough. You know I can’t forget easily, don’t you?”

“…No. I’ve already made up my mind……”

The knife finally dropped from the man’s hand. He straightened his back and sat up straight, looking into Da Jung’s eyes with a self-deprecating smile.

Ha.

His gaze looking down obliquely was fierce.

“Da Jung. Da Jung. Yoon Da Jung.”

“……”

“How can I break up with you?”

He stroked his chin once and exhaled a short sigh. Then he picked up the knife again. A soft classical melody coming from afar awkwardly lingered.

“Eat. Let’s eat.”

He looked like a teenage boy who didn’t know what to do. When Da Jung reluctantly picked up her fork, yielding to his gaze, he moved his knife again.

“We’ll stop by the cafe downstairs too. I heard they’re good at chocolate cake or something. You like chocolate, don’t you?”

Had she ever said such a thing?

She had only liked chocolate briefly when she was very young. Da Jung disliked sweet things.

It was because she kept thinking of her elder brother’s face, who used to nag about how harmful foods with high sugar content like chocolate were for teenage students.

But today, it seemed like nothing she said would make a difference, so she just kept her mouth shut.

**

And he really went to the cafe and ordered chocolate cake. Along with expensive coffee.

“I’ll come pick you up tomorrow too.”

No. Don’t come. It’s over.

These were statements Da Jung had already used once each five minutes ago. She had no idea how to make him stop at this point. So for now, she lied.

“It’s no use. I have night duty.”

“You’ve gotten much better at lying. I already have Yoon Da Jung’s schedule in my hands.”

“How did you…!”

“There’s not much I don’t know about Yoon Da Jung.”

Da Jung bit her lip.

“And I don’t particularly want to hide the fact that I know a lot.”

Does he really know everything? Maybe he does. He probably knew beforehand that Yoon Da Jung was Lee Jae Ho’s devoted fan, a fan cafe administrator, and was preparing for a month-long trip.

From the beginning.

Like a well-written script, he intentionally stole my heart while pretending it was a coincidence.

“I’m curious about something.”

Da Jung opened her mouth.

“I’d like you to answer.”

Jae Ho nodded slightly as he brought the coffee cup to his lips.

“Did you know me from before?”

The man froze for a moment while holding the coffee cup, then put it down nonchalantly.

“Before, when?”

“Just. Before we met at the pension, even earlier than that.”

The man’s eyes flickered with a long thought as he crossed his legs leisurely and looked out the window.

“No.”

Lie.

“We just met by fate, didn’t we?”

**

Oh Chae Won visited her family home after a long time.

Oh Seok Tae, the CEO of Samhu Corporation, who was about to start eating at the dining table, looked his first daughter up and down and clicked his tongue.

“As expected of an entertainer. What kind of appearance is that?”

“Dear, why are you like that to a child who came after a long time? She’s just pretty. All young people dress like this these days, what’s the problem?”

Kim Sung Sook defended her daughter.

It was the timing when a round of nagging was about to start, saying that the child was living recklessly and forgetting her duty because you always protect her like that. The repertoire was exactly the same every time, without missing a single syllable. Oh Chae Won glared at Oh Seok Tae noticeably and then plopped down at the table.

“Ahjumma, give me food too.”

“Yes, young lady.”

A soft egg soup with persimmon was placed. She hadn’t been very hungry, but seeing the home-cooked meal made her feel hungry. Oh Chae Won put aside her calorie worries for a moment and picked up her spoon.

“Oh Chae Eun. Oh Chae Young. What about them?”

“They both said they had plans.”

Oh Seok Tae suddenly criticized.

“You should know that your sisters are much better than you. Especially Chae Young, she’s been studying management so diligently these days, I was so pleased I bought her a car.”

Oh Chae Won openly mocked.

“Dad. Tell Oh Chae Young to stop going around bragging that she’s my sister. I’m really annoyed by all kinds of losers clinging to her, saying they’re Chae Young’s acquaintances.”

“You, you little…!”

Oh Chae Won coldly said to Oh Seok Tae, who raised his arm as if to strike.

“I want to marry the heir of Taemyung Group, Dad.”

“W-what did you say?”

Oh Seok Tae, who had frozen with his hand raised, gaped.

“So help me out a bit.”

Oh Seok Tae, who had quietly lowered his arm, stared intently at Oh Chae Won. Oh Chae Won calmly met his gaze and silently ate her food. The soup, which had cooled to just the right temperature, was perfectly seasoned. Later, she even picked up the bowl and slurped it down.

“Have you become interested in management?”

Oh Seok Tae’s mouth finally opened after a long while.

“No.”

“Then why?”

“Hmm. Because I’ve become interested in that man?”

A flash of excitement crossed Oh Seok Tae’s face.

“You, do you know who the Taemyung heir is?”

“…Yes.”

Oh Seok Tae’s eyes narrowed like a snake’s.

“How did you… That’s the most top secret information Taemyung is hiding. There’s probably no business owner with a daughter who hasn’t tried to dig that up.”

Oh Chae Won grinned.

Of course they couldn’t find out. Because the range of thoughts business tycoons could have was predictable. They probably just searched through prestigious universities, law schools, or the most valuable rising companies among Taemyung’s affiliates and subsidiaries.

They would have expected him to be hiding somewhere, continuing his management activities.

Someone even made the absurd guess that one of the handsome new employees who entered Taemyung Insurance as an entry-level worker might be the heir. Saying he might be trying to start from the very bottom.

They were all wrong. The Taemyung heir had simply turned his back on everything and was acting.

Lee Hun Tae was old, and Lee Jin Hyuk was eyeing the position like a hyena, so Oh Chae Won thought now was the time for Lee Jae Ho to make his move secretly. Oh Chae Won had no intention of missing this opportunity.

“I know who it is, but I can’t tell you yet, Dad.”

“Then how can I help you?”

Oh Seok Tae leaned his upper body towards Oh Chae Won as he spoke.

“For now, Dad. Give Taemyung a big help without any conditions. An investment would be good, or you could give up the Jeju Island golf club project to Taemyung.”

“How can I give up a project I worked so hard to get?”

Oh Seok Tae changed his expression.

“It’s Samhu Corporation’s biggest project for the first half of next year. I absolutely can’t do that. You want me to just hand over a project I barely won after fending off the persistent Taemyung Construction?”

Oh Seok Tae frowned, seemingly recalling the recent bidding process where they had competed as fierce rivals. It was a so-called life-or-death contract battle. They won in the end, but a considerable amount of money and energy was spent in the process.

Oh Chae Won quietly put down her empty rice bowl and said,

“…What if I become a daughter-in-law of the Taemyung family in return?”

For a moment, silence fell over the dining table.

“Look at the bigger picture, Dad.”

“How can I trust you?”

Oh Seok Tae spoke coldly, revealing his disappointment in his eldest daughter. The disappointment when the daughter he had raised as an elite, pouring in the most money, declared that she would become a mere entertainer was not easily forgotten.

“How can I believe that the person you claim to have found out is really the Taemyung heir?”

Oh Seok Tae kept his guard up, his eyes glinting like a snake’s. As befitting a CEO who leads the group with quick wit and keen observation, he didn’t let anything slide easily.

“I also question whether it necessarily has to be you.”

He said as he put down his spoon.

“I have three daughters, and two of them listen to me very well.”

Oh Chae Won openly sneered.

“But I’m the most famous and pretty among them, aren’t I?”

Oh Seok Tae was at a loss for words for a moment.

“I get more marriage proposals than those two daughters you say listen so well, even though I don’t do any management and barely have any shares. Why do you think that is?”

“……”

“Because men prefer pretty women over smart women. Don’t they?”

Oh Chae Won drove the point home.

“It has to be me for that man. We’re already quite close, you know.”

Oh Seok Tae’s eyes flashed at the word ‘close’.

“Stay overnight today. Let’s talk more in the study.”