Due to Hyun’s unexpected visit to the family home without prior notice, the three family members found themselves sitting face to face after a long time. They were having a light tea, as Hyun insisted he was busy and only wanted to convey a message, despite being invited for a meal.

Suddenly, Hyun’s unexpected statement left CH Group’s CEO Baek Hyun Tae and his wife Mi Hee staring at their son with dumbfounded expressions.

“Marriage?”

“Yes.”

“Weren’t you a confirmed bachelor?”

“No, I’m not.”

Mi Hee had assumed Hyun, who only cared about work, was committed to staying single.

Although he hadn’t declared it himself, he never allowed talks of arranged marriages and didn’t seem to date anyone. She thought he would just grow old as a severe workaholic.

It seemed Hyun Tae shared the same thought, as he now looked at Hyun with a pleased expression, unable to hide his belated relief.

“That’s a good…”

“Don’t tell me, your partner isn’t a man, is it?”

Interrupting Hyun Tae, Mi Hee suspiciously questioned Hyun. Taken aback by the unexpected query, Hyun Tae hastily intervened.

“Dear, Mi Hee. Even if Hyun only cared about work, it couldn’t be that.”

“No, but think about it. He’s never been near women, let alone dated, and now he’s making this declaration.”

Listening impassively to his parents’ bickering, Hyun dispelled their worries with a resolute voice.

“There’s no need for concern.”

Sipping her tea with a slurp, Mi Hee eyed Hyun with narrowed eyes, as if considering various scenarios, and casually threw out a comment.

“Well then, I suppose she’s not from our circles.”

“No way. He should meet someone from a similar background.”

“It’s Jin Yu Ra.”

Before Hyun Tae could finish his unsolicited advice, a name was blurted out. Mi Hee twisted the corner of her mouth as if she had expected this.

“See, Jin Yu… Jin Yu Ra? You mean Yu Geon’s sister?”

“Yes.”

“Jin Hwa Group isn’t bad, I suppose.”

Hyun Tae chimed in, seemingly satisfied, but the unexpected revelation left Mi Hee’s mind in turmoil. Honestly, she was prepared to accept anyone as long as it wasn’t a man or a divorced woman with children.

Since Hyun showed no interest in marriage, she worried about facing her in-laws spending their twilight years in the countryside if the family line were to end. So whether it was a daughter from an unknown family or Jin Yu Ra, it didn’t matter to Mi Hee.

However, this sudden announcement twisted Mi Hee’s mood, and she couldn’t bear the thought of bringing a precious daughter from a good family into a loveless, bleak marriage.

Unable to fathom her inscrutable son’s true feelings, Mi Hee devised a clever plan.

“I’m against it.”

“Huh? You don’t like Jin Hwa Group? I think it’s fine.”

“I don’t like Jin Yu Ra.”

“Why do you think that?”

Hyun, who hadn’t even made eye contact except when greeting upon entering the house, now looked directly at Mi Hee with unwavering eyes. Mi Hee knew that even a child oblivious to inner thoughts could distinguish an unusual expression.

That’s exactly how Hyun looked now. It was a strange expression tinged with displeasure and slight awkwardness. Mi Hee decided to drive the point home by mentioning her first impression of Yu Ra.

“She’s too cold, just like you.”

“She has more warmth than you, Mother.”

“Baek Hyun, don’t be disrespectful to your mother.”

Even the usually gentle Hyun Tae reprimanded him sternly at the sharp retort, noticeably harsher than usual. With this, Mi Hee felt she had somewhat grasped Hyun’s true feelings and curved her lips into an inscrutable smile.

“It seems you didn’t take an interest in her just because she’s your friend’s sister.”

“I’ll take that as your approval and excuse myself.”

Frowning slightly at his mother, who could discern his intentions from a single expression, Hyun bowed his head politely and turned to leave.

Unlike Hyun Tae, who watched his son’s departure with disapproval, Mi Hee muttered with a satisfied look.

“Look at that boy.”

On the day of visiting the practice room, Se Jin was displeased to see Yu Ra arrive accompanied by a driver.

However, knowing that further insistence might backfire due to a previous mistake, he decided to respect her approach for the time being.

Yu Ra sat in the passenger seat, while Se Jin took the back seat as the car started moving. As they left the busy city streets and entered a quieter road, Se Jin, who had been hesitating, carefully spoke up.

“I’m sorry about that day.”

“It’s fine.”

“But…”

Despite Se Jin’s voice trailing off as if he had something more to say, Yu Ra remained unresponsive, staring straight ahead.

Yesterday, upon receiving Se Jin’s practice schedule from his manager, Yu Ra immediately went to see Ji Ho. If she couldn’t stop it herself, she thought to at least enlist Ji Ho’s help.

Fortunately, Ji Ho also opposed Se Jin’s stubborn insistence, and they reached a compromise of having a driver accompany them, though they couldn’t prevent Yu Ra from attending the practice sessions.

Nonetheless, somewhat relieved by Ji Ho’s reasonable choice, Yu Ra addressed Se Jin’s hesitation.

“Please speak freely.”

“Who was that person who came that day?”

At Se Jin’s question, Yu Ra momentarily felt as if she heard the word “darling” echoing like an auditory hallucination. She was irritated that such a term was used, catching her off guard and making her flustered.

Hiding her discomfort, Yu Ra overlaid her voice with a calm tone.

“That was Vice President Baek Hyun of CH Group.”

“Songrim Art Center was a CH affiliate, right?”

“Yes, he often visits to see the CEO.”

“But why did he come to see Team Leader Jin that day?”

Seeing Se Jin asking questions exactly as she had anticipated, Yu Ra suppressed a sneer.

He must have been continually bothered by the term Hyun had carelessly used, given that he was so deluded as to spout nonsense about Yu Ra still having feelings for him.

She had expected him to ask as soon as they met, but it seemed this was the extent of his patience, holding back until now.

Yu Ra delivered her prepared answer without hesitation.

“It’s a personal matter.”

“We’ve arrived.”

Just as Yu Ra finished her response, the driver announced their arrival at the destination. Satisfied with the timely interruption of the conversation, Yu Ra politely greeted the driver.

“Thank you for your hard work. Please wait for us.”

After getting out of the car, Yu Ra nodded towards Se Jin and gestured towards the practice room.

“Well then, shall we go in?”

After questioning about Hyun’s presence, Se Jin kept his mouth firmly shut.

For Yu Ra, this was incredibly convenient as it meant she didn’t have to engage in unnecessary conversation. After surveying the practice room once, Yu Ra placed her laptop on a table by the window.

“I’ll be doing some work here.”

Though the observation was at his request, her action implied that they should each focus on their respective tasks. Se Jin stared briefly at the table where Yu Ra’s fingertips had rested, then silently sat down at the piano and began warming up his hands.

By this point, one might have expected him to add a comment, but his tightly closed lips left an uneasy feeling instead. Thinking that this might be a calculated action, Yu Ra shook off her idle thoughts and turned on her laptop.

Yu Ra was in the process of searching for musicians needed for the vacant period in the second half of the year’s performances.

The musical that had started last year was currently running successfully, and promotions for the family musical aimed at children, scheduled for May, were ongoing.

In between, a classical concert titled “Into the Baroque Era” was also planned. Additionally, various musicals and operas targeting the summer vacation and holiday season were lined up, followed immediately by Oh Se Jin’s performance.

While there was already a mountain of work to prepare for Oh Se Jin’s performance, as a performance planner, Yu Ra also needed to find items for the next show.

Just as she was engrossed in watching a violinist’s performance, she heard a note spilling over from the side where she wasn’t wearing an earphone. Yu Ra paused the violin performance video she was watching and turned her head.

“Am I perhaps disturbing you?”

Yu Ra asked as carefully as possible. Setting aside personal feelings, Se Jin was a performer at Songrim Art Center whom she needed to care for.

She had to pay utmost attention to every aspect for the upcoming performance, with the performer’s condition being the top priority.

Se Jin massaged his fingers a few times before calling out to Yu Ra in a low voice.

“Yu Ra.”

“I would appreciate it if you could address me as Team Leader Jin Yu Ra.”

Yu Ra repeated the same sentence in a mechanical, rigid tone. It was more than once or twice; the repetition of this phrase, which she had grown accustomed to, was irritating.

“Don’t be like that, listen to me…”

Se Jin stood up with a deeply furrowed brow. As Yu Ra flinched reflexively at his movement, a ringtone sounded. Yu Ra showed her phone to him, asking for his understanding.

“Ah, excuse me for a moment.”

Yu Ra turned her gaze away from Se Jin, who seemed to be biting his lips impatiently.

“Yes, this is Jin Yu Ra.”

−You’re not even going to answer your father’s calls!

For a while, she had been lucky to have perfect timing with relief pitchers, but it seemed that luck had run out here.

She had made the mistake of not checking the caller ID, too relieved by the ringtone. Of all people to call at this moment, it had to be her father, Jin Kang Su.

“I’m sorry, but it’s work hours right now…!”

−CH contacted me about meeting. Did you talk about marriage with Baek Hyun?

Yu Ra had tried to use work hours as an excuse, thinking it might be better to deal with Oh Se Jin than her father. However, the name and word that absolutely prevented her from hanging up made Yu Ra furrow her brow.

It had been just a day since they discussed the contract marriage, and she hadn’t even given a clear answer yet. It was absurd that things had already progressed this far. The situation was awkward, making it difficult to deny or confirm.

Although Yu Ra had already made up her mind internally, she was displeased that things had been set in motion without consulting her. Vowing to confront the presumptuous Baek Hyun firmly this time, Yu Ra gave a brief answer.

“Yes.”

−Why didn’t you tell your parents about this, making us lose face!

She thought he would be delighted, but it seemed his own reputation was more important.

When had he ever treated her as an abandoned child, and now he was showing such overflowing interest just because of this wretched marriage issue? It was astonishing. Moreover, Yu Ra felt dejected, wondering if she had ever received this much attention from Jin Kang Su in her life.

“Sigh, I’ll stop by the house after work. I’m at the company.”

−Tsk.

With a still dissatisfied sigh, Kang Su hung up the phone.

Yu Ra felt a headache coming on from the series of unexpected events.

‘Damn that Baek fox. I won’t let this slide.’