“Elder brother?”

Se Jin bit her lip as she watched Yu Geon glaring fiercely while gently placing his hand on Yu Ra’s shoulder.

Since Se Jin had encountered Yu Geon once before parting with Yu Ra, his anger was not particularly surprising.

Even then, Jin Yu Geon had openly expressed his affection for his sister and warned her. And now, as if continuing that warning, Yu Geon’s lips twisted mercilessly.

“This is the last time I’m holding back for Yu Ra’s sake, Oh Se Jin.”

Before Se Jin could make any excuses, Yu Geon grabbed Yu Ra’s hand.

“Let’s go.”

Caught off guard, Yu Ra was led out of the cafe by Yu Geon.

Quite flustered by Yu Geon’s appearance, Yu Ra tensed her hand in his grip as if to block his movement.

“What’s going on?”

Yu Ra had been hiding her existence since turning her back on her father and leaving home.

Yu Geon knew that better than anyone. That’s why he had never visited Yu Ra at the company since she started working at Songlim, nor had he acknowledged her even by chance. So it was strange that he was now acting in a way that would reveal her identity.

“Why does that bastard keep talking nonsense to you?”

“Leave it alone. I’m asking what you’re doing here, elder brother.”

Given how much Yu Geon disliked Oh Se Jin, it was natural for him to approach when he saw them together. However, apart from that, Yu Ra felt uneasy about the fact that this wasn’t a place Yu Geon should be appearing.

There was no particular reason for him to visit Songlim, and this wasn’t on the way to any company connected to Jinhwa Group either.

It was even more puzzling given that this area only had a performance hall, Songlim Art Center, and a few convenience facilities on a large plot of land.

Yu Ra thought about moving elsewhere, considering the employees they might run into, but gave up. Thinking there was no point in hiding anymore with the wedding right around the corner, she stood still in front of Yu Geon’s vehicle.

Yu Geon glanced at the cafe they had just left and let out a low sigh.

“Father won’t ask you to come home anymore.”

Yu Ra felt embarrassed, wondering how he knew that.

She had already confronted her father, and thinking Yu Geon would be upset if he found out, she hadn’t mentioned it. Despite her silence, Yu Geon had found out anyway, and even dealt with the aftermath, which made her feel sorry anew.

“Ah, thank you. For everything.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As Yu Geon ruffled Yu Ra’s hair awkwardly, he recalled Lee Hyun putting his finger to his lips, embarrassedly urging secrecy.

‘Today’s events are a secret.’

Even if Lee Hyun hadn’t asked, Yu Geon had no intention of telling Yu Ra about it. The proud Yu Ra would feel unnecessary guilt over it, and he didn’t want that to become a shackle in her married life.

While Baek Lee Hyun wasn’t petty enough to use such things to gain an advantage, Yu Ra might unconsciously become timid because of it.

No matter how much he liked him as a friend, family was incomparable. Especially when it came to his only sister, Jin Yu Ra.

“The wedding is not far off now.”

“Yeah.”

“I want you to be happy. That’s all I want.”

Yu Ra chuckled at Yu Geon’s sudden words. She knew he wanted her happiness more than anyone. Yu Ra likewise wished for him to be free from their father.

“I know. I hope you become happy soon too, elder brother.”

“I am happy.”

Yu Geon had always been a person satisfied with reality. He tended to be grateful for what he had rather than looking for shortcomings. Their father always disapproved of Yu Geon’s lack of ambition to lead a large company.

However, contrary to his worries, Yu Geon was leading the company well without any problems and was trying to move in the direction their father wanted.

In Yu Ra’s eyes, it suddenly occurred to her that marriage or family might not be part of her brother’s happiness standards, given his contentment with reality.

“Right, marriage isn’t a condition for happiness.”

“That’s not something a bride-to-be should say.”

Yu Ra couldn’t bring herself to say that this marriage wasn’t about becoming happy. Strictly speaking, that contract was between her and Baek Lee Hyun alone, and it had to remain absolutely secret. If Yu Geon knew about this, he would never allow it.

While she couldn’t tell the truth, Yu Ra had no choice.

If Baek Lee Hyun hadn’t proposed a contract marriage, she would have eventually been dragged by her father to marry Dongho Industry’s eldest son. Or worse, an unwanted mud-slinging fight with Oh Se Jin might have happened first.

This marriage was inevitable, if only to prevent all of that in advance.

“Have you finished all the preparations? What about the newlywed home?”

“We decided to start at the house where Lee Hyun elder brother is staying, so there’s not much for me to do.”

“I heard he’s doing some construction work.”

“Right. I don’t know why he’s doing such extensive work.”

Yu Ra recalled when Lee Hyun had asked about necessary parts, saying he was renovating the villa. She thought it unnecessary to do renovations, but agreed when he said the study should be the largest room, given that they both loved work.

But when she briefly visited the villa midway through, she was taken aback.

The villa renovations were focused on two main areas. One was the study as planned, and the other was the bedroom.

Since it was a contract marriage with divorce in mind after two years, she naturally thought they would use separate rooms, but surprisingly, there was only one bedroom.

When she urgently demanded an explanation, she had no rebuttal to his point that it would seem strange to use separate rooms if family members visited.

The only consolation was that there would be separate dressing rooms and bathrooms on either side of the bedroom. She decided to endure the discomfort, relieved that at least she wouldn’t have to face the embarrassing situation of showering and changing clothes in front of Lee Hyun.

“What else did Oh Se Jin say earlier?”

Yu Ra, lost in thoughts about the construction, glanced at the cafe briefly at Yu Geon’s voice, still tinged with displeasure.

“Just more crazy talk, I guess.”

In fact, there wasn’t anything more. Yu Geon had appeared just as they were starting to talk, so what he heard was the entirety of the conversation. But it wasn’t entirely wrong to say he had been spouting nonsense all along.

“I should have gotten rid of that bastard.”

Seeing Yu Geon gritting his teeth, Yu Ra spoke to calm him down.

“Once this performance is over, I won’t have to see him again.”

“If anything happens, make sure to tell me. Got it?”

Yu Ra smiled faintly and nodded at the same words as last time.

“Yes, yes. I need to go back in now. You should get going too, elder brother.”

“Alright, take care.”

Yu Ra waved to Yu Geon and turned around.

Yu Ra’s face was flushed red as she hurried back to the company, as if fleeing. The kiss with Lee Hyun, which she had completely forgotten due to Oh Se Jin and Yu Geon’s appearance, came flooding back at Yu Geon’s words “if anything happens.”

After Lee Hyun had left, saying he’d dropped by briefly, Yu Ra couldn’t focus on her work.

Her heart was pounding so wildly it felt strange, whether from shock at seeing a completely different side of Baek Lee Hyun than usual, or from the sudden kiss.

It was the first time Yu Ra had felt such a thrilling shiver from a kiss. The feeling of heat rushing somewhere in her body and not knowing where to put her hands made her feel as awkward as a teenage girl.

It wasn’t even her first kiss, so why did it feel different with Baek Lee Hyun? Not knowing the reason made her chest feel tight.

Just when she thought she was finally okay, having that embarrassing moment come to mind in front of Yu Geon made her feel like she had done something wrong.

As she turned away as if fleeing, that moment became even clearer, and her heart started racing again.

It felt like something had gone seriously wrong.

On the wedding day.

Yu Ra looked down at the lily of the valley bouquet, a symbol of purity, imported from overseas.

Her eyes, focused on the bouquet, were unfocused from fatigue, unable to even smell the flower’s fragrance. As she slightly furrowed her brow, fighting the urge to rub her dry eyes, the door to the bridal waiting room opened and her team members began to peek in one by one.

“Wow, Team Leader! You look so beautiful.”

“Thank you, Ji Hye.”

Yu Ra smiled awkwardly at Ji Hye’s excited exclamation.

“I knew Team Leader was pretty, but seeing you like this, your beauty is really bursting out.”

“You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

Yu Ra gently rolled her eyes at her team members, feeling embarrassed.

“Aren’t you all exaggerating too much?”

“Come on, you know we’re not the type to just say empty words.”

Yu Ra blushed at her team members’ compliments, saying she didn’t know how to react. She had always thought compliments about her looks were just formalities, but today they felt strangely embarrassing.

“Oh, I still can’t believe it. Team Leader marrying Vice President Baek.”

“I find it even harder to believe that Team Leader is the second daughter of Jinhwa Group.”

Yu Ra hadn’t expected her family background to be a bigger issue than the marriage. She would have told the truth if any team member had asked, even though she wanted to keep it secret. She just hadn’t mentioned it because no one had asked.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my family background earlier.”

Yu Ra smiled softly, trying to soothe her disappointed team members.

“No, it’s fine. It’s a hundred times better than those people who go around saying ‘Do you know who my father is?'”

“That’s right.”

Yu Ra was grateful to her colleagues for not prying into why she had kept it a secret.

She had been worried because she didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t want to coldly cut off longtime coworkers by strictly separating work and personal life. Although she was finally relieved now, she still felt apologetic.

“I’m sorry for getting married at such a busy time.”

“If you think like that, you’ll never get married. This industry is always busy.”

“Thank you, Manager Jung. And everyone else too.”

In the midst of the cheerful atmosphere, photo-taking continued. As they took pictures separately and together, exchanging small talk about sending the photos to each other, there was a short knock and Lee Hyun entered.

“Excuse me.”

In an instant, the team members froze as if turned to ice. Breaking the silence so quiet that not even breathing could be heard, Manager Jung gathered her courage.

“Ah, hello?”

“I’ll arrange a dinner for everyone soon.”

“No, please don’t worry about it. Please, speak comfortably.”

The hesitant team members followed Manager Jung and filed out of the bridal waiting room in unison. Yu Ra watched Lee Hyun bow politely to them.

Lee Hyun usually had a cold impression, but when he smiled gently like now, he was as beautiful as a sculpture. Yet people didn’t dare to look at Lee Hyun like this.

It was because his position intimidated people, and moreover, he always showed only an icy demeanor. Yu Ra felt sorry that he didn’t often reveal his human side, like just now.

Alone in the bridal waiting room.

Whenever Yu Ra thought of Lee Hyun, the moment of their kiss would come to mind, making her flustered.

But now, left alone with him in this confined space, her body tensed up involuntarily. Yu Ra tried hard not to recall that memory, filling her mind with thoughts about work instead.

While Yu Ra was mulling over the videos she had watched until her eyes hurt, and the contracts and proposals she had checked for days and nights, Lee Hyun’s voice brushed her ear.

“Are you nervous?”