The streets adorned with large decorated Christmas trees and carols playing were filled with a festive atmosphere.

Seeing that sight, Hee Won felt her heart swell with emotion.

To Hee Won, the incident with Choo Hyun Jung felt like a dream.

In the past, after being abused by Choo Hyun Jung, all she could do was hold her breath in a place that could hardly be called a room.

But today was different.

There was someone to take her hand and bring her out.

She no longer had to cower in a dark corner.

“Drink this.”

Kang Woo handed Hee Won a warm coffee.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

As Hee Won took the coffee, Kang Woo sat down beside her.

“Aren’t you cold? The winter evening river breeze seems too harsh.”

“I’m fine.”

“If you catch a cold, only Seong Hee Won will suffer. Put this on.”

Kang Woo took off the coat he was wearing and draped it over Hee Won’s shoulders.

“But Cha Kang Woo, you’ll be cold too.”

Hee Won tried to take off the coat, politely declining. But Kang Woo put it back on her, saying in a firm voice:

“I’m someone who’s never caught a cold before. So wear it.”

After saying that, Kang Woo even helped Hee Won put her arms through the sleeves of his coat.

When Hee Won wore his long coat, it came down to her calves.

Seeing this, Kang Woo smirked and said:

“You look cute.”

At Kang Woo’s compliment, Hee Won’s face turned bright red.

Her heart fluttered seeing this side of Kang Woo, different from his initially cold first impression.

He was clearly unaware of his own actions.

Since he had firmly stated it was a contract marriage, Hee Won thought their relationship would remain indifferent even after becoming husband and wife.

But contrary to expectations, Kang Woo was affectionate, and his affection even led to misunderstandings.

Don’t misunderstand. It’s not real.

Somehow, her heart sank.

Hee Won tightly gripped the sleeve of the coat Kang Woo had put on her.

The next day.

−Come out to the front of the house in 30 minutes.

After receiving Kang Woo’s message, Hee Won began preparing to go out. Today was a scheduled outing with him.

While she was in the midst of getting ready, Seong Yu Na barged into the room and shouted:

“Hey, Seong Hee Won.”

“What?”

“Let’s talk.”

Yu Na sat on the bed, crossed her arms, and glared at Hee Won who was seated at the vanity.

“I need to go out.”

Hee Won said without looking at Yu Na.

“What?”

Seemingly displeased with the response, Seong Yu Na’s face crumpled.

Hee Won was in a hurry.

Although they would be a contract couple, she wanted to make a good impression on Kang Woo, and she felt pressed for time to do her makeup and choose an outfit.

“Are you really going through with this marriage?”

Seong Yu Na asked. Hee Won was dumbfounded by the question that didn’t seem like a question.

As expected, it didn’t seem like she would leave quietly today either. Hee Won put down the compact she was holding, turned around to face Seong Yu Na, and asked:

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m asking if you’re really going through with this marriage.”

“It’s already been decided.”

“Don’t marry him.”

“What?”

Seong Yu Na was always unreasonable.

Just a few days ago, she had been mocking Kang Woo and her. But ever since seeing Kang Woo’s face that day, Seong Yu Na’s attitude had completely changed.

It was as if she believed Kang Woo’s place had always been hers, and that Hee Won had usurped that position.

“Do you even realize what you’re saying?”

Hee Won thought Seong Yu Na had gone mad.

She knew Yu Na was immature and irresponsible, but she didn’t expect it to be to this extent.

“Tell that man you won’t marry him.”

This was precisely the moment when something wasn’t worth responding to.

Hee Won turned back around.

Enraged by her attitude, Seong Yu Na jumped up and shouted:

“Answer me! It’s not like you’ve walked down the aisle yet.”

In the past, Hee Won would have shrunk back, intimidated by Seong Yu Na’s behavior.

Seong Yu Na, like Choo Hyun Jung, enjoyed stepping on her. She always seemed to smile, as if deriving pleasure from seeing Hee Won tremble before her.

Hee Won’s mind became cold and clear.

Things were different now. She would be leaving this house anyway, and more than anything, the very fact that Kang Woo existed made her feel strangely reassured.

Even if they were bound by a contract marriage, Kang Woo had said he would protect her.

“Don’t you remember telling me that Cha Kang Woo’s face was so ugly you couldn’t bear to look at it, and that his legs were crooked? You said he was a man who changed women daily and acted cocky without knowing his place.”

“…That, that was…”

“Moreover, you said money was all that mattered. You told me I should be grateful just to be called ‘madam’ despite my status. You mocked Kang Woo, saying you wouldn’t marry him even if he offered 10 billion won.”

Seong Yu Na’s face turned pale blue. She couldn’t refute. These were all things she had said herself.

Seeing Seong Yu Na squirming before her, Hee Won felt a strange sense of satisfaction in her heart.

“I, I, I didn’t know Cha Kang Woo was that kind of man back then!”

Seong Yu Na’s answer was that it was because of his appearance.

“No, that’s how the rumors went. I just relayed those rumors to you.”

Seong Yu Na spoke as if she were innocent.

But Hee Won remembered every word Seong Yu Na had said.

“Remember what your friend told you about Kang Woo, saying it was just for you to know?”

“What, what about it?”

Seong Yu Na only rolled her eyes at Hee Won’s words.

She stammered as she asked back.

Perhaps she wouldn’t remember.

The perpetrator might forget, but the victim always remembers.

“You said Kang Woo had a pot belly and looked like a middle-aged man in his 40s. You said it was fortunate I wasn’t marrying that crazy loser.”

Seong Yu Na pressed her lips tightly, her face pale as if the memory had returned.

“And it’s already been decided between our parents. Even the wedding date has been set. He’s going to be your brother-in-law.”

“No? I won’t call Cha Kang Woo brother-in-law. I told you, he’s my type!”

“I need to go.”

“You knew, didn’t you? That Cha Kang Woo was that kind of man.”

Seong Yu Na grabbed Hee Won’s shoulders forcefully and shook her.

“I don’t know. How would I know?”

“No, you knew. That’s why you readily accepted father’s proposal for marriage, right?”

Seong Yu Na’s eyes were filled with a manic gleam, having lost all reason.

“Let go. I need to leave.”

“Hey! Are you not going to answer me properly? You made a fool out of me and my mom, right? You knew all along, didn’t you?”

Hee Won pushed Seong Yu Na away with all her strength.

Seeing Hee Won, who had always been submissive, fight back, a momentary look of surprise crossed Seong Yu Na’s face. But it was only for an instant.

“Did you just push me?”

Seong Yu Na was furious that Hee Won had used violence against her. She strode towards Hee Won with tremendous force and shoved her chest with all her might.

The impact sent Hee Won tumbling onto the bed.

Hee Won winced in pain, feeling the ache in her chest where she had been pushed.

Seong Yu Na glared down at Hee Won, panting as she spoke:

“If you say with your own mouth that you won’t marry him, I have no choice. I’ll tell father everything. That I’ll be the one to marry him.”

The words that came out of Seong Yu Na’s mouth were utterly absurd.

That the reason for her sudden obsession with her sister’s future husband was simply his appearance.

Seong Yu Na had always harbored a terrible inferiority complex towards Hee Won. It wasn’t so much because her mother was the second wife, but because Hee Won possessed things that she did not.

Natural beauty, personality, and even intelligence.

No matter how much she dressed up or wore expensive clothes, she wasn’t as pretty as Hee Won in a 20,000 won outfit.

Even with Choo Hyun Jung hiring top university students as tutors and sending her to intensive lectures, she couldn’t surpass Hee Won’s grades, who only studied at school and still ranked in the top 5 of her class.

Wherever they went, people’s gazes were drawn to Hee Won.

That’s why she wanted to make Chairman Seong her ally even more. Seong Yu Na had won the love of her stepfather, Seong Hyun Je.

“Do you think that’s possible?”

At the mention of Chairman Seong, Seong Yu Na became arrogant again.

While Seong Hyun Je was a harsh man to Hee Won, to Seong Yu Na he was like a fairy godfather who granted her every wish.

“Do you think father will take your side, Seong Hee Won, or mine?”

“…”

“Listen. What LS wanted was an engagement with Jinsung Foods, not a marriage with you specifically.”

Hee Won turned pale at Seong Yu Na’s words.

“Think about it. Then it doesn’t matter if it’s me instead of you, right?”

Her heart sank.

As Seong Yu Na said, there was no reason why she specifically had to be the one for this marriage.

“That, that can’t be. Marriage isn’t a game…”

Seong Yu Na crossed her arms and looked at Hee Won with a smirk.

“We’ll see about that.”

“Seong Yu Na!”

“Enjoy that position while you can. Today.”

As Seong Yu Na turned away, Hee Won’s mind went blank. All she could think about was that she had to stop Seong Yu Na somehow.

“Wait!”

Hee Won grabbed Seong Yu Na.

“Let go.”

But Seong Yu Na forcefully shook off Hee Won’s arm that was holding her.

“Ah.”

A bright red scratch appeared on Hee Won’s face, cut by the ring Seong Yu Na was wearing. Droplets of blood seeped through the wound.

As Hee Won winced from the stinging pain, Seong Yu Na smiled leisurely instead.

“Try to cover it well with makeup.”

Seong Yu Na didn’t flinch at the sight of Hee Won’s injury. Rather, she seemed to fill her sense of inferiority by seeing the wound she had inflicted on Hee Won’s body.

Every time this happened, Hee Won felt like crying.

Why wouldn’t they leave her alone, what had she done so wrong?

This wretched family had never once treated her like a person.

Seong Yu Na had always tried to take everything she had.

Now even Kang Woo.

This marriage was the one thing she absolutely couldn’t let be taken away.