Ugh,

A grapefruit-flavored drink filled with ice was offered to Jung Soon, who had hastily ended her call with her granddaughter.

As the sweet and sour liquid went down her throat, her nervous sweat cooled a bit.

“Even the mighty Chairwoman Bae Jung Soon has something to fear, hmm?”

The elderly gentleman wearing a white fedora smiled gently.

His wrinkled eyes briefly rested on her face before moving to the lunchbox on the table, accompanied by a gruff tone.

“How many parents aren’t afraid of their own children?”

Kang Cha Dol, who had suggested they have breakfast together, visited Jung Soon’s office carrying a three-tiered picnic lunchbox.

Chairman Kang Cha Dol, Kang Jae Kyung’s grandfather and head of the Samyeong Group, is an influential businessman who controls the domestic economy, but to Bae Jung Soon, he was just an old phone peddler.

It had been that way since Samyeong Group was Samyeong Electronics, so there was no reason to call him differently now.

As Bae Jung Soon showed interest in the lunchbox, Cha Dol diligently separated it and spread it out on the table.

The first compartment contained neatly arranged three-color namul seasoned simply, while rolled eggs and pink sausages filled the second compartment without gaps.

The fluffy bean sprout rice was perfectly moistened with seasoned soy sauce sprinkled with finely chopped green onions.

“Your hands are quite deft.”

“Hehe. You think so? I wonder if it’ll suit your taste.”

Chairman Kang, who had done everything from seasoning the namul, rolling the eggs, washing the bean sprouts, and cooking the rice in the pot with his own hands, handed Jung Soon lacquered wooden chopsticks.

Jung Soon’s eyebrows slowly raised as she took a bite of her favorite pink sausage, unchanged at the age of eighty.

Though it tasted like mass-produced food from a large company, the evenly cut shape and neatly applied egg wash showed skills that weren’t amateur.

As her chopsticks moved to the seasoned bellflower root, Cha Dol mixed the bean sprout rice.

His strong jawline relaxed as he watched her face savoring his food with satisfaction.

After swallowing her mouthful cleanly, Chairwoman Bae got to the essence of the breakfast meeting.

“Kang Jae Kyung. His reason for setting his sights on our Da Hae probably isn’t love at first sight.”

“Ah, who can understand the minds of young people these days.”

“Not his father, but his grandfather. The reason you came here with a handmade lunchbox is just because of your grandson’s marriage?”

Her sharp wrinkled eyes watched for changes in Kang Cha Dol’s expression.

After scooping some evenly mixed bean sprout rice into a container and placing it in front of Jung Soon, Cha Dol raised both arms above his head to make a circle.

It was a gesture of affirmation.

Heng! Bae Jung Soon snorted, but Kang Cha Dol still smiled good-naturedly. It was as difficult to read his true intentions as it was with Kang Jae Kyung.

Figuring it would be hard to hear his real thoughts, Jung Soon just continued eating her rice.

The day after the K-club banquet, Kang Jae Kyung came to visit, introducing himself as the grandson of Chairman Kang of the Samyeong Group.

As he was someone she had been keeping an eye on, Chairwoman Bae already knew a fair bit about him.

His unusual family background, his achievement of raising Samyeong Entertainment from a neglected entity to the top of the industry. Even his sociable yet not frivolous conduct.

The reason she didn’t immediately call for guards during the commotion at the banquet was because Kang Jae Kyung’s actions were worth observing.

She was quite pleased with his gallant demeanor as he protected her granddaughter like a prince on a white horse.

When she pretended not to know and greeted him, the fellow bowed politely and presented a yellow envelope.

It was a handwritten resume detailing his background from birth to the present.

The reason for his action was to ask for a chance to meet her granddaughter.

He even showed a bit of aegyo, saying that if her granddaughter approved of him, he hoped the chairwoman would look upon him favorably too.

He was already a person of interest, and now he came proactively and acted so amiably – how could she not find him endearing? The potential couple would make quite a striking pair visually as well.

That’s why she pushed forward with the matchmaking that she had planned to pause due to the incident with Kim Chang Sik.

It’s also why she didn’t look into other candidates after Kang Jae Kyung.

She decided to wait and see, since he said he would do his best to win over her stubborn granddaughter. Even so, a doubt arose in one corner of Madam Bae Jung Soon’s heart.

If it wasn’t for wealth or ambition, then it must be pure feelings. But does he know anything about Da Hae to have such genuine emotions without any selfish desires or ill intentions?

As far as she knew, he didn’t. There wasn’t even any point of contact between them.

Nevertheless, she was willing to pretend to be fooled if he could just win her granddaughter’s heart. In fact, she was closer to cheering him on.

She didn’t have much time left.

Although Da Hae told her not to say such things, how could a mere mortal live for thousands of years? So she wanted to create a guardian to replace her while time still allowed.

However, it was no easy task to find a match for a granddaughter who didn’t let anyone close.

It was more than just a long-cherished project; it was even more of a headache than business.

No matter who she brought, they couldn’t stick around and fell away like autumn leaves.

So when a suitable candidate boldly came forward, how could she not be pleased?

She was willing to help if it meant filling the void by her granddaughter’s side as soon as possible.

Even if what she could do would be small and insignificant.

“Our Jae Kyung, you see, Chairwoman.”

The gentle baritone broke Jung Soon’s reverie. Her eyes turned to Chairman Kang’s worried face.

“He’s truly a pitiful child. Please, just understand that much.”

So that’s what he came to plead for. Worried that his son, who couldn’t tell up from down while buried in his daughter-in-law’s skirts, might ruin his grandson’s future too.

What a pitiful old man.

“Is there any household in this world without its own story?”

Rinsing her mouth with the now watery grapefruit drink as the ice had melted, Chairwoman Bae Jung Soon rose to her feet, steadying herself with her hands on her knees.

The white fedora lifted its brim along with her. The shadow it cast over his eyes brightened.

“If the two of them are happy together, I have no intention of opposing. Just leave them be.”

* * *

Team Leader Kye Da Hae’s office.

The man and woman sitting across from each other at the round table looked at what was spread out on the table instead of conversing.

Until she saw it with her own eyes, she had thought the man’s words about ‘making’ sandwiches were just a mispronunciation of ‘buying’ them.

“……”

“……”

Da Hae rubbed her warm forehead. A sigh escaped involuntarily.

“……Haah.”

“You don’t like it?”

The concerned voice was quite serious.

Between slices of golden-brown toasted bread were neatly spread strawberry jam and yellow cheddar cheese cut at perfect angles.

The egg pancake mixed with green onions and onions came in two versions – a spicy one with green chili peppers and a mild one with mushrooms.

Plump strawberries with water droplets beading on them had their stems neatly trimmed.

Everything neatly arranged in the stainless steel containers was said to be made by Kang Jae Kyung.

Perhaps influenced by Kang Cha Dol, the men in that family seemed to have good cooking skills.

He even said he made the dark red strawberry jam himself, going on about sugar and heat, and brought it separately in a bulging glass jar.

Da Hae, attacked by the cute display, asked with a somewhat softened expression.

“Why are you doing this? Are you trying to appeal that you’re such a domestic man or something?”

“Did it work?”

The man with no sense of impact smiled, stretching his lips.

“Haah… Mr. Kang Jae Kyung, I…”

“I’m not suggesting we live a married life. Just that we become a married couple.”

Cutting off her words, Jae Kyung placed his interlocked hands on his knees.

As his upper body lowered, their gazes aligned and locked firmly.

“We just need to act as a legal couple for external activities. We can live separately if you want.”

“What if we get caught?”

“That won’t happen until we both get what we want.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“For now, I only have confidence. I plan to build up evidence as we go.”

“Ha. How can you be so…”

“Reckless?”

Jae Kyung finished Da Hae’s intended words and smiled, crinkling the corners of his eyes.

“While we’re a couple, I intend to accommodate all of Kye Da Hae’s conveniences.”

“All?”

“Anything.”

Anything, huh. Da Hae tapped her chin with one arm propped up, then nodded as if thinking it might be worth a try.

She still thought Kang Jae Kyung’s plan was nonsensical. But even knowing this, her rational judgment was gradually blurring.

As he said, it was just sharing a family register between trustworthy people. If she had no plans for marriage in the future anyway, what did it matter if her family register got a little messy?

If she could be reckless and indulgent just this once, she could end the tiresome matchmaking and be freed from various events.

He said he would grant a divorce when she wanted, so maintaining it for about a year before ending it seemed appropriate.

Like everyone else does, citing something like personality differences.

As Da Hae was calmly organizing her thoughts, she brought up an issue that suddenly crossed her mind.

“You said you had a woman problem.”

The reason Kang Jae Kyung needed marriage.

Inheritance and a woman problem.

She didn’t know why marriage was a condition for inheritance, but that was likely a Kang family matter, so it wasn’t something to worry about much. But the woman problem needed to be addressed.

“Does she know about this situation?”

The question was based on the premise that there was a woman he was seeing.

No matter how tired she was of Chairwoman Bae’s pressure, she didn’t want freedom badly enough to steal another woman’s man.

“If marriage is a condition for inheritance, couldn’t you just marry her?”

Kang Jae Kyung, who had been silent, hesitated for a moment. A strange crease appeared on his forehead.

“That’s impossible. She’s considerably older, for one thing.”

“No thought of challenging the impossible?”

No answer came. He just furrowed his handsome face a bit more.

What could make a relationship between a man and woman impossible? How much of an age gap would be considered ‘considerable’?

Most likely it’s opposition from the family, right? So is he planning to secure a hefty inheritance before returning to that older woman?

Nothing was clear. The man with a snake’s tongue cleverly evaded the core issues like a loach.

“It’s not a typical man-woman relationship, so you don’t need to worry about any unfortunate incidents.”

If it’s not a typical relationship, isn’t that exactly what Kye Da Hae and Kang Jae Kyung are trying to do? As she just stared at him with a blank face, the man shrugged his shoulders.

“No need to complicate things in advance, right?”