“A sigh… right?”

The man wearing a glamorous fur coat drew closer step by step.

Ji Wan, who had unconsciously let out an exclamation, looked at him in startled surprise.

The subtle atmosphere created by smoothly upturned eyes and curved lips.

As she stared quietly, she felt like she had seen him somewhere before.

But before she could ponder where she had seen him, the unsettling aura emanating from the man made Ji Wan feel rushed.

“Excuse me? Me?”

“Yes, who else is here besides you?”

“But I didn’t say anything?”

Ji Wan took a step back and feigned innocence.

The man stared at Ji Wan with an even sharper gaze and retorted.

“Oh my, oh my, you did.”

“You heard it?”

“I heard it.”

Damn. Even having too clear a voice is a sin.

While Ji Wan was contemplating an excuse to overcome the crisis, Hwa Young approached her.

His striking features up close made Ji Wan shrink back even more.

“What exactly is so bad about it?”

The man asked.

Ji Wan swallowed hard and glanced around, silently pleading for help from nearby staff.

However, those who met her eyes all turned away and pretended not to notice.

It seemed there was no one here to protect her.

Completely cornered now, Ji Wan decided to just go for broke and responded honestly with her eyes squeezed shut.

“I, I was just surprised.”

“Surprised by what?”

“I thought those kinds of things were only worn at avant-garde fashion shows, so I was just a bit shocked and surprised to see someone actually buying it…”

Hearing those words, Hwa Young slightly furrowed his brow.

His fox-like eyes became even more slanted and fierce.

“Avant-garde?”

“A little?”

“A little avant-garde, you say?”

“A little… very much so?”

“You mean it’s bad, right? That’s what you’re saying.”

“Rather than bad…”

Ji Wan glanced at his expression.

He was staring intently at Ji Wan’s eyes, as if making it obvious he was waiting for her answer.

It seemed like giving an ambiguous response would only prolong the argument.

She figured the fastest way to end this unpleasant conversation was to just speak plainly.

“It looks like nouveau riche fashion, I guess…”

That word finally came out.

But there was no better word than “nouveau riche” to bluntly express excessive decoration and flashiness.

“What…?”

At her response, he seemed greatly shocked and briefly unfurrowed his brow.

Then he lowered his head.

Thinking he might be angry, she watched him warily, but what followed was surprisingly loud laughter.

“Puhaha! Nouveau riche? That’s the first time I’ve heard that! Ahahahaha!”

“Wh-What?”

“Do I really look nouveau riche?”

“Ah, no. I didn’t mean you were nouveau riche, just that the coat looks…!”

“Ahahahaha! Well, my nouveau riche friend was trying hard to buy this!”

Though she couldn’t tell what exactly had tickled his funny bone, he continued laughing for quite a while after that.

Ji Wan could only look at him with a bewildered expression.

How much time passed like that?

With tears in his eyes from excessive laughter, he wiped them away and said,

“Then why don’t you pick something out? A look that really screams ‘rich.'”

At the sudden proposal, Ji Wan just blinked her eyes, standing still.

That wasn’t a response of acceptance, but Hwa Young, who didn’t seem to care about such things, turned to the staff and said,

“Alright, I’ve found my shopping mate now, so everyone return to your duties. I might get caught receiving special treatment at this rate.”

Ji Wan, who hadn’t realized until now that he was receiving special treatment, looked at his face once more to confirm.

She thought she had seen him somewhere, so was he a famous VIP? A celebrity? A model?

Taking advantage of her confused thoughts, he naturally guided Ji Wan’s body towards the clothes racks.

Looking at him reminded her of Joo Tae Sung for some reason.

His brazen and shameless demeanor was very similar to Joo Tae Sung’s.

Though that wasn’t meant in a good way.

* * *

Yang Je Hyun’s footsteps quickened as he headed towards a luxury brand section.

Having just received a call from Choi Yu Ria, the chairwoman of LY Department Store and Hwa Young’s biological mother,

His stomach churned due to the unpleasant contents of their conversation.

‘Secretary Yang. I trusted you because I heard you were the only person Hwa Young listens to, but how can you be so irresponsible? You let him go to the store without any warning?’

First, he was scolded for letting Hwa Young loose in the department store, which was an expected outcome.

‘You know about the dinner tonight, right? I even sent a stylist to the house to make sure he doesn’t show up overdressed again. It seems you can’t do anything?’

He also heard concerns about Hwa Young’s attire for the upcoming dinner.

‘Your uncle will also be attending tonight’s dinner. If that b… that boy shows up all flashy and over-the-top again, it won’t be fun for you either, Secretary Yang.’

And finally, a threat barely concealed by a refined voice suppressing anger.

Secretary Yang, who had to deal with this trifecta alone because of Do Hwa Young, felt his temples throbbing to the point of convulsions.

All the clothes Hwa Young had chosen today were flashy without exception.

‘How am I supposed to get him to give up on all of that?’

With deepening concern, Secretary Yang entered the brand store where Hwa Young was waiting, his brow furrowed.

In front of a full-length mirror stood Do Hwa Young, carefully examining his appearance.

Secretary Yang’s brow twitched with a different meaning upon discovering him.

A neat suit ensemble in monochrome from head to toe.

In the brief time Secretary Yang had been away, Hwa Young had changed into an impeccably clean-cut outfit without a single over-the-top element.

“Director… Do?”

Secretary Yang approached Hwa Young with an expression of disbelief.

Instead of turning to face him, Hwa Young tilted his head to the side and spoke to someone else.

“Isn’t this something you’d wear to a funeral? I prefer wine or sapphire blue if I’m going to wear a suit.”

“You said it’s a family dinner. The elders don’t like flashy colors.”

“Is that also in the realm of the nouveau riche?”

“A little?”

“Haha, I really find that term hilarious.”

Secretary Yang’s puzzled gaze followed Hwa Young’s to the same spot.

On a small bench in front of the fitting room sat an unfamiliar woman.

It was clearly a face Secretary Yang didn’t recognize. This meant she wasn’t one of Hwa Young’s close associates.

“Who are you?”

Secretary Yang asked in a guarded tone.

Only then did Hwa Young acknowledge him, immediately furrowing his brows and grumbling.

“What’s this? Where have you been until now? Isn’t it negligence to leave me alone?”

Hwa Young’s statement was enough to make his blood boil, but Secretary Yang chose not to react.

Right now, it was more important to be wary of the stranger next to Hwa Young.

Reading Secretary Yang’s sharp gaze, Ji Wan stood up and answered.

“Ah, I just happened to end up helping this gentleman with his clothes… You don’t need to worry about me!”

Not understanding Ji Wan’s response at all, Secretary Yang shifted his eyes to Hwa Young.

Hwa Young chuckled and answered a bit more comprehensibly.

“She appeared suddenly when Yang disappeared. Everyone was praising me, but she was the only one sighing. I found it funny, so I kept her around.”

Ah, in other words, his bad taste had been activated.

Hwa Young, who had grown up hearing nothing but praise from everyone except his high-and-mighty family members since childhood, had a strange fondness for people who gave him harsh evaluations.

Of course, he didn’t sincerely take those evaluations to heart.

To be precise, he enjoyed watching people who initially viewed him negatively crumble once they learned his true identity, and in the case of women, he took great pleasure in situations where they ended up falling for him.

It was truly the wicked hobby of a spoiled young master.

Surely, when he gets bored, he’ll reveal his identity to this clueless woman.

Then she’ll be shocked and show the reaction Hwa Young wants… and this will soon turn into strange gossip that the secretarial office will have to deal with.

“Now that I’ve returned, I’ll assist you. Please send the customer on her way.”

Secretary Yang said without even glancing at Ji Wan.

Hwa Young made a bored expression, as if finding his reaction uninteresting.

“I want to be treated like a nouveau riche a bit more.”

“That’s not possible.”

“I want to say something like, ‘You’re the first woman to treat me this way.'”

“That’s not possible.”

“Really not possible? It would be an interesting sight for you too, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s not possible.”

The three “That’s not possible” responses made even Ji Wan, who was caught in the middle, feel uncomfortable.

Although she didn’t fully understand the situation, she somehow felt that she shouldn’t be involved here.

Right at that moment.

Rrrrr― Rrrrr―

Ji Wan’s phone rang.

The number that appeared was definitely not her husband’s, but it was saved as “Husband.”

“Oh my! My husband is looking for me!”

Seizing the opportunity, Ji Wan showed the phone displaying the incoming call.

Hwa Young’s eyes widened at the sight of the two characters for “Husband.”

“You’re married…?”

A married woman can be somewhat awkward for a single man.

Ji Wan hurriedly admitted the fact she had been so reluctant to acknowledge in order to leave quickly.

“That’s right. My husband is waiting for me somewhere in this building. Well then, I’ll be going now…”

Ji Wan quickly disappeared from the brand store.

Hwa Young stared at her retreating figure for a moment before swiftly turning his head to Secretary Yang.

“As I suspected, my instincts were right. That woman was trying to seduce me.”

Not understanding this confidence, Secretary Yang raised one eyebrow and asked.

“Suddenly?”

“Otherwise, there’s no way she would have hidden the fact that she was married until now. She was probably planning to approach me pretending to be single, but when Yang arrived, she ran away.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Well, you look a bit scary, Yang.”

Secretary Yang looked at Hwa Young, who was deeply immersed in his own world, with a gaze that showed he couldn’t understand him at all.

Regardless, Hwa Young smiled, curving his smooth lips.

“Nouveau riche… That’s the most interesting thing I’ve heard so far.”

It would be interesting indeed. It’s a word that could never apply to Do Hwa Young, who was born with a vibranium spoon in his mouth from birth.

While thinking that he was a typically obnoxious young master, Secretary Yang made no comment.

In any case, it was fortunate that his attire had been completed in a style that Chairwoman Choi Yu Ria would approve of.

* * *

On her way back after the brief encounter with Hwa Young,

Ji Wan recalled the recent events with a still dazed expression.

Who would have thought she’d be suddenly accosted for letting out a negative exclamation?

He was truly a strange man. Though she couldn’t follow his train of thought, he was clearly no ordinary person.

“But where have I seen him before? He really seems familiar… Is it just because he’s handsome?”

Ji Wan continued to recall Hwa Young’s face as she walked forward.

“Who could I be thinking of?”

At that moment, a soft yet deeply low voice came from right beside her.

Startled, she turned to the side to find Tae Sung waiting for her in front of the elevator, raising one hand in greeting.

“There you are. Did your call go well? Did it help you find your memories?”

Ji Wan asked Tae Sung.

Instead of answering, Tae Sung curved his eyes even more roundly and probed once more.

“More than that, I’m curious about who was in your thoughts just now.”

“Huh?”

“That handsome face you mentioned.”

“Ah…”

Finally realizing what she had been muttering to herself, Ji Wan offered a brief explanation.

“Earlier, I was caught by an unfamiliar man downstairs. I ended up helping him choose clothes for his family dinner, but strangely, his face seemed familiar.”

“Ah, so was it enjoyable?”

“Rather than enjoyable, it was more like… chaotic. I felt completely swept up in the moment…”

As soon as she said that, Tae Sung took another step closer.

Ji Wan’s gaze focused sharply on him as his shadow suddenly loomed over her.

Tae Sung maintained eye contact with her and spoke in an amused tone.

“That statement just now… Should I understand it as you went on a date with another man?”

Even though we’re not in a relationship where such misunderstandings should occur, nor where explanations for such misunderstandings are necessary.

“N-No, no, that’s not it…”

Ji Wan suddenly felt a desperate need to explain herself.

It was because of his eyes.

Because of those pitch-black eyes whose thoughts she could not fathom at all.