Young In’s pupils trembled with surprise at the unexpected encounter.

In contrast to her stiffened body, her heart began to beat wildly.

To think she would meet Cha Sung Hyuk here.

Meeting him again after 3 years, he was still breathtakingly handsome and elegant. His jet-black hair and dark eyes contrasted with his pale skin, giving him an almost mystical appearance.

She wanted to avoid his intense gaze, but felt bound by some invisible force, unable to move an inch.

She couldn’t hear or see anything else. It felt as if everything except him had blacked out.

Young In, who had been standing dazed without taking a single step, came to her senses at the sound of her name being called.

“Young In.”

As the husky voice pierced her ears, Sung Hyuk’s figure disappeared from her sight.

Young In looked up at the person standing in front of her. Snake-like eyes with unusually small pupils were smiling at her.

It was Oh Chang Geun, her elder brother’s friend.

“Did you come to pick up Beom Jun?”

Only after meeting someone she didn’t expect to see and someone she didn’t want to see in succession did she finally remember why she had come here.

“…Ah, yes. What about you, sir?”

She was grateful to him for the first time today. If it wasn’t for him, who knows how much longer she would have shown her flustered state to Sung Hyuk.

“He went to the bathroom.”

Young In slightly furrowed her brow.

“My elder brother asked me to come pick him up, but he wasn’t answering his phone, so I came up.”

“I told him to call you. I wanted to see you.”

“…”

Young In’s frown deepened.

The gratitude she had felt moments ago had already vanished without a trace. Thinking that if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have run into Sung Hyuk, irritation welled up inside her.

“I’ll be waiting in the car. Please tell my elder brother to come down quickly when he returns.”

Chang Geun grabbed Young In’s wrist as she coldly turned to leave.

“Beom Jun will be back soon. Have a drink with me while we wait.”

“I brought my car.”

“Ah, right.”

As Young In twisted her captured wrist free with a serious expression, Chang Geun awkwardly smiled, rolling his eyes that were glistening with intoxication.

“Can’t you call a designated driver?”

“…”

Young In kept her mouth shut, deeming it not worth responding to.

“Then let’s have a drink together some other time.”

“I’m busy.”

What she really wanted to say was ‘No’. She wanted to bluntly tell him to stop being so clingy.

The reason she didn’t was because he was her elder brother’s friend. More precisely, she was tired of being scolded by her elder brother.

She had put up such a strong wall that he should have gotten the hint by now.

Before Chang Geun could say anything else, Young In turned around and left the room, leaning against the wall outside to take a deep breath. As the tension drained from her body, she felt completely drained.

Belatedly, it occurred to her that there hadn’t been a single woman in the room, which was unusual.

It wasn’t hard to guess the reason.

Even Chae Beom Jun, who despised drinking parties without women, must have had no choice since Cha Sung Hyuk was attending.

Everyone around knew that Chae Beom Jun was Cha Sung Hyuk’s voluntary sidekick.

“Hah…”

As Young In took a deep breath and straightened up to take a step, a resonant voice wrapped around her ear.

“It’s been a while.”

After a momentary pause, Young In bit her inner lip hard and turned around.

“It’s been a while, senior.”

Perhaps because she thought she would never have to call him that again.

The word ‘senior’ coming from her own mouth made her chest ache. To the point where she said unnecessary words for fear he might notice.

“Have you come back for good?”

“Did you know where I had gone?”

“I heard from my elder brother.”

“Ah, I guess you couldn’t help but know even if you didn’t want to.”

Young In lowered her eyelids, avoiding his gaze as he smirked mockingly.

“I’ll be going down now.”

“Wait.”

Sung Hyuk, who had stopped Young In in an emotionless tone, gestured to an employee visible over her shoulder.

“Do you need anything, sir?”

The man who came running and bowed deeply was the guard who had just gotten scolded for speaking informally to Young In earlier. He was so polite now that Young In almost mistook him for a different person.

“Escort her to her car.”

“Yes, sir.”

To him, Chae Beom Jun was a slightly manageable opponent, while Cha Sung Hyuk was an untouchable existence.

Just earlier, he had heard about Sung Hyuk’s family background from the general manager.

SL Group was a corporation that had firmly held the top spot in the business world for over 70 years. There was even a saying that while governments may change, SL is eternal.

“Get rid of those horny ones.”

Sung Hyuk pointed with his chin at a couple still kissing. His twitching eyebrows were full of displeasure.

“I’ll take care of it right away, sir.”

Sung Hyuk withdrew his disgusted gaze and entered the room without looking back at Young In.

The man immediately put his mouth to the microphone.

“Someone come up to the third floor. Quickly.”

After relaying Sung Hyuk’s instructions to another employee, the man bowed to Young In.

“Let’s go down, miss.”

Young In just nodded lightly and silently followed behind the man.

The man, as if he had received an incredibly important mission, frantically blocked anyone who tried to approach Young In, even if they were just drunk people. Thanks to him, Young In was able to leave the club and get into her car under such strict protection that it was almost embarrassing.

How many minutes had passed since she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headrest? The sound of the back door opening and grumbling voices were heard in succession.

“Damn, I wanted to play a bit more.”

When she opened her eyes and looked back, a man with short pomade-cut hair was getting into the car, supported by someone who looked like a guard.

“Sung Hyuk was so serious about us leaving early…”

“Fasten your seatbelt.”

Young In cut off Beom Jun’s words.

What was he talking about wanting to play more when he had asked her to come pick him up?

“Have a safe trip.”

As the guard closed the back door and stepped back, Young In immediately started the car. Beom Jun, who had been muttering incomprehensible words, soon fell asleep.

Although her head throbbed from the pungent smell of alcohol, she decided to take comfort in the fact that it had at least become quiet.

On the empty road where pitch-black darkness had settled, raindrops began to fall with a pitter-patter on the car driving along it.

It was a sudden rain, not in the forecast.

Young In gripped the steering wheel tightly, thinking it was just like her situation today.

[This is the timeline separator]

Young In’s car stopped in front of a two-story detached house.

After barely waking Beom Jun and sending him in first, Young In parked in the garage and followed.

Ah Rim, who had been looking down at Beom Jun sprawled on the living room sofa with an irritated face, quickly turned her head when she sensed a presence.

“Did you bring him?”

Her voice was sharp and her face full of annoyance.

“Elder brother asked me to come pick him up.”

Young In answered calmly and headed towards the second floor where her room was.

Behind her, she could hear the sharp conversation between her elder sister and elder brother.

“How is it that you never come home sober? Drink in moderation for once.”

“It was Sung Hyuk’s welcome party.”

“What? Senior Sung Hyuk is back? Why are you only telling me this now!”

“Why do I need to tell you?”

“You’re asking because you don’t know? Ah, forget it! Never mind!”

“Hey, Chae Ah Rim. Sung Hyuk’s not interested in you. Know your place.”

“Hey, Chae Beom Jun. Shut up.”

“Is this how you talk to your elder brother!”

“What do you know! His tastes might have changed in 3 years!”

“Even if they’ve changed, it still wouldn’t be you.”

“Aaargh!”

Young In bit her lip hard as she heard the screaming and the sound of feet stomping in frustration simultaneously.

Suddenly, she wondered what expressions her elder brother and sister would make if they found out that she and Sung Hyuk had been dating.

If she didn’t know better, it would probably not go beyond the level of ‘How dare someone like you’. Especially if it became known that she had dumped him, it certainly wouldn’t end with just that.

A bitter smile spread across Young In’s face as she walked up the stairs.

[This is the timeline separator]

Three days later.

When Young In returned home after work, she received a thunderbolt-like instruction from her mother, Lady Kwak.

“An arranged meeting?”

In this house, arranged meetings were only applicable to her elder brother and sister. At least until now.

“I just got a call from Madam Jin, and she specifically mentioned you.”

Madam Jin was what you’d call a professional matchmaker.

It was common to gift her luxury bags or slip her hundreds of thousands of won to get introduced to good son-in-law or daughter-in-law candidates, as you had to be in Madam Jin’s good graces.

Young In knew that her mother was also trying to curry favor with Madam Jin.

“Why me? Who is it?”

The answer came from Ah Rim’s mouth.

“Oh Chang Geun.”

As Young In furrowed her brow, Ah Rim let out a scoff of disbelief.

“Why that expression? Chang Geun is too good for you. Don’t you know Sung Myung Construction is in the top 20 construction companies?”

Beom Jun chimed in as well.

“He’s probably resorted to this method because you keep avoiding him and won’t meet him even once. Just give him a chance.”

Lady Kwak had the final word.

“The day after tomorrow, 6 PM. At the cafe in Hotel H. I’ll be in a very difficult position if you refuse, so don’t be late.”

Lady Kwak forced a smile that was supposed to look benevolent, with lips that barely moved due to excessive cosmetic procedures.

Young In was a sacrifice for her elder brother and sister. Of course, a sacrifice had no right to choose.

[This is the timeline separator]

5 minutes before the appointed time.

Young In arrived at the cafe in Hotel H, the location for the arranged meeting. The other party hadn’t arrived yet.

As she was preparing words of warning to never do such a useless thing again, she sensed a presence in front of her.

When she raised her gaze, there sat an unexpected figure across from her, just like that day a few days ago.

“Senior, how are you here…”

Young In stared at the silent Sung Hyuk with a bewildered face, clenching her fist tightly to gather her thoughts.

“Someone is supposed to come.”

“They won’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I came instead of Oh Chang Geun.”

“…”

Young In’s mind, which had vaguely assumed that he had come to the hotel on business and happened to see her by chance, became more and more confused.

“I told him to hand over today’s arranged meeting to me.”

Sung Hyuk leaned back in his chair and smiled faintly.