“You’re not in your right mind.”

Da Eun’s gaze, which had been so gentle when they were friends that she was called a pushover, was quite sharp now.

But Ju Ri didn’t care. She had imagined this moment over and over again. From the very day they first became friends.

Ju Ri smiled, pulling up her red-painted lips.

“Did you just realize?”

“That you coveted what was mine?”

“That’s right.”

“Then what about my mom, my younger sibling, my desperately poor life? Didn’t you covet those?”

Ju Ri laughed incredulously at Da Eun’s words filled with resentment.

“As if I would want such things.”

Ju Ri wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes, saying it was absurd.

“I’ve been thinking ever since that day, why you hated me so much. If I had done something wrong.”

Da Eun continued, suppressing the surge of emotions.

“It’s strange to think you were just a greedy kid. Why me of all people, not Hee Ju or senior Jun Won who are better than me? Why try to take away the one thing from someone who has so little?”

No matter how much she thought about it, the answer wouldn’t come.

“You’ve been thinking useless thoughts. I just don’t like you. I disliked you from the moment I first saw you.”

“Is that really all there is to it?”

To think it was for such a trivial reason. For Da Eun, it was incomprehensible to waste energy hating others just because you dislike them. There was no need for self-blame.

“Yes, that’s all there is to it.”

“You were the one who first asked to be friends. You sure have a strong stomach. I don’t even want to exchange words with someone I dislike.”

“I already suffered enough nausea from it.”

Ju Ri burst into laughter. Da Eun stared at her with an expressionless face.

“Shall I give you a curse? No one who has made me cry has ever done well. You’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you?”

She thought she was going to say something, but it was just this…

But Ju Ri’s expression, which had been thoughtful, soon turned serious.

Senior Chang Beom’s family went bankrupt, and Seon Ho was scammed out of a large sum of money.

While it’s hard to blame Young Hoon’s tragedy on Da Eun, thinking of Hyang Mi gave her goosebumps.

No way. It’s just superstition. She’s just saying nonsense out of a sense of betrayal. Don’t be shaken.

Da Eun stared sharply at Ju Ri.

“What are you plotting? Why did you come here?”

“I heard that Cha Yu Kwon is introducing you to Chairman Cha Myung Il today. So I came here to play the role of ruining that.”

“What?”

“They should be here any moment now.”

Actually, Ju Ri had called Go Young Hoon. When she told him the truth about Da Eun and Yu Kwon, Young Hoon’s eyes rolled back. It must have been upsetting to hear that Da Eun was becoming the granddaughter-in-law of Cha Myung Il while he had become so miserable.

Even Ju Ri, who thought it couldn’t really be a marriage, was this irritated.

Da Eun’s lips trembled. So that was it. Yong Hee and Ju Ri were planning to tarnish Da Eun’s reputation. And they were using Go Young Hoon to do it.

“Da Eun, do I still seem like a savior to you?”

The recent Young Hoon would surely cause a scene. She didn’t care much if she was disgraced here, but Yu Kwon was different.

Even while under such stress, he attended dinner meetings every Wednesday and always did his best with the missions Myung Il threw at him like a game. All to avoid falling out of Myung Il’s favor.

To think such a thing would happen on Myung Il’s birthday of all days.

I need to tell Cha Yu Kwon right away.

Da Eun took out the phone she had put in her bag.

“It’s already too late. They’ve passed through the main gate.”

Da Eun ended up dropping her phone on the floor. Ju Ri burst into laughter, seemingly pleased with Da Eun’s blank expression. Her laughter echoed, mixing with the sound of the wind.

Da Eun picked up the fallen phone and called Yu Kwon. No longer having time to deal with her, she quickly passed by Ju Ri.

Watching Da Eun’s retreating figure, Ju Ri smiled with satisfaction and turned away.

She liked the last expression she saw on Da Eun’s face.

As she was going down the stone steps with light footsteps, she stopped upon seeing Yu Kwon standing in front. Her heart swelled, seeing him up close after so long.

“Managing Director, it’s been a long time.”

Ju Ri said this and then approached him.

“Looks like something good happened.”

“Something good, you say.”

Who could be the woman he was said to have dated seriously? She said she was hurt, but is he still in love?

She looked at him with a flushed face.

He looked even more handsome today. Was it because he was involved with Da Eun? Or was it confidence that if Da Eun was possible, she could be too?

The desire to seduce him began to creep up. It was a feeling she had every time she saw Da Eun’s ex-boyfriends. No, it was even more intense.

For a brief moment, Ju Ri imagined marrying Yu Kwon. How happy would she be walking through this beautiful Hyanglimjae, holding hands with a son and daughter who each resembled Yu Kwon and herself half and half?

Just imagining it made her heart swell.

“I heard you’re pregnant.”

However, Yu Kwon shattered Ju Ri’s imagination all too easily. Ju Ri, who had looked dumbfounded as if doused with cold water, quickly put on a smiling face again.

“Did Da Eun say that? Ah, you must be saying that because of Da Eun’s broken engagement.”

Ju Ri easily seduced men with her low yet attractive voice, tall stature, and voluptuous figure. She was grateful to Ji Hwa for at least passing that down to her.

However, she had no talent for storytelling. Her lies, always looking only one step ahead, were consistently sloppy.

When Yu Kwon didn’t respond, Ju Ri became anxious and quickly added:

“Come on, that’s a lie Da Eun told. You might not know, Managing Director, but she has an inferiority complex towards me.”

“Ah, I really didn’t know.”

Ju Ri became uneasy when Yu Kwon showed little reaction. She was also afraid of being ignored like 8 years ago. And she was a bit annoyed. At Yu Kwon, who had such poor judgment of women.

I’ll show you what kind of person Song Da Eun really is.

Ju Ri put strength into the corners of her twitching lips.

“Song Da Eun wanted to break off the marriage more than anyone, so she just gave an excuse. I’m practically the victim here!”

“Ah, thanks for that.”

Unexpectedly, Yu Kwon smiled brightly. Ju Ri blinked blankly.

“If you hadn’t ruined Song Da Eun’s marriage, I would have. Thanks to you stepping in, I’ve resolved it without incurring Da Eun’s resentment.”

“What do you mean?”

“These days, even villains are smart, but you seem to be the type that’s just evil.”

“What are you…”

So he was going to break it off anyway, but thanks to me breaking it off, he got what he wanted without lifting a finger, and didn’t even become the bad guy – is that what he means?

As Ju Ri vaguely inferred this, anger suddenly welled up. Are you toying with me right now?

Yu Kwon chuckled as he looked at Ju Ri, whose face had turned bright red up to her neck. With the laughter gone from his face, only a chilling aura remained.

“I like Song Da Eun.”

Ju Ri felt her heart sink. But she quickly regained her composure.

She was just curious. What was so special about Song Da Eun that made the great Cha Yu Kwon protect her like this?

“Well, I hope things work out for you.”

Fighting with Yu Kwon was pointless.

Go Young Hoon would arrive soon anyway. Since she had told Yong Hee in advance, he would be able to enter Hyanglimjae without any restrictions and cause a scene. Let’s see if you can protect her then.

Ju Ri clenched her teeth and returned to Yong Hee.

Yong Hee, with Ju Ri by her side, went to find Myung Il. He was enjoying refreshments with the directors in front of the main building.

“Father, here you are.”

Yong Hee approached Myung Il.

“Oh, yes. Where’s Yong Ju?”

“She’s probably hiding somewhere, resting well. Father, guess who I brought?”

Ju Ri was inwardly surprised to see Yong Hee, who was usually haughty and cold, acting cute in front of her father.

Even the rich have their own struggles, I guess.

“Who?”

“It’s the employee Saga hired at the festival. Yang Ju Ri from the marketing team.”

Ju Ri smiled prettily as she had prepared. The directors gaped at Ju Ri.

“Hello, Chairman. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Ah, yes. I remember. You were very impressive. Nice to see you. Thank you for coming.”

Ju Ri looked at Myung Il with just a sense of wonder, as if seeing a celebrity. It was her first time seeing him this close.

“What a shame. It seems Yu Kwon has already brought his partner.”

Myung Il muttered, looking at Yu Kwon in the distance.

When Young Hoon received the call from Ju Ri, he was feeding Hyang Mi. His father, Sung Bok, was still out gallivanting while leaving Hyang Mi’s care to Young Hoon.

Still, Young Hoon couldn’t say much. He had once threatened Sung Bok, saying he couldn’t do it anymore. But he had to keep his mouth shut.

“You could hire someone with the money you borrowed from us.”

That money was already tied up in coins, and he had no intention of taking it out until he recovered his principal. So he had no choice but to stay put.

In the midst of this, Ju Ri’s call left Young Hoon dumbfounded.

Ju Ri said that Da Eun and Yu Kwon were announcing their marriage today.

“You think you can live well after leaving me in this state?”

In truth, neither Young Hoon’s bad luck nor Hyang Mi’s injury was Da Eun and Yu Kwon’s fault, but his anger was directed at those two.

Young Hoon, who had entered Hyanglimjae, looked around angrily.

“What is this, some kind of hanok village? Why does it seem endless no matter how far I go?”

He had come inside, but he couldn’t tell where was where. Ju Ri, who was supposed to come out to greet him, was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you Go Young Hoon?”

He looked up at the voice calling him. A man with a gentle bear-like face was smiling down at him. Young Hoon immediately recognized who he was.

It was Kim Jung Woo, Yu Kwon’s driver.

Ah, he’s come to pick me up.

Young Hoon lifted his head proudly.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Jung Woo’s expression, which had been smiling brightly, suddenly hardened as if it had never been otherwise.

“Come with me.”

Jung Woo abruptly grabbed Young Hoon’s arm. It was an incredibly strong grip.

“Why are you grabbing my arm…”

“It would be better for you to come quietly.”

Only then did Young Hoon realize. That things were going wrong.