Only Bad for Me (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 1

The two people walking along the Han River embankment remained silent for a while.

“Do your feet hurt?”

“…I’m fine. Why?”

“Over there.”

A brightly lit café came into view.

“Wait here for just a moment.”

Without even waiting for Eun Jo’s response, Jae Ha quickly walked toward the café.

Not long after, he reappeared holding drinks in both hands.

“It’s crowded inside. Too noisy.”

“Yeah.”

“Milk tea—okay with you?”

Eun Jo nodded, taking the cup he offered and biting her lips softly.

“It’s been so long.”

“Huh? What, going there?”

Jae Ha’s gaze, which had been fixed straight ahead, slowly shifted toward Eun Jo.

His dark, deep eyes shimmered like calm, rippling river water—so intensely deep they left her breathless.

Jae Ha, who had been staring blankly, suddenly burst into a quiet laugh.

“Looking at the Han River.”

“Oh… I’ve only seen it from afar. Haven’t been this close in ages.”

Jae Ha’s eyes returned to the flowing river.

“Eun Jo.”

“…Go ahead.”

She had at least ten, twenty times more to say, but Eun Jo first let the fragrant tea slide into her mouth.

She wanted to delay those tiresome, frustrating, and regretful words, even if just for a moment.

“If there’s a last chance, would you take it?”

“A last chance? What are you talking about? Are you going to cancel that weird contract…?”

Her face, which had unconsciously started to smile with a flicker of hope, instantly turned pale.

There it was—right in the palm of Kwon Jae Ha’s outstretched hand!

A ring. Why?

How could it possibly be in his possession? That was absolutely impossible!

She’d definitely lost it—six years ago in New York!

“No need to be surprised.”

“How… why do you…?”

Her voice cracked, hoarse and trembling.

“How? You rejected it. You insisted on sending it back.”

“…”

“I just didn’t throw it away. So it’s here.”

“…”

“How much do you think it’s worth now?”

“…I don’t know. I didn’t even know the original price.”

Eun Jo chewed on her parched lips.

“I paid over 500 million won for it.”

“…”

“Want it back?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Does it sound like I’m asking you to marry me or something?”

“…”

“Take it. Sell it. You could get 600 million won for it now.”

“…No.”

She needed to come to her senses.

Kwon Jae Ha didn’t know who Choi Sun Woo was—which meant he didn’t know what had happened to her.

How did he end up with the ring? Did he only know she’d gone to New York?

…And nothing else?

“You really won’t take it?”

“…Yeah.”

It was frightening, chilling. She didn’t understand how that ring ended up in his hands—goosebumps covered her skin.

“If you won’t take it…”

It happened in an instant.

One moment he was setting his cup down beside him.

The next, he seemed to be slowly rising from his seat.

Then, his long arm stretched backward.

A glinting, tiny metal object—no, a 600-million-won diamond ring—traced a parabola through the air.

…And vanished.

“If you won’t take it… this is fitting.”

Kwon Jae Ha spoke calmly, his expression blank as he stared into the dark river.

“The last chance is gone too.”

“…”

“If you can’t come up with 600 million won within three months…”

“…”

“Sign the contract right now.”

First love—more devastating than death itself.

That first love was now absurdly moving in together for the second time.

“…You’re lying.”

“What?”

“The ring… it’s not the real one.”

“Why do you think that?”

Kwon Jae Ha slowly turned his gaze toward Eun Jo—colder than the night air.

“Yoon Eun Jo. Of everything I own, there’s only one thing I could ever call fake.”

“…”

“Those two years I spent with you.”

“…”

The ring had been thrown.

No—rather, the die had been cast.

She had to act as if nothing had happened. Only a flawless performance would let her survive this game.

“I’ll sign. But promise me something.”

“What?”

“Stay… within the boundaries. You know what I mean.”

“You said something similar back then, too.”

Twenty-one years old, that summer.

Kwon Jae Ha let out a short laugh.

Three months ago.

VIP Lounge, U-airline, JFK International Airport, New York.

A specific place at an early hour was utterly quiet.

Sparsely placed, spacious leather sofas. Wooden tables and lamps casting a gentle glow.

Only two people occupied the space, and even the air seemed to settle in stillness.

Perhaps that was why

Kwon Jae Ha’s voice, regardless of his inner thoughts, came out gentle and composed.

[Pierre, if you keep making that crying noise, it’ll be a problem.]

Checking his watch, Kwon Jae Ha rubbed his brow with the tip of his long finger.

His original intention had been to move quietly, without anyone noticing.

Yet from the very start, things were going awry.

First, someone had uncannily managed to track him down and call him out of nowhere.

“How annoying on so many levels.”

His dry, sidelong glance fell on the blond woman sitting across from him.

The woman, who had been stealing glances all along, abruptly lowered her head—her cheeks flushing for no reason.

Kwon Jae Ha clicked his tongue softly and shook his head.

As expected, he wasn’t like ordinary people—he didn’t operate according to their rules.

[What? Kyle? Are you listening to me?] [I am. Very well. For over ten minutes, actually.] [Schneider’s chairman won’t listen to reason! He flat-out refuses to deal with any of us! Damn old man! You know exactly how he’ll react if he hears you’ve gone to Seoul instead of Paris! He probably won’t even take your call!] [Pierre, think about your salary. Doesn’t it cover handling three or four fussy old men like Schneider at once?] [Kyle, that’s really going too far. I’m not in the mood for jokes!] [Did it sound like a joke?]

A faint chuckle trailed the smooth flow of French.

To an outsider, it might have sounded like tender whispers between lovers.

But in reality, he was openly mocking the person on the other end—

Pierre Lucson, his long-time friend and senior executive at Blackstone Partners’ Paris headquarters.

Kwon Jae Ha, gazing down at the gleaming shoes at the end of his crossed legs, let out a silent sigh.

Though it was foolish to expect support from someone like him—he was in just the right mood to toss out a small favor.

[Just wait quietly. That’s the only hint I can give you. You know as well as I do that NEM’s pending sale of controlling shares will ultimately hit the stock price negatively. Over the weekend, the Hong Kong Container Index (HCI) hit an all-time high.]

“…Right.”

“Right? Listen, Pierre. Think carefully. With this upward cycle continuing, do you really think Schneider would rush to sell his CB shares now? He’d probably boast that holding onto them and selling them two years from now wouldn’t lose him a cent.”

“Hmm, so you’re saying that since it’s risen so sharply, there’s always a chance it could crash just as suddenly? Ah! So it’s ultimately a psychological game?”

“No, don’t misunderstand. It’s strategy based on analysis and data. Of course, if you tell that to seasoned old Schneider right now, he might as well call it anything he likes.”

“Okay! Got it! But, Kyle—why the sudden switch to Seoul?”

“It must be 9:57 in Paris now. Didn’t you say your meeting’s at 10?”

“Oh, damn! I’ll call you back!”

“Never mind.”

Kwon Jae Ha ended the call without even a brief farewell.

“Idiots who only know how to study—you’ve got to explain everything step by step before they get it.”

A cold smile spread across his face, openly mocking.

It was because a blond woman had suddenly appeared right before him and boldly taken the seat opposite.

In truth, the woman had been waiting for his call to end, debating over the right first greeting to offer.

His strikingly handsome appearance had captured her attention only briefly—it was realizing exactly who he was that truly flustered her.

And then there was his low, velvety voice—like soft feathers brushing against her ear.

It didn’t matter who he was talking to.

The fact that they were alone here felt like fate itself.

[Hello.]

The woman offered a bright greeting, stretching her lips into a wide, inviting smile.

Yet the man remained silent, only holding a faint, cryptic smile.

Growing impatient under his composed demeanor, the woman spoke again.

“Um… You’re Alexis, right? Kyle Alexis.”

“And what if I am? Do I know you?”

His flat, indifferent tone carried no inflection.

His utterly neutral gaze made the woman’s face flush visibly with embarrassment.

She knew exactly who he was.

Kyle J. Alexis—next-generation heir to the Alexis family, American financial tycoons.

Though little was publicly known about him due to his quiet, private lifestyle, even that mystery was considered part of his charm.

[Meghan Reed. Um, Ridgewood High? We were in the same AP Geometry class… Oh, I remember—you were the first to get early admission to Harvard.]

The man’s haughty, dismissive nod only deepened the flush on her cheeks, but she wasn’t ready to let this opportunity slip away.

Janice Alexis—the queen who built the Alexis empire—was famously reserved,

yet she’d openly declared Kyle “a perfect creation.”

Unable to tear her eyes away from this beautiful being, the blond woman quickly handed him her business card.

“If you remember me later, please get in touch.”

“If you truly knew me, you’d also know I have a fiancée.”

“I do. Who hasn’t heard you’ve been engaged for six whole years? Anyway—by any chance, are you going to Seoul? I’ve been there before. Honestly, it’s just so…”

Hmm—startled by her assistant’s poorly timed cough, the blond woman covered her mouth with her hand.

[Excuse me. Mr. Alexis, boarding will begin shortly. Shall I escort you?]

Kwon Jae Ha stood, slowly buttoning his jacket.

[No, thank you. I know where it is.]

As he adjusted his clothes, a fresh smile played at the corner of his well-shaped lips.

The blond woman stood with a bittersweet expression and extended her hand.

“You look happy. I wish you luck.”

His gaze lingered briefly on her hand before shifting beyond the panoramic window to the long, open runway.

“I don’t need luck. But yes—I am in a good mood.”

His quiet, cool words in a foreign tongue left the blond woman utterly bewildered, unable to understand Korean.

The man, expressionless until now, slightly narrowed his eyes.

“Because just imagining it gives me chills.”