“Get married. Preferably as soon as possible.”

The old woman’s ultimatum fell in the heavy atmosphere. Unlike the three aunts whose eyes sparkled at this, Woo Jin let out a deep sigh.

Though over ninety years old, she was Jung Man Ok, the founder who created the current Jangwon Group and a legend in the business world. Therefore, not a single person in this place could ignore Chairman Jung’s words.

Chairman Jung’s words are law. At least in this Jangwon family.

“This is your second scandal with Park Seo Woo. Even if people were fooled once, do you think they’ll be deceived twice?”

As Chairman Jung asked Woo Jin sharply, Young Sook, the third aunt sitting nearby, chimed in:

“That’s right. So if you’re done with her, why did you go there? That’s why you get caught in photos like this.”

“This bitch must have been clinging to our Woo Jin. Is this the first time this has happened? No matter how much of a top star she is, she’s still just an entertainer in the end. How dare she aim so high!”

As the second aunt Young Hee ground her teeth as if infuriated, Woo Jin’s eyes turned fiercely in her direction, but staying silent was the wisest course of action right now.

Seeing him silently take a sip of coffee, Chairman Jung opened her mouth.

“Let me ask one thing. Why on earth did you go there?”

“I told you. Seo Woo was injured in an accident during filming, and I went because I was worried.”

“You said you were already over, so what does Park Seo Woo getting hurt have to do with you?”

“Surely, you’re not asking because you don’t know?”

Woo Jin’s dark eyes rose sharply at Chairman Jung, who was asking again despite knowing everything.

“You still… are you still holding onto that incident in your heart? You’ve done enough. So you can let go of that burden now.”

“…”

“Because you keep giving her openings like this, that child can’t let you go either.”

“She… lost her only family because of me.”

“It was an accident.”

Chairman Jung pointed out an important fact, but that didn’t make his heart any lighter. No, it was a weight that could never be lightened for a lifetime.

He had lost an irreplaceable friend, and Seo Woo had lost her one and only twin brother in the world. And the pain of losing the same person bound the two together with a strong bond, eventually becoming lovers.

He thought that tingling feeling was love. But he confirmed it wasn’t a rational feeling when the emotion didn’t develop any further.

He broke up with Park Seo Woo a year ago. But just because their romantic relationship ended didn’t mean he could let her go completely. She was still the twin sister of the deceased Park Seo Jin, and that fact held him back like shackles.

“Anyway, I can’t tolerate any more scandals.”

“We’re emotionally completely over. I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“Is her feelings over too?”

Woo Jin answered the piercing question with silence. Because he knew all too well that Seo Woo’s feelings weren’t over yet. She still waited for his messages and longed for him. From time to time, she called him out on all sorts of excuses and still revealed her feelings for him. As if it’s human nature to desire more what one can’t have, even more desperately.

“You don’t seem to realize how important this matter is. If we can’t bury this scandal here and now, reporters might dig deeper. And reporters prefer more sensational stories.”

At that moment, Woo Jin’s deeply sunken dark eyes turned towards Chairman Jung.

“Don’t tell me you thought I wouldn’t know? That it was you who raised that orphan girl with no connections to that position. And how do you think this story will look in others’ eyes?”

“…”

“Don’t treat me like a senile old woman in the back room. I’m still alive.”

Woo Jin couldn’t argue with Chairman Jung’s stern words. Half was true, and half was wrong.

Of course, her acting talent played a part, but it was also true that he had helped. However, there was absolutely nothing illegal in that process.

-Bro, I’m going to work hard and earn money to support our Seo Woo.

-Someone might think you’re a much younger sibling.

-Why, I was born 5 minutes earlier! And Seo Woo only has me as family. So I have to act like an older brother!

-So, what’s Seo Woo’s dream?

-An actress! She wants to be an actor! Doesn’t it suit her perfectly? Of course, Seo Woo is so pretty that I wonder if cameras can capture her true beauty.

-What about your dream?

-Well, Seo Woo’s dream is my dream.

Park Seo Jin, the sister-fool who grinned while saying her dream was his dream.

Therefore, pushing Park Seo Woo wasn’t about fulfilling her dream, but fulfilling Seo Jin’s dream that never bloomed at 21 years old.

That’s how he made Seo Woo a top star. And her talent was the accelerator pedal.

But as Chairman Jung said, if his help in letting Seo Woo survive in the entertainment industry were to be reported in a distorted way, it was all too obvious how the world would receive this story. Just a sordid connection between a chaebol and the entertainment industry, nothing more, nothing less.

It was a perfect story for both Seo Woo and him to fall together.

“If you get married, Park Seo Woo will change too. And the scandal will naturally die down.”

As Chairman Jung brought a small teacup to her lips, Young Ja, the eldest aunt who had been silent all along, handed him a photo.

“You know her, right? Han Seong Group’s second daughter, Ko Ji Hye. I heard she was your college classmate.”

Woo Jin’s cold eyes turned towards Young Ja.

Unlike the other two aunts, Young Ja, who divorced without children, was like a mother to him who raised him in place of his parents who passed away when he was young. But at some point, there was an unbridgeable gap between the two who had grown distant.

A love-hate relationship full of love and resentment.

“Marriage is business. In that sense, Han Seong Group is the most perfect partner worthy of our Jangwon.”

Watching Young Ja continue speaking calmly despite his fierce gaze, Woo Jin burst into laughter.

Young Ja, who was in charge of Jangwon Department Store, outlets, and various cultural businesses, was the daughter who resembled Chairman Jung the most among the three daughters. As such, her business acumen and meticulous personality that pursued perfection in everything were undoubtedly top-notch.

But for such a Young Ja to hand him Ko Ji Hye’s profile…

He couldn’t help but laugh.

“Our aunt, you’ve really lost your touch.”

“What did you say?”

“Or Lee Manager, your lackey, didn’t do his job properly.”

Woo Jin tossed Ko Ji Hye’s photo he was holding onto the table.

“That’s right. Ji Hye and I went to college together in America. So I know Ji Hye better than anyone.”

“…”

“That Ko Ji Hye had a very messy relationship with Jeong Do Construction’s second son. And I still occasionally meet that second son at gatherings.”

No matter how rushed the marriage is, it shouldn’t be this careless.

Tsk.

“Aunt, I…”

“…”

“I never chew gum that others have already chewed.”

Young Ja’s face hardened grimly, but Woo Jin ignored it and stood up, buttoning his suit. Young Hee hurriedly held him back.

“Hey, hey, Woo Jin. Are you leaving like this? What about the marriage?”

“Pass the profiles to Manager Park. Except for Ko Ji Hye.”

“So you will do it?”

“Yes. I’ll do it. But it’s my marriage and the woman who will be my wife, so I’ll make the choice. Not you, aunts.”

Woo Jin drew a clear line as he left the reception room.

Marriage, might as well do it.

Actually, it wasn’t a bad method. It was a marriage he would have eventually, and bringing it forward a bit didn’t change anything. Moreover, if he got married now, it might not only quash the scandal but also be an opportunity for Seo Woo to naturally sort out her feelings.

In that sense, now was the perfect timing.

But why did bitterness keep welling up in his throat? Woo Jin took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth to suppress his emotions as he went outside.

But even the cigarette couldn’t comfort his heart. His mouth felt dry as if chewing sand. Because he missed someone desperately.

-I thought it was fortunate. That I could be by your side like this. That it was me who could do this.

Someone who was only used because of him,

-It’s really fortunate…

Someone who died because of him.

* * *

A week later, late evening.

Even in the car heading somewhere after work, Woo Jin didn’t let go of his phone. It was an extension of work.

[Though the policy hasn’t been officially announced yet, the situation seems to be heading in a direction we don’t want. And if the contract isn’t renewed, we might have to move the factory in China.]

“What’s there to wait for? Start preparing for withdrawal from now. What’s the use of lingering when it’s not working? Let’s wrap it up cleanly and prepare to relocate.”

[Yes. Understood, Executive Director.]

The call ended, but Woo Jin was extremely troubled. China, which once welcomed foreign investors with cheap labor, had started to drive them out one by one from some point. No matter how good the conditions offered, it was useless. In socialism, not capitalism, the dominance of policy, not capital, was overwhelming.

Of course, Woo Jin had been slowly preparing to relocate the factory since two years ago when he started to see signs of this. But this time, he chose to distribute rather than putting all eggs in one basket. The initial capital was not insignificant, but it was more stable in the long run.

“Damn. This is why I hate dictatorship.”

Although preparations were made, relocating overseas factories was no small headache. It seemed there would be a lot of overtime work and frequent overseas business trips for a while.

His head hurt. And his heart was troubled.

He couldn’t tell if this was due to the factory relocation issue or the suddenly brought forward marriage.

“Executive Director, we’ve arrived.”

At Manager Park’s quiet voice, Woo Jin’s gaze turned to the window.

Cheongdam Restaurant, Lean. The place where he was supposed to have a blind date today.

He looked at his wristwatch and realized he had arrived 10 minutes early, then took out a cigarette from the inside pocket of his suit. Then he got out of the car before lighting the cigarette.

The irony of smoking but hating the smell of cigarettes intensely. Still, they say people don’t smell their own cigarette smoke well, but his extremely clean and fussy personality didn’t allow even that, so he never smoked in enclosed spaces.

With a click, as the flame from the Zippo lighter transferred to the cigarette, he deeply inhaled the bitter and acrid smoke and shifted his gaze. And then he saw her. A woman at the end of his gaze.

A woman alternately looking at the restaurant entrance and the tip of her shoes with a dazed expression.

He immediately recognized her as Min Tae Eun, his blind date. No, he couldn’t not recognize her. The woman, much prettier in person than in the photo, had such a unique aura that she would catch one’s eye even if he hadn’t come prepared with her face memorized as his blind date partner.

Thanks to that, a middle-aged man who had just come out of the restaurant almost met his demise slipping on the icy road after his gaze lingered on her. Of course, unaware of this, the woman was still looking down at the tip of her shoes, lost in thought.

What on earth was she so engrossed in thinking about?

A wry smile appeared on his lips as he looked at the woman. Thinking that he was no different from that old man just now.

Over the past week, he had seen numerous spouse profiles sent by his aunts, but none appealed to him readily. Because the intentions in the profiles seemed all too clear.

His grandmother, Chairman Jung, and his aunts wanted him to marry Ko Ji Hye, the second daughter of Han Seong Group. Therefore, except for Ji Hye, the rest of the profiles were mere fillers. Then what caught his eye was her profile, Min Tae Eun’s. To be precise, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she in the photo caught his eye.

Beauty that wouldn’t be out of place as an actress. No, a bewitching aura that would make even actresses cry, enough to pierce through the photo, captured his gaze. Enough to immediately push aside her terrible conditions that came as a side note.

When talking about marriage in chaebol families, people usually think of business. Therefore, many around him kept their marriage and love life separate, but he disliked that method. He didn’t have time to spare for a whining lover when just a wife was overwhelming.

If it was going to be a marriage that couldn’t match conditions anyway, the woman’s appearance was very important. Only then could they start something, be it love or growing fond through familiarity, even after getting married.

In that sense, Min Tae Eun passed. She had a much more three-dimensional appearance in person than in the photo. Not to mention her aura.

“Hah…”

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her through the white haze, exhaling acrid smoke.

But then she received a phone call. Her facial expression wasn’t good as she answered the phone. Even standing a few steps away, he could tell that the woman’s voice coming through the phone wasn’t very friendly.

The other party was so heated that Tae Eun, who had been giving only brief answers, faintly heard a hysterical cry from a woman telling her not to come home if she couldn’t get an after-meeting.

A sigh escaped her lips as she hung up the phone, and seeing this, a wry smile escaped his lips.

As he recalled her profile.

Her father was her biological father, but her mother was a stepmother, wasn’t it? Even with just one phone call, it clearly flashed by how hard a life she was living, without even seeing it.

She stood there for a while, holding the disconnected phone with bitten lips. Then she lifted her empty gaze to look elsewhere. That look in her eyes was so precarious that his heart tightened just watching her.

What could she be thinking right now?

Anxious, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

And when she finally took a step, he opened his mouth without realizing it.

“That’s not the right direction.”

At the sudden intrusion, she shifted her downcast gaze to look at him. As if to say, what business is it of yours? But he paid no heed and closed the distance between them. Up close, her eyes were full of hostility.

But it was strange. Those eyes weren’t unfamiliar. An inexplicable sense of déjà vu sent a pang through his chest.

Why……

A moment of silence followed due to the unknown emotion.

Soon finding the silence uncomfortable, he took a deep drag of the cigarette hanging from his fingertips and spoke.

“Why, planning to stand me up?”

Unlike the dissipating cigarette smoke, he felt his cluttered mind clearing at once. Just because this woman was standing before him.

It was truly a peculiar phenomenon.