The Grand Temptation (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 3

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong—.

“Meow, meow, meow.”

The persistent doorbell was joined by a cat’s cries.

“I know, I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Woo Gyeol hurriedly finished his shower and headed to the front door. Jasmine, a snow-white cat who had been meowing along with the doorbell, followed close behind, tail swaying gently.

“Aaah!”

Woo Gyeol let out a short scream as he swung the door open without thinking. Standing there was Jae Ho, pressing his blood-soaked shoulder with one hand.

Jae Ho gave a faint smile toward Woo Gyeol, who stared at him with wide eyes.

“Been doing well?”

“Hey, Kwon Je Ho! What the hell happened to you?”

“It’s a long story. I pinched the wound to stop the bleeding, so just disinfect it for me.”

“You crazy idiot!”

Despite his words, Woo Gyeol quickly fetched a medical first-aid kit and settled down in the living room.

“This won’t do. I’ll need to stitch it up.”

Woo Gyeol examined the shoulder wound gravely as he spoke.

“There’s no anesthetic, so just bear with the sting.”

Taking out medical tools, Woo Gyeol began skillfully suturing the gash. As the needle pierced the flesh, Jae Ho bit his lower lip and furrowed his brow.

“You really are a stubborn bastard.”

Glancing sideways at Jae Ho, Woo Gyeol muttered under his breath, almost to himself.

“Not a single groan, even without anesthesia.”

Strangely enough, his tone sounded almost disappointed—like he’d wanted to hear Jae Ho whimper. Jae Ho closed his eyes to endure the pain and slowly exhaled.

After a moment, a low, muffled voice slipped out.

“…You call yourself a doctor, yet don’t even keep anesthetic at home.”

“Hey, I’m a doctor at the hospital, not at home! At home, I’m just a house servant. Right, Jasmine?”

Woo Gyeol turned toward the cat pressed tightly against his side, as if seeking agreement. Jasmine’s large green eyes met Woo Gyeol’s.

“Meow.”

But instead of agreeing, Jasmine scratched Woo Gyeol’s arm—as if scolding him for getting distracted.

“Ah! Jasmine, you—!”

Woo Gyeol shot her a reproachful look. Normally, she’d hide the moment a stranger showed up, yet today, the moment she saw Jae Ho, she rubbed affectionately against his legs.

Did she feel some kind of kinship with him because they were both so pale? She now watched Jae Ho—still biting his lower lip from the pain—with sympathetic eyes.

“Tch, Kwon Je Ho. Seriously, now you’re even bewitching cats?”

Woo Gyeol grumbled with a dissatisfied frown, yet his hands carefully, meticulously tied each stitch. After all, he was a renowned plastic surgeon—there was no way he’d allow any scar to remain on a wound that passed through his hands.

And besides, Kwon Je Ho’s skin wasn’t just ordinary! Leaving a mark on that flawless, spotless white skin? Absolutely unacceptable for a plastic surgeon.

“You shouldn’t have come here covered in blood—you should’ve gone straight to the hospital.”

“It’s just a couple of stitches. Why would I go all the way to a hospital for that?”

“Hey, diagnosis comes from the doctor, not the patient. And if I just slap a couple of careless stitches on this, it’ll leave a nasty scar.”

As the pain gradually became bearable, Jae Ho opened his eyes and looked at Woo Gyeol. Feeling his gaze, Woo Gyeol paused his stitching and turned toward him. The moment their eyes met, a faint smile appeared on Jae Ho’s lips.

“That’s exactly why I didn’t go to anyone else—I came straight to the best.”

“Oh, you sure know how to flatter.”

Though grumbling, Woo Gyeol’s lips curled slightly upward—the word “best” clearly pleased him.

“By the way, what was so urgent? Did you go straight to Arcadia right after landing?”

The Arcadia integrated shopping mall project had been initiated not by Executive Director Kwon Woo Sik, but by Vice Chairman Kwon Je Woong. Had he not stepped down so prematurely, the Arcadia Mall would have been his legacy.

For that reason, Jae Ho had watched closely—even from the site selection phase. The chosen location had long suffered from traffic congestion, and since the mall’s opening, the situation had worsened several times over. Yet not a single media outlet had raised the issue.

Whether it was the city granting construction permits without resistance or the media unanimously staying silent, someone powerful was clearly pulling strings behind the scenes. And Jae Ho had a vague idea who that might be.

“On the outside, it’s dazzling—but what’s underneath… Hmm, it seemed like it was desperately thrashing around, trying too hard to appear strong. Though… maybe it’s matured a bit compared to before.”

At the word “matured,” Woo Gyeol’s eyes twitched slightly. Why use “matured” when talking about a building?

“What are you even talking about? Are we really discussing the same thing?”

Jae Ho neither confirmed nor denied it, only subtly twisting the corners of his mouth.

He had indeed gone straight from the airport to the mall—just as Woo Gyeol guessed—because he wanted to see Arcadia as soon as possible. But upon arrival, Min Woo appeared out of nowhere with an entourage, blocking his path. To his cousin, whom he hadn’t seen in years, Min Woo offered only a cold, formal smile, clearly on guard.

It was the reaction Jae Ho had anticipated, so he wasn’t surprised. But even he hadn’t expected to see someone else—so much so that for a moment, he questioned his own eyes.

…Yuli?

The girl who once broke down crying in front of him, clutching her mother’s only keepsake, now stood before him—ten years later—as a fully grown woman.

Jae Ho had only recently learned of Yuli and Min Woo’s engagement. Originally, there had been discussions of a marriage alliance with the eldest daughter of Tae Min Group to facilitate a smooth merger. But Min Woo had stubbornly insisted he’d marry no one but Chae Yul Ri.

Though Min Woo had always bowed his head meekly before Chairman Kwon, it seemed marriage was the one thing he wouldn’t compromise on. Jae Ho had been receiving reports from informants about Min Woo hovering around Yuli. At first glance, they seemed like ordinary friends—but anyone watching closely would realize Min Woo was utterly smitten with her.

Min Woo’s feelings were understandable—but Jae Ho couldn’t fathom Yuli’s decision. The same girl who once vehemently rejected arranged marriages… Why? Did she actually like Min Woo?

His curiosity was answered the moment he saw Yuli’s indifferent face again.

The girl who once scaled a wall in a skirt just to see him, the girl whose tiny face once flickered with countless emotions—she no longer existed.

Something must have happened during those years. Now Yuli’s face was dry—stripped of all emotion—wearing an expression of utter resignation, as if nothing in this world, not even a political marriage, mattered to her anymore.

Perhaps that was why, after seeing Yuli, the mall’s structure no longer registered in his mind. Even amid the chaos of blaring fire alarms, his eyes remained fixed on one place alone.

But in the end, what did it matter?

“Hmph.”

A bitter laugh escaped Jae Ho’s lips.

She was now the woman about to marry Min Woo…

Having boarded the same ship as Kwon Min Woo, she was now nothing but his enemy.

An enemy who absolutely had to be sunk.

As Jae Ho retraced the day’s events, his gaze slowly darkened into deep shadow.

“…By the way.”

Woo Gyeol finished applying medical tape and asked,

“Are you really going to push forward with the plan as scheduled?”

“No changes.”

Woo Gyeol nodded slowly, as if he’d expected that swift, definitive answer.

“You must’ve made up your mind firmly—that’s why you dropped everything and came. Anyway, try not to use your right arm for now. It’ll feel stiff until tomorrow. Want some painkillers?”

“No thanks.”

Jae Ho shook his head as he slid his arm into his shirt. Any pain he could endure was welcome—it kept him awake, constantly driving him forward.

Buttoning his shirt, he walked toward the window. Outside, the bustling afternoon scene of the city came into view.

As always, Seoul looked both changed and unchanged—familiar yet distant, like family you could never quite reach.

[This is the timeline separator]

Tring— Tring—

When Yuli didn’t reply to his text, Min Woo finally called her. Hesitating whether to answer or not, Yuli pressed the call button just as she stepped through the front door.

“Hello?”

[Yuli!]

Min Woo’s voice came through, charged with excitement.

[Where are you now? At the office? Or at home?]

“At home.”

She’d originally planned to go to the office after meeting with her wedding planner, but in her current state, she couldn’t possibly go—so she switched her half-day leave to a full day off. Fortunately, the house was empty; her whole family had gone out.

[Still not over your anger?]

Honestly, there was nothing to “get over.” She’d been disappointed by his decision to vanish and leave her behind alone…

“What happened earlier?”

[Oh, well…]

After a brief pause, Min Woo quickly launched into an explanation.

[I got a call on the plane saying there was an issue at the mall. So the moment I landed at Jeju Airport, I turned right back around. While inspecting the mall, the fire alarm malfunctioned and caused a commotion.]

“…”

Even after such a detailed explanation, Yuli remained silent. Min Woo still didn’t seem to realize his biggest mistake wasn’t the Jeju business trip—it was abandoning her in the middle of chaos.

After a long silence, Min Woo added in a deflated tone,

[Yuli, I’m sorry I couldn’t take care of you first. You see… I had to shut off the sprinklers right away. Since they could only be turned off manually, I had to give the order myself…]

As his excuses grew longer, Yuli cut him off.

“I get it. That’s enough.”

Truthfully, she’d never expected much from Min Woo in the first place—so in a way, there was little reason to be truly disappointed. As the mall’s top manager, that might’ve even been his best decision.

“Aren’t you busy handling the incident?”

[Busy, yes—but I still have time to eat. I’ll send a car. Get ready. Let’s have dinner together.]

Hearing Yuli’s tone soften, Min Woo’s voice grew bright with excitement.

Yuli hung up and let out a soft chuckle. Sometimes he acted like a spoiled child—but perhaps that was precisely why he was easy to deal with. He’d promised her the independence she wanted, and their marriage was simply an agreement where both got what they wished for. So it didn’t really matter how he acted.

After getting ready, she arrived at the meeting place in the car he’d sent—and found Min Woo already waiting for her in the lobby.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Min Woo approached with a bright smile. But Yuli’s eyes weren’t on him—they were fixed on the man standing behind him. Her pupils trembled faintly.

Why…?

The very man who had worried her all day stood right behind Min Woo. She hadn’t expected to see Jae Ho here at all—so she was slightly flustered.

He leaned lazily against the wall, right hand tucked into his trouser pocket, wearing a black sweater with a deep neckline. In his left hand, he held a glass filled with amber liquid.

Even as Yuli entered, he showed no particular interest—only slowly bringing the glass to his lips. His gaze held no emotion as it passed over her.

His dry eyes merely blinked slowly, over and over.

Yet Yuli remained frozen in place, unable to tear her eyes away from him.

Jae Ho met her gaze and took a slow sip. The drink slid down his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing gently. When he pulled the glass away, his moistened lips shimmered under the golden lighting—an allure so dangerously captivating that just watching him made her throat burn as though she’d swallowed whiskey herself.

Still fixing his indifferent gaze on Yuli, Jae Ho parted his lips slightly and let out a long breath.

“Hah.”

The soft sound slipped into Yuli’s ears as if he stood right beside her—even though he was clearly too far away for her to hear his breathing…

Yuli bit down hard on her trembling lips.

Her heart pounded, and from deep within, a strange fluttering began to spread.