“I don’t really like messes. That’s why I came out. Is there a problem?”

Honestly, there was no problem.

It would have been more problematic if Min Seok had come instead of Tae Un. Since Ba Ha had come out to reject from the beginning because of that day, there was no further problem now that Tae Un had appeared.

Rather, it was good.

If she escaped from him, she could escape because of that night,

And if she took his hand this time, she could easily escape without having to listen to Chairman Han’s unpleasant words.

“No, that’s not it…”

“If there’s no problem, let’s get married.”

“Why me specifically? Just in case, I’ll tell you that I’m not some spoiled young lady from a wealthy family.”

“What does that matter? I don’t really like naive young ladies from wealthy families either.”

The hidden daughter of Taesan.

A woman who had many rumors because she did no public activities. A woman rumored to be treasured and hidden away by the doting Chairman Han and his wife because of her weak health.

Tae Un pretended not to be surprised at all by Ba Ha’s words and shot back.

“I’ll just say it. I’m an ille… illegitimate child of the Taesan Group. That’s why I’ve been hiding, and I think you know about my relationship with that… Han person.”

Tae Un flinched at the unexpected words.

An illegitimate child of Taesan.

It was a word that didn’t suit Chairman Han, who had maintained a clean image. To think that Chairman Han had an illegitimate child.

“Miss Han Ba Ha, do you know what you’re saying right now? Is this how people reject these days?”

Would you really propose marriage if you knew all this?

“I just felt you should know everything. You should know who the woman you’re proposing to is, Mr. Vice Chairman. I’m used to hiding how I live now.”

“Just so I know… Don’t you know too? Why I’m at Daehan instead of Yoo An. And about 80 percent of the rumors floating around about me are true.”

“…”

“Now that you’ve revealed one thing and I’ve revealed one thing, I don’t think there are any more excuses left.”

A man showing a card that could be a weakness if it were one.

A man telling everything to a woman who could become his bride.

A man showing consideration that wasn’t consideration.

Ba Ha didn’t understand why he was going this far, but she found it strange and also envied how he boldly opened up about everything.

“Miss Han Ba Ha, listen carefully.”

“…”

“I won’t hide you away. If you want, I’ll bring you out into the world. Not as some family’s hidden daughter, not as some celebrity’s hidden lover, but as Han Ba Ha, you.”

Ba Ha found Tae Un’s words too painful to hear. His words about bringing her out into the world pierced her heart.

“I don’t know how many times I’m saying this, but let’s get married.”

That proposal, which contained no words of love, no promises of happiness, no affection whatsoever, sounded more sincere than any other proposal.

A proposal received from a man other than Lee Han, whom she had loved all her life, moved Ba Ha’s heart.

“Take my hand. You don’t have any more excuses to say.”

She wanted to take it.

She didn’t want to avoid those eyes looking at her so resolutely. She wanted to see if he could really be that one ray of light to bring her out of the darkness and illuminate her, but she couldn’t.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do it. That marriage.”

Ba Ha looked at Tae Un and smiled bitterly as she rejected him.

She couldn’t take it.

It was a hand she could have taken, pretending to give in, but she couldn’t take it.

Because that excuse was still clearly in her heart.

“There is. That excuse.”

“Can’t do it… What is it? That excuse.”

Tae Un’s brow furrowed slightly at Ba Ha’s firm rejection.

He couldn’t understand.

Was there anything that could move her heart more than what he had said? Tae Un thought the words he had given her were what she had wanted to hear more than anything else.

But the answer that came back was “I can’t do it”.

“I don’t want to meet anyone right now.”

She was tired.

She had been hurt too much by people, so she didn’t want to meet anyone right now, and all her emotions weren’t sorted out yet.

Although it was words spoken out of anger and hatred towards Chairman Han, it wasn’t a light enough emotion to meet someone else so quickly to try to forget him again. She couldn’t meet someone else to forget him while he still existed in her heart.

That one night with Tae Un was enough for that.

This was Ba Ha’s excuse and her true feelings.

“Is that all? Is that really the excuse for rejecting this marriage now?”

This man was always like this.

He was a man who always spoke as if he could see right through Ba Ha’s heart with his low voice. He was the kind of man who always made Ba Ha flinch with his direct words.

So that she couldn’t make any rebuttal.

“I… guess so?”

When Ba Ha asked back while avoiding Tae Un’s eyes, Tae Un took a sip of the coffee in front of him without taking his eyes off her.

“…”

Seeing Tae Un staring at her without saying a word, Ba Ha did her best to roll her eyes and avoid his gaze to avoid making eye contact with him, and Tae Un smiled slightly when he saw Ba Ha at a loss for what to do under his persistent gaze.

The assessment was already over.

Because her expression was telling the answer.

“I thought you would fall for my words.”

“That’s right. I almost did.”

If she had let her guard down for a moment, she would have fallen for Tae Un again. She would have almost grabbed the hand he held out again.

Because it was the words she wanted to hear more than anything else.

Not the hidden daughter of Taesan, not someone’s hidden lover.

Just Han Ba Ha.

It was really the words she had wanted and wished for.

“But you didn’t fall for it.”

“I told you. That I don’t want to meet anyone yet… But marriage?”

Tae Un looked at Ba Ha, who seemed bitter.

Should I just believe her once. That ridiculous excuse.

If I push any further, she’ll run away. She’ll just say let’s not see each other again.

“Then let’s not get married.”

Tae Un decided to pretend to take a step back for now.

“What?”

Ba Ha blinked her large eyes in surprise at Tae Un’s words.

She hadn’t expected him to agree so easily. Ba Ha felt sorry for Tae Un but also relieved at his words of agreeing not to do it.

“Thank you. Then I’ll…”

Ba Ha was relieved by Tae Un’s words and was about to get up from her seat after saying goodbye.

“Let’s just date. Us.”

Ba Ha was surprised once again by Tae Un’s words that seemed to grab her ankle, and she felt drained and was about to get angry at Tae Un who seemed to be playing word games.

“Ha… Are you joking right now? It’s the same thing.”

“I have no such intention either. Miss Han Ba Ha.”

He had no intention of backing down.

If he was going to back down so easily, he wouldn’t have called Min Seok or met Chairman Woo whom he didn’t want to see.

You don’t know anything.

The pain I had to endure to come to this place.

“I haven’t found that answer yet. So I have no intention of letting you go.”

“Mr. Vice Chairman…”

“Ah. One thing is certain. I keep thinking about you. It bothers me.”

This was Tae Un’s true feelings.

He kept thinking about her.

A woman trying to throw herself into an abyss because she can’t forget one man.

He wanted to pull her out of that abyss.

There was a moment of silence after Tae Un’s words.

Although Tae Un was pretending to be relaxed and drinking coffee without saying anything, he wasn’t relaxed at all. Ba Ha’s rejection wasn’t in Tae Un’s plans. Faced with an unexpected rejection, Tae Un had to rack his brains.

“Miss Han Ba Ha, what are you going to tell Chairman Han if you leave like this?”

“…”

“Didn’t you have a reason for coming to this meeting?”

Ba Ha couldn’t say anything to Tae Un’s words.

What should she say to Chairman Han?

What happens after she says it?

Will he really ask her to come back to that house?

She hated that more than death.

Ba Ha’s face hardened as she gradually realized the reality of Tae Un’s words.

“Let’s do this. Let’s say we’re getting married.”

“What? Why is the conversation suddenly going back that way?”

“I don’t mean we’re really doing it. Let’s just say we’re going to do it on the surface.”

“…”

“Just because we say this doesn’t mean we’re really going to get married.”

This was the result Tae Un had come up with after racking his brains in that brief moment. Tae Un spoke calmly, not losing his composure until the end.

“No, what on earth…”

“I told you. I’ll only do what Miss Han Ba Ha wants.”

Tae Un spoke in a low voice, emphasizing his words as he looked at the flustered Ba Ha.

“Why are you going this far?”

Ba Ha’s heart felt strange at Tae Un’s words. Not even Lee Han, whom she had loved passionately, had spoken to her like this, and Tae Un, whom she had only met a few days ago, was the first.

“Buying time?”

She couldn’t understand his words even more.

If anything, isn’t it wasting time? What on earth could he gain by wasting even time? If I bother him as he says, he could just remove me from his sight.

The people around Ba Ha had always been like that.

If something bothered them, they removed it from sight, and if they wanted something, they took it.

That’s why Ba Ha couldn’t understand Tae Un even more.

“Please explain so I can understand.”

“Does Miss Han Ba Ha always find my words difficult?”

Tae Un spoke as he gazed intently at Ba Ha.

“You buy time to escape from Taesan, and I buy time to find the answer.”

When their eyes met, Tae Un smiled slightly with his eyes half-closed, and Ba Ha’s face gradually reddened with embarrassment at Tae Un’s gaze and words.

“I’m confident, you know. That I can find this answer.”

Ba Ha sighed at Tae Un’s words and took a sip of her warm coffee.

“If that happens, I’ll be using you again this time, Mr. Vice Chairman. You know that, right?”

“I know. Though I’m not too pleased about it.”

“…”

“Come to think of it, Miss Han Ba Ha is quite an amazing woman. Saying outright that she’s using me.”

Ba Ha couldn’t just laugh at Tae Un’s glib words.

“But still, this is…”

“Don’t think about it too hard. Just take my hand. We’ll think about what comes next after that.”

Why does she always end up worrying so much when she sees this man?

Is it right to use him again this time? Is this really okay? She doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt anymore.

That’s why she can’t just grab his hand.

“What if I say I don’t want to in the middle of it?”

“Then we’ll officially break off our engagement at that time.”

“…”

“By the time you say you don’t want to, I’ll have found my answer, and you’ll have found yours too.”

To be honest, it was tempting.

Is it really okay to fall for it this time? If she does, she’ll be free from Chairman Han for a while, as Tae Un said.

But is it really okay to take the hand you’re holding out?

Are you really okay with this?

I’m afraid you’ll get hurt.

“I can’t make any promises to you, Mr. Vice Chairman.”

“Miss Han Ba Ha doesn’t need to make any promises. Just do as your heart tells you. As you wish.”

“…”

“Just use me. Even if you keep thinking about Lee Han, that person, then throw me away at that time.”

Tae Un’s words moved Ba Ha’s heart.

“I’ll say it again, it’s just buying time. We’re not anything to each other, understand?”

“Alright. Let’s buy time.”

Tae Un leaned on the table with his arms and looked at Ba Ha with a broad smile as he continued speaking.

“See. I told you I was confident.”