“There’s no need for that.”

Tae Un said, raising one eyebrow crookedly. She was a woman who always thought about the end. Next to Ba Ha, Tae Un felt an inexplicable thirst and loneliness.

Ding dong-!

As soon as Tae Un finished speaking, he pressed the doorbell with a stern face as if telling Ba Ha to look, and Ba Ha, who hadn’t finished preparing herself mentally, hastily inhaled.

“It’s me.”

As Ba Ha spoke into the intercom while exhaling, the door opened at her voice. As soon as they entered the house, Manager Kim greeted Ba Ha and Tae Un at the door.

“Young lady, you’re here?”

“Yes. Have you been well? We meet often.”

“Go tell the chairman. Tell him to stop calling me in. Oh, my goodness…”

“When did he ever listen to me?”

“Sigh… The chairman is over there.”

At Manager Kim’s words, Tae Un bowed politely and headed to the spacious living room with Ba Ha. As they forcibly moved their feet that didn’t want to move, they saw Chairman Han’s family sitting cozily on the sofa waiting for them in the living room.

It wasn’t the usual noisy house where they would growl at each other. Just watching them sip their tea and put on airs of sophistication, Ba Ha’s brow furrowed involuntarily with disgust.

“Oh my. Ba Ha, you’re here? Mr. Woo came too? Since you decided to get married, it’s okay to call you Mr. Woo, right? Hahaha.”

Mi Ran put down her teacup, stood up, and greeted Tae Un and Ba Ha with an artificial smile plastered on her face.

Woo… Mr.? There’s even an actor here.

Seeing Mi Ran pretending to be a kind and loving stepmother, Ba Ha felt goosebumps all over her body.

“Of course. Nice to meet you. I’m Woo Tae Un.”

Letting out a hollow laugh and answering on behalf of Ba Ha, who remained silent, Tae Un smiled the same smile as Mi Ran and responded to her.

“Hello, Chairman. I’m Woo Tae Un.”

Tae Un offered a handshake to Chairman Han, who had approached Mi Ran’s side, and Ba Ha frowned, disliking even this sight.

“I spoke with Chairman Woo. I didn’t expect to see this face. Welcome.”

“Happy birthday to you. Thank you for inviting us.”

Chairman Han grasped Tae Un’s outstretched hand and received his greeting, patting Tae Un’s shoulder as he bowed.

With Tae Un’s appearance alone, many people in this house wrapped themselves in a kindness that wasn’t there before. It was artificial and unsightly. Only one person among them remained the same as usual.

Only Han Do Joon remained the same.

The same annoying self as always.

Han Do Joon, sitting on the sofa, raised one corner of his mouth as if mocking Tae Un and Ba Ha who had come home, smiling unpleasantly and glaring at Ba Ha.

That’s right. Not Mr. Woo.

“It seems the greetings are over, so please sit down first.”

At Chairman Han’s words, Ba Ha and Tae Un sat down side by side, and suddenly silence enveloped the living room.

As soon as they sat down, Ba Ha suddenly felt a wave of tension wrap around her body in the silence.

What will he say now.

“I didn’t think I’d see you like this.”

“I also didn’t know that the Han Ba Ha I knew was from the Taesan family.”

“…I heard you decided to get married.”

At Chairman Han’s words breaking the silence, Ba Ha flinched.

Han Ba Ha, don’t be scared. You did agree to it.

On the surface, at least.

“Yes. We decided to.”

Tae Un answered on behalf of Ba Ha, whose expression had hardened.

“When do you plan to do it?”

Ba Ha’s expression hardened more and more, and her surging emotions threatened to surface.

More words than usual from Chairman Han.

Questions that seemed to show curiosity about her for the first time.

They were insignificant questions, but they felt unfamiliar.

“Ah, we decided to date first. We plan to get married slowly.”

“Why?”

“Is it easy to live bumping into someone you don’t know well yet? I don’t want that either.”

Not expecting to be asked this much, Ba Ha couldn’t say anything as her heart churned at Chairman Han’s continued questions, so Tae Un answered on her behalf again.

“It seems Chairman Woo had different thoughts. Me too.”

“The desire to quickly marry off a child of marriageable age is the same for all parents nationwide, isn’t it? Your father will understand too. You don’t need to worry.”

Tae Un responded to each of Chairman Han’s questions with composure.

Maintaining the utmost respect, without crossing the line.

Seeing Tae Un’s demeanor, Chairman Han showed a faint smile.

“Vice Chairman must be uncomfortable. Let’s stop…”

“The titles haven’t been sorted out yet, I see.”

Ba Ha, who had spoken up worried that Tae Un might be uncomfortable with the growing lies, blushed more and more at Chairman Han’s words.

“I’m fine. After all, we first met as company superiors, so it’s hard to change completely in a short time. Usually it’s not this bad, but I think both of us are very nervous today.”

At Tae Un’s words, Chairman Han’s expression relaxed once again. Seeing Chairman Han’s relaxed expression, Ba Ha took a deep breath in relief that it had gone over well and quietly exhaled.

“That’s right. Don’t worry, we’re not usually like this.”

Ding dong-!

Just as Ba Ha was about to let go of her tension thanks to Tae Un’s efforts beside her, her body stiffened and her face crumpled again at the approaching footsteps opening the door and the gradually approaching familiar silhouette.

“Hello, Chairman.”

It was Lee Han.

And Cha Hi Ra behind him.

“You’re here.”

Seeing Chairman Han and his family not at all surprised by Lee Han’s sudden appearance, Ba Ha’s head went blank.

Only Ba Ha and Tae Un were surprised.

“Yes. I’m here. It’s been a while, Chairman.”

“Yes. Drop by more often.”

“Yes.”

Even Lee Han was calm.

Even upon discovering Ba Ha sitting next to another man, his gaze didn’t waver at all, rather it became colder.

That’s right. Not Mr. Woo.

“Ha…?”

Ba Ha let out a quiet laugh.

This meeting was clearly not a coincidence.

“Chairman, I’m here too.”

Hi Ra, standing next to Lee Han, greeted Chairman Han with a bright smile, and Chairman Han responded to her greeting with a faint smile.

What kind of situation is this?

Were Cha Hi Ra and the Chairman acquainted?

Just how much do they know?

Ba Ha felt like someone was hitting her on the back of the head repeatedly. She felt nauseous at the continued surprises, and her breath became increasingly choked as everyone except her and Tae Un seemed to know what was going on.

“Well then, is everyone here? You all haven’t eaten, right? Let’s have dinner first.”

At Mi Ran’s words, everyone got up and moved towards the kitchen.

“Ba Ha unni?”

“…Yes?”

Startled by Hi Ra’s sudden familiarity, Ba Ha couldn’t hide her expression.

She was nervous about what Hi Ra might say,

And anxious that she might cry at her words.

“Unni, I know everything.”

Hi Ra’s face drew closer.

As the increasingly strong sweet perfume scent stung her nose, Ba Ha froze in place and swallowed hard.

“So relax.”

Hot breath touched Ba Ha’s ear. When Tae Un arrived at the kitchen ahead of Ba Ha, Hi Ra whispered in Ba Ha’s ear and passed by her with a grin.

“…”

Ba Ha’s face gradually crumpled at Hi Ra’s words, and she silently stared at Chairman Han from her seat.

She glared at Chairman Han who had deliberately called them to this gathering.

“Ha…”

Looking again while seated, it was truly a spectacle.

Her cheating ex-boyfriend and his current girlfriend. And her supposed marriage partner beside her.

What an absurd situation this was.

“Chairman, happy birthday.”

As Hi Ra greeted him in an cute tone, Chairman Han smiled faintly at her again.

“Thank you. I called the whole family today under the pretext of my birthday. Vice Chairman Woo Tae Un will soon be family, and this kid Han is like a son to me. Everyone, enjoy your meal.”

As Chairman Han finished speaking and picked up his spoon, the meal began.

Ba Ha’s prediction was correct.

It wasn’t a coincidence, and in this ridiculous relationship gathered under Chairman Han’s plan, such a bleak meal began without a single word spoken.

Ba Ha didn’t even touch her spoon, just clasping her trembling hands hidden under the table.

“Father, I heard Han is starting filming soon. Should I invest?”

It seemed suspiciously too harmonious.

Do Joon couldn’t hold back the tickle in his mouth finding this situation amusing, and bared his teeth growling at Ba Ha.

As Ba Ha twitched her eyebrows at Do Joon’s words but couldn’t say anything, Tae Un quietly held Ba Ha’s trembling hand under the table.

Surprised by the sudden warmth, Ba Ha was able to forcibly suppress her surging emotions as her agitated feelings calmed down.

“You don’t have to. Our company decided to invest. It’s my brother’s movie, how could I not?”

“What? So I lost out?”

“Of course. You should yield such opportunities to me.”

“Haha. Han, you’d better treat Hi Ra well.”

Hi Ra cheerfully responded to Do Joon’s sarcasm next to the silent Lee Han.

Cha Hi Ra, is that woman really okay with this?

Ba Ha squeezed her eyes shut.

She didn’t come to see this. She didn’t want to see Lee Han and Cha Hi Ra, the two of them, with her own eyes.

“Um… I’ll get up first.”

Unable to bear it any longer, Ba Ha pulled her hand away from Tae Un’s grip and abruptly stood up.

She didn’t want to see anymore.

Lee Han, the cheerful Hi Ra beside him.

Even Tae Un with his hardened expression.

Ba Ha felt like she was about to cry.

“Sit down.”

As Chairman Han’s low voice resonated with even more weight, the noisy dinner table fell silent.

“I’m leaving.”

“I said sit down.”

“…What are you doing now?”

It was miserable.

No one seemed to care about Ba Ha’s feelings. Not a single person tried to see Ba Ha’s sorrow.

Only Tae Un beside her noticed her sadness.

Chairman Han spoke to Ba Ha, who was looking at him with trembling eyes.

In an even colder, heavier tone.

“Han Ba Ha, I told you to be quiet and eat your meal.”