“What is this, Yu Seol Ah? Did you see this? It’s the Gold Land power trip incident.”

As always, Seol Ah had come to work early that day and was busy with her tasks when her colleague Seo Yoon Jin’s fuss made her turn her head.

“Wow, this is outrageous. This mother… This is why clueless mothers get cursed at, right? Huh? The child is pitiful too. What kind of family is this?”

“What happened?”

As Seol Ah asked and opened an internet window, her face hardened.

At the center of the sensational article drawing people’s attention about the Gold Land power trip incident were Shin Young and her mother.

Of course, their faces were blurred, but Seol Ah who knew them couldn’t mistake them.

“The daughter is just like the mother. Tsk tsk, what did the employees do wrong? Throwing drinks and cursing at them just for being a little late.”

Gold Land was a place operated by the JK group.

It was a membership-only place, so not just anyone could go. Even with money, you had to know someone there to be able to buy a ticket.

If that’s the case, could it be…

‘With Shin Young’s mother’s personality, if Yu Min had hit Shin Young, she would have called me first to confront me about it.’

There was a reason she didn’t do that.

Seung Jun must have shown up after witnessing Yu Min and Shin Young’s fight and offered them Gold Land tickets. Shin Young’s mother wouldn’t have been able to stop Shin Young from jumping up and down with joy.

Seung Jun, having easily gained the upper hand, must have added a few words of advice too. And then he must have thoroughly searched the Gold Land CCTV to track them down.

The reason Seol Ah could see through Seung Jun’s actions without even witnessing them was because she was the one who had seen him act that way up close more than anyone else.

But that wasn’t the only thing that gave her goosebumps.

What Shin Young’s mother did was nothing compared to what Seol Ah had done. After all, Seol Ah had dared to take his child and run away without a word.

Perhaps Seung Jun was preparing for an even bigger and more terrifying occasion.

“Gold Land has spoken up. They say they won’t forgive the person who mistreated their employee. They say they treat all their employees like family. Amazing. As expected of JK.”

Yoon Jin clasped her hands to her chest.

“Oh right, I found someone I want to marry.”

“Someone you want to marry?”

Seol Ah had heard Yoon Jin say she recently broke up with someone. But someone she wants to marry already? Perhaps things were moving fast since she was still in her mid-twenties. Seol Ah looked at Yoon Jin with eyes full of curiosity.

“Well, more like… someone I’d like to meet at least once. The JK vice chairman. You know him? Han Seung Jun. He’s totally my type.”

At Yoon Jin’s words, Seol Ah’s jaw dropped.

She had nothing to say to that.

*

“I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Soft music and the best interior for an occasion like this.

Wearing clothes brought by his chauffeur since morning and with his hair styled by his personal hairdresser, he sat across from a woman looking more dashing than ever.

“What… have you heard a lot about me?”

Seung Jun tilted his head to the right as he asked.

The woman across from him was also impeccable. Her appearance, attire, way of speaking, and manner. The two gave off the impression of being raised well in a good family with a proper upbringing.

The woman smiled brightly, raising the corners of her lips.

“Well, that you were called a prodigy since childhood. And that you joined your first company project at the young age of sixteen and achieved great results.”

Seung Jun lowered his gaze.

That was just something he participated in as part of building his school specs.

The company had made that position for him to get a free ride, but Seung Jun couldn’t do that because of his pride. So he did actually produce results, but thinking back now, it was at the level of a newbie chick chirping.

“At the age of sixteen… let’s see, your name is…”

“Choi Yeo Jung.”

“What was Choi Yeo Jung doing at that age?”

Seung Jun raised the corner of his mouth, feeling embarrassed.

I pride myself on my memory, yet I forgot the name I heard just moments ago.

“I… I was just chasing celebrities and reading a lot of comic books.”

The woman who introduced herself as Yeo Jung shyly lowered her head.

“Saying it out loud, it’s embarrassing.”

“Sounds like time well spent. Better than chasing celebrities now, no?”

Seung Jun smirked, raising one corner of his mouth again.

“Is that… so?”

Yeo Jung’s face reddened.

She seemed like a woman who had grown up quietly and properly at home. What kind of family was she from? He felt like he had been introduced to her background at first but couldn’t remember.

Still, it must have been a good family. Only feeding her good things, dressing her in nice clothes. Not even allowing her to touch anything dirty.

“It’s just that I was the successor since childhood, so I constantly had to create those kinds of news stories.”

That didn’t mean he only studied all the time though. He had an appropriate amount of leisure and diverse hobbies. However, all of that was calculated.

In a place that never allowed for naturalness, Seung Jun grew up as if he were tailored for it. Only he knew how much pressure and burden that placed on him.

“That’s why you grew up so wonderfully. You’ll soon become the chairman too.”

“Is that so? Is that what you think?”

“Of course. Your mother has a doctorate in education. Actually, she was my professor when I was an undergrad. I also majored in education.”

Ah, that’s right.

Hyo Young’s words finally came to mind. That Yeo Jung had that connection to her.

Seung Jun looked at the Americano that had already turned cold.

“Education… are you aspiring to become a teacher?”

“No, that’s not it. But I am very interested in education. I want to raise my future child well. Like Professor Choi Hyo Young – upright but free.”

Seung Jun nodded.

Right, you did… raise your son well so he wouldn’t go astray. So that he could somehow endure without going crazy in an environment that could drive a person insane.

Should I be grateful?

Seung Jun picked up the Americano and finished the rest. Looking at the empty coffee cup, his heart felt like it was pounding for no reason and his stomach felt sour.

Just then, he heard the whispers of women passing by.

“At the convenience store?”

“Stabbed the clerk and ran away. The clerk died instantly.”

‘Convenience store clerk?’

When Seung Jun turned around, they were just exiting the café.

“Seung Jun.”

When he came to his senses, Seung Jun had followed the women to the exit without realizing it.

The women had already disappeared to who knows where.

‘What am I doing right now.’

Seung Jun returned to his seat.

“I apologize. Let’s continue.”

Seung Jun looked at Yeo Jung again. Yeo Jung looked at Seung Jun with a puzzled expression and opened her mouth again. But Seung Jun couldn’t understand a single word she said next.

“Dammit.”

“Pardon?”

Yeo Jung looked at Seung Jun with surprised eyes as he suddenly cursed.

“Ah, I’m sorry. There’s a project I’m currently concerned about. I think I’ll have to get going.”

Seung Jun stood up from his seat. And leaving behind a startled Yeo Jung with the eyes of a surprised rabbit, he left the café and went down to the hotel lobby.

“Vice Chairman, you’re leaving already?”

The chauffeur who was waiting asked with a flustered expression.

“Give me the key.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll drive myself. You can go home for the day.”

Seung Jun took the car key from the chauffeur and quickly headed to the parking lot.

The car sped out of the parking lot as he pressed the accelerator. Seung Jun bit his lip anxiously.

He called Seol Ah but she didn’t pick up.

‘Dammit, how many convenience stores are there in Korea.’

Even probability-wise, it couldn’t be possible. But for some reason he couldn’t explain, he was in a rush.

Soon, the car arrived in front of the convenience store.

Glancing through the window, Seol Ah was standing at the counter as if nothing had happened.

A sigh of relief escaped him and inexplicable anger rose up.

‘What am I doing.’

Only then did he search on his phone.

No matter how much he searched Korean news, he couldn’t find any reports of a convenience store robbery. After searching for a while, Seung Jun suddenly had a hunch and entered a search term other than news.

Looking at the search results, Seung Jun let out a hollow laugh.

The convenience store incident wasn’t something that had actually happened. It was a recent storyline in a currently popular drama.

Just as he was thinking of leaving, a burly man entered the convenience store.

Seung Jun bit his lip hard before slowly releasing it and got out of the car.

Entering the convenience store as if nothing was amiss, Seung Jun felt gazes directed at him but didn’t look that way.

Leisurely walking inside, he saw the burly man buy a pack of cigarettes and leave. Seung Jun picked up a can of coffee and a carton of milk and went to the counter.

“Ring it up.”

“That will be 2,400 won.”

When he raised his eyes, Seol Ah was deliberately avoiding his gaze, turning her head to the side.

Seeing her unharmed, he wanted to laugh again.

“If you listen to me, you could live comfortably, yet here you are working on the weekend again. Foolishly.”

At those words, the look in Seol Ah’s eyes changed.

“Who gives out prizes for living like this? You think living pitifully will earn you a ticket to heaven?”

“Why did you come?”

Seol Ah’s tone was sharp.

Because I keep worrying about you. And it makes me angry that you get on my nerves like this.

“A customer comes to a convenience store. Why are you acting like I shouldn’t be here? Is this customer discrimination?”

“Why, are you going to report it to the media again? To humiliate me so I can never hold my head up again!”

At Seung Jun’s sarcastic reply, Seol Ah spoke in an angry voice as if she had made up her mind.

“What you do is always obvious. Trampling on people, humiliating them with money and power. Snickering from your high position. You’re a million times more disgusting than Shin Young’s mother. You as a person, really!”

You keep coming to take my son away from me in the end.

You’re going to strangle me as much as you can and then take away the child that means as much as my life to me.

The words she couldn’t say only swirled in her pupils.

Seung Jun took a big step towards Seol Ah.

His gaze held a complicated light as it fell upon Seol Ah’s face.

“Why, didn’t you say you were curious as to why Yu Min hit that Shin Young or whatever her name is?”

Compared to Seol Ah who was yelling, Seung Jun’s voice was calm.

“That Shin Young bitch or whatever made fun of Yu Min for not having a dad. Yu Min had nothing to say to that. Because it’s true.”

Seung Jun lowered his head to meet Seol Ah’s eyes.

He didn’t want to say things like this. But seeing Seol Ah shouting as soon as she saw him made his anger suddenly rise. She doesn’t even know what’s inside people.

“This is the result you created for Yu Min. No money, no father. How will the world treat a Yu Min like that? He may not know now but he’ll end up completely ostracized. Because people tend to meet others at their own level.”

At that moment, Seol Ah’s hand rose. Before Seung Jun could register what was happening, his cheek was turned to the opposite side.