Shu, shu…… Bang! Bang bang!

On a dark night, the restaurant on the ship was filled with a festive atmosphere. As fireworks began to burst, So Yeon, leaning on the bow railing, gazed up absentmindedly at the colorful sparks painting the pitch-black night sky.

Even in the midst of this, Seo Jun’s gaze was fixed on her standing beside him. So Yeon, sensing his eyes on her face, looked at Seo Jun.

“Why are you only looking at me? Don’t you like fireworks?”

“……”

Because what I like is Eom So Yeon. Because no matter what dazzling thing is brought before my eyes, nothing is more beautiful than you.

Seo Jun, simply happy in this moment of looking at her bright smile, just slightly raised the corners of his lips.

Those lips…….

Those handsome lips that tempt me at every turn…….

So Yeon unconsciously reached out her hand towards Seo Jun’s face. In response, his alluring lips drew an exquisitely elegant smile.

Like the fireworks bursting incessantly, So Yeon’s heart pounded uncontrollably. However, it was a different kind of pounding, deliberately ignoring an inexplicable pressure, distinct from excitement.

Should I just tell him now?

If he finds out that Hyunwoo is his child, what will this man say to me? Will he get angry first? Will he just laugh it off, finding it too absurd? Or will he blame me, saying he dislikes me now?

He must be someone who has never known what it’s like to be on the receiving end of life.

Then what should I do? Should I cling to him and beg forgiveness, or should I give up on everything as it is?

So Yeon, afraid to even bring it up, gazed at Seo Jun endlessly with sorrowful eyes.

It was at that moment.

“!”

In the blink of an eye, it was his smooth lips that grazed her forehead.

“What was that?”

“Cut me some slack. You’re so pretty, I had to do at least this……”

Smooch!

It was instantaneous. So Yeon, standing on her tiptoes, silenced him with a kiss on Seo Jun’s lips.

“What… does this mean?”

So Yeon could now feel it.

The burning gaze that only looked at her.

The warm touch that always considered her first, no matter when or where.

The consistent confessions expressing his feelings of affection and the sincere attitude that followed.

That what was shaking her now was this man’s sincerity, untainted by any calculation. That he was conveying his desperate feelings to her with his entire being.

“I also couldn’t help it because you’re so handsome, elder brother……”

Seo Jun gently grasped her slender chin, drawing her wandering gaze to him. Then, cupping the back of her round head with his large hand, he brought their faces together.

As hot breath rushed in, the sophisticated woody musk scent struck her nose. Her eyes, widened in surprise, were filled entirely with Tae Seo Jun’s face. So Yeon, not wanting to miss this moment more than anything, closed her eyes.

The grand fireworks decorating the finale painted the kissing couple and the dark night sky with bright, colorful lights.

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As soon as they arrived at the mansion, Seo Jun took So Yeon upstairs to the second floor.

His steps were somewhat hurried.

Finally entering his room, Seo Jun gazed for a moment into her large, beautiful eyes. The big eyes sparkled innocently.

Seo Jun slowly kissed her small lips. Seo Jun, who found even her slight trembling maddeningly delightful, didn’t want to let go of Eom So Yeon tonight more than ever. He couldn’t stop.

So Yeon, trapped between him and the wall, curled her limbs inward, her chest heaving with breathlessness.

“H-hey, this is too fast……!”

“Don’t you think it’s already too late? Eom So Yeon, we’re in big trouble now.”

His declaration of war was thrilling.

Seo Jun roamed here and there, tickling So Yeon’s face. He touched lightly and pulled away, then pressed his lips again, blooming sweet fever flowers.

“……”

This is… something you do with a lover……

Ah, I don’t know anymore.

I really don’t know now.

So Yeon’s heart pounded as if it might burst, feeling she could happily melt away right now from this incredibly sweet kiss that words like ‘gentle’ couldn’t begin to describe.

A slight crease appeared between Seo Jun’s brows as he deeply sucked on her luscious lips. In that instant, her skirt lifted slightly.

The impatience was clearly felt in his fingertips as they unbuttoned her blouse one by one from the neck. His hot breath unfailingly followed wherever Seo Jun’s hands passed.

But it was just for a moment. As Seo Jun’s eyes, nose, and lips came very close to So Yeon’s eyes, something flashed through her mind like a fleeting memory.

Hotel Elstella.

Tae Seo Jun, who used it as if it were his own home.

His father smiling kindly in the portrait.

The face of his father in the painting had seemed familiar, constantly lingering in her mind, and So Yeon now realized that it perfectly matched the face of Chairman Tae Seok Ho, whom she had often seen in the business section of newspapers.

Yes, that’s right! It seemed to be a younger version of Chairman Tae Seok Ho. Then doesn’t that mean Tae Seo Jun is his son!

Moreover, So Yeon’s mind, as if a fog had lifted, was falling into confusion once again. She suddenly recalled a conversation between her elder sister and mother that she had overheard in childhood.

‘Why did they send dad’s birthday cake from Hotel Elstella?’

‘Chairman Tae sent it in the hotel’s name. He said sending at least a cake would ease his mind since your father refused gifts.’

‘Was Chairman Tae that close with dad?’

‘Yes, he was.’

‘Wow, that’s amazing. To think that dad, who only studied his whole life, is close to Chairman Tae, who’s the cream of the crop among the wealthy.’

‘Around the time So Yeon was born, your father performed transplant surgery on him and became his primary physician. That’s when Chairman Tae began to trust your father greatly.’

The fact that Chairman Tae Seok Ho, a titan of the business world known to every Korean, was Tae Seo Jun’s biological father. And that dad and Chairman Tae were not just ordinarily close.

That fact was the reality that had been pressing on her all this time, and coincidentally, she remembered it at this moment.

“W-wait a moment!”

So Yeon, snapping back to her senses, tightly grasped Seo Jun’s hand as it reached for the last button of her blouse.

“……?”

Is this what a beast deprived of its prey would be like? Seo Jun, his hand’s movement restrained from advancing further, raised one eyebrow in displeasure, as if growling.

He had kissed her forehead, but she was the one who kissed his lips first. The kiss that followed flowed naturally, and her actions clearly indicated she wouldn’t resist anymore. So why, now of all times, was she saying no?

“Weren’t you going to accept me?”

So Yeon hurriedly straightened her disheveled clothes and said,

“Yes. Until just now, I was. I was so shaken that I was about to give in to you, Tae Seo Jun. But now, I don’t think it’s right.”

“Why!”

“I-I’m sorry. Anyway, it’s not right! Well then, I’ll be going……”

Even if he treated her as a fickle woman, she couldn’t help it. So Yeon rushed out of the master bedroom as soon as she finished speaking.

“Ha……!”

Picking someone up and putting them down, how very self-centered!

Will this hungry craving, which only grows stronger with time, only stop when I’m dead? How can such a small woman make it impossible for me to escape!

Reflecting on the time he couldn’t forget Eom So Yeon and how he had to cling to her because of it recently, Seo Jun deliberately changed his angry expression to a blank one as he walked into the bathroom with heavy steps.

He was going to wash his face with cold water, feeling hot from the awkwardness of being rejected by Eom So Yeon again.

That didn’t mean he disliked Eom So Yeon.

He was just a bit taken aback, not realizing it would be this difficult to win a woman’s heart.

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There was a good reason why Eom So Yeon suddenly pushed Tae Seo Jun away.

She had made up her mind that today would be the day she would accept Tae Seo Jun and reveal everything she had been keeping secret.

But at the moment she tried to be honest, she realized why the portrait hanging on the central staircase had been bothering her all along.

She had thought his father’s appearance was somewhat familiar, but it was only today that So Yeon accurately remembered who he was.

She hadn’t expected him to be from the number one chaebol family in the business world. There was a world of difference between being simply wealthy and being part of the Elstella Group. It might not be a matter that could be resolved just by Seo Jun accepting her.

Returning to her room, So Yeon bit her lower lip anxiously and stared blankly for a while. Then, a short time later, she called her parents in Canada with trembling hands.

−Mom?

“Our Hyunwoo, did you eat dinner?”

−Yes. Grandmother said I need to grow a lot to go to Korea. So I ate a lot.

“Hoot, well done, my pretty baby! When our Hyunwoo comes to the Seoul house, mom will make lots of things you like. What do you want to eat most?”

−Kiki kick, Hyunwoo likes everything mom makes.

“Alright. Just tell me anything. Mom will make it all for you.”

Barely holding back the tears that welled up suddenly, So Yeon paused for a moment before speaking again.

“Hyunwoo, where’s grandpa?”

−Grandpa is right here. Wait a moment, mom.

As soon as Hyunwoo handed over the phone, her father’s warm voice came through.

−It’s dad, So Yeon.

So Yeon chatted about everyday matters as usual, then casually asked about Chairman Tae.

“Dad, you know Chairman Tae Seok Ho of Hotel Elstella well, right?”

−Yes, I do. But why?

“No, a friend studying economics mentioned him in their thesis, and I got curious too. What kind of person is he? I mean, his personality or values.”

−Well, let’s see. In a word, he’s a good person. But given the vast wealth he’s amassed, his cold and precise nature is something ordinary people couldn’t even begin to imitate. He’s ruthless when he decides something’s not right. He can do anything if he sets his mind to it. Above all, he’s a man with terrifying insight. Shall I say more?

“Ah, no. That’s okay, dad.”

After talking with her father, So Yeon’s thoughts became even more complex and deep.

When she first saw the portrait and realized he was a chaebol heir, she should have felt that she and Tae Seo Jun were from different worlds. But for that reason alone, there was too much lingering attachment to cut him out of her heart. So, she gathered courage again to dream of becoming Tae Seo Jun’s woman.

But, my thoughts were wrong.

Having him, becoming his woman, was absolutely not an easy matter. Looking at Tae Seo Jun alone might be one thing, but the interests of the family elders were also intertwined. It wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

Just the fact that his family was a chaebol family scared her. Still, she had hoped that as long as Tae Seo Jun liked her, he might warmly embrace the child too. But after hearing about Chairman Tae Seok Ho, So Yeon realized.

The anxiety that she might lose only the child. She couldn’t help but imagine the worst case of facing opposition from both his parents and her own.

If by any chance Chairman Tae wanted to take only the child. If he used that enormous wealth and immense power to take the child away from her…….

No! That absolutely can’t happen!

The terrifying situation of being separated from the child was something she didn’t even want to imagine.

Therefore, So Yeon had to push Seo Jun away without hesitation. That wasn’t easy either, but if she had to choose between the child and the child’s father, there was no need to hesitate – it would be the child!

Thud, both knees fell to the floor. Soon after, her head bowed down as well.

So Yeon remained motionless on the floor for a long time.

Her fragile shoulders shook incessantly as she silently vomited out her uncontrollable sorrow.

[This is the timeline separator]

−Is it true that you’re alone with a woman after sending the others to Cadiz?

“Yes, Chairman.”

−I see. I’ll have to look into this in detail.

“There’s no need to go that far… Hello? Ah!”

The call was abruptly cut off mid-sentence.

As if saying “whatever,” Manager Bong threw his phone on the table and flopped down on the bed mattress. He shook his head slowly and then just blinked slowly while staring at the ceiling.

Park Sung Ho, who had been watching Manager Bong from the adjacent bed, asked,

“Was that Chairman Tae?”

“Yes. He already knows everything but wanted to confirm it with me, so I couldn’t deny it.”

“Hehe… Do chaebol families always monitor each other like that?”

“……”

Is it just family? He’s seen it happen to people around them, including himself, more than once or twice. When Manager Bong looked at Park Sung Ho with a disgruntled expression as if to say “you know why you’re asking,” Sung Ho immediately nodded his chin up and down emphatically.

“Of course, I know. But he should do it in moderation. I have a strong feeling that you won’t be safe the day the director finds out you’re two-timing.”

“You should be careful too. I might die first, but you’ll be next.”

“That’s a bit unfair. All I did was overhear things.”

“You’re not going to report to the director, right?”

“Hehe, of course not. You know how much I rely on and admire you, Manager Bong.”

“That’s why.”

“By the way, Chairman Tae is going to faint soon, isn’t he?”

Park Sung Ho and Manager Bong knew all too well that now Eom So Yeon’s background would be thoroughly investigated without anyone knowing.

“It was fortunate that Director Tae cleaned things up in advance last time, but when Chairman Tae found out about Yoo Jung Hwa late, he was incredibly furious.”

“Speak properly. He only made a fuss with me, but he didn’t say a word of complaint to the director, pretending not to know anything.”

“This time the situation is a bit different. When he finds out there’s a child, how will he react?”

It was exactly as he said. Eom So Yeon was a single mother, and the romance was just beginning. Moreover, this was the first time Manager Bong had seen Tae Seo Jun so deeply infatuated with a woman, so he couldn’t help but worry that Chairman Tae’s wrath might soon fall.

“Do we have beer?”

“Of course. I practically cleared out the mart in front of the hotel earlier.”

When Manager Bong asked, Park Sung Ho, who had quickly moved towards the refrigerator, took out cans of beer of various types as if he had prepared for this.

The frustrating reality where superiors cause problems, but subordinates bear the consequences. Still, thanks to the superior’s romance, haven’t we had a good rest for two days in a row? And until tomorrow afternoon, we were free.

“Shall we order some side dishes too?”

“They say even the ghost who died from eating looks good.”

“Sounds great!”

The two men ordered lavish room service as if they were about to enjoy their last supper.