It was when Sun Woo threw himself on the bed after finishing his call with Young Hwa.

Bang-! The door to Sun Woo’s room flew open with a loud noise.

“Hey- Kang Sun Woo!”

It was Jang Hee, Sun Woo’s elder sister who had been working at the European branch, returning home.

“Ah, X!”

Sun Woo, startled as he sat up in bed, let out a coarse word.

“You’ll break the door doing that!”

Sun Woo had been lying down unbuttoning his shirt. He felt flushed at the thought that if she’d been a little later, he would have greeted Jang Hee half-naked.

“If you don’t like me coming in like this, lock the door. Isn’t it left open for people to come in?”

Jang Hee was confident. Moreover, she was grinning.

In fact, Sun Woo used to lock his door until Jang Hee left for Europe.

Jang Hee had no sense of caution. So even during Sun Woo’s adolescence, he had no privacy.

“I heard you got engaged? Why didn’t you report to your elder sister?”

“Haa.”

Sun Woo sighed briefly and laughed.

“Oh? You’re laughing?”

“Why do I need to report to my elder sister about my marriage?”

“Women understand women best. Your elder sister needs to know which vixen has completely fooled you, you idiot.”

Sun Woo had words rising to his throat, but he held them back.

Who was it that fell for a man like a gigolo, struggled, and ended up paying an enormous amount in alimony after getting divorced?

“I can see what you’re thinking.”

Jang Hee read Sun Woo’s thoughts and widened her eyes.

“Let’s leave it at that.”

Sun Woo, who was usually confident in front of everyone, slightly lowered his tail before Jang Hee.

“Look at this cute kid.”

“Is that why you came back to the country?”

Yet seeing Jang Hee made Sun Woo feel like he could breathe easier.

“You psycho. Seeing your face intact, it doesn’t seem like you’re being forced into this marriage.”

The only person in this house he could open his heart to.

Although they were half-siblings, Jang Hee was the most comforting presence for Sun Woo.

Sun Woo had no allies anywhere in this house.

Around the time he entered elementary school, Sun Woo came to the main house boasting the grandeur of The K, holding Chairman Kang’s hand.

“Kang Sun Woo. Hold your head up straight.”

Towards the intimidated Sun Woo, Jang Hee, who was three years older, shot those words instead of a greeting.

Compared to the somewhat small-framed Sun Woo, Jang Hee was tall and strong.

“I’m Kang Jang Hee, your elder sister. Remember that clearly.”

“Ah. Aah. Hello.”

He greeted hesitantly.

He thought he wouldn’t be welcomed. No, at that moment, he wondered if he was someone who shouldn’t have been born.

Chairman Kang had a legal wife through a strategic marriage between companies. So he probably didn’t look favorably on Sun Woo, who was born and raised outside. Though young, Sun Woo instinctively felt this fact.

“Can’t you answer properly? Look me in the eye and say it again.”

So Jang Hee, whom he first met, was scary.

“Hello. I’m Kang Sun Woo.”

He greeted again, putting strength into his toes.

“Good. Nice to meet you.”

Only after he greeted loudly did Jang Hee show a smile.

“You’re Kang Sun Woo. Got it? You’re the eldest son of The K who should be proud no matter what you hear anywhere.”

“What? Ah! Yes.”

“Kid-! How can a boy be this cute? You’re so skinny, like you haven’t even had rice porridge.”

Chairman Kang’s legal wife.

That is, Jang Hee’s birth mother was constitutionally weak. But she was a kind person.

She did her best to raise Sun Woo, who she thought would be like loose sand. Of course, Sun Woo didn’t know what her inner thoughts were, how much she was burning up inside.

She wasn’t the type to show it outwardly. But to Sun Woo, she was such a good person that he wondered if she might have been an angel sent from heaven in the most difficult situation.

But the fact that he wasn’t her biological child didn’t change. That gap was dissolved in all of Sun Woo’s time. Even in laughter, even in affection, Sun Woo’s depression always followed him without hiding its existence.

The kind woman tried to fill the void, even being considerate of Sun Woo.

But around the time Sun Woo turned twenty, she finally fell ill with an unknown disease, languished, and passed away.

Perhaps, as a woman who had lived her whole life looking only at Chairman Kang, Sun Woo could only guess that she might have suffered from a heart ailment due to the fact that there was another woman in his heart.

Less than a year later, Chairman Kang remarried Sun Woo’s birth mother, Madam Hwang.

Sun Woo didn’t like it.

Sun Woo didn’t get close to Madam Hwang, who was his birth mother but couldn’t have a mother’s affection.

Rather, during that time, Sun Woo was the most misaligned, with thorns all over his body.

But Jang Hee treated the newly welcomed Madam Hwang affectionately, calling her mother.

It was grateful but painful. Even though Jang Hee had also lost her mother because of Madam Hwang.

Why couldn’t he think like that?

How could they maintain such a relationship?

Sun Woo couldn’t understand and didn’t want to understand.

“Why did you come? It’s not really because I got engaged, right?”

Sun Woo showed an expression that said it was absurd.

“Sharp kid.”

“Go take care of your business and leave. Don’t worry about me.”

“Little brother- One of my schedules is to meet your fiancee. You ill-mannered brat. Set a date with that friend and let me know. Okay? Got it?”

Jang Hee leaned her tall frame, as tall as a man’s, grabbed Sun Woo’s head, and strongly pressed her fist against his forehead.

“Aak! This lady, really. Let go!”

“Lady! Lady? You’ve lost your mind since your elder sister wasn’t around!”

Jang Hee beat Sun Woo up just enough not to kill him and then left the room.

After leaving Sun Woo’s room, she smiled.

Zing-.

The mobile phone in her pocket rang.

“Hey, Lee Han Ul! What’s kept you so busy that you’re only calling now.”

Jang Hee laughed as she headed to her room.

***

From the morning, Young Hwa felt uneasy due to the unsettling atmosphere.

It was because of the fashion show that would be held more splendidly than any other season.

Of course, the busiest department was the design team.

News of the merger between The K and U&I Fashion was circulating.

While it was just a rumor that they might merge from the outside, it was almost certain internally.

Along with the news of Sun Woo and In Ha’s engagement, it was said that The K’s executives would attend next year’s first half fashion show.

Of course, officially it was for testing and market research for department store placement, but it also meant that The K’s influence would actually be involved.

Before starting work, Young Hwa browsed through famous foreign magazines to check fashion trends.

It was one of her morning routines.

Looking at new magazines, grasping trends, and conceptualizing suitable fabrics and designs was one of Young Hwa’s happiest schedules.

“What’s the use of you looking at this?”

In the meantime, In Ha came to Young Hwa’s side and started to sneer.

“Trend analysis. I might not need to, but you should, right?”

She wanted to say, “Who are you to criticize when you can’t even make one design?” but she swallowed her words and smiled.

Murmur, murmur.

People’s voices were heard a bit louder than usual.

But the design room was a place where many people from business partners came and went, and Young Hwa’s seat was in the corner.

Neither Young Hwa nor In Ha paid any attention to the murmuring in the office.

“That’s not something for you to worry about, Young Hwa. Why don’t you just do your job?”

“My job?”

“Yes, instead of playing with magazines, why don’t you go to the basement and bring some necessary supplies? There’s no line tape in the office now, and we’re out of silk pins.”

Young Hwa suppressed her feelings.

In Ha’s behavior was visible. Perhaps she was feeling urgent due to the news that the scale of the fashion show would be larger.

She probably wanted to look for the drawing book she couldn’t find in her room.

“Really? That’s strange. I filled everything up at the beginning of the week. Did a thief come in?”

Young Hwa, who didn’t like working twice, brought supplies and filled them up whenever she went to the basement to look for samples.

So there was no way they could be out.

“The team leader is telling you. Can you just go without talking back?”

Talking back.

At that moment, Sun Woo’s face suddenly came to mind. Frustrated by the frequent occurrences, Young Hwa shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Why suddenly.

“Okay. I’ll go.”

Young Hwa squeezed her eyes shut and stood up.

Just in case of such a situation, Young Hwa had put her drawing book in a locker at the subway station on her way to the office.

She felt sad that she had to go this far.

She passed by In Ha and came out to the inner part of the office.

The murmuring of people began to intensify. Sometimes there were disputes when samples came out wrong, but this was a different kind of voice from such disputes.

Rather, a kind of exclamation? Surprise?

That noise was directed at one place.

“Oh my! Team leader. Team leader Ji!”

An urgent voice calling for In Ha was heard.

Young Hwa also turned her head, following In Ha.

“What’s going on?”

In Ha completely changed the expression she had been making while looking at Young Hwa and turned around.

And soon she couldn’t close her surprised mouth. And Young Hwa was just as surprised as In Ha.