Chapter – 49
What He Knows
“So you really did know everything. That night… it was you, wasn’t it?”
Mijeong’s voice, demanding answers, had grown hoarse without her noticing. Her throat scraped painfully as she spoke.
It wasn’t exactly a shocking revelation. Even back then, she had been certain the man was Cha Younghoon. That was why her insides had burned day after day with anxiety.
She lived in constant fear that one day he might reveal her sordid private life to both families. The thought tormented her.
She was terrified of being branded a sexual deviant by the world. Her sexual preferences—only Dojin knew about them.
And yet something strange had happened. Even after quite some time had passed since that incident, there had been no word from the other family.
Had Cha Younghoon simply not reported it to the chairman yet?
Or had his family decided to quietly bury the matter?
Either way, Mijeong’s nerves were being shredded all the same.
She almost wished he would confront her outright—then she could fabricate an alibi, spew whatever ridiculous lies she had to, and defend herself.
But Cha Younghoon hadn’t asked her a single question. He hadn’t even suggested meeting her once.
The only conversation they had ever shared was after the engagement was settled, at Gallery Heeum, in the presence of her mother.
Her sleepless nights multiplied, and with each passing day, Mijeong grew sharper, more brittle.
In the end, she reached a conclusion.
She needed a breakthrough—something to shatter this unbearable uncertainty.
“Then why didn’t you say anything when you knew? Why did you just dry my blood out and push me to this point?!”
Her vicious voice tore through the silence of the dark, echoing harshly. In contrast, Younghoon leisurely traced her face with his gaze, his expression relaxed.
Under neatly groomed brows, his pupils gleamed darkly as he asked,
“If you knew it was me, shouldn’t you have kept your head down and behaved like a dead mouse, Ms. Park Mijeong?”
His lips twisted as he spoke. The falsely gentle tone was grotesque. Mijeong’s shoulders trembled.
“Park Mijeong. What are you afraid of?”
“……”
“Afraid of being dumped?”
In that instant, Mijeong was rendered speechless.
Because he had struck the mark.
Yes. She was afraid.
From the moment she suspected that a man had discovered her chaotic private life, fear and anxiety swallowed her whole.
She desperately wanted this marriage.
People called it a marriage of convenience.
Some might have pitied her, claiming it was a loveless arrangement—but Mijeong didn’t see it that way.
To her, marrying Cha Younghoon was a lifelong dream.
She had first seen him in middle school, at a gathering she attended with her parents. She had fallen for him at first sight.
But their paths rarely crossed.
Even after she became an adult, Younghoon seldom appeared at social events, and so her one-sided love only stretched longer.
The reason she hadn’t recognized his voice at the party was largely because of his reclusive lifestyle.
Over time, what began as a young girl’s admiration grew into an overwhelming desire to possess him.
So when she heard that Cha Younghoon would be her arranged marriage partner—how she had nearly leapt for joy.
As always, Mijeong’s world had sailed smoothly in the direction she wanted.
Until the masquerade party, when cracks began to form in her perfect world.
When would Younghoon expose her secret?
Would he use it as an excuse to break off the engagement?
Otherwise, how could she explain why he would deliberately infiltrate the party?
Consumed by anxiety, Mijeong searched for a solution.
After much deliberation, she decided to manipulate Younghoon’s private life—to dirty it just like her own.
There was no other way. No matter how thoroughly she investigated him, Cha Younghoon’s personal life was spotless.
Before such a man could use her flaws as grounds for annulment, she had to strike first. She had to gag him.
“……”
Pulled back from her memories by his question about annulment, Mijeong suddenly snapped back to the present. Her body shuddered violently, her eyes flying open.
“Afraid? Why would I be afraid? Why would I be scared of being dumped? We’re both filthy in our own ways—what right do you have to talk about annulment? How dare you?”
Of course, exposing Sa Eunhee had been her plan—but Mijeong still felt a measure of injustice.
Using Sa Eunhee was like drinking from a poisoned chalice.
From the very beginning, Cha Younghoon had been that way. Even during their first accidental private meeting at her mother’s gallery, his gaze lingered on Sa Eunhee—a woman he’d only met that day.
Like iron filings drawn to a magnet, he kept chasing after her without reason.
Mijeong was the only one who noticed. It was so fleeting that even her mother—hyper-aware when it came to her daughter’s romantic matters—had missed it.
After that, whenever they met at the gallery through her mother, Younghoon met Mijeong without complaint.
She wanted to believe it was just her imagination—but sadly, it wasn’t.
That faintly excited gleam in his eyes always followed Sa Eunhee.
Mijeong had long understood Younghoon’s nature. Despite his striking appearance, his inner world was colorless—cold and dark. His heart was sealed off, fortified, impenetrable.
The only way to open a man like that was to make him unlock the door himself.
So she chose to use Sa Eunhee.
She knew it was dangerous, but only the appearance of a woman he secretly cherished could provoke a reaction.
What she hadn’t anticipated was just how special that woman was to him.
Tonight, as he clasped Sa Eunhee’s hand and led her away, his eyes were tangled with sorrow and regret.
A bitter sense of injustice boiled up from her core. Mijeong dug her nails hard into her own flesh. Her fingertips drained white.
“You’re unbelievable. Do you really think I’d allow an annulment? You think things will go your way?”
Yet Younghoon’s reply, dismissive of her fury, was brief.
“Considering the effort you put into dragging me down to your level, I almost feel bad.”
“……”
“But I never planned to call off this marriage.”
“……”
“I felt that way from the beginning. And I still do.”
Mijeong’s eyes widened emptily. Along with the shock came a hollow feeling.
So that was why he’d stayed silent all this time.
Only now did his long silence make sense.
At the same time, she felt foolish—like a thief whose own feet had given her away, panicking alone while wearing herself thin.
If this was how it was going to be… what had she been doing all this time?
She let out a hollow laugh, thinking how she had nearly driven an innocent woman to her death for nothing.
But the thought vanished at Younghoon’s next words.
“That said, don’t expect a normal marriage. Surely you didn’t think we’d grow old together?”
Hoo.
Younghoon slowly exhaled a plume of smoke, the corners of his lips lifting loosely.
Mijeong’s eyes stung as she squeezed them shut. Goosebumps rose along her skin as cold air brushed against her. Her clenched fists trembled.
She told herself this was fine.
He had promised to go through with the marriage.
That should be enough.
Yet the unease and gloom refused to lift.
Is this really the ending I wanted?
A life that exists only as a shell?
Confusion flickered in Mijeong’s eyes.
In contrast, Younghoon’s gaze was steadier than ever.
He began walking toward her. Startled, Mijeong stumbled backward until her back hit the rough wall.
Trapped instantly between his solid arms, she was caught by his piercing gaze. In that moment, the only thing she could do was accept his stare with unwavering devotion.
“Park Mijeong.”
A crooked smile played on Younghoon’s lips as he spoke.
Mijeong stubbornly pressed her lips together.
In a voice deceptively gentle, he called her again.
“Mijeong.”
