CHAPTER 2
A dark, heavy scent—like a blend of rum, dark chocolate, almonds, and sandalwood—washed over her.
At the same time, a large warmth settled on her shoulder.
The throbbing headache that had plagued her vanished in an instant.
“I didn’t hear anything about class being held at a hotel.”
Beom Kwon-yeol (범권열).
The friend of the older brother who had shared the loss of her only blood relative, and the next heir to Beomho Group—
“……Oppa.”
The man who was still Hee-jo’s first love.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“I had a meeting in this hotel lounge. It ended earlier than expected. I came down, saw you, and came over.”
Watching the two converse, Kim Shin-woo (김신우) swallowed hard.
Th-that’s really Beom Kwon-yeol.
He had forced his way into events and gatherings attended by influential figures from political and business circles through every connection he could muster.
Even then, it had been difficult to so much as meet Beom Kwon-yeol’s gaze.
The sight of those he once considered impressive wagging their tails at Kwon-yeol—just as he himself did to them—desperate to catch whatever crumbs fell his way, had been nothing short of shocking.
Even among the elite, Beom Kwon-yeol stood on an entirely different level.
Those who acted like royalty to the bone still lowered themselves before him.
The deep-rooted honor they prized so highly could be shattered by a single line in the ledger of secrets held by Beomho Group.
He was, in every sense, a man who wielded power and authority akin to a god.
And that very Beom Kwon-yeol stood before him now.
“But—”
Kwon-yeol shifted his gaze, yet he did not ask who Kim Shin-woo was.
He merely looked down at him with dry, indifferent eyes.
That alone was enough to overwhelm him.
“…….”
I need to answer.
This is Beom Kwon-yeol—how can I not say something to stand out?
But Kim Shin-woo couldn’t bring himself to speak.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
Even just meeting his gaze made it feel as though a leash had been fastened around his neck, suffocating him.
The trembling of his pupils, the amount of air he inhaled, the rough rise and fall of his throat, his racing heartbeat—
it felt as though Kwon-yeol was observing each one, measuring him.
As if deciding whether to crush him or not.
“This is Mr. Kim Shin-woo.”
The one who introduced him instead was a calm, elegant voice.
“He’s the son of Director Lee Jung-sun of Goyo Gallery, and he’s attending the knotting class.”
“Goyo Gallery.”
At that, Kim Shin-woo’s vision went white.
The way Kwon-yeol murmured it as if repeating it made it seem like he was writing his family into a mental ledger of death.
His already sinking heart felt as though it shattered completely.
“Director Lee must be quite troubled.”
Kwon-yeol’s pitch-black pupils narrowed coldly as he looked at Kim Shin-woo.
“Since her son can’t speak.”
“Ah—”
Kim Shin-woo’s wide eyes trembled violently, as if struck by an earthquake.
Instinctively, he realized—this was his last chance.
With cold sweat beading on his forehead, he barely managed to open his mouth.
“H-hello. I’m K-Kim Shin-woo. It’s an honor to meet you, Executive Director Beom Kwon-yeol.”
His trembling voice sounded almost like the bleating of a goat.
Kwon-yeol added indifferently,
“So you can speak. Director Lee must still be worried.”
“……Oppa.”
As if to stop him, Hee-jo called softly, then turned to Kim Shin-woo with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry. He didn’t mean it badly, so I’d appreciate it if you could understand—”
“‘Mr. Shin-woo’—”
Standing behind her, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, Kwon-yeol tilted his head slightly as he addressed him the same way she had.
“Are you going to keep sitting there?”
“E-excuse me?”
“I asked if you’re going to keep wasting our time with that vacant look.”
Hee-jo tightened her grip on the clutch resting on her lap.
Because she liked the way he grouped the two of them together with the word “our.”
Liked it far too much—so much that she feared she might reveal it without regard for time or place.
The pounding in her head gradually subsided.
“Get up. Don’t waste time.”
“…….”
“Hee-jo isn’t someone I can give to a bastard like you.”
Ah.
Her pale hand tightened further, leaving deep nail marks in the clutch.
Yet she couldn’t loosen her grip.
At the same time, Kim Shin-woo sprang to his feet as if propelled by a spring.
“I-I’m sorry. That was very rude of me.”
Like someone fleeing from death itself, he hurriedly left.
“He’s quick on his feet. Slow with his words, though.”
Watching his retreating figure, Kwon-yeol withdrew his arm from Hee-jo’s shoulder and moved to the empty seat across from her—
As if it had always been his place.
“…….”
Hee-jo cleared her throat, suppressing the impulse to grab his hand as it moved away.
I probably won’t be able to use this clutch after today.
“Yoon Hee-jo.”
As if unaware—or fully aware—of her thoughts, Kwon-yeol called her name again, his deep voice resonating.
He unbuttoned his jacket and sat down.
An employee immediately tried to approach, but he raised a hand lightly, stopping them.
Even in that simple gesture, his innate authority and aristocratic elegance were unmistakable.
Seeing him, Hee-jo snapped back to her senses as if doused in cold water.
Madam Jin Seo-ryeong truly had nothing to worry about.
The gap between her and Kwon-yeol was so vast that she felt it keenly every moment she spent with him.
“What are you doing here?”
Hee-jo quickly composed herself and smiled faintly.
Hiding her emotions had become second nature.
“I had a meeting too.”
“With that vacant idiot?”
“How were the people you met today, Oppa?”
At her quiet retort, Kwon-yeol stared at her before letting out a small laugh.
“You’ve grown, Yoon Hee-jo.”
Known for his cold nature, he occasionally smiled like that in front of her.
So dazzling. So breathtaking.
It was only a slight softening of his eyes and the lift of his lips—yet why did it shine so brightly?
Hee-jo slowly inhaled.
She knew better than anyone that the emotion she wanted wasn’t in that smile.
The emotion farthest from love isn’t hatred—but pity.
“So, whose idea was it?”
She hesitated, then slowly shook her head.
“……I don’t know what you mean.”
“You understood.”
Tap. Tap.
Kwon-yeol tapped the table intermittently with his index finger.
Just as Hee-jo thought it sounded like her own heartbeat—
“Is this your first time?”
“First time… for what?”
A beat too late in answering, she looked up at his hand, and Kwon-yeol narrowed his eyes.
He felt as though he were grinding coarse sand between his teeth—an unpleasant sensation he swallowed before speaking.
“A blind date.”
Yoon Hee-jo pressed her lips together and slowly inhaled.
It was a habit she had whenever she tried to measure how much to say.
Watching her, Kwon-yeol now felt as though sharp shards of glass were mixed in with that sand.
She used to be shy but honest with her emotions, a child who smiled brightly.
After Yoon Hee-jae (윤희재) died, she changed.
Now she was a grown woman who hid her feelings behind a gentle smile—so much so that even he couldn’t read her easily.
For a brief moment, a dull ache stirred in his chest, but he didn’t dwell on it.
That wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Have you gone to places like this without me knowing?”
Places like this.
At his words, Hee-jo bit the soft flesh inside her lip.
Because it didn’t sound like he meant a blind date—it sounded like a display meant to sell her at a high price.
She knew it was her own inferiority complex.
But knowing and feeling were different things.
She felt like an auction item.
A useless asset put out by Beomho Group—
something too valuable to discard, yet too burdensome to keep forever.
“It’s my first time.”
And likely just the beginning.
If things didn’t go well with Kim Shin-woo, Madam Jin Seo-ryeong would bring another man like him.
Until the burden clinging to the eldest son was gone.
“First time.”
“Yes. My first.”
Tap. Tap.
Kwon-yeol tapped the armrest with his index finger.
First. First, huh.
It seemed as though Yoon Hee-jae’s spirit had truly possessed him.
The fact that a pathetic fool like that was Yoon Hee-jo’s “first” made him feel this disgusted—
“Was it what you wanted?”
Lee Jung-sun (이정선) – Director of Goyo Gallery (new character introduced)
