AMB 08

Na-yoon snapped out of her daze at the sight of that deeply curved smile.

In the meantime, Jae-ha’s car was heading toward Na-yoon’s house.

She processed what he had said and drew a conclusion.

He meant that, to make this unreasonable marriage acceptable to Chairman Gu of the Songseong family, they’d need to lay down at least the appearance of explosive emotion.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes, a little.”

She nodded, but her face still showed signs of inner conflict.

She’d brought up marriage to him as a business deal, solely with the intent of taking revenge on her parents.

She hadn’t even considered his family.

Was this really okay?

As her hesitation showed, Jae-ha spoke with a calm face, as if it was no big deal.

“Of course, we’ll have to act well. People are surprisingly sharp.”

“Ah…”

“That’s the only way both of us will get what we want.”

At those additional words, Na-yoon finally decided to let go of her worries.

Just as she came to terms with it, the familiar streets of her neighborhood came into view.

“We’ll say the divorce reason was the usual ‘personality differences.’ Of course, we can’t stop the gossip, so let’s just say the feelings cooled off.”

She didn’t care about the rumors or even if her image got tarnished.

Because her fall would be their fall.

But this man might get hurt by the divorce…

“I don’t care, though.”

When Na-yoon looked up, Jae-ha had stopped the car and turned fully toward her.

“You told me to think of it as a deal, didn’t you?”

“…Ah.”

He clearly had something to gain from this, too.

“Miss Jin Na-yoon gets to accomplish her goal, and I don’t have to keep going on blind dates.”

No father would have the heart to push marriage again on a son who had already gone through a divorce.

“So all you need to do, Miss Jin, is stick to what you said. The daughter-in-law role, that sort of thing.”

His words reminded her of what she had said before—about trying her best to play the wife and daughter-in-law he wanted.

“My mother was looking forward to having a daughter-in-law. Or so my father says.”

The way he said it so casually made Na-yoon nod with a slightly tense expression.

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

“Isn’t this arrangement nice and clean?”

His emotionless eyes gave Na-yoon a strange sense of reassurance.

If there were no emotions mixed in, then things could stay clean between them.

“Yes. Let’s do that. I look forward to working with you, CEO.”

When Na-yoon held out her hand, he looked at it for a moment before smiling faintly and taking it.

“You should probably change how you address me.”

“Alright, Jae-ha.”

“Not bad.”

Her small hand flinched slightly in his firm grasp, but Na-yoon gave a short smile.

Just then, a bright light poured in from behind—the chairman had arrived.

“Looks like the chairman’s here.”

Glancing toward the back, Jae-ha turned to Na-yoon.

“Let’s get out. Time to begin.”

As Jae-ha unbuckled and got out, raising an eyebrow, Na-yoon tilted her head.

Begin? Begin what?

She followed him out with a confused look, and the moment Da-woon saw Jae-ha, he beamed as he stepped out of his car.

“Well, look who it is. Isn’t this CEO Gu Jae-ha?”

“Good afternoon, Chairman Jin.”

At Da-woon’s warm greeting, Jae-ha gave a polite bow. Then, noticing Na-yoon standing beside him, Da-woon asked:

“You’re not telling me you brought our Na-yoon home yourself, are you?”

When Jae-ha gave a small smile in response, Da-woon’s gaze sharpened.

So the rumors were true—CEO Gu was interested in Na-yoon. He had supposedly lived for work, but here he was now.

“Haha, you two look good together. Why don’t you come inside for a bit?”

Jae-ha gave a relaxed smile.

“Thank you, but I still have some work left, so I need to return to the office.”

“What? So you stopped work just to drive Na-yoon home?”

“Yes. She seemed a bit worn out from everything.”

As he spoke, Jae-ha gently brushed a strand of hair from Na-yoon’s face.

Da-woon’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between them.

The casual tone, the affectionate gesture—

Seeing Na-yoon’s flustered face, Da-woon was now convinced.

In a relationship, no matter the social hierarchy, the one more deeply involved was always at a disadvantage.

A smile crept across Da-woon’s face, and his head lifted subtly.

“Haha, alright then. Go ahead. Na-yoon, see CEO Gu off.”

“Yes, I will.”

“Then I’ll get going, Father-in-law.”

“…Father-in-law?”

Da-woon burst into hearty laughter at the completely nonchalant expression on Jae-ha’s face.

Only he and Chairman Gu could claim the honor of hearing that term from the famously aloof CEO Gu Jae-ha.

It was just a change in title, but Da-woon felt like the world had fallen at his feet.

“Haha, I like the sound of that. Let’s meet again soon.”

“Take care.”

Jae-ha gave a polite bow while Da-woon laughed and walked away.

Now only Na-yoon and Jae-ha remained, with Jae-ha watching her with an amused expression.

“Was that fun for you?”

“…What?”

Na-yoon blinked several times in confusion.

“Revenge seems easier than I thought.”

When he added, “Your revenge, Miss Jin,” Na-yoon’s heart fluttered uncontrollably.

After the formal meeting with the families, the wedding preparations progressed quickly.

It was her first time meeting Chairman Gu, but just as the rumors said, he was warm and kind.

Whatever Jae-ha had said to introduce her, Chairman Gu kept saying how thankful he was.

As Na-yoon recalled the meeting again, a sharp voice cut into her thoughts, and she looked up.

“Does Executive Director Jin Na-yoon even realize how much noise she’s making in the company?”

The sneering tone drew brief glances from the others before they quickly looked away.

The voice belonged to Soo-hyuk.

For some reason, he had acted unpleasant all through the meeting and finally ruined the atmosphere toward the end.

The board members looked visibly uncomfortable, but no one dared speak up.

Because Jin Soo-hyuk was the real power behind Jinseong Construction.

Na-yoon met his gaze calmly.

The tension between them was palpable, and after some awkward silence, one executive spoke up.

“Director Jin…”

But Soo-hyuk seemed to hear nothing else. He was focused only on Na-yoon, and her lack of reaction infuriated him.

His parents had tried everything to get close to Gu Jae-ha, but it hadn’t worked.

So they turned their target to Na-yoon.

Jin Na-yoon marrying Gu Jae-ha? He found it laughable.

How many blind dates had she even gone on before landing a marriage?

His sharp eyes scanned her from head to toe.

A blouse buttoned to the top, a suit that didn’t show her figure, neat nails.

Nothing flashy at all.

What the hell did she do to pull this off?

With a sneering expression, Soo-hyuk spoke.

“The company’s buzzing over your personal life—don’t you have any comment?”

“As you said, it’s personal. I find it difficult to comment.”

Na-yoon rejected him cleanly and stood, her cold gaze sweeping the room.

“The meeting’s over. I’ll take my leave now.”

“You—you little…! Jin Na-yoon!”

Soo-hyuk shouted furiously and reached for her shoulder, gripping it tightly. With a twisted expression, he growled:

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“As I said—let’s stick to business matters in the conference room, Executive Director.”

Her icy eyes seemed to ask, Do you understand?

Na-yoon brushed off his hand and turned away, bringing the meeting to a close.

She was the first to leave the room and let out a sigh.

Rumors about her wedding were already circulating in the company, and now Soo-hyuk had dragged it into the boardroom.

He was utterly useless.

Then, suddenly, a different thought crossed her mind.

Maybe this was actually a good thing.

Because her plan included Jin Soo-hyuk, too.

As she headed down to her office one floor below the boardroom, she spotted her secretary pacing nervously.

“Ah, Executive Director.”

Na-yoon approached with a curious look.

“Is something wrong?”

The secretary jumped to her feet and replied:

“There’s a visitor here to see you.”

“What kind of visitor?”

There was no appointment scheduled today. Na-yoon tilted her head, and the secretary spoke again.

“It’s the person you’re marrying…”

Even as her heart thudded in surprise, her thoughts immediately went to Gu Jae-ha.

He was such a difficult man.

She still couldn’t figure out what he was thinking—or why.