Episode 2
Harin turned her head toward the voice she heard. There stood Seo Ihyun, the head of the Ja Group, whom she had parted ways with at the airport about three hours ago.
At 188 cm tall and wearing a luxury suit worth tens of millions of won, what drew more attention than his outfit was his stunning face.
As expected, everyone in the hotel turned to look at Ihyun. Unbothered by the attention, Ihyun strode confidently over and stopped next to Harin.
“You… who are you?”
“Me? I’m the owner of this hotel where you were about to cheat on her with another woman, and the soon-to-be husband of Joo Harin. I don’t know if she can’t live without you, but I can’t live without her. So I’m going to marry her.”
“W-What?”
Do-young was so shocked he stammered.
Harin was just as shocked at the sudden wedding announcement. She was standing there, crumbling, in front of her cheating fiancé and his affair partner. Forgetting even that bitter fact for a moment, she just stared blankly at Ihyun.
“Maybe you’re such a worthless bastard you don’t even realize how precious what you have is. I’m telling you again—I’m going to marry Joo Harin. I can’t live a day without her.”
Harin couldn’t grasp what was happening. Not only did Ihyun appear out of nowhere, but he also declared that he would marry her.
“Director… Why are you doing this?”
Ihyun bent down to Harin’s eye level and spoke softly into her ear. His voice tickled her ear, and she felt heat rush up from the nape of her neck.
“This is the hotel where I was supposed to go on a blind date today. My secretary didn’t even know. You looked like you were about to collapse in front of the lobby, so I followed you. Good thing I did.”
Right. In the shock of seeing Do-young cheating, she had completely forgotten. Ihyun’s blind date was scheduled here, at this very hotel café.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay. Pull yourself together.”
To others, the two looked like a couple whispering sweet nothings.
“Isn’t that the director of S Group? There was news this morning about his big success in the U.S.”
“Then what is going on here? That woman had a boyfriend… no, an ex. And now a chaebol heir is chasing after her? That girl hit the jackpot.”
Onlookers began whispering, watching the two of them intently.
Do-young also glared at Ihyun and Harin with anger blazing in his eyes.
“What the hell are you doing? Always going on business trips together—were you two having an affair? Joo Harin, were you cheating on me? Someone like you? On me?!”
Ihyun’s warm gaze toward Harin shifted sharply to Do-young. A crease formed between his brows.
“Cheating? Cheating is what trash like you does. And how dare someone like you talk to Harin like that? Is that how you usually talked to her?”
“W-What did I do?!”
Do-young faltered under Ihyun’s intimidating presence.
“I really like Joo Harin. And you stepping aside just makes things easier for me. I’m holding back from knocking you out, so watch your mouth. Show up in front of Harin again, or speak badly to her one more time, and I’ll make sure you can’t even make a living in Korea anymore.”
“He says he likes me? Why go so far with a lie?”
Even though Harin knew Ihyun might be trying to help her, the intensity of his lie felt unfamiliar and overwhelming.
Still, he was doing everything he could to help her. Now wasn’t the time to deny it. She didn’t even have the energy to feel sadness over her breakup. Her head was already pounding, thinking about how to handle the aftermath and what to report to the Chief of Staff.
“So you’re really going to marry Joo Harin? What a joke. She can’t live without me, right? Joo Harin?”
Do-young stared at her, looking confident she couldn’t possibly let him go. As if he didn’t remember how much he had hurt her with his cruel words.
Harin had never seriously considered breaking up with him. But if there was ever a time to say it, this was it.
Even if it was a lie, even if it was a performance—at least right now, someone was standing by her side.
“…No. Why would I not be able to live without you? A chaebol heir is better than a guy like you who has nothing. Everything I wear, everything I carry—I bought it all for you. And you, who cheats for fun? Why would I ever choose you? The day has finally come for me to say this. I thought I’d never be able to.”
“What? Are you serious…?”
“Kang Do-young. Please, get out of my life.”
“Are you crazy?”
“No. I wasn’t crazy before. But the past five years I spent with you? That was insane. I’ve finally come to my senses.”
Like someone who had been preparing for this moment, Harin let the words fly out of her mouth.
After saying them, she was surprised by how calm she felt. She was even a little proud of herself.
Ihyun, seemingly satisfied with her words, grinned at her.
“Exactly. I can’t live without Joo Harin, so let’s get married. We’ll date afterward.”
“What…? Uh, okay.”
For now, Harin decided to go along with his plan.
Do-young’s face turned red and pale by turns. The woman beside him tried to hold him back, but Do-young no longer saw the woman he had once looked at so lovingly.
“Wait a second! Harin’s really leaving me for another guy?! How could you do this to me?!”
Harin’s remaining patience and affection vanished entirely.
“To think I spent five years with a guy like him and even promised marriage… What was I thinking with my life?”
With a sigh, Harin’s gaze fell to the engagement ring on her finger. A ring she once thought she could never take off. She pulled it off.
She approached Do-young.
“I was really happy the day I got this ring. I knew it was a cheap cubic zirconia, but it was the first thing you ever gave me. But now, I’m throwing it away. It’s just too pathetic.”
“What? Pathetic? Are you talking about me?”
Do-young snapped, offended.
“Why, are you upset? You threw me away so many times, but now it hurts when I throw you away? Feel it for yourself—what it’s like to be dumped. Take this trashy thing and get lost. Give it to your new girl or something.”
Harin held the ring up to his eye level and then let it drop.
It hit the marble floor with a clear “clink” and rolled before stopping in front of Do-young’s shoe.
Like her love for him had come to a stop.
—
The two left the hotel and got into a car.
The luxury sedan glided smoothly through the buildings of Gangnam.
Although Harin had just witnessed her fiancé’s infidelity and broken off the engagement in less than an hour, thanks to Ihyun being beside her, she didn’t feel heartbroken. She even felt relieved.
But now, she worried about what came next.
“Director, thank you. But… I’m sure people at the hotel recognized you. I need to contact the press right away—”
“It’s already too late.”
“What…?”
Ihyun pulled a phone out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Harin.
[20 missed calls from Cha Ji-hyuk]
As she flipped through the screen, she saw a photo and a message from Ji-hyuk.
> “What kind of mess did you get into this time?! You were supposed to quietly go on a blind date. What? ‘S Group’s Seo Ihyun marrying a dumped fiancée’? Pick up your damn phone!! Do you want me to die of stress? And who’s the woman beside you? That silhouette looks familiar. I’m telling you—pick up while I’m still being nice!”
The anger in the message was palpable.
“Director, I’ll return to the office immediately and handle this.”
Harin pulled out her phone and began jotting down the things she needed to do—starting with calling the press.
“Nope. You’re coming with me.”
“Excuse me…? Was there another appointment I didn’t know about? I really need to handle this first. If the chairman finds out—”
“No. This is more urgent. Didn’t you hear me earlier? I said let’s get married.”
Harin blinked, unsure if she heard him right.
“That was… just you helping me out, right?”
“Who said that? I was serious. You said yes, remember? So the next step is asking for permission from my old man.”
