BB 2

Chapter : 02

The chairman appeared three hours later. But he didn’t come inside the funeral hall.

Upon receiving the report from his aide, the chairman was extremely angry. He gave an unreasonable order to bring Eun-yu by any means, but the aide reported her words exactly, perhaps knowing Eun-yu would not be easily coerced.

The chairman had no immediate justification to command Eun-yu as he wished, especially since Eun-woo had died. Yet, he could not bring himself to rush in to meet her, his pride preventing him.

After much thought, he realized he would have to yield this time. The marriage, arranged with great difficulty despite Eun-woo’s death, could not simply be canceled. The future of Hyunjin Construction depended on it.

Finally, he set aside his stubbornness and came to the funeral hall. But entering inside was beyond his pride. He expected that since an old man had stepped forward, a young girl should naturally follow.

He parked his car in a secluded area behind the funeral hall and waited for Eun-yu to come out. But even after hearing he had arrived, she did not move.

“If you want to talk, tell him to come inside and speak. That is, if facing a dead child isn’t too uncomfortable for him.”

Eun-yu had no intention of meeting the chairman who hadn’t even come to the funeral. After the funeral, she planned to leave for Australia, not the U.S.

The plan to go to Australia had been long-standing. It was her escape from the miserable American family, a place where she could live free from them. In Australia, she could meet Eun-woo freely.

She had spent a long time preparing so that Eun-woo could come and stay anytime. She had endured everything, dreaming of the days they could be together—but now she had to leave alone.

There was no reason for her to meet the chairman.

“The chairman has arrived.”

The aide shouted as if telling her to rise and greet him. Eun-yu felt tired of such pointless antics.

Even after the aide’s announcement, she didn’t glance up, only staring at Eun-woo’s portrait.

The chairman, clearly upset, had to come into the hall for his own benefit.

Stubborn and self-centered, he coughed, trying to show annoyance at her disregard, but Eun-yu did not move.

“Miss, the chairman is here.”

The flustered aide whispered beside her. Eun-yu only wished they would finish quickly and leave.

Just as the chairman didn’t want to be there, Eun-yu also felt uncomfortable with the family attending the funeral. Gradually, she thought it was better that no one was there. Hoping they would quickly handle their business and leave, she glanced at the chairman.

“Ah… no!”

The chairman, who had been showing only displeasure, was surprised to see Eun-yu turning away. He could not hide his delight, as if all his prior frustration had vanished in an instant.

Eun-woo, however, did not look at him. Perhaps he saw him as something discarded, unworthy of attention. Only Eun-yu caught his gaze, as if he had found something new and fascinating.

Eun-yu knew this type of human well. Even her adoptive father had looked at her this way. She never thought she would see the same expression here.

She had been naive to believe Eun-woo had been truly happy.

She had been away too long to notice the darkness behind Eun-woo’s smiles.

“Even if I had to die, it should have been me. I shouldn’t have had to let Eun-woo, who shone like a star among these disgusting people, go.”

Even her adoptive family couldn’t be called truly good. For children abandoned by their parents, being loved and living happily with good adoptive parents required luck. Eun-woo and Eun-yu had none.

“It’s as if Eun-woo has come back to life.”

The greedy smile disgusted her. Seeing the old man who would use Eun-woo for his own gain made her feel like vomiting.

The chairman stepped toward Eun-yu. She immediately stepped back, clearly rejecting him.

She didn’t want to deal with people like this, but life wasn’t easy. The more she tried to escape, the tighter the binds became. Running away led only to a standstill.

“It must have been hard coming all the way from America.”

A kind smile couldn’t hide his corrupt intentions. It was more efficient for both to simply state his purpose and leave. Eun-yu stayed silent, wanting to hear why he had made such a difficult trip.

The chairman cleared his throat. His secretary handed over a file, but Eun-yu had no intention of taking it. Observing the chairman with a blank expression, the secretary frowned at her.

“Why do they treat me so lightly? Just because I’m a young woman?”

Even though she looked identical to Eun-woo, she did not deserve the same treatment. Her instincts were correct: this family had belittled Eun-woo all along.

When Eun-yu still refused the file, the chairman signaled the secretary. The secretary reluctantly opened it in front of her.

“Your name is Eun-yu, right? You are Eun-woo’s only family, and I’ve neglected you until now.”

“Only family.” He made it sound like he was not part of Eun-woo’s family.

“So I’ve come to give you a good proposal, even if belatedly.”

She didn’t care if it was late. It wasn’t like he looked like someone who would care for her younger sibling. He probably came due to some trivial matter he was curious about.

“Originally, Eun-woo was supposed to marry someone good.”

The chairman didn’t care about her opinion. He continued speaking as if his words came first.

“Eun-woo had a family he wanted to marry into. Now that he suddenly died, think of the resentment. Since you are his sibling, shouldn’t you settle Eun-woo’s resentment?”

Eun-yu, though raised mostly in the U.S., hadn’t forgotten Korean. She wanted to talk with Eun-woo when they met again. But she could barely believe what the chairman was saying.

“So… you mean I should marry in Eun-woo’s place because the man and family he wanted to marry now can’t, and it would be resentment otherwise?”

Eun-yu repeated his ridiculous words to make sure she heard right. The chairman’s face stiffened as he realized how absurd she found it.

“Chairman, do you know how unreasonable that sounds?”

At that moment, the secretary, trying to gauge the chairman, spoke loudly.

“If you’re not marrying in his place, please step aside. Let the actual people talk.”

Clearly, the old man had come all this way for this absurd proposal.

“You can have anything you want. Though it’s in Eun-woo’s place, it will surely be good for you too.”

Eun-yu could not understand how being a substitute for Eun-woo in this family could ever be good for her.

“He’s from a prestigious family. Talented and handsome. In Korea, everyone wants to marry Director Jo.”

The chairman persisted in persuasion. But what use were a prestigious family, talent, and handsomeness? She was not Eun-woo.

He had surely investigated her to make such a proposal. Whether he knew they were twins all along or learned about her only after Eun-woo’s death was unclear. What was clear was that he saw her as a replacement and urgently contacted her to ensure this marriage happened.

“You already know what happened to me.”

The clever old man’s expression changed.

“And yet you make this proposal?”

Knowing all of this and still insisting on a ridiculous marriage…

The secretary opened the file, revealing a photo of the intended groom: Jo Tae-seo, Executive Director of NI Group. Handsome, elegant, and perfect, yet completely inappropriate as a substitute marriage candidate.