Chapter 1
Not long before that incident.
At the sound of someone humming outside the room, Yumin’s eyes naturally opened.
A song this early in the morning?
Before she could even finish the thought, the door burst open.
“Hooong~ Yumin!”
Frowning, Yumin pushed herself up and, instead of looking at the face of her same-aged cousin Hong Suji who had barged in, she checked the clock first.
7:30 a.m.
By then, Suji had already come up to the bed and tossed something at her.
“Ah!”
Startled by the sudden impact, Yumin frowned and looked down.
What had hit her chest and fallen was the luxury bag Suji cherished so much—worth tens of millions of won.
“You can have that.”
Suji said it as if she were being generous.
“What?”
“You said you’re going out today. Take that with you.”
At twenty-five, the only place Yumin ever “went out” to was her neighborhood piano academy, twice a week.
Other than that, she stayed home, helping with housework while constantly watching the moods of Suji’s parents—her uncle and aunt.
Since her father’s factory fire had left them with tens of billions of won in debt, along with hospital bills, all of which her uncle’s family had covered, she had no choice.
“Aren’t you even going to say thank you?”
“What are you talking about? Where would I even go? It’s not even a workday at the academy today.”
“What do you mean? Aren’t you going on a blind date at a hotel today?”
At the sudden remark, Yumin frowned.
“…What? A blind date?”
“Yeah. Seems way too good for you, honestly. Good luck. Heh.”
Suji smirked unpleasantly and left the room.
Still half-asleep, having been hit with a bag and then told to go on a blind date, Yumin was completely dumbfounded.
She casually tossed the bag onto the bed and went downstairs.
As if he had been about to call her, she ran into her uncle Sanghun just as he was coming out of the kitchen.
“Oh, perfect timing.”
“Good morning.”
“Yeah. Let’s eat.”
Following him into the kitchen, she noticed four empty coffee cups on the table.
“Did someone come over?”
At her question, her aunt hurriedly cleared the cups into the sink and began setting Yumin’s breakfast.
Soon, rice and soup were placed on the table.
There were no side dishes.
“I deliberately gave you a small portion. A bloated stomach isn’t attractive, you know.”
“…Excuse me?”
What is everyone saying today?
As Yumin stood there awkwardly, her uncle gently pushed her back.
“Yumin, your soup will get cold. Sit down and eat.”
Reluctantly, she sat.
Her uncle and aunt took seats across from her.
Feeling pressured by their stares, she forced herself to take a bite.
“Yumin.”
She paused mid-motion and replied, “Yes?”
“A proposal came for Suji. The man is the CEO of a private equity firm called Woomoon Partners. They say the assets they manage are in the trillions.”
“….”
“If you marry into that family, not just you, but your children will never have to worry about money.”
“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Well, Suji is still in graduate school. She’s already sensitive these days, so we should let her focus on her studies for now.”
“Then you should just cancel the meeting—”
“Hey!”
Her aunt sharply cut her off.
“How could you throw away such a good opportunity? And let me be clear—someone like you, with a father in a vegetative state for ten years, drowning in debt, and not even a college graduate—no, just a high school graduate—do you think you can get a decent marriage? We begged and begged to secure this match again after it almost fell through—for your sake!”
Maybe it was because she spoke such nonsense so naturally.
Yumin found herself speechless.
“So stop talking back and just go!”
“I appreciate the thought, but I have no intention of getting married—”
“Oh, seriously, you’re exhausting. If I were you, I’d hurry up and marry and at least pretend to repay the debt you owe us! Just your father’s hospital bills this month are already in the millions!”
Faced with a reality where she could do nothing, Yumin bit her lip so hard it nearly bled.
Meanwhile, Secretary Kwon Yongil waited excitedly at the front entrance of Taehyun Hotel.
It had been five years.
Since he last saw Seol Jaejun—the chairman’s only son and his longtime friend.
While Yongil had built his career as a secretary right after graduating college, Jaejun had earned his MBA in the U.S. and gained practical experience in the hotel subsidiary’s operations planning team.
Now, just days before his inauguration as vice president of Taehyun Hotel, he had returned to Korea.
Skrrt—
A luxury sedan stopped in front of Yongil.
Holding his breath, Yongil opened the rear door.
The man seated inside slowly lifted his gaze, then stepped out.
Yongil was at a loss for words.
Jaejun had always had superior genes, but now there was something more—an intoxicating allure that made him seem untouchably elegant.
Beneath his refined face, his solid, muscular physique showed even through his clothes—perhaps from playing American football as a hobby in the U.S.
Before studying abroad, he had been a pale, handsome rich boy.
Now, he had become a man so striking that Yongil could barely even call him a friend.
“Long time no see.”
Snapping out of it, Yongil stammered,
“Y-Yeah… I mean—Young Master, welcome back after five years.”
“‘Young Master’? That’s a bit much.”
Jaejun chuckled, lightly patting Yongil’s shoulder before heading into the lobby.
Yongil hurried after him, handing over a shopping bag.
“Here’s what you asked for!”
“Oh. Thanks.”
About an hour earlier, Jaejun had called.
A flight attendant had spilled wine on him mid-flight, so he needed a new shirt.
Yongil had cursed the careless attendant the whole way to the department store—but now, seeing Jaejun, he understood.
Even as a man, he looked breathtaking.
No wonder the attendant had been flustered.
Watching Jaejun walk ahead, growing distant, Yongil muttered,
“He feels… different.”
Inside a restroom stall, Jaejun had just changed his shirt and was about to button it when—
“Hey! Didn’t your blind date get canceled?”
Someone entered, talking on speakerphone.
“Don’t even get me started. Instead of the original girl, they said her cousin suits my fortune better, so they’re sending her instead. I told them to send a photo first.”
“And?”
“Heh. She’s insanely pretty. Even prettier than the original. Just seeing the photo got my blood rushing.”
A faint crease appeared between Jaejun’s brows.
What kind of trash talks like that in public?
He tried to ignore it and stepped out of the stall.
A heavyset man in his late forties stood at the urinal, still on the phone.
Being taller, Jaejun unintentionally glanced down—
A snort escaped him.
Why is a pinky finger attached there?
Hearing the laugh, the man turned sharply, glaring at him before clearing his throat and facing forward again.
Jaejun walked out as if nothing had happened and headed to the lounge café.
He planned to discreetly inspect the hotel before his inauguration.
Just as he lifted his coffee—
Thud. Thud.
The same man from the restroom passed by and sat heavily at a table nearby.
Watching him, Jaejun muttered coldly,
“What a welcome back gift.”
Looks like he’d be forced to witness a disgusting blind date.
As he raised his cup again—
A woman entered from the opposite entrance.
Jaejun’s gaze locked onto her.
His heart began pounding violently.
Unlike him, frozen in place, the woman quickly approached—
—and sat right across from the man from the restroom.
“….”
The coffee he couldn’t swallow dragged up bitter memories.
His breath tightened, anger bubbling up.
…Damn it.
“Sunbae, I’ll do your part of the group project too, so could you lend me just 1 million won?”
Back in college, she had promised to help with an assignment—then disappeared.
“Jaejun, your teammate Hong Yumin didn’t come? Then present alone.”
“Ah… Professor, I don’t have the materials—”
“If you worked together, you should know it. If not, leave.”
She had given him his first F… and vanished.
“Ah, hello. I’m Hong… Yumin.”
His first love—
A truly terrible one.
