Chapter 4
The next morning, at 7 a.m.
Despite the change in sleeping arrangements and her tangled emotions, Ye-eun stretched after a sound night’s sleep.
Getting enough rest was important to keep her mind sharp.
Well… to be honest, even if it weren’t for that, Ye-eun tended to fall asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.
Anyway.
Thanks to Young-sook and Jeong-won’s help, the afternoon schedule went smoothly. No one suspected Ye-eun, and everyone treated her kindly.
Young-sook, in particular, seemed motivated to help—perhaps out of guilt—but did so actively, despite her grumbling.
Yes, everything was fine. Smooth and uneventful.
Except for one person: Cha Do-kyung.
So, yesterday…
“So, here’s the deal, Secretary Chae’s little sibling. Let’s make a deal.”
Ye-eun had no intention of making any deal with Do-kyung.
Though he claimed innocence, she couldn’t fully trust him.
“And if I refuse?”
Even with her bold refusal, Do-kyung showed no sign of hesitation.
“Even if you refuse, it’s better to agree—one way or another.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It means, rather than letting someone else have the upper hand, it’s better to be caught by me.”
Speaking in circles while hiding the point seemed to be Do-kyung’s style.
“I’m thorough because I notice everything. Keep me close, and you’ll prove useful.”
“…I don’t really want to be useful to you.”
“You’ll have to stay here until you can endure it. For Secretary Chae’s sake, right?”
Do-kyung dropped the hidden truth casually, without giving her even a moment to react.
“If Secretary Chae were fine, you wouldn’t be here in her place. You’d have told the truth and asked for help. But you, the younger sibling, don’t seem to know anything.”
Then he tightened the trap, without giving her a chance to escape.
“On the other hand, if Secretary Chae were in danger, you wouldn’t have come here unscathed. You two are close enough that even asking if she’s dead would provoke a harsh reaction, and the grief of losing such a close sister wouldn’t fade in just a week.”
“……”
“That leaves only one conclusion. Secretary Chae isn’t dead, but she’s in a situation almost as bad.”
Do-kyung didn’t have the insight to read hearts, but his intellect was extraordinary.
“Since Secretary Chae herself can’t tell you the facts, I’ll handle everything before she wakes. That’s my reasoning. Am I wrong?”
Wrong? Ye-eun felt a deep sense of defeat. He had seen right through her.
“…What kind of deal are you proposing?”
She asked, feeling almost resigned. No matter his answer, she wouldn’t be surprised.
“Let’s… date. You and me.”
Her confidence collapsed instantly.
When someone is utterly stunned, their words get stuck; this was her first time experiencing it.
“Ah, rather than dating… an affair, perhaps. That would be better.”
Ye-eun, aghast and unable to comprehend, gaped at him, but Do-kyung remained unbothered.
For a brief moment, she struggled to gather her wits.
“…Explain it in a way I can understand.”
“Hmm… I want us to be caught in a situation where we’re having an affair.”
“…That makes no sense at all.”
“I don’t require understanding. Just accept it comfortably.”
“No… what on earth… ha… what…”
“One thing I can guarantee: no one will suffer from this deal. As I said, I prefer cooperation over coercion.”
The more Ye-eun talked to him, the dumber she felt.
“I may not make you understand, but I can get a positive answer.”
A positive answer without understanding—wasn’t that basically coercion?
Ye-eun had much to say, but first, she needed to stop him.
“W-wait. Give me time. It’s too sudden, and I haven’t even heard the full explanation…”
“Full explanation… Very well. I was just thinking we should have a contract anyway.”
Do-kyung seemed to ponder briefly, then continued:
“Three days from now. Think it over until then. The answer is already determined, though.”
Thus began what was, surprisingly, a precious start to the weekend.
Weekend routines were different from weekdays. Instead of serving coffee to Do-kyung early in the morning, she had to prepare tea time for the Cha Seok-jae household.
Today would be the first time Ye-eun interacted closely with the family, excluding Cha Do-kyung.
“…Hah, I can do this, right?”
On weekdays, the Cha Seok-jae household had three meals a day; on weekends, two meals and a tea time.
All activities centered around Cha Young-seok, chairman of the Youngjae Group and the real power in the household.
“Do-kyung… being in the same house, it’s still hard to catch him at mealtime.”
Do-kyung, Young-seok’s biological grandson, never ate with the family.
“Must take after someone—he’s stubborn, ha ha.”
Young-seok’s son and Do-kyung’s father, Seong-jin, laughed heartily.
“Well, that stubbornness showed even when he was young.”
Cha Do-kyung, Cha Do-kyung… what could be so admirable about a boy who never even showed up at the table? Mrs. Jeong could not understand. Twisting her lips, she spoke out.
“I just spoke to Jun-hyuk. He kept saying how much he wanted to see the chairman. He’s grown up, but at times like this, he’s still like a kid.”
“Is that so? When is Jun-hyuk back from his business trip?”
“…Next Saturday.”
Young-seok nodded without much interest.
“By the way, I heard Do-kyung went out at dawn.”
“Yes, probably to meet a sponsoring organization.”
“Hah, he doesn’t need to go himself for that anymore.”
“He likes to oversee things personally rather than delegate.”
“Ah, he takes after me in that respect. To lead well, one must set an example, yes.”
Aside from Young-seok and Seong-jin, the household’s mood darkened. Mrs. Jeong’s hand trembled even as she held her spoon.
An uncomfortable meal continued.
After a while, when Young-seok put down his utensils, a staff member approached to clear the table.
“I’ll prepare it right away.”
Meanwhile, Ye-eun was busy. Tea time would follow breakfast, so she had to prepare quickly.
‘Three Americanos, one latte, one iced tea, one chamomile tea…’
She had memorized the order from Yoo-eun’s diary; it was precise.
“Ready?”
“Almost. Ah, you can take this one first.”
Ye-eun handed it over. Ji-yeon, a kitchen staff who generally paid little attention to her, nodded coolly and carried the tray.
“Uh, Ji-yeon.”
Ye-eun called out to her as she tried to leave.
“Aren’t they all coming today…?”
“No, the executive is away on a business trip.”
Ji-yeon answered as if wondering why Ye-eun asked.
“The executive?”
“Once it’s ready, I’ll be going.”
“…Okay.”
A business trip…? Ye-eun sensed something odd but couldn’t ask further; Ji-yeon had already walked away.
Ye-eun placed the espresso she had prepared on the tray after a moment’s hesitation.
She hurried to follow Ji-yeon. As expected, Do-kyung was not in the dining room.
Once Ji-yeon set down the cups, Ye-eun carefully placed hers in turn.
‘Left hand on the coaster, right hand on the handle.’
Recalling Do-kyung’s instruction, she set down the iced tea without error.
Next was the latte… intended for Mrs. Jeong.
Ye-eun approached the woman adorned with extravagant accessories.
“Oh, Chairman. I heard you made a promise with Jun-hyuk. If this project succeeds, you have a deal with him… He’s working so hard he’s not even sleeping.”
“Ah, yes. I did make a promise with Jun-hyuk.”
Mrs. Jeong exhaled in relief.
“But you know, I realized it’s not fair.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Giving the opportunity only to him isn’t just.”
“Huh? That’s…!”
Excited, Mrs. Jeong jumped up, pushing Ye-eun, who had been standing behind her, forward.
Thud, crash!
The latte spilled onto the floor. Thanks to Ye-eun’s quick reflex, only a little landed on Mrs. Jeong’s clothes.
But the hot latte covered Ye-eun’s hand. She winced in pain.
“Ah!”
Mrs. Jeong glared at her irritably.
“What are you doing?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Ah, what bad luck!”
Ye-eun had the same thought—sometimes life is just unfair. She bowed deeply, repeatedly apologizing.
As Mrs. Jeong’s sharp voice washed over her, some noise arose in the room.
The shouting suddenly stopped. Ye-eun peeked up cautiously.
“What’s the matter?”
