Chapter 9
Madman.
No—that word alone wasn’t enough.
What had happened was beyond any form of justification.
Not once did he ever think he would crumble under such petty lust.
Had he lost all sense of reason?
What he did was no different from a dog in heat wagging its tail. The fact that he had acted like that made him sick to his stomach.
Just two days after letting a woman into his house.
And on top of that, she was only half-conscious…
Damn it.
He was losing it.
The laptop screen hadn’t changed in ages.
He wasn’t typing, nor was he moving the hand resting on the mouse.
The softness of her skin that had filled his palm.
The seductive gleam in her eyes.
Even through her half-laughs, her tongue had wrapped around his so sensually that it made him lose all control.
“Executive Director.”
It took him several seconds to even notice Secretary Kim approaching him.
“Knock before you come in.”
“…I did.”
Jiheon barely suppressed a bitter laugh and swallowed hard.
Work. If he focused on work, maybe this heat inside him would cool down.
But the laptop screen remained as blank as if someone had poured black ink over it.
Enduring the oppressive tension in the room, Secretary Kim continued.
“I’ve taken care of what you asked.”
A scoff finally escaped between Jiheon’s teeth.
He couldn’t shake the image of the woman whining about having no clothes to wear.
That woman who, if he didn’t allow her, might storm into his bed again—just in name his wife, but nothing more.
At first, he had no intention of even brushing fingertips with her.
That hadn’t changed.
He didn’t even want her in his bed.
He couldn’t drag her out, and she wouldn’t listen even when he got angry.
He had just tried to pull down her skirt that was riding up because it bothered him.
Jiheon squeezed his eyes shut.
But the vivid image of Chaeseorin pressed against him forced his eyes open again.
A fleeting moment of indulgence.
It must have been his primal instincts surfacing.
Still, it wasn’t something he could easily understand or accept.
The best he could do was compensate quickly and move on.
“Executive Director.”
“Do you have more to say?”
Secretary Kim set a tablet down in front of him.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t been sleeping well recently.
The marriage was part of it, but there were unresolved issues at work that had clouded his mind.
During the acquisition of a small manufacturing company, some workers who lost their jobs started protesting over unpaid wages. It had been quietly giving him headaches.
Exerting power wasn’t so easy either—the number of employees was higher than expected. But compensating them would cut into profits too much.
He had hesitated, uncharacteristically.
“What do you want to do?”
There was still no progress.
Even if he visited the site, there’d be no easy solution.
Rrrr.
The ringtone made his fatigue worse.
He pressed the call button with clenched fingers.
“Yes.”
—Where are you? Do you even realize what you did to your mother?
Unlike Jiheon’s dry tone, Lilho’s voice blared with outrage through the phone.
He didn’t need an explanation—he knew exactly why.
No one had taken Jiheon’s marriage harder than his own father.
“I have nothing to say. You two handle it yourselves. I’m hanging up.”
Just as he pulled the phone away to hang up, a desperate voice followed.
—How far do you think you’ll get without me?
Jiheon held the phone to his ear again.
—You think your grandfather will hand this group over to your wife? You’ve dealt with him long enough to know that’s not even a possibility, right?
“……”
—Play your cards right. If you get kicked out of this house without a penny, who’s going to lose more? Think about that, you little bastard.
In the end, TG would be his—that’s what his father meant.
They were still pretending to be a family, but it had long reached its limit.
He also knew his parents wouldn’t let him go. Power and wealth—they weren’t things one could easily give up. His parents were still stashing away their ambitions like bank deposits.
They may seem completely different, but they shared one trait.
They used their child to serve their own gains.
—Get divorced. I will never accept this marriage.
Chaeseorin’s mother.
His mother-in-law.
And his father’s first love.
As Joomi had said, her beauty was unmatched for her age.
Even Joomi, who took great care of herself, couldn’t compare to the elegance the two older women possessed.
“I can’t do that.”
—Yonggang Foods. Tough problem, isn’t it?
“……”
—I’ll send Director Cho to the negotiation table. Just say you’ll get divorced.
Maybe someone older and more experienced would fare better than him.
But he didn’t need Director Cho. Even if he profited less, he preferred to handle it himself.
Still, Lilho was relentless, constantly laying traps and hoping Jiheon would bite.
To them, their child was just a tool to use as needed.
—You don’t want to? Then I guess you’re fine with me selling off Yonggang Foods?
Jiheon raised a hand to rub between his brows.
He had never thought marriage would solve anything.
The fact that Joomi had moved so fast just showed that this wasn’t like the other women he had fooled around with in hotel rooms.
He had also expected consequences for himself.
“I won’t get divorced.”
They weren’t bound by marriage alone.
He had signed the contract before the wedding.
“I’ll hang up now. I’m busy—gotta move fast if I want to deal with Yonggang Foods before you do.”
More than Joomi’s threats, what truly bothered him was the thought of Chaeseorin being treated like his younger sister.
That was unacceptable.
And now, it wasn’t even possible.
Jiheon hung up and rose from his seat.
“Where are you going?”
He took a deep breath at Secretary Kim’s question.
“You heard me.”
Even if it meant taking a loss, it was time to put an end to it.
His steps as he left the office were heavy.
***
Seorin stared blankly at the shopping bags piled in one corner of the room.
Among them were underwear, which she had hastily put on—but they didn’t feel like hers.
“They fit perfectly.”
Still, they were tailored to her body with uncanny precision—not too tight, not too loose.
A price tag.
She felt as if she had been bought and sold. The accuracy of it just proved the point.
She wasn’t his wife. Even if they had slept together, he made it clear he was just paying for her body.
That’s right.
She didn’t consider him her husband either.
She had only done it for her mom. She couldn’t ignore the plea of her dad, who lived only for her mom.
Rrrr.
The phone rang again, as if on cue.
It was her mother.
She didn’t want to answer. But she didn’t need to—the words were clear enough.
No matter how many clothes or things were sent over, she had to go back at least once.
Everything she’d done, and the irreplaceable memories with her dad—they were all in her room.
Had he come?
Should she call?
She didn’t even know how to start the conversation now.
Just how much had she drunk that night?
Seorin left her room and walked toward the dining area.
The staff had prepared her dinner and gone home.
She grabbed juice from the fridge and tried to recall the night.
It was just two glasses, she was sure.
She hadn’t felt drunk.
She only chased him into his room because she knew words alone wouldn’t convince him…
Even thinking about it now, it felt like a dream—an unforgettable one.
She downed the rest of the juice in one gulp and went to where he had brought the alcohol from.
It was a new bottle, and he hadn’t drunk from it. Maybe she could estimate based on how much was gone.
It might not change anything, but she couldn’t afford to make the same mistake again.
But when she reached the cabinet where the bottle had been, it was completely empty.
She was sure it had been there.
She looked around, but there was no sign of it.
Even if it was just one bottle—had he really thrown it away?
There was no way to know.
Frowning in confusion, Seorin retraced her steps back toward her room.
Click.
The sound of the door opening made her turn instinctively.
“……”
“……”
Jiheon stood in the doorway, having opened the door silently at some point.
Seorin froze where she stood.
She didn’t know what to say.
Should she pretend not to notice and go to her room?
Her mind raced with too many thoughts.
Then, he muttered quietly—
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
