That incident was absurd, even in hindsight.
“Mom, why, why are you doing this?”
“A proper lady doesn’t give greetings, she receives them. Especially from someone beneath her. Do you understand, Lina?”
As she said that, Hwang Jun-hee slapped both her cheeks alternately. Even as her long nails scratched red lines under her eyes, she didn’t stop.
“If you ever do something so degrading again, it won’t end with just this.”
Until then, even when Lina thanked the help, her mother had never said anything.
It seemed something that day had really rubbed her the wrong way.
Whenever Hwang Jun-hee got angry, she always took it out on Lina. Even when it had nothing to do with her.
All Lina could do was endure it silently.
Otherwise…
“Hoo.”
Letting out a short breath, Lina stepped through the grand gate.
Climbing the large stone steps, a well-groomed garden unfolded before her. Expensive ornamental trees and lights were harmoniously arranged, and there was even a pond tucked in a corner.
It was a truly beautiful garden.
But a prison is still a prison, no matter how pretty it is.
The main house in Cheongdam-dong was nothing short of a prison for Lina.
She couldn’t speak or act freely, and even her thoughts felt controlled.
Eyes like surveillance cameras lined every corner, and if she stepped even slightly out of line, it would be reported to her warden, Hwang Jun-hee.
Hold your head high, but slightly pull in your chin.
Keep your back straight.
Walk gracefully, letting your knees brush past each other.
And always, always wear a smile.
That was the posture Lina had to maintain in what was supposed to be the most comfortable place in the world—home.
Stepping into the wide foyer, Lina quietly took off her shoes and put on her indoor slippers without making a sound.
A middle-aged woman in an apron came out from the dining room to greet her.
“You’re back, Miss.”
Flinching at the word Miss, Lina slowly nodded.
“Yes. Where’s my mother?”
“She’s waiting for you in the study.”
At those words, her heart pounded as if it would burst through her skin.
The scariest place in the entire house was Hwang Jun-hee’s study.
She could count on one hand the times she came out of that room unscathed.
Knowing this, a flicker of pity crossed the housekeeper’s eyes as she looked at Lina.
But she had her own problems. Even her own husband, Oh Soo-hwan, bowed to Hwang Jun-hee—such was the extent of her unchallenged authority in the household.
Lina might be a formal “Miss” of the house, but the housekeeper was just a mere employee.
So she chose silence.
Lina passed the bowed woman and walked toward the study at the far end of the first-floor hallway as if on autopilot.
Even the paintings on the walls felt like surveillance cameras watching her, so Lina straightened her back and forced a smile.
Knock knock.
After knocking twice and silently counting one, two, three, Lina slowly turned the doorknob. If she didn’t open the door like this, Hwang Jun-hee would unleash her fury.
“I’m back.”
Hwang Jun-hee, wearing gold-rimmed glasses with decorative tassels, set down her tablet and looked at Lina.
“My daughter. You’re back?”
Ignoring the chill that ran down her spine, Lina gave a bright smile.
“Yes, Mom.”
“How was the marriage meeting?”
She paused momentarily but nodded. In any case, she had gotten an unexpected gain from it.
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Scrape. Hwang Jun-hee pushed back her chair and stood up.
Step by step, as she slowly approached, Lina’s slender body tensed up completely.
“Lina.”
Just as she was about to respond—
Slap!
A sharp sound rang out as Lina’s head whipped to the side.
Unable to withstand the sudden blow, her delicate body crumpled to the floor.
“You’ve grown up. Telling lies so casually now.”
“M-Mom.”
“I just got a call from Director Oh. Said some man barged in and threw him out. He said he was ready to give everything to such a modest young woman, but now he feels swindled.”
It was laughable. Oh Choong-seon had left first to clean up his own mess and was now blaming it all on her.
“I had to calm him down after he nearly threw a fit, saying he wouldn’t let this go.”
Lowering herself, Hwang Jun-hee grabbed Lina’s hair and yanked it roughly.
“Ugh, M-Mom…”
“Because of a nobody like you, I, Hwang Jun-hee, had to bow my head to some man?”
The grip on her scalp grew stronger, the pain felt like her hair would be ripped out.
Yet Lina dared not say it hurt or try to escape her grip.
“You must be getting tired of managing that crazy woman.”
At those words, Lina’s face went pale.
“Otherwise, you couldn’t have done this. To lie so blatantly to my face after doing something so disgraceful. Right?”
“N-No, Mom. That’s not it…”
“Impudent girl. You made it so obvious you didn’t want to marry an older man. When did you even prepare for this? Who is that man? Since when were you planning to betray me?”
Hwang Jun-hee shook her head violently as she yanked Lina’s hair again.
“Do you know how many times I had to apologize because of what you did? Because of a lowly thing like you! Do you know how many times my pride was crushed?”
“W-Wait, Mom, please…!”
“You dare grab my wrist? Can’t even endure this and you pulled that kind of stunt?”
She threw Lina down to the floor again by her hair.
“Ugh…”
Breathing deeply, Hwang Jun-hee composed her twisted expression. Holding her shoulder where she’d collided, Lina looked up in pain, but Hwang Jun-hee’s eyes remained cold.
“Do you know how much financial damage you caused the family with this? Even if you had three bodies, you couldn’t repay it. Worthless thing. You’re absolutely useless.”
“…”
“Who is the man?”
Lina took a shallow breath and answered softly.
“…Mr. Tae.”
“Louder.”
“Mr. Tae Jeong-hyuk.”
At the name Tae Jeong-hyuk, Hwang Jun-hee’s blank expression shifted dramatically.
“Tae Jeong-hyuk? The man who threw Director Oh out was Tae Jeong-hyuk from the Taesan Group?”
Lina nodded, resigned.
Even if she didn’t say it, Hwang Jun-hee would find out sooner or later who had interfered and ruined the meeting.
It was better for her to control how that information reached her than let her find out some other way.
“How did Tae Jeong-hyuk know to go there?”
Hwang Jun-hee hated long explanations. Besides, it was impossible to fully explain how Jeong-hyuk ended up there.
That it was a coincidence at the art museum, that only he had seen her there, that he overheard a call with Yoojin and followed her—there was too much to explain.
“This is what he said… That maybe we should consider that he was the one who had the blind date.”
“What?”
“He asked me… to marry him.”
That very sentence meant she was agreeing to Jeong-hyuk’s proposal.
She’d already made up her mind when she heard it. But the gleam in Hwang Jun-hee’s eyes made her stomach churn.
Right now, her mother’s mind must be spinning, calculating how to extract the most benefit from this unexpected engagement.
It was the moment she became certain: she would eventually cause trouble for Jeong-hyuk.
“Lina.”
The sudden soft tone made her raise her head—and she instinctively closed her eyes when she saw her mother’s hand reaching toward her.
“You’re finally doing something useful.”
She felt warmth on her burning cheek.
Opening her eyes slowly, she saw Hwang Jun-hee caressing her cheek with satisfaction.
“Did Tae Jeong-hyuk really propose to you?”
“…Yes.”
“Taesan Group, hmm.”
The idea of becoming in-laws with Taesan Group filled her with overwhelming satisfaction.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
This worthless girl had finally found a use.
“That arrogant brat actually acted soft toward you.”
Calling the heir of Taesan Group a “brat,” her eyes sparkled with ambition.
“Regardless of the blood in your veins, your outer shell is pretty enough… You really are like that crazy woman in that sense.”
That crazy woman.
At those words, Lina’s lips trembled as she pressed them together.
Her palms were soaked with sweat, but she couldn’t show it.
If she did… the “correction” might begin again.
“When are you meeting him?”
“…I said I’d contact him.”
“Meet him tomorrow. I’ll book the salon.”
“…Okay.”
“And don’t come home tomorrow night.”
Lina’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Until now, her mother had strictly monitored her to “keep her value intact.”
“You must marry Tae Jeong-hyuk. Make sure it’s irreversible—even if he changes his mind.”
“What? What do you mean…”
“As if he would abandon a woman carrying his child.”
Lina’s mind went completely blank.
“Madam Jin Se-ryeong is desperate to get her son married, so she’ll be on our side. Chairman Tae too.”
So right now… is she telling me to get pregnant?
