A lazy afternoon with sunshine streaming in.
Beyond the spotlessly clean convenience store window, the cityscape of skyscrapers looked particularly busy.
Using that view as a side dish to her meal, Yuri noticed a truck stopping at a red light in front of her. Her eyes naturally fell on the familiar logo attached to the truck.
‘Haegang Construction’
She unconsciously bit down on the straw stuck in her box of banana milk.
It was because of that irritating face that suddenly came to mind.
“Is there perhaps any other reason why I should choose Han Yuri-ssi rather than another woman?”
The more she recalled and chewed over that moment, the worse she felt.
That uncomfortably persistent gaze, that attitude that seemed polite yet subtly condescending, and those words that embarrassed her right to her face.
She thought she understood what kind of person Lee Dokyung was.
A person used to manipulating anyone within his grasp. No, an arrogant and authoritarian person who mistakenly thinks he’s looking down on others from a position of superiority.
Why did it have to be someone like him…
“Fine. I’ll think about it a bit more.”
“What a jerk.”
The words slipped involuntarily from her lips as she held the straw.
“Who’s a jerk?”
Thud.
Along with a familiar voice, a roll of kimbap and a cup of ramen were placed on the empty table next to her. When she looked up, she saw Hyuk’s face looking down at her from an angle.
“You’re here?”
After confirming who it was, Yuri quickly averted her gaze and faced forward again. Just then, the traffic light changed and the truck was driving away. Yuri took another sip of her milk.
“I asked who’s a jerk.”
“Someone. A guy who has more money than me.”
“Oh. That’s a rare specimen, isn’t it?”
Hyuk replied casually while unwrapping his kimbap. Unlike Yuri, who had only grabbed a triangle kimbap and banana milk, Hyuk had thoroughly prepared his meal with kimbap, ramen, grilled eggs, and kimchi.
Yuri looked at him with familiar eyes and asked.
“Busy again today? I thought that appeal you mentioned was finished?”
“Yeah. That one’s done. The problem is I’ve now been handed an even bigger bomb.”
Hyuk’s face wrinkled as he sighed deeply and pushed a piece of kimbap into his mouth. Yuri shook her head as if she understood completely.
Name: Jung Hyuk. Age: thirty-two. Occupation: law firm partner.
A former university club Sunbae and current meal buddy, Yuri and Hyuk had been running into each other once or twice a week lately here at this convenience store. This was because the convenience store happened to be located between the Shinyu Group headquarters and Cheongong Building where Hyuk worked at his law firm.
The green table had long since become a dining table for those who missed meals due to their demanding work schedules.
Suddenly, Hyuk glanced at Yuri while opening his cup ramen lid.
“Oh, what happened with that blind date you went on the day before yesterday?”
Hyuk knew who she had met and for what purpose. Yuri responded frankly.
“It was a disaster.”
“Why? What happened?”
“He said he wasn’t in a hurry to get married. He asked why he should choose me when there are plenty of women with my qualifications.”
“Wow. He’s definitely on another level. Claiming there are plenty of people with as much money as Han Yuri around.”
Hyuk, who had been muttering in disbelief, suddenly stopped his chopsticks and turned to her.
“But, does someone say such inappropriate things on a first meeting? Don’t tell me you first…”
“…”
“Did you skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point again?”
“…”
“You didn’t immediately start talking about marriage, did you? Like presenting conditions and making a deal…”
“Yeah, I did. So what?”
At Yuri’s rather defiant response, Hyuk wrinkled his face. Anticipating his reaction, Yuri continued.
“We met because our conditions matched, so what’s the problem? Isn’t it better to get straight to the point and not waste each other’s time?”
“Excuse me, Director Han. Did you go there to draw up a contract? Even at a blind date, you should at least try to make the other person feel attracted to you first, you know? By appealing to them as a potential romantic partner…”
“I did appeal to him, in my own way.”
“Yeah, right. I’m sure the romance-impaired person did a great job.”
His expression said he could guess exactly what had happened. Feeling somewhat wronged, Yuri added one more comment.
“I don’t know much about dating, but strategic marriages are always like this. Attraction? Appeal? Do you think people in this field consider such things when getting married?”
“What a strange world you live in.”
Hyuk shook his head as if he simply couldn’t understand.
“But that guy must be pretty high and mighty too. No matter how much of a Haegang young master he is, he’s still a divorcee. What’s he acting so precious for? With his already ruined image and all.”
Two years ago, there was a time when South Korea’s political and business circles were in an uproar.
The marriage announcement of Haegang Group’s Lee Dokyung and former president’s granddaughter Shin Haeun. Public interest was intense over the news of the two people whose union could be called the marriage of the century. A glamorous wedding ceremony, bustling attention, a perfect combination that no one doubted.
However, not long after, the fact of their divorce became known to the public. It had been just three months since their wedding ceremony.
Neither side revealed the specific reason for the divorce. Only a brief statement was released saying it was a mutual divorce due to personality differences.
This soon stimulated the curiosity of gossip-lovers, and unfounded rumors about their divorce poured out. Most of those rumors were about Haegang and Lee Dokyung.
Perhaps wanting to clear things up on his behalf, Shin Haeun had conducted an interview with a media outlet. In the interview, she clearly repeated her previous position that the divorce was not due to anyone’s fault, but simply due to personality differences. While showing inexplicable tears.
Thanks to this, the rumors flared up even more. Suspicions that Lee Dokyung was to blame grew stronger.
All sorts of vulgar gossip circulated: that Lee Dokyung had an affair, that he had messy relationships with women even before marriage, that he already had illegitimate children outside.
And so the rumors grew increasingly sensational and amplified. Because he had been establishing his position within Haegang with a flawless image, the impact was actually greater. Within Haegang, there was even talk that the reputation of Lee Dokyung, the promising next owner, might negatively affect the image of the entire company.
Nevertheless, Lee Dokyung kept his mouth shut without providing any additional explanation or clarification about the divorce.
That was also why the numerous rumors about him still hadn’t died down.
“Good riddance. Affairs and women problems, getting involved with such a messy guy would only make you miserable. Didn’t I tell you? I was against him from the beginning? Just find someone else, someone else.”
Hyuk said while waving the hand holding his chopsticks.
“I wish I could. I wish I could, but no matter how much I look, there’s no one as certain as him…”
Yuri let out a long sigh. It’s not like she was thrilled about a blind date with a divorced man surrounded by all sorts of rumors. She had chosen this method because there was no other sure card to secure management rights. But now even that had become impossible…
She felt frustrated, unable to see any other way to secure shares and draw shareholders to her side.
Feeling thirsty, Yuri gulped down her banana milk, then turned her gaze to Hyuk who was slurping his noodles.
“Is that tasty?”
Her gaze was blatant. Instantly sensing the danger, Hyuk immediately shook his head.
“No? It’s not good.”
“Just one bite.”
“No way. If you want some, buy your own… Hey!”
Hyuk tried to quickly protect his ramen, but Yuri’s chopsticks had already found a gap and scooped up some noodles.
“Wow… A rich person stealing a common citizen’s precious meal, is this right?”
Hyuk looked in disbelief at the cup from which more than half the ramen had disappeared in an instant. Regardless, Yuri even pushed some kimchi into her mouth as she picked up her vibrating phone.
She checked the screen and immediately put down her chopsticks.
“What is it? Who’s calling?”
“Haraboji’s summons.”
“Why don’t you finish eating before you go?”
“No. I need to go right now.”
Hyuk clicked his tongue as he watched her grimace from swallowing the noodles too quickly.
“Your chairman is really something. One granddaughter to do all the work, another grandson to inherit the company. Don’t you have any pride?”
“What’s that? Does it feed me?”
Yuri replied indifferently as she got up.
“I’m going first. Finish eating!”
Leaving Hyuk shaking his head, she exited the convenience store with a farewell greeting. She immediately caught a waiting taxi on the main road.
“Korea University Hospital, please.”
After giving her destination, Yuri’s gaze fell to the phone screen in her hand.
“I’m leaving now. It will take about 30 minutes.”
Only after sending a message to Chairman Han Myeongcheol’s secretary did Yuri lean her back and head against the seat.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
