Chapter: 03
One spring evening.
In the garden of the Grand Hotel Yeouido flagship branch, a source of pride for the hotel, spring flowers were in full bloom.
The cherry blossoms shone brilliantly under the moonlight. When the ticklish spring breeze brushed past the trees, petals floated down like snow, decorating the night sky.
It was a scene so beautiful that guests filling the lounge couldn’t help but gasp in awe.
All of them were dressed in bright, elegant outfits, their hair and makeup perfectly done.
Yet, in a corner, one woman looked completely different.
“…….”
Her long, unkempt hair partially hid her face, and she wore a plain black dress.
She was staring blankly at the cherry blossoms and magnolia trees outside, watching the petals fall.
“Yoon So-rim!”
At the slightly sharp soprano voice, So-rim’s shoulders flinched.
Instinctively, she lowered her eyes and slowly turned her body.
“Do you always have to come to such an important event looking like that?”
Her aunt, Lee Seong-ah, scanned her from head to toe, full of dissatisfaction.
Seong-ah seemed busy checking the surrounding guests, worried that someone might think she was scolding her niece.
The Yoon-san Group charity auction, held only during the spring when cherry blossoms bloom, was famous for its grand scale.
Only executives from the headquarters and affiliates, along with carefully selected VIP guests, could attend.
That Seong-ah and her husband, Park Sang-sik—merely contractors for Yoon-san Group—were present was almost miraculous. Yet Seong-ah carried herself with pride.
For a woman like her, who would do anything for advancement, today was an opportunity she couldn’t afford to miss.
“Min-seo begged me so much, I brought her along… But I’m scared someone’s going to notice her. Stay quiet and behave.”
“Yes.”
So-rim answered in a dry voice.
“And where’s our Min-seo?”
Seong-ah looked around for her daughter.
After So-rim’s parents died in a car accident, she had been left in her aunt Seong-ah’s care, always treated like a burden.
Unlike Seong-ah’s own daughter, Park Min-seo.
Seong-ah would stop at nothing to marry Min-seo into a good family.
“You, go check if Min-seo’s car has arrived.”
Seong-ah arrogantly tilted her chin, giving the order.
At that moment, the lounge doors, which had been closed just moments ago, swung wide open.
All the guests’ attention turned immediately to a young woman walking in through the entrance.
Her small face, delicate features, and slender limbs made her look like a celebrity.
“Min-seo!”
Here, Seong-ah and her husband were seen as awkward social climbers trying to insert themselves into high society.
But the opinions of their daughter, Park Min-seo, were different.
She had graduated from the prestigious Korea University, and her outstanding looks were undeniable.
She was also sociable, forming connections with the children of powerful figures in politics and business.
Because of this, people admired her while criticizing parents who tried to use their child for gain.
“How did you get so pretty? Everyone must be staring at you.”
Ignoring her mother’s fussing, Min-seo shyly lowered her head and smiled.
“Mom, you’re embarrassing me.”
“Am I wrong?”
Seong-ah teased without malice.
Min-seo cast a subtle smile, enjoying the gazes of the onlookers for a moment before looking around the room.
Then she spoke casually as if passing by:
“By the way… Vice President Song Tae-ha…”
The moment she mentioned him, Seong-ah’s eyes lit up, revealing her curiosity.
“The protagonist always appears late, don’t you think?”
She didn’t bother hiding her interest in Song Tae-ha.
“Our daughter Min-seo, all these top men are following her, but she only thinks about Vice President Song.”
Blushing, Min-seo lowered her gaze, embarrassed.
It was a slight exaggeration, but not untrue. In the marriage market, Min-seo was one of the top bride candidates.
Of course, she was currently refusing all advances, saying studies were more important.
Yet the only person who unsettled her was Song Tae-ha of Yoon-san Group.
A man with much, and the only one who would gain even more.
To Min-seo, he was like a star in the sky, the object of her unrequited love.
“But I heard Vice President Song has been going on blind dates lately…”
Min-seo said with a sigh, and Seong-ah quickly came to her daughter’s defense.
“There’s no rule that says those blind dates are your match. Maybe Vice President Song just hasn’t noticed you properly. Who knows, once he sees you and meets your eyes, he might immediately fall for you.”
“…….”
“Just wait. I’ll do something about it. Anyway, Vice President Song seems to be running late today…”
Min-seo nodded quietly.
She then glanced to the side and saw her cousin standing quietly, unnoticed.
“Unnie, you got here early?”
“Mm.”
“Have you eaten dinner?”
At her polite question, Seong-ah narrowed her eyes.
“She can handle something like that herself. I just don’t understand why she showed up looking so… ridiculous…”
She clicked her tongue at the shabby, unimpressive So-rim, while her husband Park Sang-sik turned his eyes away with a dismissive tsk.
Min-seo, unsure between her parents, stepped in to defend So-rim.
“Don’t treat Unnie too harshly. She doesn’t like coming to uncomfortable events anyway.”
Saying this, Min-seo grabbed So-rim’s arm and linked hers warmly, smiling brightly for everyone to see.
So-rim lowered her pitch-black eyes, like black marbles.
Her arm, held by Min-seo, bore sharp scratches from nails.
“I’m hungry. Let’s go eat something together.”
Min-seo spoke kindly, gently leading So-rim away.
Every detail of her, even her eyelashes, was perfectly styled. She looked like a lovely doll.
So-rim, in her black dress, exuded a dark, gloomy aura—completely opposite to Min-seo.
Seeing this, the surrounding guests began to whisper.
“She’s not even a real sister, just a cousin living with them. And yet, she’s so kind?”
“Yeah. But she herself is always stiff and awkward.”
Their casual words reached So-rim’s ears.
The prestigious Min-seo and the Yoon So-rim of her family were always compared like this.
The two had been bound together by family due to an accident long ago.
Twenty years ago, So-rim’s parents died instantly when their car hit a guardrail.
So-rim, only five years old at the time, was taken in by her aunt Seong-ah and had lived with the family ever since.
Though she became an orphan at a young age, the attention she drew wasn’t only because she was a loner.
“I see her eyes are black today?”
“She’s probably wearing contacts. Otherwise, it would stand out too much.”
Hearing whispers about herself, So-rim let her long hair completely cover her left eye.
But she couldn’t fully block the continuing malicious comments.
“Her dead father was French, right? Blonde hair, blue eyes.”
“Not even her real dad, but her biological father. They couldn’t get married officially. And her maternal grandmother isn’t ordinary either.”
“Such a tough fate. Poor thing… but that gloomy hair can’t be helped, I guess…”
So-rim quietly endured the words aimed at her.
Then, the lounge noticeably stirred.
“Song Tae-ha!”
“Where, where?”
“He’s coming in now!”
