Chapter 1
It was a spring day that felt close to winter as she made her way to the place where they were supposed to meet.
“Is… is that the building?”
At her timid question, the taxi driver nodded cheerfully.
“Yep, that’s the one. Biggest hotel in Seoul. Going on a blind date, are you? The café you’re looking for is inside. Lots of people get dropped off here for that.”
A moment later, he turned the wheel and pulled over.
“Have a nice day.”
“Thank you. You too.”
After paying the fare, the young woman stepped out of the taxi near Namsan and walked toward the grand hotel.
Going on a blind date, are you?
The driver’s casual remark lingered in her mind.
She glanced down at the neatly pressed blouse she had carefully ironed that morning. Trying to walk with the dignity of a grown woman, she crossed the street, but every step felt painfully awkward.
Yeo-reul was twenty-three years old.
She stood around 160 centimeters tall, with a slender frame that almost looked fragile.
Her skin was so fair it seemed translucent, her cheeks carrying the faint blush of a young peach. Her clear, light brown eyes—closer to walnut than amber—gave her an innocent appearance, while her small face still retained the softness of adolescence.
Her straight black hair fell to her chest in an even cut without bangs. It was so smooth and healthy it reflected a subtle grayish-brown sheen under the light.
Yeo-reul was the daughter of the president of a small-to-medium-sized company. She was also a fashion major at one of Korea’s prestigious universities, having entered a year later than most students—but as the top-ranked freshman.
As she crossed the intersection, a father and daughter walked toward her from the opposite side, chatting happily together. The girl looked as though she had only just entered middle school.
The sight stirred a memory she wished had stayed buried.
When she was fourteen…
She had begged until her hands and feet were covered in dirt.
“I-I’m sorry… I was wrong… I—Aah!”
She had run from her father, hiding wherever she could.
The room had been dark and suffocating.
Her terrified eyes darted around desperately, searching for somewhere—anywhere—to escape.
“Ugh…”
A hand suddenly reached for her.
She clamped both hands over her mouth, but it was already too late.
Her father seized her by the hair.
Her head slammed into the floor beneath his foot.
His reason?
Because she resembled her dead mother.
Every time he drank, seeing her face reminded him of his former wife. His new wife hated that reminder just as much, silently watching as he beat his own daughter without lifting a finger to stop him.
Eventually, Yeo-reul fled the house.
She ran.
She kept running.
Far away from her father’s violence.
Far away from her stepmother’s cold indifference.
She sought refuge at her maternal grandmother’s home.
For weeks she trembled in fear, expecting someone to come after her.
No one ever did.
She regretted not leaving sooner.
She had endured everything because she believed they were family.
But to them…
She had never been family at all.
From the day she moved into her grandmother’s home, Yeo-reul’s only family was her grandmother.
Life became poorer.
But it was infinitely happier.
The private high school affiliated with her middle school was one of the nation’s elite institutions, and the tuition was expensive. Yet through extraordinary luck, an anonymous benefactor from one of Korea’s wealthy conglomerate families sponsored her education until graduation.
Nine years had passed since she left home.
Then, not long ago…
Her father contacted her out of the blue.
Returning home after nearly a decade, every step felt cautious.
She had believed time would dull her trauma.
She had been wrong.
Simply breathing the familiar air made her stomach churn.
The house still wrapped itself around her like fear made tangible.
The twin baby brothers she remembered had grown into elementary school students she barely recognized.
In the spacious living room sat her father, Tae-ha, impeccably dressed in an expensive suit.
“You’re getting married.”
Those were the first words he spoke.
Yeo-reul simply stared at him, mouth slightly open.
“Looks like the day finally came when you’re actually useful to me. You’ll be shocked when you hear who you’re marrying.”
The veins stood out on Tae-ha’s neck.
His voice was thick with excitement.
“The J Group! The chairman’s grandson!”
For several seconds, Yeo-reul could only stare.
The chairman’s grandson…?
Surely…
“Woo A-han. The grandson of the J Group family.”
Her face froze.
“His mother is the chairwoman of J Department Store! His father is the future CEO of J Corporation! Do you have any idea how many fashion brands that family owns? They practically dominate Korea’s fashion industry! Hahaha!”
Bang!
Bang!
Tae-ha pounded the table with terrifying force.
“Five years older than you. Even the age difference is perfect. Th-this is an opportunity! The opportunity of a lifetime!”
Yeo-reul said nothing.
“Why do you look like that? You should be bowing in gratitude to your father!”
His face twisted with irritation.
Then he roared.
“You’re marrying him. That’s final!”
She flinched violently.
Her hands had been trembling in her lap the entire time.
“W-Why…? Why… do I have to?”
The moment his hand shot toward her alongside a stream of curses, she instinctively covered her head.
He stopped halfway.
“…No. If your face gets damaged, that’ll be a problem.”
His eyes narrowed as he weighed the profit and loss.
Then his tone suddenly softened.
“My dear daughter. Maybe I wasn’t the perfect father because I was disappointed in you… but you shouldn’t treat your own father this way, should you?”
His greedy eyes gleamed.
“That old woman with the bad legs… should I make sure she has nowhere left to live?”
The smiling threat sent icy chills racing down Yeo-reul’s spine.
“This is a wonderful opportunity.”
Noticing the fear on her face, Tae-ha relaxed his expression.
“Do you understand?”
Marriage.
It was absurd.
But she had no alternative.
According to Tae-ha, everything had already been arranged.
All she had to do was meet Woo A-han.
And no matter what happened…
She was to make the marriage happen.
Yeo-reul left her father’s house in a daze.
He even gave her a thick envelope of money, telling her to buy proper clothes worthy of the occasion.
She accepted it without argument.
For a fleeting moment she considered taking the money, grabbing her grandmother, and disappearing somewhere far away.
But the threat still echoed in her ears.
That old woman…
If she ran, her grandmother would pay the price.
So she could do nothing.
None of it made sense.
Why would a family as powerful as J Group agree to a political marriage with a company as insignificant as her father’s?
Especially when the groom was…
She unfolded the document handed to her by her father’s secretary.
Name: Woo A-han (雅嫺)
Age: 28 (Born July 17)
Height: 189 cm
Family:
- Maternal grandfather: Chairman Ma Woon-hak of J Group
- Mother: Chairwoman Ma Seo-ok of J Department Store
- Father: Woo Myung-seok, former teacher and current CEO of J Corporation
Siblings: Presumed only child
Education / Position:
Graduated in Business Administration from a prestigious university in the United Kingdom. After completing military service, entered the business world. Currently serves as Director of the Fashion Division at J Corporation.
Despite attaining such a high executive position at a remarkably young age, no one dared criticize him.
Since the merger between J Corporation and J Textiles, the fashion division’s stock price had risen higher than ever before.
There was little doubt that one day he would become the unquestioned leader of Korea’s fashion industry.
The final line in the report read:
A courteous man… but a cold one.
For some reason, that assessment felt especially accurate.
“Woo A-han.”
The memory surfaced vividly.
A boy had once stepped into her path, speaking as though forcing the words directly into her mind.
“That’s my name.”
“Remember it.”
Back in middle school, Yeo-reul remembered him as an older student.
Even then, he had possessed a gentle, peaceful presence.
Yet there had also been something quietly arrogant in the way he looked down from above, and something almost artistic about the elegance of every step he took.
His name was elegant.
His appearance was elegant.
Everything about him embodied elegance.
He possessed wealth.
Fame.
Status.
Beauty.
Everything.
And yet…
As perfect and exceptional as he seemed, she had always felt that something essential was missing from him.
Perhaps it had only been her imagination.
As she walked, Yeo-reul pictured the man he must have become.
How much has he changed?
She entered the doors of the Woonha Hotel, heading toward the lounge café where they had agreed to meet.
Although she had once grown up in a relatively wealthy household, this was the first time she had stepped inside a hotel of this scale since leaving home.
Standing in the center of the magnificent lobby, she looked around blankly.
“Excuse me… um… may I ask something?”
Carefully weaving through the orderly flow of guests, she approached the reception desk.
“Good afternoon, ma’am. How may I assist you?”
“I was wondering where the lounge café is…”
“Of course. Just turn right over there, and you’ll see it immediately.”
She turned her head.
The elegant lounge café was right there.
She suddenly felt foolish.
It was that obvious…
How embarrassing.
“Thank you.”
After bowing politely, Yeo-reul walked away with heavy steps.
Before heading to the café, she decided to stop by the restroom.
Standing before the mirror, she examined herself carefully.
Her white-collared blouse and navy skirt looked neat enough.
Still…
Her pale face seemed lifeless.
She took out a tube of bright crimson lip gloss and gently applied it.
The touch of color brought instant warmth to her clear, summer-sky complexion.
She looked much more alive.
Stuffing the gloss back into her handbag, she practiced smiling at her reflection.
“Ha… ha… ha…”
She even tried laughing softly.
Ugh…
Her heart pounded as if she were about to walk into a job interview.
She drew a deep breath.
Then slowly let it out.
The nervousness remained.
She had lost count of how many times in her life she had wished to be born with stronger nerves.
Today, her timid heart felt especially pathetic.
If he doesn’t like me…
Maybe Father will finally give up.
She had clung to that hope countless times.
Even so…
Meeting him made her unbearably nervous.
“He probably won’t remember me.”
Does he even know we went to the same school?
“…Probably not.”
With that quiet thought, Yeo-reul stepped out of the restroom.
