CLABC 1

Chapter: 1

The Blind Date

Her already long eyelashes felt heavy under the weight of carefully applied mascara.

Bora blinked slowly and sipped her juice through a straw, careful not to smudge the lip gloss she had put so much effort into.

“Unexpected,” he said.

“Pardon?”

The tall, broad-shouldered handsome man sitting across from her was named Han Kang-yoon.

A man known for pushing things through like a bulldozer without regard for others, cold-blooded and utterly ruthless in all matters. Despite his perfect résumé and looks, he was the subject of countless rumors explaining why he still wasn’t married.

The dark navy suit tailored perfectly to his frame and the crisply pressed white shirt beneath it seemed to reflect his meticulous, uncompromising personality.

“What exactly is unexpected…?”

From the moment she entered, Bora had been uneasy under Kang-yoon’s unwavering gaze.

“That you’re beautiful.”

“Excuse me?”

“I didn’t think my great aunt would ever choose someone this pretty as my blind date.”

The unexpected remark made Bora’s pale cheeks flush.

“Ms. Yoon Bora, were you dragged here against your will too?”

“Well… no—yes.”

Unable to lie, Bora answered honestly. Kang-yoon, who had maintained a blank expression, lifted the corner of his lips in a faint smile.

“To be honest—”

“Right. There must be something. Go on.”

Kang-yoon removed the straw from his iced Americano and took a long drink. Half the cup disappeared in just two gulps. Watching him, Bora fidgeted with the straw in her own juice.

Something had been bothering her ever since she was told she’d be going on a blind date with the son of Gangsan Group.

“Chairman Han Kang-moon of Gangsan Trading asked to meet me several times.”

“Hah?”

“But I never agreed. He’s such an impressive man, and there’s quite an age gap…”

“Hm. Han Kang-moon and I are only a year apart.”

“What? Really? You look much younger…”

“Well, we’re practically the same age. Our birthdays are one day apart. He’s December 31st, and I’m January 1st.”

As he spoke, Kang-yoon’s gaze cooled once more.

Bora couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

If he truly were the cold-blooded man the rumors described, he wouldn’t have bothered showing up to a blind date he had no interest in. And if he wasn’t interested in her, he would’ve excused himself by now and left the hotel lobby.

Instead, Kang-yoon simply stared at her in silence, drinking his coffee. Bora’s mouth went dry, unable to read him at all.

“You may have heard things about me,” he said after a long pause.

His deep, low voice was surprisingly attractive.

“Whatever you imagined, I’m probably a better man than that.”

“You don’t even know what I imagined…”

Cold-blooded. Rude. Arrogant lone wolf.

Thinking of all the negative words she’d heard about him, Bora trailed off awkwardly. To be fair, her prejudice had grown even stronger after learning he was Han Kang-moon’s brother.

A spoiled man who thought the world revolved around him.

Someone foolish enough to believe money could buy a woman’s heart.

That was as far as Bora’s opinion of Han Kang-moon went.

They’d only crossed paths a few times during volunteer events hosted by the Honor Society Club. Bora’s beauty, youth, and innocent demeanor had caught his interest.

Despite her clear rejections, he’d continued contacting her. Remembering his greasy smile made her expression stiffen.

“There’s only one thing I’ve heard about you,” Kang-yoon said, looking at her neatly manicured fingers wrapped around the juice glass.

“Only daughter of Bit-chan Corporation, and CEO of the silver town ‘The Light.’”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I knew they wouldn’t be pairing me with the daughter of a booming company.”

His indifferent tone confirmed one thing—blood really did tell.

Han Kang-moon or Han Kang-yoon… neither of them cares about other people’s feelings.

Unbothered, Kang-yoon tapped his long, straight index finger against the armrest as he thought.

“As you probably know, I’m the son of my father’s mistress. After he passed away early, my great aunt raised me as her own.”

“Yes… I’ve heard.”

“Officially, I’m the second son of Gangsan Group. But on the blind-date market, I’m just decorative wallpaper—someone who’ll never inherit the group. That, plus my infamous personality, makes people avoid me.”

His self-mocking smile drew Bora’s gaze.

“So now it’s your turn,” he said.

“Mine?”

“I’ve shown you my weaknesses. Now you show me yours. That way we can honestly see whether we can get what we want from each other.”

Revealing one’s flaws on a blind date.

Bora stiffened at the unexpected turn.

Her mother had told her she had to win Han Kang-yoon over and marry him, no matter what.

To rebuild her father’s collapsed business, they needed the backing of a conglomerate like Gangsan Group. Her father’s reckless borrowing had nearly destroyed Bora’s own business as well.

Her mother had known early on that Han Kang-moon was interested in Bora. She’d hinted through acquaintances, but the response had been a blind date—with Han Kang-yoon instead.

“Honestly, who cares about legitimate or illegitimate sons in this day and age? And rumors—those are things you only understand after experiencing them. Bora, steel your heart. If you just close your eyes and act clever, you’ll save the whole family. Okay?”

Her mother, who had lived a pampered life as a wealthy wife, couldn’t bear the fall from grace.

Marrying her only beautiful daughter into a rich family was her goal.

Bora’s love, feelings, and career mattered little.

To her mother, being able to buy every new luxury handbag that season ranked higher than Bora’s happiness.

The thought made Bora’s throat tighten.

“If it’s hard to talk about, you don’t have to,” Kang-yoon said after noticing her pale face.

But Bora lifted her chin and spoke firmly.

“As you said, my family is struggling right now. That needs to be resolved. And I’m at an age where marriage makes sense anyway. And…”

Kang-yoon waited patiently as she hesitated.

“My incompetent father’s management has put my business at risk too. What kind of parent siphons money from their child’s company? I built my silver town with my own hands—without a single won from him.”

“Hm.”

Kang-yoon’s eyes glinted with interest.

“There are two reasons I came to this blind date.”

“What are they?”

“First, my mother requested a match with Gangsan Group—but thankfully, it was you, not Han Kang-moon, who came.”

“That’s not unpleasant to hear.”

“The second reason is the possibility that you might invest in my silver town.”

“An investment?”

“As you know, my family’s situation is in free fall. If I can’t resolve the debt soon, Hanseung Group will take over The Light. They proposed a partnership from the beginning, and when I refused, they built a similar silver town and have been circling mine ever since.”

“Hmmm…”

During the boom, silver towns had sprung up everywhere, many poorly managed and quickly losing value.

But Bora’s The Light had consistently remained number one in the industry—an acknowledged success.

“I don’t know why you came here, Mr. Han, but I came thinking I might meet an investor with vision. A win-win. Kill two birds with one stone. You know?”

Though she spoke confidently, her heart pounded, unsure what Kang-yoon was thinking as he studied her with that unreadable expression.

Her pale fingers, folded neatly on her skirt, clenched and unclenched unconsciously.

“Negotiations work best when both sides show their lowest cards,” Kang-yoon said after a moment, nodding slightly.

“As the CEO of a silver town, convincing stubborn old folks must be easy for you.”

“What?”

“Tell me. Can you soften an old man who sits there tight-lipped and refuses to say a word?”

Bora didn’t know his true intention—but instinct told her.

This was it.

Her last chance to save The Light, the place she’d poured her entire soul into.

She had to grab the lifeline this enigmatic man was offering.

“Yes. I can.”

“It’s my specialty.”