Chapter – 15
Before Gaeun even contacted him, Seokjin had already sent a fairly detailed email introducing his family profiles.
It was material to prepare her for the “Joo Seokjin family interview” scheduled for that evening.
As expected of a chaebol family, the family backgrounds were extremely impressive.
Seokjin’s father, Chairman Joo Seho, had been raised from a young age as the successor of the Jooshin Group, just like his predecessors. His mother, Jung Heekyung, the director of Jooshin Gallery, had also grown up in a wealthy family without lacking anything.
“What’s the point of working hard? Wealth just gets inherited like this anyway.”
Gaeun zoomed in and out on the smiling faces of Seokjin’s parents on her phone screen.
“Three sons and one daughter… No matter how I look at it, he doesn’t feel like the youngest.”
It was hard to believe Seokjin was the youngest of four siblings.
From what she had seen, he felt more like a firstborn than the youngest.
The eldest son of the Jooshin Group, Joo Taejin, was the president in charge of construction and heavy industries—the foundation of the group.
He had graduated from a university in the United States and, according to the profile, had built a happy family with the wife he met through an arranged introduction during his studies.
But what interested Gaeun more than those ordinary facts were the secret notes, likely written by Secretary Tak, about the reality of their marriage.
“What? They each have separate lovers? What is this… Is this what they call American style?”
Reading the section marked confidential, Gaeun clicked her tongue.
It really was a different world. Their world was beyond anything she had imagined.
Seokjin’s second brother, Joo Kyungjin, also had extraordinary credentials.
He was a genius who had graduated early from a science high school and university. His wife, Kang Yoonna, was the head of dermatology at Jooshin Hospital—someone who, like Kyungjin, had lived her entire life at the top.
After reading the profiles of Seokjin’s two older brothers, Gaeun felt completely drained.
“Why is everyone so accomplished… My confidence is going to disappear the moment I meet them…”
Putting her phone down, she mentally reviewed her own profile.
There wasn’t much to organize. Her background was simple, with nothing particularly outstanding.
She hadn’t been exceptionally good at academics, nor had she shown remarkable talent in the arts. She was, quite literally, average by Korean standards…
“Average? More like below average.”
She felt lucky if she wouldn’t be thrown out the door for even attempting such a marriage before she could even step into Seokjin’s house.
“I feel like they’ll oppose this perfectly. President Joo, you probably have nothing to worry about.”
Staring at the empty ceiling, Gaeun sighed deeply.
She had always taken pride in working hard in life, but compared to their profiles, her confidence shrank like a deflated balloon.
“What? It’s already three?”
Startled, she jumped up and rushed to the bathroom.
She showered quickly and began applying her makeup with care.
She had considered going to a neighborhood salon, but since she had always been praised for her makeup skills, she decided to do it herself.
When she got a message that Secretary Tak had arrived, she went outside wearing the same casual clothes she had on at home.
Since a personal shopper had already been arranged to pick out her outfit, she didn’t want the hassle of changing twice.
“Your clothes…”
Opening the rear car door, Secretary Tak looked flustered at Gaeun’s extremely casual outfit.
“I’m buying new ones anyway. I’ll just throw these away. I don’t like carrying things in my hands.”
“Ah, that makes sense. No need to keep old clothes when buying new ones.”
“Right. By the way, is there a budget for today’s clothing purchases?”
“Why do you ask…?”
Seeing her thinking seriously, Secretary Tak trailed off.
Seokjin hadn’t mentioned any budget, only telling Director Kim Hyeryeong to select something neat.
“Do you have any preferred brands?”
He had heard most women had brands they liked.
“Not really… but I was thinking of buying something expensive.”
“You may do so. The president did not mention any spending limits.”
“Thank you. Did you bring the card?”
“Yes, here it is.”
Secretary Tak handed her an all-black card.
So this is the famous black card…
Would Seokjin receive notifications about where it was used?
She was curious.
“Secretary Tak, could you stop up ahead for a moment?”
Gaeun entered a nearby convenience store.
She grabbed a buy-two-get-one-free coffee set and went straight to the counter.
“That will be 3,200 won.”
After paying with the card, she returned to the car and handed one coffee to Secretary Tak.
“Here, take this.”
“Thank you.”
“Enjoy it. Not that I paid with my own money.”
Smiling brightly, Gaeun looked outside the window, searching for her next stop.
* * *
[GU Convenience Store – 3,200 won]
As soon as Seokjin checked the transaction notification, the card company immediately called him.
“Yes?”
—We’re sorry, sir. Have you perhaps lost your card?
“No.”
—Understood. Thank you.
Because the amount was unusually small compared to his usual spending patterns, the company suspected the card had been lost.
And of all places, it was even used at GU, a competitor’s convenience store.
Oh Gaeun was definitely doing this on purpose.
Putting his phone down, Seokjin returned his gaze to last month’s sales report.
But less than five minutes later, another message made him burst out laughing.
[Daisseo – 58,000 won (10-month installment)]
At a store where most items cost about 1,000 won, she had somehow spent 58,000 won—and even put it on a 10-month installment plan.
“Installments… Let’s see how far you go, Miss Oh Gaeun.”
Seokjin closed his report and focused on his phone screen.
Now he was curious where and how much she would spend next.
[H Cosmetics – 10,900 won]
He wondered what she bought.
He almost called to ask, but thought that might make him look strange, so he instead searched the H Cosmetics website for items priced at 10,900 won.
There were too many possibilities.
Was this also part of her strategy?
If she was trying to spark his curiosity, she had succeeded perfectly.
[Delicious Hotdog – 5,000 won]
Seeing she even bought snacks, Seokjin chuckled and stood up, putting on the jacket he had taken off earlier.
It seemed better to go to the department store himself.
Based on her spending behavior so far, she would probably refuse expensive items recommended by the personal shopper and choose cheaper ones.
“That won’t do. I’ll have to go stop her myself.”
For the first time in his life, Seokjin headed to a department store to shop with a woman—something he had never planned to do.
* * *
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a hotdog.”
Secretary Tak said this with a friendly smile as they stopped briefly to eat.
“It’s good, right? Food bought with someone else’s money always tastes best.”
“That’s true.”
“Buying hotdogs with a black card…”
“Was that… the president’s money?”
Secretary Tak turned around, startled.
“Of course.”
“…The president’s card…”
“Don’t worry. If he gave me the card, it means I can use it. And altogether it’s not even 100,000 won.”
“Still… that card isn’t meant for things like this. The president dislikes money being used outside its intended purpose.”
“I’ll handle everything. Don’t worry.”
Despite her confidence, Secretary Tak’s anxious expression didn’t relax.
Even after arriving at the personal shopper section, he kept sighing while fiddling with his phone.
Just how harsh is he with money to make his secretary this nervous? Gaeun thought sympathetically.
“Welcome, madam.”
“Ah… hello.”
The title madam made Gaeun smile awkwardly.
“I’m Director Kim Hyeryeong. I’ll be assisting you with your shopping today.”
The neatly groomed woman greeted her politely, and Gaeun slightly bowed.
“I’ve selected a few items already. I’ll have some tea brought. What would you like?”
“Just a cup of warm water.”
“Of course.”
“President!”
Not long after Director Kim began assisting Gaeun, Seokjin arrived.
Secretary Tak’s face immediately turned pale.
He was afraid Seokjin would blame him for allowing such spending.
“Oh? I didn’t think you’d come.”
“I couldn’t stay away. Your outfit is important.”
“They’ll pick something good anyway. Why worry…?”
His words sounded like he was saying she had no fashion sense, which hurt her pride.
What does he think of me…
Gaeun deliberately crossed her legs on the sofa.
“The clothes recommended here are all high-end. Refusing them because they’re expensive is absolutely not allowed.”
Sitting beside her, Seokjin spoke quietly.
“Refusing?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I refuse? I’m planning to buy the most expensive thing anyway.”
She had already expected sky-high prices.
Since this outfit was necessary for the family meeting and he was the one paying, she had no reason to hesitate.
If anything, she intended to pick something shocking in price.
“…That’s a relief.”
“Ah! Were you worried because I spent too little so far?”
He probably thought she was frugal because she had only made small purchases.
What does he take me for?
She had only suppressed her spending desires because she lacked money before.
Now she intended to show him what someone unleashed would look like.
“That’s not it.”
“I was going to keep this a secret and tell you later…”
Gaeun turned and whispered into his ear.
“This is just the beginning. I’ll start small and then spend bigger and bigger amounts.”
“Do as you wish. Was there a need to say that so close?”
“Listen carefully to what I say now.”
This time she covered near his ear with her hand and whispered again.
“I’m going to live as a shopping addict… while I live as President Joo’s wife.
