Chapter 11
“Oh, he must be here! Honey, go out quickly!”
Seong-ah pushed Sang-sik’s back.
Sang-sik hurried to the front door.
From behind the second-floor railing, Sorim hid and watched, holding her breath.
The heavy front door opened. Bright sunlight came in, and a man stepped inside.
He wore a perfectly tailored dark charcoal-gray suit. His hair was neatly styled with pomade, showing his forehead clearly.
…Song Tae-ha.
He had come all the way to the Yeonhui-dong house, holding a small shopping bag in one hand.
Seong-ah and Sang-sik almost ran toward him, smiling as widely as they could.
“Oh my, Vice President Song! Thank you so much for visiting such a humble place!”
Sang-sik bent his waist almost ninety degrees, acting overly polite.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
Tae-ha greeted them with a polite but somehow cold voice.
He lightly shook Sang-sik’s trembling hand and let go.
“Welcome, Vice President. Oh my, you look even more impressive up close.”
Seong-ah looked as if she might cry from joy.
Song Tae-ha smiled politely and nodded to her as well.
Behind them stood Minseo, looking shy.
“…Welcome, Vice President.”
Minseo forced her voice to sound as sweet as possible. Tae-ha’s eyes rested on her for a moment.
There was no emotion in his eyes.
They were dry and indifferent, like he was looking at a mannequin under bright lights.
But Minseo blushed, as if she believed even that look meant affection.
“It’s been a while, Ms. Park Minseo.”
“Yes… thank you so much for the flowers.”
“No problem.”
After replying briefly, Tae-ha naturally walked into the living room.
His eyes slowly scanned the room.
Like a predator searching for prey—slowly and carefully.
Sorim instinctively hid deeper in the shadows.
‘Please, please…’
For a moment, Sorim thought she saw the corner of Tae-ha’s lips lift slightly. If she said that out loud, people would probably think she was crazy.
“Please sit down, Vice President. Or would you like to eat lunch first?”
Sang-sik offered his usual seat of honor, smiling humbly.
Tae-ha sat down on the sofa without hesitation and crossed his legs.
Every small movement of his gave off pressure that filled the room.
He acted calm and confident, as if he were the owner of the place.
“Before we eat, there’s something I’d like to say.”
At his words, Seong-ah and Sang-sik’s eyes sparkled with expectation.
It looked like they had been waiting for this.
“Please go ahead. We’ll do whatever you wish, Vice President…”
Sang-sik swallowed nervously.
Tae-ha placed his clasped hands on his knee and spoke.
“I heard that President Park proposed a marriage through my secretary’s office.”
“Ah, yes! That’s right. Our daughter admires you very much, Vice President… ahem, she respects and loves you…”
“I found the proposal interesting.”
Tae-ha’s gaze passed over Minseo without emotion.
Minseo lowered her head shyly.
“So I came today to give you my answer.”
His voice was low and clear.
Up on the second floor, Sorim wanted to cover her ears.
Please, please say Minseo. It’s better for you too, isn’t it?
Just as she screamed inside her head—
“…!”
Tae-ha suddenly lifted his head and looked exactly toward the second-floor railing.
They didn’t make eye contact, but it was clear he knew where she was hiding.
“By the way,”
Tae-ha paused mid-sentence.
“It seems not all family members are here.”
“…!”
The living room went silent, like cold water had been poured over everyone.
Sang-sik and Seong-ah’s eyes shook.
“What? No, that’s not true. There are just the three of us—”
“As far as I know, there is one more family member.”
His words were very clear.
Seong-ah’s face turned pale.
“Oh, that child is just… a niece. She’s out right now…”
“I would like her to join us.”
His tone was polite, but impossible to refuse.
“We are talking about the woman who will become my wife. Shouldn’t the whole family be present?”
“Th-that…!”
“Call Yoon Sorim down.”
He finally said Sorim’s name out loud.
Minseo looked blank. Seong-ah’s mouth fell open.
“S-Sorim? How do you know her name? Why would she—?”
“Please call her. I’ll wait.”
Tae-ha leaned back and crossed his arms, clearly unwilling to say anything more until Sorim came down.
Seong-ah looked up at the second floor in panic, anger mixed in her eyes.
“…Ha.”
Hide-and-seek was over. Song Tae-ha had won.
Sorim forced her shaking legs to calm down and stood up, holding the railing.
She had no choice.
She never had a choice—her whole life had been like this.
With a pale face, Sorim slowly walked down the stairs.
She stepped out of the shadows and revealed herself.
Tae-ha’s eyes were fixed only on her.
Satisfied. Like he had finally caught her.
His black eyes followed every movement she made.
When Sorim reached the living room and stood in front of him, Tae-ha slowly stood up.
As the family stared in shock, he took one step toward her.
“You finally show your face.”
“….”
Looking down at Sorim’s stiff expression as if he were enjoying it, he said something no one expected.
“Sorry for the late greeting. Father-in-law. Mother-in-law.”
He turned his head toward Sang-sik and Seong-ah.
“I will marry Yoon Sorim.”
The air in the living room felt like it had been sucked out.
“…What?”
After a long silence, Sang-sik asked stupidly.
Sorim? Yoon Sorim was nothing but a parasite living in his house…
Seong-ah stood frozen, mouth open, as if she forgot how to breathe.
The first to react was Minseo.
“…That’s impossible. That can’t be true.”
Her lips trembled.
She looked back and forth between Tae-ha and Sorim in disbelief.
“Vice President, you’re joking, right? You said the wrong name, didn’t you?”
Minseo staggered forward.
“Yoon Sorim? She’s just… just someone living in our house! She’s nothing!”
“Minseo!”
Seong-ah tried to stop her, but Minseo had already lost control.
“You sent flowers! To me! You said you were looking forward to seeing me again!”
She screamed, pointing at the huge flower arrangement in the corner.
Tae-ha didn’t even blink.
He looked calm, as if he were quietly watching the chaos.
Slowly, he turned to look down at the trembling Sorim.
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“….”
“Who the flowers were for.”
Sorim bit her lip instead of answering.
He already knew she hadn’t told the truth. He was asking on purpose.
That, too, was part of his plan.
Tae-ha turned his cold gaze back to Minseo.
Finally realizing how serious the mood was, Minseo shut her mouth.
“There seems to have been a misunderstanding. Those flowers—”
With a small gesture of his chin, Tae-ha pointed exactly at Sorim.
“They were sent to Yoon Sorim. Since the address is the same, you must have misunderstood.”
