TC 9

Chapter 9

“It’s much better than sitting in a restaurant kitchen peeling potatoes all day.”

Did he even investigate my life?

From those words, Sorim could guess how Song Taeha saw her.
It didn’t feel good at all.

She was proud of her life.
So hearing him think of her as someone just clinging to a restaurant for a little money felt deeply insulting.

She looked at him quietly for a moment, then spoke slowly.

“Well… I’m not interested.”

Taeha’s confident, almost arrogant smile faded slightly. One eyebrow lifted.

“You’re not interested?”

She nodded slowly.

“Yes. Your offer doesn’t attract me at all.”

“Wait, Ms. Yoon Sorim. If you hear the exact amount—”

“No matter how much you give me, I’m not interested. I hope we never meet again.”

After saying that, Sorim bowed lightly and went back into the kitchen.

She ended the conversation on her own.
She didn’t care what kind of face he was making afterward.

“…Crazy bastard.”

She muttered quietly.

No normal person would ask a woman he barely knew to pretend to be his wife.

If he were in front of her now, she wanted to curse at him properly.

‘Still, we probably won’t meet again.’

There was no reason for Song Taeha to come back to the restaurant.

A rich heir like him wouldn’t have trouble finding a woman willing to play a fake wife.
Plenty of women would want to be involved with him. Including her cousin, Minseo.

At the front gate, Sorim pressed the bell.
After a moment, the door unlocked.

Even though it was winter, the yard was neatly kept.
She walked to the front door.

“I’m home—”

Just as she was about to take off her shoes—

“Hey! That’s enough, enough!”

A loud, excited voice echoed through the house.

Sorim lifted her head in confusion.

She saw Aunt Seonga hugging Minseo tightly and jumping up and down.
Uncle Sangshik stood nearby, smiling proudly.

All three looked extremely happy.

Before Sorim could ask what was going on, she noticed something on the living room table.

A huge flower basket.

It was as big as a person’s body, filled with expensive roses, peonies, and lisianthus.
It looked like it cost tens—maybe hundreds—of thousands of won.

“What… is this?”

Seonga laughed brightly.

“What do you think? It’s a gift for our Minseo.”

“…Who sent it?”

A bad feeling ran down Sorim’s back.

Minseo’s cheeks turned red as she answered.

“Vice President Song Taeha.”

“…!”

Sorim’s eyes shook the moment she heard his name.

“I was so surprised. I didn’t expect him to send flowers like this.”

Minseo murmured dreamily, holding her warm cheeks.

No one noticed how pale Sorim’s face had become.

“That Mr. Song is bad at expressing himself, but he clearly likes our Minseo.”

Seonga looked proud, like she already had a rich son-in-law.

Watching them, Sorim swallowed dryly.
Her throat felt rough, like she had swallowed sand.

Then she noticed the ribbon on the flower basket.

[I look forward to seeing you again. — Song Taeha]

The words were simple and formal.
But depending on who read them, they could sound very romantic.

‘…Crazy bastard.’

Sorim clenched her fist.

This was clearly a message to her.

A warning.
A childish revenge.

“You said you never want to see me again?
I can still shake up your life however I want.”

That was what it meant.

Minseo, however, believed completely that the flowers were for her.

“Unni, look. Don’t they smell amazing?”

Minseo pushed the flowers close to Sorim’s face.

The strong scent made Sorim feel sick.
She could feel Taeha’s arrogance hidden inside it.

“…Yeah. They smell nice.”

She stepped back and answered shortly.

Minseo kept speaking happily.

“I didn’t know he could be so romantic. He looks cold on the outside.”

Sorim felt speechless.

She wanted to shout that the flowers weren’t for Minseo.
That they were meant to threaten her.

But she stayed silent.

No one would believe her anyway.
They would only laugh at her.

“…I’ll go rest first. I’m a little tired.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

Seonga didn’t even look at her. She was busy arranging the flowers.

Sorim escaped upstairs like she was running away from the flowers—no, from Song Taeha’s shadow.

Only after closing her door did she finally breathe out.

“Ha… ha…”

Her heart was beating fast and unevenly.

The way Taeha played with people’s feelings terrified her.

He probably always lived like this.
Buying people with money.
Using them. Throwing them away.

And yet—

She hated to admit it, but her chest felt strange.

Even though it was clearly a cruel trick,
knowing the flowers were actually meant for her made her heart shake.

‘No. Don’t be affected. He’s not worth it.’

She shook her head hard and fell onto the bed.

But even with her eyes closed,
his arrogant face and red roses kept appearing.

It was going to be a long, sleepless night.

After a night without sleep, morning came as usual.

The Yeonhui-dong house was noisy, like it was a holiday.

“Yoon Sorim! Which one is better? This or this?”

Minseo burst into the room without knocking.

She held up two earrings.
One had a big pearl. The other was a diamond drop earring.

“…The pearl looks more neat.”

Sorim sat up and answered, forcing herself to swallow.

Minseo checked the mirror and nodded.

“Right? Simple is better, right?”

She was clearly preparing to meet Song Taeha.

After Minseo left happily, Sorim got ready for work.

Downstairs, the huge flower basket was still on the table.
Seonga was already on the phone, bragging loudly.

“Oh ho ho. The flowers were so big the house looks small!
The date will be decided soon. Our Minseo is so gentle, you know.
She’s waiting calmly.”

Sorim’s throat still felt rough.

‘How long do I have to watch this stupid situation?’

The uneasy feeling in her chest wouldn’t go away.

She had a strong feeling that Song Taeha wouldn’t stop with just flowers.

“…I’ll head out first.”

She said quietly, but no one paid attention.

As she left, Seonga’s excited voice followed her.

“Our Song son-in-law has great taste, right?”

Sorim escaped through the gate.

The winter wind was cold,
but it felt much cleaner than the greedy heat inside the house.