Chapter 3
The first time Sua saw Hyun-oh was still vivid in her eyes. He was one of her brother’s many classmates.
However, everything changed the moment he stepped into her house.
Tall stature with broad shoulders, a solid physique that quickly caught people’s attention. His chiseled face, occasionally revealing deep dark brown eyes through the swaying bangs when the wind blew, was sharp enough to pierce into one’s soul.
However, when he smiled, the cold demeanor instantly melted away. It was an ordinary comment he made when he first saw her.
“Is Jiheon your brother?”
“Yes.”
Sua had planned to greet him with a simple “Hello,” but her throat tightened, and she could only nod.
“You don’t resemble Jiheon at all.”
Sua remained silent, unsure of what to say. Then, Hyun-oh chuckled.
“It’s a compliment.”
As time passed, Hyun-oh remained the same, or rather, he became more dazzling. Clad in well-fitted suits with neat hairstyles, his eyes hidden beneath long eyelashes seemed even sharper.
The old Sua struggled to speak properly in even the most ordinary conversations with him. However, as time went by, she found herself confessing everything to him in this place today.
“Let’s get married,” so suddenly.
Inside the small room where they met for the first time, Sua was still nestled in Hyun-oh’s embrace. Despite the thick coat and layers of clothes between them, it felt like their bare skin was pressed against each other.
Had they ever been this close before? No, this was the first time.
Hyun-oh’s palm touched Sua’s shoulder blades. The sensation of his large hand sliding down made her slender body curl up. An electric sensation passed through her entire body. Concerned that she might get hurt, Hyun-oh let go as soon as she adjusted her posture.
The heat that had accumulated between them dissipated in an instant. Looking deeply into Sua’s eyes, Hyun-oh opened his mouth.
“Are you okay?”
“Ye.. yes? Yes, I’m fine.”
“Not that.”
In response to Hyun-oh’s words, Sua’s eyes widened for a moment, and her face turned red.
“Let’s get married” — Was there something strange about saying that? Are you really okay with this? It carried that kind of meaning.
“Yes, I’m okay. It’s sincere.”
Hyun-oh lowered his gaze and spoke in a drawn-out manner.
“What’s sincere about it?”
Meeting after a long time and suddenly saying something like “Let’s get married,” wasn’t there something strange about it? Really, are you okay? That’s what he meant.
“Yes, it’s sincere.”
Hyun-oh, with his black eyes downcast, spoke with a raised eyebrow.
“What’s sincere about it?”
It might have been surprising for him, someone she hadn’t seen in a long time, to suddenly hear such words. However, there was no chance before. He could leave this room at any moment. Feeling rushed, Sua summoned the courage to speak.
“I’ve liked you for a long time.”
Upon hearing this, Hyun-oh’s dark eyes gleamed. More surprised than when she proposed marriage, he furrowed his brow.
“You’ve liked me for a long time?”
A sincere confession.
However, she didn’t know how long it took for her to utter those words. From the time when Hyun-oh saved her from Jiheon’s harassment, or maybe even from the moment they first met, Sua had liked him.
Even though she knew her confession might sound ridiculous, she had no other way. Whether then or now, Sua’s words were awkward.
Hyun-oh, looking more surprised than when she proposed marriage, remained silent with a furrowed brow. Sua’s heart pounded.
What would he say?
After a long time, Hyun-oh opened his mouth.
“I feel a bit disoriented. First, have a seat.”
He returned to his seat. Thankfully, the fact that he was momentarily tied up helped calm Sua’s fluttering heart a bit.
The two sat facing each other in the awkward atmosphere. Hyun-oh, as if contemplating something, mumbled to himself while maintaining a stern expression.
“I felt something strange from when you came out today.”
Ha, ha, and he chuckled lightly.
“Han Sua likes me….”
Then he looked up and stared at Sua.
“Han Sua, we’ve known each other for over ten years. I can’t figure out why you suddenly say something like this.”
“That’s because…”
Because I thought of you as someone unreachable.
“Because I thought it wouldn’t come true.”
She couldn’t say it even once.
“I find it hard to believe.”
After sighing deeply and sweeping back his neat hair, Hyun-oh opened his mouth.
“Sua.”
It was a call different from ‘Han Sua’ he used before. Instead, he called her ‘Sua.’ Sua widened her eyes at the change. When he occasionally visited Sua’s house when they were young, he used to affectionately call her ‘Sua.’ The memories from back then suddenly flashed in her mind.
“So, did you create this matchmaking situation?”
Sua shook her head.
“No, it was a coincidence. My father told me to meet someone, and when I came here, I saw…”
“It was me?”
She nodded in response to his question. Hyun-oh made another puzzled expression. Today, he seemed to sigh more often.
“Heh. It’s too smooth of a story to believe.”
The composed face from earlier was replaced by a rugged expression.
Sua couldn’t comprehend his words. Before she could ask, Hyun-oh threw another question.
“You are how old?”
She had mentioned earlier that she was twenty-four. However, remembering the words of the young man from earlier, Sua gave a different answer this time, slightly lifting her chin.
“I’m twenty-five.”
“You said you were twenty-four earlier.”
She hadn’t forgotten.
“…If you remembered, then why?”
“Just to confirm.”
He pounded the table sharply on the opposite side.
Tuk, tuk, a sharp clashing sound resonated. Hyun-oh was thirty years old, six years older than her. When they were young, he seemed like an incredibly distant figure, but now, as an adult, things were different.
“I’m not young. I’ve been legally an adult for over five years.”
When she was in his arms, the thrilling sensation that flowed through her entire body, the breath that became uneven when her skin touched his firm body—she was not too young to be unaware of the sexual tension that flowed between a man and a woman.
She wanted to marry Hyun-oh. She wanted to be in his arms again. She wanted to press her face against his firm chest and see if his heart was really beating. She wanted to touch him, kiss him. She wanted Hyun-oh.
She was already an adult, dreaming of such things to the point of desiring him.
“I’m an adult.”
“You’re six years younger than me. Plus, you’re Jiheon’s little sister. You’re still a kid with no experience.”
Was it just that she looked like a twenty-four-year-old woman, or did she still seem like a young girl in his eyes? It was a mistake.
When she proposed marriage, it wasn’t about expressing her feelings. It was just a matchmaking event, a place where the two families decided on a match. But she ended up blurting out, “I like you.”
Perhaps that’s why she appeared more like a child to him now.
Sua blamed herself, biting her lip. A faint scent of blood emanated from her torn lips. With her lips reddening even more, he gazed at her with narrowed eyes.
If there were no feelings involved.
“Anyone will do, you said. Marrying me won’t be a bad deal for you.”
It would have been better to say such things from the beginning.
“Even if my father doesn’t favor me, I am the eldest daughter of HanDong Group.”
HanDong Group ranked 7th in the corporate hierarchy in South Korea. If she worked in collaboration with PY, it would be welcomed by PY as well.
“So, please consider it.”
Hyun-oh was the most talented among the grandsons of PY Group’s honorary chairman, Ji Seon-ung. He had entered the top business school in Korea as the top student. He resembled his mother, who was considered one of the most beautiful actresses of her time. After joining PY Chemicals as a head of the headquarters, he continuously achieved outstanding business results, leading to a constant surge in stock prices.
However, he had a significant flaw. For Hyun-oh to win in the power struggle for control, he would need support from his in-laws.
That’s why Hyun-oh, who wasn’t interested in dating and focused only on work with an indifferent face, appeared in such a situation.
“If you marry me, it will help you establish your position at PY.”
An attractive proposal. However, Hyun-oh’s face didn’t brighten.
***
Listening with an inscrutable expression, Hyun-oh concluded the meeting with the words, “I’ll contact you soon.”
Today’s meeting required unprecedented courage. It was desperate to the point where embarrassment and awkwardness were hardly felt. However, on the way home, Sua sighed multiple times.
“I don’t know if I did well.”
If only she had said something different. If only she had tried a different approach to persuade him.
There was a lot of regret, but now it was too late to turn back time. When Sua returned home with heavy steps, her father, who usually didn’t care about her coming and going, rushed to the entrance as soon as the door opened.
“What did he say?”
“…What?”
“What did Director Ji Hyun-oh say? Does he like you?”
Surprised by the anxiety on her father’s face, Sua widened her eyes. It was unexpected that her father, who had initially seemed to harbor no ambitions, was anxious.
There was a difference in scale between Sua’s family, HanDong Group, and Hyun-oh’s family, PY. Moreover, Hyun-oh wasn’t even the eldest son of PY.
While Sua had thought of it as a dreamlike destiny for her father to choose her to solidify the HanDong family’s lineage by marrying into a good family, she hadn’t expected him to urgently ask about it.
“He said he would think about it and contact me.”
“And you just left it at that?”
Her father scolded Sua.
“You should have made a decision right away. Every minute is precious.”
Now at the age of twenty-five, Sua couldn’t understand what was so precious about time, so she just blinked. But her father didn’t stop there; he grabbed Sua’s wrist and pulled her.
“You’re not helping at all. So indecisive. Call Director Ji Hyun-oh right now and tell him you’ll do well!”
A patriarchal father. Besides the eldest son, Ji Heon, who would inherit the company, her father didn’t show much interest in the other children. Especially Sua, who was disliked even more due to her unsophisticated personality.
But what he forced on her today was unprecedented.
“Without someone like Ji Hyun-oh, do you think there’s another man willing to meet you under our circumstances? Unless it’s some flawed guy…”
Spouting incomprehensible words, as her father’s face turned red, his secretary appeared from the shadows.
“Sir.”
“What, we’re in the middle of a conversation.”
“It’s from Madam Jeong.”
Today’s matchmaker, Madam Jeong, was on the line.
“Hello, Chairman.”
He reached out for the phone as soon as he heard her name.
“Chairman Han.”
What kind of call could it be? Was it a rejection or an acceptance?
He hadn’t expected a call from Hyun-oh so soon. Sua’s heart trembled, and her fingertips shook.
