Chapter 7. The Memory of the First Meeting
A beautiful face.
The kind that would make anyone stop and turn back for another look.
‘Liebestraum.’
Liszt’s piece, one I’d heard countless times before. Was it because of Kang Yuri’s face, focused entirely on the music?
Or was it because the sight of everyone, holding their breath and concentrating on the performance, seemed utterly surreal?
Lee Seo stood rooted in place, unable to take her eyes off Kang Yuri.
His straight, high nose cast a shadow, and his large, clear eyes shone with depth.
Do musicians always look this beautiful?
Instinctively, Lee Seo held her breath, immersing herself in his performance.
“There was a reason I had to come here today. Maybe it was to see you, Yuri.”
“Yuri, I went to your concert in Paris. Do you remember me?”
The moment the performance ended, everyone swarmed toward him, eager to speak.
Unwilling to let the lingering resonance of the performance be drowned out by the noise, Lee Seo stepped back.
Now that she thought about it, her aunt hadn’t been in sight for a while.
She wanted to thank her for the invitation, but where could she be?
Just as Lee Seo was looking around, her phone buzzed.
The name “Hong Dayeong” flashed on the screen, and a chill ran down her spine.
She ignored the call, only to receive a text message immediately after:
“Answer your phone. Don’t make me mad. I know where you are. Want me to make a scene?”
She had no choice but to comply.
Walking out of the event hall, she answered the call, her steps unknowingly taking her closer to the chairman’s office.
The moment she picked up, an angry, profanity-laced tirade greeted her.
“You crazy b***! Do you know how hard I worked to arrange that meeting, and you just turned it down?”
Lee Seo’s face hardened instantly.
Dayeong was desperate to inherit everything within the family estate. He simply couldn’t accept that it might not happen.
A month before the event, Dayeong had told Lee Seo he’d found her a good match and ordered her to marry him without question.
The man in question was the son of a famous congressman, notorious for his despicable behavior.
When Lee Seo refused, Dayeong had stormed into her workplace, causing such a commotion that she had even prepared her resignation letter.
Her mother, Eunja, also constantly berated her to obey Dayeong, calling her relentlessly—even through her office’s internal line when she ignored her personal phone.
“I have no intention of marrying. If you’re so eager, why don’t you marry him yourself?”
“You should be grateful, you fool. I’m trying to make an idiot like you a respectable lady.”
“I don’t need that. Even if I seem foolish to you, I’m fine as I am. I’m quitting my job, so your threats won’t work on me anymore.”
“Just you wait there.”
“Fine, come if you want. But here, both you and I are invisible nobodies.”
With that, Lee Seo hung up.
She had meant to stay calm, but everything had gone awry.
Deciding to quickly greet her aunt and leave, she started walking again, only to pause as someone passed by.
A crisp, clean scent brushed past her nose.
A man in a neatly tailored black suit was already some distance ahead.
Could he have overheard?
Her anxiety was short-lived. Realizing she didn’t have time to dwell, she asked a passing staff member where the chairman was.
The staff guided her to the chairman’s office, where Lee Seo encountered someone unexpected once more.
There he was—Kang Yuri—resting his hand on the piano, seemingly lost in thought.
“Excuse me… have you seen the chairman?”
Trying her best to mask her surprise, she asked. Slowly, he straightened up and turned to face her.
The moment their eyes met, Lee Seo felt as though time had stopped, just as it had during his performance.
His sharp gaze and jet-black eyes locked onto hers.
“…”
Silence hung in the air.
Did he not recognize her? Or was he upset about being interrupted during practice?
Even though she knew how to navigate such situations, words wouldn’t come out.
She should apologize for interrupting, compliment his performance, and explain that she was here at her aunt’s invitation.
Before she could gather herself, he spoke.
“In the summer…”
Before he could finish, a scream rang out from outside.
Alarmed, Lee Seo rushed toward the sound to find her aunt collapsed on the floor.
Her aunt’s face was pale as a sheet, and the flustered staff member beside her seemed at a loss.
Lee Seo quickly instructed them to call for help.
As she bent down to perform CPR, someone shouted,
“How dare you touch her!”
Her cousin pushed Lee Seo away, furious, as the onlookers gasped in shock.
No one paid any attention to the woman crumpled on the floor.
From a distance, the loud sound of sirens echoed through the air, and security guards rushed to lift her into their arms.
Lee Seo couldn’t summon the strength to move as her body went limp. Her vision blurred, but a slender hand in black gloves suddenly appeared before her.
She lifted her gaze, and there he was—Kang Yuri.
‘…Thank you.’
Only managing to lift her body, the surroundings grew quiet once more.
Still, she felt an overwhelming need to leave.
But why did her legs feel so heavy? Her thoughts kept drifting back to her aunt.
The one person who had smiled at her during a forced event as a child.
The one who secretly shared snacks and gave her a business card, urging her to call if anything ever happened.
“Hong Lee Seo.”
The low, distinct voice pulled her from her thoughts.
How does he know my name? She pondered briefly.
“Let me drive you home.”
“Me…?”
Without offering much explanation, Kang Yuri began walking away.
It seemed like an invitation, yet Lee Seo hesitated, unable to follow immediately.
After taking a few steps, she noticed he wasn’t moving.
He turned back and said,
“At least, you owe me the courtesy of saying hello.”
“…”
‘I don’t have a habit of eating with ghosts.’
He heard the conversation.
Meeting a stranger in such a state was humiliating, but more than that, she felt disoriented.
Eventually, Lee Seo agreed to ride home in his car.
The next day, Kang Yuri invited her to a dinner, where he proposed marriage.
How did he know?
He wasn’t one to talk much, and he didn’t seem like the type to share details of their meeting with anyone.
“You still don’t believe me, do you? Maybe I should be more specific. Even down to the clothes you wore that day?”
“Were you there that day?”
Despite recounting details of their past, Lee Seo still struggled to believe he was Kang Yuri.
When she remained silent, Yuri exhaled sharply and rose from his seat.
“It’s okay if you don’t believe me. It won’t change anything. In fact, it might be better if you think of me as someone else.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because we aren’t sharing a life together. You can start fresh.”
“What for?”
Surely not to start married life again?
Officially, after marriage, they treated each other as a couple in public.
Still, what reason was there for them to begin that life anew?
“Why such a shocked expression?”
“Honestly, the most shocking thing is that you don’t understand.”
“No risk here. I’m not going to let you make a single poor choice moving forward.”
There he goes again.
Whether it’s revising the prenuptial agreement or concerns about what she might gain from this marriage, Kang Yuri always seemed to prioritize those aspects.
Why?
Was it to win her over for his own benefit?
Or did he think she could somehow help him regain what he had?
“I see the wary look in your eyes. I truly am looking out for you.”
“Looking out for me makes it more suspicious. And why are we talking about married life for us?”
“Because I have to deal with Seonjin.”
“…*”
“Are you curious about how the accident happened?”
Lee Seo’s face hardened.
It was a mysterious accident. With the brakes intentionally malfunctioning, some suspected foul play had been involved.
The theory extended to her involvement as well.
“What do you mean?”
“Someone else might have tried to kill Kang Yuri. Not you, but someone else entirely.”
Ding dong.
The sudden ringing of the doorbell cut off their conversation.
After the constant visits from reporters, there hadn’t been a visitor at Byeolujae for a while.
“Hide.”
Lee Seo whispered, checking the intercom.
Then, she froze.
In front of the door stood Hong Dayeong.
