DA 03

“Um, CEO….”  Oh Hye-mi, her secretary, said.

“Are you sure this is the best way?”

Seeing the anxiety in her secretary’s round eyes behind her round glasses, Su-jeong smiled faintly.

“Why? You’re the one who said this guy was perfect for the job. What was that all about?”

“That’s true, but…”

This meeting was supposed to be just between Su-jeong and Seong-chan. However, despite Su-jeong’s objections, Hye-mi insisted on coming along, so Su-jeong had no choice but to let her.

“He seems more dangerous than I thought. I mean, how could he even think of bringing a golf club to a meeting with you? Even though he’s known as a bad boy in the sports world, does he really want to make a comeback? What would have happened if the CEO of The Dragons hadn’t been there and you were alone that day…”

Hye-mi shuddered as if the very thought was terrifying.

Her worried secretary wasn’t completely wrong.

It was certainly not an ordinary situation considering the rumors surrounding the man and their intense first encounter.

In order to cover up the witness statements of the people present at the bar that day, Su-jeong had asked Hye-mi to take care of the aftermath. Hye-mi was horrified when she found out that Seong-chan had brought a golf club with him. As if he wanted to threaten Su-jeong.

So it was natural for Hye-mi to question whether Su-jeong’s decision was the best one.

However, Su-jeong saw it differently.

‘If he really wanted to hurt someone, he would have brought an iron, not a driver.’

A driver might look big and intimidating, but it was actually light and hollow inside.

Judging from that, Seong-chan’s bringing the driver was probably just an act of intimidation. He certainly didn’t intend to hurt anyone.

Of course, a driver could still be used as a weapon.

But hadn’t he thrown the club to the ground as soon as he realized that the other person was a woman?

It seemed like an indirect way to show that he had no intention of using violence.

Maybe Ju Seong-chan was surprisingly a reasonable person that she could talk to.

With this thought, Su-jeong reassured Hye-mi in her usual calm tone.

“This is the best option we have right now, so we have to try. His career has been ruined because of the assault case, so if he wants to make a comeback, he’ll know how to behave”.

Ju Seong-chan.

He was one of the few, or better said, practically the only and safest way to solve Su-jeong’s current predicament.

He must be from a chaebol family so her family can’t object; he shouldn’t be directly involved in the inheritance of management rights. Ideally, he would be someone influential due to their fame and wouldn’t be bothered by the stigma of a divorce.

Ju Seong-chan fit all these criteria.

“CEO, that’s not all I’m worried about.”

“Then what is it?”

“You know… his reputation! All those… S-sex scandals that follow him around!”

Ah.

“When he was in the US, he was involved in group sex parties and didn’t hesitate to use various tools to… coerce people…”

“…….”

“Th-they say he even… p-pierced…!”

“…….”

…The only problem was the man’s notoriously dirty bedroom habits.

Hye-mi managed to say it, but her face turned crimson from embarrassment at having uttered such words.

“You never know… what if he… d-does something… bad to you… like that…?”

“Secretary Oh, don’t worry about things before they happen.”

Su-jeong patted Hye-mi’s shoulder.

In order to ease her worries, she added that Ju Seong-chan’s medical checkup and various test results, which were obtained through the CEO of The Dragons, did not show any problems.

In spite of the rumors, his clean test results and the lack of women claiming to have had his children were an indication that he was meticulous in his self-management.

Persuaded, Hye-mi reluctantly agreed, though still uneasy.

“Yes… I think so…”

Hye-mi had even asked The Dragons to get a second opinion from another hospital. The results were the same. So Hye-mi had no further objections.

“Right. And you know that Wings Apparel is my top priority right now.”

“…….”

Su-jeong wasn’t in a position to worry about the man’s sexual preferences or rumors.

She was backed into a corner.

She thought she would lead a smooth life as the eldest and legitimate daughter of the family, but at some point her life took a turn. After her mother divorced and left home, her father Won-gil remarried Hee-ok.

This union produced Su-jeong’s half-brother, and she naturally became an outsider in her own family.

However, she didn’t accept her stepmother and half-brother as family either, so she didn’t care how they treated her.

She left home early to avoid them.

She defiantly built ‘Wings Apparel’ and achieved remarkable success.

It may sound like a typical underdog success story, but there was another problem.

The problem of arranged marriage.

When she reached marriageable age, her biological father, like any typical chaebol patriarch, began pushing for an arranged marriage.

His first reason was that her ‘little hole-in-the- wall’ wouldn’t benefit the Cha Seong Group. His second reason was that she would gain much more by marrying a man chosen by the family.

Su-jeong, unwilling to submit to Won-gil’s wishes, refused.

She had left home long ago and made her own success without the help of her family, so they had no right to interfere in her life.

And that was the trigger.

It turned out that the investors in Wings Apparel had only invested because of her background as the eldest daughter of the Cha Seong Group. They were the kind of people who would withdraw their investments at the mere word of her father, the chairman of Cha Seong Group.

In other words, even though Su-jeong had built Wings Apparel on her own, it wasn’t just because of her own abilities.

Won-gil, holding her lifeline in his hands, dangled it in front of her, controlling her every move.

And ….

‘Marry you? Just thinking about it makes me sooo happy! But, you know… …. If I marry you, will I get Cha Seong Group shares or something like that? I mean, it’s not like I can just be the ‘Cha Seong Group son-in-law’ in name only, right? I see it on the news all the time. Prenuptial agreements, division of assets and all that. Right? Haha.’

Why did she suddenly think of him?

The memory of her ex-boyfriend popped up like an unwanted advertisement. Su-jeong clicked her tongue in annoyance.

He saw her as a cash cow, constantly demanding things, his greed insatiable. A few months ago, unable to stand being treated like a fool, she finally broke up with him. With impeccable timing, her father began pushing for an arranged marriage immediately afterward.

Everyone seemed determined to make her life miserable.

Su-jeong rubbed her forehead.

Meanwhile, Hye-mi suddenly spoke up as if something had just occurred to her.

“Oh, but why is the Tae-yang group just standing by when they could easily help him?”

Seong-chan was illegitimate, but he was still the blood of the Tae-yang Group, and his biological father, Chairman Ju Yong-il, served as his wealthy backer.

However, there must have been a compelling reason why he didn’t seek help even when he was in a vulnerable position.

The two-year suspension was over, and it had been three years. Su-jeong was sure that the reason he couldn’t make a comeback was the lack of support. The deflated demeanor of his agency’s CEO was proof enough.

“Maybe he asked for help and was rejected.”

“Is that so?”

It made sense, considering Seong-chan’s silence on the matter, even after Su-jeong had deliberately mentioned the Tae-yang Group in order to provoke him that day at the bar.

Whatever the reason, one thing was for sure.

Ju Seong-chan desperately needed financial help to make a comeback. And Cha Su-jeong herself was the one who could provide it.

That’s why he had accepted her offer.

“Yes, so he won’t be able to act recklessly. He’s also in a vulnerable position.”

Since he had already agreed, there was no need for further hesitation or deliberation.

Knock, knock.

Just as she finished that thought, a knock came.

“He’s… he’s here!”

Hye-mi startled and stood up. After confirming that she had moved behind her, Su-jeong spoke towards the door.

“Come in.”

Following the staff member who opened the door, the man Su-jeong had been waiting for appeared.

“…….”

Wasn’t he called the Black Panther on the field?

Living up to his reputation, the man was dressed all in black. Black hair, black suit, and black shoes. He wasn’t exactly formal, though, with a few buttons undone and no tie.

But there was an undeniable aura of intimidation about him that prevented them from dismissing him as simply flashy.