DR 3

Ahyun couldn’t shake the memory of Suhyeok’s disdainful stare.

 

That jerk…

 

Back when he couldn’t even squeak against her word, and now, just because he’s aged a bit, his eyes drip with arrogance.

 

In the old days, she’d have jabbed two fingers into those smug eyes of his, but things had changed.

 

What could she do?

 

South Korea was a capitalist world, and Ahyun was just a corporate serf chained to her job.

 

“What if I get fired…?”

 

Mulling over her future at the company, Ahyun suddenly realized Suhyeok might actually sack her.

 

“No way he’d want to see my face again…”

 

Whether he ignored her or despised her, it didn’t matter. With the voluntary retirement window closed, Ahyun had zero intention of leaving until she could cash out her stock options.

 

“Right, just endure three months…”

 

She gritted her teeth. A shred of pride gnawed at her heart, but what she needed was money.

 

“I don’t care if they shove my desk in a corner—just please don’t fire me…”

 

Money, money, money—that damned money.

 

It had landed her in this mess, and now that same cursed money…

 

“I want to die.”

 

Ahyun shook her head.

 

“Even if I die, I’m selling those stock options first.”

 

The thought of facing Suhyeok again tomorrow was dreadful, but she told herself that after surviving ninety days, she’d thank her present self.

 

The days ahead—bound to be the darkest chapter of Kang Ahyun’s life—flashed before her eyes like a grim slideshow.

 

* * *

 

In the parking lot, Suhyeok rested his hands on the steering wheel but couldn’t bring himself to hit the gas for a long while.

 

He’d never dreamed he’d run into Kang Ahyun—the woman who didn’t show up at their wedding—here of all places.

 

No, he’d sworn that in Cha Suhyeok’s lifetime, he’d never see her face again.

 

“She never liked you from the start, Suhyeok.”  

“Still, would she have sent out invitations if she didn’t love him? She probably just fell out of love.”  

“There’s such a thing as marriage blues, you know.”  

“Nah, it was a strategic marriage from the get-go. Suhyeok was the only one hyping it up.”  

“Bet she ran off with another guy.”  

“Who knows? Maybe she’s out there raising some other man’s kid.”  

“Could be!”

 

People spun wild stories behind the back of the bride who didn’t show up.

 

Kang Ahyun, not even a word of explanation, had vanished from the wedding of Kyeonyang Group Chairman Cha Jung-taek’s youngest son.

 

No apology, nothing—she’d even changed her contact info.

 

Word was, Ahyun had run away from home too.

 

She’d cut ties with her parents for a fresh start, but the wounded Suhyeok deliberately didn’t try to track her down.

 

What clearer breakup declaration was there than not showing up at the altar?

 

Whether she’d found another man or had his kid, it didn’t matter.

 

The only fact that counted was that the bride hadn’t appeared.

 

How much must she have hated him to make that choice? Suhyeok had tortured himself with that question endlessly.

 

If she’d dumped him before sending out invitations, the fallout might not have hit so hard.

 

But Ahyun had ended their love by not showing up at the wedding.

 

Maybe it was a smart move on her part.

 

Back then, Suhyeok, head-over-heels for her, wouldn’t have listened if she’d tried to cancel.

 

If he’d known she was set on breaking up, he’d have pulled some desperate stunt—maybe even threatened to kill himself—to keep her.

 

In any case, after humiliating him so spectacularly, seeing Ahyun’s pathetic state now was almost laughable.

 

The Ahyun who wouldn’t touch last season’s luxury goods was wearing a cheap blouse with crooked stitching. Her glossy synthetic leather shoes were so tacky they were hard to look at.

 

“Fuck… still so damn beautiful.”

 

The clothes didn’t matter. Ahyun could make anything look like high fashion.

 

Suhyeok bit back a curse, slamming his head against the steering wheel.

 

She must’ve run off with some broke nobody she fell for. How else could the prideful Ahyun, who lived for her ego, leave her wealthy parents’ home to scrape by on a measly salary at some no-name company?

 

Sure, it wasn’t Kyeonyang Group, but Ahyun’s father ran Junggo Construction, a well-known firm in Korea.

 

After she ditched the wedding, rumors spread among the chaebol circles that she’d run off with another man. Gossip rags even claimed Junggo Construction Chairman Kang Min-seob’s only daughter had vanished with a poor lover.

 

Her parents, grilled by Suhyeok’s family, offered only apologies—no explanations.

 

Weirder still, they didn’t seem to care about finding their daughter, who’d ditched her wedding and home.

 

Given the circumstances, she’d definitely found someone else. Hell, maybe she really did have another man’s kid.

 

Why else would Chairman Kang, who adored his only daughter, just let her disappearance slide?

 

Sometimes, the gossip hounds got it right. At first, Suhyeok couldn’t accept Ahyun’s rejection, but her parents’ silence and the rumors eventually forced him to face reality.

 

Did she have a kid with the guy she ran off with? Did she give birth back then? Is she working here to support that kid?

 

Years have passed. Yeah, it’s possible.

 

Ahyun, ambitious enough to inherit her father’s company, must be madly in love with this mystery guy to give that up.

 

Looking at her now, still a mess, her love story’s probably still going strong.

 

The great Kang Ahyun, choosing a man over luxury. Suhyeok had long buried his feelings for her, but if he ever saw the guy who stole her, he’d throw a punch without hesitation.

 

Chewing on that thought, his anger flared again.

 

“How dare you play me like that?”

 

Not a single good memory of Ahyun remained.

 

“How dare you not show up at the wedding?”

 

Childhood friends, on the brink of marriage, only for it to end in a one-sided breakup.

 

“How dare you hurt me like that?”

 

For four years, Suhyeok had barely erased Ahyun from his mind. Or so he thought.

 

After her ghosting, he’d holed up at home for two years, a wreck, barely surviving each day.

 

He’d only just clawed his way back to normal these past two years.

 

But seeing Ahyun after four years reignited the rage he thought he’d buried.

 

He’d believed his wounds had scarred over, but now it felt like someone was hammering a nail into his heart again.

 

Erasing Ahyun from his life left Suhyeok with nothing.

 

From childhood through school and into adulthood, his heart had always been full of her.

 

Without her, it was hollow. Life had lost all feeling long ago.

 

And now, here she was again.

 

Suhyeok didn’t love her anymore. The pure boy who’d given her his all was gone.

 

“What’s done is done. Time to pay back.”

 

His dark eyes flickered with unfathomable depth.

 

Yet Ahyun’s face—still maddeningly innocent—lingered in his mind.

 

The Ahyun who’d set his teenage heart ablaze had matured into a stunning woman.

 

Honestly, she looked even prettier now than when she’d tried on her wedding dress.

 

Ahyun, who’d recoil at synthetic leather, must’ve chosen a man greater than luxury itself.

 

They say love makes you glow…

 

Yeah, Ahyun was radiant because she loved some other guy.

 

Cheap clothes or not, Ahyun herself was still a masterpiece.

 

Her poise, her mannerisms, her voice.

 

She was as elegant as ever.

 

No—more untouchably beautiful than before.

 

That thought burned him up inside.

 

“Fuck!”

 

Suhyeok pounded the innocent steering wheel. Just when he’d started adjusting to reality, that infuriating woman was prancing around in front of him again.

 

He slammed the accelerator. With a throaty muffler roar, the car peeled out, leaving tire marks as it slid from the parking lot.

 

* * *

 

Ahyun trudged into her officetel and collapsed at the entrance.

 

She couldn’t even recall how she’d gotten through the workday. Three shots of soju at CEO Jeong’s send-off party had left her head spinning.

 

Who schedules a company dinner on a Monday? It was pure torture.

 

But the real nightmare was tomorrow—starting work under Cha Suhyeok.

 

Kicking off her shoes, Ahyun crawled to the living room. She sprawled on the floor in front of the studio apartment’s sofa, replaying the day’s events.

 

Cha Suhyeok.

 

Four years ago, she’d deliberately chosen a small company, thinking she’d never cross paths with him again. Yet, her company got swallowed by a subsidiary of a subsidiary of a subsidiary of Kyeonyang Group.

 

Even she had to admit, it was a jaw-dropping coincidence.