BTL Ch 7

Hayeon stared blankly at Chaeheon’s empty seat. The reason she wanted him to stay wasn’t just her personal desire to see him for a long time; it was more that she hoped he’d help Taegeon. Even though she’d only lived with Taegeon for three years, even as a high school student, she could clearly see how much he struggled with work, especially with Kang Jincheol.

There was the KW Chairman, who was anxiously waiting for his youngest grandson, Kang Chaeheon, to return from abroad. And then there was Executive Director Kang Jincheol of Deus Hotel, a subsidiary of KW, who was hell-bent on taking Taegeon’s place. In short, Taegeon was caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to maintain KW’s balance with very few people he could trust.

Hayeon heard a click as the door opened and thought to herself, she hoped Kang Chaeheon would stay by Taegeon’s side until she was old enough to help him herself.

***

The Return

Taegeon came home in the dead of night, long after midnight. Hayeon opened the first-floor study door when she heard the lock disengage, and Taegeon, spotting her, grinned.

“What? Were you staying up waiting for me?”

“What are you talking about? I was just up studying! I was actually about to go to bed.”

Taegeon knew Hayeon always waited for him, leaving the living room lights on downstairs whenever he came home late, even though she usually went to bed before 1 AM. He just nodded, saying, “Right, right.”

Just then, the guest room door opened. Taegeon’s gaze, which had been stroking Hayeon’s hair, shifted to Chaeheon. Hayeon’s head followed suit. Chaeheon was leaning against the wall, looking at them, dressed exactly as he had been when they ate dinner together.

“You’re late.”

“Yeah. Got a lot on my plate.”

Taegeon chuckled wearily, pressing on the corners of his eyes. Then he moved from the entrance to the living room and called out to Chaeheon.

“Heon-ah.”

“Yeah?”

“If you’re not planning on sleeping right now, let’s talk.”

“I actually had something to talk about too, so perfect. Seems like it’s about the same thing.”

Taegeon quietly watched Chaeheon, then nodded. “Looks like you already got a call about it.”

“He’s definitely a man of action.”

Hayeon, who had been listening to their confusing conversation, chimed in. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Ah.” Taegeon looked a bit flustered for a moment, then sighed and patted Hayeon’s head. “It’s something you’ll find out soon anyway, so there’s no need to hide it.”

“You’ll find out soon” meant that their conversation was about to become public knowledge. Hayeon suddenly remembered the phone call Chaeheon received during dinner earlier, and how his expression had changed. Her brows furrowed slightly.

Taegeoncollapsed onto the sofa and spoke. “Your engagement date has been set, Chaeheon.”

***

The Engagement

Engagement? Hayeon’s eyes widened at the unexpected word. What was this about? He’d only been in Korea for a day.

Unlike Hayeon, who couldn’t hide her surprise at the sudden news, Chaeheon, who had become engaged overnight, scoffed. “So, my engagement, which I didn’t even know about, has been diligently progressing.”

“You’ll know who it is when you hear her name.” Taegeon sighed, his gaze landing on Hayeon. Hayeon frowned in confusion. A sense of dread swept over her. Taegeon briefly looked at Hayeon before continuing, “It’s Executive Director Han Haein of Hwa Hotel.”

“…Han Haein?” Hayeon murmured. Han Haein, as in… Hayeon’s pupils trembled.

“It seems they’ve been preparing this since it was confirmed you were coming to Korea. Director Kang kept it so secret that even I only found out about your engagement today.” Hayeon finally realized that Taegeon’s “busy work” was actually the bomb Kang Jincheol had dropped.

“He said he’d already talked to you about it.” Chaeheon, sitting across from Taegeon, rubbed his forehead as if exasperated.

“You don’t believe that, do you?”

Of course, he didn’t. Taegeon knew better than anyone how much Chaeheon despised and loathed his father. If it hadn’t been for his mother eleven years ago, Chaeheon would never have had to follow Kang Jincheol to a distant country after practically cutting ties with him long ago.

Taegeon rubbed his mouth with an awkward expression and cautiously spoke. “Believe it or not, your grandfather seems quite pleased with this marriage.”

At the mention that Kang Manho, their grandfather and chairman of the KW Group, was positive about Chaeheon’s engagement, Hayeon subtly clenched her jaw. At Kang Manho’s mention, Chaeheon’s eyes narrowed. If there was anyone Chaeheon truly cared for in this damned family, it was his cousin, Kang Taegeon, and his grandfather, Kang Manho.

His grandfather deeply cherished his daughter-in-law, who had suffered greatly because of his incompetent son. So, unable to bear it, he had even suggested divorce to her first, and felt endlessly sorry for her, who had foolishly held onto her position as Kang Jincheol’s wife for Chaeheon’s sake. That’s why Kang Manho cherished Kang Chaeheon even more. Chaeheon had been an exceptionally talented grandson since childhood, but there was also an undeniable element of atonement for his daughter-in-law, who had suffered so much before she passed. Chaeheon knew this and respected and obeyed his grandfather. So to be blindsided like this…

Taegeon watched Chaeheon and carefully added, “The benefits you’d gain from this engagement are quite significant. Two years ago, Hwa out maneuvered us and secured that land in Jeju Island. They’re offering to hand that over as an engagement gift. More than anything, the Chairman…” Taegeon paused, then sighed. “He’s apparently eyeing the connections of Assemblyman Lee Seon-woong, the next presidential candidate.”

“Ha.” Chaeheon let out a hollow laugh, running a hand through his hair at Taegeon’s continuous explanation. Then he muttered, as if spitting out words, “He’s really set up the whole thing, hasn’t he?”

He’d been getting frantic calls even before coming to Korea, but it seemed Director Kang had completely excluded him from the plan and arranged everything. He knew Chaeheon wouldn’t be able to refuse this time, unlike other times.

[“If you want to get married, you should do it yourself. Don’t waste your time holding onto the wrong person. You’ll end up in big trouble.”]

As soon as he picked up Kang Jincheol’s call, Chaeheon cut him off without a second thought at the mention of an arranged meeting. But the reply he got was a confident voice.

[“-No. You’ll have no choice.”]

The call ended with the promise to send a text message with the date and location of the arranged meeting. He should have known something was off when he felt that confidence was suspicious.

While Chaeheon gritted his teeth, Taegeon spoke in a self-deprecating tone. “Even so, the Chairman didn’t just agree blindly. His wish is for you to meet Han Haein first and then decide on the engagement. The engagement date will be set after that, if you like Han Haein.”

“How touching.”

Taegeon gave a bitter smile at Chaeheon’s sarcasm. And then he apologized for not being able to do anything until things got to this point.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Hyung.”

Chaeheon replied, uncrossed his arms, and straightened up from leaning against the wall. “Go to sleep for now. You look really tired.”

“…Okay.” Taegeon nodded weakly.

***

“If you need the Hwa name, I’m here too!”

Hayeon gnawed on the straw in her drink and yelled, making Kangmin answer indifferently, “Nah. That’s not it.”

Her fiercely glaring eyes instantly turned to Kangmin. But he just kept wiggling the ice cream stick in his mouth.

“Go ask anyone in this school right now. Who knows you as Assemblyman Lee Seon-woong’s granddaughter? Besides, you used to cringe at the Hwa Group and tried so hard not to be associated with them, don’t you think it’s funny that you’re acting like this now?”

“…You’re really annoying.” Hayeon grumbled at Kangmin in a deflated voice, then rested her head on her knees. Kangmin’s voice dropped above her head.

“Still, isn’t it a relief that the other party is Han Haein?”

Hayeon’s eyes immediately narrowed into a triangle. “Hey!”

“Why? Han Haein is pretty.”

“I’m pretty too.”

Kangmin, who was folding one finger and about to fold the second, raised his eyebrows at her confident, ringing voice. He looked at her, briefly flustered, then chuckled.

“Right. Lee Hayeon is pretty.”

When he first met her, he’d mistaken her for a doll. Her features were delicate yet distinct, and she exuded a strange aura that made it hard to look away. He nodded faintly in agreement, then let out a small “hmm,” a shallow cough. Before Hayeon’s curious gaze could settle on him, Kangmin rubbed his reddened earlobe and quickly added, “She’s nice.”

He deliberately paused for a beat, and sure enough, a comment followed.

“I’m nice too.”

A smile played on Kangmin’s lips. This was why he couldn’t stop. Teasing Lee Hayeon.

Kangmin deliberately shrugged more dramatically at Hayeon’s sulky face. “Not only that, her abilities are recognized by everyone as outstanding. Plus, her family is super wealthy.”

Hayeon’s lips pressed into a tight line.

Kangmin stared at her, then leaned back against the bench and crossed his arms. The fact that even her scrunched-up face looked cute meant he was completely smitten. To use Hayeon’s words, he’d seen everything good and bad about her during their three years of constantly hanging out, but far from losing interest, even her worst sides looked pretty, which was a huge problem. Kangmin chuckled inwardly and shook his head.

Then, suddenly, Kangmin remembered something he’d heard while dropping by the faculty office and blurted it out.