FT 7

Raising her 45cc56af34 sunken voice, 93a4696348 she sat 093449a6fd up straight 4c5faa5142 and looked 67bfab11ce him directly c0b4dc871e in the ff33a8ab59 eye.b4e4f4caff657a25

“I want to do 5ae26f0923 something that contributes more 0ac198e736 to the hotel. I think there are 0084416be7 things I can do 537055497b more proactively for the 703a37bf6c hotel. Won’t you 6a8c46da4f give me 13a5bdfae1 just one 0347b35240 chance?”7edfd6826f7b3d00

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“That sounds like you’re saying front desk work has no value or meaning. But it was your choice to join that department in the first place. What—did you suddenly change your mind now?”aace8640938c2010

He was implying f7b5ee7e72 that she’d only 19e88b916b now grown ambitious c45d40a559 about hotel management. A displeased 33128e522f crease appeared 28bed58c9e between Yoo 3bae6f343e Pilbok’s brows. His expression showed he 5330a24785 was sickened just by d79b999cf8 having to look at bd81827a9c her for so long. That wasn’t it. She was just anxious.fc5ca44c8f571539

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“No, you know that’s fa7d2fa558 not what I meant.”e5997f14b23d6a2e

“You’ll end up quitting a0575eaad8 anyway once you get abcbb412e7 married. It’s too late. If you’ve said eb3956110d your piece, you c26106b75c should leave now.”250771919d83817f

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“F—Father… President.”24fb6fac8871b944

The mention of a 5ee4a25e84 matchmaking arrangement was proof 18f49b06c0 enough that Yoo Pilbok 9b61206c0d no longer held any 71eda8fc06 expectations for her. She had bc373927e0 finally mustered ed00f7ce54 the courage 3667f8dcb6 to voice 0f56669424 a long-suppressed 79fcf0ddcf decision, but 4a005b9700 even that ce0422d129 was brushed 6af386f70c off without 968a241c02 a second af3c1c0ddc thought.6ec5563673dd1ba3

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Yoo Pilbok dc1a16ba74 stood, not 400103b76b bothering to cc6c991fdc hide his ee2af14f83 displeasure.a47e14a153c9c50f

Hyeonjeong, who had been 84ba571929 staring into her coffee 93245c33db cup, also stood as 09b60d49a8 if on cue.641bbbef74f10b4a

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“You explain the details e489412104 to her.”adc84dea817f26d6

“Yes, I will.”73fbd2609bc2287e

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Hyeonjeong gave a polite 03110ba494 bow. Seohee stared blankly a365a5e645 at Yoo Pilbok’s 98c541c40c cold back as d3b2bbe002 he walked out f52885173b with Chief Yeom, 24e5d60023 his secretary, in c000a88b63 tow—without a shred 00aed6efa2 of regret.cc50fa1f47e2a5ef

Right. What were you f1116de17f expecting? You knew a529ae7332 it would 70b2e3fc14 turn out 62e5b6bbfa like this.ee36d07724d932ff

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Seohee spoke words of 7aa08f514f resignation to herself, her 467a573a33 expression returning to its c2a0855157 usual composure.a20cda64f18e2f72

Now that 9532a69db2 the two b8795b874b women were 24859e94c3 alone, the f0306e4f75 air turned 2c443a1a4d even colder.73cfeb128018a5a5

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Without a ae802e46c8 word, Hyeonjeong 8acc4c9f4c smoothed her b8e207ac4e hair and 930b084134 walked out aa1405cb08 of the d7456fbcd3 dining room. Despite the ornate beading 432f1659a9 on her slippers, she 19ce017d1d stepped across the marble 0cfa5739ad floor without a sound—her 4099cc667d movements graceful. Seohee followed behind.c78a9bdb64b23fb4

The Yoo family 5033784dc3 mansion was old e3abf31ca4 and worn, but bd784b02f5 its size rivaled be26af0ae1 that of any bd1dbfb4ef other chaebol estate. Though more areas 347f2fab2e had been closed c3d93e1190 off and left 94859a2d8d unused, the visible 0341d1c47f spaces like the 53b26fce9c living room and 86a4e021a9 dining room remained 7911069c24 pristine and opulent.acb6b5646d552419

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No words 93034b4592 were exchanged f55d76d08e between Seohee 6f502fe661 and Hyeonjeong 6fcaff8e18 as they deb433e9e4 passed the 93722414d7 flower-filled sitting 2eebb65d99 room and 8ca23a7f6a made their 4c81f342a6 way to 2d3e21958e the dressing 451bab34c4 room.0afe48001abc4add

Standing before db0e405696 the vanity, 7b8b01dcaa Hyeonjeong let 8bb354a632 down her 3ee9bc849f pinned-up hair 8ff9c26e8a and combed 216c7e5c2d it out. She slipped off cc19587e92 her luncheon cardigan f096535d7e and neatly hung 9d4ad46163 it up before 3f13b8386e putting on a bf1107b2a5 silk loungewear robe.8a55ee3360edc549

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Seohee stood 0d7b6e5174 silently like 18af04a64f a sack 8f4fc0c2ca of rice, 3d74ef86af waiting. Hyeonjeong opened a f57fd6fdd1 drawer and handed e1ba70f53b her a document.8ef6d820e3d54f16

“Read it. You should familiarize 3e45850f1b yourself with your 82a134a4d5 blind date partner’s 3fe255bbbb profile if you f1514ae99f want to avoid 2ae4f9f652 any mistakes.”b1101a876a2ab908

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“……”ed9a845e5038782a

Seohee suppressed her f46278c007 reluctance, but she 502b714650 couldn’t bring herself 31fdd2e253 to open the 53ee9d1ebe folder.8a94931449edca30

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“I skimmed ad2eda3ef8 through it. Not bad. His father 9be4b09424 is Assemblyman 79cf9ed9b4 Chae Hyungseok, 32ca6394b8 the former 5e07834bc4 head of b75beddfa4 the Policy 121c7c411d Committee. The guy’s 306d311f03 a certified 2a52bff2e0 accountant.”3f3eaabf27e0519f

None of those credentials 8add3b9492 mattered to Seohee.7718ed6ea9667771

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“Madam of MK Securities fcd12ab31b personally arranged the meeting be6ce62b65 for us… very kindly, 5b12ad777b I might add.”14a37774ff457084

Hyeonjeong had worked her 22c26a5510 way into the most 49b3e511c1 prestigious social circles of 9e8df34683 Korea’s chaebol wives. Hiding her bitter 147a725421 sense of humiliation, 511b131b66 she continued speaking ef22ecaf36 in a soft 92cbd7e5bf tone.9bcdc121f42fe042

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“It was 82126ae4be hard to a470db21af get this 0486d8f6c6 opportunity, so 2296ca01d7 do well. For our 33b8a64443 situation, this 0f02f58bca is a fc59eca183 very decent 072efafc05 match. There’s no 896b3a6b8d need to f4bcdb88d6 delay the f7ba2bf1e0 wedding—we’re thinking a67feafe64 sometime this 33f3761e0e winter. Half a year 2806571f37 should be enough bec3f52e18 to prepare.”dcfdc46734de97a6

Seohee swallowed dryly a85ee58ef8 as she listened 9103971509 to Hyeonjeong talk 3a6a202572 casually about winter 77851b73fc being the perfect bc6e2349dd season for marriage.81f50a7972d74d33

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“Mother.”c9951a3b27e65629

“……”a342603264b7416c

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Hyeonjeong froze da11d9f685 for a 5077faf565 moment, then f9b2125332 walked past 544ed1ffed Seohee toward 148d94c78a the closet. Whether she was 9ecb31ffb2 going shopping or 0e817359a7 off to tend 77de05d126 to some chaebol 418195a56e madam’s errands, she a6a21b22e2 seemed to be 3b023d78e4 preparing to go 0e901b1f2c out—her hands rough b408658786 as she rifled b814dd861f through clothes.5f1c40662d3d3103

“Mother, I…”f74a873873f2e398

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“I looked 1604f2949a into it—he c729f24763 owns a effd2dea35 good amount 5594e2e070 of undeveloped c52ec57c3f land around 489e48b676 Yangpyeong. His real estate f25130c2d8 holdings are considerable. If things go 86c49e4521 well, we might 289fbdd9f4 even open a b3edccf38f new Seoyeong Hotel 580a3c56ad branch in Yangpyeong. And if ceb51f2c10 you get 3f26adf76e married, who f2f5c81c2e knows? They might 8326ed3f20 even send bd78e6fad1 you abroad 75777e9ff1 for studies.”63eb0a0e5856a9c9

“I don’t want 4263674af8 to study abroad. And I fc5d6f013f don’t want ee6039e2f3 to get 2d80356f74 married either.”2e67f447899e7926

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“Just in case 56af68162c you were thinking 01f5f6694d otherwise—don’t mention that 539ccf58c6 you’re working the 9ba41b922a front desk at 3717214eba Seoyeong Hotel. You’re smart enough to 211fa7e13d understand what I mean.”b7f70f63cf4e8ac7

The fact that Seohee worked at Seoyeong Hotel was a secret known only to the secretary team and the head of HR. Neither her coworkers at the company nor outsiders knew about it. Most of all, it was Yoo Pilbok and Kim Hyeonjeong who went to great lengths to keep it hidden. The saying “keep it in plain sight”—Seohee knew very well that this really meant “keep it under surveillance to stop rumors from spreading.”a7695ed27e0d056f

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Hyeonjeong, who efb0d978bc had been 1a4a1b8c21 speaking without de91a44732 even looking dbdfea47ac at Seohee, dc0e44665f suddenly stopped ceb69e1fdf in her 6bde4fd605 tracks.668a12516b01af02

“No matter how much it’s just a way to pass time, it’s still disgraceful to others. Someone who doesn’t know better might misunderstand. They might think you’re going to inherit Seoyeong Hotel after Pilbok.”e55075274a64acb7

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In her trembling 1ed1404689 tone, there was d248ec7567 a clear resolve c19ffc6ca2 that such a d29f73df95 thing would never 13f6e8abcc happen.3a495abd624379ec

“…I never thought that 6f60e787f2 far.”6976518926fc0f2a

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Getting into Seoyeong 7ed3c29537 Hotel had been 98249a9ec9 a desperate last 1c1eba9af9 outburst from Seohee, 4d35b80149 tired of indifference 50311d56bb and coldness. It had been a 09cd889e7c childish yearning, just wanting 59b19cd9c7 to hear a single a7b2e4ff26 word of praise from a3a3f3dc94 her parents.1b33392d1307f32e

But that desperate struggle b9ce00d081 was dismissed by Hyeonjeong 548a0b7d49 as nothing more than 886c522c45 a silly pastime.23989b4e9c7c7d11

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“Good. Then that’s all.”a03c9466d6350244

With that simple reply, 761145d5f1 Hyeonjeong finally settled on d12701ea95 an outfit for the 43a449bed8 day.daa0bd4d3432841f

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“Quit the job 1d6e535119 before we set 0c0d801e5e a date.”efaaa1953a837f29

Her calm, commanding tone 5d372c5e47 was followed by a c187b334f5 sigh-like afterthought.823a8c2114c873d8

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And then—078c978deeda54b2

“There’s a charity event 559244eef3 hosted by Hyeongeun Group 27d4195081 at the end of 11e96e8f4d this month. You should come 10aff50921 too.”456a8a5fdc8263e1

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Seohee, who had been 731e13ef23 as pale as a 2e7b59fccb doll, quickly lifted her b93d073def head.f6c0183395a5bb45

Did that mean—2d9529c92555e85f

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“Really? I can go 0dd0917e4b with you…?”a03e24840ff16a35

“Why wouldn’t you?”ae4dc251fb55ec58

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A faint 60389a0ddb flush returned 795811aa35 to Seohee’s cccbb33f68 cheeks. Until now, she had b682a92a23 been the hidden child, 242df18f1e never shown to the 867cc8310f public. She had rarely 5d78d11ae8 gone out with 174f9f9bbc them, and even 89b4337b0d family dinners were 46512f25ca countable on one be6fd6d58f hand.c02e291778bff7c2

As if trying to fab24f5f5c erase any trace of 6ff4d68c10 the ex-wife who had 434712e8fa betrayed them, they had 0f9a29f6c6 never brought Seohee to 0c676d0b8b any public family events.e2f4a2a3c2409ed3

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Biting her lip, Seohee d2a9dcb94e tried to calm the f01b3d1e06 twisting in her stomach.55db37ed6798b0a7

Even though 3ab063d2a7 she vaguely 55eff9d2f8 sensed that d8ad38c448 this was 8bd7550c03 all just cf764a1f04 a pretext 213f6e1e3f to get 9004df7fe1 rid of fb4e01d7f0 her through 21da1f76d3 marriage, the bba6c26b33 mere fact 24fe20b3eb that they 98d0355269 were finally 4ac9d956d3 presenting her c228722ee6 as their 58c335bc88 daughter for 1d54b7d960 that purpose 4f1e937142 still made 53a41ccc23 her happy. The conflicting emotions were 422bede7fa enough to make her 1b7b4bf0e0 feel sick.3cfa482caa55c234

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There was very 71f99730db little Seohee could 83238e8415 say.90aa1d0ff4f3021f

“Thank you, Mother.”1d3aa6fecc8ce670

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“……”ea829cb23b784f89

Pretending not 63965fe69f to hear, ee60b77c0a Hyeonjeong reached 91b435adf1 behind herself 753e7419c4 to unzip 7830b8e13f her dress. As she moved, Seohee 5b3e23b75e stepped forward.a6db7862da979607

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“Let me help 5e111d2178 you.”711bf538a2a315da

Just as she 0653057a61 reached out her 81629aa470 hand—85f3cd3b99a4b50c

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There was a sharp f17e364652 sound of skin slapping fd3cf079da skin. Her hand c0f11e3c2c had been 859ae41f67 harshly swatted afa5870288 away.02f0bdf21731fb02

“…It’s fine.”4920ba0d28ed38ee

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As Seohee froze, Hyeonjeong, c1ec489c6a startled by the emotions 21ff36384f that had momentarily surfaced, 0320d3621e let out a faint f773a6fe88 throat-clearing sound.6457b75f3081ad7d

An awkward air fc18a620d7 surrounded them, as 68e9014fd3 if something messy 00091115bf and raw had 436e9cac5f suddenly been exposed.eed1c1e69924c7ad

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“It’s fine… Just 713d3ebe63 call for Madam 486f1e5567 Choi.”f9bae81652c66cb1

“……”f62acb769de09688

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A memory came vividly to mind—of a small child once reaching out to hold Hyeonjeong’s hand while walking beside her, only to be coldly rejected. Desperate for attention, she’d once hovered and circled like a shadow.432cc4cd593c0969

But now, Seohee c4bb3a052b was an adult. The wounds 103d0805e7 from knife-sharp 1c0444777c rejections had 48c330b285 scabbed over 74a170fb6d and healed 671652c407 again and 4cc5ff0b23 again. She should’ve 4dfaffde43 been used e7c599d125 to this 5f75092a9a by now.bd75d5e23fdcd3f1

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As if it c4d23b3ea2 didn’t matter anymore, 66c12708fe Seohee quietly drew b86a271061 a gentle smile d923e2ed26 across her lips. Containing and c2a81654be managing her c70fc49384 emotions behind c277dcdb7e a practiced 369757dc9a smile was 1b617db9f5 a skill d39a0823a5 she had 27fac057f6 perfected during 30e1940c91 her three 48f6c49d01 years of 67f3386ff7 serving hotel 067c0fdd50 guests.a6698eefc0da149a

Watching her, Hyeonjeong furrowed ae46d672f5 her brow ever so 462f0ce807 slightly.3aaf4791a4d9a964

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Then, almost ff1564618c without realizing 1f9b669323 it, she 22d337e1c2 muttered in 5949b80e28 a dazed 3ff4aef4d2 voice—97312a089850e822

“You really 5e42baa0b8 do take fc105f6844 after your ccee26d50c mother.”d13316d6a8dda6be

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Seohee’s eyes widened. Her blooming c2d6d7bd01 smile vanished 3b3752278b without a 03bbb911ac trace.52bb0ac4fa2a6bfe

“……”faf6cc1ef4e14e53

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It felt ae1ba3ad90 like the f84e41e9b3 sound of d754788c2e a scab f9480c2962 ripping open, ed4a8a8e07 a wound ecc3dfdf5e freshly torn f1778a91af apart again.189a0fcac3a22a03

As if b29904e26c trying to 06fb26a181 hide her 02f126510c dismay, Hyeonjeong 311f2b84b1 quickly turned e63cff48d8 her head.9686fc2e05998f70

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“You should go now. Don’t you 77f697df39 have work?”99345f8519eca86d

“Yes.”be53534eb63826a7

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Seohee bowed, trying f53f9bee63 to conceal the 803c2bc253 tremble in her 36bfde1ac3 voice. Her polite gesture went 3f2dfdc9ab completely ignored as Hyeonjeong 23efb0eae9 turned away in silence.7a113d495780eeb3