FTC Chapter 2(Part 6)

On the drive home, Seoyeon acted as if she didn’t realize Mooyoung was watching her. She covered her mouth with her hand, kept her gaze fixed outside the window, and ran her fingers through her hair. Mooyoung observed each of her subtle, altered behaviors through the rearview mirror, as if preserving them in his memory.

While she ate dinner, Mooyoung had to wait outside the hotel. He had intended to follow her in, obeying Jaebin’s order to stay by her side at all times, but Seoyeon had blocked his way to the very end.

She despised being under surveillance, hated the thought of someone watching her every move—even when she was just eating alone. And to make matters worse, it was one of Woo Jaebin’s men.

“If you follow me in, I’ll kill myself.”

But when Mooyoung still insisted on following her, Seoyeon pulled a compact mirror from her bag and shattered it inside the car. Holding a shard of glass in her already bleeding hand, she aimed it at her own throat.

In the end, Mooyoung was forced to stay outside.

That was why he had no idea who she had met or what had happened.

The only thing he was certain of—something had occurred that had utterly torn her apart.

Mooyoung reported it to Jaebin.

Tak—

The front door shut behind him as he bowed in farewell. The house fell into silence.

It was 10 PM. By now, Jaebin should have finished work as well.

Seoyeon stood motionless in the quiet living room before heading to her bedroom.

Her heart was still racing, unable to settle.

The moment she closed the door, she flung her bag aside and collapsed onto the bed, burying her face in her hands.

She had believed that only a few people knew the truth about this marriage—Mooyoung, Jisoo, Jaebin, Hyunju, and herself.

But she had been wrong.

That man had never revealed his identity.

He only seemed to be working under someone who hadn’t been invited to this wedding.

Who is he, to know the truth about this marriage?

To know that my name was used in the embezzlement?

That a single ledger could ruin my life completely?

Was he planning to use that information to blackmail her as well?

“Ha.”

Seoyeon opened the terrace door.

Her unnecessarily spacious room came with a terrace that overlooked the garden.

Over the past few days, she had often come here to smoke and clear her thoughts.

Tonight was no different.

Bathed in the unusually bright moonlight, she placed a cigarette between her lips.

Her palms were damp with sweat.

Her jumbled thoughts raced in all directions, refusing to settle.

Then, she remembered his words.

“A wedding held with the bride’s crime as collateral.”

Why was he after the ledger?

Why was he targeting her?

Who was he?

No matter how many times she denied knowing anything, the mysterious man had continued to press her.

He had said—You need that ledger just as much as I do.

And—

I know this marriage is fake.

“Director, you are Woo Jaebin’s weakness.”

The word weakness—he had emphasized it, his devastatingly handsome smile deepening.

“Woo Jaebin hates when people touch what belongs to him.”

Belongs to him.

That word clung to her ears, refusing to fade.

Seoyeon exhaled. The unspoken sentences she couldn’t bring herself to say slipped out along with the smoke.

Her hair fluttered slightly in the night breeze.

That man had taken the invitation.

Which meant he was coming to the wedding.

And who knew what kind of chaos he would bring?

Even if he didn’t have the ledger, he might still throw out rumors like confetti.

That she had committed embezzlement.

That she had stolen billions.

Seoyeon bit down on her lower lip.

A restless anxiety clawed at her.

She had finally been trying to break free from that family.

Finally struggling to live her own life.

Then—

Clack.

Seoyeon turned toward the sound.

The door had opened.

Through the doorway, Jaebin stood there.

“….”

He had just returned, his jacket still on.

It was clear—he had come straight to her the moment he got home.

Mooyoung must have told him.

For a split second, Seoyeon almost spoke about the man she had met today.

But she shut her mouth.

And thought instead.

There’s no way I’m asking him to protect me.

And in the end, it’s because of him that that man approached me in the first place.

And then—

That word surfaced again.

Belongings.

“Get out. That’s an order.”

Her voice cut through the dimly lit room, laced with scorn.

The moonlight cast a shadow over her face.

But Jaebin didn’t leave.

Instead, he stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

It was the first time he had ever fully entered her room.

“Get out.”

She repeated, her voice trembling at the edges.

If only I had never gotten involved with you.

If only none of this had happened.

If only I hadn’t been born into that woman’s family.

A storm of thoughts flashed through her eyes.

Jaebin walked toward her.

Seoyeon didn’t move an inch.

She simply glared at him—murderous.

A final warning.

And yet, once again, he ignored her.

Just like he always did.

Jaebin stopped right in front of her.

Even in his shadow, the whites of her eyes gleamed sharply.

“Han Mooyoung.”

His voice was calm.

“I told you to stay with her.”

Seoyeon threw the cigarette she was holding at him. Because the ember hadn’t gone out yet, a small hole instantly burned through the pristine fabric of his suit jacket.

“O Jintaek, Nam Dojun.”

“…”

“Which one of them was it?”

A bloodthirsty glint flared in Seoyeon’s eyes. Thump, thump—her fierce heartbeat pounded between them.

Her lower lip trembled.

“Which bastard was it?”

At that moment, Jaebin seized Seoyeon’s right hand. It was the same hand she’d injured earlier today when she shattered her compact mirror because of Mooyoung. Shards of glass had embedded themselves in her palm. She frowned. The wound still throbbed painfully since she’d barely treated it.

“Only a week left until the wedding.”

Jaebin tore off the bandage from her hand without care. Seoyeon flinched hard from the pain.

“A fitting wound for a bride.”

Her wrist twitched, but before she could move, Jaebin’s fingers dug in—pressing directly onto the open wound.

“Ah—ugh!”

Her face twisted in agony as she struggled instinctively. He held her wrist as if he would crush it.

“What did that bastard throw at you?”

Seoyeon lifted her head and glared at him.

That look—he’d seen it before. It was the same one she’d given Hyunju. The fury of someone who was enraged when others dared to touch what was theirs. No—this was more than fury. It was pure, murderous intent.

“Ah!”

Jaebin suddenly shoved her. Seoyeon’s body hit the terrace railing. His grip tightened, forcing his fingers even deeper into her wound. Blood—dark and thick—streamed down her palm and wrist.

“That fucking bastard—what did he use?”

His hand, still restraining her wrist, was now smeared with her blood. Even through her blurred, wavering vision, Seoyeon could see his face under the moonlight, staring at her intently.

“…”

Now she knew exactly what kind of man he was.

Now she truly understood him.

If Go Hyunju treated her roughly because she was her possession, then Woo Jaebin cherished her because she was his. Not a single blemish was allowed. No one else was permitted to lay claim to her.

That was his way of owning her.

Ah.

So why—

Why does this feel so unfair?

“Is that all?”

Seoyeon’s lips curled into a bitter smile.

Jaebin’s gaze flickered, just slightly. A faint tremor, like the smallest ripple.

“You’re only angry because someone put a scratch on your property?”

So that’s all there is to it.

That man approached me—this thing—without permission.

“…”

The silence was suffocating.

Her heart continued to race.

A rush of disjointed memories flickered through her mind. From the moment she first became aware of herself, to her father’s funeral, to the day she first met this man.

A lump rose in her throat.

Had she ever been a person to anyone?

“…”

The strength in Jaebin’s grip gradually weakened. The fire in his dark eyes slowly dimmed. An unreadable emotion surfaced.

“I should have never met you.”

She swallowed the subject of her sentence—you—along with the surge of emotions pressing against her throat.

She clenched her jaw, clenched her fists, and swallowed that one heavy word. Even if her airway felt blocked—she forced it down.

So that she wouldn’t ask.

So that she wouldn’t question him.

His unreadable expression.

Releasing his hand, Seoyeon walked past him.

Thump, thump—her heart pounded heavily with every step.

She had never expected humane treatment from this man. She had never hoped for something as warm as a fairy tale.

And yet—

Something inexplicable stung at her nose.

At that moment, she realized—so bitterly, so cruelly—that she could never truly be a person to anyone.

So she resolved not to break.

Once again, she swallowed her emotions.

Once again, she stared at him, the man who so preciously regarded her as nothing but his possession.

“Woo Jaebin hates it when people touch what’s his.”

A possession.

Nothing more, nothing less.

 

* ~ *

 

The car ride to the shoot was silent. Not a single word was exchanged.

Seoyeon no longer wanted to speak to him. She had realized her position all too clearly last night.

— “What did that bastard throw?”

Thanks to Jaebin pressing into her wound so harshly, the injury had reopened and bled until dawn. About twenty minutes after their so-called conversation had ended, someone arrived at the house—it seemed Jaebin had called for a doctor.

He had dug into her wounds without mercy, yet now he wanted to help?

Seoyeon had refused to let the doctor tend to her. She had thrown him out and bandaged the wound herself. It stung so badly it made her nose tingle, but she would rather die than accept Jaebin’s help.

Last night, she had hated him enough to want to kill him. Today was no different.

— “Today, we’re joined by CEO Woo Jaebin of Domok and the eldest daughter of the Mare Group, Director of Sia Gallery, Baek Seoyeon!”

The title “Mare” still clung to her.

She lifted her gaze to the camera now positioned in front of her. Today’s schedule was a magazine interview—yet another publicity stunt forced upon her because of this sudden wedding that had set the media abuzz.

Once again, it reminded her exactly why he had insisted on this marriage.

— “You two make such a beautiful couple! Naturally, everyone is curious about how you first met and your love story. Could you share a little with us?”

Seoyeon clenched her fists.

She didn’t need to look to know Jaebin would answer.

Her heart screamed to expose the truth—that it was all a lie.

But she couldn’t.

He still had the ledger.

And her mother… If things went south, that woman wouldn’t hesitate to kill her just to keep her silent.

As long as that was the case, Seoyeon was nothing more than a woman who had embezzled Mare’s money.

— “The first event was held at a Mare Hotel.”
— “Oh, not a Domok Hotel? Was that intentional? Did you already have feelings for the director back then?”

Jaebin simply offered a polite smile in response.

— “How romantic!”

Seoyeon couldn’t even muster up a fake smile today.

From behind the camera, Mooyoung curled his lips, signaling her to smile.

She exhaled slowly.

Her heartbeat felt heavy, her chest tightening.

— “Then, who proposed first? And how did it happen? Our audience would love to know!”

“Proposal.”

A sharp, shining ring.