Cha Gyeoul didn’t immediately register what he’d just heard. It was too bizarre.
Lend me money? Three hundred million won? From Director In of all people?!
Every element rang false. To a man with no leverage whatsoever, he was offering not thirty thousand, but three hundred million won! He couldn’t help but suspect some ulterior motive.
‘Maybe he wants a fresh heart… eyes, kidneys, liver… or maybe just my body…?!’
A voracious reader of novels, Cha Gyeoul had seen scenarios like this countless times: when an omega can’t repay a debt, the alpha strips him and uses him at will—locking him in a basement for unspeakable acts. In Juhan was exactly the kind of man who could do that ten times over.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it had better not be that, Secretary Cha. Your gaze is unbearably insulting.”
Cha Gyeoul pressed his lips together and rolled his eyes. Both In Seongje and In Juhan had that same uncanny knack for reading people.
“M-money is— I have… Two hundred sixty thousand won in my account.”
“Two hundred fifty-six thousand five hundred twenty won.”
“Y-yes. I only have that much— I could never repay three hundred million won!”
“It’s not so bad. Since we’re close, I’ll charge you only 0.833 percent interest per month. You know the legal maximum is twenty percent per annum? I’m giving you special treatment. At that rate, if you never spent a single won of your salary, you’d clear it in about eight years. If you repay three million won a month, you’d be done in about eighteen years.”
“Eighteen years?”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d pronounce that correctly.”
Eighteen years wasted just paying off debt…? Cha Gyeoul shook his head violently. He absolutely did not want to borrow this money.
“What’s the problem? You’ll make it back in MK Quantum, right? I’m helping you seize an opportunity from a reliable source.”
‘Oh, right!’
In a flash, Cha Gyeoul’s mind cleared. If he borrowed three hundred million won to invest in MK Quantum… even without full confidence, it was almost certain to yield multiples of the principal.
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
Still, he hesitated. Cha Gyeoul had never incurred debt before; he wasn’t sure he could bear such a liability.
‘If MK Quantum fails…?’
The characters were fixed, but there was no guarantee the story would unfold exactly as in Falling Blossoms. If MK Quantum flopped, he’d spend eighteen years under constant harassment from In Juhan. Was that worth the risk?
On the other hand, if he struck it rich, In Juhan’s grim destiny might be averted—and Cha Gyeoul’s own survival odds would rise accordingly.
“You’re stalling too much.”
This sounded less like a joke. Suspicion and irritation flickered across In Juhan’s face. His patience had limits.
“Three hundred million.”
Cha Gyeoul steeled himself.
“…Please lend it to me.”
He resolved to attempt his first real investment.
Saegyeol Group. Once Korea’s—and now the world’s—foremost conglomerate.
SG Electronics, SG Heavy Industries, SG Semiconductor, SG Motors, SG Logistics, SG Mart… Department stores, fashion, furniture, broadcasting, insurance—a virtually endless roster of affiliates. That the In family, owners of Saegyeol, stood atop Korea’s aristocracy of wealth was undeniable.
Their greatest annual event was upon them…
“The centennial anniversary reception?”
It was the company’s founding anniversary. This year marked one hundred years since Saegyeol’s seed was sown, and they planned a grander party than ever.
“Didn’t you hear? Secretary Cha, you’re attending.”
“M-me? Am I allowed to go…?”
Today’s guest list brimmed with political and business VIPs; invitations were scarce. With hundreds of executives across countless affiliates, an ordinary secretary like Cha Gyeoul would never have made the cut.
“I decided it. Any objections?”
He had a point.
“N-no.”
Who could refuse when the chairman’s eldest son requested his secretary’s presence?
“Then don’t argue—just attend.”
“Y-yes…”
I wish I’d been told sooner… Now I have to rush off. And what about my clothes? But I’ll just stand behind him, so maybe it doesn’t matter.
In Juhan emerged from his private dressing room in a tuxedo-style suit. It wasn’t flashy, but on him it looked like the height of fashion—a page from a men’s luxury magazine come to life.
Seeing him so immaculate made Cha Gyeoul feel even more shabby. He looked every bit like someone who’d dashed here straight from work.
“Secretary Cha.”
In Juhan approached, crossing the boundary Cha Gyeoul had set—far beyond the reach of a punch.
“Y-yes…?”
“Excuse my rudeness.”
Cha Gyeoul blinked, not understanding what was coming. Then—
With a smooth motion, In Juhan hooked his finger under Cha Gyeoul’s navy-toned tie knot and pulled it loose. The practiced ease made it clear he’d done this countless times.
“D-Director…?!”
Cha Gyeoul stiffened as if a blade hovered at his throat. His heart pounded so hard it felt ready to burst. Danger alarms screamed in his mind, but his body wouldn’t obey a single finger twitch.
“Why are you so tense? Afraid I’m going to eat you?”
On top of everything, In Juhan’s subtle pheromones wafted over him. The warm, gentle scent belied the man’s fearsome reputation.
Even as his fingers fussed, In Juhan never took his eyes off Cha Gyeoul’s face. And Cha Gyeoul—helpless to resist—found himself locked in that gaze. Time stretched as they stared at one another, and a stray thought flickered through his mind.
‘He really is beautiful. How does he have no pores…?’
He marveled at the perfection of In Juhan’s features. Though not the main protagonist, In Juhan was undeniably handsome—more sculpted and intense than In Seongje. If only his personality were kinder, he might be extremely popular.
“No one would care about a secretary’s attire, but you should at least look the part.”
That rotten mouth of his! He pinpointed Cha Gyeoul’s every insecurity with disdain.
In Juhan’s voice snapped Cha Gyeoul from his reverie—and, as if by magic, the pheromones vanished. It felt like waking from a dream.
His navy tie had been replaced with a bow tie, and a hand-folded handkerchief now nestled in his jacket pocket. Cha Gyeoul stared down at the work and was astonished—not just that someone had taken the trouble, but that it was In Juhan.
“…Director.”
That he’d prepared something for him was unexpected. Maybe, just maybe, In Juhan wasn’t entirely monstrous after all.
“Things you can’t buy with your entire fortune. Use them, then return them clean.”
Of course, the odds were much higher that he remained a devil incarnate.
“D-Director…”
While they rode to the reception, Cha Gyeoul in the front passenger seat, he summoned the courage to address In Juhan behind him. He needed to say something important.
It was this—abrupt though it was—the world of Falling Blossoms would begin today. When he’d heard about the reception, he’d forgotten, but now it struck him: the novel’s opening scene was the centennial reception.
Unfortunately, this one wouldn’t end peacefully. If this world followed the novel he remembered, tomorrow’s headlines would scream of disaster.
What disaster?
“A threat during Chairman In’s speech.”
At the moment the chairman—In Taeyoung—began his remarks, he would be drenched in blood—a waterfall of pig’s byproducts. Someone would film it and unleash it online.
The nation would erupt. The country’s top corporate magnate terrorized with pig’s blood—an endless source of gossip for years, even decades, to come. Unless Saegyeol vanished from history altogether.
Worse still, the mastermind behind the plot was none other than In Juhan.