I picked up the business card that had fallen to the floor. It was a Ho Jin Group business card, bearing the name Seo Jae Ha.
Seo Jae Ha?
Could it really be that Seo Jae Ha, the half-brother of Seo Ji Han and the eldest son of the Ho Jin Group?
When on earth did this man arrive?
During my entire previous marriage, I had seen him fewer times than I could count on one hand. And it was not just anyone. It was that man, so indifferent unless it concerned his own affairs, who had quietly draped a jacket over me.
On top of that, Jae Ha had been assigned to the United States. He should not even have been in Korea. I was certain he would not return until the year after next.
“So it was him who covered me with the jacket back then too?”
Why? My mind filled only with question marks over this inexplicable act.
Did he feel pity for his former fiancée, perhaps?
At that thought, a self-mocking smile tugged at the corner of my lips. From the very beginning, the heir to the Ho Jin Group had not been my husband, Ji Han. The marriage between the Ho Jin Group’s heir and the granddaughter of W Group had been arranged in the year I was born. And at the time of that engagement, the Ho Jin Group’s heir had been the eldest son, Jae Ha.
They never expected you would end up marrying Seo Ji Han.
One day, Jae Ha abruptly rejected the marriage his grandfathers had arranged. The memory of that day remained vivid in my mind, as if I had dreamed it just last night.
“I will not get married.”
“What? What do you mean by that? Do you even understand the implications of what you are saying?”
“Yes. I have no intention of marrying, now or ever, not to Yoon Yeo Jin there, nor to any other woman.”
“What if that means forfeiting your position as heir to Ho Jin?”
I could still clearly picture Chairman Seo Moo Jin staring at Jae Ha with burning eyes. I recalled how Jae Ha had boldly stood his ground against the Chairman, refusing to yield.
“Yes. Then I simply will not do it.”
What he refused was not just an inheritance, but the chairmanship of Ho Jin Group, a colossal conglomerate with numerous subsidiaries. Thus, Jae Ha relinquished his heirship and abruptly left for the United States.
Then, one day, he suddenly returned, not to take over Ho Jin Group, but as the largest shareholder of H Media Holdings, a major stakeholder in KBC Broadcasting. No one had ever imagined Jae Ha would take charge of a broadcasting holding company. Yet he swiftly listed KBC on the stock exchange, making a bold, standout move, as if ready to swallow Ho Jin whole at any moment.
“Madam?”
I snapped back to reality at the housekeeper’s voice. Later, Jae Ha declared independence from Ho Jin. I remembered the cold, seething hatred he had shown toward Ho Jin when he left the family. His resentment toward his stepmother, his half-brother, and his father, who had taken everything from him, had all been directed toward Ho Jin, the very entity they cherished.
How could I not have thought of this man?
My grip tightened on the jacket. A faint thread of hope bloomed, and my heart began pounding fiercely. If it was truly Seo Jae Ha, if this man had returned, I needed to meet him.
“I will be out for a bit.”
“What? Where could you possibly go at this hour?”
It was nearly two in the morning. The housekeeper looked bewildered as she watched me stand up, clutching the jacket.
He might have already left. But the lingering trace of his scent suggested he had not been gone long. I hurried past the empty lobby and stepped outside the hospital, where the chill of early dawn brushed against my cheeks.
“Of course, he is probably gone.”
I ran my hands over my face in front of the deserted hospital entrance. Right, I will just call him in the morning when it is light. There is still time.
Just as I turned to leave, comforting myself with those thoughts, I heard footsteps climbing up from beneath the stairs. In an instant, our eyes met as the man slowly came into view.
“You are awake, I see. It has been a while.”
Seo Jae Ha, the very man I had been desperately searching for, stood before me, as if conjured by a dream. Years had passed since we last met, yet his face remained as dazzlingly familiar as the first time I had seen him. Overwhelmed by a sudden rush of unfamiliar emotion, I stood speechless.
A cool breeze teased the space between us. As he drew nearer, the rich citrus scent surrounding him grew stronger, almost intoxicating.
“When did you arrive?”
“I returned yesterday.”
“Then why did you leave without saying anything?”
He answered my earlier questions casually, but his eyes darkened slightly at my last one.
“Because I came without anyone knowing.”
“And that jacket, I left it there secretly too. Though I suppose the passport gave me away.”
He nodded toward the passport clutched in my hand. He must have already heard everything from the media frenzy by now. Yet he showed no emotion. I held out the passport to him.
“Is it okay?”
He glanced at the passport I offered, then unexpectedly asked, “Huh?”
Throughout the entire day at the funeral, had anyone even asked me that simple question? Everyone had been concerned only about W Group’s stability, not about me.
“I asked if you are okay. You look exhausted.”
“Yes, yes.”
Those few words struck deep, nearly bringing tears to my eyes. I had to bite my lip hard to keep them from spilling. He looked down at me, watching as I fell silent, then gave a slight nod as if in understanding and turned to leave.
“Right, then. I will take the passport. I need it.”
As he turned to go, the wind stirred his jet-black hair.
“Oh, and…”
I could not let him leave like this. Just as I stepped forward to stop him, Jae Ha turned around first.
“Seo Ji Han.”
He spoke the name Seo Ji Han softly, yet with sudden intensity. He stepped a hand’s breadth closer, his gaze deepening as he fixed his eyes on me.
“Do not trust that guy too much.”
“What?”
What did he mean by do not trust him?
His unexpected remark churned my thoughts into chaos. Just as I tried to read the answer in his eyes, still locked with mine, the phone in my pocket buzzed briefly.
[Urgent call needed. Shareholders’ meeting showing unusual movement. From Mr. Hyun Ik]
A short text message appeared on my phone screen.
[Vice Chairman Kim Young Min has made a move. From Mr. Hyun Ik]
My eyes stopped at the name Kim Young Min as I read the message from Mr. Hyun Ik. If the shareholders were finally taking action, that meant Ji Han was behind it. I looked up and met Jae Ha’s gaze, watching me intently. For a fleeting moment, his calm eyes shifted subtly.
I have to stop this shareholders’ meeting.
In my past life, it had been my husband Ji Han who took my place as representative at that meeting. Ji Han had swiftly decided on a merger with Ho Jin Group, along with assuming management rights. Under the leadership of Young Min and Ji Han, the proposal passed unanimously.
“So, should I start calling you sister-in-law now? Well, I will be going. It was nice seeing you after so long.”
He smiled faintly, lips curving with practiced ease, and offered a polite farewell. My fingertips, still clutching my phone, began trembling slightly. How could I make this man my ally?
“I am truly sorry for your loss. Time will heal everything.”
Was this wisdom born of experience? For the briefest instant, Jae Ha’s eyes darkened. There was no better ally to dismantle Ho Jin Group and pressure Seo Ji Han. Perhaps meeting Jae Ha here, unlike in my past life, was fate’s gift. A chance to change this miserable destiny.
“Mr. Seo Jae Ha.”
I called out softly, stopping him just as he turned to leave.
“Could you spare some time? Somewhere quiet, just the two of us.”
Another chill breeze rippled between us. He seemed startled that I, the very person who had once been his fiancée, was the one asking to meet. His eyes widened briefly before slowly returning to normal. With feigned nonchalance, he answered, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
“Just the two of us? Is there something we need to discuss alone?”
“I am not asking as the daughter-in-law of the Ho Jin family, but as Yoon Yeo Jin, the granddaughter of W Group.”
For the first time since we had met, genuine interest sparked in Jae Ha’s eyes.
“And you will not regret that meeting.”
The playful smile on his lips faded completely.
After meeting Jae Ha at dawn, I stayed wide awake all night. My mind was tangled, from the sudden shareholders’ meeting to Jae Ha’s unexpected reappearance. After hours of deliberation, morning finally came.
Just like in my past life, Ji Han returned only after Grandfather’s funeral rites had concluded.
“I am sorry. I should have stayed by your side.”
Ji Han, shamelessly offering his apology, was still dressed in the suit he had worn to the funeral. When he stepped forward to embrace me, the cloying scent of perfume wafting from him startled me, and I pushed him away. The moment I recognized it as the same fragrance I had once smelled on Seo Rin, nausea rose in my throat. My fiancé, so infatuated with my closest friend that he had even been late to Grandfather’s funeral.
You bastard.
“Enough. Let go.”
This time, I could not hide my displeasure toward Ji Han. I turned my head away. Just then, Mr. Hyun Ik returned after stepping out briefly to take a call. He had timed his return perfectly, arriving just as the funeral ended, following his meeting with the shareholders.
“Both of them are in critical condition?”
“No, how can that be? With Chairman Yoon gone, if Ji Young also, W Group will…”
Chairman Seo’s face remained etched in grief as wave after wave of bad news crashed over him. After losing Grandfather, his lifelong friend, he now faced the possible loss of my parents as well, leaving him visibly shaken. Even the Vice Chairman remained silent, lips tightly pressed, observing the situation.
“Young miss, no, Madam Yeo Jin, you must decide. We cannot let the shareholders have their way at the meeting.”
Mr. Hyun Ik looked at me with unwavering resolve. When Grandfather had first passed, the shareholders had not stirred. But now that my parents were critically ill, they had suddenly grown eager to convene an emergency meeting.
It was obvious. They saw me, a twenty-nine-year-old granddaughter left alone, as easy to manipulate.
“I will go in your place.”
Ji Han, who had been quietly observing nearby, wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“She is going to be my wife soon.”
He looked at Mr. Hyun Ik with conviction in his eyes, as if our marriage were already a certainty.
“W Group is her family, so this is Ho Jin’s concern too. We are one household now.”
His faint smile could not mask the ambition gleaming in his eyes. The sight was so absurd I nearly laughed out loud, but I swallowed it down. Who was it that killed me? It was you, despite claiming we were family, despite being part of the same household.
“No.”
Smiling bitterly, I gently removed his arm from my shoulder.
“I will attend the meeting myself.”
“You would not even understand the complex corporate matters involved. It is better if I go…”
I cut off Ji Han as he began rambling, flustered.
“Ji Han, I am the heir.”
Watch carefully. Neither my husband’s position nor W Group will have any place for you.
“And besides, we are legally strangers, are we not?”