After all the funeral rites ended, Seo Ji Han silently opened the driver’s door of the car.
I had been on my way to Mr. Hyun Ik’s car, parked not far beyond his.
“Get in.”
Seo Ji Han’s low, gravelly voice halted my steps.
Still holding the door, he jerked his chin toward the empty passenger seat.
“I’ll go alone.”
“Just get in. I have something to say to you.”
I offered him a faint, reassuring smile, noticing Mr. Hyun Ik watching me with concern.
Even after I settled into the passenger seat, Seo Ji Han remained silent, staring straight ahead.
“Are we going to the newlywed home?”
“No. I’ll go to the Seongbuk-dong main house.”
“…Why the main house?”
Only then did Seo Ji Han turn his head to meet my gaze.
“So it’s that damned formality again, huh?”
He shook his head as if defeated by my unwavering, resolute eyes.
Ironically, he seemed convinced I was doing this solely for public image.
Perhaps I should formally announce our engagement cancellation soon.
I could already picture Seo Ji Han’s contorted face.
He’d feel like someone chopped by his own trusted axe.
If only to witness that ridiculous expression, a little patience would be worthwhile.
“If it’s uncomfortable having me around, go to the newlywed home. I’ll stay out.”
“Alright, then.”
Truthfully, I wasn’t ready to face the traces of family still lingering at the main house. Reluctantly, I nodded.
For the entire drive to the newlywed home, Seo Ji Han remained completely silent.
After driving for quite a while, his car slowly pulled into the familiar apartment complex and came to a stop.
Just as I was about to get out without even saying thank you.
“Wait. Let’s talk.”
“Fine. If you have something to say, say it.”
I turned around mid-step and met his eyes.
His frustration was evident as he loosened his necktie.
“Did you really have to embarrass me like that today?”
“…Embarrass you?”
His stiff expression suggested he was referring to the shareholders’ meeting.
“Why do you have to step in and handle the dirty work when I’m right here? Running a company isn’t that simple.”
“.”
“If you’re not going to manage the company yourself, you should merge with Ho Jin. You’re going to become part of the Ho Jin family anyway.”
It sounded just like a dog barking, such earnest barking, too.
Feeling he wasn’t even worth answering, I stared blankly at him.
“You can’t handle those old shareholders at the meeting on your own.”
“That’s my problem to deal with.”
“Ha! Yoon Yeo Jin! These people have been in this industry for decades. What do you, who knows nothing, think you can possibly do against them?”
Frustrated that I wouldn’t listen, Seo Ji Han gripped my shoulders fiercely.
I winced in pain, and only then did he finally let go.
“Trust me. I’m going to be your husband. No, think of me as your husband already.”
Trusting you, my husband, is exactly how I ended up in my past life.
“You’re smart, you know.”
Now he was sweet-talking me, coaxing me to trust him, likely part of his strategy.
“If I do well, it’s good for you too. We’re going to be spouses.”
“Spouses…?”
“Yes, spouses. I should probably file our marriage registration right away. I can’t leave you alone, it’s too risky.”
The real source of his anxiety wasn’t me, but the enormous inheritance in my hands.
Not to mention his secret relationship with Chae Seo Rin, which might be exposed at any moment.
I smiled at him, watching him nervously brush back his fallen hair.
He’d likely already secured a merger agreement from Vice Chairman Kim Young Min.
As soon as we married, and if I gave my consent, he’d swallow up W Group in one bite.
…Just like last time.
In the past, I’d believed everything Seo Ji Han said without question.
I thought that was my duty as Ho Jin’s proper wife, and the role I needed to endure.
Because I’d been so obedient, Seo Ji Han was surely convinced this game was already his.
But not anymore.
I’d resolved to change, and I would reshape the future.
I would never again be caught between Seo Ji Han and Chae Seo Rin.
“You’re right. I suppose Seo Ji Han should be at the shareholders’ meeting after all.”
“Good thinking. Don’t worry.”
Hearing the words he’d wanted, Seo Ji Han smiled and pulled me into his arms.
My hand, clutching my dress, trembled violently, but I forced myself to stay still.
“Don’t think about anything. Just sleep well. I’ll handle all the complicated matters.”
My heart pounded all the way until I stepped inside the apartment building.
In the rising elevator, his insincere smile kept flashing in my mind, stirring waves of suppressed rage again and again.
Lights flickered on as I entered, illuminating the chilly, empty apartment.
Everything was filled with brand-new furniture, eerily familiar.
Five years spent here with him flashed through my mind like a reel of film.
“Spouses?”
I picked up the wedding photo displayed on the living room shelf.
Unable to contain my burning anger, I leaned against the wall and gasped for breath.
‘Spouses?’
Overwhelmed, I raised the frame high.
But as I prepared to hurl it to the floor, I caught sight of myself holding Seo Ji Han’s hand in the photo.
Seeing my own radiant smile, I slowly lowered the frame, overcome by sudden emptiness.
“…Don’t make me laugh.”
I closed my eyes, trembling as if in a spasm.
“Seo Ji Han, there’s no way I’ll ever marry you again.”
I opened my eyes.
Gathering every photo frame from the shelf, I dumped them all into the nearby trash bin.
Seo Ji Han’s smiling face, buried beneath the pile in the bin, seemed to blur together.
“Never.”
Imagining his face crumbling once he learned the truth, I twisted my lips into a cruel smile.
After lying awake all night, I rose with the morning sun.
Seeing my wardrobe now filled with cozy loungewear and simple outfits, I finally felt the reality of having returned.
“When on earth were these clothes put here?”
I’d never even visited the newlywed home before.
Most likely, his secretary had stocked the closet, I sighed deeply at the sight.
The clothes he’d bought for me, hanging in the wardrobe, reminded me of how I’d molded myself to suit him. My mouth turned bitter.
‘I should just get rid of all of it.’
Eventually, I headed straight for the department store.
My wandering steps led me to my favorite boutique from my announcer days.
The manager, recognizing me after such a long absence, approached with a warm smile.
“Oh my! Announcer Yoon! It’s been ages!”
Even though I’d been on leave from my anchor position for over a year since the engagement, she was the only one who still addressed me as “Announcer.”
Despite my infrequent visits, her continued warmth made me smile.
“It has been a while. Manager?”
“Right? What brings you to our store? Shopping for your wedding, perhaps?”
It was the brand I’d often worn during my announcer days.
I shook my head at her hopeful, questioning look.
“No. Nothing’s decided yet.”
“Oh dear, you must be thinking it over! I hope you return to TV soon, Announcer Yoon. That way, you’ll visit us often!”
I planned to subtly discuss my return with the Head of Department soon.
As we moved from the entrance toward the inner area of the store, I spotted a woman seated on a sofa in the distance.
“That’s KBC’s weather caster. Don’t you two know each other?”
I recognized the familiar back of the woman the manager had just hinted was a weather caster.
My brow instinctively furrowed.
‘Chae Seo Rin.’
It’s not as if there’s only one department store in Korea.
Why do we keep running into each other like this?
“She was so thrilled about becoming an anchor soon. Thanks to anchors like her, our brand will become even more famous!”
‘Chae Seo Rin as an anchor? That can’t be.’
At conservative KBC, a weather caster becoming an anchor was as likely as plucking a star from the sky.
Without powerful backing, it was nearly impossible, and especially absurd for someone as unremarkable as her.
I clicked my heels as I walked toward Chae Seo Rin.
“Shopping, I see?”
I asked, baffled to find Chae Seo Rin in a luxury boutique.
Glancing sideways at the items she’d selected, they easily totaled hundreds of thousands of won.
“Oh, unnie! What are you doing here?”
“Oh! You two know each other? Of course, both from KBC, right?”
Startled by my sudden voice, she looked up at me,
her wide eyes clearly betraying her panic.
The approaching manager also seemed familiar with Chae Seo Rin and greeted her cheerfully.
“She’s my closest friend from work.”
“I knew it! You two should go ahead and chat comfortably.”
The manager whispered something to the employee beside Chae Seo Rin, then disappeared from the store.
I noticed the catalog spread out where she sat and a purple card inserted into the payment terminal.
A card far beyond Chae Seo Rin’s salary to afford.
“A Purple Card? Can you even use this?”
Only Black-tier customers were eligible for this card.
And it was reserved exclusively for the top 5% VVIPs of W Department Store, making it even more suspicious.
She reached toward the card in the terminal, glancing nervously at me.
“Th-that’s…”
I took the card from the employee who’d been processing her payment and read the embossed name aloud.
“Seo Ji Han? Why is my fiancé’s card here?”
Just as I’d expected.
Even the employee seemed stunned, eyes darting as she tried to assess the situation upon hearing my words.
‘So close that he’s even handed her his card, before the wedding, no less.’
I couldn’t even begin to imagine how long they’d been seeing each other.
Seeing Chae Seo Rin’s shaken, tense eyes, she was clearly flustered.
Worried their relationship had been exposed.
“Ah.”
I swallowed my boiling anger at her transparent act and instead smiled calmly.
“I told him not to do things like this. Honestly, that man.”
“.”
“He kept asking if I needed anything, and in the end, he asked his junior to handle it? So this time it’s clothing gifts?”
I grinned at the stunned employee and began flipping through the clothes Chae Seo Rin had chosen.
Each time a garment slipped from my fingertips onto the table, Chae Seo Rin’s expression grew stiffer.
“She doesn’t like flashy patterns like this. Chae Seo Rin must have gotten confused.”
“Ha…”
A strained, almost pained sound escaped her lips.
“Excuse me.”
I returned the card to the employee with a smile.
“Oh! Should I proceed with the purchase as is?”
I addressed the flustered employee who’d hurried back over.
“No. Please refund everything.”
Judging by the colorful pile of clothes on the table, this was clearly Chae Seo Rin’s favorite brand.
“A-all of it…?”
The bewildered employee glanced at Chae Seo Rin, seeking direction.
But Chae Seo Rin bit her tightly closed lips and abruptly turned her head away.
She must be furious, humiliated.
“Chae Seo Rin, it’s fine. I’ll choose my own things.”
I patted her shoulder gently, my face filled with apparent concern.
The more I spoke, the more her face flushed with shame.
“…Alright. They’re yours, after all.”
Her voice trembled, saturated with humiliation, as her face reddened all the way to her nose.
Then, taking the card back from the employee, she forced a smile.
“I’ll be going now.”
As she frantically gathered her coat and bag from the sofa, I quietly sat down beside her.
“Oh, by the way, you’re becoming an anchor, right?”
“How did you know that, unnie…?”
Startled mid-gathering, Chae Seo Rin looked down at me, eyes wide.
Her pupils darted aimlessly,
her lips trembling as if she’d just been caught doing something wrong.
‘It’s Seo Ji Han. He’s your backing.’
Her abnormal reaction confirmed my vague suspicion beyond doubt.
‘Don’t worry. You’ll never, ever become an anchor, not even if you came back from the dead.’
Because I’ll be returning to that seat.
“There’s nothing I don’t know, Chae Seo Rin. You’ll see soon enough, both of us.”
A cold smile spread across my face.
“Take care.”
Chae Seo Rin’s face went deathly pale before she turned and fled as if running for her life.
Too overwhelmed to even reply to my parting words, she vanished without looking back.
Only then did I turn my head.
Her hasty retreat was rather amusing, I smiled as I flipped open a catalog.