Chapter 118
***
Ga-eun always left work earlier than Si-heon. Though her return time was never early, his was even later. Si-heon disliked when others lingered in his space, disrupting its pristine atmosphere. Consequently, employees departed immediately after completing their tasks. So when she returned home, this vast house was always hers alone. Today, she expected the same.
Passing through the entrance and into the living room, she froze. A massive presence sat on the black sofa, consuming the darkness.
“…Mr. Kwon Si-heon?”
Slowly, he raised his head. Melded with the shadows, only his eyes blazed with an electric intensity.
“You’re home early.”
Silence.
“Why are you sitting here? Without even turning on the lights?”
He remained unresponsive. Had he decided to stop acknowledging her entirely?
Ga-eun exhaled softly, about to reach for the standing lamp when his voice cut through the silence.
“Another man seems to know your condition better than I do.”
“What do you mean…”
“That you were in pain. Needing a support.”
Her hand, midway to the light switch, slowly lowered. She bowed her head.
“How did you know?”
“Why did you hide it?”
“I didn’t hide anything. I simply didn’t want to bother you with something trivial.”
“How many times must I tell you? I make the judgments.”
“It wasn’t serious enough to report.”
His face contorted at her words.
“Should I understand that Chief Secretary Myung failed to fulfill her responsibilities?”
“It’s not like that. I asked her not to. I didn’t want to trouble you, Mr. Kwon. Chief Secretary Myung did nothing wrong.”
Do not blame Manager Noh Man-su.
Do not blame Chief Secretary Myung Hyun-ju.
Ga-eun only reveals her emotions in moments like these.
Only when it’s for someone else.
This fact alone irritates him deeply.
No, everything about Ga-eun irritates him.
And he’s irritated with himself for not being able to remove what bothers him.
“Chief Secretary Myung has done nothing wrong. I acted on my own, so…”
“I happened to meet the JC Convention executive. He knew more about my wife’s condition than I did.”
“…”
“Well done.”
Si-heon stood from the sofa and approached her with determined steps.
“Making a fool of your husband.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Ga-eun bowed her head, her nape pale and vulnerable.
So tempting that he wanted to—
“I’ll collect what’s owed.”
He aggressively grabbed her blouse, tearing it apart.
Buttons scattered in all directions.
“With your body.”
As she inhaled sharply, her chest—encased in a white brassiere—rose with the breath.
Damn. Si-heon muttered a curse.
Even at this moment, he was irritated by his own arousal.
Carelessly throwing aside her loosened garment, he wrapped her slender waist and pulled her close.
“Mr. Kwon Si-heon.”
“Do it properly.”
He bit her ear, cruelly whispering.
“This is the only thing you’re meant to do by my side.”
***
Kwon Soon-yeol raised his eyebrows as he took the tablet from Sung Won-gyu.
“Who sent this?”
“Park Ju-yeon, the daughter of PK Holdings CEO Park Jae-yeon.”
Adjusting his magnifying glasses, Kwon Soon-yeol hmm-ed and studied the man and woman on the screen.
“Who’s the man? He looks somewhat familiar.”
“Kim Juhan, CEO of the IT company <Tech One>, and the grandson of Kim Hak-sun.”
Kwon Soon-yeol slapped his knee.
“Of course! The grandson that old man Kim would boast about endlessly.”
Hmm, so this is what he looks like. He examined Kim Juhan’s face carefully.
“His face is quite ordinary, but something about him feels off. Perhaps because he resembles old man Kim.”
“Apparently, he was close with Ga-eun’s family when they lived in the same neighborhood. After her mother passed and Ga-eun left the village, their contact was interrupted. Recently, they seem to have accidentally met at a hotel.”
“Accident… As if such things exist. It’s all destined to happen.”
With a tap, Kwon Soon-yeol placed his magnifying glasses on the wooden bookshelf, narrowing his eyes and stroking his chin.
“They say Si-heon has been quite intimate at gatherings? Recently, they even went to the hospital together. Something about a slightly twisted wrist.”
Si-heon is a man, and Ga-eun is a woman.
That unstable element never changes.
“Has Si-heon been sleeping well lately?”
“Yes. According to his doctor, all his metrics have returned to normal.”
“His condition is good. His work processing speed and volume have increased dramatically. Why state the results? This is exactly what I, Kwon Soon-yeol, expected—optimal and supreme.”
Kwon Soon-yeol nodded.
“It’s time to start removing the pieces.”
The old man’s sharp gaze fixed on Kim Juhan and Ga-eun, who were smiling at each other.
“Prepare a business trip schedule for Director Kwon. Make it as long as possible.”
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