Chapter 37.1

Chapter 37.1

Kang Gyuri was Lee Yi-taek’s niece by marriage. They met at every major event on his in-laws’ side, which was why she had also attended Kang Gyuri and Executive Director Park Jung-hoon’s wedding.

Now that she thought about it, she vaguely remembered hearing that Kang Gyuri had been engaged before marrying Park Jung-hoon. It hadn’t been important to her at the time, so she hadn’t paid much attention—but she never would have guessed that her former fiancé was Kwon Jae-heon.

No wonder Park Jung-hoon seemed so uneasy around Kwon Jae-heon.

It looked like they had been rivals over Kang Gyuri, and that bad blood had carried over. That must have been why Park Jung-hoon made those comments at the auction.

“I was just curious about what caught your attention.”

“I don’t see what’s so special about that.”

“I just don’t want him taking anything from me.”

Lee Goyo had just been caught in the middle of their prideful feud. Yet, she had mistaken it for something else—had actually thought Park Jung-hoon was interested in her. The realization made her face burn with embarrassment.

People really can’t see what’s right in front of them.

Now, her cousin is Kwon Jae-heon’s ex-fiancé and Park Jung-hoon’s ex-wife, and these men are fighting over her.

How did things even get this messy? The situation was so tangled, it felt almost ridiculous.

Legally, there was nothing wrong with her seeing either of them. She had no ties to Kang Gyuri. But people would talk, and she could already imagine how Kang Gyuri would react.

If Lee Yi-taek had completely cut ties with JH Law Firm, which belonged to his wife’s family, things might have been different. But they still had business dealings. And yet, here they were, throwing Lee Goyo into the mix with Kang Gyuri’s exes.

This is insane.

No one in their right mind would do something like this.

Kang Gyuri already looked at her like she was something filthy—Goyo could only imagine what kind of hateful words would come her way after this.

“I can’t just sit back and watch this happen.”

Not wanting the tension between the two men to escalate further—or perhaps just fed up with her younger brother’s childishness—CEO Park Seo-hwa got up from her seat. She strode over with sharp, deliberate steps and landed a heavy smack on the back of Park Jung-hoon’s head.

Whack!

The blow was strong enough to make his forehead hit the table.

“Ow! Noona!”

“CEO Kwon, you must be busy. Let me handle things here. I’ll make sure my hopeless little brother learns his lesson, so you don’t have to worry about him.”

She pressed down on the back of Park Jung-hoon’s head with her hand. Though she was smiling, her actions made it clear she was furious. Park Jung-hoon struggled against the table, his forehead still pinned down.

“Noona, your hand—ow! That hurts!”

“I’ll leave him in your care, then.”

In truth, Kwon Jae-heon didn’t hold much of a grudge against Park Jung-hoon. His name hadn’t been mentioned in the news articles, and there had been no direct references to Lee Goyo. On top of that, Seongjo had been the first to bow their heads in apology—there was no reason for Kwon Jae-heon to hold onto any lingering resentment.

“Thank you for understanding. Oh, and please put in a good word with the elders. Let them know this wasn’t Seongjo’s doing.”

Park Seo-hwa flashed Kwon Jae-heon a bright smile.

“Of course.”

Kwon Jae-heon, having accomplished what he came for, stood up. Then, just as he had done at the auction, he took Lee Goyo’s hand and led her away, making sure Park Jung-hoon saw it.

December 26, 3:00 p.m.

Seocho-dong High-rise Apartment

“What are you doing?”

Kwon Jae-heon, holding the front door open, turned to look at Lee Goyo. She was still standing outside in the hallway, frozen in place instead of following him in.

The apartment, located on the top floor, exuded luxury from the entrance alone. Feeling uneasy, Lee Goyo stole nervous glances at Jae-heon but couldn’t bring herself to step inside.

“I didn’t think we’d actually come here…”

“Is this your first time at a guy’s place?” Jae-heon asked, half-joking.

“…Probably?” she mumbled hesitantly.

It wasn’t just a man’s house—she had never visited anyone’s home before. Since childhood, she had lived under Lee Yi-taek’s watchful eye, which meant even sleepovers at friends’ houses had been out of the question.

“I like it. That all your firsts belong to me.”

Jae-heon stepped forward, took her arm, and gently pulled her inside.

Behind her, the door clicked shut. Though it had closed softly, the sound rang in her ears like a clap of thunder.

“I should’ve brought you home instead of the hospital this morning. I had you admitted for your own good, and yet that snake still managed to steal you away.”

Kwon Jae-heon ground his teeth.

Lee Yi-taek must have been smiling to himself, calculating the gains he could extract after sending Lee Goyo to Jae-heon. He had probably been drafting an invoice to send Jae-heon when he learned about what had happened at the hospital.

His son’s foolishness had ruined the chance for a pleasant price negotiation. But he wasn’t about to hand over Lee Goyo for a pittance either, so he had resorted to this kind of scheme.

It was a message: Even if it’s not you, there are plenty of others who want Lee Goyo. So what will you do? Do you think you can win with such a weak bet?

Fine. I’ll play along with the congressman’s little game.