Chapter 7.1

Chapter 7.1

Kwon Jae-heon called out six hundred million.

“Damn it…”

The man beside Goyo muttered a low curse and quickly turned his head.

Glaring at Kwon Jae-heon, who had bid six hundred million, he furrowed his brows and raised the bid by another fifty million. Then, without a second of hesitation, Kwon Jae-heon raised the bid to seven hundred million.

The man cursed Kwon Jae-heon and grudgingly called out seven hundred and fifty million.

“It’s not even something you need,” Goyo said to him.

“Why do you think that?”

Didn’t he just say he didn’t understand why someone would like that item?

As Goyo squinted, not understanding the man’s behavior, the man shrugged as if it was no big deal. Then, as if reading Goyo’s expression, he smiled and said,

“I just don’t want that guy to have anything.”

“Eight hundred million.”

Kwon Jae-heon’s calm voice echoed through the auction house.

Goyo moved his gaze forward, hearing the voice closer than before. Jae-heon had turned his head, staring at her.

***

“…!”

How long has he been looking at me?

“He’s been looking at you like that… for quite a while.”

“What?”

“I just found another reason why I absolutely can’t let this go.”

It made him even more stubborn.

The man twitched and lifted the corners of his mouth. Then, he briskly called out eight hundred and fifty million.

Kwon Jae-heon’s face seemed to scrunch up subtly, then he raised the diamond bid to nine hundred million.

What in the world turned this into a battle of pride between the two men? As the man and Kwon Jae-heon alternated their bids, the necklace’s price kept climbing.

Other people, seemingly having given up on winning this auction, watched the two men’s rivalry with keen interest.

Goyo was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. The people in the auction house were directing their gazes not at the two men but more at Ji Seo-hyun, who was sitting next to him and himself. They had curious smiles as if they understood the reason for the heated competition.

“I’ll definitely win the bid and give it to you as a gift.”

“To me? Why?”

“Because I’m interested in you.”

Judging by his attire, he didn’t seem like an ordinary person.

How wealthy must one be to gift a multi-billion-won necklace to a woman of interest casually?

It had been 14 years since Goyo left the shabby basement and received Lee Yi-taek’s sponsorship. She thought she had adapted to the spending habits and consumption of the upper class, but it seemed she still had a long way to go.

“I’m not a strange person. Ah, wait a moment… nine hundred and fifty million.” The man proudly said his bid.

Goyo squinted her eyes and studied the man beside her, “You don’t need to say anything; I know who you are.”

She muttered as she listened to the man calling out the unrealistic amount.

“You know me?”

The man looked at Goyo. Goyo sighed and softly said, “We’ve met before.”

His face was familiar. After talking and looking at him for a while, she finally remembered.

“When did we meet? I couldn’t possibly forget such a beauty…”

“At a wedding.”

Park Jung-hoon, the vice president and eldest son of Park Won-ho, the chairman of Seongjo Daily.

Should she consider herself lucky? He was one of the men Lee Yi-taek had told her to get close to.

“What? A w-wedding? Whose wedding?”

The man’s expression cracked. Looking at her in disbelief, Goyo drove the point home.

“At Executive Director Park’s wedding.”

“What?”

“It’s understandable if you don’t remember. I was a guest on the bride’s side.”

“Cough, cough.”

He cleared his throat as if he had choked.

At sixteen, shortly before graduating middle school, Goyo had attended Lee Yi-taek’s niece’s wedding. The groom at that wedding had been Park Jung-hoon.

It was clear that Park Jung-hoon didn’t recognize the woman sitting next to him. If he had known, he would never have tried such a move. Nothing good would come from entangling with his ex-wife.

“Any more bids? …Yes, ten billion… Sold.”

“What? Oh!”

While Park Jung-hoon was still stunned by Goyo’s words, the auctioneer struck the gavel.

When the necklace was finally awarded to Kwon Jae-heon, Ji Seo-hyun’s face lit up with a bright smile. However, the smile quickly vanished from her face as she looked at Kwon Jae-heon, who was directing his gaze not at her but at another woman.

“I was so surprised… I forgot we were in the middle of an auction.”

The once smooth and relaxed voice now shook uncontrollably.

“I-I’m not having an affair or anything like that, so please don’t misunderstand…”

“I’m not misunderstanding.”

Goyo responded calmly to Park Jung-hoon’s words.

To Lee Yi-taek, Park Jung-hoon was just his deceased wife’s nephew-in-law, so he only attended family events out of obligation. This was the first time Goyo had seen him since the wedding.

“I heard about your divorce about an hour ago.”