Episode 3
As the empty bottles piled up, tongues began to slur and eyes grew glassy one by one.
While everyone else was swaying and drunkenly chattering, there was one man who quietly drained his glass without the slightest hint of disarray.
Around Seong-hyeok, it felt like an entirely different world—still, composed, almost untouchably elegant amid the chaotic atmosphere.
The only reason he hadn’t gotten up and left this dreadfully boring gathering was the single malt whisky in his hand. The notes of vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger were surprisingly to his liking.
He didn’t care in the slightest whether Beom-jun was drunkenly whispering with Chang-geun or bragging for ages about his imminent promotion to executive director before staggering out to the restroom.
Then, a few minutes later, someone walked into the room.
He glanced up idly, assuming it was Beom-jun returning—and froze.
Even after three years, it was a face that refused to fade, no matter how hard he tried to forget.
The woman who had come to mind the moment he set foot back on Korean soil despite all his efforts to erase her: Chae Yeong-in.
*What is she doing here?*
Surprised and confused by the unexpected reunion, Seong-hyeok’s eyes still refused to leave her.
Her hair, once grazing her collarbones, now flowed down past her chest. The black high-waisted wide-leg slacks and cream blouse gave her an air of intelligence and sophistication.
In short, she was still beautiful.
That calm yet indifferent expression hadn’t changed either. Nor had her uniquely cool, detached aura.
Chae Yeong-in was the kind of woman who seemed flawless from head to toe yet somehow impossible to approach—as if an invisible line circled her, warning others to keep their distance.
And he had crossed that line once, ignoring the warning completely—or so he thought.
It wasn’t until she told him they should stop seeing each other that he realized:
He hadn’t crossed anything. That had been his delusion.
To her, Cha Seong-hyeok had been nothing.
Their relationship ended with absurd ease, as if it had never mattered in the first place.
Seong-hyeok snapped out of his memories when Chang-geun’s body moved to block his view of her.
As his brows furrowed slightly, snippets of conversation floated over from the side.
“Damn, did Beom-jun call Yeong-in again? To come pick him up?”
“Chang-geun kept nudging him to call her.”
“What the hell. He still hasn’t given up?”
“‘Hasn’t’ is putting it mildly—he’s practically desperate.”
Seong-hyeok’s expression turned cold as he watched Chang-geun grab Yeong-in’s wrist.
In the past, he’d been mildly annoyed at how Chang-geun flitted from woman to woman without a shred of respect. But this… this was different.
Today it was infuriating.
Even if she wasn’t his anymore, the thought of someone like Oh Chang-geun putting his hands on her felt deeply insulting—like he himself was being disrespected.
As Yeong-in turned and left the room, Seong-hyeok approached Chang-geun, who stood dumbly staring at the closed door.
“Move.”
Startled, Chang-geun spun around.
One look at Seong-hyeok’s icy eyes, and he meekly stepped aside without a word.
A few days later.
Seong-hyeok hadn’t had the slightest intention of rekindling anything with Chae Yeong-in. Too much time had passed, and the very thought felt like a waste, like an insult to everything he’d endured these past three years.
That was his way of justifying it to himself. Maybe deep down, he simply couldn’t admit the cost of swallowing his pride had become too steep.
But that fragile resolve crumbled the moment he heard at Beom-jun’s second welcome-back party that Oh Chang-geun was set up for a blind date with her.
“The girl who kept acting all distant with me suddenly agreed to a blind date? If he asks her to marry him, she’ll probably burst into tears of joy.”
As Chang-geun swaggered off to take a call from his father, Seong-hyeok quietly followed him into the hallway and waited until he hung up.
“Give it to me,” Seong-hyeok said.
Chang-geun blinked in confusion.
“…Give you what?”
Leaning casually against the wall, Seong-hyeok’s lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile.
“The blind date.”
“…What?”
And just like that, Oh Chang-geun lost his date with Chae Yeong-in.
6:00 PM sharp.
Seong-hyeok arrived at the H Hotel café.
He didn’t need to scan the room. His eyes found her instantly.
She was sitting by the window, deep in thought.
As he told the server he was joining his party and made his way to the table, his expression betrayed a faint trace of irritation.
Yeong-in wore a slim-fitting black dress, her hair loosely twisted up, exposing her slender, pale neck.
*Did she doll herself up to impress Chang-geun?*
The thought gnawed at him, absurd as it was.
She was beautiful. And it annoyed him.
He could only imagine how smug Chang-geun would’ve looked if he were here now. The idea twisted his gut.
Even if she’d shown up in rags with charcoal smeared on her face, Seong-hyeok doubted he would’ve felt any different.
Not that he realized how unreasonable he was being.
And so, with his mood thoroughly soured, he opened his mouth.
“I told him to hand over today’s blind date to me.”
That was as calm as he could sound.
His voice grew sharper.
“Looks like you put in a lot of effort today. Are you disappointed it’s me and not the man you were expecting?”
“…”
Yeong-in didn’t know why he was sneering at her like this, so she held her tongue. She didn’t even bother explaining that she’d come straight from a friend’s wedding.
“Weren’t you the one who used to insist you’d never get married?”
It was an accusation. *You bristled every time I so much as mentioned the word marriage—yet here you are on a date meant for marriage.*
“People’s values can change,” she said quietly.
She knew exactly what he meant but didn’t want to admit it.
Marriage still wasn’t on her mind, but arguing about it would only make her sound hypocritical, so she left it at that.
“That’s good to hear.”
“…”
Yeong-in didn’t understand why that would be “good news” to him, so she said nothing.
“How do I measure up as husband material?”
“You’re out of my league.”
It was the truth.
Cha Seong-hyeok was so perfect it was terrifying—so much so that her own existence felt like the only flaw in the equation.
“Then marry me.”
Yeong-in let out a dry laugh.
The suggestion was so absurd she didn’t even feel flustered—just curious about why he was saying such things.
“Why did you come here in Oh Chang-geun’s place?”
“That bastard’s a total mess below the belt,” Seong-hyeok said flatly.
He almost added, *Why do you call him oppa but call me sunbae?* but swallowed the childish jealousy.
“It wouldn’t even be surprising if a kid showed up one day calling him daddy.”
“And?”
“I couldn’t stand the thought of the woman who dumped me ending up with trash like him. That’d make me look pathetic.”
“…”
As if someone like Cha Seong-hyeok could ever look pathetic.
*Who could possibly make you look small?* she thought bitterly but kept it to herself.
“So if you’re going to marry a guy like Oh Chang-geun, you might as well marry me instead.”
“Don’t say ridiculous things.”
“What’s so ridiculous?”
“Everything that’s coming out of your mouth.”
“Isn’t this what blind dates are for? A man and a woman meet, talk about themselves and their families, and discuss marriage.”
Not giving her a chance to interrupt, he continued:
“I know you. You know me. We’re already doing what this whole dating ritual is about.”
“You’re the only one playing that game, not me.”
“There’s no rule saying both sides have to be equally enthusiastic.”
“…”
Yeong-in stared at him silently, unable to decide if he was serious or just angry.
“Not many people know each other as well as we do. How many blind date partners know each other’s preferences in bed? Where to touch to get the other excited, how obscene your moans sound…”
“Sunbae.”
“What?”
“Shut up.”
A faint smile tugged at Seong-hyeok’s lips. He was uncharacteristically giddy to hear her telling him to shut up—the only person who’d ever dared say such a thing to him.
“You know I get bored easily. If I do, I’ll divorce you.”
Three years ago, Yeong-in had been the one to dump him. But now it felt like she was the one being dumped—and that thought infuriated her.
And yet, she couldn’t help but admit: that arrogant air suited him perfectly.
“How long do you think it’d take before you get bored of me?”
“I never got the chance to find out last time, since you broke up with me out of the blue.”
Yeong-in’s mind flashed back to their last conversation.
“Let’s stop seeing each other.”
“Fine. Do whatever you want.”
He hadn’t even asked why—just walked away.
And now, for him to suddenly suggest marriage? There was no explanation except that he’d lost his mind.
“You want to marry me just to confirm that?”
“I’ve never been good at resisting my curiosity.”
“Try harder.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Well, I don’t want to satisfy your curiosity either.”
Seong-hyeok’s gaze darkened.
“If you won’t, don’t bother showing up to any more blind dates. I won’t allow you to marry Oh Chang-geun.”
Yeong-in realized she’d have to be honest to avoid this endless back-and-forth.
“I didn’t agree to this date because I want to get married.”
“Then why?”
“Because I was bored.”
She didn’t want to admit to him that she was little more than a sacrificial pawn in her family.
“I’ll keep you entertained, so stop wasting your time on this nonsense.”
Seong-hyeok glanced down at his watch, missing the faint blush creeping up her ears.
“I have to go. I’d have liked to have dinner, but I have another appointment.”
“I never said I’d have dinner with you.”
*Why is my heart racing… just because he said he’d keep me entertained?*
Flustered, Yeong-in snapped back sharply.
“Who said I want to?”
“That’s not what I asked.”
With a nonchalant shrug, he changed the subject.
“Still using the same number? Call me.”
“I deleted your number.”
“Cold, aren’t you?”
“Who keeps their ex’s number for three years?”
“I still have my ex-girlfriend’s number.”
A flash of surprise crossed Yeong-in’s face.
“…That’s weird.”
“I know. I’m weird.”
He admitted it freely as he stood.
Yeong-in could only stare blankly at his retreating back, like someone entranced.
(Continued…)
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