Chapter 19: Baek Hyeri’s Choice
Upon arriving at Kangsan Construction’s headquarters, Kang Sunhyuk announced that he was there to see Planning Director Baek Hyeri. With a friendly smile and gentle tone, the lobby staff asked him to wait a moment while they called the planning department.
“I’m sorry, but may I ask your name?”
The staff member asked for Kang Sunhyuk’s name, seemingly required to verify who was calling.
“Kang Sunhyuk. Executive Director of Dragon Holdings.”
He grinned as he precisely stated his position and pulled out his business card. The grateful employee returned to the receiver and relayed that Executive Director Kang Sunhyuk from Dragon Holdings was here. After several short “yes” responses, the staff member finished the call and offered a slightly awkward smile.
“Director Baek Hyeri left about ten minutes ago for an external meeting. If you’d like to leave a message, I can pass it along. If it’s urgent, another employee from the planning department offered to come down immediately.”
The bottom line was that he couldn’t meet Baek Hyeri. Kang Sunhyuk regretted not calling ahead but realized he didn’t have her personal contact information. He decided that next time he would call Kangsan Construction’s planning department to make an appointment. Though it had nothing to do with work, he figured that mentioning he was the Executive Director of Dragon Holdings would be enough to secure a meeting. What was the point of having a title if not to use it at times like this?
He considered waiting until she returned but decided against it since it was almost the end of the workday, and she might go straight home from her external meeting. Although he wasn’t pleased about coming all this way for nothing, there was nothing he could do.
As he headed toward the lobby exit, his eyes met those of a man approaching from the opposite direction. The man was staring intently at Kang Sunhyuk first, so Kang Sunhyuk stared back with an expression that said “what are you looking at?” As the distance between them closed, the other man naturally averted his gaze.
What’s with this bastard?
For a moment, he felt the urge to grab the man by the collar, but remembering he was at Kangsan Construction, he held himself back. He couldn’t cause a scene here and risk falling out of favor with Baek Hyeri and Kangsan Construction’s chairman. At least until he won her heart, he needed to maintain the appearance of good behavior.
Once outside, his assistant, Lee Seojin, got out of the car to greet him.
“Why are you out so early?”
“She’s not here. They said she went to an external meeting.”
Kang Sunhyuk answered casually as he got into the back seat that Lee Seojin had opened for him. Lee Seojin swallowed a groan. He had perfectly verified Baek Hyeri’s schedule today and confirmed she would be at headquarters before informing Kang Sunhyuk. The fact that they didn’t meet meant that Baek Hyeri had deliberately avoided Kang Sunhyuk.
“She must be terribly busy. I don’t understand why people live so hectically. Wouldn’t it be better to live more leisurely like me?”
Kang Sunhyuk grumbled from the back seat. Lee Seojin, seated in the passenger seat, forced a smile and agreed.
“Where should I take you?”
“Hmm, I feel like drinking. Want to go for a drink?”
“I don’t think I can keep up with your drinking capacity, sir.”
When Lee Seojin groaned, Kang Sunhyuk nodded his head, agreeing.
“What kind of man can’t handle his alcohol? So boring.”
“I’m sorry. It’s genetic.”
“I suppose. Maybe it’s from our father—neither me, that bastard Kang Dohyuk, nor Kang Chahyuk can get drunk easily. Go to Gangnam. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Hera; let me blow off some steam.”
The driver immediately understood when he mentioned the club he frequented and changed direction. Lee Seojin turned back around in his seat. After confirming through the rearview mirror that Kang Sunhyuk had closed his eyes with his head resting on the headrest, he took out his phone and typed a message.
– Failed to meet Director Baek Hyeri. Currently heading to Hera in Gangnam.
He pressed send and put the phone back in his pocket. Seeing Kang Sunhyuk already snoring, he let out a small sigh.
While having drinks with a boss was already burdensome, even if he did drink, Kang Sunhyuk wasn’t the person he wanted to drink with. He fiddled with the phone in his pocket. If it was brief, maybe he could at least see his face. If he dropped Kang Sunhyuk off at Hera and then went to meet him…
If he contacted him when he was near home, would he come out? That was what he was least confident about. Still, if he said he had something to report, maybe it would be possible for a short while.
He steeled his resolve and clutched his phone tightly. He planned to stop by briefly, even if it got late.
***
Knock, knock. At the sound, all the employees in the planning department looked up. Kim Seonuk waved a carrier full of coffee that he was holding in both hands.
“Welcome!”
“It’s been so long since you visited. You must have been busy.”
Despite being in the middle of work, all the employees welcomed Kim Seonuk. Baek Hyeri, who was sitting in the back of the office, also stood up.
“Have a cup of coffee and take a break while working. This one’s yours.”
Kim Seonuk set the coffee down on the conference table and handed one to Baek Hyeri.
“You came earlier than expected. I thought you were coming at the end of the workday.”
“I was eager to see you.”
Despite his brazen smile and words, Baek Hyeri seemed used to it, giving him a slight side-eye before accepting the coffee. She gestured toward the conference room adjacent to the office.
“I think I saw Kang Sunhyuk from Dragon Holdings downstairs…”
As soon as they entered the conference room, Kim Seonuk brought up the topic.
“Ah.”
Baek Hyeri brushed it off as if it wasn’t a big deal, indicating she already knew.
“Did you stand him up?”
“It’s hardly standing him up when he showed up unannounced without an appointment.”
“Why suddenly?”
This time, Baek Hyeri didn’t answer immediately and averted her gaze. At the same time, Kim Seonuk’s expression hardened.
“I heard there’s talk of a strategic marriage with Dragon Holdings. Is that true?”
“Well…”
She didn’t deny it and let the words trail off.
“Is that why Kang Sunhyuk came too?”
“You already know, so why ask?”
Baek Hyeri frowned, seeming displeased with his prying.
“What if it had been Kang Dohyuk?”
Baek Hyeri stared at him silently at Kim Seonuk’s question.
“If it had been Kang Dohyuk who came? Would you have sent him away like this too?”
She was starting to understand why Kim Seonuk was acting this way, but she remained composed.
“No. I would have met him.”
“Hyeri!”
Kim Seonuk called her name with an annoyed tone.
“Are you really planning to marry that bastard?”
“If necessary.”
“Baek Hyeri!”
Kim Seonuk put down his coffee and grabbed Baek Hyeri’s hand.
“Do you love that guy? No, you don’t. What era is this? Getting married for business without even having feelings?”
Baek Hyeri sighed and shook off Kim Seonuk’s hand.
“I don’t love you either, oppa. And right now, we need Dragon Holdings’ capital. We can’t give up on this Yeouido project. It’s father’s lifelong wish.”
“Hyeri… You say this because you don’t know what kind of person he is. He’s a man without any compassion or mercy. Besides, the chairman of Dragon Holdings is a former gangster. Even if they say he’s cleaned up and transformed into a businessman, that blood doesn’t go away. Why do you want to get involved with such a family? What’s lacking in your life?”
“Chairman Kang Mansik might be like that, but Kang Dohyuk’s mother, Cha Seonyoo, is the daughter of the Baekwha Foundation. A family of that status is comparable to ours.”
Considering Dragon Holdings’ financial strength and the background of Kang Dohyuk’s mother, it wasn’t a bad arrangement. Kim Seonuk couldn’t argue with that point.
“Even so… how could you spend your life with that cold-hearted bastard Kang Dohyuk?”
“I never said I’d spend my life with him. And I don’t mind if he’s cold. I’m not trying to date him anyway.”
She was saying he would be merely a business partner. Nevertheless, Kim Seonuk couldn’t accept it. Whether they lived together forever or not, whether it was romantic or not, the point was that they would have a wedding, and he couldn’t bear to see Baek Hyeri walking down the wedding aisle holding Kang Dohyuk’s hand.
“You can’t marry Kang Dohyuk. I absolutely won’t let it happen.”
Seeing Kim Seonuk grinding his teeth, Baek Hyeri sighed.
“Don’t do anything rash. If Star Finance isn’t going to provide the financing, don’t interfere. And if you’re going to talk like this, don’t come here anymore.”
Baek Hyeri coldly rejected Kim Seonuk and left the conference room first. Left behind, Kim Seonuk slammed his fist on the table. Bang! The loud noise made the employees outside the glass door turn around and murmur, wondering what had happened.
***
After going all the way to Daejeon and back, half the day had simply disappeared. By the time he arrived home, it was already past nine.
Yeon sat in the living room, waiting for Dohyuk to finish showering.
“What are you doing?”
“Please sit down.”
After Dohyuk had showered and changed into comfortable clothes, Yeon seated him on the sofa and stood before him. He searched for the newly created ill-fated connection near Dohyuk’s body that he had seen earlier today, but it wasn’t immediately visible. There were too many threads intertwined, making it difficult to find. Moreover, the color was still faint, making it less noticeable.
Whew, he exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Since he had already seen this connection once today, if he could remember the sensation… Ah! His hand, which had been circling in the air, stopped. Thank goodness.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the black thread he had seen earlier caught between his fingers. The color had deepened since the afternoon, but it wasn’t yet at a dangerous level. It was still severable.
Ping. As a white light formed and disappeared, Dohyuk’s eyebrows furrowed. Yeon tried to pull his hand away, but Dohyuk was quicker, grabbing his wrist. He flipped Yeon’s hand and opened his palm to examine it.
“Do that again.”
“…?”
Yeon stared at him blankly, wondering what he was being asked to repeat.
“Make the light appear.”
Ah. So he was intrigued by the light that appeared and disappeared when Yeon severed the connection.
“I don’t know how.”
Despite having shown it several times, Yeon’s claim that he didn’t know how made Dohyuk glare at him in disbelief. Yeon forcefully pulled his hand away from Dohyuk’s grip.
“It’s the light that appears when a thread is cut, not a light I create.”
“I’m increasingly unsure whether you’re good at evading or if you’re telling the truth.”
Dohyuk exhaled briefly and shook his head, suggesting they drop the subject.
“Are you going to do more?”
He asked Yeon, who was still standing in front of him. Yeon looked at the hundreds of threads waving around him and shook his head. Though he could see black threads here and there, picking them out was a task in itself. Moreover, he was already feeling dizzy. Having not eaten or slept properly, and after continuously cutting Kang Dohyuk’s ill-fated connections, side effects seemed to be appearing. If he pushed himself any further today, he might faint in front of him.
“Sit down for a moment.”
Dohyuk pointed to the seat opposite him. Yeon wanted to retire and rest, but he reluctantly sat in the indicated seat.
“Tell me about yourself.”
Yeon wondered what Dohyuk wanted to know. He had already told him his name and age, and there was nothing else to say.
“About Muryeong.”
Dohyuk’s gaze sharpened as he looked at Yeon.
