Chapter 25: A Moment of Agitation
“Yesterday.”
Before Yeon could ask what he meant, Dohyuk changed the subject.
“Do you remember the woman we saw during dinner?”
“Baek Hyeri-ssi from Kangsan Construction.”
It was odd that someone who couldn’t even use the internet knew her name precisely.
“I heard from Director Choi.”
Yeon answered immediately, as if sensing Dohyuk’s suspicion.
“You previously told me I don’t have any connections through red or blue threads. What about that person from yesterday?”
Both he and Baek Hyeri had already accepted marriage as a foregone conclusion. Yet it was strange that Yeon said they had no destined connection for marriage.
Yeon shook his head.
“She is a good connection (善緣) for you, Kang Dohyuk-ssi. But she’s not your destined partner.”
“Hmm.” Dohyuk let out a long nasal sound.
“I don’t know how much Director Choi told you, but I’m planning to marry her.”
The implication was clear: Wasn’t Yeon’s assessment wrong? He was openly denying that Yeon could see connections, and he was curious how Yeon would react.
Yeon stared at Dohyuk calmly. His blue eyes showed no wavering.
“Probably…”
After exhaling briefly, Yeon spoke.
“You won’t be able to marry her.”
“Won’t be able to marry?”
That couldn’t be. This wasn’t an ordinary romance leading to marriage. Unless the Yeouido project collapsed, he would marry Baek Hyeri. That was the agreement between Dragon Holdings and Kangsan Construction. It was also the best defensive measure to ensure neither side monopolized the enormous Yeouido project.
“Do you like her?”
Yeon asked, perhaps with some hope.
“Not at all.”
Dohyuk answered without a moment’s hesitation. Yeon’s doll-like, impassive eyebrows twisted slightly.
“Then I don’t understand why you keep asking if she’s your marriage partner.”
“Because business depends on it.”
Only then did Yeon make an expression of understanding and look away from Dohyuk.
“There won’t be any problems with your business with her. You and she are connected as colleagues, and that will last a lifetime.”
This answer was intriguing. Not a marriage partner, but no issues with business? If that were possible, Dohyuk wouldn’t necessarily need to proceed with the marriage to Baek Hyeri. The problem was how much he could trust Yeon’s words. Besides, everyone—Chairman Kang Mansik, his mother, and Kangsan Construction—wanted them to marry.
Even if Dohyuk believed Yeon and wanted to proceed with just the business partnership without marriage, everyone else would be anxious. Come to think of it, that was somewhat absurd. Marriage wasn’t a perfect binding either. Divorce was always possible, and Baek Hyeri had taken that into account as well.
“Then besides you, do I have anyone else connected to me by red or blue threads?”
It was pure curiosity. Since Yeon had said there was no destined partner but claimed he himself was connected to Dohyuk by a red thread, he wanted to know if such cases were common.
Yeon’s gaze, which had dropped to the floor, didn’t return to Dohyuk. Despite previously looking directly into Dohyuk’s eyes when conversing, Yeon now neither answered nor looked at him.
“Answer me.”
Dohyuk seemed to understand the meaning of the silence. Still, he wanted a definite answer from Yeon’s lips. He could see Yeon’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed dryly.
It seemed Dohyuk should completely revoke his initial thought that this guy was a con artist. Calling someone who couldn’t even muster a simple evasive answer a con artist was excessive. Unless, if this too was an act, then this guy deserved an acting award.
“So it’s only you.”
When Dohyuk stated this with certainty, Yeon flinched. Despite it not being a particularly pleasant truth, somehow laughter spilled out of Dohyuk. With a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth, Dohyuk approached right in front of Yeon. He grabbed Yeon’s chin and forced him to meet his eyes. The glass-like transparent eyes wavered as they captured Dohyuk’s face.
“Not a woman, but a man, and one with an unknown identity at that…”
Dohyuk’s hand holding Yeon’s chin tightened.
“You’re saying you’re my destiny.”
At the word “destiny,” Yeon’s eyes widened.
“Why are you surprised? It’s what you said. That destined partners are bound by red and blue threads from birth.”
“But you and I only have the red thread…”
“Even if it’s just the red thread. You said there’s no one else anyway, right? Either red or blue.”
Yeon bit his lip, unsure of the certainty.
“Destined partner…”
Dohyuk’s gaze intensified as he looked at Yeon. It shone fiercely, like a predator before its prey.
“I suppose that includes things like this.”
Dohyuk rubbed Yeon’s lower lip with his thumb. The rough touch crushed the lip. He forced Yeon’s mouth open and inserted his thumb, pressing down on his tongue. “Ugh,” Yeon let out a short moan.
It was then. Yeon’s irritatingly composed face twisted strangely. Seeing the eyes that clearly showed signs of confusion, something snapped inside Dohyuk.
Dohyuk wrapped his other hand around Yeon’s waist and pulled him closer. He withdrew the finger that had been crushing the inside of Yeon’s mouth and immediately attacked his lips. He captured the tongue that tried to escape and forcefully entangled it. Both Yeon’s mouth and his tongue were hotter than expected.
Yeon raised his hands to push Dohyuk away. But even that was caught by Dohyuk. With one hand, he grabbed Yeon’s wrist, and with the other, he gripped the back of his head. Helpless against the strong grip, Yeon’s mouth was ruthlessly invaded.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of someone knocking on the door, Yeon flinched. But Dohyuk didn’t care at all. Ignoring it, he sucked hard on Yeon’s tongue. “Ugh,” a pained moan escaped.
“Managing Director.”
Director Choi called for Dohyuk. He knew he should stop now, but he couldn’t.
“What are you doing that you can’t even answer! Are you in there?”
With Kang Sunhyuk’s voice, the door burst open. Reflexively, Yeon pushed Dohyuk away and retreated. Yeon was pale. His hand covering his mouth was visibly trembling.
Finally, Dohyuk understood. This doll-like person, whom he had wondered if even had emotions, was showing his true feelings completely.
The corner of Dohyuk’s mouth curved upward then returned to its place.
“What is it?”
As if nothing had happened, he turned with a cold expression to face Kang Sunhyuk.
“What’s going on? Why is the atmosphere like this?”
Though he didn’t seem to have seen clearly, Kang Sunhyuk narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between Dohyuk and Yeon, perhaps sensing the strange atmosphere.
“What’s that? A foreigner?”
Seeing Yeon’s appearance, the first question was naturally whether he was a foreigner.
“No, he’s not.”
“Then why are his eyes that color? Is he a celebrity? Are you sponsoring someone now?”
Kang Sunhyuk jumped to conclusions on his own.
Dohyuk gestured for Director Choi to take Yeon out. Understanding immediately, Director Choi approached Yeon and said, “This way.” When he extended his hand toward Yeon, Yeon flinched. This made Director Choi jump as well. Watching this, Dohyuk clicked his tongue inside his mouth. While it was good to see the expressionless facade crumble, it displeased him that Yeon showed such reactions to people other than himself.
“What brings you here? I’m pretty sure I asked you not to barge in like this.”
He redirected Kang Sunhyuk’s attention from Yeon to himself.
“Oh, right. You bastard!”
Kang Sunhyuk suddenly rushed at Dohyuk and grabbed him by the collar.
“It was you who released the article, right? The dating rumor with Baek Hyeri!”
Just when Dohyuk wondered why this sudden outburst, surprisingly, Baek Hyeri was mentioned. Dohyuk knocked away Kang Sunhyuk’s hand and straightened his crumpled shirt collar.
“Nothing’s even been decided for certain yet, what the hell is this? If someone else ends up marrying Baek Hyeri instead of you, how will you clean up this mess?”
Kang Sunhyuk shouted angrily. Dohyuk looked at him and smirked with an expression of disbelief.
“Don’t tell me you’re expecting that ‘someone else’ to be you?”
“It’s not an expectation, it’s the way it should be! I’m officially your elder brother by family registry, standing right here, so why are you stepping in!”
“Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
He clicked his tongue and turned away. In response to his attitude of not wanting to engage, Kang Sunhyuk became even more agitated.
“Get that article taken down right now! Baek Hyeri and Kangsan Construction won’t stay quiet if they find out!”
“If it had been an article about you and her, they might have.”
At Dohyuk’s calm retort, Kang Sunhyuk’s face turned red and purple. All sorts of harsh curses poured out, frightening the secretaries listening outside.
“What are you doing? Call security.”
At this cold command, the secretaries became flustered, wondering how they could call security on the Executive Director. Dohyuk ignored Kang Sunhyuk’s tantrum and returned to his desk to resume his work. In the end, only after Director Choi returned were they able to drag Kang Sunhyuk out of the managing director’s office.
***
Baek Hyeri’s face hardened when she saw Kim Seonuk waiting at the building entrance as she returned from lunch. After ignoring his calls all morning, it seemed he had finally come to her company.
“We need to talk.”
“I have nothing to discuss with you, oppa.”
“Hyeri!”
As Kim Seonuk’s voice rose, all passersby turned to look. Many of them were employees of Kangsan Construction, so they all recognized Baek Hyeri.
“It’ll only take a moment.”
Kim Seonuk grabbed Baek Hyeri’s wrist and dragged her into a nearby coffee shop. Unable to continue the confrontation on the street, Baek Hyeri reluctantly followed.
“I saw the article. It was Kang Dohyuk’s doing, wasn’t it?”
As expected, he had come for the reason she had guessed.
“We agreed to it.”
At her answer, Kim Seonuk’s face contorted.
“You’re being used! It’s obvious they’re just using you to raise Dragon Holdings’ profile!”
“We’re using them too. The Yeouido project presentation is coming up soon. We need the media coverage.”
“Hyeri, this involves your life. We’re talking about marriage, not something trivial.”
“I’ve staked my life on the Yeouido project. It’s none of your business, oppa.”
Kim Seonuk’s face grew increasingly rigid at Baek Hyeri’s firm stance. He seemed distressed about what would happen now that the news had been so sensationally publicized.
“You should have at least chosen someone else. If it had been anyone but Kang Dohyuk…”
Baek Hyeri looked at Kim Seonuk with disgust as he muttered with his head lowered, then she stood up, saying she needed to get back to work.
“Don’t misunderstand. You’re not my boyfriend, oppa. If you keep acting like this, I won’t see you anymore.”
At Baek Hyeri’s final warning, Kim Seonuk clenched his fist tightly. His nails dug into his palm, but he couldn’t even feel the pain.
Kim Seonuk took out his phone, read the messages he had exchanged with that person yesterday, and pressed the call button. He should have done this earlier. As the other person had warned, before it was too late.
