Chapter 140 : Side Story 2: Jealousy #1

The vice-chairman’s office was all clean lines and quiet money: floor-to-ceiling windows glittering with Seoul’s night skyline, pale wood desk like a white slab, warm-toned walls, gray marble floor. A faint coffee scent floated in the air. Behind the huge monitor, a crystal nameplate sparkled:

[Vice Chairman Choi Seung-hee]

In the middle of the room sat a six-person meeting table flanked by three ivory sofas on each side. And on one of those sofas, the vice chairman herself—white blouse, sleeves rolled up, back hunched—was currently blowing on a skewer of tteokbokki like it was the most natural thing in the world.

It really wasn’t.

I sat across from her, chin in hand, watching in mild fascination.

“…Didn’t eat dinner?”

“I did. Two steak lunches back-to-back. My stomach’s pissed.”

Fair. You can’t exactly take clients to a pojangmacha.

She ate with so much gusto that even I—who’d had dinner—started salivating.

I grumbled just to grumble. “You could’ve ordered it yourself instead of making me smuggle it in.”

Clack.

She dropped her wooden chopsticks like a gavel.

I flinched. Here it comes—the real reason she summoned me.

I frantically pushed the fried platter toward her. “I meant eat more! You’re all skin and bones from work.”

She folded her arms, eyes narrowing to slits sharper than the diamond studs in her ears.

She scanned me head to toe.

“You sick or something?”

“Nope, perfectly healthy.”

“You lost weight. Working out?”

“Not really…”

I shrugged awkwardly. I had dropped about two kilos lately. I knew exactly why, but I wasn’t about to announce it.

Maybe Doyoon and I really should start sleeping in separate rooms.

Seunghee’s gaze turned suspicious.

“Then why is that kid ordering crates of herbal medicine?”

My eyes went round.

“Me? I never—”

“Dr. Han says someone’s been ordering tonics like crazy, claiming it’s for you.”

I tilted my head. There was only one person Dr. Han would call “that kid.”

“Doyoon did?”

Come to think of it, he had been fussing that I looked “weak” lately. I thought he was just being dramatic.

I’ve been back at the office more, sure, but eighty percent of my exhaustion (and weight loss) was because someone can’t keep his hands to himself at night.

Seunghee’s face said she wasn’t buying any of it.

“So now he controls what you eat and wear? And doesn’t even tell you?”

“That’s not control. He’s worried about me. Noona, you always think the worst of Doyoon.”

Her expression twisted like she’d bitten into something sour.

“And he still claims he’s not dating anyone?”

My heart skipped.

“…He’ll date when he wants to.”

She flopped backward into the sofa, arms still crossed.

“You two are practically attached at the hip. If even you don’t know, that means he’s single.”

“I dunno. He’ll be fine.”

Her eyes thinned again.

“Which means you can’t date either.”

Oh.

I let out a tiny breath of relief. So that’s what this was about.

I managed a calm smile. “You’re single too, Noona.”

“I choose to be. You’re incapable.”

“…”

Damn, that was harsh.

I almost got offended.

I’m literally getting it every night— Nope, brain, shut up.

I shivered involuntarily.

Seunghee’s eyes sharpened across the table.

“That time you ditched our plans—was that because you went to the beach with Choi Doyoon?”

“No! The company suddenly organized a team trip—”

“You’re on different teams. What kind of team trip?”

“And last month, Mom told you to come for dinner and you didn’t.”

“She said if I had time—”

“That means come!”

“And yesterday—I asked you to drop by and you said no.”

“…Which is why I’m here today.”

(Technically I sprinted here the second she threatened to ship Doyoon overseas for a month.)

Still, hearing it all laid out like that… maybe I had been avoiding her a bit.

Seunghee looked like she’d been saving up grievances.

“Anyone would think you two are dating.”

My whole body turned to stone.

“H-ha… what a terrifying joke…”

I pretended to swat nonexistent mosquitoes, eyes darting everywhere.

My gaze landed on a stack of reports beside her desk. One title jumped out:

<Haewon Hotel First-Half Profit Analysis Report>

Seunghee followed my eyes and suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, right—that hotel voucher I gave you ages ago? Told you to take your girlfriend. You went with Choi Doyoon instead.”

“That was—”

Of course I remembered. Jeju. Swimming. Hot springs. The works.

Seunghee scowled harder.

“I even told you to be nice to his girlfriend when he finally gets one. Something about future sister-in-law etiquette.”

“Did I say that?”

Zero memory. I chugged water like it was vodka.

“Yeah. But looking at you two now, I’m starting to think I was talking about you.”

“PFFFT—!!!”

I sprayed water everywhere.

Seunghee yeeted the tissue box at me.

“Are you disgusting?!”

Luckily no documents were harmed.

I wiped the sofa, coughing dramatically.

“COUGH COUGH—you say insane things and expect me not to choke?!”

She stared like I was the crazy one.

“It was a joke.”

My pupils earthquake’d.

A joke? Or another test?

Do I laugh now? If I suddenly laugh it’ll look suspicious. Gotta commit to being mad.

I doubled down, face perfectly serious.

“What kind of messed-up joke is that.”

Seunghee tapped the sofa arm with one finger, eyes squinting.

“Choi Seunghyun. Why are you overreacting?”

My stomach dropped to the basement.

“I’m not!”

Awkward silence.

Cold sweat trickled down my spine.

I attacked the tteokbokki like my life depended on it.

After a beat, she spoke again, softer.

“…You’re not still hung up on Julia, right?”

Now I was genuinely annoyed.

“What are you even talking about.”

“It’s just—she’s dating someone new and happy, and you’ve got nothing. It feels like you lost. It pisses me off.”

Seunghee still hated Julia’s guts for the way she torpedoed our engagement. Julia herself said she deserved it.

Anyway, where did she hear Julia had a new boyfriend?

I sighed.

“Please stop trying to win at everything, even this.”

She huffed.

“Grandpa’s worried his perfectly good grandson is wasting his prime taking care of another guy.”

“I’m the one being taken care of. Wait—did Mom say something?”

“No. But one of us has to get married eventually.”

My eyebrow twitched.

I did not expect that from her.

“…So you’re selling me off?”

“Yeah. I’m not doing it.”

“Choi Seunghee, you’re unbelievable.”

She sat up straight.

“Look, when you were younger you dated half of Seoul. Ever since Julia, you’ve been practically celibate. Of course I’m worried. Turning down blind dates left and right is a full-time job.”

The way she said “you guys” made it clear Doyoon was included in the marriage pressure.

He’s almost thirty now, fair enough.

She clicked her tongue.

“Two perfectly good-looking men glued together twenty-four seven…”

I pretended not to hear and chugged more water.

Inside, my stomach was doing somersaults.

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