HDITYFM 2

Chapter 2

“As rumored, it really is something else.”

Taking in Hill House, Jae-hee swallowed her admiration internally.

Among real estate agents in the Hannam-dong area, there was a place commonly referred to as the ‘DK Village.’

It was a term used to describe the place where the owners of the DK Group, from the direct lineage to the collateral branches, gathered to live.

Right at the innermost part of it, in the location considered the most auspicious spot according to geomancy, stood ‘Chungwunjae,’ the residence of Do Han-gu, the current chairman of the DK Group and the grandfather of General Manager Do Kang-jun.

And right below that main family estate, separated by a single tall and long wall, was General Manager Do Kang-jun’s home, ‘Hill House.’

A place whose official land value alone surpassed even Chungwunjae, boasting an exceptionally high value.

It was something Chairman Do had gifted to Kang-jun three years ago.

Jae-hee, too, had seen related articles about it at the time.

Did they say it was laying the groundwork for managerial succession…·•.

Three years later, General Manager Do Kang-jun stood tall as a young executive leading South Korea’s business world upon the groundwork laid out just like that, so it wasn’t wrong.

When she finally stepped inside Hill House, Jae-hee felt overwhelmed by the open sense of space.

Having worked as a personal shopper for three years, she had prided herself on having experienced just about every luxury home worth mentioning, but it seemed she was wrong.

The interior, which felt luxurious to the point of perfection, and the openness given by the high ceilinged-heights even evoked the illusion of having stepped into an art gallery.

Yet, why was that?

Even though it was a flawless space without a single flaw, why did it feel so lonely and desolate?

Despite the comfortable indoor environment with moderate temperature and humidity, she couldn’t shake the feeling of coldness.

While being guided by the employee and pulling the mobile clothing rack toward the reception room, Jae-hee pictured her own rooftop room in her head.

Since it wasn’t originally built as a residential space and was made by remodeling what used to be a storage room, it was a place vulnerable to cold, wind, and moisture, but her own home somehow felt far cozier than this place.

The employee’s voice reached Jae-hee’s ears as she was briefly lost in thought.

“You may wait right here.”

The employee, dressed neatly in a black suit, politely pointed toward the sofa inside the reception room.

“General Manager is said to arrive in about 15 minutes.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After the employee moved away, Jae-hee sat on the sofa and straightened her waist rigidly.

Her shoulders kept shrinking due to tension, but after regulating her breathing a few times, she felt significantly more comfortable.

“You know General Manager Do Kang-jun, right?”

Suddenly, Jae-hee recalled her conversation with Team Leader Hong Soo-yeon from a few hours ago.

Team Leader Hong had abruptly asked Jae-hee as she stepped into the team leader’s office with a flushed voice.

Asking if she knew Do Kang-jun.

How could she possibly not know General Manager Do Kang-jun of the DK Group’s Strategic Planning Headquarters?

He was South Korea’s top celebrity and the successor of the DK Group, where Jae-hee was employed.

Even if she wasn’t an employee of the DK Group, he was a celebrity in South Korea’s business world to the extent that not a single South Korean citizen wouldn’t know him.

Having been rarely exposed to the media, he first came under the media’s intense spotlight exactly 10 years ago.

It began from the funeral of his late father, President Do Yoon-jae.

Kang-jun, who was studying abroad at the time, hurriedly entered the country upon the heartbreaking news of his father, and as that appearance was broadcasted, his face became known for the very first time.

It seemed as certain as the proposition that ‘the Earth is round’ that the sole crown prince of the DK Group, who had been thoroughly veiled in secrecy, drew public attention the moment he appeared.

Having entered DK Motors following the footsteps of the late President Do Yoon-jae after his military discharge, the fact that he would inherit the entire DK Group through a lightning-fast promotion seemed as certain as anything.

“The General Manager saw Assistant Manager Han’s interview in the in-house magazine and requested a consultation. Specifically naming Assistant Manager Han.”

It was a half-page interview published in the company newsletter, not even a fashion magazine.

Seeing just that content, she couldn’t easily understand the remark that he had singled her out to request styling, so Jae-hee had no choice but to ask back.

“You mean me?”

“That’s right. He ordered the suit and watch he’ll wear at this group founding party.”

Team Leader Hong handed Jae-hee a book-shaped file in which Kang-jun’s preferred brands, designers, body measurements, and other details were recorded in detail.

“Here, take it. It’s General Manager Do Kang-jun’s file.”

Jae-hee awkwardly received the thick file.

It was a dark brown cowhide file with nothing written on the cover.

While other customers’ information was managed through the intranet by grading them according to consumption scale, only the family members’ files were prepared as documents and stored in individual safes.

They said it was for security reasons, but this was the first time Jae-hee had ever seen a family member’s file firsthand, let alone the file of Do Kang-jun, who was currently the ‘hottest’ one.

“You just need to pick about three or four suits and watches each so they don’t overlap with previously ordered items, and go to the address written there by 8 PM.”

Jae-hee checked the address memoed on the front page of the file.

It was a home address, not an office address.

“This is……..”

“That’s right. It’s the General Manager’s home address.”

Upper-class customers often wanted fittings at home or in the office to save time, so Jae-hee answered by nodding her head.

“You know that customer files must never be leaked outside, right?!”

The customer files handled by the VIP Dedicated Team didn’t simply contain customers’ personal preferred brands or styling information. They even included sensitive information strictly pertaining to private life, ranging from family relationships to assets and beyond.

For instance, things like bedroom preferences.

It was common in this industry to seek a personal shopper to prepare expensive gifts exclusively for a lover rather than a spouse.

Team Leader Hong once more admonished Jae-hee firmly.

“Make sure to handle it with special care.”

And so she arrived at Hill House.

It was when Jae-hee was scanning the unfamiliar space with her gaze.

A ‘rumbling’ vibration was felt from the second floor.

It felt like the vibration sound that echoes when fast-beat music bursts out through a woofer speaker.

Thinking someone might be on the second floor, she lifted her head, and a tall man coming down the wide marble staircase entered her field of vision.

From the side where Jae-hee was sitting, only the man’s profile was visible, making it impossible to identify who he was.

Could this be General Manager Do Kang-jun…—…

Jae-hee pulled up the man’s appearance from her memory along with what she had seen in the customer file.

She had seen General Manager Do Kang-jun in person only once.

It was three years ago, during the new hire orientation she attended right after being assigned to the DK Department Store Personal Shopper Team.

He was a man who reminded her of a jaguar, with a tall physique and a cool yet overwhelming aura.

Turning back after taking a few steps past him was close to an instinct she couldn’t help herself. Perhaps it was an attraction toward beauty.

What was fascinating was that he, too, had turned his head and looked at Jae-hee for quite a while.

The two people’s gazes entangled with a distance of about 3 meters, and at his observing, narrowing gaze, heat rushed all the way to Jae-hee’s face to the point where her heart felt like it would swell and burst.

Just recalling a single snippet of the past made the tips of Jae-hee’s ears vividly red.

Pushing away her thoughts with effort, Jae-hee fixed her gaze on the man coming down the stairs.

Descending via the left staircase out of the marble stairs divided into both sides, the man was humming a tune and riding the rhythm with his entire body.

The thought that he looked impressively intoxicated by the excitement lasted only a moment.

The man, having reached the intermediate landing where the left and right stairs met, spun around with a sharp turn.

The sharply rotating appearance looked both graceful and stylish, like someone who had been dancing for a long time.

The man was loosely wearing a dark gray bath robe over black shorts that were indistinguishable as swimwear or underwear, and his well-defined chest muscles and abs were vividly exposed due to the unfastened front.

As the man’s bare skin suddenly poked at her gaze, Jae-hee panicked, not knowing where to put her eyes.

Feeling like she was peeking for no reason, she tried to turn her head quickly, but the man’s face that she briefly brushed past felt somewhat familiar.

Yoo Ji-hwan?

He was Do Kang-jun’s maternal cousin and a man called the troublemaker of the DK Group.

Also the son of DK Hotel CEO Do Myung-hee, he was once a member of a famous boy group and was currently working as a model and actor.

Regardless, he was also a member of the family. Jae-hee hurriedly tidied up her clothes and stood up from her seat.

At the same time, Yoo Ji-hwan, who jumped down the remaining three stairs in a single bound, belatedly realized Jae-hee’s presence.

“Huh?”

At the end of a short exclamation, Yoo Ji-hwan strode closer, narrowing the distance.

Moving his long legs quickly until he was right in front of Jae-hee’s nose, he said with an expression steeped in welcome.

“When did you get here?! If you arrived, why didn’t you call and why are you like this by yourself?”

Yoo Ji-hwan’s behavior of exceptionally welcoming her as if meeting an awaited acquaintance was puzzling, but Jae-hee maintained her polite expression as expected.

“Pleased to meet you. I am…”

However, her words were cut short right around here.

“What do you mean, pleased to meet you—”

Because Yoo Ji-hwan mercilessly cut off Jae-hee’s words and recklessly grabbed her wrist.

“What on earth are you doing…—!”

Her dark brown pupils widened, stained with bewilderment.