BT 05

Chapter 05

I Will Never Fall for You!

Eun-chae wanted jjajangmyeon because she had been unable to eat it, while Do-hyeok intended to go to a hotel restaurant and cut into a steak befitting his social status.

Not even the food they wanted could the two of them agree on.

“There has never been a woman who told me she wanted to eat jjajangmyeon right in front of me.”

As he said that, Do-hyeok looked at her as if she were some kind of uncivilized person.

From Eun-chae’s perspective, she was annoyed that Do-hyeok wouldn’t even let her eat jjajangmyeon.

“Let’s just eat separately.”

Do-hyeok frowned at her words. If they were going to do that, why had he bothered taking time out of his schedule to leave the house?

“You have absolutely no intention of accommodating me, do you?”

“If you put it that way, you could accommodate me too.”

“I’ll pay for the meal.”

“I can pay for my own jjajangmyeon!”

In the face of money, Eun-chae proudly straightened her shoulders.

When she came at him like that, Do-hyeok was left speechless. The moment she insisted, I don’t need your money, the number of weapons he could use against her was, unfortunately, greatly reduced.

Do-hyeok looked at her with an expression that seemed to say, Not bad.

“Fine, then you pay. For the meal.”

The moment Do-hyeok accepted the menu she wanted, Eun-chae felt incredibly proud of herself. If there were more moments like this, maybe being with Do-hyeok wouldn’t be so difficult after all.

But her thoughts completely changed once Do-hyeok took her to a Chinese restaurant.

No wonder he had seemed so humble about money. The place he had brought her to was a hotel Chinese restaurant where a single bowl of jjajangmyeon cost more than 10,000 won.

Eun-chae could see right through him, so she glared at Do-hyeok over the menu. He ignored her and calmly chose what he wanted.

“Can I order something other than jjajangmyeon?”

“No. We’re only eating jjajangmyeon.”

“If you order like that here, they’ll look down on you.”

“Then who told you to bring me somewhere like this? I’m only paying for jjajangmyeon, so just order jjajangmyeon.”

Do-hyeok looked at her over the menu as well.

“Why don’t you just tell me to pay? Then you can eat whatever you want.”

Apparently, he thought that if he brought her somewhere expensive, she would be too embarrassed to give in. But for Eun-chae, who had grown up among women who fiercely haggled over 100 won at the market, this kind of embarrassment wasn’t embarrassing at all.

“I don’t need that. I’m only eating jjajangmyeon. So you eat jjajangmyeon too.”

When she refused to budge from her jjajangmyeon principles, Do-hyeok was now thoroughly fed up.

In fact, he had never intended to eat jjajangmyeon in the first place.

“Are you possessed by the ghost of jjajangmyeon?”

“I was going to order jjajangmyeon today, but I couldn’t!”

Even now, Eun-chae still sounded furious, as if she couldn’t forgive that Chinese restaurant owner who had mocked her for ordering just one bowl.

Do-hyeok was momentarily speechless at the audacity of her having tried to get jjajangmyeon delivered to his house. He didn’t even want to imagine someone eating jjajangmyeon in his home and spilling black bean sauce everywhere.

“I hate jjajangmyeon.”

Do-hyeok told her that he hated jjajangmyeon.

“Just eat it. It’s freaking delicious. Two jjajangmyeon, please!”

When she even shouted it out like she was ordering at a street-side Chinese restaurant, Do-hyeok leaned back in his chair as if he had given up.

Fighting over a menu in a restaurant was completely unacceptable when he considered his dignity. For someone with so much money, being unable to have things go his way felt almost like an error in the system.

Eun-chae was just as upset, though. She had to spend tens of thousands of won just to eat two bowls of jjajangmyeon. Her precious money was going to waste, and it hurt.

In the end, both of them stubbornly insisted on getting their way and ended up having a meal that satisfied neither of them.

Feeling as though she had been ripped off, Eun-chae left the restaurant and looked up at the night sky with a hollow expression.

Haah. I only wasted money because I was being stubborn.

It would have hurt a little less if Do-hyeok had at least been grateful that she had paid for the meal. But he looked like someone who had just been forced to drink poison, which only made her feel more regretful.

Why did I insist on paying?

It was exactly the same feeling she had experienced after signing the contract and immediately regretting it.

---

Perhaps because he had eaten flour-based food that didn’t agree with his body, Do-hyeok still felt bloated the next day.

Even after putting himself through all that trouble and eating with Eun-chae, all he had learned about Lee Eun-chae was that she was an uncooperative indie band singer who wasn’t even very good at cleaning.

There wasn’t even the slightest scent of a secret anywhere around Lee Eun-chae.

That only made the situation more difficult, so all he could do was let out a hollow laugh.

Just how, and when, had she met his father?

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no way she could have lured his father in with jjajangmyeon.

As Do-hyeok drank a strong espresso with an extra shot added, Manager Park cautiously asked,

“Why did you take Eun-chae in as a house helper?”

Manager Park had only just found out that Do-hyeok had dismissed his previous helper and hired a new one.

And since the helper Do-hyeok had personally found was Lee Eun-chae, it was obvious that he hadn’t hired her simply as a house helper.

Do-hyeok answered casually.

“Because I have to turn her into the perfect bullet for me, then fire her at my father.”

But Eun-chae still treated Do-hyeok’s words as if they were even less meaningful than a dog barking, so there had been no progress whatsoever.

And his father’s least favorite kind of person was someone who disobeyed his words.

Why had he gotten entangled with Lee Eun-chae, a woman who rebelled against the power of authority?

That was the real mystery.

The worst possible conclusion would be if it turned out that she was actually his half-sister, leaving him to dig into a family scandal himself.

If that happened, he would curse Manager Park for the rest of his life for deliberately revealing a secret he would have preferred never to know until the day he died.

Yet Manager Park gave Do-hyeok advice with a face more innocent than anyone else’s in the world.

“The textbook company I introduced Eun-chae to contacted me and said they want to hire her. Thinking about Eun-chae’s future, I think it would be better to send her to that company.”

Do-hyeok looked at Manager Park displeased.

It sounded as if he were saying that Do-hyeok was completely blocking Lee Eun-chae’s future.

The reason Do-hyeok was deliberately keeping her around was because of the album Manager Park had brought him in the first place.

At times like this, Do-hyeok really couldn’t tell whose side Manager Park was on.

“Do you really think Eun-chae will last long at that company? With her personality, she won’t even last a year.”

“That’s for Eun-chae to decide. It isn’t something you can decide for her, Representative.”

Thud.

Do-hyeok roughly set down his coffee cup.

“Being my father’s spy wasn’t enough, so now you’re Lee Eun-chae’s spokesperson too?”

Manager Park was merely trying to help Do-hyeok with the decisions he needed to make.

“Then, Representative, do you really have no guilt whatsoever about recklessly interfering with Eun-chae’s life?”

Judging by the results so far, Do-hyeok was actually the one suffering.

His home was gradually becoming a mess because of an incompetent helper, his stomach was still bloated from the jjajangmyeon he had been forced to eat, and Lee Eun-chae still treated him like an obnoxious chaebol heir.

At this rate, it seemed like nothing would change even after a month passed.

And Do-hyeok didn’t have that much time to spare.

According to his father’s orders, the engagement ceremony would take place before the end of the year. So somehow, he had to settle things with Eun-chae within this one-month contract.

First, he needed to make Eun-chae trust him.

Just as written in the contract, if he could make Eun-chae stop disliking him, she would naturally begin moving according to his wishes.

So he would throw out bait that she was bound to like.

Something she could never refuse.

“Let’s see if Lee Eun-chae thinks the same way.”

Seeing that Do-hyeok seemed to have some kind of ulterior motive, Manager Park looked at him uneasily.

---

“Is the house growing?”

No matter how many times Eun-chae ran the vacuum cleaner, the cleaning never seemed to end. She had begun to suspect something straight out of a science-fiction movie.

Now that she thought about it, three million won wasn’t excessive at all.

Cleaning a house this enormous for a month required so much labor that even that amount seemed insufficient.

She was grumbling to herself while cleaning when—

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

Startled, Eun-chae held the vacuum cleaner like a weapon and stared toward the entrance.

There was no reason for a delivery to arrive, so who on earth was ringing the doorbell of this house?

She had absolutely no intention of opening the door, but when she saw that the face on the screen belonged to Manager Park, Eun-chae quickly pressed the unlock button.

“I came to see how you’re doing.”

It sounded like he had come to visit her in prison.

Eun-chae was so happy to see Manager Park that tears almost welled up in her eyes.

The hardest part of staying in this house was actually being alone all day, because she was someone who loved being around people.

“Come in. I was getting bored being here alone.”

Watching Eun-chae welcome him as though she were the owner of the house, Manager Park wondered if he had been taking the matter too seriously.

Still, he had to tell Eun-chae that she had been accepted by the textbook company.

Then, of course, Eun-chae would quit working as Do-hyeok’s helper and choose that company instead.

No matter how much they needed her to resolve the relationship between Chairman Kwon and Do-hyeok, they couldn’t keep her tied down like this.

She had a life of her own, after all.

“Actually, I came because there’s something I wanted to tell you.”

He had told the company that he would personally deliver the news.

If they suddenly called her, Eun-chae might panic and be unable to make a proper decision.

So he wanted to explain everything calmly while looking her in the face, so she could make the right decision.

Rrrrrrrrr—. Rrrrrrrrr—.

Just as Manager Park was about to speak, Eun-chae’s phone rang.

“Just a moment.”

Eun-chae took her phone out of her pocket.

“Hello?”

[Are you the vocalist of India Red?]

Since they mentioned the band name instead of hers, Eun-chae’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes, I am. Who is this?”

[Ah! I’m in charge of an event. We’d like to invite India Red to perform at an event being held in Myeongdong.]

At the unexpected offer, Eun-chae’s entire face lit up with surprise.

She wasn’t a well-known singer, so getting a performance offer like this truly felt like a stroke of incredible luck.

“Of course! We’re always ready!”

Manager Park was also surprised by the change in her expression.

It was as though he had never seen a person’s face brighten so completely in an instant.

Eun-chae kept saying, “Yes, yes,” until she finally hung up.

Then she immediately grabbed both of Manager Park’s hands and jumped up and down in excitement.

Manager Park asked, bewildered,

“What happened?”

“It was a performance offer! They saw our band and asked us to perform on an event stage!”

Eun-chae was delighted, but then her expression suddenly became serious as she made a request of Manager Park.

“Oh, right! Please don’t tell Representative Kwon. I have to sneak out and come back.”

The timing bothered Manager Park.

He had come to tell Eun-chae about her acceptance to the textbook company, where she could work steadily, and at that exact moment, Eun-chae had received a performance offer.

An event performance was something she wouldn’t be able to attend if she worked at the company.

But if she stayed on as a helper in this house, she could use a little ingenuity and sneak away for it.

“What are you going to do if you’re accepted by the textbook company I introduced you to?”

At Manager Park’s question, Eun-chae seemed to think about it for a moment.

But it didn’t take her long to make her decision.

---

“I’m back.”

Manager Park returned to the company and reported his return to Do-hyeok.

Do-hyeok was looking at his monitor and simply said he understood.

When Manager Park didn’t leave and instead stood there quietly looking at him, Do-hyeok finally shifted his gaze toward him.

“Do you have something to tell me?”

Manager Park gave Do-hyeok serious advice.

“When you do a good deed for someone, you have to do it with the heart of Santa Claus.”

At the mention of Santa Claus, someone Do-hyeok had never believed in even once, he let out a faint scoff.

He had never wanted to meet Santa Claus, and even less had he ever wanted to become him.

“So, did Lee Eun-chae dislike it?”

No.

She had practically been ecstatic.

“Did Lee Eun-chae choose to start working at the textbook company?”

No.

She had given it up incredibly easily.

Apparently, she preferred a single day performing on an event stage over a company she could work at for the rest of her life.

Manager Park could only stare at him without saying anything.

Do-hyeok wore a satisfied expression.

“From what I can see, there doesn’t seem to be any problem. Do you still have something to say?”

If there was a problem, it was Do-hyeok’s impure intentions.

They were completely opposite to what Manager Park had intended when he showed Do-hyeok Eun-chae’s album.

Manager Park found it frustrating that someone as intelligent as Do-hyeok could fail to notice that.

But he couldn’t tell him directly.

The secret hidden within that album could only be solved by Do-hyeok and Chairman Kwon.

Unless the two of them uncovered it themselves, there was no point.

Just as no one else could replace the relationship between a father and son.

Manager Park let out a short sigh and had no choice but to withdraw.

Once Manager Park had left the office and Do-hyeok was alone, he pulled his phone toward him and typed a message to Eun-chae with his long fingers.

<Are you cleaning properly?>

He sent the message and quietly stared at the phone screen.

He wondered how different Eun-chae would be when she was in a good mood because of the gift he had sent her, despite not even being qualified to be Santa Claus.

Then—

Ping.

Eun-chae’s reply arrived.

<Are you being petty and monitoring me too?>

Do-hyeok’s expression instantly hardened.

That wasn’t the response he had wanted.

And, in truth, he himself didn’t even know exactly what kind of response he had been hoping for.

Do-hyeok stared at the words in the KakaoTalk window for a moment before moving his fingers again.

Manager Park had spoken as though Do-hyeok was the one who was wrong.

But Do-hyeok believed he was right.

<Be on the 6th floor of Sejin Department Store by 6.>

Seeing Do-hyeok’s ominous message, which would have become 666 if only there had been one more six, Eun-chae glared at it for a long while.

What is this? What’s he plotting now?

Thanks to Do-hyeok’s provocation and the ridiculously expensive jjajangmyeon she had been forced to pay for, she now had to survive on cup noodles for the time being.

No one could understand what it felt like to sit hunched over a cup of noodles inside the magnificent penthouse of Tower Palace unless they had experienced it themselves.

<Why?>

She demanded an explanation.

<Last time, you ate what you wanted. So today, let’s go wherever I want to go.>

Eun-chae didn’t feel like it.

If it was somewhere Do-hyeok wanted to go, that meant it would be somewhere completely unsuitable for her.

<I’m freaking not looking forward to it.>

After sending the message to Do-hyeok, Eun-chae stretched as hard as she could in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the 64th-floor high-rise apartment and shouted,

“I will never fall for you!”

It felt as though all her energy for cleaning had suddenly come rushing back.

---

Sejin Department Store was a place Eun-chae never visited, even during sales, because it carried only expensive brands.

When she went up to the sixth floor as Do-hyeok had instructed, a female department-store employee was waiting for her.

“Please follow me.”

Eun-chae didn’t want to follow her.

If she had tried to show off her own abilities through singing, Do-hyeok seemed determined to show off himself through money.

Showing off his money had already been more than enough with that 64th-floor apartment.

“No, I’ll find it myself. Where’s CEO Kwon Do-hyeok?”

As she said this and stepped backward, the female employee approached her with an even more awkward smile.

“There are some things we need to prepare before you meet him, so please follow—”

Eun-chae turned around completely and ran forward.

If the employee wouldn’t tell her, she could find Do-hyeok herself.

“Excuse me! You really have to come with me!”

The employee, whose job was to escort her, ran after her as well.

But Eun-chae didn’t stop.

She sprinted as hard as she could, looking around for Do-hyeok.

“Oh my! What’s going on? Did someone steal something?”

Do-hyeok had been waiting for Eun-chae in the VIP lounge while reading the newspaper.

At another guest’s words, he raised his head.

The department store wasn’t technically under his direct responsibility, but it was a business operated by his family.

A customer witnessing a thief inside the department store could easily become a news story.

Since it was important to understand the situation quickly, Do-hyeok went to the window and looked down at the stores below.

Several department-store employees were running around in confusion, chasing someone.

Then Do-hyeok’s eyes narrowed when he saw the woman running away.

No matter how he looked at her, she seemed to be someone he knew.

He couldn’t understand why Eun-chae, who should have been choosing clothes in the women’s fashion section, was running away from the employees.

In any case, he needed to end the commotion quickly, so Do-hyeok called Eun-chae.

Rrrrrrrr—.

Click.

[Where are you right now?!]

The audacity of it.

She was causing a commotion in someone else’s business and was actually scolding him instead.

Do-hyeok was speechless.

“From where I’m standing, it looks like you’re running away, not looking for me.”

[You can see me right now? Then you must be somewhere around here. Stay right there. I’m coming to you!]

“You’ll get caught by the police before that.”

The security team was running toward her from a distance.

If Do-hyeok didn’t help her, Eun-chae really would end up at the police station.

Among all the women who had passed through his life, not a single one had ever ended up at the police station.

Lee Eun-chae was definitely exceptional.

At causing trouble, that was.

[Before that happens, I’m going to find you!]

Suddenly, a fairy tale came to Do-hyeok’s mind.

A story about a girl searching for a boy who had been taken away by the Ice Queen.

“It’ll be difficult.”

Even as he said that, Do-hyeok placed a hand against the glass and stepped closer.

He had called her to the department store to show her with his own eyes just how much he could give her.

Clothes, shoes, jewelry—if she merely said she wanted something, he could give it to her as a gift.

How could anyone genuinely hate a man like that?

A man who could give her anything she wanted.

And yet Lee Eun-chae wouldn’t even give him the chance to give her a present.

She was showing him, through actions even more decisive than Manager Park’s words, that he wasn’t qualified to be Santa Claus.

Why do you keep provoking me? Are you a spy for my father too?

When Eun-chae spotted the security guards, she panicked and ran toward the elevator.

If she got on that elevator, there was no way she would find him.

The VIP lounge wasn’t somewhere just anyone could enter.

“Lee Eun-chae, look up.”

At his words, Eun-chae turned around and looked up toward where he was standing.

They were very far apart, but he could tell that their eyes had met.

As he watched Eun-chae run toward him with all her strength, Do-hyeok heard an unfamiliar sound.

……Thump.

Like frozen earth melting and the first sprout pushing its way through, a completely unfamiliar sound he had never heard before spread through his body.

……His heart was pounding.