DH ✦ Ch 15

✦ Chapter 15✦

Yoon Ga-young had gone through great hardships at the ages of nine and nineteen, but it was said that the fortune cycle beginning this year would continue throughout her entire life.

Their compatibility reading had even revealed that she and Hyun-jae were a perfect match, destined for each other.

Even so, the future was never certain. A shaman’s prophecy was something to take as a reference, not something to blindly believe in. If Master Jeong hadn’t mentioned this particular point, Hyun-jae would have simply let the words go in one ear and out the other.

“Ms. Yoon Ga-young’s fortune indicates that she will have three children.”

In the fortune reading Master Jeong had done for Hyun-jae in the past, there had been no marriage or children.

He had even said that this year was when the energy of his fate was at its weakest.

For Kwon Seon-jin, the issue of descendants was the most urgent matter of all, so there was no way she could simply dismiss it.

She was determined to get Hyun-jae married before the year was over.

That was why, despite all the effort she had put into arranging a marriage alliance with a respectable family, she had ended up bringing a girl like that into the family as her daughter-in-law.

Making pregnancy a condition had been her lingering attachment to an old-fashioned notion—she simply couldn’t bring herself to throw away her dignity and pride in an instant.

“Not a single one of my children does what I want.”

The afternoon in the chairman’s office was steeped in a deep sigh.

Late that night, the second-floor study in Hyun-jae’s detached house in Seongbuk-dong lit up.

After meeting Ga-young at the entrance, he had told her to meet him in the second-floor living room in five minutes before coming upstairs.

The jacket Hyun-jae had taken off dropped onto the sofa, which he had neatly tidied before leaving for work that morning.

The fatigue caused by jet lag clung to his entire body. Even with his busy schedule, he had nearly dozed off several times.

But then a brief article in an economic newspaper that had appeared late that afternoon had hit him like a bucket of ice water.

Now, more than at any other time, his mind was completely clear.

“She’s certainly quick.”

Hyun-jae let out a hollow laugh as he recalled the article.

He was well aware of Chairman Kwon Seon-jin’s quick judgment and bold ability to act, but this time, even he was left speechless.

An article announcing Shin Hyun-jae’s marriage had appeared.

Only last night, she had treated her grandson like a parasite living off a garbage can. Before even the echoes of her furious scolding had faded, she had issued a press release under the name of the GB Group chairman’s office.

An economic newspaper had simply reproduced the contents of that release in a brief article at the bottom of page two.

He could understand the marriage announcement itself. To put an end to the endless marriage proposals waiting in line, it had probably been an unavoidable measure for Kwon Seon-jin.

But the contents were laughable.

Apparently, he had held a modest wedding ceremony in the United States with only his immediate family in attendance.

The bride is a talented student studying at Columbia University. As we respect her wishes to devote herself to her studies without unnecessary attention, we ask for your understanding regarding the decision not to disclose her identity.

Could there have been a more clever way to preserve the family’s dignity while concealing the bride?

Afterward, Hyun-jae had only spoken to Kwon Seon-jin by phone. That was when he learned what Ga-young had agreed to.

When Hyun-jae expressed his displeasure, the response he received was absurd.

“This grandmother says she’ll take good care of her daughter-in-law in my house. What’s the problem?”

She acted as though she had already accepted Ga-young as her grandson’s wife.

The reason she wanted to keep Ga-young—the very girl who would be an eyesore in her eyes—close by was obvious.

She wanted descendants.

That was all.

Kwon Seon-jin had been the one who made her daughter, Shin Yoon-mi, Hyun-jae’s mother, marry three times.

She had even gone as far as filing a lawsuit to have her daughter’s children, Hyun-jae and Se-jeong, entered into the GB family’s family register.

She would probably hound Ga-young relentlessly to get pregnant as soon as possible.

As for how she intended to treat Ga-young after getting the descendant she wanted, Hyun-jae couldn’t predict that far.

Any demands regarding pregnancy could simply be ignored.

The real problem was that Ga-young would be living in the Seongbuk-dong detached house.

Hyun-jae spent far more time away from home because of work, so it would be difficult for him to serve as her perfect shield.

As he pulled out his tie pin, his eyes briefly caught the electronic clock on the desk.

Loosening his tie, Hyun-jae walked toward the living room.

Right on cue, Ga-young was coming out of the bedroom.

Hyun-jae gave her only a brief, indifferent glance before sitting down on the sofa.

Quiet footsteps.

A polite sitting posture.

Then Ga-young’s pale, slender hands came together neatly on her lap.

A thick strand had escaped from her tightly tied ponytail.

The single strand traced a charming line along the cheek of the woman whose head was tilted slightly downward.

For some reason, the sight was cute.

Hyun-jae gave a small laugh.

Ga-young’s lips parted into an awkward smile.

“Other than seeing Chairman Kwon this afternoon, nothing particularly unusual happened.”

Being alone with Chairman Kwon was unusual enough.

Instead of replying, Hyun-jae merely stared at Ga-young with stern eyes.

The tips of her fingers twitched.

What, is he going to eat me alive?

For now, Hyun-jae had no intention of easing her discomfort.

“You know you brought this on yourself, don’t you, Ms. Yoon?”

“Did I… make a mistake?”

She couldn’t even bring herself to meet his eyes, yet she answered every question without hesitation.

The businesslike tone was amusingly at odds with her gentle, innocent, almost girlish appearance.

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t.”

“Shall I tell you the model answer? Though it’s already too late.”

Ga-young straightened her head.

Her eyes, filled with confusion, no longer avoided Hyun-jae’s gaze.

Her irises were unusually light in color.

That amber hue contributed greatly to the woman’s pure, delicate image.

I wonder what she’d look like with those eyes filled with tears.

A wicked thought flashed through Hyun-jae’s mind.

He casually brought up something that was already water under the bridge.

“My beloved husband’s wishes are my wishes. Please discuss the newlywed home and the matter of pregnancy with my husband.”

Ga-young’s face twisted toward empty space before timidly turning back.

The sentence had been composed of words she found extremely uncomfortable to hear.

Hyun-jae explained more plainly.

“I’m saying you should have pushed it onto me. Whether it was the blame or the responsibility.”

He had simply wanted to keep her by his side for a while.

He had never intended to burden her with the troubles of dealing with a chaebol chairman acting as her mother-in-law, or crush her beneath the authority of the GB family.

Living in this mansion meant living under Kwon Seon-jin’s control.

“You have no obligation to worry about the chairman’s feelings. Think it over again, even now. I’ll let you do whatever you want.”

“I already promised the chairman that I would follow her wishes.”

“Living in this house is going to be extremely difficult.”

“She said that if we leave this place, she’ll cut ties with you.”

“That’s not something you need to worry about.”

“I don’t want the relationship between the chairman and you to deteriorate because of me. If I simply make an effort not to upset her, it’ll be fine. I’m not so afraid of the chairman that I can’t endure even that much.”

She’s got some nerve.

Hyun-jae had already gotten that impression from Ga-young several times, and today was no different.

His gaze deepened as he stared at her, and the corners of his lips curved faintly.

She was an interesting woman.

She wasn’t particularly cheerful, yet somehow she was fascinating enough to make him smile.

He almost wanted to fluster her further just so he could see her face turn red.

“So you’re going to make an effort for the sake of the close bond between the chairman and me?”

“The main point of the chairman’s demand is pregnancy, so you’ll have to make an effort to get pregnant quickly as well.”

Ga-young’s eyes wavered helplessly.

She looked even more shaken because he had bluntly pointed out a situation that had never entered into her calculations.

“You’ll have to get prenatal tests at an obstetrics and gynecology clinic, take medication to induce ovulation, and at night you’ll probably even be monitored to make sure the two of us are sleeping closely together. Do you think you’ll be all right with that?”

Her pale cheeks gradually flushed pink.

It was a beautiful color.

Like the pink of the Summer Lady roses that had just bloomed in the garden of the mansion.

She bit her lip, trying to suppress her embarrassment.

Her lips, already reddened by the pressure of her teeth, swelled slightly as she tried to erase the marks left by her bite.

Watching it happen in real time brought back the image of himself rolling around with this woman the previous night, disturbing Hyun-jae’s thoughts.

Am I actually turned on by this?

That innocent face and awkward manner?

Hyun-jae let out an incredulous breath and stopped his teasing.

“I’ll try to prevent it from going that far.”

Ga-young placed a hand over her chest and exhaled in relief.

The wedding ring on her finger pressed into the gentle curve beneath it.

Was there really something stimulating about that?

Hyun-jae stood up.

If he kept looking at this woman any longer, the front of his pants was going to become embarrassing.

“I hope you adjust well to life here. Get some rest.”

“Wait.”

Ga-young hurriedly stood up after him.

Hyun-jae stopped before turning away and looked at her.

Contrary to the timid attitude she’d shown moments earlier, her tone was surprisingly bold.

“I’d like to sleep in the study. You have to leave for work early, so please sleep comfortably in the bedroom.”

“I sleep comfortably in the study too, so don’t worry about it.”

“But the dressing room is in the bedroom. Won’t you have to come in anyway to change your clothes?”

“I don’t have to. I’ll change into a fresh suit at the office in the morning.”

“Even so, you need to change your underwear now…”

Perhaps embarrassed by having mentioned underwear, Ga-young’s lips moved awkwardly before closing again.

She could be an awkward girl one moment and a bold woman the next.

How did this face change so quickly?

Hyun-jae irritably pulled his gaze away from her red lips and turned around.

“I don’t wear any when I sleep.”

It was a day when dark clouds scattered a fine drizzle.

From early morning, several moving trucks had driven through the miserable weather and visited the detached house.

As a result, the linear interior of the second floor, previously dominated by navy tones, underwent considerable changes.

The larger pieces of furniture were replaced with new antique-style pieces, while the bedding was changed entirely to white.

The paintings and decorative objects, previously dominated by cold colors, were replaced with warmer tones.

A large quantity of Ga-young’s clothes, accessories, cosmetics, and other belongings also arrived.

Every single item was from a luxury brand.

And Ga-young got a room of her own.

The room where she had previously spent time playing on the first floor was converted into a study.

According to Mrs. Eom, this was done according to Hyun-jae’s instructions because Ga-young was still a student and needed a room where she could study and rest by herself.

An entire army of workers, moving with perfect coordination, completed the transformation of the detached house in half a day.

“I suppose our chairman thinks her grandson’s wife is very pretty.”

Mrs. Eom’s assumption was not quite accurate, but there was no doubt that this newlywed home was a consideration from Chairman Kwon Seon-jin.