DH ✦ Ch 40

✦ Chapter 40 ✦

It was a spacious venue with more than a hundred round tables arranged in orderly rows. People who carried an air of sophistication and dignity in everything they did filled the seats without a single gap.

On the large screen above the stage, various words moved dynamically around the central title, “ESG Management Forum.” The host was still in the middle of the remarks Byung-soo had mentioned.

Ga-young carefully walked between the tables, making sure her footsteps made no sound. She didn’t get lost even once before reaching the table bearing Hyun-jae’s name card.

Whispers rose from the surrounding tables.

Who is that woman? Is she a celebrity?

Ga-young responded with polite bows in every direction before taking her seat.

At that moment, the screen onstage displayed the topic “ESG Management of European Construction Companies”, along with the name of the presenter, Shin Hyun-jae.

Hyun-jae appeared to a large round of applause, and Ga-young’s attention immediately focused on him.

Under the stage lights, Hyun-jae looked impressive.

He was wearing an ordinary suit, but his broad shoulders, tall stature, and perfectly proportioned physique drew everyone’s attention. His face combined intellectual refinement with masculine appeal, while his relaxed expression gave him an unmistakably sophisticated air.

So this is what it means for a man to be sexy.

That was Ga-young’s assessment.

It wasn’t about exposing skin or deliberately acting seductive.

It was simply about looking like this.

His first words after taking his place at the podium were delivered with ease.

“Distinguished guests, it is a pleasure to meet you. I’m Shin Hyun-jae.”

At that moment, their eyes met.

Ga-young gave him a small wave.

A faint smile briefly touched his lips.

“Since the UN Global Compact first began using the term ESG in its 2004 report, Who Cares Wins…”

Hyun-jae began his presentation.

“the world has continued moving toward the goal of realizing sustainability in corporate management through Environment, Social, and Governance…”

Fortunately, he had memorized the script perfectly. Otherwise, he might have made a mistake.

The reason was the woman sitting below the stage.

Yoon Ga-young was far too pretty for his concentration.

Even though she had dressed modestly, she stood out distinctly among the many attendees.

While watching the podium, Ga-young suddenly took a notebook from her bag.

Her eyes left him, but her ears remained focused on Hyun-jae.

She opened the notebook and began taking notes.

Her pen moved faster and faster, as though she were determined not to miss a single word.

“European construction companies and architectural firms have recently been focusing on zero-energy buildings. The British Parliament has passed legislation imposing penalties on buildings with high energy consumption beginning next year…”

Even while his mouth continued speaking mechanically, Hyun-jae’s thoughts kept wandering down unexpected paths.

So this is what Yoon Ga-young is like on campus.

A student hungry for new knowledge, burning with a desire to learn and explore.

It felt as though he had discovered the real Ga-young as a university student—a side of her he had never known before.

During his presentation, he found seeing this hidden side of her more enjoyable than the applause that occasionally erupted from the audience.

After the ten-minute presentation, the discussion began without a break.

The topic was environmentally friendly management, an issue that could determine the survival of companies, and Hyun-jae was one of the panelists.

Obvious ideas were expressed in anything but obvious language, and an intellectual debate continued.

Throughout it all, Ga-young remained busy taking notes.

Occasionally, she looked up at the stage, her eyes shining brightly with interest.

Whenever Hyun-jae noticed her, he secretly smiled.

There probably weren’t many students who could listen to something this boring with such genuine enthusiasm.

After the forum onstage concluded, Hyun-jae approached her, and Ga-young immediately rose from her seat.

He lightly pulled her into his arms before letting her go.

“Wasn’t it boring?”

“No. It was interesting.”

She gave him a neat smile.

Hyun-jae deliberately let out a plaintive sound.

“You were listening to my clumsy presentation awfully seriously.”

“Clumsy? I learned a lot. I especially found what you said about ESG management being an opportunity for companies rather than a risk very impressive.”

Seeing that she had grasped the core point of his presentation, Hyun-jae couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

By then, the atmosphere of the event had changed.

The venue had transitioned into a dinner party, and the room had become bustling with people moving from place to place.

Sensing the curious gazes around them, Hyun-jae took Ga-young’s hand.

He felt metal beneath her slender fingers.

The wedding ring she rarely wore was in its proper place today.

Hyun-jae lifted her hand, glanced at the ring, then gently intertwined his fingers with hers.

“Come with me. There are a lot of people I want to introduce you to.”

From that moment on, Ga-young was subjected to considerable attention as the newly revealed wife of Shin Hyun-jae.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Yoon Ga-young.”

“So I finally get to meet Executive Director Shin’s wife.”

Among the members of the Young Global Leaders Club, Hyun-jae was one of the youngest.

Most of the members had been selected when they were in their forties, and enough time had passed that many of them were now in their fifties.

The older, respected figures welcomed Ga-young without exception.

“So this is the beautiful woman you married. Executive Director Shin must have been hiding you away because he didn’t want to show you off.”

“Thank you for thinking so kindly of me.”

Ga-young’s manner toward them was flawless.

She wasn’t intimidated in the slightest by these prominent figures with impressive titles.

Her slightly curved lips formed an elegant smile.

She neither overdid it nor timidly kept her mouth shut.

Her gentle and composed manner contained both courtesy and humility, yet she never lowered herself in a servile way.

She even appropriately played along with jokes from a former U.S. ambassador.

“I heard you graduated from Columbia. Is that right?”

“Yes, but I’m still a student. I’m a third-year business major.”

“I graduated from that university too. It’s nice to meet a fellow alumnus here.”

“It’s an honor to meet such a distinguished senior.”

“You’ve made me remember my university days. The lawn in front of Low Library was my bed.”

“Oh, then the squirrels on that lawn are my friends.”

Whenever Hyun-jae simply introduced her by saying, “This is my wife,” Ga-young took care of the rest.

She greeted people appropriately and responded smoothly to whatever they said.

Without exception, the conversation soon became filled with warm laughter.

For Hyun-jae, walking through the party with Ga-young’s hand in his was an entertaining pastime.

She’s no ordinary woman.

He had known that already, but seeing Yoon Ga-young’s confidence in an entirely different environment exceeded even his expectations.

What on earth have I done to this woman that she becomes so timid in front of me?

The sudden question made him give a wry smile.

He returned with her to their assigned table.

In the meantime, everything from the appetizer to the main course had been placed on the table.

Hyun-jae pulled out Ga-young’s chair for her.

“Now, eat.”

“Yes. You eat too, Executive Director.”

They picked up their forks and knives at the same time.

But Hyun-jae soon stopped and simply watched Ga-young eat.

Aware of his gaze, Ga-young spoke with a mildly scolding tone.

“Are you planning to starve yourself?”

“I’m full right now. Thanks to someone.”

A whisper passed by Hyun-jae’s ear.

You really married well.

The unseen person’s thoughtless compliment made Hyun-jae’s pride swell even further.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ga-young took off her linen jacket.

She wiped the sweat from the back of her neck and let out a long breath that sounded almost like relief.

As soon as Hyun-jae started the car, he turned on the air conditioner.

“Were you nervous?”

“Yes, a little.”

“You didn’t look nervous at all.”

“I tried not to show it. I shouldn’t embarrass you, Executive Director.”

Embarrass me?

You did the exact opposite. You made my shoulders puff up with pride.

Hyun-jae silently laughed as he watched Ga-young’s reflection in the rearview mirror.

She had a face like a blank canvas.

Without makeup, she looked almost like a young girl.

Today, with her light makeup, she had a mixture of innocence and intellectual elegance.

The lace dress hidden beneath the navy jacket suited her exceptionally well.

There was also a considerable difference between her appearance with and without the jacket.

At the event, she had looked more mature than her age.

Now, she looked as though she had returned to her actual age.

“Why didn’t you take off that jacket at the event?”

By dinnertime, the air had become quite warm, and the venue had been hot.

Ga-young gave him a shy smile.

“I thought I looked better with you while I was wearing the jacket.”

She had thought it through and acted deliberately.

In other words, she wanted other people to see her as a woman who matched Shin Hyun-jae well.

Hyun-jae found the intelligent reasoning behind it amusing and gave a quiet laugh.

“Oh.”

There was a bead of sweat near Ga-young’s ear.

When he wiped it away with his finger, Ga-young’s eyes lowered.

But the smile remained at the corners of her lips.

“Should I lower the air-conditioning?”

“No. It’s fine.”

Being alone together in the confined space of the car caused an unpleasant desire to swell inside him.

He wanted to kiss all the lipstick from her lips.

There were limits because they were inside a car, but perhaps holding and squeezing the breasts hidden beneath her thin dress wouldn’t be too much.

Hyun-jae loosened the tie choking his neck and tossed it onto the back seat.

He decided to endure it.

He liked seeing Ga-young so relaxed.

It seemed too precious to disturb this rare moment of peace.

“Should we go somewhere and have some fun?”

“Pardon?”

Her round eyes widened as she looked at Hyun-jae.

“If there’s somewhere you want to go, tell me.”

He had suddenly thought of it because, despite saying they were dating, they had only gone on one proper date.

Of course, from Hyun-jae’s perspective, rolling around together in bed at night counted as a date, too.

“Are we going somewhere right now?”

“Yes. We are.”

It was obvious that Ga-young liked the idea.

The corners of her lips lifted, and joy shone in her round, sparkling eyes.

Then she spoke in a voice that was halfway between an answer and a question.

“I haven’t seen the ocean even once this year. Would it be too far from here?”

Without another word, Hyun-jae increased the car’s speed.