MWFL 3

3. If You’re So Confident, Why Don’t You Prove It?

Ha-rin’s morning work routine always started with searching for news articles related to the sports industry.

The moment she clicked on the sports news section, her soft eyes hardened.

[New York Giants’ Cha Shin-woo Secretly Arrives in Korea]

Of all things, an unwelcome name was printed right at the very top of the article that first caught her eye.

Last night, she had called the vice president—the person who had pushed her onto Shin-woo in the first place—and demanded an explanation for this absurd mess.

‘The Chairman already finalized everything with Shin-woo Cha’s father and signed the contract. Even if it wasn’t his choice, it’s a contract that can’t be broken.’

The “Chairman” mentioned in that conversation was Chairman Han Hae-sik of Daol Media Group.

Daol Agency was a subsidiary of Daol Media Group, an empire that led Korea’s media and broadcasting industries.

‘Player Cha’s father and our Chairman are exceptionally close, you see. Beyond business, they’re tied together on a personal level too.’

After explaining the situation, the vice president spent a long time trying to persuade Ha-rin.

Shin-woo Cha is prickly and demanding, so he’s not an easy handle. That was the exact sentiment shared by every agency manager who had ever dealt with him.

That was likely why they saw her—the person who had handled the most prickly, demanding clients—as the perfect fit for the job.

However, Ha-rin had turned it down to the very end.

She never wanted to get entangled with Shin-woo Cha ever again.

“Director Ju. We got a call earlier from the scouting team leader over at Sangwoon FC. He said he emailed over the conditions offered by the German club.”

The voice of one of her staff members snapped Ha-rin out of her thoughts.

“Yes. I’ll check it out and give them a call.”

She decided not to waste any more energy on a matter she had already let go of.

Spent in a blur of endless incoming calls and outside tasks, the day slipped away until darkness settled over the world.

One by one, the staff began leaving the office.

“How is it night already? I still have so much to do.”

Just as Ha-rin—stubbornly holding down her desk—was mentally prioritizing her remaining work, her desk phone rang.

The moment she checked the caller ID, a sigh escaped her lips.

It was a call from the CEO.

The early morning air had grown significantly colder with the arrival of the season’s first snow.

Stepping out of the taxi, Ha-rin quietly looked up at the 50-story luxury residential skyscraper.

Haah. A sigh slipped out on its own, scattering a puff of white mist into the air.

In the end, here she was, standing in front of Shin-woo Cha’s home.

The staff member who had been sent in her place yesterday reportedly sat alone in the living room the entire day.

Even when he tried to talk to him, Shin-woo ignored him completely, treating him like an invisible ghost while calmly going about his business in the apartment.

Because of that, yesterday’s scheduled events were wiped out entirely.

The CEO had pulled her aside and chewed her out to the point her ears practically bled.

Shin-woo’s ultimate goal was likely to void the contract.

“What does he think he’s doing? Does he not realize this only makes things worse for him?”

By the looks of it, he was furious about a situation handled without his consent, so he was acting like a spoiled child just to make a point.

“Why is he still so immature at his age? He hasn’t changed a bit from before.”

Part of her was pushed here by her superiors, but honestly, she was furious too.

She let out another heavy sigh. Then, she stepped forward toward the man she had sworn never to entangle herself with again.

The elevator doors slid open when she reached the 40th floor. Since each floor was dedicated to a single residence, she stepped up to the front door visible right ahead without a second thought.

She hesitated briefly over whether to ring the doorbell, but knowing there was a chance he wouldn’t open it, she pulled out the key card instead.

“…”

The moment she unlocked the door and slowly opened it, Ha-rin’s shoulders flinched violently.

A woman was standing right in front of the door.

“Whoa, you scared me!”

The woman, even more startled than Ha-rin, let out a squeal and took a step back.

“Who are you?”

She immediately scanned Ha-rin from head to toe before asking.

“I’m his agency manager.”

“Ah, right. I was wondering who it was.”

The woman smiled, curling her lips up prettily. She looked quite young, barely in her early twenties.

As if she had just finished showering, her hair tumbled down past her shoulders, glistening wet.

Staring intently at Ha-rin, the woman tilted her head sideways.

“Do agency staff usually just drop into someone’s house unannounced like this?”

We just met—why are you dropping honorifics with me?

Though she found the rude speech distasteful, Ha-rin kept her face completely neutral.

“It depends on the situation, but yes, that happens quite often.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know.”

Replying in a tone that suggested she didn’t actually care to know, the woman gestured toward the inside of the apartment with her chin.

“Oppa is in his room.”

Having shared Shin-woo’s location, the woman flashed a bright smile and brushed right past Ha-rin.

A rich scent of shampoo wrapped around the tip of her nose.

“…”

Even after the woman disappeared from view and the door clicked shut, Ha-rin stood rooted to the spot for a long time.

With a cold expression that didn’t hold a single trace of warmth, she slowly drew in a breath.

As the air filled her chest, a sharp prickle of pain flared up, as if the breath itself were made of jagged thorns.

. . .

Stepping out after a shower, Shin-woo stood bare before the full-length mirror.

Since early this year, he had built up extra muscle to boost his swing power, relentlessly keeping his body fat around 7%.

The results earned through blood, sweat, and tears could break down with painful ease if he let his guard down even for a moment.

Last night, after returning from an hour-long swim at the apartment complex community center, he worked out with weights for over two hours.

Thanks to that, his muscles were pumped and firm, perfectly carving out his favorite physical lines.

Pulling his sharp gaze away from his reflection, he slipped into a pair of briefs.

Knock, knock.

Just as he slid both legs into his pants, a knock echoed through the room.

“Come in.”

Assuming it was Dong-goo, Shin-woo pulled his pants up to his waist, only to freeze mid-motion.

The person stepping through the door was none other than Ju Ha-rin.

The instant their eyes locked, Shin-woo involuntarily scowled.

Even though he was standing there completely shirtless, the woman didn’t look the least bit surprised.

Though her expression carried a minimum baseline of polite decorum, her eyes were as dry and emotionless as ever today.

Once again, he felt irrationally rubbed the wrong way.

“Hello.”

Ha-rin bowed her head to greet him.

“I thought you’d never show your face in front of me again. But here you are.”

“I had some matters to attend to yesterday.”

Matters, my foot. You were just dodging me.

Shin-woo let out a silent, dry laugh and stared quietly down at her small face.

‘Still… I think it would be good for you to apologize to Director Ju Ha-rin.’

Since he had agreed to it earlier, he figured he should address the issue—even if it meant skipping a grand apology.

But what do I even say? Trying to do something he had never done before, his mouth refused to open easily.

“I have just one request to make of you.”

Right then, Ha-rin spoke first.

“What is it?”

“Whoever you invite into your home is your personal business, so I won’t interfere. However, I’d appreciate it if you could choose times when it’s less likely to draw eyes.”

“What on earth are you…”

Failing to grasp her point immediately, Shin-woo started to ask, only for his words to trail off as he remembered the woman who had just left the apartment.

“Do I really need to care about something like that?”

“It’s a request, not a demand. If it’s a legitimate relationship that won’t drag you into messy trouble or cause issues with the press, you don’t need to worry about it.”

Ha-rin finished speaking in a flat, monotone voice, as if reading straight from a textbook.

Shin-woo clearly caught the underlying message: Refrain from messy entanglements.

Is this woman actually looking at me like I’m trash right now?

The subtle suspicion he had harbored suddenly solidified, sending a wave of irritation through him.

He didn’t particularly care about other people’s views or judgments. Normally, he would have just shrugged off comments like that and moved on.

Yet an unexplainable surge of annoyance stirred in his chest once more.

Apology or not, a sudden urge rose inside him to get this irritating woman out of his sight immediately.

“I’ll be careful from now on.”

Ha-rin’s eyes sharpened slightly.

It was an unexpectedly quick agreement. On top of that, he had even used formal speech, which he never did.

Just as she caught the feeling that he was plotting something, Shin-woo opened his mouth again.

“Then again, if we’re not going to be seeing each other like this in the future, there’s no need for me to be careful, is there?”

“…”

“I don’t let women into my house unless they’re the kind I’d roll around in bed with. Are you planning to keep coming back?”

Ha-rin instantly understood the intent behind his crude words.

“If you’re going to keep coming after someone who already said no, you might as well sleep with me once.”

I have zero intention of keeping this contract, so get the hell out right now.

It was a blatant warning.

Staring straight at the man smiling lazily down at her, Ha-rin clenched her fingertips tight.

She had tried her best to handle him with composure. But his line-crossing words changed her mind completely.

So you want to play it like this? Fine, then I’ll hit you right back.

Ha-rin let out a silent sigh internally, then slowly opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry, but my standards for the men I sleep with are extremely high, so I don’t intend to roll around with just anyone.”

What? Just anyone? Am I “just anyone”?

Instantly, his pride was fiercely scraped, and Shin-woo’s brow creased deeply.

“My standards for a man’s body when I sleep with him are exceptionally high.”

Her eyes—unusually sharp now—began to slowly, provocatively scan his upper body as if running her hands across him.

What’s wrong with this woman? Is she evaluating my body right now?

Ha—. Shin-woo let out a dry laugh.

Even so, he couldn’t help but broaden his shoulders and flex his chest muscles tight.

…Hey. Wait a second, where are those eyes going?

The gaze he expected to pause after moving a little kept sliding straight down past his abs, descending without end.

“Especially when it comes to that part—my standards are exceptionally high.”

Fixing her gaze straight onto the front of his pants—right onto his most precious area—the woman spoke with a terrifying level of calmness.

Finally, her eyes traveled back up, and her plump lips moved once more.

“If you’re so confident, why don’t you prove it?”