TTL 6

Chapter 06

Whether He Was Serious or Not

Hyunseung looked at the woman’s pale face and thought,

“What exactly are you talking about?”

The falling cherry blossom petals and the woman’s face suited each other remarkably well.

The anger vividly coloring her pale cheeks perfectly satisfied his aesthetic sensibilities.

“I don’t know what you heard or where you heard it, but all of it is slander.”

If a flower on the verge of falling had a woman’s face, wouldn’t it look something like Yeon Gaeul’s right now?

Her features were an exquisite blend of classic beauty and modern charm, so harmonious that they immediately satisfied Hyunseung’s picky tastes.

In short, she was ridiculously beautiful.

It was an incredibly leisurely thought to have in a situation like this.

“Please don’t insult someone who died after being falsely accused and treated unjustly.”

“Well, only the person involved would know whether it was an unjust accusation or an ugly truth… And since that person has already passed away…”

Yes, there must have been some unfairness involved.

Even as a child, Hyunseung had never thought Chef Yeon Gaesomun was evil enough to deliberately hurt others.

There must have been some unavoidable circumstances, or perhaps he had simply been used as a chess piece in a cruelly manipulated game.

Considering that the victim at the time had been an opposition party leader considered a leading candidate for the next presidency, the latter was probably more likely.

In the damn world he belonged to, such things were hardly unusual.

“My condolences.”

However, for Hyunseung, who had a clear goal in mind, the truth was merely something he could put aside for the time being.

As he stared into Gaeul’s wavering eyes, Hyunseung gave a slight shrug as if it were nothing important.

“The only things I can verify are objective pieces of evidence.”

“…!”

“Isn’t that right, Chef Yeon Gaeul?”

A mocking smile crept into his otherwise emotionless voice.

“Don’t you think that evidence could have been fabricated?”

“That is possible.”

“Then you should apologize for what you just said—”

“But what good would that do? In the end, the world will believe only what it sees, anyway.”

“…!”

“Rumors are more powerful than the truth.”

When Hyunseung cut her off and argued back, anger clearly appeared on Gaeul’s face.

Flames seemed to spark in her light-colored eyes, and her tightly clenched white hands trembled.

There was nothing wrong with Ji Hyunseung’s argument. It was something Gaeul had experienced more fiercely than anything else over the past ten years.

Stay calm. Getting angry will only hurt you.

Gaeul bit the inside of her cheek and suppressed her anger. A metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and a sharp pain made her head spin, but she kept her expression calm.

Her insides were burning, and her whole body felt as though it were boiling. Yet not a single trace of her emotions escaped her lips.

She already knew that expressing them would be useless.

The police, whom she had thought would stand on the victim’s side, had treated her mercilessly because she was known as the daughter of the perpetrator.

“I told you, the case is already closed! There’s evidence and witness testimony right in front of you, so what do you mean by a false accusation?!”

Ever since she had begun to question her father’s death, Gaeul had collected documents and requested a reinvestigation. Every time, her request had been rejected.

Then again, she had been a schoolgirl in her uniform, presenting a poorly assembled collection of evidence and demanding that the police reopen the case.

From their perspective, she must have looked like a child throwing a tantrum.

“I’ll make sure it’s handled quietly, without causing any trouble.”

She had only learned that the police had been bribed by someone shortly before her grandmother’s death.

It had not been long since she discovered who that person was, but the sense of betrayal she had felt back then was beyond words.

After everything I’ve gone through to get this far…

She couldn’t let herself fall apart here.

The years she had spent searching for the most conclusive evidence flashed before her eyes. Even Hyunseung’s handsome face, which had just thrown a wrench into her plans, no longer registered in her vision.

Hold your head high. He’s the one who needs me, after all.

Once she reached that conclusion, the anger that had made her tremble turned cold.

“So, are you threatening me with that?”

“Not ‘are you threatening you.’ I am threatening you.”

Despite Hyunseung’s blatant words, Gaeul no longer showed the slightest sign of being shaken.

She calmly picked up the water bottle that had fallen at her feet and stood up. Her gaze had grown even firmer than before as she looked straight at Hyunseung.

“Go ahead, then. I’ll formally file a complaint about you illegally investigating my personal life.”

“Do you have evidence?”

“The fact that you came all the way here is evidence enough. And over there, and over there, your handsome face as the division director should have been caught on camera.”

Gaeul pointed the water bottle at the CCTV cameras installed in the trees along the road.

Hyunseung still wore an arrogant expression that seemed to say, As if something like that could count as evidence.

God, he’s annoying. He’s nothing like what his face suggests.

Was this really how someone who wanted to sign a contract was supposed to behave?

Clicking her tongue inwardly, Gaeul crossed her arms. With her head tilted slightly to one side and disbelief written all over her face, she spoke.

“You said you came all this way because you need me, right?”

“And?”

“Then you should have come here to negotiate, not threaten me. You should have offered something that would make me willing to cooperate.”

One of Hyunseung’s eyebrows rose.

“Coming here with such a cheap threat and nothing else is rather disappointing. I expected better.”

“…”

“What would happen if people found out that a representative of GH Foods had threatened a powerless junior chef like me? Well, I could simply explain that I entered this field to clear my father’s name. But you, on the other hand… That might do some serious damage to your image, don’t you think?”

“…”

“People believe rumors more readily than the truth, as you know very well.”

“Hah.”

Hyunseung let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

Gaeul had thrown a threatening question right back at him, using exactly the same approach he had taken with her. Judging by his silence, she had made an excellent choice.

Just like Hyunseung, Gaeul casually shrugged as though nothing had happened. A cherry blossom petal settled on her slender shoulder as it rose slightly.

“People who have a lot to lose are naturally more cautious. I have nothing left to lose.”

A faintly mocking smile accompanied her words.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

As she took a step forward, the pale pink petal that had rested on her shoulder fell onto Hyunseung’s polished shoe.

A gust of wind blew, carrying the petal away as well. For an instant, Hyunseung’s eyes wavered.

He looked as though he had been struck by something unexpected, or as though someone had delivered a powerful blow to the back of his head.

Just as Gaeul, having landed her counterattack, was about to walk past him with a cold expression, he called out.

“Wait.”

She had barely taken a few steps when her slender wrist was shackled by his hot hand.

When Gaeul instinctively tried to shake him off, his grip only tightened.

Her eyes sharpened as she glared at Hyunseung.

“What are you doing? Don’t you know that unwanted physical contact is sexual harassment?”

“File a complaint, then. By all means.”

You crazy bastard.

Cursing him inwardly, she met his eyes.

“But there’s something I absolutely have to tell you.”

Up close, Hyunseung’s eyes looked desperate.

The arrogant man’s gaze, which had been so composed just moments ago, was now unsteady and filled with earnestness.

“I admit it. I admit that my approach was wrong, and I apologize for threatening you with your personal secrets.”

“…What exactly are you trying to do right now?”

“I’m not as low as you think. But as you can see, my situation is pretty damn fucked up.”

What situation is he talking about?

As Gaeul tried to figure it out, Hyunseung let out a bitter laugh and cursed under his breath.

“The head of a food company, for fuck’s sake, has a tongue that’s completely useless.”

At the unexpected profanity, Gaeul’s eyes widened in shock once again.

Hearing such rough language come from someone with the bearing of an aristocrat was so jarring that she struggled to reconcile the two.

Unable to hide her confusion, Gaeul spoke.

“…I don’t quite understand what you’re trying to tell me, Director.”

With a faint sigh, Hyunseung calmly began to explain.

“People commonly call it PTSD.”

His confession began with an unusual term and slowly unfolded. The grip on her wrist gradually loosened as he spoke.

“When I was a child, I nearly died because someone poisoned my food. The poison was completely removed from my body, but after that, I lost the ability to taste food.”

“…”

“For eighteen whole years, I’ve lived without knowing how food tastes. I’ve had to rely on measurements, recipes, and my memories to make judgments.”

“…”

“Other than my close aide, Secretary Ham, no one knows about this. Now there are two people who know, including Chef Yeon Gaeul.”

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Gaeul raised her head and asked,

“But yesterday was clearly different. You noticed the taste of the persimmon vinegar that even the head chef failed to recognize…”

“That’s exactly why I need you, Chef Yeon Gaeul.”

“…”

“The only person who awakened my tongue was…”

Hyunseung gazed steadily into her eyes, his expression difficult to read.

“You.”