Chapter 1
Episode 1. Shameful Morning
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Dawn blurred at the window. The dim pre-dawn light illuminated the man lying beside her.
Yuna, opening her eyes in the darkness, fumbled for the bedside lamp and turned it on. As the man's body disengaged from Yuna, something lukewarm flowed from between their bodies.
The substance held within her all night was the same temperature as her body heat, but the sensation flowing down her thighs was distinctively alien.
She pulled out tissues placed beside the lamp, wiped away the trace flowing between her legs, and crumpled the stained tissues into a ball before dropping them into the trash can.
The man sleeping in the bed remained motionless.
The yellow lamplight illuminated the man's face. Even on the disheveled, crumpled sheets that seemed to tell the story of last night, the man slept peacefully.
Yuna gazed down at the sleeping man's face.
The line from his forehead to the bridge of his nose was smooth. With every breath he exhaled, the elegant line subtly rose and fell.
Kwon Taeseo, the second son of Namkyung Group.
He was incredibly fussy when awake, but when asleep, he was as beautiful as a figure preserved in an oil painting.
‘I don’t need to worry about contraception, right?’
When she spent nights with him and greeted the morning, his words would echo in her mind.
He was a man with a terrifyingly beautiful face, yet he often spoke words that were terribly cruel.
‘Even if you get pregnant, I can take responsibility for you and the child, so if you’re thinking of getting rich, try your best to use your body.’
When Yuna first set foot in Seoul, a city where she knew no one, she was only twenty years old.
She had stepped into the big city, where they’d snatch your nose if you weren’t careful, trusting only this man.
Moreover, the man had generously provided her with material support in exchange for being his woman for four years.
With his help, the country bumpkin who came up to Seoul became a rising star, and Yuna, who used to wear old, unfashionable things everywhere she looked, acquired many things she could never have imagined before.
The three letters of her name, Ahn Yuna, were no longer the name of a rustic country girl.
Her own name, Ahn Yuna, became the condition for contracts worth hundreds of millions of won, and she, who had nothing to lose, became someone with much to protect in just four years.
At first, contraception was something she strived for to avoid being abandoned by him, but as Yuna gained more to protect, she put even more effort into contraception.
Yuna put on a robe, picked up a bottle of water from the bedside table, and took out a pill from a pack of contraception, placing it in her mouth.
Having taken the last pill out of the 24, her period would start in a few days. Taeseo wouldn't visit during that time.
Yuna looked once more at Taeseo's sleeping face. The lamplight illuminated the area near the bed.
The yellowish lamplight contrasted with the bluish light from the window where the bed was placed.
Everywhere the light didn't reach was cold. Despite it being summer, the pre-dawn air felt chilly.
She, who suffered severely from summer colds every year around this season, tucked Taeseo's hand, which had slipped out of the covers, back under the blanket.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar sound came from beyond the tightly closed bedroom door. The sound of someone opening the front door and entering the house. Yuna's brow furrowed.
‘I told him not to come today…….’
She had instructed her manager not to come to the house every Tuesday and Saturday.
Everyone at the management company knew who had created the actor Ahn Yuna, and who was behind Ahn Yuna.
They all knew who had helped her reach her current position, but Yuna was not so brazen as to want to reveal that fact, and Taeseo also detested having his affairs exposed.
Intending to sternly tell her manager if he knew what day it was and to never make such a mistake again, she quickly finished her shower and left the bedroom.
The living room, overlooking the Han River, was brightly lit.
“Unnie.”
Instead of the manager's reply, the noise of an automatic coffee machine came from the kitchen.
The man sleeping in the bedroom was as sensitive in temperament as he was in appearance.
He knew well how temperamental the second son of Namkyung Group was, yet he was making such a commotion early in the morning while he slept.
“Unnie, Tuesday is-”
As she stood at the corner leading to the kitchen, about to utter a displeased remark, she froze like a statue, unable to continue.
Standing by the coffee machine in the kitchen was not her manager, but a tall man. Someone she hadn't expected was occupying her space.
“Oh, excuse me.”
The man, dressed in a glossy chestnut-colored suit, continued his actions with a relaxed expression, even though the homeowner had appeared. As he moved, a rich coffee aroma wafted out.
“I thought I’d have a cup of coffee while I waited for you to wake up.”
Holding a mug of hot coffee, the man had an air of confidence that made it hard to tell who was the owner and who was the guest.
Yuna, the homeowner, felt like the guest, clutching the front of her shower robe below her chin and stepping back.
The man chuckled, holding his mug. It wasn't a mocking laugh, but a smile that pierced her heart like a dagger.
“You don’t need to bother getting dressed. I’ve seen you in even less on screen.”
His lips curved, but his eyes did not, a resemblance to the man sleeping in the bedroom.
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I harbor no impure thoughts towards my brother’s woman. I was merely curious about the filmography of a Namkyung Group model and did a little research.”
The intruder, who had entered someone else's home early in the morning, was Kwon Taeseo’s older brother, the eldest son of Namkyung Group and the heir to its management.
“Ah, I’m late with introductions. I am Kwon Taejin.”
“I know.”
Taeseo often spoke of his brother to Yuna. He said that unlike himself, who was fussy and sensitive, Taejin wore a mask of maturity but was, deep down, a twisted bastard.
“Shall we talk for a moment?”
Contrary to what Taeseo had said, Taejin, whom she met in person, gave a more refined and dignified impression than Taeseo.
His gaze, as he looked at Yuna standing in her shower robe, held no hint of impropriety.
“Let’s talk on the sofa.”
“Ah, yes.”
As if mesmerized by the man’s suggestion, Yuna sat on the sofa, biting her lip.
She had almost been mistaken. A man who broke into someone else's house at this hour and acted like the owner couldn't possibly be normal, yet she had thought of him as a gentleman.
The man sat opposite Yuna, holding his mug. The white mug in his hand looked as natural as if it had belonged to him from the start.
“We’ve met before, but this is our first time meeting separately.”
“Yes… But why have you come?”
Though his build was similar to Taeseo’s, the man’s hair and eye color were much darker than Taeseo’s. Unlike Taeseo, who seemed crafted from glass, the man had a more upright and solid presence.
Unlike Taeseo, who would get aroused whenever he saw her, the man, even with a woman in a shower robe before him, did not let his gaze drop below her chin, appearing almost ascetic.
After taking a few sips of coffee, the man placed his mug on the table and met Yuna’s eyes.
“I won’t beat around the bush. I’d like you to end things with Taeseo.”
It was a direct statement, as neat as his gaze.
“I won’t offer you a cliché envelope of money. Nor will I resort to threats, of course.”
Yuna nodded without adding any further words.
In truth, the moment she recognized who the man was, she had anticipated his words.
There had been rumors circulating that Taeseo was getting married. It was detailed information, even specifying the other party. She didn't believe the rumors, but a sudden thought occurred to her: could this be why?
“If you hand over what needs to be settled, we will handle it at a good price.”
“Yes.”
There was nothing Yuna could do but comply with his words.
Moreover, even if the man didn't resort to threats, he wasn't the type to let Yuna off the hook easily.
“Thank you for the coffee.”
After delivering his message, the man stood up with a clean demeanor.
The meeting ended that day without any farewells or goodbyes.
Even after the man left, Yuna’s gaze lingered on the mug for a long time.
In someone else’s home, with a woman not even properly dressed before him, the man had calmly drunk his coffee.
His confidence, his ability to be at ease anywhere, was just like Kwon Taeseo lying in the bedroom.
Yuna was not a woman brazen enough to refuse the request of his family.
Only after he left did her pale face flush with heat.
It was a shameful morning.
\ \ *
Two months passed after that incident. Around the time summer began to set in, her management contract expired.
In line with the contract's termination, her brand endorsement contracts also began to expire one by one.
Taejin kept his promise.
The penthouse overlooking the Han River was sold almost immediately. She didn't know who the buyer was, but they wanted to move in quickly and even offered extra money for moving expenses.
He had said he wouldn't offer a cliché envelope of money, but even after paying capital gains tax on the profit, a considerable sum remained for Yuna.
She knew it meant that now that things were settled cleanly, she was to leave without any lingering issues.
On the day the first heatwave warning of the year was issued, on a summer day when clothes clinging to the skin felt unpleasant, Yuna left Seoul.
It was the first time she had left the city for reasons other than a schedule since arriving in Seoul four years ago with just a worn-out bag.
Though her departure was indefinite, with no certainty of when she would return to Seoul, Yuna’s steps were unhesitating.
