-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Matchmaking
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yeongin's pupils trembled in surprise at the unexpected encounter.
Unlike her frozen body, her heart began to pound wildly.
To think she would meet Cha Seonghyeok here.
Facing him after three years, he was still breathtakingly handsome and elegant. His jet-black hair and eyes contrasted with his fair skin, making him appear almost mysterious.
She wanted to avoid his intense gaze, but something invisible seemed to shackle her, leaving her utterly motionless.
She couldn't hear or see anything. It felt as if everything but him had blacked out.
Standing dazed and unable to move an inch, Yeongin snapped back to reality at the sound of her name.
"Yeongin."
A raspy voice pierced her ears, and then Seonghyeok vanished from her sight.
Yeongin looked up at the person standing before her. A man with unusually small, snake-like pupils was smiling at her.
It was her brother's friend, Oh Changgeun.
"You came to pick up Beomjun?"
After encountering someone she hadn't expected to meet, and then someone she wished she hadn't, the purpose of her visit finally came back to her.
"...Ah, yes. Where's my brother?"
For the first time today, she was grateful to him. If it weren't for him, she didn't know how much more of her agitation towards Seonghyeok she would have revealed.
"He went to the restroom."
Yeongin furrowed her brows slightly.
"My brother told me to come pick him up, but he didn't answer his phone, so I came upstairs."
"I told him to call you. Because I wanted to see you."
"..."
The furrow in Yeongin's brow deepened.
Her gratitude had already vanished without a trace. The thought that she wouldn't have run into Seonghyeok if it weren't for him made her irritation surge.
"I'll be in the car, so please tell my brother to come down quickly when he returns."
Changgeun abruptly grabbed Yeongin's wrist as she coldly turned away.
"Beomjun will be back soon. Wait and have a drink with me."
"I drove here."
"Ah, right."
As Yeongin twisted her wrist free with a stern expression, Changgeun gave an awkward smile, his eyes, glazed over with intoxication, darting around.
"Can't you just call a designated driver?"
"..."
Yeongin kept her mouth shut, deeming him not worth a reply.
"Then let's have a drink sometime, just us."
"I'm busy."
What she really wanted to say was, 'No.' She wanted to tell him point-blank to stop clinging to her.
The only reason she didn't was because he was her brother's friend. More precisely, she was tired of being scolded by her brother.
With such a firm rejection, he should have understood by now.
Before Changgeun could say anything else, Yeongin turned and left the room, leaning against the wall and taking a deep breath. As the tension eased, her energy drained away.
Only then did it occur to her that, for some reason, there hadn't been a single woman in the room.
It wasn't hard to guess why.
Even Chae Beomjun, who detested drinking parties without women, must have had no choice since Cha Seonghyeok was attending.
Everyone around knew that Chae Beomjun was Cha Seonghyeok's willing lackey.
"Haa..."
The moment Yeongin, after taking a deep breath, straightened her posture and took a step, a resonant voice wrapped around her ears.
"Long time no see."
She paused for a moment, then bit down on her inner lip and turned around.
"Long time no see, Seonbae."
Perhaps it was because she thought she'd never have reason to call him that again. A dull ache spread through her solar plexus. So much so that she found herself saying things she didn't need to, just in case he noticed.
"Are you back for good?"
"Do you know where I was?"
"I heard from my brother."
"Ah, I guess you couldn't help but know, even if you didn't want to."
Yeongin lowered her eyelids, avoiding his sarcastic, smirking gaze.
"I'll head down now."
"Wait."
Seonghyeok, stopping Yeongin with an indifferent tone, gestured to an employee visible over her shoulder.
"Is there anything you need?"
The man who rushed over and bowed deeply was the guard who had just been put in his place for speaking informally to Yeongin. He was so polite that Yeongin almost mistook him for someone else.
"Escort her to her car."
"Understood."
To him, Chae Beomjun was a somewhat easy opponent, while Cha Seonghyeok was an untouchable presence.
This was because he had just heard about Seonghyeok's family from the general manager.
SL Group was a corporation that had firmly held the top position in the business world for over 70 years. There was even a saying that while governments change, SL is eternal.
"Get rid of those horny ones."
Seonghyeok pointed with his chin at the man and woman still kissing. Displeasure was clearly etched in his twitching eyebrows.
"I'll take care of it immediately."
Seonghyeok, withdrawing his disgusted gaze, entered the room without looking back at Yeongin.
The man immediately brought the microphone to his mouth.
"Someone come up to the third floor. Quickly."
The man, after relaying Seonghyeok's instructions to another employee, bowed to Yeongin.
"Shall we go down?"
Yeongin simply nodded lightly and silently followed the man.
The man, as if he had received a monumental mission, frantically blocked anyone heavily intoxicated who tried to approach Yeongin. Thanks to him, Yeongin received an almost embarrassingly strict escort out of the club and into her car.
How many minutes had passed since she leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes? The sound of the back door opening was followed by a series of grumbling noises.
"Damn it, I wanted to party a bit more."
She opened her eyes and looked back to see a man with a short pompadour haircut being helped into the car by what appeared to be a guard.
"Seonghyeok was so serious about us leaving quickly..."
"Buckle up."
Yeongin cut Beomjun off.
What kind of situation was this, for him to say he wanted to party more after she came all the way to pick him up?
"Drive safely."
As the guard closed the back door and stepped back, Yeongin immediately started the car. Beomjun, who had been mumbling incomprehensibly, quickly fell asleep.
The nauseating smell of alcohol made her head throb, but she found some comfort in the fact that it had at least grown quiet.
On the empty road, shrouded in pitch-black darkness, raindrops began to patter on the car.
It was a sudden rain, unforecasted.
Yeongin gripped the steering wheel tightly, thinking it was much like her own situation today.
***
Yeongin's car stopped in front of a two-story detached house.
Yeongin barely managed to wake Beomjun and send him inside first, then parked in the garage and followed him in.
Arim, who had been looking down at Beomjun sprawled on the living room sofa with an irritable expression, sensed someone's presence and sharply turned her head.
"Did you bring him?"
Her voice was sharp, and her face was full of annoyance.
"My brother told me to pick him up."
Yeongin replied calmly and headed towards the second floor, where her room was.
Behind her, she heard the sharp exchange between her sister and brother.
"How is it that you never come home sober? Stop drinking so much."
"It was Seonghyeok's welcome party."
"What? Seonghyeok oppa came? Why are you only telling me now!"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Are you asking because you don't know? Ugh, never mind! Forget it!"
"Hey, Chae Arim. Seonghyeok isn't interested in you. Know your place."
"Hey, Chae Beomjun. Shut up."
"How dare you speak to your older brother like that!"
"What do you know! Three years is enough time for Seonghyeok oppa's tastes to change!"
"Even if they did, it wouldn't be you."
"Aargh!"
Yeongin bit her lip tightly, listening simultaneously to the screaming and the furious stomping of feet.
Suddenly, she wondered what expressions her brother and sister would make if they found out she and Seonghyeok had dated.
She didn't know for sure, but it was certain their reaction wouldn't stray far from, 'How dare someone like you?' And if they even found out she was the one who broke up with him, it definitely wouldn't end there.
A bitter smile spread across Yeongin's face as she walked up the stairs.
***
Three days later.
Yeongin, returning home from work, received a shocking directive from her mother, Gwak Yeosa.
"A matchmaking meeting?"
In this household, matchmaking meetings were reserved only for her brother and sister. At least, until now.
"Just now, Madam Jin called and specifically pointed you out."
Madam Jin was what they called a 'professional matchmaker.'
It was common practice to give Madam Jin luxury bags or slip her hundreds of thousands of won to ensure good matches for sons-in-law and daughters-in-law.
Yeongin also knew her mother was putting a lot of effort into pleasing Madam Jin.
"Me? Why? Who?"
The answer came from Arim.
"Oh Changgeun."
As Yeongin narrowed her brows, Arim let out a disbelieving scoff.
"Why that face? Changgeun oppa is more than good enough for you. Don't you know Seongmyeong Construction is among the top 20 construction companies?"
Beomjun chimed in.
"You kept dodging him and wouldn't meet him even once, so he had to resort to this, didn't he? Just accept it."
Gwak Yeosa delivered the final word.
"The day after tomorrow, 6 PM. At the H Hotel cafe. If you refuse, I'll be in a very difficult position, so don't be late."
Gwak Yeosa forced the corners of her mouth, stiff from numerous cosmetic procedures, into a benevolent smile.
Yeongin was a sacrificial lamb for her brother and sister. And of course, a sacrificial lamb had no choices.
***
Five minutes before the appointed time.
Yeongin arrived at the H Hotel cafe, the matchmaking venue. Her date had not yet arrived.
She was preparing a warning, telling him not to pull such pointless stunts again, when she sensed a presence in front of her.
She looked up and saw that, just like a few days ago, an utterly unexpected figure was sitting in the opposite seat.
"Seonbae, how are you here...?"
Yeongin, staring at the silent Seonghyeok with a bewildered expression, clenched her fists tightly to collect herself.
"Someone else is supposed to be here."
"They won't come."
"What do you mean?"
"It means I came in place of Oh Changgeun."
"..."
Yeongin's mind, which had vaguely assumed he was at the hotel for work and happened to see her, became increasingly jumbled.
"I told him to hand over today's matchmaking meeting to me."
Seonghyeok leaned back in his chair and smiled faintly.
