CH 8

Chapter 8: Just Strangers

Suddenly, Jaeha whispered the name ‘Seo Jihan.’ His eyes, now closer and deeper, fixed on me.

“Don’t trust that guy too much.”

“…What?”

What does he mean by don’t trust?

His sudden warning tangled my thoughts. In the midst of trying to decipher his cryptic words, my phone vibrated with a short buzz.

[Urgent call needed. Shareholders’ movements are suspicious. — Uncle Hyun Ik]

A brief text message appeared on the screen.

[Kim Youngmin, Vice Chairman, has made a move. — Uncle Hyun Ik]

My eyes stopped at the three characters ‘Kim Youngmin.’ Finally, the shareholders were making a move, which meant Jihan was moving too.

I looked up, and my eyes met Jaeha’s, who had been staring at me. His once-serene gaze subtly shifted.

I have to stop the shareholders’ meeting.

In a previous life, Jihan, my husband, had taken the representative seat in my stead at the shareholders’ meeting.

Jihan swiftly decided on a merger with Hojin Group, along with a*suming management rights. Under the leadership of Youngmin and Jihan, the agenda was unanimously pa*sed.

“Should I call you Chairman? It was nice seeing you after so long.”

With a hint of a smile, Jaeha greeted me. My fingers, clutching the phone, began to tremble ever so slightly.

How could I make this man an ally?

“Though it’s a shame you lost your family… Time will heal your wounds.”

Jaeha’s words, tinged with sorrow, wove through the air like a sinister lullaby, wrapping around the secrets that lingered between them. His enigmatic eyes held a promise of both hope and despair, as the cold morning breeze continued to dance in the space where they stood, united in the shadows of a haunted past.

***

Perhaps it was something that came from experience.

It was a brief moment, but Jaeha’s pupils became darker.

There was no better opponent to bring down Hojin Group and pressure Seo Jihan. Yes, maybe meeting Jaeha here was a chance given by the heavens, unlike in my past life.

To change this sickening fate…

“Mr. Seo Jaeha.” I called out to Jaeha, who had turned around. “Please spare some time. Alone, in a quiet place.”

The chilly wind blew again, causing a ripple between us. As if surprised that it was me who asked to meet first, his pupils gradually returned to their usual state.

Jaeha’s face, which answered indifferently, had a mischievous smile on it.

“Alone? Do we have something to talk about that requires just the two of us?”

“As Yoon Yeojin, the granddaughter of Double U Group, not as Hojin’s daughter-in-law.”

“….”

After facing each other, for the first time, Jaeha’s pupils had an interesting glint.

“And that meeting will be one without regret.”

The mischievous smile on Jaeha’s lips began to fade.

***

After facing Jaeha in the early dawn, I spent the whole night awake, my mind in a jumble from the sudden shareholders meeting and his unexpected appearance.

At last, after much contemplation, morning arrived.

Like in my past life, Jihan returned only after his grandfather’s funeral had ended.

“I’m sorry. I should have been there by your side.”

Jihan shamelessly apologized while still wearing the suit he wore to the funeral home.

As he approached me for a hug, I was taken aback by the overpowering scent of his cologne. Recalling that it was the same scent that Seorin wore, I felt nauseous. An engagement partner who was so caught up with my close junior, that he was late for his grandfather’s funeral.

“A bad son.”

“It’s okay. Let go.”

I couldn’t hide my displeasure towards Jihan this time, and turned my head away.

Then the gentleman who had left to take a call returned.

Mr. Hyun Ik had come after meeting with the shareholders and scheduling it to coincide with the funeral’s end time.

“Are you both in danger?”

“No, how could we be? With Chairman Yoon gone and if anything happens to Jiyoung, Double U will be…”

I never expected to see Chairman Seo’s face, filled with sorrow from the sudden influx of bad news that even affected my parents’ life and death situation. The Vice Chairman also remained silent, just keeping watch over the situation.

“Miss Yoon, no, young lady. You have to make a decision. We can’t let the shareholders do as they please at this meeting.”

The gentleman asked me with a firm gaze.

When my grandfather pa*sed away, the shareholders showed no signs of movement. But when my parents’ lives were in danger, they suddenly became desperate to hold a meeting.

Predictable.

As the granddaughter, who was now alone at twenty-eight years old, they thought I would be easy to manipulate.

“I’ll go in her place.” Jihan, who had been quietly watching the situation beside me, wrapped his arms around my shoulder. “This person will soon be my wife.”

Jihan’s pupils were full of conviction as he looked at the gentleman.

We will get married.

“Since Double U is her family too, and we are one household, this is also a Hojin matter.”

His eyes had a hint of ambition as he smiled faintly. It was so ridiculous that I had to force myself to suppress a wry laugh. I was killed by someone I knew, who was also part of my family.

“No.”

With a smile mixed with melancholy, I lowered my arm that was being held by Jihan.

“If you go, you won’t understand the complicated internal affairs of the company. I should go instead…”

Seo Jihan stopped his lengthy speech as if taken aback.

“I am the rightful heir.”

Watch carefully.

“And we are only strangers on paper, right?”