Chapter 30: It is a trade secret

A café located on the first floor of the main branch of Yeryeo Hotel.

Filled lightly with the subtle aroma of coffee and the murmurs of guests, it was there that Yoo Seo-ah waited for the royal family’s banquet to end.

The reason was simple.

Yoo Seo-ah had volunteered to stay behind.

“I’ll stay here, so you can go ahead, Assistant Manager Kim.”

“Ah, okay… Great work today, Seo-ah.”

In truth, once the royal family entered the banquet hall, the duties of Planning Team 1—people like Yoo Seo-ah and Kim Seok-hwan—were practically done.

What followed was no longer under their jurisdiction.

However, it was still necessary to make sure the banquet they had prepared concluded smoothly.

Being the youngest in the department and personally close to Jung Hwa-yoon, Yoo Seo-ah decided to stay at the hotel and keep watch until the royal family finished dining.

That was the official reason.

The real reason Yoo Seo-ah stayed behind lay in the voices coming through the wired earphones in her ears.

[“The construction project this time… the Middle East… investment agreement…”]

[“…we should be more aggressive with the chemical sector stocks…”]

[“The Busan mayor… fund for the resort…”]

“Hmm… it’s cutting out a bit.”

Put nicely, it was information gathering.

Put bluntly, it was eavesdropping.

At that moment, Yoo Seo-ah was listening in on the banquet hall’s conversations through a phone hidden beneath a chair, secretly recording everything.

She typed out the conversations on her laptop, organizing any useful pieces of information.

This was because it was extremely rare for the Yeryeo Group’s owner family to gather in one place.

In that sense, tonight’s banquet was a golden opportunity for Yoo Seo-ah to collect a wealth of valuable information for her personal goals.

“If I get caught, a written apology probably won’t be enough…”

New business ventures.

Response plans to sudden risks.

Even personal tidbits like overseas trip stories from a few weeks ago or upcoming wedding plans.

Clack clack.

Clack clack.

Anything that might help uncover the truth about what happened 24 years ago—she typed it all.

Her top priority was figuring out the dynamics between Jung Do-yoon, Jung Hwa-yoon, and the others.

[“Do-yoon… the trading division… if it’s hard, you can always…”]

[“…Executive Park said… Hwa-yoon did well… thanks for all your effort…”]

“Hmm…”

Jung Do-yoon and Jung Hwa-yoon, who lost their parents at a young age, were now isolated within the Yeryeo Group.

On the surface, their relationships seemed harmonious, but most of their relatives were circling like hyenas, eyeing their positions and shares.

However, they were still under the solid support of Chairman Jung Seok-chul, the head of Yeryeo Group.

Because of this, no one dared to openly move against Do-yoon or Hwa-yoon—at least not yet.

Based on the information she had gathered so far, this was the general picture Yoo Seo-ah had pieced together.

“A beloved grandson and granddaughter of the chairman. And someone trying to get rid of them. Reality is worse than a drama…”

Looking at it objectively, Yoo Seo-ah thought this drama-like situation felt surreal in a bad way.

Then again, her own survival was probably the most unrealistic part of all, so none of it felt all that shocking anymore.

[“…Then, next time…”]

[“Today was really… delicious…”]

“…Is it over?”

Once she confirmed the banquet had ended, Yoo Seo-ah stood up.

She put her laptop and wired earphones into her bag and watched the royal family members trickle into the lobby from her seat in the café.

Most wore neutral expressions.

Except for Jung Joon-hyuk, who had been humiliated a few hours earlier, there wasn’t anyone whose face showed outright dissatisfaction.

Most importantly, Jung Hwa-yoon’s relaxed expression made Yoo Seo-ah confident that the banquet had ended successfully.

There hadn’t been any shouting picked up by her hidden recording device either.

Murmur murmur.

Murmur murmur.

After watching the members of the royal family leave the Yeryeo Hotel lobby in small groups, Yoo Seo-ah finally moved once only Jung Do-yoon and Jung Hwa-yoon were left.

When she appeared in front of them shortly afterward, she was asked why she was still there.

“Seo-ah? You haven’t gone home yet?”

“I thought I should check whether the food was to everyone’s taste. How was it?”

“Ah, um… It was good. Not just saying it—it really was.”

Jung Hwa-yoon then thanked her, saying that it was thanks to Seo-ah and the other staff that the event went well.

She also apologized for making her work through the weekend for a personal matter.

To that, Yoo Seo-ah replied, “It’s no problem.”

She added that if it was for Yeryeo Hotel and Jung Hwa-yoon, coming in on a weekend was no big deal.

“I’m glad I could be of help to you, Director.”

“You even have a talent for flattery, Seo-ah. It’s blatant, yet not annoying.”

What followed was a light-hearted personal chat.

Things like how Yoo Seo-ah seemed like a bit of a workaholic, or how it would be better if she didn’t consider transferring to Yeryeo Department Store under Jung Joon-hyuk.

“Seriously, just in case—if you ever end up working with that bastard Jung Joon-hyuk, nothing good will come of it. He’s over thirty and still not a decent human being.”

“Don’t worry. I have absolutely no intention of transferring to Yeryeo Department Store.”

“Not just now—never.”

“Hmm… Okay. I promise I’ll never consider it, not even in the future.”

A bold and clear answer.

It was Yoo Seo-ah’s way of reaffirming that she was firmly on Jung Hwa-yoon’s side.

Hwa-yoon let out a satisfied chuckle.

As always, Yoo Seo-ah only did things that pleased her.

It was as if she had a perfect sense of what to do to get on Jung Hwa-yoon’s good side.

Maybe that’s why—This time, the question usually asked by Yoo Seo-ah came from Jung Hwa-yoon instead.

“Why didn’t you ask?”

“Sorry? Ask what?”

“Your score. I thought you’d ask how many points you earned today. Did you forget?”

“Ah…”

To be honest—she had.

No wonder—Yuseoa’s mind was still filled with the conversation she had recently overheard between members of the royal family.

She had been busy organizing the new information she’d gained, so everything else had been pushed to the back burner.

Still, since the topic had come up, she figured she might as well ask.

She opened her mouth.

“How many points did I get today?”

“101 points.”

“Oh.”

Yuseoa’s eyes widened for a moment at the unexpectedly high score.

But before she could even ask why she got such a high score—Step.

Jung Hwayoon subtly stepped closer to Yuseoa, then brought his lips to her ear and whispered something secretive.

His ticklish voice brushed against her ear.

Whisper, whisper.

“That thing earlier—when you subtly tripped Jung Junhyuk’s leg… How did you do that? You just gave a light tap and he went down.”

“Hmm…”

Yuseoa hesitated in response to Jung Hwayoon’s curious tone.

She couldn’t very well tell him the truth—that it was a trick she picked up during her time at the National Intelligence Service.

The fact that Jung Doyoon’s stern gaze was locked on her didn’t help either.

So in the end, Yuseoa leaned over and whispered into Jung Hwayoon’s ear instead.

Whisper, whisper.

“That’s classified.”

“…Pfft.”

His usual calm voice.

Even though she wouldn’t tell him how she did it, the amused laugh that slipped out showed just how much he liked her.

“She said she came to flirt, and she really is flirting now…”

That’s when he finally realized he had been gradually falling for Yuseoa.

It was around then that Jung Doyoon’s voice came, pointing out how close Yuseoa and Jung Hwayoon seemed to be.

“So, you two have gotten quite close.” …Since when?

“Hmm… I don’t really remember.”

Oh—could it be that you’re jealous right now?

Looking up at Jung Doyoon with a probing gaze, Yuseoa threw him the provocative question. Doyoon responded with his usual stoic expression.

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to steal your only sibling.”

“…That’s not something I was ever worried about.”

“Oh dear, was I being self-centered?”

Even the slight smile that seemed to tease Doyoon was charming to Jung Hwayoon.

It was his favorite moment since tripping Jung Junhyuk a few hours earlier.

Maybe that’s why.

Or maybe it was because he wanted to vent about his annoying relatives to Yuseoa.

Or maybe—just maybe—it was because a deeper part of him wanted to talk with her a bit longer.

“Seoa. You haven’t had dinner, right?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Then, would you like to have dinner with me?”

He offered to treat her to a very expensive dinner as a reward for her hard work today.

In response, Yuseoa asked if he hadn’t just come from a meal himself.

“I only ate a little. I felt like I’d get indigestion. …Ah, not because the food was bad or anything.”

“Hmm…”

In the end, she learned that Hwayoon was still hungry too.

The banquet with the royal family had been too suffocating to properly enjoy any food.

Do I have any reason to refuse?

Either way, Yuseoa’s current goal was to win over Jung Hwayoon’s heart.

There was no reason to turn down a dinner he had personally invited her to.

But—she did have a prior commitment.

So Yuseoa excused herself, saying she needed to make a quick call.

She then headed to the now-empty banquet hall, where the royal family had just finished their meal.

Tap.

Peeling the phone off the bottom of a banquet chair, Yuseoa powered it down, making sure her movements had stayed out of the CCTV’s blind spots.

All done.

Then, she took out her real phone and began drafting a post about her prior commitment.

Tap tap, tap.

Tap tap tap tap.

[Title: Stream Cancellation Notice]

[Posted by: “Asking for forgiveness is faster than permission” | 8:15 PM]

[Post content] Due to a recently confirmed dinner meeting with a workplace superior around 8 PM, today’s broadcast has been cancelled.

We kindly ask for our viewers’ understanding.

“See you tomorrow. <]”

And with that—tap tap—she uploaded the break notice post to her “허용빠의 빠지직” channel, carrying her regrets in the message.

By the time she returned to Jung Hwayoon, Jung Doyoon had already left.

***

They arrived at the top-floor restaurant of the main branch of Yeryo Hotel.

It was a window-side seat with a full glass wall overlooking the city—an entire urban nightscape laid out before them.

A pristine white table set with a full-course meal.

And then—

Clink.

Wine glasses filled with a very expensive vintage.

The flush of bright red on Jung Hwayoon’s face was already noticeable to Yuseoa.

“Cheers~.”

“…Mmh…”

As Jung Hwayoon began chugging his wine, Yuseoa subtly dumped the contents of her own glass.

But in his completely drunk state, Jung Hwayoon didn’t even notice.

What followed was an unfiltered rant about his relatives.

Sprinkled throughout were bits of foul language, fully exposing his pent-up frustrations toward his family.

“What are they… always watching for… just waiting to pounce… Seriously, people with power are the worst…”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“Ugh… I’m so stressed…”

Jung Hwayoon opened up like this because he trusted Yuseoa to be discreet.

She wasn’t someone who’d gossip or spread stories.

And she had consistently shown she was on his side—so he let his guard down without realizing it.

But as they continued to drink together, one thing that had been bothering him for a long time finally slipped out.

It was something he couldn’t just dismiss as a passing curiosity.

“Seoa… why do you… like me?”

Unfocused eyes.

A subtly swaying head.

A voice that kept cutting in and out.

Anyone could see he was drunk.

Would he even remember what Yuseoa answered?

Would he remember asking the question at all?

Still—His drunken words lingered in her ears.

“I just… really want to know… Why someone like you… likes someone like me, a guy who got in through connections…”

In the end, she responded.

Maybe because she was a little tipsy herself.

“…Because you’re Jung Hwayoon.”

A brief moment of silence.

Then—gaze.

Their eyes met.

And somehow, the distance between them had grown shorter and shorter.

Until finally, they were so close that the phrase “right in front of her nose” became literal.

That’s when Jung Hwayoon, still staring at Yuseoa, spoke again—with the faintest tremble of emotion in his voice.

“Why does it… hurt so much… every time I look at you…”

Do I… love you, Seoa…?

His voice, fragile as if it might break at any second, drifted toward her.

And Yuseoa remained silent.

She’d only ever known how to pull people in—never what to do when she was the one being pulled.