episode_0014

A distance away from the city center

A grand mansion nestled in the sparsely populated mountains

With a majestic exterior reminiscent of a palace in London and an overwhelming size

Even with just the servants numbering over dozens

The warm sunlight streams in through the expansive windows

Accompanied by the morning chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves

As one woman rises, listening to nature’s gifts

“Hmm….”

Her presence reflected in the sunlight, her golden hair shining

Flawless without blemish, her perfect appearance exuding perfection even in everyday life, as if posing for a morning concept photoshoot

At a glance, it was Baek Eun-seol who rose from the bed that looked expensive and plush

Contrary to her appearance, she wore cute pajamas, which seemed to reflect her personality

Yawn

Just as she woke up groggily, a visitor opened the door to herald the start of the morning

Entering the room was the maid who had taken care of Eun-seol in this spacious place since she was young

The maid greeted her with a smile, much like seeing her own daughter in the morning

“Miss, did you cough?”

“Yes.”

“There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual. You can get ready and head to work as usual today.”

“Sigh…”

“And this morning, the chairman suggests having breakfast together.”

Pause

An appointment with her father that interrupted her satisfying yawn

“Ugh… Alright.”

Postponing the meeting with her father, who only bothers her, due to feeling awkward, but who could stop a doting father whose love for his child grows as he ages

Thinking so, she got up and took steps forward

Whenever she ate at home, she never once ate carelessly

That’s because there are chefs on standby at all times to prepare Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Western, and various other cuisines

Comprised of renowned elites, these chefs boast skills that could easily put most cooks to shame

It took quite some time to walk around the very long dining table

Although it was laden with all sorts of delicacies, she couldn’t help but feel nauseated by the abundance

After a few minutes

How long had she waited? With each formal step of polished shoes, a person entered the room

Displaying through confident posture and a solemn expression, my father showed himself as the leader of a company

“Eun-seol, good morning.”

“Yes, Father, did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, yeah. You must be hungry; let’s eat from the morning.”

She appeared like any ordinary housewife, except for one ‘topic’

“But… have you considered my proposal?”

Clatter

Setting down the knife as if resigning, Eun-seol spoke

“…Are you asking me to quit my current job and join your company?”

“Yes, exactly. How long do you plan to stay at that company?”

“At first, I allowed you to go there to learn about corporate life, but now you want to continue working there…”

“You have special blood running through your veins.”

“If you come to my company, a solid elite course awaits you, starting as an executive from the beginning, following me.”

“Why discard that and settle for a mere deputy position at a provincial mid-sized company?”

“That’s not right. Even if dirt gets in my eyes, I cannot allow my beloved daughter to live like that.”

“If it’s because of the successor issue, you could hand it over to a professional manager, couldn’t you?”

“If it were simply a matter of succession, I would have given up and supported you long ago.”

“But I find it regrettable to see your abilities wasted, Eun-seol.”

“If it’s your innate talent, you will run the company far more smoothly than I do, and you will usher in an unprecedented era of prosperity.”

“Why let talent go to waste?”

“It’s not a biased statement because you’re my daughter; it’s a clear fact, indeed.”

“It’s an obvious future, but when your child chooses a thorny path, what parent can stand by and watch without saying anything?”

“…But I still want to keep working at that company.”

“Oh! You might regret it! Right now, it could be more about rebellion, but later on, you’ll painfully realize that your dad was right.”

“Alright, I understand. Let’s seriously consider it.”

“…No, I feel like I’ve been nagging too much since this morning. Still, think about it carefully once.”

“Yes.”

I wasn’t unable to understand my father’s words, but not knowing my only daughter’s sincerity made me even more cunning.

When I started stuttering in conversations with others, it was from a young age when I discovered the ugliness within human nature.

They only cared about my appearance and the luxury clothes I wore, not considering me as a human being.

They fell into two categories:

The insects crawling beneath me, trying their hardest to eat even the smallest crumb.

With pride, they couldn’t do such things outright, sending looks of envy and jealousy, trying to pull me down by any means.

Does age matter? No matter how distinguished a person may be, why should that concern me? They bow their heads to me, hands worn out from clasping together.

Is it for these reasons?

At some point, I wanted to know how far I could go with my abilities.

Without needing the parachute of my father’s influence, solely relying on my own strength, not as Baek Beom-ho’s daughter but as an ordinary person named ‘Baek Eun-seol,’ I concealed my true identity.

Revealing my family background would only attract more filthy flies trying to harm me, so I postponed revealing my ordinary household.

Moreover, if my father, a prominent businessman in Taiwan, knew I worked at such a company, what would society think? Surely, they would gossip about industrial espionage or experiencing life as a commoner—only negative remarks would follow.

After making this decision, over time, I created my current facade, pretending to be ordinary.

As long as my intentions didn’t change, I thought I would continue living like this, but…

Meeting one man changed that perception.

When I first met Manager Kim, I didn’t think much of him.

His face was decent, nothing more than a pitiful divorced man, neither more nor less.

I can somewhat understand people’s inner thoughts.

The way they look at me, subtle changes in facial muscles, breathing patterns when nervous—I catch these small changes to reveal their true feelings.

This ability naturally developed to protect myself from hyenas trying to tear me apart.

Or perhaps, upon joining a mid-sized company on the fringes, the gazes from colleagues were no different from the trash I had encountered before.

Each tried to hide it, but could they do so in front of me?

Maybe… and I hoped for something different, only to be left with disappointment.

However, unlike anyone else, Manager Kim…

“Eun-seol, your presentation at the meeting was truly impressive.”

“As a senior, I need to work harder to keep up with you… I should put in more effort, right?”

“What do you want…? Why suddenly…?”

“Well…”

“What you want… Well… Oh! There is one thing.”

“Don’t always walk around looking depressed; if you have concerns, come talk to me?”

“No, it’s just that you seem to be carrying a heavy burden alone… Does it look like that to me?”

“Oh, does saying this make me seem too old-fashioned? Sorry…”

A person who approached me suddenly, someone I had guarded against, yet who made me feel like a fool for having no ulterior motives.

Someone who doesn’t ask for anything and sees the real ‘me.’

Although they may have acted as if they were unaware, occasionally, with warm eyes, they would smile knowingly…

… To this foolish manager, whom I’ve hidden my deception from all this time, fearing criticism if caught, now I can’t bear it anymore.

In such a passive manner, seizing that person could turn out to be an insane feat or the role of a third party.

Let’s try shouting it out, just the two of us at my place… and….

Tap tap tap tap

How long has it been? The manager, who is usually enthusiastic about his work, is seen working diligently as usual.

Thump thump thump thump thump!

Approaching the manager as usual, but my heart is pounding so fiercely like never before.

When speaking with others, I feel hesitant due to human nature, stumbling over my words more.

But when talking to the manager, I’m too embarrassed, stuttering even more severely.

Thinking about moving forward in this relationship, I’ll have to fix it someday…

With great effort, I muster up the courage and utter a confession,

“Manager.. Would you like to… have dinner together at my place today..?

“Huh? At Eunseol’s place?”

“…Yes”

“I’ve received a lot of help from the manager until now… I was planning to invite you earlier, but missed the timing… What do you think, Manager?”

“Well… no matter how much I want to repay, going to a woman’s house where she lives alone…”

“…I have people there…. I don’t live alone, but with many others….”

“Uh…..”

“……”

Unknowingly, a switch flips within me towards this pathetic man who tries to overturn the prepared meal.

“Manager”

“You said to me last time, if I needed anything, you’d help me with whatever I wanted, right?”

“I’m going to use that now.”

“You wouldn’t say something like that after offering it and then say it’s not possible now, would you?”

“Huh..?”

Eunseol exudes the charisma typical of a ruler dominating over others, almost like a father to his daughter, as the granted wish powerfully affects Minsu.