Chapter 202
Chapter 202
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't know either."
That was how Yu Ha-neul answered.
In truth, she could find her if she wanted to. It wasn't exactly polite for other people to go poking through every corner of this mansion, but Sara would forgive her three friends, at least. No, she might not even grasp why it would be considered wrong in the first place.
But she had no intention of letting this man meet Sara. Sara was already dealing with enough as it was.
"Is that so?"
The old man answered Ha-neul's words, then quietly studied her for a moment before speaking again.
"I've heard you're very close to Sara."
As he said it, his eyes darted toward Yoon Da-ho. But Yu Ha-neul doubted Yoon Da-ho had actually shared friendly chitchat about her with his grandfather.
In fact, Yoon Da-ho averted his gaze from the look coming his way. It was the expression of someone caught in a lie.
If Yu Ha-neul's gut feeling was right, that former chairman was beating Yoon Da-ho. The last time she'd seen Yoon Da-ho, she had caught sight of a bruise peeking out from his sleeve.
She couldn't help feeling a little pity. Yu Ha-neul didn't exactly like Yoon Da-ho... no, she hated him. She could say that for sure. Regardless of his background or past, she didn't like the way he looked down on people, or how he treated Sara, the person she liked, like she was some sort of plague.
Not that this meant she thought he deserved to live getting beaten up like that... but it was also true that she didn't feel like stepping up to help him.
That didn't mean she had to withhold every helping hand, though.
That helping hand just wasn't aimed at saving Yoon Da-ho from his beatings.
"Yes, I'm very close to Sara."
That's right. They were close.
And she wanted to be closer.
Ideally, she wanted to become someone neither of them could do without.
And naturally, she wanted no other men between them during that time.
On this point, Yoon Da-ho, Yu Ha-neul, and Sara all thought the same. Yoon Da-ho and Sara both agreed it would be best to sever this engagement.
Yu Ha-neul wholeheartedly approved of breaking it off.
So, while she had no intention of actively stepping in to solve this family problem, she intended to offer whatever help she could here.
"Couldn't you, then, find out where Sara is? I am her one and only fiancé."
He said it as if he were making a joke. A one-and-only fiancé is the only kind there is, after all. But an engagement neither party agreed to couldn't really be called an engagement. No one had guaranteed it, and it wasn't registered anywhere official.
Most of all, when Yu Ha-neul had handed over the ring, Sara's hand had been bare—proof that the engagement was all empty words.
Thinking about how obsessed Choi Na-kyung was with Sara, Yu Ha-neul figured Yoon Da-ho was just a shield to 'make absolutely sure no one else could butt in.'
What was she supposed to say here? Should she be blunt and say that Sara didn't want this marriage, that she wanted to break off the engagement?
She glanced at Yoon Da-ho, and he shook his head ever so slightly.
Apparently, he wanted to handle his own problems on his own.
"...If the person herself feels so exhausted that she needs to rest... I think she should be left alone."
"What about having her fiancé look after her by her side? They've been engaged for quite a while; about time they moved their relationship forward."
Even if the two of them actually married, Yu Ha-neul didn't remotely think they'd become real lovers, but... the old man seemed intent on linking them together no matter what.
"Even so, I don't think it's a good idea for two minors to be in the same room...."
"Why, Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung would be wishing for it too."
"......."
Yu Ha-neul gave him a narrow glare.
Even faced with that, the old man didn't so much as blink. He'd probably already done a basic investigation into Sara and her relationships.
"Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung isn't here right now...."
"Just because she isn't here doesn't mean we can't contact her at all."
"......What?"
Yu Ha-neul asked back with a blank look. Su-a, standing beside her, covered her mouth with her hand. Nam Da-un's brow furrowed slightly.
"Ah, don't misunderstand. I don't know where she is either. But even if we have no way to reach her directly, she has many ways to contact us if she looks for them."
"But the chairwoman is wanted right now...."
"Then it must mean the matter is so urgent that she'd reach out despite the risk of being caught. Ah, of course, the content of the communication is personal information, so I can't go around speaking of it carelessly. Unless the police come asking for our cooperation, that is."
"......."
When Yu Ha-neul fell silent, the old man took a step closer and leaned forward slightly.
"Hm."
Seeing Yu Ha-neul's frozen face, the old man flashed a grin.
"Well, if you truly don't know, it can't be helped... but I'd like you to understand that, for the moment, that woman is Sara's sole legal guardian. And that woman has her own wishes, too. If you're 'close' friends, you must be well aware."
The old man spoke as if whispering.
"I wish for my grandson to marry the heiress of Yujin Group. That is as far as my wishes go. Whatever it is you want, if it's 'Sara,' you can take her back just fine. If there's a way for us both to win, why must we fight like this?"
"......Was that written in the communication too?"
"......."
At Yu Ha-neul's words, the old man closed his mouth.
Would Choi Na-kyung really have written to hand Sara over to Yu Ha-neul? No, Yu Ha-neul absolutely thought not.
She would sooner hand over her fortune and take Sara in return.
"Fighting like this only leaves both sides hurt, you know? Or are you lot after the money as well?"
Absolutely not.
But this fortune belonged to Sara.
Since it was Sara's, even if she gave it up or disposed of it, it had to be by Sara's own will. It wasn't something for others to arbitrarily think of as theirs.
"So..."
"Good evening."
Before the old man could continue, someone interrupted their conversation.
Looking toward where So-ri had been, they saw Sara's uncle, Ye In-hyeok, standing there.
"It's been a while, Chairman. Your health has improved, I trust."
"......."
The man who had been coaxing Yu Ha-neul just moments before now fell silent, faced with an actual member of Yujin Group.
Slowly, his gaze traveled over Ye In-hyeok, as if sizing him up.
"I'm doing quite well, thanks to you."
He held out his hand.
The two men shook hands. Outwardly, the mood was extremely amicable.
"Well enough to attend my grandson and granddaughter-in-law's birthday party, anyway."
"Why, thank you for looking so kindly upon my niece. I am, however, under the impression that they aren't married yet."
"They're engaged to each other."
"But an engagement is not a marriage. The young people of this era change their minds in a flash. Could they not change their minds again once they hit twenty?"
"Is that not exactly why we adults must help them find the optimal partner?"
"In that case, honored elder."
Ye In-hyeok bent forward ever so slightly.
Bringing his face toward the old man's, he spoke slowly, politely, as if explaining.
"In that case, the boy named Yoon Da-ho is not the optimal partner for our Sara, is he? The two don't even seem to like each other all that much."
"......."
"I would ask you to take note that we are in the middle of the Yujin Group heiress's birthday party. I've never sent an invitation to you, Mr. Chairman, nor to that child claiming to be her fiancé."
She'd been so focused on arguing with the old man that she hadn't noticed, but looking around now, the whole room had gone dead silent.
Especially the adults who weren't wearing red dresses.
Despite the variety of colors and styles in their clothes, the adults looking this way seemed to signal a shared allegiance just by the way they stood.
"I don't know exactly how you viewed Chairwoman Choi Na-kyung. But if you were thinking we're just easy to push around, that is a serious miscalculation. Do you truly wish for a direct collision between Homyeong Group and Yujin Group?"
"We'd both take a lot of damage from that."
"Did you say 'both'? My thoughts are quite different. Only one side will suffer 'significant damage.' The other side won't have a single person left to tally the losses."
"......."
The old man silently stared at him for a long while, then, after a moment, a faint smile touched his lips.
"Why, I've been rude. Of course, if my granddaughter-in-law is unwell, she ought to rest. I was pressing the matter without cause. Please understand. When you get old, stubbornness turns into mulishness."
"Not at all, Chairman. These things can happen."
The two men smiled and ended the conversation on that note.
But Yu Ha-neul thought that for both of them, their eyes weren't smiling at all.