4
# Chapter 4
“Sorry. I gave the department head a document earlier today, but he accidentally shredded it. He called to ask where the
original was, so I had to tell him.”
“It's okay. Our department head calling people after work isn't exactly unusual.”
“Thanks for understanding.”
“But, Assistant Manager.”
Yu Sia shifted eagerly in her seat, as though that wasn't what mattered.
“I'm not materialistic.”
Song Jin-seong figured it was simply a matter of wording.
'I suppose calling her materialistic would naturally upset her.'
He spoke carefully.
“Sorry. I guess the word I used was too harsh. I apologize for that.”
“No, that's not it.”
Although she couldn't reveal everything, Yu Sia decided to tell him at least a little.
“My family is wealthy.”
Not just wealthy.
They belonged to the second-richest business family in South Korea.
Starting with the very restaurant they were dining in...
The supercars driving along Gangnam-daero...
No, even if they bought everything around Sinsa Station, they would still have money left over.
In fact, the building housing this restaurant had already been quietly placed under another name by Chairman Yu Jin-gap
so he could eventually gift it to his granddaughter.
Of course, neither of the people currently eating there knew that.
However, Song Jin-seong came to a completely different conclusion.
“You don't have to make excuses.”
“Huh?”
“It's understandable.”
He calmly rested both hands on the table.
“When people first start earning money after entering the workforce, it's natural to want things. You start wanting nice
possessions and spending money. I've been through it myself, so I understand.”
“No, Assistant Manager. That's not what I mean. My family really is wealthy...”
Yu Sia blinked slowly.
She was being completely sincere.
But Song Jin-seong shook his head.
“Sigh... Sia, let me be honest.”
He felt that if they kept talking like this, she'd only continue trying to justify herself.
“At first, I honestly thought you were born with a silver spoon.”
Considering the luxury brands she wore to work every day, it was a reasonable first impression.
“But then I heard something from Assistant Manager Park.”
“What... did you hear?”
“She said the handbag you brought the other day had to be returned.”
“Ah... that...”
Yu Sia was suddenly speechless.
He was talking about the new Hermesia handbag she'd carried recently.
'Well... I did have to return that one.'
It happened fairly often.
Whenever a luxury brand prepared a flagship product, they selected a handful of VIP clients to test it before its
official release.
For that Hermesia handbag, only three people in each country were chosen.
Yu Sia had been one of them.
Returning it simply meant the testing period had ended.
Unfortunately, Song Jin-seong reached the wrong conclusion.
“So it was a rental service, right?”
“A... rental?”
“I've heard that's becoming really popular with younger people these days.”
He spoke as though he understood everything.
“You know, renting luxury goods. People can't afford to buy them, so companies rent them out to people who want to carry
them.”
“I've... honestly never heard of that.”
She genuinely learned such a business existed only at that moment.
“You don't have to pretend.”
“I'm serious.”
“...Really?”
“Yes.”
Yu Sia nodded vigorously.
Watching her reaction, Song Jin-seong felt something strange.
'...What's this?'
At first, he'd assumed she was pretending out of embarrassment.
'But judging from her expression... maybe she really doesn't know?'
Before he could think any further—
Bzzz.
His phone rang again.
“...One second.”
Caller: Department Head Ma Won-ho
“Sorry. It's Department Head Ma again.”
“You can answer it here.”
“No, I'll be right back.”
He stepped outside to take the call.
“Yes, Department Head. Still couldn't find the document?”
“No, Song. I found it. But something urgent has come up.”
“Something urgent?”
“Sorry to call this late, but I need you back at the office immediately.”
“...Right now?”
It was already past eight in the evening.
He'd barely gotten off work before being called back.
“You remember the advertisement that's supposed to go nationwide tomorrow?”
“Yes. The GH air conditioner commercial?”
It had been a major project.
He remembered it clearly because everyone had worked so hard on it.
“The actress who filmed that commercial has been caught in a drug scandal. The news is still under embargo, but it won't
stay quiet until morning.”
“...Damn it. Understood. I'll head in immediately.”
Ending the call, he returned to the table.
“Sia, I'm really sorry, but something urgent came up.”
“...What?”
“I have to go back to the office.”
“What...? Ah... Should I come with you?”
“No. That won't be necessary.”
It was serious, but not something an intern needed to deal with.
“As an apology, let's split the dinner bill.”
Leaving Yu Sia behind, he hurried back toward the company.
---
At the same time.
Chairman's office at HR Group.
“Chief Choi.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“You don't think she'll be upset that I sent her spending money so late... do you?”
Chairman Yu Jin-gap asked anxiously.
His granddaughter normally replied the moment she saw his messages.
Today, however, quite some time had passed without any response.
“I'm sure she'll be fine. Miss Sia isn't the type to be upset over something like that.”
“I hope so...”
He never gave spending money to his grandsons.
If anything, he usually found excuses to take theirs away.
Yet for some reason, he had always been exceptionally soft when it came to his granddaughter.
“Sigh...”
He let out a deep breath.
“Chief Choi.”
“Yes?”
“I can't stop thinking about what Sia said.”
“Which part?”
At dinner a few days earlier, she'd said...
“He's a good person. He works at our company.”
“She really thinks that just because he works at HR, he's automatically a good man.”
“I don't think that's exactly what she meant...”
“Working at our company doesn't make someone a good person.”
“...That's true.”
“The world is crawling with wolves.”
Chairman Yu Jin-gap sighed heavily.
“What if he's some worthless punk?”
“...”
“If that's the case, isn't it Human Resources' fault?”
“...Pardon?”
“Who's our head of HR again?”
“Division Director Kang Baek-hyun.”
The chairman's eyes narrowed dangerously.
“Should I fire that bastard?”
“...I don't think that's necessary, Chairman.”
“Right... You're right.”
He rubbed his forehead.
“They must've hired him properly...”
“I'm sure they did.”
Chief Secretary Choi Kyung-geun wiped sweat from his forehead.
He had served Chairman Yu Jin-gap for over thirty years.
The chairman he knew was never someone who spoke recklessly or acted on impulse.
Yet seeing him say things like this...
'He's truly shaken.'
The head of the nation's second-largest conglomerate was completely flustered over his granddaughter's declaration of
love.
Unable to hide his concern, Chief Choi carefully asked,
“Chairman... would you like me to quietly investigate him?”
“Absolutely not!”
The chairman immediately raised his voice.
“If we do that, then our Sia... Sia might...”
He couldn't even bring himself to say the words "premarital pregnancy."
Just imagining it made him short of breath.
After taking several deep breaths, he finally regained his composure.
“Chief Choi.”
“Yes?”
“Then let's do this instead...”
He quietly issued another order.
Under normal circumstances, he never would have.
But considering his current state...
Chief Choi could understand.
“Can you do it?”
“Yes. I believe so.”
“And don't let my sons or grandsons find out.”
“Of course.”
From that moment on, a secret operation to identify the wolf...
Or rather, the man who had captured his granddaughter's heart...
Officially began.
---
Meanwhile, back at the restaurant near Sinsa Station...
“...What?”
Left alone, Yu Sia stared blankly at the entrance.
“Did he really leave?”
Song Jin-seong had taken his coat and bag.
Since he'd returned to work, there was no chance he would be coming back.
“But... I didn't even get to explain.”
Somehow, the youngest daughter of the HR Group family had been reduced to nothing more than a materialistic woman in her
twenties who loved luxury.
“So he thought all my designer bags and clothes were rentals?”
She opened the photo gallery on her phone.
Pictures of the showroom inside her home appeared.
The room was larger than the average family's living room.
One entire wall was filled with luxury handbags and shoes.
Another wall was packed with designer clothing worth millions of won per outfit.
And that wasn't all.
Her garage held Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Range Rovers, Aston Martins...
Not to mention the brand-new Bugatti—one of only a single unit in Korea—that her eldest uncle had bought for her
twenty-fourth birthday.
There was even a private villa in the backyard of Chairman Yu Jin-gap's estate in Naegok-dong.
It had been built solely for Yu Sia.
The land alone was worth tens of billions of won.
'How am I supposed to clear up this misunderstanding?'
Oddly enough...
She wasn't offended that he thought she was extravagant.
If anything...
'I guess it means he has a strong sense of financial responsibility.'
Of course, the scale of his thinking was completely different from the life she'd grown up with.
Ding.
A notification appeared on her phone.
Song Jin-seong: Sia, the bill came to ₩65,000, right?
Song Jin-seong: Since I ordered the pasta and you ordered the steak...
Song Jin-seong has transferred ₩27,500.
Song Jin-seong: We never opened the wine, so let's have them cancel it.
“...Pfft.”
The moment she read the messages, she couldn't help laughing.
Not only had he insisted on splitting such a tiny bill exactly in half...
He'd even thought about canceling the unopened wine to avoid unnecessary spending.
'I don't think I've ever met someone like him.'
Although she'd never officially dated anyone before...
She'd gone on introductions and flirted with a few men.
Every one of them had been heirs to chaebol families or wealthy CEOs of IT companies.
Splitting the bill?
She'd only ever seen that happen in television dramas.
For the first time in her life...
She found herself in exactly that situation.
And strangely enough...
“Assistant Manager Song...”
The corners of her lips slowly curved upward.
“You're actually... kind of adorable.”