A Misunderstood Detail
“…”
It was the moment when the tension between us crackled like a live wire.
“Yo! Taeseong!”
A booming laugh sliced through the air, splitting the two of us apart.
At the same instant, the handshake dissolved.
Kang Taeseong had let go first.
He clicked his tongue inwardly.
“…Tch.”
When I turned, a silver-haired, wizened old man shuffled toward us.
The lines on his face told the full story of his years, yet his eyes still burned with the wild energy of a beast.
Chairman Seo Inwook of Seohan Group.
Seo Jia’s father.
“…Chairman.”
Kang Taeseong had already bowed his head the moment he recognized him.
“How have you been?”
“Hahaha!”
Seo Inwook waved a hand.
“No need for formalities, kid.”
He spoke in a tone so friendly it was impossible to believe he was a chairman.
Warmth shone in his eyes as he looked at Taeseong.
Kang Baekho and Seo Inwook.
Even in the cutthroat world of chaebols, they were close enough to trust with their backs.
It was no accident they had raised their kids together since childhood, the two of them.
“Call me Uncle like always.”
Taeseong gave a bitter smile.
It was harder than he expected.
When his father was still alive, maybe. But now he ran KJ Group.
No matter how close they were, he couldn’t act the same way as back then.
Worse still, the memories were hazy.
The little boy Kang Taeseong racing over to call him Uncle.
Eating dinner, laughing, roughhousing together.
Those scenes stayed vivid in his head.
Yet even when he remembered them, his chest stayed cold.
It felt like flipping through someone else’s album.
“Oh.”
Only then did Seo Inwook spot Cha Minhyeok.
“Minhyeok is here too?”
“Chairman.”
Cha Minhyeok bowed with a perfect, amiable smile.
But the right hand that had just shaken ours a moment ago was now tucked behind his back.
His fingertips still stung.
“Did you two just greet each other?”
“Correct.”
Cha Minhyeok answered with a grin.
“Because Jia’s childhood friend, we were talking.”
“…Hmm?”
Seo Inwook’s gaze swept slowly between the three of us.
A CEO who ranked third in the business world.
Even though he was old, decades of dealing with people had sharpened his instincts.
‘Interesting.’
The atmosphere felt subtly rigid.
Both men smiled outwardly while keeping each other at arm’s length.
They were definitely sparring.
With only two people here, the reason had to be enmity.
“Heh.”
Seo Inwook caught the connection and let out a meaningful chuckle.
“So our Jia’s popularity is off the charts, huh?”
“Huh?”
Seo Jia tilted her head, confused.
Her father chuckled and continued.
“Remember how, when she was little… she was always saying she’d marry Taeseong?”
“Dad!”
Before the sentence finished, Seo Jia’s face flushed scarlet and she shouted.
“Why are you bringing this up now!”
The picture of a demure chaebol heiress vanished in an instant.
But Seo Inwook just laughed as if the sight was adorable.
It wasn’t entirely a joke.
Chairman Kang Baekho and Chairman Seo Inwook had always joked at parties about raising the kids together someday.
It was playful teasing, but little Seo Jia had taken it seriously.
—Marry the pig?
She had simply repeated what the adults said without understanding.
—Hey, pig! When we grow up, we’re gonna get married!
—Huh? What’d you say, Jia?
—Marry me! Or I’ll die!
“Ah, so embarrassing!”
Seo Jia stamped her feet, face still burning.
Uncovering that old trauma had been mortifying.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it.”
Seo Inwook turned with a smile.
“Enjoy your time, Chairman.”
“Taeseong.”
Seo Inwook looked back with an easy grin.
“Catch up later sometime. We’ll have a drink, okay?”
With that booming laugh, he walked away slowly.
*
Sshhh.
In front of the men’s bathroom sinks.
A neatly dressed man washed his hands.
Pale, flawless skin.
Slender eyes.
Cha Minhyeok, the man whose harmless smile always put people at ease.
He stared at the running water, then slowly turned his gaze to the mirror.
The amiable smile vanished as if it had never existed.
“…”
A cold, expressionless face.
His eyelids lifted one by one.
The eyes behind them gleamed red and sharp.
Anyone who met them would feel a chill down their spine.
He ran a hand through his hair, still watching himself in the mirror.
‘Kang Taeseong…’
Cha Minhyeok recalled the giant he had just shaken hands with.
Seo Jia’s childhood friend.
From the files he had read, the man was surprisingly shy and introverted for his size.
He had intended to squeeze him for information, but…
“…The info was wrong.”
Cha Minhyeok slowly raised his right hand.
The back of it was bruised deep blue.
Even his knuckles were swollen and red.
“Ugh.”
Pain flared immediately. He scowled.
‘Not someone to underestimate.’
The data he had collected on Seo Jia’s people showed Kang Taeseong as the most mismatched entry.
As if he were a completely different person.
Unyielding presence that didn’t flinch under pressure.
A ruthless personality that crushed a stranger’s hand without hesitation.
Friendship with Chairman Seo Inwook, of all people.
And most of all—
‘Seo Jia.’
The reports had said she was obsessed with him. Very obsessed.
That was the one detail that still irked him most.
How she treated Kang Taeseong.
Cha Minhyeok had encountered many women.
Because of his handsome face, girls had pursued him since childhood.
He had seduced them when it suited him and discarded them when they stopped being useful.
He had always been able to read women’s emotions better than anyone.
That was why he was certain.
‘Seo Jia has feelings for Kang Taeseong.’
She might not realize it yet, but from Cha Minhyeok’s perspective, it was obvious.
Every time she looked at Kang Taeseong, she wore that possessive, feminine gaze the other girls had used to fall for him.
‘Tch.’
It wasn’t the ache of loving someone who had wandered off.
They hadn’t even started this engagement out of love.
Seohan Group had simply chosen the most efficient way to seize the giant conglomerate.
He had pried into the cracks and offered the most profitable terms, securing the fiancée position.
He had thought marriage was only a formality.
Catching a woman’s eye was nothing to him.
A clueless chaebol heiress?
It would take some time, but he had plenty.
But—
‘That damn pig…’
Cha Minhyeok’s narrowed eyes sank into icy blue.
Kang Taeseong was the one variable he had not planned for.
He didn’t mind someone hostile.
The guy was arrogant, but arrogance he could handle.
If the only problem was Seo Jia becoming his woman and Seohan Group swallowing him whole, he could deal with it.
But then…
“…”
Cha Minhyeok slowly closed his eyes.
The instant they reopened, the crimson had vanished.
Slender eyes, an amiable smile.
The cold expression from moments ago had disappeared without a trace.
As if it had never existed.
“Hmm.”
Cha Minhyeok wiped his hands with a handkerchief and studied his reflection.
The man in the mirror looked like any kind, courteous young gentleman.
The corner of his mouth curved gently.
“Time to clean this up.”
*
Somehow they ended up together.
Normally, being sandwiched between a couple was rude, but—
‘Neither of them seems to mind…’
More importantly, Cha Minhyeok’s suspicious behavior was driving him crazy.
He couldn’t let them go alone.
The luxury cruise was packed with entertainment.
Jazz performances, casinos, cocktail classes.
And tonight’s event was a blind wine tasting.
People gathered around the tables. Numbered wine glasses sat in the center.
“After tasting, guess the vintage, producer, and region. Winners get a Seohan Group winery tour ticket and limited-edition goodies.”
The crowd swelled.
Chaebols, executives, celebrities.
Wine enthusiasts were plentiful.
“I’ll go first.”
Cha Minhyeok stepped forward, picked up a glass, and took a careful sniff.
He swirled the wine, sipped, then let it roll across his tongue.
“2016 vintage. Bordeaux, France. Château Montrose.”
“Correct!”
Applause erupted from the crowd.
“Amazing.”
“Cha Minhyeok is the real deal.”
Cha Minhyeok smiled modestly.
“Wine is just a hobby.”
He glanced sideways at me.
…?
Why are you looking at me?
“Does President Kang like wine too?”
I didn’t collect or drink wine with Taeseong either.
Chairman Kang Baekho had seemed to enjoy it.
“No.”
“I see.”
The corner of his mouth lifted faintly.
“I guessed as much.”
What was this, the interrogation?
“By the way.”
Cha Minhyeok turned to the host with a grin.
“Would President Kang like to join?”
At those words, everyone around us turned to stare.
It was obvious now.
‘This bastard…’
He had planned it all along.
He had been trying to pull me over here.
‘Well, I punched you hard.’
Are you going for revenge already?
No wonder those sly-looking guys always do this.
Trying to humiliate me somehow, huh? Framing a wine-ignorant lowlife like me?
But I found it weird.
Was being bad at wine really that humiliating?
Seo Jia, however, seemed to think differently.
“…Pig.”
She poked my arm quietly.
“Just stay quiet.”
“Why?”
“We might end up looking like fools.”
It was sincere.
She was worried I’d get hurt.
Cha Minhyeok, meanwhile, smiled relaxed and carefree.
“No need to worry. It might be wrong.”
Such a kind-sounding thing to say.
If only the dark truth behind it didn’t shine through so clearly.
But he had overlooked one crucial detail.
【2016 Château Montrose】
【Region: Bordeaux, France】
【Varieties: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot】
My eyes widened sharply.