A Holiday with a Friend (Complete)

"By the way, Aeri."

"Yeah? You have something to say?"

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"Pfft! W-what did you just say?"

I was sharing a meal with Yeon when that question came out of nowhere and nearly made me spit out my food.

"Hehe~ That reaction says it all. There's definitely someone, isn't there?"

Yeon looked at me with a mischievous little smile.

"I-I'm not seeing anyone! Not yet, anyway…"

It wasn't a lie.

To be honest, there was someone my heart was drawn to… but it was true that I wasn't actually dating anyone.

"Not yet? So there is someone you're interested in?"

"Well… yeah, there is, but…"

"Who is it? I'm dying to know who caught our Aeri's eye."

Yeon asked with open curiosity.

I wasn't sure if I should say anything, but even though I didn't know if these feelings were the real thing yet, and I had no idea how he felt about me, I decided to tell her.

"There's just this really good guy. The kind who always comes running whenever I'm in danger, or in trouble, or having a hard time."

As I spoke, one man's face rose clearly in my mind.

Yu Deok-cheol.

The dependable man who always rushed to my side no matter what situation I was in. The man who was always gentle with me. He wasn't conventionally stunning, but somehow, in my eyes, he was the most handsome person in the world.

Just being near him put my heart at ease. Once I thought of him, the image refused to leave my head.

'Hera… stop reading my mind.'

When I quietly told her to be quiet, Yeon laughed and said,

"If that's how you describe him, he must be pretty amazing."

"I don't know about other people, but at least to me he is."

"Hehe~ I'm so jealous."

Yeon's face was practically glowing with envy.

"Then what about you, Yeon? Are you seeing anyone?"

She'd asked me first, so it would feel unfair if I didn't ask back.

"I don't have a boyfriend, but I do have a fiancé. As you already know, Aeri, I'm a chaebol daughter despite how I act."

"Ah… right."

Seeing how casually Yeon behaved sometimes made me completely forget she was an heiress to a massive conglomerate.

Since she was part of the H Group owner's family, it was only natural she'd have to follow their rules.

People born into chaebol families aren't given the freedom to date whoever they want.

They're destined for arranged marriages built on mutual benefit, interest, and more interest.

If I hadn't been expelled from the H Group, I wouldn't have become a woman, but I would have lost all my freedom and ended up married to someone I didn't love.

To clear the heavy atmosphere, I changed the subject.

"Then after we eat, let's go to karaoke."

"Karaoke?"

"We need to digest and blow off some stress."

Yeon let out a small laugh and nodded.

"Yeah. Let's do it."

After finishing their meal, Aeri and Yeon decided to take a short walk before heading to karaoke and were strolling down the street.

"So get this, the client pulled out a gun and demanded his principal back."

"For real? What happened?"

"The guards rushed in and subdued him immediately, of course."

"Thank goodness. But didn't he sign off on a product with a seventy-percent principal loss risk?"

"Apparently there are a lot of people like that."

"Makes sense. Human psychology often refuses to accept reality."

They were chatting about random everyday things when someone suddenly called out to Yeon.

"Whoa? Look who it is. If it isn't the precious daughter of H Heavy Industries, Hwang Bo-yeon! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hic!"

Even though the sun hadn't fully set, a man who looked completely drunk staggered over. The moment Yeon saw him, her face twisted in disgust.

"Who is that?"

At Aeri's question, Yeon shook her head.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, Aeri. Let's go."

She tried to ignore him and keep walking, but the man stepped in front of them, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"Isn't this a bit cold? Ignoring your fiancé right to his face? Hic!"

"Move. Can't you see I'm with my friend?"

"Fiancé?"

The word made Aeri tilt her head in confusion.

"Is he your fiancé, Yeon?"

Yeon stayed silent for a moment, then gave a small nod.

"Yeah. For now, he is my fiancé."

"Nice to meet you, sister-in-law. I'm Baek Cheol-woo, Yeon's fiancé. Hic!"

The man who had just called her "sister-in-law" while swaying on his feet introduced himself as Baek Cheol-woo.

'Baekma Steel Group? I feel like I've heard that name before.'

Baek Cheol-woo was the third son of the owner family of the prestigious steel company Baekma Steel Group.

As a subsidiary of the H Group, Baekma Steel supplied raw materials to H Heavy Industries, and the steel they produced was known for its exceptional quality.

That made Baekma Steel a fairly respected company, but just because a company had prestige didn't mean the people running it did.

While his brothers were decent, the third son, Baek Cheol-woo, was what people called a complete degenerate.

Famous for causing every kind of trouble imaginable, he treated drunk driving as a hobby, dabbled in drugs, and gambled without hesitation. He was the worst of the worst.

Since his older brothers had all married, the only way to strengthen ties with the H Group was to send this Baek Cheol-woo to Yeon, who was still unmarried. That was how he had become her fiancé.

Unable to go against her family's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wishes, Yeon had no choice but to endure it no matter how much she hated him.

But today she was out with her friend, and she couldn't stand him ruining the mood like this.

Still, she didn't want ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to show an ugly side in front of her friend, so she had tried to ignore him. She couldn't understand why he was clinging to them like this.

"By the way, sister-in-law looks so pure and innocent compared to Yeon. Hic!"

Cheol-woo pretended to stumble and reached out to touch Aeri, but Yeon blocked him.

With a voice full of killing intent, Yeon glared at him.

"Don't you dare touch my friend."

"Whoa… it was just a mistake. Did you misunderstand?"

"A mistake? Don't make me laugh. How many times have you pulled this crap? You piece of trash…"

Yeon couldn't hold back anymore and called him trash. That was more than enough to set off the already drunk and drugged-up Cheol-woo.

"What? Trash? Hic! You bitch… Do you think being part of the H Group owner's family makes you hot shit?!"

Blinded by rage and lost to the drugs and alcohol, he raised his hand to slap Yeon.

'What a disgusting piece of garbage!'

Aeri was about to step in and stop him when—

"Whoops! I was planning to just walk on by, but I can't stand by when I see injustice."

A man with silver-dyed hair stepped between them, blocking Cheol-woo's hand. Despite the sun having already set, he was still wearing sunglasses.

"Who the hell are you?! Hic!"

"Looks like you're pretty drunk. Why don't you stop bothering these ladies and head home?"

"You bastard… do you even know who I am?!"

Cheol-woo shouted at the man who had interrupted him.

The guy looked shabby and his clothes were a mess, but his face wasn't bad. Still, the fact that someone who seemed like a nobody had dared to interfere made Cheol-woo furious. He changed targets and threw a punch at the man. The stranger easily deflected the blow and swept Cheol-woo's leg out from under him.

"How drunk do you have to be to fall over that easily?"

"You son of a…"

The man's mocking tone pushed Cheol-woo over the edge. He pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and started screaming into it.

When the call ended, the corners of Cheol-woo's mouth twisted into a nasty smirk.

"You're finished now. Hic!"

A short while later, five bulky men in black suits came running and stood in front of Cheol-woo.

"You called, young master?"

"Forget that, just teach this guy a lesson!"

At his order, the men didn't ask questions. They immediately charged at the stranger.

"Fighting really isn't my thing, you know."

What happened next left not only Cheol-woo, who had called the thugs, but also Yeon and Aeri wide-eyed in shock.

Two hits per person.

The man precisely targeted spots that would knock someone out in a single blow. After five punches, all five thugs were rolling on the ground.

"So, shall we hear who you are? The name of this fine young master who can summon people like these."

The man spoke with a bright smile. The moment Cheol-woo saw his face, he turned pale and ran away.

"H-Hiiik! J-just you wait! Hic!"

He even remembered to spit out a third-rate villain line before fleeing.

"Man… even with how advanced the world is, people like that still exist. Some things never change."

"Th-thank you so much."

Yeon approached the man and bowed in gratitude, but he simply shrugged.

"I didn't do it to get thanked. Like I said before, I just can't stand by when I see injustice, so don't worry about it."

"Still, could you at least tell me your name and contact information? I'd like to repay you somehow."

The man answered in a playful tone.

"Are you trying to get my number? Moving pretty fast for people who just met, aren't you? Fine, I'll give it to you, but you really don't need to repay me."

Using his nanomachine, the man left his contact information and name with Yeon, then waved and walked away.

"What a breezy guy."

Aeri watched the man's retreating back and gave her assessment.

"Gu Min-han."

"Huh?"

"That's the name of the man who just helped us."

"Gu Min-han? That name sounds familiar… Wait, you don't mean the Gu Min-han from the ACE Group?"

"Seems like it."

He was the second son of the ACE Group owner family, President of the ACE Investment division, and the younger brother of Gu Si-min, the Executive Director of the Strategic Business Planning Department who was considered the next in line to lead the ACE Group.

Aeri and Yeon couldn't believe that someone like Gu Min-han had been walking around the streets dressed so shabbily.

"He's not someone who appears in public much, but I think I've seen his face once before. It really was President Gu Min-han."

"He seemed like a pretty laid-back person, but there was a surprising depth to him too."

"Yeah."

'Hmm?'

Aeri snuck a quick glance at Yeon's face.

Seeing her slightly flushed cheeks, Aeri felt a sudden intuition.

'Is spring finally coming for Yeon too?'

After that, Aeri and Yeon continued on to their original destination, the karaoke room. Yeon unleashed a parade of high-energy rock songs full of shouting to vent all the stress she'd received from Cheol-woo.

After singing their hearts out and relieving their stress, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the two stopped by a café for a quick chat before finally parting ways.