The Second Trip to Korea
Han Yugyeong was a celebrity at Hankuk University. Not only had she been admitted as the top student in the Business Administration department, but she was also the daughter of one of the top ten chaebol families in the country. Yet above all else, what made Han Yugyeong truly famous was her breathtaking beauty.
Her glossy black hair, ink-black eyes that seemed drawn with a brush, and fair yet vibrant skin created a stunning contrast that enhanced each other perfectly. Every feature—her eyes, nose, and lips—was beautiful and harmonized flawlessly. Han Yugyeong was more beautiful than most celebrities.
Although she wasn’t very active socially, she was already a well-known figure beyond the boundaries of Hankuk University. Her SNS, which she only updated once a week at most, had surpassed one million followers. Photos of her frequently appeared on online communities under titles like “Hankuk University Goddess.” Some people even posted pictures of her in high school uniform. Within the university, she was an absolute superstar.
Perhaps because of that, she received a constant stream of direct and indirect advances. Han Yugyeong coldly shut down every single one of them. Her reason for rejection was always the same.
“I have a boyfriend.”
At those words from Han Yugyeong, most men backed off immediately. A few persistent ones tried to force their way closer, but they couldn’t even approach her because of the bodyguards she kept with her.
The most recent reject, Park Sangbeom, came up with a new plan. He decided to dig into the boyfriend she kept claiming to have.
Using the power of his father—Park Ilsu, the second son of the BS Group chairman—he intended to completely tear apart the man’s background. Since Park Sangbeom was the only son born to Park Ilsu late in life, his father doted on him obsessively and granted every request. No matter who this boyfriend was, there would always be some dirt to find. Park Sangbeom planned to use that dirt to blackmail him and force him to leave Yugyeong.
But there was no trace of the boyfriend Han Yugyeong claimed to have. Not on her occasional SNS posts, and not even after tailing her for several days. There was simply no sign of any man.
A thought occurred to Park Sangbeom, and a sly smile spread across his face. So that bitch was just pretending to have a boyfriend to keep men away! Once he exposed that, what excuse could she possibly use to reject him?
In Park Sangbeom’s eyes, he was the perfect man. A muscular 180-centimeter frame, a reasonably handsome face, his father’s wealth, and the immense power that came with it… Aside from a handful of people, there was no one he felt inferior to. That was why he couldn’t even comprehend the idea of Han Yugyeong rejecting him. Even though she had already turned him down once using the boyfriend excuse.
“You’ll end up as my woman eventually.”
Obsession dripped from Park Sangbeom’s muttered words. After that, he began spreading rumors that Han Yugyeong was lying about having a boyfriend. He even suggested she might have a pathological lying disorder.
He claimed her infrequent SNS activity was because she was afraid her real life would be exposed, and he questioned whether her top admission to the business department was even real. He tried to paint everything about her as fake. The fact that she was a chaebol daughter was too well-known to deny, but if the Shingang Group had been even slightly weaker, he would have branded her entire family as fabrications and turned her into a diagnosed compulsive liar.
Even Han Yugyeong, who normally didn’t care what others thought, began to feel stressed. Even the friends she thought were close started asking if the boyfriend story was actually a lie. Park Sangbeom’s claims were slowly poisoning her surroundings. Unable to endure it any longer, Han Yugyeong decided to settle things once and for all and met with him. Park Sangbeom wore a despicable expression, looking as if he had already won.
“Just be honest now. You don’t have a boyfriend, do you? It’s just annoying when guys keep approaching you, right? Then let’s do this. I’ll become your real boyfriend. That way, you can comfortably tell everyone you have a real boyfriend. Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
Watching Park Sangbeom rattle off his words like a machine gun without even waiting for a reply, Han Yugyeong frowned. In her eyes, Park Sangbeom was the worst kind of man. The way he wielded his father’s power instead of his own, the muscles he had clearly built just for show, and above all, his unappealing face. It was only then that she realized just how much she cared about looks.
So far, Han Yugyeong had never met a man who could surpass Jin Yongtae. With his perfect body and handsome face, Jin Yongtae was literally her ideal type. And on top of that, he possessed something far above the Korean average… There was no way the likes of Park Sangbeom could even be compared to him.
“It’s fine. I really do have a boyfriend.”
“Stop lying!”
Bang!!
Rejected once again, Park Sangbeom slammed the table and shouted. His eyes were filled with unpleasant heat, murderous intent, and raw sexual desire—all negative emotions swirling together.
“It’s true. My boyfriend is in Japan right now, but since it’s vacation soon, he’ll come to see me.”
“Japan? Kekeke! Another lie! You’re really good at making up plausible stories!”
Park Sangbeom, who had gotten almost everything he ever wanted and had rarely experienced rejection, simply could not accept the fact that he had been turned down. So he focused entirely on the idea that Han Yugyeong was lying and poured all his rage into that.
He wanted to grab her by force and violate her, but the massive bodyguards standing behind her made that impossible.
“…Fine. Let’s do it this way. Bring your boyfriend to the end-of-semester party on Friday. If you do, I’ll believe you and never approach you again.”
“Why should I do that?”
“Otherwise, I’ll tell my father to completely rip apart the Shingang Group.”
Although Han Yugyeong didn’t have much affection for the Shingang Group, she knew that even the slightest chance of it suffering major damage because of Park Sangbeom’s request would strip away the protective veil of being a chaebol daughter. That would only make even more men swarm around her. So she had no choice but to nod. Until she could stand on her own, she still needed the position of the Shingang Group’s youngest daughter. Besides, she didn’t want to make an outright enemy of Park Sangbeom—the son of Park Ilsu, who was competing to become the next chairman of the BS Group—just yet.
“Alright. I’ll bring my boyfriend to the end-of-semester party. And if I do bring him, don’t you dare speak to me or even act like you know me.”
“Fine. But if it turns out you don’t have a boyfriend, you’ll have to go out with me.”
At the absurd demand, Han Yugyeong frowned again. She looked at Park Sangbeom with pure contempt in her eyes.
“If I don’t have a boyfriend, then I don’t. Why would I have to meet with you, sunbae?”
“Because I’m the first one to expose your lie. Don’t you think I deserve at least that much as a reward?”
“I don’t like that. My boyfriend might be too busy to come. I can’t agree to meet with you just because I couldn’t show him off. If those are the conditions, I’d rather not make any deal at all.”
Faced with Han Yugyeong’s firm attitude, Park Sangbeom raised both hands in surrender, saying “Okay, okay,” and took a step back. But his demeanor remained relaxed. He was clearly convinced that she didn’t actually have a boyfriend.
“Alright. I’ll settle for exposing your lie.”
Park Sangbeom flashed a sly smile and left. Soon, the meaning behind that sly smile was revealed in the group KakaoTalk chat for the Business Administration Class of ’53.
No one knew when Park Sangbeom, who was Class of ’52, had even joined the ’53 group chat, but whether it was because it was a free drinking party or because they wanted to see the boyfriend Han Yugyeong claimed to have, nearly everyone who didn’t have unavoidable prior engagements or family events all declared they would attend.
Although Park Sangbeom was part of the student council, offering to cover all costs and gathering people like this made it clear he was up to something. Since it was already somewhat known that his family belonged to the BS Group’s third generation of chaebol, everyone understood this level of spending wasn’t a big deal for him. To Han Yugyeong, who was also from a chaebol family, it seemed utterly ridiculous.
Han Yugyeong fell deep into thought. That worry followed her all the way back to her studio apartment that night. After making a big decision, she turned on her phone.
It was a message sent after steeling her resolve. Since it was already quite late, she worried there might be no reply. But less than thirty seconds after she sent it, a response came.
She felt sorry for suddenly asking like this. There clearly wasn’t enough time to prepare for a trip, and it felt wrong to ask Jin Yongtae to come all the way to Korea just because of some ridiculous bet.
Despite her worries, Jin Yongtae agreed to come to Korea without the slightest hesitation. Looking at her phone, Han Yugyeong unconsciously broke into an excited smile. She already looked as if she were meeting him.
In response to Jin Yongtae’s question, she ended up telling him everything that had happened. Jin Yongtae replied that he definitely had to go if it was something like this, and said he would take time off on Friday and Monday so he could stay in Korea from Friday through Monday.
After finishing the conversation, Han Yugyeong hugged her phone to her chest. Then she whispered softly.
“I love you, Yongtae.”
Han Yugyeong looking at Park Sangbeom with utter contempt