Chapter 17
Chapter 17
It wasn’t simply because Lee Jin-ho was the only son of the wealthiest family in the country that he had caught her attention.
With a family background like that, he could have been arrogant and full of himself, but Lee Jin-ho had a side that was different from other second- or third-generation chaebols.
Noblesse oblige!
Whenever accidents or incidents happened, he was the first to step up and organize fundraising efforts. He personally visited the sites to serve free meals to affected residents. Unlike most of the ultra-wealthy, he actively volunteered and contributed with his own feet.
Because of that, even at a young age, rumors circulated that he intended to enter politics.
‘Well, he seems okay after meeting him.’
Jung Jin-woo liked Lee Jin-ho as well. He even thought that he might have to share a soju drink with him later.
“By the way…”
He had agreed to pretend to be her boyfriend for four hours. But it wasn’t even 9 p.m. yet.
Why was time passing so slowly?
“Ye-rip! You’ve gotten even prettier!”
“When did you get here? If you came, you should’ve come see me first!”
Huh?
What?
Jung Jin-woo’s eyes widened as he looked toward the source of the voices.
Do Ye-rip was chatting with a group of girls.
Why was Do Ye-rip here?
Then, could it be…
Was Do Ye-rip also from a chaebol family?
No.
Ah… if her boyfriend was a chaebol, that would make sense.
Jung Jin-woo raised his hand to block his face from the direction of Do Ye-rip and slightly turned his head so she couldn’t see him.
“Oh my, can’t take your eyes off your girlfriend. She must be amazing to make you like that.”
“You’re at the peak of love, aren’t you?”
Choi Ji-eun’s friends said this as they returned to their seats.
Coincidentally, the direction Jung Jin-woo had turned toward was where Choi Ji-eun was sitting.
It was good to socialize and expand connections, but in a top-tier restaurant with a garden hosting hundreds of people, the expenses must have been considerable. Just for party food, champagne, and wine, it easily seemed like hundreds of millions, maybe even billions of won.
“Do you usually have parties like this?”
He was curious.
“No, only occasionally. Today is our annual regular gathering, so it’s bigger than usual. Members are required to attend. If they don’t come without a reason, they get fired.”
“So that’s why Jin-ho oppa came too. Oh Ye-rip!”
“Unni!”
“You’ve gotten so pretty. Your face is glowing. Are you dating someone? Who is it?”
Apparently, a girl at the same table knew Do Ye-rip.
Jung Jin-woo lowered his head and turned it the other way.
“Dating? Not really…”
“You don’t have someone you like?”
“I do.”
“Who? Who would dare reject Do Ye-rip, the only daughter of Ilsung Pharmaceutical? With her figure, her beauty, and fluency in three languages—there’s nothing lacking in our Do Ye-rip…”
“Ha ha… unni, stop…”
“What drama are you acting out? Who is the guy? If I looked like you… I’d line them all up and hand out numbers. Is he in business? Politics? Law?”
“He’s just an ordinary guy.”
“Ordinary? Do Ye-rip, famous for her elegance, likes an ordinary man? That’s nonsense.”
“I’m serious. He is ordinary… but the person sitting next to me is…”
“Oh! Ji-eun’s boyfriend.”
“Ji-eun’s boyfriend? Really? Oh, hello!”
Do Ye-rip greeted him.
Jung Jin-woo, hiding his face with his arms and turning away, had nowhere left to run.
“Hello… uh? Do Ye-rip!”
“Section Chief Jo!”
Do Ye-rip stared at Jung Jin-woo like a mannequin.
“You said you didn’t have a girlfriend? You said you didn’t.”
Why was she saying that in such a resentful tone?
Do Ye-rip suddenly raised her voice, almost accusingly.
“Ah… well…”
Before Jung Jin-woo could even explain, Do Ye-rip’s eyes grew sharp and fierce.
“I told you not to say anything!”
He turned to see Choi Ji-eun had come over.
“Jung Jin-woo is Ji-eun’s boyfriend? That’s impossible…”
“Sorry, but it’s true.”
Do Ye-rip and Choi Ji-eun glared at each other, standing face to face.
In the tense silence, no one dared speak, only watching the two women.
Everyone around seemed intrigued, observing with curiosity.
‘How did it come to this…’
Jung Jin-woo looked at the two women with a stunned expression.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
A sudden, booming voice rang out.
“How dare you go after a man I already set my eyes on without my permission?”
Jung Jin-woo nearly fainted when he saw the owner of the voice.
“Wh-why are you here?”
“Have you been well, boyfriend?”
“W-what?”
It was Oh Se-eun.
She appeared with a much more mature and beautiful face than two years ago.
Do Ye-rip and Choi Ji-eun, caught off guard, just stared.
“You’re really skilled. While I was studying abroad, you had a line of girls following you.”
“No… that’s not it…”
“No? What nonsense! The only person I longed for was you… What about the vow of love we made?”
Everyone was watching this bizarre scene unfold.
Quietly, people whispered to each other.
Jung Jin-woo could only gape at Oh Se-eun’s ad-libbing, unable to respond.
“That guy’s playing both sides—or maybe more… His current girlfriend is Choi Ji-eun, ex-girlfriend Do Ye-rip, and the real lover is Oh Se-eun? This is insane…”
People started murmuring.
“Come with me!”
Oh Se-eun grabbed Jung Jin-woo’s arm.
“N-no…”
As Jung Jin-woo resisted, she teased, “Oh, so you’re resisting… Shall I do it like before?”
She raised an eyebrow and curled one side of her mouth.
Jung Jin-woo knew exactly what she meant.
‘She’s going to unload some absurd story like, “What about my girl?”’—here, in front of Korea’s most influential connections.
“Ha… fine, let’s go.”
Jung Jin-woo stood up.
At that moment, someone caught his eye—a woman tilting a wine glass and glaring at him.
His ex-wife, Noh Mi-ra.
“No contact at all? Huh?”
“I’ve been insanely busy…”
“But two years exactly… You should have contacted me like clockwork.”
A small laugh escaped.
It was so delightful and relieving.
“You didn’t contact me either…”
“I waited for you to reach out. If I contacted first, it would’ve been embarrassing.”
Her tone was still rough, but Jung Jin-woo already knew her from experience. She was actually kind and lovely.
“What was that just now? Those women?”
“Business contacts…”
“Business contacts? But why did they call you Ji-eun’s boyfriend? Their eyes weren’t joking.”
“It’s complicated if I explain. Just leave it at that. Anyway, did you finish your studies?”
“Yes, all done! I should have finished my master’s degree last year, but the professor kept me for a little longer. I finished it last week.”
So she had been extremely busy until recently.
“Now for the truth. Do you have a girlfriend?”
“Pfft…”
“Don’t laugh.”
“No!”
“That’s great. I don’t have a boyfriend either. We’re not kids anymore. Shall we properly start over?”
Oh Se-eun smiled, raising the corners of her eyes. She looked irresistibly cute.
“At twenty-three, smart, studied abroad, from a good family—there must be many young men who like you.”
“Wasn’t it always like that? Always has been.”
Such grounded confidence…
“Can’t you just relax a bit? Saying that as soon as we meet?”
“Well, what else should I say between a man and woman? Two years later, if it’s still good, we should seriously date, right?”
Jung Jin-woo couldn’t help but laugh.
She was just as bold as before. She hadn’t changed at all—just more mature, prettier, and cuter.
“Then we should start as friends.”
“Wasn’t I already your girlfriend? I thought you were my boyfriend…”
“Girlfriend, boyfriend—that’s something we figure out after at least a kiss.”
“Oh! Right, we didn’t kiss back then…”
Oh Se-eun was still a fun character. She would act mischievously, sometimes blaming others for her whims if things didn’t go her way.
“Then, shall we do it now?”
She looked at him with sparkling eyes.
For a moment, Jung Jin-woo wavered. He had missed her. She was a fresh, cherished memory.
So she was someone he needed to be careful with.
“If we start dating officially later…”
Oh Se-eun’s expression twisted at his words.
“It’s weird… You don’t seem to dislike me… Do you still think I’m childish?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Fine. Originally, women are the first to tempt, but it’s the man’s role to approach.”
“Where did you learn that?”
“I read every dating book I could while studying. Fine then.”
Oh Se-eun spread her arms wide.
“What’s that?”
“To hug… We ended things like that back then, so let’s restart like this.”
Remembering the embrace when they parted, she seemed nostalgic.
“Okay, let’s hug.”
She crawled into Jung Jin-woo’s arms.
Her head seemed slightly higher than before, resting on his nose.
“I like your smell… It’s the same.”
She buried her face in his chest.
It was a pleasant hug.
[The money is fine. I didn’t realize you were such a remarkable person. Looking forward to working with you.]
Jung Jin-woo licked his lips after reading the text.
He had sent a message apologizing for not finishing the boyfriend role properly yesterday, and that he would return the money if she provided her account. Ten minutes later, he received this reply from Choi Ji-eun.
The issue was the SG Global website development contract.
Swallowing dryly, he sent a reply:
[Then I’ll treat you to dinner when you have time.]
A reply came immediately:
[If it’s about the contract, let’s proceed as planned. No dinner needed. Buy me a drink next time.]
Reading the text, he unconsciously clenched his fist.
“What are you doing? Team Leader? Was the SG Global contract fine yesterday?”
“Yes, it went well.”
“Nice…”
Ji-jeong, who had been looking at Jung Jin-woo, returned her gaze to the monitor.
“Truly amazing… People like this still exist? Why are men all like this, tsk tsk.”
“What happened?”
“Well, a photo went viral on SNS yesterday. Some party with rich people, and a man was caught dating multiple women at once. Really scary… Do men all behave like this?”
Several photos were displayed on the monitor. The outdoor party had handsome men and beautiful women talking over champagne.
One photo stood out—two women facing each other.
Do Ye-rip and Choi Ji-eun.
And the man standing between them.
Suddenly, another woman jumped in. Her face was blurry, but Jung Jin-woo recognized her.
It was Oh Se-eun. She grabbed the man’s hand and pulled him away.
“This was a party for second- and third-generation chaebols and idols. And the man playing multiple sides was exposed. Ugh, octopus arms… It caused chaos overnight. Every forum posted these photos…”
“Gasp!”
Someone had captured and uploaded all the scenes. Jung Jin-woo had instantly become a national casanova.
Thankfully, the people’s faces were blurred or mosaicked.
“But I’m familiar with this man… plaid bag, navy shirt, cotton pants, brown shoes… Seems familiar…”
Jung Jin-woo swallowed nervously.
“Uh? Team Leader is dressed the same. Same outfit as this person.”
“R-really? People our age dress similarly… ha ha.”
“This bad guy wears the same clothes as Team Leader… What a coincidence…”
Ji-jeong narrowed her eyes as she scanned Jung Jin-woo up and down.
“This is Team Leader, right?”
“Pardon?”
“You went there yesterday, as we discussed?”
“Well… um…”
“Wow…”
Ji-jeong shook her head in disbelief.
“I thought you were a good person, but Team Leader… you’re a pure womanizer. Wow… shocking!”
“No, that’s not it…”
“Who are you, Team Leader? How many more surprises will you give me? You haven’t been married once with a kid, have you?”
Jung Jin-woo’s face turned pale. He couldn’t answer. How did she even know that…