Chapter 1

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: A Shameful Morning
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Dawn broke at the window. The dim morning light illuminated the man lying beside her.

Waking in the darkness, Yuna fumbled for the lamp on the nightstand and switched it on. As the man's body, which had been pressed against hers, pulled away, something lukewarm trickled from between her thighs.

The substance she had held inside her all night was the same temperature as her body, but the sensation of it running down her thigh was unnervingly distinct.

She pulled a tissue from the box next to the lamp, wiped away the trail between her legs, and crumpled the sullied tissue into a ball before dropping it into the trash can.

The man asleep in the bed remained motionless.

The yellow lamplight cast a glow on his face. Even on the rumpled sheets, a testament to the night before, the man slept with a peaceful expression, lost in slumber.

Yuna gazed down at the sleeping man's face.

The line from his forehead to the bridge of his nose was smooth. With every exhale, that elegant line rose and fell faintly.

Kwon Taeseo, the second son of the Namgyeong Group.

He was impossibly difficult when awake, but in sleep, he was as beautiful as a figure preserved in an oil painting.

'I suppose I don't need to worry about contraception.'

Whenever she spent the night with him and woke to the morning, she would recall something he had once said.

Though he had a devastatingly beautiful face, he often said the most terribly cruel things.

'Even if you get pregnant, I can take care of you and the kid. So if you're looking to score a fortune, feel free to try your luck.'

Yuna was only twenty when she first set foot in Seoul, a city where she knew no one.

She had stepped into the sprawling metropolis—a place where you could be swindled in the blink of an eye—trusting only this man.

In return for being his woman for four years, the man, at least, had not spared any expense in supporting her financially.

With his help, the greenhorn from the countryside became a rising star. Yuna, who had once been clad in old, unfashionable things, came to possess more than she could have ever imagined.

The name An Yuna was no longer that of a simple country girl.

Her signature on a contract was now worth hundreds of millions of won, and the girl who once had nothing to lose had, in four years, become someone with a great deal to protect.

At first, she had been meticulous about contraception to avoid being abandoned by him, but as she gained more to protect, Yuna became even more diligent.

Yuna slipped on a robe, picked up the water bottle from the nightstand, and popped a birth control pill into her mouth.

Having taken the last of the twenty-four pills, she knew her period would start in a few days. Taeseo wouldn't visit during that time.

Yuna glanced at Taeseo's sleeping face once more. The lamplight illuminated the area around the bed.

The warm yellow glow of the lamp contrasted with the bluish light from the window where the bed was situated.

The areas untouched by the light were all cool. Though it was summer, the predawn air carried a distinct chill.

Prone to severe summer colds this time of year, she gently tucked Taeseo's hand, which had slipped out from under the covers, back inside.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar sound came from beyond the tightly closed bedroom door. It was the sound of someone opening the front door and entering the apartment. Yuna's brow furrowed.

'I told her not to come today...'

She had instructed her manager not to come to the apartment on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Everyone at the management agency knew whose money had created the actress An Yuna and who was backing her.

Although everyone knew who she owed her position to, Yuna wasn't shameless enough to flaunt it, and Taeseo, too, detested having his whereabouts exposed.

Intending to ask her manager if she knew what day it was and to give her a stern warning never to make such a mistake again, Yuna quickly finished her shower and left the bedroom.

The lights were on in the living room, which overlooked the Han River.

"Manager."

Instead of her manager's reply, the whir of an automatic coffee machine came from the kitchen.

The man sleeping in the bedroom was as sensitive in nature as he was delicate in appearance.

She should know full well how fussy the second son of Namgyeong Group could be, yet here she was, bustling about so early in the morning while he was asleep.

"Manager, I told you Tuesdays—"

Just as she was about to voice her complaint from the corner leading to the kitchen, she froze like a statue, her words catching in her throat.

The person standing in front of the coffee machine was not her manager, but a tall man. An unexpected visitor had occupied her space.

"Oh, pardon me."

The man, dressed in a glossy, chestnut-colored suit, continued what he was doing with a relaxed expression, despite the homeowner’s appearance. The rich aroma of coffee wafted up with his every move.

"It seemed like you would be a while, so I thought I’d have a cup of coffee."

Holding the mug of freshly brewed coffee, the man looked so self-assured it was hard to tell who was the resident and who was the guest.

Instead, it was Yuna, the owner of the apartment, who acted like the intruder, clutching the front of her shower robe below her neck as she took a step back.

The man chuckled, mug in hand. It wasn't a sneer, but his smile pierced her heart like a dagger.

"No need to get dressed. I’ve seen much more of you on screen."

The way his lips curved but his eyes didn't was identical to the man sleeping in the bedroom.

"Ah, don’t misunderstand. I harbor no impure thoughts about my brother’s woman. I was simply curious about the filmography of a Namgyeong Group model, so I did a little research."

This man, who had broken into her home in the early morning, was Kwon Taeseo’s older brother—the eldest son of the Namgyeong Group and its heir apparent.

"Ah, I’m late with the introductions. I’m Kwon Taejin."

"I know."

Taeseo often spoke to Yuna about his brother. Unlike his own difficult and sensitive self, he said his brother wore the mask of a mature adult, but on the inside, he was a son of a bitch more twisted than anyone.

"Shall we talk for a moment?"

Contrary to what she had heard from Taeseo, Taejin, in person, seemed more composed and gentlemanly than his brother.

There wasn’t a trace of impropriety in his gaze as he looked at Yuna standing in her shower robe.

"Let’s talk on the sofa."

"Ah, yes."

As if mesmerized by his suggestion, Yuna sat on the sofa and chewed on her lip.

She had almost been mistaken. There was no way a man who broke into someone else’s home at this hour and acted like he owned the place could be normal, yet she had thought of him as a gentleman.

The man sat across from Yuna, mug in hand. The white mug in his grasp looked as if it had belonged to him all along.

"We’ve seen each other around, but this is the first time we’ve met properly."

"Yes... But what brings you here...?"

His build was similar to Taeseo’s, but his hair and eyes were a much deeper shade. Unlike Taeseo, who seemed crafted from glass, this man felt more upright and solid.

Unlike Taeseo, who would get turned on whenever he saw her, this man didn't let his eyes stray below her neck, even with her in a shower robe; he almost seemed ascetic.

After a couple of sips of coffee, the man set his mug down on the table and met Yuna’s eyes.

"I won’t beat around the bush. I’d like you to end things with Taeseo."

His point was as direct as his gaze.

"I won’t offer you a cliché envelope of money. Nor any threats, of course."

Yuna simply nodded, without adding a word.

In truth, she had been expecting those words from the moment she realized who he was.

A rumor had been circulating that Taeseo was getting married. It was a detailed piece of gossip, even specifying who the other party was. She hadn't believed the rumor, but a thought suddenly struck her: perhaps this was why.

"List everything you need to settle, and we will ensure you get a good price for it."

"Okay."

There was nothing Yuna could do but obey him.

Besides, even though he claimed he wouldn't use threats, he wasn't the type to let her off easy if she didn't comply.

"Thank you for the coffee."

After delivering his message, the man rose from his seat with a clean, decisive air.

With no goodbye and no one to see him out, their meeting came to an end.

Long after the man had gone, Yuna’s gaze remained fixed on the coffee mug.

In someone else’s home, in front of a woman not even properly dressed, the man had drunk his coffee with complete composure.

That air of being unabashedly self-righteous, no matter the situation, was just like Kwon Taeseo’s, who lay sleeping in the bedroom.

Yuna was not shameless enough to refuse his family's request.

Only after he left did her pale face begin to burn with delayed heat.

It was a shameful morning.

* * *

Two months passed after that day. Her management contract ended just as the season was turning to summer.

Coinciding with the end of her contract, her modeling deals with various brands also expired one by one.

Taejin kept his word.

The penthouse by the Han River was sold the moment it was put on the market. She didn’t know who the buyer was, but they were so eager to move in that they even offered to pay her moving expenses.

He had said he wouldn't give her a cliché envelope of money, but after paying the capital gains tax on the sale, Yuna was left with a considerable sum.

She knew what it meant: a clean break, a departure with no loose ends.

On the day the first heat wave advisory of the year was issued, a summer day when clothes clung unpleasantly to the skin, Yuna left Seoul.

It was the first time since she had arrived in Seoul four years ago with nothing but a shabby bag that she was leaving the city for a reason other than her schedule.

Her departure was indefinite, with no telling when she might return to Seoul, yet there was not a hint of hesitation in her step.