Juri

What on earth was wrong with this man? Did he just accuse me of being a corporate spy?

Bracing myself, I waited for him to say something to defend his case or even dismiss his behaviour, but instead, his expression darkened. He bowed subtly, taking me completely aback.

“I owe you a sincere apology. I crossed the line with your personal space and privacy with accusations that were without merit. I truly apologize.”

My gaze widened. This was not a sight I expected to see from someone like him. If anything, I expected him to be arrogant and aloof; however, he just looked…deeply troubled.

What kind of life has he been leading for him to be so paranoid? Earlier, when I was looking at him through the sidelights, the sound of him mindlessly clicking his pen echoed through the walls of his office. He looked tense and lost in thought.

Is this the reality of being a chaebol?

I averted my gaze. My own boss bowing to me also wasn’t on my bingo card for this year.

“It's okay. I was just caught off guard.”

He lifted his head and met my gaze. Looking at his eyes, I realized that they weren’t exactly cold. They were haunted. It was almost like the look of someone who was consumed by internal turmoil.

We held our gazes for far too long before he broke it and stepped back. The haunted look in his eyes completely vanished and was immediately replaced by the cold and piercing gaze he normally possessed. As if he had caught himself from slipping off his mask.

We remained in silence for a moment too long before I cleared my throat again.

“M-May I close the store, sir?”

He nodded before walking back into his office to pack up. I bowed as he left, feeling too uncomfortable to have him bow to me earlier without returning it.

Once we closed the store and stepped out of the building. I expected him to go to his car immediately, but he stayed next to me instead.

“Umm…sir?”

Without looking at me, he spoke, “It’s late. You shouldn’t be standing here alone.”

“You don’t have to wait for me. My boyfriend works far from here, so it might take a while…”

“I can wait.”

Dang it! I didn’t want him to meet Juwon like this. Not when he knew the full story about how he got my best friend pregnant.

Mr. Lee turned to look at me as if he had read my thoughts.

“I will not probe into your personal life. However, your boyfriend deserves some confrontation. Do not stay with someone who betrayed your trust.”

I folded my arms, “Technically, I wanted to confront him the moment I caught him, but you stopped me.”

“Fair enough.”

“But, what do you suggest I do?”

His sharp eyes narrowed as he pondered. The streetlight illuminated his sharp features. He had an incredible facial structure that could honestly make up for his cold demeanor.

However, before he could give me his advice, Juwon’s car headlights lit up the pavement as he parked next to us. Turning to bow at Mr. Lee, my brows arched upon seeing that he was already halfway to his car. When did he even walk away?

"Juri," Juwon called out as he stepped out of the car, his voice snapping my attention back to him.

Juwon stared past me and at Mr. Lee as he stepped into his black sports car and drove off, the sound of the engine roared past us. A deep part of me wanted to know what was going through Mr. Lee’s mind. I had only just met him, and yet, I was curious about him. He did things that made him unlikable, but I couldn't truly dislike him for some reason.

"Is that your coworker? You keep staring at him. Or do you like the car?" he asked.

Was I staring too intensely?

Juwon rolled his eyes, “I could buy that car, you know? It's just that people like that spend all their money on stupid cars to show off. I bet he can’t even keep up with rent because of it. It's a liability if anything. I don’t want to be mistaken for those people if I buy a car like that.”

“That's just because you can’t afford it,” I mumbled.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

He shrugged and walked over to his car, and opened the door for me. With a sigh, I slid into the passenger seat, and he closed the door.

Wow. He truly has an ego bigger than his income. Ever since I met him, he has always spoken down on others, especially successful people. Before, I would tolerate it, but after he said that about Mr. Lee, I realized that he really was a bum compared to him.

Juwon was just an insecure manchild. Why on earth was I so determined to marry him, in the first place, let alone date him for eight long years? If anyone was at fault for this relationship. It was me.

As he drove, my eyes stayed glued to the passing buildings outside the passenger window. My mind was running a marathon as the events of the last few days came flooding back in waves. I felt entirely stranded, like I had been completely ditched in the middle of nowhere in life.

I felt lost.

You’re probably thinking I should break up and move on. However, my parents already knew about our relationship and fully expected us to get married soon. Ironically, my mom had never been fond of him, which meant I had spent the majority of our relationship arguing with her to defend him.

Now, I finally understood why she doubted him. But if I went to her crying and admitted what he had done, she would certainly have my head for not listening to her in the first place.

Juwon cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him.

"How was work? Many famous people love that brand. Did you meet anyone interesting?" he asked cheerfully as I just glanced at him and nodded flatly.

His brows furrowed at my reaction, "Is something wrong?" he asked.

I shook my head, "Everything is fine. I'm just...tired."

My answer didn't convince him.

"Then why are you being so cold? Was it because I didn't answer your call on Saturday?" His voice rose slightly, hinting at irritation. "I'm sorry, I was busy. I know you're mad at me for not celebrating with you."

Noticing my anger, he quickly flashed a smile to defuse the situation, "I'll make it up to you. I booked a reservation at L'Amour de la Cuisine for Friday. You've always wanted to go there, right?" he asked.

I glanced at him, my lip curling in immediate distaste.

"L'Amour de la Cuisine? " I echoed.

I didn't repeat it because I hadn't heard him. I repeated it because the sheer realization of how deceitful he truly was finally sank in. I was finally realizing just how truly guileful he was.

It finally clicked. The only way for me to get my revenge on Juwon was to shatter that huge ego of his. But I didn’t know how. 

Little did I know that the solution was closer than I thought.