Into the Tiger's Den
Ji-hoon led I-eum toward the back garden.
With relatives arriving one by one, staying in the central courtyard would have made them impossible to miss.
He'd thought he was getting to know I-eum little by little, but never in his wildest dreams had he predicted she would show up at the family estate.
"Teacher. Just trust me on this."
So that was what she'd meant.
Oblivious to Ji-hoon swallowing a sigh at her sudden, reckless stunt, I-eum followed him, unable to hold back her awe.
Whoa...!
It was far too vast and grand to believe a single family lived here. It was so meticulously maintained that calling it a village would have been easier to believe — evidence of a careful, practiced hand everywhere she looked.
For the first time, it truly sank in that Ji-hoon was chaebol. And just as the realization of exactly where he stood was hitting home, he finally came to a stop.
It was a small garden where a single bare tree, stripped of its leaves, rose toward the sky.
I-eum knew this was hardly the moment, but she surrendered to the view all the same.
"Your house is amazing, Teacher. I've never seen a place this beautiful in my whole life—"
But the moment Ji-hoon spun around to face her, she clamped her mouth shut with a flinch.
"What are you doing here?"
His expression was furious.
Had she gone too far after all?
But for I-eum, this was the only way.
To bend the will of her grandfather, Yeon Ho-nam, she needed to beg for help from someone who held power equal to his.
To her, that someone was Chairman Sung Hyun-do. Showing up at his family estate today might have been an act of pure audacity, but it wasn't one she regretted.
"Were you planning to meet the Chairman?"
"Yes."
"And why would you need to?"
Because I was going to ask him to help me.
So you won't have to carry it all alone, Teacher.
And you need a bride too, don't you? I want to be that bride.
But just as she hesitated, unsure whether she dared say any of it aloud, an unfamiliar voice drifted over from somewhere nearby.
"Who's that? Ji-hoon's girlfriend?"
Certain that they were alone, I-eum whipped around in shock — and her eyes went wide as saucers.
Who knew how long they'd been there, but more than a dozen adults who looked to be his family stood murmuring among themselves, watching them.
"T-Teacher. Who are all these people—"
Flustered, I-eum's face went crimson.
She'd had the whole school staring at her when Koo Sung-joon publicly confessed to her, but she'd never once felt like a monkey in a zoo before.
Ji-hoon tilted his head back with both hands planted on his hips, like a man confronting a fresh headache.
I-eum read the room.
She had worked up her courage precisely because she didn't want to be a burden to him, and now it seemed she'd only made things harder. It didn't sit well with her at all.
"I'll just head home for today."
She turned to go.
But she was forced to a halt almost immediately. She couldn't find the exit anywhere.
"Follow me."
As I-eum fidgeted in place, Ji-hoon strode past her and took the lead.
"Oho, off she goes."
"Leaving already? Weren't you staying for dinner?"
"Doesn't look like she's the girlfriend after all."
The whispers chased after the backs of their heads.
A house you couldn't even leave without an escort.
Unsure whether she ought to bow to them or pretend not to notice, I-eum quickened her pace to match Ji-hoon's stride.
Just as they were about to escape the space, a stern voice like a commanding shout seized them both.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Though it was anything but loud, they stopped in their tracks, unable to help themselves.
A chill ran down Ji-hoon's spine — he knew that foreboding feeling all too well. But I-eum, who had no way of knowing who the voice belonged to, only turned around, blinking round-eyed like a rabbit.
On the raised wooden veranda stood an old man of tremendous presence, his hands clasped behind his back.
To I-eum, he looked like an enormous tiger.
"Chairman...?"
The very moment she murmured it under her breath, the old man spoke.
"Taking my guest somewhere, are you?"
His voice rumbled like thunder, and as she hunched her shoulders, the old man's gaze turned to I-eum.
"Would that be Miss Yeon I-eum?"
"...Y-yes! I'm Yeon I-eum!"
Having instinctively recognized him as Chairman Sung Hyun-do, I-eum answered at the top of her voice.
Sure enough, the old man, hands still behind his back, jerked his chin toward the open door.
"Come in."
Ji-hoon's gathered relatives stirred loudly at that, and Ji-hoon stepped forward, positioning himself in front of her as though to hide I-eum behind his back.
"Grandfather. Speak with me first."
"No one called for you. Wait outside."
Before long, men in black suits came to escort I-eum away.
She looked back at Ji-hoon with a panicked expression.
This is fine, right?
Her eyes seemed to ask exactly that, but Ji-hoon only shook his head with a sigh.
She had crawled into the tiger's den of her own free will, asking to meet a tiger — what could he possibly do about it now?
"I-eum."
Still, he issued one warning as she was led away.
"Keep your head on straight in there."
And don't say anything about marriage.
"Yes... yes, sir!"
Though she hadn't understood a word of what he meant, I-eum nodded vigorously.
As if she trusted him to protect her.
I-eum kept her eyes fixed on the teacup set before her. The greenish tea, steam curling up from it, gave off a nutty, toasty scent that was somehow familiar.
The whole space was steeped in unmistakably Korean atmosphere.
That only made her more nervous, and just as I-eum's lips began to flutter in search of something to say, Chairman Sung broke the silence first.
"Relax."
"Y-yes, sir."
"You said you wanted to meet me. There must be a special reason."
I-eum swallowed a tense breath.
Her prepared presentation materials had been confiscated by Ji-hoon, so now she had to calmly sort through it all in her head.
Her purpose in coming to see Chairman Sung Hyun-do today.
Thinking of that one thing and nothing else, I-eum opened her mouth.
"You agreed to see me knowing I'm Assemblyman Yeon Ho-nam's granddaughter, didn't you?"
At that, the deep wrinkles around the Chairman's eyes creased further.
To Chairman Sung, dealing with people was as easy as reading his own palm.
Negotiation, bargaining — failing that, even intimidation.
And yet he could not fathom, for the life of him, what business this small girl before him might have.
If it were a political matter, Assemblyman Yeon would have come to him personally. He'd heard she was a student at Haeseong High School, but he could hardly imagine what business would require her to meet him face to face.
Still, the resolute lift of her gaze, her firmly pressed lips, her tightly clenched fists — those things alone told him she hadn't come on a whim.
"No. You're wrong."
As the Chairman spoke slowly, the girl's eyes wavered for an instant.
"I didn't grant the meeting because you're Assemblyman Yeon Ho-nam's granddaughter. I granted it because you're a student who's grown close to our Ji-hoon."
Some words traveled to his ears whether he sought them out or not. For instance, that Sung Ji-hoon — once known around headquarters as a troublemaker — had changed after being posted to the school.
And in particular, that the boy was unusually attentive to one particular female student.
"I was curious. That's not like him. So I looked into you a little, Miss I-eum, and—"
Startled by the mention of a background check, the girl's eyes went round.
"You're the daughter of a teacher named Yeon Chang-shin."
"You know my father?"
"Of course. He's our Ji-hoon's beloved mentor."
This, apparently, was news to her — the girl's dry lips parted and closed.
"Oh... I see..."
So that's why he looked out for me more than he did the others?
For a moment, a flood of thoughts rushed in — then I-eum shut down every one of them.
This was actually a good thing. It meant there was a strong chance Chairman Sung already knew about her circumstances too.
And having come this far, there was no turning back.
I-eum gulped down a dry swallow and straightened the back she'd been hunching.
"Then this just got easier to say. I was so worried you'd be shocked by what I'm about to propose."
"And what business would that be?"
"Forgive me for overstepping, but..."
As though delivering the most important announcement of her life, I-eum clenched both fists tight and declared:
"Give your grandson, Sung Ji-hoon, to me. Please."