Switching the Groom
His gaze alone made it clear. What he wanted had nothing to do with rewrapping a bouquet.
“Within reason.”
The way he seemed to size her up was so unpleasant that her words kept growing shorter. Do-yeon’s lips pressed into a tight, straight line.
A brief silence fell.
“I’d like you to switch the groom.”
What followed was so absurd she almost doubted her own ears.
The groom?
Do-yeon’s face, which had been so composed it bordered on cold, shattered for a moment.
She had no idea how many seconds she held her breath.
“……I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
When she finally managed to speak again, she had no choice but to ask him to clarify his intention.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t understood at all. But her common sense simply refused to accept the customer’s demand.
“The wedding we planned for April—I mean we change only the groom.”
Despite an appearance that radiated chill from head to toe, the customer trailed his fingertips over the petals as if tickling them, then met Do-yeon’s eyes.
You understood perfectly well. His clear gaze was saying exactly that.
It scraped right against her insides.
“Did you come for revenge, then?”
Though she’d heard the grandsons often brawled among themselves like dogs.
Her pointed question drew a soft snort of laughter from above. That cool face was smiling.
“If I say yes, will you make the switch?”
In an instant the customer’s face returned to its expressionless calm. Yet the way he stared at her made it plain he was thoroughly enjoying the situation.
Now that it had come to this, she had no choice but to ask directly. Crossing her arms defensively, Do-yeon glared at him.
“With whom?”
“That’s an odd question. In a situation like this, wouldn’t you normally ask who I am?”
The man raised one eyebrow. He seemed to be pretending surprise, but the slight upward curve of his lips revealed a playfulness that didn’t match his looks.
“Who are you, then?”
That grated on her. The sheer shamelessness of barging into someone else’s workplace just to test the waters.
“You already seem to know, but since you asked, I’ll answer.”
The unwelcome guest slipped a hand into his jacket’s inner pocket, pulled out a business card, and laid it on the counter.
“Kang Mo-jun.”
Her still-wary eyes silently traced the engraved letters. Kang Mo-jun, CEO of Muyoung Hotel.
“I’m the younger cousin of Kang Sang-jun, Head of Muyoung Distribution—the man Baek Do-yeon almost married.”
An unwelcome explanation followed immediately. The face that had only lifted its eyes to confirm no longer bothered to hide its amusement.
“And the new groom?”
“Me.”
The answer to her confirmatory question was exactly what she’d expected. What kind of scheme was this now?
CEO Kang Mo-jun was handsome to the point of being striking, yet the more they talked, the less he seemed like a sane person. It was hard to believe the representative of a major corporation went around acting like this.
“I don’t understand why you’re doing this to someone who almost became your cousin’s wife.”
Holding back the sigh rising from deep in her gut, Do-yeon spoke. She deliberately twisted the words he had used and threw them back at him.
“I’m succeeding the deal between our families.”
“Succeeding?”
“This marriage was business. Kang Sang-jun screwed up, and this is to compensate for the damage Muyoung inflicted on Hanbit because of it. Do you understand now?”
“To some extent.”
She had planned to cut him off mid-sentence and throw him out if it sounded like pure nonsense, but listening carefully, CEO Kang Mo-jun’s answer actually made sense.
It was even thoroughly logical and realistic. Complete with an unwanted sense of responsibility, no less.
As if inviting her to say whatever she wanted, Mo-jun gazed at Do-yeon with leisurely ease.
“But why are you the one making that compensation, Mr. Kang Mo-jun? You’re not even the party involved.”
Do-yeon didn’t bother mincing words either. Even though they had just met, she had the feeling this was someone she didn’t need to go to that trouble for.
“I’m also a member of Muyoung, I’m conveniently unmarried, and there’s a ready-made marriage right in front of us that only needs the groom’s name changed.”
Even the following answer was clean and free of fluff. She liked that.
After all, this wasn’t a marriage born of mutual love, of feeling like you’d die without the other person.
For people more used to being called someone’s daughter or some family’s son than by their own names, marriage was nothing more than a means of strategic merger and acquisition.
“I don’t think it’s a losing proposition for Hanbit Construction either.”
“Is that so?”
“Construction projects within the Muyoung Group can be secured more favorably just by being in-laws, and while Kang Sang-jun is a second son, I’m an only child and my mother is no longer with us. Meaning no sibling power struggles or mother-in-law issues—it’s clean.”
So if they were going to be in the same boat, it was better to have a partner whose desires were clear and who communicated well. Like the man standing in front of her.
Had he read the flicker of interest in her heart?
“For reference, I’m three years younger than Kang Sang-jun.”
“Ah, yes.”
CEO Kang Mo-jun was now even bringing up his age. Faced with that shamelessly nonchalant expression, Do-yeon couldn’t help making a face of pure distaste.
“If you’re going to get married anyway, isn’t a man even one year younger better?”
Those attractive lips curved into a smirk.
It was as if she could hear his inner thoughts. I’m much better-looking too, aren’t I?
“……”
He wasn’t wrong. As Do-yeon carefully studied Mo-jun, a different light flickered in her eyes than before.
True. I like it.
Her gaze, which had been scanning his sculpted face as if analyzing it, suddenly stopped. The sense of reality she had temporarily set aside reared its head.
We’ll grow even closer with Muyoung.
Of course. If the Kang side just hands over one Moonfield contract…
From the start, this marriage had been arranged purely on the basis of mutual benefit. In other words, the wishes of the family elders mattered more than those of the people actually getting married.
Of course, if she brought CEO Kang Mo-jun home, her family would welcome him with open arms. But what about Muyoung?
I’d hate it too if I were them.
That was the first impression that came to mind.
Especially the head of Muyoung Distribution and his wife—who had almost taken her as their daughter-in-law—would probably hate it intensely. They hadn’t even had the formal meeting yet because of scheduling conflicts.
The heart that had briefly fluttered quickly settled.
“You’re right. Your conditions are excellent, so why go out of your way for such an awkward marriage?”
Do-yeon chose her words carefully. She couldn’t exactly ask, Your family is going to hate me, so did you get the elders’ permission?
Her lowered gaze fell on the business card on the counter. Even the card was unnecessarily good-looking.
Tap, tap.
Long fingertips drummed on the wooden countertop. As if calling her.
“I have a lot to settle with Director Kang.”
When she had no choice but to look up, CEO Kang Mo-jun’s face was excessively neat. It was a face that didn’t suit the idea of revenge.
But if that was the reason, she understood.
To this man as well, who the marriage partner was probably didn’t matter much. And by going through with this marriage, he could thoroughly screw over his hated cousin.
I took the position you lost because of your screw-up. How does that feel?
Just being able to ask that question was reason enough for CEO Kang Mo-jun not to refuse this marriage.
“For reference, the Honorary Chairman has already given his permission. The invitations are already out—we just need to correct the groom’s name.”
“……You’re thorough.”
As if only just remembering, Mo-jun added the important explanation. It felt as though he could see straight through Do-yeon’s thoughts.
No matter who else, you must never fall out of Chairman Kang’s favor.
The real power at Muyoung was Mo-jun and Sang-jun’s grandfather, Honorary Chairman Kang Il-taek. On the surface he had stepped back from the front lines, but everything was still said to be in his hands.
And that figure had approved this tangled marriage.
It was puzzling, but she wasn’t particularly curious about his true intentions. The thought of seizing the opportunity came first.
“But why did you come to me? It would be faster to talk to my father.”
“Because the wishes of the woman who will become my wife matter more.”
The answer that came back didn’t match her probing question. It was far too romantic a reply for a man who had investigated the woman who almost became his cousin’s wife, then shamelessly shown up to ask her to switch the groom to himself.
“Then will you meet my conditions as well?”
“Let’s hear them.”
Do-yeon gave him no opening. The moment she threw out another question, CEO Kang Mo-jun tilted his head with smiling eyes.
There might be a bit of madness in those eyes, but I’ve got nothing to lose, so why not throw it out there?
Her thought process began to spin rapidly.
“Before the matchmaking meeting with Director Kang Sang-jun, I made a deal with my father. In exchange for marrying, he would invest in my business.”
“Business?”
“As you can see, I’m a florist by profession. I graduated from an art school in France and completed a well-known local floral school there. I worked as a florist for a five-star hotel, then freelanced for about a year.”
“You’re planning to open a flower shop?”
“Something like that. Except my clients are corporations. My goal is to create a floral brand that starts with wedding flower directing and expands to regular subscription services.”
Standing in front of a man who looked every bit the third-generation chaebol and reciting her résumé and business plan felt strange. Almost like a job interview.
But this was no time to be swayed by emotion.
“Anyway, with things turning out this way, my situation has become difficult. We were going to draw up the contract after the ceremony.”
“Your father is meticulous.”
“He tends to be.”
Swallowing the sigh that had risen all the way to her chin, Do-yeon still didn’t look away from Mo-jun’s eyes.
“If you invest in me, I’ll marry you with only the groom changed, just as you want.”
Her clear eyes gazed straight at her prospective investor. Tension tightened her throat, but she ignored the sensation.
The smile had completely vanished from Mo-jun’s face as well. As if he intended to run the numbers himself now that she had added a condition that hadn’t existed before.
“Any other conditions?”
“For the next five years, let me handle the wedding flower directing for Muyoung Hotel’s main branch. VVIP ceremonies only.”
Before she had even finished thinking, Do-yeon’s mouth moved first. It was such an instinctive deal that even she was surprised after saying it.
“All right.”
And to her bewilderment, CEO Kang Mo-jun readily accepted her conditions. At the unexpectedly swift and generous answer, Do-yeon’s eyes wavered ever so slightly for a fraction of a second.
“I’ll arrange a meeting as soon as the draft contract is ready.”
The sense of triumph—I did it—only washed over her belatedly after hearing the words that promised a next step. Now her heart was racing for a different reason.
“Please keep it secret. Until we sign.”
“Understood.”
Even then, Do-yeon didn’t forget to seal his lips. She had no idea what headaches would arise if her father found out.
With a short farewell, CEO Kang Mo-jun nodded. Watching his broad back recede, Do-yeon belatedly made a startled face.
“Mr. Kang Mo-jun.”
When she called his name, he was already standing right in front of the entrance. Afternoon spring sunlight shone like a halo behind his half-turned upper body.
The sudden visual assault left Do-yeon speechless for a moment.
“You left the bouquet.”
Only after their eyes met did her mouth finally move. Do-yeon picked up the bouquet and gave it a slight shake.
“An engagement gift.”
The prospective groom lifted the corner of his mouth in a smile. With the jingle of the bell again, he stepped out of the shop.
Holding the bouquet, Do-yeon stood frozen in place. Her mind was completely blank, as if she were under a spell.