The Dubai Announcement

“Even if the Chairman forced the marriage through, the two of you hadn’t so much as laid eyes on each other until the ceremony. So what on earth was that earlier?”

Ding-dong. A crisp electronic chime sounded as the elevator came to a halt. The doors parted smoothly, and the executives waiting in the hallway each bowed their heads in greeting.

In a voice too soft for any of them to catch, Jeeon murmured,

“That’s enough meddling in marital affairs. Shall we focus on the meeting, Director?”

The words had barely left his lips before he was already striding down the corridor.

Those long, uncatchable strides, that dazzling presence, the aura that remained untouchable even while he wore a smile—Kim Jeeon was unchanged.

Kim Jeeon, the crown prince who occupied the very pinnacle of GM Group, the summit of the castle. He was, without question, the conglomerate’s next chairman.

Only after Jeeon had taken the seat of honor in the Chairman’s place did the silver-haired executives lower themselves into their chairs one by one.

Seo Hyeon-a sat not beside him but directly across. If Kim Jeeon’s role was that of crown prince, then Seo Hyeon-a was the sole imperial eye capable of opposing him.

He trusts no one…

Kim Jonghyeop was a man whose distrust of people ran bone-deep. He had created the Strategic Innovation Division for his grandson Kim Jeeon, yet at the same time he had installed Seo Hyeon-a in the Management Headquarters precisely to keep Jeeon in check. She was the blade aimed at Kim Jeeon—and the eye that watched him.

How am I supposed to report what I just saw?

Even while preparing Kim Jeeon’s wedding, Kim Jonghyeop had summoned Seo Hyeon-a in secret. The Chairman who held absolute power had ordered her, as the couple’s closest observer, to keep watch over them.

Honestly…

The person Kim Jonghyeop—who trusted no one—distrusted most of all was, astonishingly, Kim Jeeon himself. He kept Jeeon closest to his throne and still suspected him.

Day by day Kim Jonghyeop’s suspicions spun into fantasies so unreal that even Seo Hyeon-a could scarcely comprehend them.

“……Director? Director Seo?”

She had sunk too deep into thought to follow the meeting. Hastily masking her fluster, Seo Hyeon-a looked up at Kim Jeeon. That gaze of his—never openly reproachful yet impossible to read—always pressed down on her with silent weight.

“……The Trident Project is proceeding without issue. The task force will report the details to the Chairman again in due course.”

In other words: this is a matter for the Chairman, so I’ll handle it myself. In an executive meeting, only Seo Hyeon-a and her Management Headquarters enjoyed the privilege of such a curt report.

Whenever that brief update—sounding almost like a dismissal of Kim Jeeon’s authority—ended, silence would settle over the conference room. Today, however, was different.

In the past he would have let it pass with a light laugh. Instead, Kim Jeeon, fingers still tracing the rim of his coffee cup, asked as though the thought had only just occurred to him,

“Director Seo, what is the completion schedule for the Dubai Center?”

The question came out of nowhere. Kim Jeeon almost never involved himself in Seo Hyeon-a’s work. The project’s budget ran into the trillions, yet she was the overall lead, and everyone knew Kim Jonghyeop stood behind her.

Caught off guard, Seo Hyeon-a hesitated a moment before answering.

“We expect it to wrap up by next month.”

“Is that so? Will the Chairman be attending the opening ceremony?”

“……That hasn’t been discussed yet.”

“Hmm.”

Seo Hyeon-a and the staff of Management Headquarters watched Kim Jeeon’s expression carefully.

This was the first executive meeting since Kim Jeeon’s wedding. No one could tell what wind had blown to make him act so unlike himself. The only clear candidate for the change was the marriage—and that guess proved more accurate than expected.

“As you all know, I’ve been buried under work and regrettably never managed a honeymoon.”

A stir ran through the room.

Kim Jeeon almost never spoke of private matters and had never once taken personal leave. Hearing the word “honeymoon” leave his mouth felt utterly alien.

Yet the man himself continued with perfect composure.

“I’ll attend the Dubai opening ceremony myself—together with my wife. It’s a project our group has staked everything on, so I ought to take a look. I hope none of you will take it too amiss. Next month’s meeting will be replaced by a video conference from Dubai.”

A different kind of silence settled over the conference room. Having unilaterally ended the meeting, Kim Jeeon rose and left with light steps.

Thud. The door closed behind him, and the moment he was gone the room erupted into whispers.

A sigh rose all the way to Seo Hyeon-a’s throat. She pressed her fingers to her forehead against the sudden headache.

How on earth am I supposed to explain this to the Chairman…

Kim Jeeon was definitely changing. The starting point of that change was equally clear. Yet she had no idea how to put the transformation into words.

Seo Hyeon-a let out another long breath.

Haejeong’s voice came through the phone. She wasn’t pressing, yet Heeseo had nothing to say. When the silence stretched, Haejeong called her name again and again.

“Yeah, Haejeong.”

“Well…”

Heeseo trailed off in a way that was unlike her.

The Shadow-Breaking Talisman was difficult both to craft and to use. Knowing how hard Haejeong—whose spiritual power was weak—had worked to make it, the words simply would not come.

Haejeong answered as though she had already guessed the situation from Heeseo’s silence. But the next question forced Heeseo’s mouth shut again.

“About that… well…”

Golswaebo was a plant that also served as a medicinal herb. Most people boiled it into tea or used it in traditional medicine, but shamans put it to a different purpose.

Haejeong’s mature reassurance only made Heeseo struggle harder to hide her despair.

She could not bring herself to admit that the underwear had been right under her nose and then snatched away. The memory of that unfamiliar woman’s stare—looking at her as if she were some kind of freak because of those briefs—still flickered before her eyes.

The shock ran deep enough that even Heeseo, who was not one to give up easily, needed a moment to gather herself.

“Haejeong. That guy knew from the very beginning. That I was a fake.”

“I mean he knew I approached him with the purpose of exorcising him.”

Haejeong’s shriek made Heeseo pull the phone away from her ear. She had expected the reaction. Not content with shouting, Haejeong kept leaping verbally.

Haejeong’s utter astonishment was only natural. The calmer Heeseo’s thoughts became, the more suspicious everything looked.

Kim Jeeon’s attitude—welcoming her into his home even while knowing her true identity—and the household’s complete silence about the ghost clinging to him. One particular idea kept wrapping Heeseo in an ominous premonition.

…This might be…

Dangle irresistible bait, then seal every escape route. It was the most common hunting method for catching beasts. Perhaps Heeseo had walked into the trap of her own free will.

“Just a half-baked shaman whose spiritual eyes haven’t even opened.”

“It’s okay, Haejeong. I know what you’re worried about.”