Chapter 36. An Insurmountable Issue (2)

Translator: Lili

‘Fine. Let’s talk.’

At Cha Jaeheon’s acceptance, Shin Sera didn’t bother to hide her triumphant smile.

‘You won’t regret this decision.’

She replied with absolute confidence.

Just a short while ago, she had been desperately clinging to him, yet now, the drastic shift in her demeanor was jarring. Her eagerness to escape at any cost, her expression of sheer relief as if she had shaken off a terrible curse, and even the eyes filled with nothing but rejection—everything about her felt unfamiliar.

She didn’t seem like the Shin Sera he knew.

When she had requested this meeting, Cha Jaeheon had expected her to unleash all her resentment and sorrow over what had happened at the party. The mere thought had exhausted him in advance, but he knew that, this time, he had no excuse—he was undeniably at fault.

Avoiding responsibility due to fleeting emotions—what a pathetic excuse.

Cha Jaeheon had agreed to Shin Sera’s request so easily because he acknowledged his own wrongdoing. Yet, instead of what he had expected, she brought up something entirely different.

‘If I offer you compensation that satisfies you, will you agree to a clean breakup?’

The emotion in Shin Sera’s eyes was a fierce determination to undo this marriage at any cost.

Like all inexplicable phenomena in the world, her drastic change piqued Cha Jaeheon’s instinctive curiosity. And putting aside the feasibility, her proposal was quite tempting.

There was no denying that his current focus was on Lumitech. The company’s aggressive expansion, swallowing up subsidiaries and increasing its market presence, was impressive, but its scale was still woefully insufficient.

Relying solely on internal transactions within Geumgang Group had its limits, yet he didn’t want to draw unnecessary external attention or dilute his control by reaching out beyond his circle. At this rate, it would take over a decade to secure enough shares.

But if he could claim a portion of Sungwon’s supply, as Sera proposed, things would change. Not only would revenues increase, but mergers and acquisitions could be accelerated by several years.

The problem was that Shin Sera simply didn’t have the power to make that happen.

In the end, he would still marry her, reap the business benefits, endure a lifeless marriage, and divorce her when the time was right.

Even knowing this, Cha Jaeheon accepted her proposal. It was an impulsive decision, surprising even to himself.

If the future wasn’t going to change, then why, in that moment, did he feel compelled to entertain her delusions?

He couldn’t find an answer that convinced even himself.

‘We should get this notarized soon. I don’t need to tell you that our contract must remain a secret, do I?’

Cha Jaeheon brushed off her unrealistic nonsense and focused on the one question that mattered.

‘What will you ask for in return?’

Sera responded without hesitation.

‘Make it so that the breakup is entirely your fault. Something like… I gave my all to my beloved fiancé, but an insurmountable issue arose that made marriage impossible.’

‘You’re asking me to be the one to call off the engagement first?’

‘That doesn’t mean you’ll suffer any losses. In fact, breaking off the engagement might strengthen our business partnership.’

‘…’

‘All I want is a breakup with a legitimate reason—one that won’t provoke the chairman’s ire. And of course, I wouldn’t mind picking up a few extra perks along the way.’

As she finished speaking, Sera flashed a sly smile. Something about that grin held an allure that caught Jaeheon’s attention.

For the first time, the woman in front of him seemed interesting.

It was the first time he had felt anything other than exhaustion while being around her. The situation itself was absurd—humoring her ridiculous nonsense—but more than anything, he found himself intrigued.

Can a person truly change completely just because they’ve lost their memories?

The thought crossed his mind for a fleeting moment. But since it was ultimately unimportant, he soon forgot he had even questioned it.

***

By the time she had somewhat adjusted to the drama-like reality, Sera threw herself into solidifying her position within Sungwon.

She worked tirelessly to gain Chairman Shin’s recognition, strengthened her ties with Secretary Baek, and aggressively pushed forward various projects that had been previously put on hold.

Her efforts weren’t in vain. Though she had once teetered on the brink of being ousted from the executive ranks, her status had now settled into a relatively stable trajectory.

“You really seem like a different person.”

One day, Chairman Shin muttered this out of nowhere while watching her. Startled, Sera responded in a joking tone.

“Maybe it’s because I came back from the brink of death. I guess I finally realized that your passionate blood also runs through my veins, Chairman. Haha.”

The blatant flattery made the chairman’s brow furrow. Noticing the discomfort on his face, Sera flinched slightly and hurried out of his office as if making a quick escape. 

‘It would be best to avoid cheap flattery with that old man from now on.’