Chapter 16

That was when it happened.

Vroooom! Screeech!

Beyond the gate of the blue-roofed house, another roaring engine tore through the quiet morning. An imported sports car worth hundreds of millions of won came barreling in, its sharp, high-pitched exhaust note completely overpowering the heavy sedan the Jeong family had arrived in.

Every pair of eyes in the tense yard immediately turned toward the gate.

Click.

The sleek car door opened, and a man stepped leisurely into the yard.

He was tall, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, his hair slicked neatly back and his arrogant gaze sweeping over everything as though the entire world existed beneath him.

Kwon Heeseong.

There wasn’t even a trace of the man who, only a few days ago, had been desperately hacking away at weeds with a hoe, covered in dirt and sweat.

This was the polished, overwhelming heir of a chaebol family.

“Ugh. Why is it so noisy this early in the morning?”

Kwon Heeseong brushed casually at his shoulder, his brow creasing slightly as he surveyed the yard.

His gaze passed over Jeong Iwon’s flustered parents before settling on Yoon Mujin, who stood there growling like a wild beast, and then on Jeong Iwon, safely hidden behind his broad back.

“W-what? CEO Kwon?”

Chairman Jeong was the first to react.

He had seen Kwon Heeseong’s photograph countless times in the materials sent by Ilseong’s secretariat and had occasionally seen him on the news, but he couldn’t comprehend why such a man had personally appeared in this shabby, foul-smelling country yard.

His voice came out as an awkward stammer.

His wife was no different. She sucked in a sharp breath and stared at him, unable to even close her mouth.

Kwon Heeseong merely snorted before strolling toward the couple, who immediately began bowing and scraping.

“Apologies for the late greeting. I was the one who requested the meeting, so I certainly didn’t expect my in-laws to make the trip all the way here first.”

The corner of his mouth curled into an elegant smile.

But there was nothing warm about it. His eyes were as cold and sharp as winter frost.

Under that chilling gaze, Chairman Jeong instinctively took a step backward.

“But coming all the way here just to drag away the person I’ve chosen isn’t going to do.”

Kwon Heeseong’s smile deepened.

“Our Iwon doesn’t like being forced into things.”

“C-CEO Kwon! That’s not what happened. We only came because Iwon is living in such a miserable place…”

Kwon Heeseong completely ignored the excuse.

It was the same way someone might ignore an annoying insect buzzing beside their ear.

He walked straight over, casually clapped Yoon Mujin on the shoulder as though the imposing man weren’t glaring at him, and then stopped in front of Jeong Iwon.

Jeong Iwon was still standing there in a daze, struggling to process the absurd situation unfolding before him.

Kwon Heeseong bent slightly so that their eyes were level.

“Hello, Iwon.”

His lips curved into a shameless grin.

“Seoul was too boring and suffocating, so I came back down to see your face. Didn’t you miss me?”

Jeong Iwon finally snapped out of his daze.

“You crazy bastard. What the hell are you scheming?”

“Scheming? Nothing like that.”

Kwon Heeseong answered without the slightest trace of embarrassment.

“I fell completely in love with the food you make. So I’ve decided to mooch off you for the rest of my life.”

The shameless declaration left the entire yard frozen.

Jeong Iwon’s parents stared at him in disbelief.

The reason the country’s foremost third-generation chaebol had personally come down to propose marriage was apparently…

Food.

Meanwhile, the large fist of Yoon Mujin, standing protectively beside Jeong Iwon, slowly tightened.

Crack.

The sound of his knuckles grinding together was unmistakable.

His eyes burned with such murderous intensity that it seemed as though he might tear Kwon Heeseong apart on the spot.

Kwon Heeseong merely met that murderous glare with amused indifference.

Then, as though nothing were wrong, he extended a hand toward Jeong Iwon.

“Come on, Jeong Iwon.”

His smile turned arrogant.

“Let’s go on a date.”

The expensive watch beneath his suit sleeve caught the sunlight and flashed brilliantly.

A man from Ilseong—the conglomerate that held enormous power over the country’s business world.

To most people, the hand he had extended would have been a golden opportunity, the kind of offer that could transform their entire life.

Jeong Iwon’s parents were practically holding their breath as they watched, delight shining in their eyes.

But Jeong Iwon was different.

He quietly stared down at the hand held out before him.

And then—

CRACK!

A crisp slap rang through the peaceful country yard.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jeong Iwon slapped Kwon Heeseong across the face with all his strength.

“Ack!”

“H-He’s insane!”

Chairman Jeong and his wife, who had been holding their breath, sucked in shocked gasps simultaneously.

They had watched the slap land.

They had watched the bright red mark bloom across Kwon Heeseong’s cheek.

The two of them turned deathly pale.

It felt as though the sky itself had collapsed.

But the reaction of the person who had actually been slapped was stranger still.

Kwon Heeseong’s head remained turned to the side for several seconds.

Then he slowly touched his cheek.

A breathless, disbelieving laugh escaped him.

Instead of erupting in anger or humiliation, he turned his head back toward Jeong Iwon.

There wasn’t even a trace of fury in his eyes.

Instead, they gleamed with something disturbingly close to delight.

And fascination.

It was as though Jeong Iwon had just given him the strongest stimulus of his entire life.

“Ha.”

Kwon Heeseong laughed softly.

“That really is something.”

He looked at Jeong Iwon with genuine interest.

“You’re the first person who’s ever hit me.”

It was the sort of stale, embarrassing line that sounded as though it had been ripped straight from some outdated third-rate romance drama.

Jeong Iwon’s expression twisted.

“What a load of bullshit.”

Far from being offended, Kwon Heeseong burst into laughter.

“Ahahaha! This is killing me.”

His shoulders shook as he laughed, tears even gathering at the corners of his eyes.

“Honestly, you’re the only person in the world who treats me like this!”

For someone who had spent his entire life surrounded by people who bowed and scraped the moment they saw his wealth and status, Jeong Iwon’s completely unfiltered disgust was almost exhilarating.

It was brutally refreshing.

When his laughter finally subsided, something greedy glimmered in his eyes.

He looked at Jeong Iwon like a predator staring down its prey.

Then, in a low and strangely gentle voice, he whispered,

“Iwon.”

His gaze never left Jeong Iwon.

“Just come live with me.”

His voice was soft, but the words carried an unsettling possessiveness.

“Whatever you want, I’ll take care of it. Money? Status? Revenge against that garbage family of yours?”

Kwon Heeseong smiled.

“If you want it, I’ll put their entire company at your feet.”

He reached out again.

“So just come to me.”

His voice dropped lower.

“Spend the rest of your life beside me, getting angry and irritated at me just like this.”

It was no longer a simple joke or passing curiosity.

There was something frighteningly obsessive about the proposal.

He was willing to use anything—money, power, revenge—as leverage to make Jeong Iwon his.

The first person to react to that dangerous declaration was Yoon Mujin.

“Iwon!”

Yoon Mujin urgently reached for Jeong Iwon’s shoulder.

An instinctive fear surged through him.

He wanted nothing more than to pull Jeong Iwon into his arms, get him away from this chaos, and take him somewhere nobody could reach them.

His arm wrapped around Jeong Iwon’s waist, pulling him protectively closer as his breathing grew rough.

But Jeong Iwon wasn’t shaken in the slightest.

For starters, he had absolutely no intention of living with Kwon Heeseong.

He lightly patted Yoon Mujin’s trembling arm, silently reassuring him.

Then he lifted his eyes toward Kwon Heeseong.

“Get lost, you slut!”

A member of Ilseong.

A man who stood at the summit of the country’s business world.

A man ordinary people wouldn’t dare meet eye to eye with.

And Jeong Iwon had just called him a slut to his face.

The sheer audacity of the insult was enough to make Chairman Jeong’s eyes roll back.

“Th-that ill-mannered bastard!”

Chairman Jeong’s bloodshot eyes bulged.

“How dare he! How dare he—gh!”

He grabbed the back of his neck with both hands.

The terror of offending Kwon Heeseong, combined with the unbearable frustration of his eldest son refusing to obey him, finally pushed Chairman Jeong beyond his limit.

“D-Dear!”

Thud!

Chairman Jeong foamed at the mouth and collapsed onto the ground.

His expensive suit immediately became covered in dirt, but nobody had the presence of mind to care.

“Dear! Dear!”

His wife dropped to the ground beside him, desperately clutching his shoulders.

“Driver! Call 119! Hurry! Call 119! Somebody help!”

The driver hurriedly pulled out his phone and dialed emergency services.

And then, from the back seat of the black sedan parked in one corner of the yard, another door suddenly flew open.

Jeong Siyeon had been sitting inside the air-conditioned car, quietly watching everything unfold.

But the moment he saw his father collapse and foam at the mouth, he panicked.

He rushed out of the car and glared at Jeong Iwon with venom.

“Hyung!”

His voice was shrill with fury.

“You’ve really lost your mind, haven’t you?! Are you seriously determined to ruin this entire family?! If anything happens to Dad, it’ll all be your fault!”

Jeong Iwon didn’t even flinch.

“I told you.”

His voice was cold.

“I don’t care whether that family gets ruined or not.”

He pointed toward the gate.

“Whatever happens to them is your problem. Now get off my property.”