The morning passed with an almost unsettling sense of normalcy.
Sunlight poured through the tall classroom windows, casting long golden streaks across rows of wooden desks. Outside, students crossed the campus with cups of coffee in hand, laughter carrying through the cool autumn air. It looked like every other weekday at Hanseong University.
To Yerin, however, it felt strangely distant.
She sat near the window, her notebook open before her, though the words on the page refused to stay in place. Every sentence the professor spoke seemed to drift past without meaning.
"...Miss Hwang?"
She blinked.
The lecture hall came back into focus.
Professor Kim smiled patiently. "Would you care to answer the question?"
A few students turned to look at her.
Yerin quickly glanced at the equation written across the board. Thankfully, she had been listening more than she realized.
She stood.
"The answer is sixty-four point eight, Professor."
Professor Kim nodded approvingly.
"And the reason?"
She explained her calculations calmly, each step clear and confident. By the time she sat down, the professor gave her an appreciative smile.
"Excellent."
She returned the smile politely, but it never reached her eyes.
From beside her, Do-hyun quietly closed his notebook.
He hadn't missed the brief hesitation.
Nor had he missed the exhaustion hidden behind her composed expression.
The lecture ended soon after.
As students streamed into the hallway, Emily linked her arm through Yerin's with her usual enthusiasm.
"Shopping."
Yerin looked at her.
"...Now?"
"Yes, now."
Emily pointed dramatically toward the campus gate.
"We survived classes."
"We deserve rewards."
Min-jae appeared beside them carrying his backpack over one shoulder.
"I support this decision."
"Of course you do," Emily replied.
"You support anything that involves leaving campus."
"I also support food."
"No one is surprised."
Yerin finally laughed—a small, genuine laugh.
"Fine."
"We'll go."
Emily beamed triumphantly.
"I knew you'd say yes."
The four of them spent the next hour wandering through the shopping district a few streets away from the university.
Emily insisted on trying on clothes she had no intention of buying.
Min-jae somehow managed to convince a shopkeeper to let him sample nearly every flavor of ice cream before purchasing only one.
Yerin found herself laughing more than she had expected.
Even Do-hyun, though characteristically quiet, stayed with the group without complaint, occasionally answering Emily's impossible questions with the shortest responses imaginable.
It was...
Normal.
Comfortably normal.
None of them realized it would be the last ordinary afternoon they would share for a very long time.
As the sun began its slow descent, they parted ways at the intersection outside the shopping district.
Emily waved dramatically from a taxi window.
Min-jae disappeared toward the subway station, promising once again that he would "definitely start studying tonight."
No one believed him.
Yerin smiled as she watched him leave before turning toward the waiting family car.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she said.
Do-hyun gave a small nod.
"Tomorrow."
Neither of them knew...
Tomorrow would be the day everything changed.
The Hwang Mansion stood bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun.
As Yerin stepped through the grand entrance, the familiar scent of polished wood and fresh flowers welcomed her home.
"You're back, Miss."
One of the housekeepers bowed politely before taking the shopping bags from her hands.
"Thank you."
She glanced toward the dining room where soft conversation drifted into the hallway.
Her parents had returned only the day before, making the mansion feel livelier than it had in weeks.
Dinner that evening was unusually peaceful.
Her mother spoke about Paris.
Her father mentioned an upcoming board meeting.
Grandmother complained—good-naturedly—that Ji-hoon still skipped breakfast whenever he had early meetings.
"I don't skip breakfast," Ji-hoon protested.
"I postpone it."
"Until lunch," Grandmother replied dryly.
Yerin laughed.
"You walked right into that one."
Ji-hoon pointed at her dramatically.
"Traitor."
"I prefer 'honest.'"
The table filled with quiet laughter.
For a little while...
Everything felt exactly as it always had.
And that made what came next all the more devastating.
After dinner, Yerin excused herself and returned to her room.
She changed into comfortable clothes, tied her hair into a loose ponytail, and settled near the window with a novel she had been trying to finish for weeks.
She had barely turned the second page when there was a soft knock on the door.
"Come in."
A servant stepped inside and bowed respectfully.
"Miss Yerin..."
"Chairman Hwang has asked to see you in the study."
Yerin looked up from her book.
"My father?"
"Yes, Miss."
She frowned slightly.
"Did he say why?"
The servant shook his head.
"No, Miss."
"I understand."
Closing the book, Yerin slipped on a light cardigan before making her way downstairs.
The long hallway toward the study felt strangely quiet.
As she reached the heavy wooden doors, she noticed they were already slightly open.
She knocked gently.
"Father?"
A calm voice answered from inside.
"Come in."
Yerin pushed the door open...
...and immediately realized something was wrong.
Yerin pushed the door open slowly.
The first thing she noticed was the silence.
Not the comfortable silence that often filled the study when her father worked late into the night, but something heavier. The kind that settled over a room before difficult conversations.
Her father stood beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, his hands clasped behind his back as he looked out over the city lights. Her mother sat quietly on one of the leather sofas, fingers intertwined in her lap. Grandmother Mi-ran occupied her usual armchair, composed as ever, while Ji-hoon leaned against the bookshelf with his arms crossed.
No one smiled.
Yerin's own smile faded almost instantly.
"...Did something happen?"
Her father finally turned around.
"No."
His voice was calm.
"Close the door."
She obeyed without question.
The soft click of the door echoed through the room.
"Come and sit."
Yerin walked toward the empty sofa opposite her family. She sat gracefully, smoothing the fabric of her skirt over her knees, though an uneasy feeling had already settled in her chest.
Her eyes moved from one face to another.
Her mother wouldn't meet her gaze.
Ji-hoon looked unusually tense.
Even Grandmother seemed quieter than usual.
Yerin frowned.
"You're all making me nervous."
No one answered.
Several long seconds passed before her father finally spoke.
"Yerin."
"Yes, Father?"
"There is something important we need to discuss."
She nodded.
"I'm listening."
Another pause.
It was unlike him.
Chairman Hwang was known for making decisions quickly, speaking directly, and wasting very little time.
Tonight...
He seemed to be choosing every word with unusual care.
"You've grown into a remarkable young woman."
Yerin blinked.
"...Thank you?"
"You've always carried yourself with dignity."
"You've worked hard."
"You've never once disappointed this family."
She gave a small, uncertain smile.
"I've only done what you've taught me."
Her father looked at her for a long moment.
Then he spoke the sentence that changed everything.
"We have decided it is time to begin planning your future."
Yerin frowned slightly.
"My future?"
"Yes."
"I don't understand."
Her father drew in a slow breath.
"You are going to be engaged."
Silence.
Yerin stared at him.
She wasn't shocked.
Not yet.
She simply didn't understand.
"...Engaged?"
"To whom?"
No one answered immediately.
Her father held her gaze.
"...To Choi Do-hyun."
Everything stopped.
The ticking of the grandfather clock.
The sound of the rain beginning outside.
Even her own breathing.
For a second...
She genuinely thought she had misheard him.
Then—
She laughed.
A small, confused laugh escaped her lips.
"...That's not funny."
No one laughed with her.
The smile slowly disappeared from her face.
She looked at her grandmother.
Then at her mother.
Then at Ji-hoon.
One by one...
They silently looked back at her.
Her heart sank.
"...You're serious."
Her father nodded once.
"We are."
Yerin shook her head immediately.
"No."
The answer came before she had even thought about it.
"No."
She let out another disbelieving laugh.
"This has to be some kind of joke."
"It isn't."
Her father's calm voice only made it worse.
She stood abruptly.
"No."
"I don't accept this."
Her father remained seated.
"This isn't something that requires your acceptance."
Yerin stared at him in disbelief.
"...Excuse me?"
He spoke carefully.
"Both families have discussed this at length."
"The decision has been made."
"The Choi family has agreed."
"We have agreed."
"It is the best path forward."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You discussed my marriage..."
"...without me?"
No one answered.
She looked at each member of her family, hoping—desperately hoping—that someone would tell her this had gone too far.
Her mother lowered her eyes.
Grandmother remained silent.
Ji-hoon clenched his jaw but said nothing.
Yerin laughed again.
Only this time...
There wasn't an ounce of humor in it.
"So that's it?"
"My life gets decided in a meeting?"
Her voice began to rise.
"I'm standing right here!"
"I'm not a business agreement!"
"I'm your daughter!"
The room remained painfully still.
Her father met her gaze without flinching.
"And because you are my daughter..."
"I have made the decision I believe will protect your future."
Tears of frustration began to gather in her eyes.
"You didn't protect anything."
"You didn't even ask me."
She took a shaky breath.
"I'm only twenty."
"I have university."
"I have plans."
"I have dreams."
"I barely know him."
"You expect me to marry someone because our families decided it's convenient?"
Her voice cracked.
"How is that fair?"
Grandmother finally spoke, her voice gentle.
"Yerin..."
"Listen to us."
Yerin turned toward her.
"No, Grandmother."
"You listen."
"For once..."
"For once, just listen to me."
The room fell silent again.
She had never spoken to her grandmother like that before.
Not once in her life.
But tonight...
She couldn't stop.
"I'm not saying Do-hyun is a bad person."
"I'm saying..."
She pressed a trembling hand against her chest.
"...it's my life."
"My future."
"My marriage."
"Shouldn't I get to choose?"
Silence answered her.
And somehow...
That silence hurt more than any words could have.
The silence stretched until it became unbearable.
Yerin stood in the center of the study, her breathing uneven, her hands trembling at her sides. She had never felt so outnumbered inside her own home.
Her father remained seated, his expression composed.
That calmness only made her angrier.
"So..." she said, letting out a bitter laugh. "You've all been sitting here deciding my future while I was upstairs reading a book."
No one answered.
She looked from face to face.
"My own family."
Her eyes stopped on Ji-hoon.
"...You knew?"
Ji-hoon lowered his gaze.
"I found out yesterday."
"You knew..." she repeated quietly.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I couldn't."
"You couldn't?" Her voice cracked. "Or you wouldn't?"
"It wasn't my place."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"You've always been on my side."
"I still am."
"Then why are you standing there saying nothing?"
Ji-hoon's jaw tightened.
"Because nothing I said changed their minds."
For the first time that evening...
She noticed the frustration in his eyes.
He hadn't agreed.
He had simply lost.
Yerin slowly turned back toward her father.
"So everyone already knew."
She laughed softly.
"Except me."
Her father folded his hands together.
"This was never meant to hurt you."
She looked at him as though she had never seen him before.
"...Do you honestly believe that?"
"I do."
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
"You just arranged my marriage."
"You didn't even ask whether I wanted one."
"You didn't ask whether I loved someone."
"You didn't even ask whether I wanted to fall in love."
She took another step forward.
"You just..."
"...decided."
Mrs. Hwang finally spoke, her voice gentle.
"Yerin, sweetheart—"
"No, Mom."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"Please don't make this sound beautiful."
"It isn't."
Grandmother sighed quietly.
"Marriage has never been easy."
Yerin looked at her.
"But it should at least be mine."
Her voice became softer.
Almost pleading.
"I've done everything this family has ever asked of me."
"I studied."
"I represented our name."
"I never embarrassed any of you."
"I've lived exactly the way you wanted."
She swallowed hard.
"So why..."
"...why is the one decision that belongs to me..."
"...the one thing I'm not allowed to make?"
The words hung in the room.
Even Chairman Hwang closed his eyes briefly.
For a fleeting second...
He looked less like the chairman of one of Korea's largest corporations...
...and more like a father carrying an impossible burden.
When he opened his eyes again...
The warmth was gone.
"This decision was not made lightly."
Yerin shook her head.
"I don't care."
"You will."
"I won't."
"You don't know that."
"I know enough."
She drew in a shaky breath.
"I barely know Do-hyun."
"We're classmates."
"We've worked on one project."
"That's it."
"You expect me to spend the rest of my life with someone because our families have known each other for thirty years?"
Her father answered calmly.
"No."
"I'm asking you to spend your life with someone whose character has already been proven."
She stared at him.
"You investigated him?"
"I didn't need to."
"I've known that boy since he was born."
"He is disciplined."
"He is respectful."
"He is honorable."
"He will never betray your trust."
Yerin laughed bitterly.
"So this is business."
"It always comes back to business."
"This has nothing to do with business."
"It has everything to do with it!"
Her voice echoed against the walls.
"If he were the son of an ordinary family..."
"...would we even be having this conversation?"
Silence.
That silence was answer enough.
Yerin looked away, shaking her head slowly.
"I can't believe this."
She looked back at them.
"I won't do it."
No one reacted.
"I said..."
"I won't marry him."
Her father stood.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The room became impossibly still.
Even Ji-hoon straightened instinctively.
Chairman Hwang walked toward his daughter until only a few steps separated them.
He looked at her with the same steady gaze that had intimidated board members, politicians, and rival CEOs for decades.
But tonight...
He wasn't looking at a rival.
He was looking at his daughter.
"You believe," he said quietly, "that this is about taking your freedom."
"It is."
"No."
His voice remained calm.
"It is about protecting your future."
"I don't need protecting."
"You do."
"I can protect myself."
"I know you can."
"Then why?"
His answer came without hesitation.
"Because there are responsibilities you still don't understand."
"I don't want those responsibilities!"
"They belong to this family."
"I didn't ask to be born into this family!"
The words escaped before she could stop them.
The room froze.
Mrs. Hwang covered her mouth.
Grandmother closed her eyes.
Ji-hoon looked at his sister in shock.
Yerin's breathing became uneven.
She knew she had crossed a line.
But she couldn't take the words back.
Her father remained silent for several long moments.
When he finally spoke...
His voice had changed.
It wasn't louder.
It was colder.
More final.
"You are right."
"You did not choose this family."
"But you were born into it."
"And with that..."
"...comes responsibility."
He looked directly into her tear-filled eyes.
"This marriage will not happen tomorrow."
"It will not interfere with your education."
"You will finish university."
"You will continue your career."
"You will have every opportunity you have today."
He paused.
"But one thing will not change."
His next words landed like a verdict.
"The decision has been made."
Yerin slowly shook her head.
"No..."
"It has."
"I won't."
"You will."
"I said no!"
"And I have heard you."
He looked at her with heartbreaking calm.
"But this..."
"...is not a request."
The room fell completely silent.
Yerin felt the strength leave her legs.
For the first time in her life...
She realized something terrifying.
No matter how much she argued...
No matter how many tears she shed...
No matter how loudly she said no...
Nothing she said tonight was going to change the future that had already been chosen for her.
She wasn't being asked.
She was being informed.
And that realization broke something inside her.
Several kilometers away...
The Choi residence stood in complete silence.
Unlike the warmth of the Hwang mansion, the Choi estate always carried an air of quiet discipline. Every light was perfectly placed, every hallway immaculate, every servant moving with practiced precision.
Nothing ever felt out of order.
Except tonight.
Do-hyun had barely loosened the tie around his neck when a servant approached him.
"Young Master."
He looked up.
"Chairman Choi is waiting for you in the study."
Do-hyun nodded once.
"I'll be there."
He climbed the staircase without another word, changed into a simple black sweater, washed the fatigue from his face, and made his way toward the study.
The heavy wooden doors were already open.
His father stood beside the fireplace, one hand resting on the mantel. His mother sat quietly on the sofa, a cup of untouched tea in front of her.
"Come in," Chairman Choi said.
Do-hyun stepped inside.
"You wanted to see me?"
His father gestured toward the chair opposite him.
"Sit."
Do-hyun obeyed.
He sensed immediately that this wasn't an ordinary conversation.
His father never asked him to sit unless the matter was important.
The room fell into silence.
Finally, Chairman Choi spoke.
"I'll be direct."
Do-hyun waited.
"A decision has been made regarding your future."
His brows drew together slightly.
"My future?"
"You will be engaged."
Do-hyun frowned.
"...To whom?"
His father's eyes remained fixed on him.
"Hwang Yerin."
Silence.
Unlike Yerin...
Do-hyun didn't laugh.
He simply stared.
His expression unreadable.
Seconds passed before he finally spoke.
"...No."
His father remained calm.
"It isn't a question."
"No."
He repeated the word, firmer this time.
"I'm not getting married."
His mother looked at him with quiet concern.
"Do-hyun..."
He stood.
"I've respected every decision you've ever made."
"I've done everything you've asked."
"I studied where you wanted."
"I joined the company when you asked."
"I've never questioned this family."
His voice remained controlled.
"But this..."
He shook his head.
"This is my life."
Chairman Choi looked at him steadily.
"And?"
"And you don't get to choose who I marry."
The room grew still.
His mother looked between father and son anxiously.
She had never seen them stand on opposite sides before.
Chairman Choi spoke evenly.
"This decision wasn't made by me alone."
"I don't care."
"You should."
"I don't."
"It concerns two families."
"It concerns me."
For the first time...
Do-hyun's composure began to crack.
"You discussed my marriage..."
"...without even speaking to me?"
"We discussed your future."
"My future belongs to me."
"It belongs to this family as well."
"No."
His voice rose slightly.
"It doesn't."
"I'm not another company project."
"I'm not a contract."
"I'm your son."
His father took a slow step forward.
"And because you are my son..."
"...I expect you to understand responsibility."
"I understand responsibility."
"Then act like it."
"I have."
"For twenty-three years."
His breathing grew heavier.
"I've never asked for anything."
"Not once."
"So I'm asking now."
He met his father's eyes without looking away.
"Let me choose my own wife."
Silence.
The request hung between them.
His mother quietly lowered her eyes.
She wished—
More than anything—
That her husband would say yes.
But she already knew he wouldn't.
Chairman Choi's expression hardened.
"The decision has already been accepted."
Do-hyun frowned.
"...Accepted?"
"By whom?"
"The Hwang family."
The words hit him harder than he expected.
"They... agreed?"
"They did."
He looked away for a brief moment.
Yerin.
Did she know?
Or...
Had this been decided without her too?
His father continued.
"The engagement will take place after the appropriate preparations."
"No."
Do-hyun said quietly.
"I'm refusing."
For the first time...
Chairman Choi's voice rose.
"Enough."
The single word echoed through the study.
Do-hyun fell silent.
"I have tolerated your opinion."
"I have listened."
"But do not mistake that for negotiation."
His father walked until they stood only a few feet apart.
"You believe this decision was made for business."
"It was."
"No."
"It was made because I trust that family with something more valuable than this company."
"My son."
He continued.
"And Chairman Hwang trusts us with his daughter."
Do-hyun's jaw tightened.
"I still won't agree."
Chairman Choi looked at him for a long moment.
Then he delivered the sentence that shattered whatever hope remained.
"You don't have a choice."
Silence.
"You will complete your studies."
"You will continue your work."
"And when the time comes..."
"...you will marry Hwang Yerin."
The room became impossibly quiet.
Do-hyun looked at his father.
Then at his mother.
She couldn't even meet his eyes.
In that moment...
He understood.
This wasn't a discussion.
Just like Yerin...
He had been called here only to be informed.
His future...
Had already been decided.
Without him.
Without his consent.
Without a single question.
He turned toward the door.
"Where are you going?" his father asked.
Do-hyun stopped, his hand resting on the doorknob.
Without looking back, he answered quietly,
"...Somewhere I don't have to hear another decision being made for me."
He opened the door.
Then walked out.
The study fell silent behind him.
His mother closed her eyes.
Chairman Choi remained standing exactly where he was.
For the first time in years...
Father and son had walked away from each other without understanding.
The door closed behind him with a heavy thud.
The hallway was silent.
Servants instinctively stepped aside as Do-hyun walked past them, his face unreadable, his pace steady. No one dared to stop him.
He climbed the staircase without looking back.
His father's words echoed relentlessly inside his head.
"You don't have a choice."
Each repetition tightened something in his chest.
He reached his bedroom, pushed the door open, and locked it behind him.
Click.
The room fell into complete silence.
The city lights shimmered beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, but tonight, they offered no comfort.
Do-hyun stood in the middle of the room, breathing heavily.
His fists slowly clenched.
His shoulders rose and fell with each controlled breath as he tried to calm himself.
It didn't work.
For the first time in years...
His composure cracked.
With a sharp movement, he drove his fist into the concrete wall.
Bang!
The picture frame hanging above the desk rattled.
He didn't stop.
Another punch.
Bang!
Pain shot through his knuckles.
Again.
Bang!
His breathing became uneven.
Again.
Bang!
Skin split open.
A thin line of blood trickled down the wall.
Still...
He didn't stop.
Each punch carried everything he couldn't say.
The frustration.
The helplessness.
The anger.
The realization that, for the first time in his life, no amount of discipline or obedience could change what had already been decided.
Finally...
His strength gave out.
He leaned both hands against the wall, his forehead resting against the cold surface.
Blood slowly dripped from his swollen knuckles onto the polished wooden floor.
His breathing echoed through the room.
The silence returned.
A soft knock interrupted it.
"Do-hyun?"
His mother's voice.
He closed his eyes.
"...I'm fine."
No answer came.
Instead...
The bedroom door opened slowly.
Mrs. Choi stepped inside.
She immediately noticed the blood.
Her eyes widened.
"Do-hyun..."
He instinctively turned away, slipping his injured hand behind his back.
"It's nothing."
She looked at the wall.
Then at the blood on the floor.
Then back at her son.
For a moment...
She couldn't speak.
She had never seen him like this.
She crossed the room quickly.
"What happened?"
"I'm alright."
"You call this alright?"
He tried to step away.
"I'm fine, Mother."
She gently caught his wrist before he could move.
The moment her fingers touched his hand, he winced.
It was only slight.
Barely noticeable.
But a mother never missed those things.
Her heart broke.
She looked toward the doorway.
"First aid kit."
One of the servants, who had been standing outside, hurried away without another word.
Neither of them spoke while they waited.
A minute later, the servant returned with the medical box before quietly leaving again.
Mrs. Choi opened it herself.
"Sit."
"Mother—"
"Sit."
For the first time in years...
He obeyed without arguing.
He lowered himself onto the edge of the bed.
Mrs. Choi knelt in front of him.
She carefully poured antiseptic over the torn skin.
The sting made him tighten his jaw.
"You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt," she said softly.
"I'm used to pain."
Her hands paused.
She looked up at him.
"No."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"You've simply gotten used to hiding it."
Do-hyun looked away.
She cleaned each cut with the gentleness only a mother could possess, wrapping fresh bandages around his bruised knuckles one finger at a time.
Neither of them spoke.
The quiet somehow said more than words ever could.
When she finally finished, she rested his injured hand carefully on his lap.
"There."
A faint smile tried to appear on her lips.
"It'll heal."
He stared at the white bandage wrapped around his hand.
"...Will it?"
Mrs. Choi knew he wasn't talking about his hand.
Slowly...
She reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair away from his forehead.
Her palm rested against his cheek.
Just like she used to when he was a little boy.
"You've always carried everything by yourself."
Her thumb gently wiped away the tension between his brows.
"You never complained."
"You never rebelled."
"You always believed being strong meant staying silent."
She smiled sadly.
"But you're still my son."
"No matter how old you become..."
"...you don't have to be strong every second."
Those words broke the last wall he had left.
His breathing faltered.
He lowered his head.
For several long seconds...
He fought it.
He tried to swallow the emotion down, just as he always had.
But tonight...
He couldn't.
A single tear slipped down his face.
Then another.
"I'm sorry..."
His voice cracked.
"I couldn't..."
"I couldn't change anything."
Mrs. Choi's own eyes filled with tears.
Without hesitation, she wrapped both arms around him.
Pulling him close.
Just as she had when he was a child frightened by thunderstorms.
Do-hyun buried his face against her shoulder.
The tears came silently at first.
Then all at once.
Years of restraint.
Years of silent obedience.
Years of carrying expectations too heavy for one person.
All of it poured out in the safety of his mother's embrace.
Mrs. Choi gently stroked the back of his head.
"It's alright..."
She whispered through her own tears.
"It's alright..."
"You don't have to carry this alone anymore."
For the first time in many years...
Choi Do-hyun cried.
Not as the perfect heir to the Choi family.
Not as the top student at Hanseong University.
Not as the young man everyone admired for his composure.
But simply...
As a son whose future had been taken from him before he was ever given the chance to choose it.
She made him lay down on her lap and rub her hair calm him down.
Outside the bedroom door, Mrs. Choi glanced back once before quietly leaving him to rest.
She wiped the tears from her own eyes.
Downstairs, Chairman Choi was still standing in the study.
He looked up as she entered.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then she said quietly,
"...He was crying."
Those two words were enough.
Chairman Choi closed his eyes.
Because in all the years he had raised his son...
He had never once seen Do-hyun cry.
For years, he had watched his son endure impossible expectations without complaint. Every achievement, every sacrifice, every burden—Do-hyun had accepted them all without asking for anything in return.
He had never seen him cry.
Not when he was sent abroad for years.
Not when he graduated at the top of every class.
Not when he worked through nights to prove himself worthy of inheriting the company.
Not once.
Mrs. Choi's voice trembled.
"Do you know what he said to me?"
Chairman Choi remained silent.
"He apologized."
Her eyes filled again.
"He apologized because he couldn't change your decision."
She looked at her husband, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"Our son is sitting alone in his room, blaming himself for something he never had the power to decide."
Chairman Choi slowly closed his eyes.
"I know."
"No..." she whispered, shaking her head. "You don't."
"He has spent his entire life trying to become the son you wanted."
"He never complained."
"He never disobeyed you."
"And tonight..."
She paused, taking a shaky breath.
"...for the first time, he asked for something."
Her husband remained quiet.
"He asked to choose the person he would spend the rest of his life with."
"And you refused."
The room fell silent once more.
After what felt like an eternity, Chairman Choi finally spoke.
"My decision hasn't changed."
Mrs. Choi let out a bitter smile.
"I knew it wouldn't."
She turned toward the door before stopping.
Without looking back, she said softly,
"I only hope..."
"...that one day they forgive us."
Then she left.
The study door closed quietly behind her.
Chairman Choi stood alone.
His reflection stared back at him from the dark window.
For the first time in many years...
The chairman of the Choi Group questioned whether making the right decision always meant doing the right thing.
Across the city...
The Hwang Mansion was equally quiet.
Yerin stood alone on the rooftop terrace.
The cold night wind tugged at her hair as she stared toward the endless lights of Seoul.
Her phone rested silently in her hand.
She unlocked it.
Her contacts filled the screen.
Her thumb stopped on one name.
Choi Do-hyun.
She stared at it for several long seconds.
She wanted to ask him.
Did you know?
Did you agree?
Are you... as trapped as I am?
But she couldn't bring herself to type a single word.
After a long moment, she locked her phone again.
Far away...
In another mansion...
Do-hyun lay awake in the darkness of his room.
The fresh bandage around his hand rested against the blanket.
Sleep refused to come.
For the first time since they had met, both of them were thinking about the same person...
...for exactly the same reason.
Neither of them had chosen this future.
Neither of them wanted it.
Yet somehow...
Their lives had become tied together by a decision neither had been allowed to make.
Outside, the rain began to fall over the city, washing against rooftops, roads, and quiet windows alike.
It fell over the Hwang residence.
It fell over the Choi estate.
And somewhere beneath that same sky...
Two hearts carried the same question.
If fate had already chosen for them...
...could they ever learn to choose each other?
...To Be Continued...