The One Who Has It All

Eun-jae’s fragile wrist was caught in Dong-hyun’s brutal grip. It was a pitiful sight as she struggled desperately to break free from his clutches. Her eyes were already red and swollen, and the knit sweater she wore was stretched out as if someone had tugged on it violently—enough to expose her slender shoulders.

However, it was Seok-ju, not Woo-gyeom, who reacted to Eun-jae first.

“Did you bring her here?”

“No! I…”

“She looks like a novice at a glance. Or does she just have an innocent face while being completely worn out and weathered?”

Eun-jae’s eyelids trembled. Her eyes darted around in chaotic shock, deeply shaken by Seok-ju’s words.

Seok-ju reached his hand out toward Eun-jae. At the same time, Eun-jae instinctively slapped the approaching hand away.

Smack. The friction made a louder sound than expected. Eun-jae was startled by Seok-ju’s expression, which hardened instantly, but she firmly opened her mouth anyway.

“I clearly told you that I was brought here by mistake. I am neither innocent nor worn out as you claim, so do not lay your hands on my body.”

She tried her best to speak calmly and confidently, but her voice trembled precariously like a tightrope walker. Eun-jae’s serene eyes resembled a quiet pond; a single stone thrown by someone created endless ripples and triggered a profound tremor.

There was no way a sly snake like Seok-ju would fail to notice this. Snatching her wrist in a flash as if plundering a prize, Seok-ju pulled Eun-jae tightly against his side.

“Ah!”

Startled, Eun-jae let out a sharp cry. Fiddling with her body as if measuring her squirming form, Seok-ju muttered slily, “You’re pretty right now, but your body would look even prettier with your clothes off.”

More than the countless sponsor messages she had received or the business cards rolling around inside her bag, Seok-ju’s crude verbal assault dealt a devastating blow to Eun-jae’s self-esteem.

Yet, even in this horrific situation, Woo-gyeom’s name did not escape Eun-jae’s lips. Despite having him right in front of her eyes, she did not utter the common title of “CEO.”

If she acknowledged knowing Woo-gyeom right now, it would put him in a difficult position. Realizing this intuitively, Eun-jae tightly closed her mouth. Fearing that she might inadvertently reveal their connection if she locked eyes with him any longer, Eun-jae quietly hung her head. Ultimately, tears splattered heavily onto the dark floor.

“There are so many rumors surrounding the two brothers. I heard they practically throw fits when it comes to women, so I thought they had modest tastes, but is this not it either?”

Seok-ju’s words didn’t even register in Eun-jae’s ears.

‘This.’ Eun-jae’s eyes widened as she realized Seok-ju was treating her like a mere object. She wanted to push away the hand pawing at her waist this instant, but she hesitated out of fear that it might cause trouble for Woo-gyeom.

Meanwhile, Seok-ju’s hand boldly slipped beneath her knit sweater. When he deliberately pulled out his hand from her waistband only to slide it right back under her clothes, rubbing against her skin, Eun-jae flinched violently and shook her head.

“Stop this!”

Eun-jae summoned the courage to push Seok-ju’s arm away, but it was not easy. Instead, acting irritated by her resistance, Seok-ju squeezed her so tightly her waist arched, and said, “To be a CEO in this industry, you have to indulge in either alcohol or women. How long do you think you can maintain that position? CEO Kim Hyun-sung always leaves even when I set the stage for him, and is CEO Kim Woo-gyeom exactly the same? For brothers to act so inflexible…”

Before Seok-ju could finish his sarcasm that lumped the two brothers together, Woo-gyeom moved first. His gaze had been fixed on the struggling Eun-jae the entire time.

He stepped squarely into the private room he had refused to enter earlier. Then, he poured the strongest liquor on the table into a glass with a heavy gush. He needed neither ice nor water. The liquor filled the glass to the brim and overflowed, soaking the surroundings and dripping down the table.

Half the bottle emptied in an instant, and Woo-gyeom naturally raised the glass. Every single drop of the potent alcohol flowed between his lips. Every time Woo-gyeom’s Adam’s apple bobbed, the eyes of the people around him widened. The executives held their breath, and the women covered their mouths, screaming silently.

Thud.

The empty glass was slammed onto the table.

Woo-gyeom pulled a napkin that sat neatly on one side of the table. Standing calmly at the center of the storm, he elegantly wiped his mouth.

Flick.

The crumpled napkin landed squarely inside a bowl filled with fruit platters.

“Gasp!”

The executives sitting around could not utter a word, merely swallowing hard.

Seok-ju remained unmoving. Without showing a single shred of emotion on his face, he watched Woo-gyeom’s actions blankly. The corners of his mouth twitched.

“Since I told you to choose between alcohol and women, you’re choosing alcohol?”

Seok-ju laughed heartily. However, anyone present could tell it was not a genuine smile. The executives glanced around, unsure whether they should laugh along or keep their mouths shut.

Woo-gyeom frowned. Openly displaying his negative emotions, he yanked down the tie that had been neatly fastened around his neck. As if dying of discomfort, he unbuttoned several buttons of his shirt and moved his neck from side to side.

His conservative suit and his cleanly styled hair remained intact, but the loosened tie and open shirt made him look wild and dissolute. It was also due to the look in Woo-gyeom’s eyes. He looked around at the executives seated in the room with a crooked posture, as if stamping a mental imprint on each of their faces.

Absurdly enough, it was the executives—vastly older and more experienced than Woo-gyeom—who flinched under his gaze. Frozen even more than when they faced Seok-ju, the men hid their faces as if looking for a mouse hole to crawl into.

Woo-gyeom averted his gaze without hesitation. Then, he walked straight up to Seok-ju.

“Since I’m making a choice, I will take both.”

He smirked, pulling down his thin lips. It was a subtle blend of a smile and a sneer. Before any counterquestion could be raised, Woo-gyeom abruptly pulled Eun-jae out of Seok-ju’s grip and added, “Both the alcohol and the woman.”

Before she knew it, Eun-jae was held in Woo-gyeom’s embrace instead of Seok-ju’s. In place of the thick hand that had been pawing at her slender waist, a firm hand wrapped around her waist with a gentle grip.

Woo-gyeom smiled with his striking face, speaking politely like someone conveying heartfelt gratitude.

“I will properly accept the gesture you selected with such utmost care.”

Woo-gyeom’s pleasantry was deeply twisted. He deliberately threw Seok-ju’s words back at him to mock him. However, because he was smiling so smoothly with such a tall and flawless appearance, no one dared to voice that thought.

Seok-ju stared at Woo-gyeom transitionally. His prominent cheekbones trembled, but he quickly pulled the corners of his mouth into a fake smile.

“Why don’t you stay and hang out here, CEO Kim?” Seok-ju suggested slily, narrowing his small eyes. It was a threat disguised as a suggestion.

“Displaying myself to others is not my preference.”

“You aren’t trying to slip away from me, are you?”

Sigh. Woo-gyeom exhaled a blatant sigh. He was growing utterly sick of Seok-ju’s pathetic attempts to trip him up.

“Please excuse us first. The hotel is much closer than you think.”

He applied force, pulling Eun-jae toward him. Woo-gyeom appeared thoroughly crossed. While mocking Seok-ju with a relaxed demeanor, the set of his mouth was tight like a man harboring immense rage. His sharp eyes were pointedly dangerous.

As they walked in sync, their heartbeats thudded loudly together. Everything felt so distant to Eun-jae that she found it a miracle she was even maintaining consciousness.

She could still feel a piercing gaze burning into the back of her head. Seok-ju’s voice echoed faintly behind them, but she lacked the courage to turn around or stop walking. She could check Woo-gyeom’s expression if she just lifted her eyes slightly, but a sudden fear gripped her. While Eun-jae hesitated, he was the first to break the silence.

“Why are you here?”

Startled, Eun-jae could not answer right away. A strong scent of hard liquor emanated from him, but strangely, she didn’t find it unpleasant. Her anxious gaze wavered. Eun-jae barely managed to speak.

“The CEO asked to see me because he wanted to apologize in person, so I went out. But I was dragged here…”

“Who is Lee Eun-jae-ssi’s CEO?”

“What?”

“No matter how trivial it is, report every single schedule to your manager. If you signed a contract with Delight, you should at least follow this basic rule on your own.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Do I really need to recite the contents of the contract to you line by line?”

Her hair stood on end at his frosty tone. As she spoke, her body began to shake even harder late in the game. Trembling so violently that it was visible to her own eyes, Eun-jae clasped her hands together.

That trembling traveled straight to Woo-gyeom. The slender body felt frail even through her clothes, shaking pitifully. Woo-gyeom dropped his steady gaze down to Eun-jae, then gave his head a short shake.

“Forget it.”

Whether it was out of consideration or sheer stubbornness, she couldn’t tell. But one thing was certain: Eun-jae felt a wave of relief.

Their brief conversation came to a halt; the moment they stepped out of the club, Woo-gyeom’s body lurched. He had downed a full glass of potent liquor exceeding 40% alcohol content without a single drop of dilution.

“CEO!”

Before she knew it, Eun-jae was supporting him in her arms. Woo-gyeom’s upper body tilted heavily. At this rate, there was no way Eun-jae could sustain his solid frame for long.

Standing frozen in the middle of a bustling street illuminated by neon signs brighter than streetlights, Eun-jae was stranded.

[Please excuse us first. The hotel is much closer than you think.]

Ironically, Woo-gyeom’s final words to Seok-ju flashed through her mind in this exact predicament. Assuming she had to take a heavily intoxicated man who ended up this way because of her somewhere, only one location came to mind.

It was entirely a mystery why five-star hotels stood densely packed along a street notorious for gathering high-ranking figures from politics, the judiciary, and the entertainment industry for business. Inside the dazzling, brilliant lights, Eun-jae was the only one who had lost her way.

“What do I do? What should I do?”

She felt like stamping her feet in anxiety. Supporting Woo-gyeom’s frame with her small, fragile physique, Eun-jae had to make a definitive choice. Closing her eyes tightly, Eun-jae extended her hand forward. With a single gesture, a taxi speeding down the road screeched to a halt.