Falling From Grace

Chapter 10: Beneath Her Beautiful

A/N: The following chapter contains sensitive topics that may be triggering to some. Reader discretion is advised. Before proceeding, please DM me if you would like a more detailed warning.
___________________________________

Yoon Se-ri considers herself a decisive person.

For matters of the mind, sure.

She's built a beauty and lifestyle empire valued at 20.7 trillion won from the ground up, with very little help from her chaebol family.

It's even accepted in her family that even though Yoon Se-joon will be succeeding their father as Chairman of Queens Group, as is expected of the eldest son, it is mainly she who will be the power behind the throne after their father retires.

It's always been so easy for her to make all of those billion won decisions, decisions that affect the valuation of her company, the livelihoods of thousands of people under her payroll, and even the industry she does her business in.

But matters of the heart... well, she can't say for certain if she is.

She sighs heavily, throwing her head back and leaning heavily into her chair. It's 6 PM on a Saturday, and she's been reading the same document for almost half an hour, her eyes reading the text but her mind not processing any of it.

Deciding that it was time for a break, Se-ri takes her cigarettes and lighter from her purse and makes her way out to her private balcony, which her office has direct access to.

In the privacy of this space, Se-ri can let her guard down and let her mind run free. All of her employees, even Team Manager Hong—who for all intents and purposes is her right-hand man, although she will never tell him that—have explicit instructions to never disturb her while she is out on her balcony unless it is an absolute emergency.

She lets out a deep, tired sigh before taking out a cigarette from its carton and lighting it up. She takes a deep drag, letting the smoke fill her lungs as she lets her thoughts run free.

The last four weeks have been challenging, to say the least. The plagiarism dispute with Areum Cosmetics was dragging, and considering that the issue is potentially going to court, it was not going well at all for everyone involved.

But even if this issue was top of mind for everyone at Se-ri's Choice, it often wasn't for Daepyonim Yoon herself.

And a certain man named Ri Jeong Hyeok was to blame.

Not that he had done anything wrong to her, per se. It was more of what he hasn't done that has her out of sorts.

Every day since that last weekend with him, he would send her a text asking to meet her for lunch or dinner. And every day, she would make up an excuse.

I can't, I have dinner with business partners tonight. I'm sorry. Maybe tomorrow?

Sorry, I have a prior engagement. Maybe next time?

I can't make it to lunch today, too busy. I'm sorry. Next time?

Busy today, sorry.

Most men would have taken the hint by now, but not Ri Jeong Hyeok.

It's as if he's waiting for her to say the words outright, to tell him straight up that she wasn't interested in seeing him any longer.

That seems to have changed, as there was no text from him at all for three days now.

Logically, Se-ri should have been happy about this. She had gotten what she was hoping for—he had let her go without much fuss, just like she had wanted.