The protector

Wedding (flashback)

2022, February

Once he had convinced her to at least listen to his plan, it all became easier.

Gu Seo-jin was sure that she had felt his same shiver. Which was not love at first sight, of course not. However, the attraction was indisputable. Both physical and, above all, intellectual. They spoke the same language.

Little more than two months and that woman, white dressed, was grabbing his arm under the flashes of the official photographer as well as the paparazzi's.

They had set an agreement. He would have bought in her name the stocks, she would have provided him with any sort of useful information about Go.

"I have only one condition: Swiss. The scholarship is important to me, don't ask me to quit."

He didn't even know that she was something's patroness. And speaking of it: the only music he liked was the one of the engines of his cars. The less he would have known about that scholarship, the happier he would have been.

"Mine is that I don't want scandals, never." His father would have killed him.

"We can do more than this. The press loves me, you know. We could become a golden couple" she had replied. And this had made him laugh. After the break up with Ha-na, the press only had been interested in him because of his scandals with actresses and models. Good luck Yoon Se-ri ssi.

Se-ri swiftly studied their parents during the ceremony. Although taken aback by the sudden decision, her father was looking blatantly pleasured while greeting the hosts. He knew the old Gu for decades, and that merger&acquisition would have doubled the share value of both their companies. Even those who had no business competence could easily understand the appeased expression the two men – because the old Gu wasn't looking less delighted - were holding for hours.

Too appeased to be just two fathers whose child had just got married.

Seo-jin looked a little too glad too. Actually, Se-ri considered him nice. He was a man of few words, didn't bother her, and wasn't invasive. Plus, born and grown up in the same suffocating circle, they often didn't need words to understand each other.

Once arrived in the boundlessly vast apartment he had bought for them, that brand new husband pulled a white box out of a drawer.

"This is my wedding gift," enunciated while extending her the envelope with a smile, and this made Se-ri chuckle because his face was the one of a child who had just completed a mischief.

It was the fulfillment of his part of the contract, actually. The acquisition act of a huge amount of shares, enough to grant his presence on her board. Hence, not a present at all. But she appreciated the cuddly way he had chosen to extend her the contract. And thanks to him they now had, as a family, a majority stake which granted her position as CEO, the votes of the other members not being enough to overthrow her anymore.

The heiress felt as if she could get air into her lungs for the first time after months.

2022, March

That husband turned out to be impressively more pleasurable than expected.

During their short engagement, he had looked for a new house with her and bought the one she liked the most, yet the man had insisted to be the only one to pay, both for the house and the furniture. And then he had allotted her a studio, a private bathroom - which should have been more appropriately called a five-star home spa - a bedroom and a dressing room that, compared to hers, were two twice as big.