The Villain's Wife

78

The first thing that Won-Young noticed when he entered Jennie's office was its calm and luxurious environment. The room was painted in a mixture of black, white and gray and everything inside the room looked... simple, clean and sophisticated. He instantly eyed the big painting to his left. "Beautiful painting," he noted.

"Take a seat," Jennie replied with a smile. In response Won-Young took a seat opposite Jennie's desk. "Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee. One cube of sugar, no cream." In response, Jennie dialed a number on her office phone and repeated Won-Young's preference. She then looked at her father and gave him a smile.

"I did not realize that seeing my own daughter would require so much effort," Won-Young said. "Are you the kind of person who forgets everyone after they reach the pinnacle of the business world?"

"I am only like this to you," she responded, making Won-Young stare coldly at her. "What brings you here, Mr. Kim?"

"To negotiate," Won-Young answered. "The Kim Industries is a lost cause. Your husband has ruined it. We are in debt and I need your help."

"I am truly surprised that you still have the guts to come in here and make a request like this despite knowing exactly what you and your family did," Jennie answered.

"I would rather do this than pointlessly scheme behind your back," he answered calmly.

"Point taken," she answered before someone knocked on the door. Irene pushed the door open and entered, followed by Miss Xi and another secretary. Irene slowly placed the coffee before Won-Young while the other two pushed carts into the room and carefully arranged the snacks from the cart on the coffee table near Jennie's desk.

Seeing this, Jennie rose from her desk chair and gestured for Won-Young to have a seat on the couch. They sat across from each other as the secretaries continued to place snacks on the small table.

"Isn't this a little extravagant?" Won-Young eyed the various snacks in front of him. He wondered if this was Jennie's way of showing him goodwill.

"It's not for you," Jennie took a grape and ate it. "It's for me. I'm a little hungry."

Won-Young's face darkened at her words but he was quick to control himself. "About the thing that I want..."

"No," Jennie interrupted him. "Learn your place in the world, Mr. Kim. You don't get to say whatever you want in front of me."

The words that Won-Young wanted to say instantly got stuck in his throat. He opened his mouth wanting to say something but ended up closing it instead.

"One question, one answer, Mr. Kim. If I am satisfied I will help your company," she added. She had actually prepared these snacks because she knew that they would be having a very long conversation today.

"What do you want to know?" Won-Young asked, wondering what Jennie wanted. Does she want him to punish Chaerin and everyone who schemed against her?

"When is my mother's birthday?" Jennie asked, once again rendering Won-Young speechless. Birthday? What is Jennie talking about? When he saw that Jennie was waiting for his answer, he immediately realized that she was serious.

"I... January... I..."

Jennie let out a snort. "You don't know," she stated as she leisurely ate the grapes. "When and where did you two met?"

"Why are you asking these questions? It was so long ago that I have already forgotten," Won-Young answered, still a little confused by Jennie's line of questioning. Slowly, an uneasy feeling and a sense of dread spread through his heart. It was as if Jennie was staring straight into his soul as she asked those questions. Won-Young stared at her as his heart skipped a beat. He didn't know if he was actually nervous because of her questions or if he was infuriated because it seemed like she was playing him instead of taking him seriously.