Me After You | Choi Seungcheol

2. Blame

"...under the condition that he marries Ms. Kang Haeun immediately."

The room went still as Seungcheol tried to make sense of the bomb that had just been dropped on him. Being his grandfather's successor was not only his birthright but the expected outcome after years of sacrifices and hard work trying to keep his family's empire intact when Chairman Choi had to step down as his health started to decline. How could his grandfather simply condition his future by tying him to someone who was essentially a stranger?

Of course, he knew who Kang Haeun was. She had been a constant presence in his life, and they had lived in the same house until he left for college. He remembered her as a child—how she used to follow him around and her happiness whenever he decided to walk her to school. The shared tragedy over their parents' death and her devastation during the funeral also came to mind. He recalled feeling her eyes on him during his visits to Andong and his amusement whenever they unintentionally locked eyes, causing her to quickly divert her gaze.

Yes, you could say they had some kind of history, but not nearly enough for Seungcheol to consider Haeun as anything more than "the help," and certainly not enough for him to ever think about marrying her. His disbelief soon morphed into anger as he came to the conclusion that she must've planned this all along, persuading a debilitated old man into fulfilling her personal agenda.

The chair he was sitting in made an unpleasant screeching sound against the floor as Seungcheol got up, his anger boiling over when he turned to face Haeun.

"What the fuck did you do?!" he spat, the venom in his voice cutting through the quietness of the room like a blade.

Haeun flinched at the force of his words, her heart clenching with hurt and disbelief.

"Language, Seungcheol," his grandma reprimanded, shooting him a stern look.

The young man's fury, however, was unrelenting; gone was the stoic expression he had managed to maintain until now.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" He continued to belittle the woman in front of him. "Hell, you must have manipulated my grandfather into this. This... this is clearly your doing!"

Haeun's eyes widened with shock and indignation, her breath catching in her throat at the implication of his words. Almost as if by reflex, she walked over to him, and her palm came in contact with his cheek in a resounding slap.

Seungcheol was so stunned that he didn't even have time to react before she spoke.

"How dare you accuse me like that?! I loved your grandfather as much as you did, if not more." Haeun's eyes blazed with fierce intensity, her voice trembling with restrained emotion. "I would never take advantage of him or your family."

The room once again fell silent, the tension palpable as Seungcheol's resolve faltered, a flicker of doubt crossing his features. Either Haeun was one hell of an actress, or she really had nothing to do with this nonsense, and he had just directed his anger at an innocent person.

Feeling her eyes stinging with tears, she turned on her heel and hurriedly left the room.

"Well, I guess we're done here," Mr. Song stated uncomfortably while gathering his belongings. "I'll stop by later to collect the signatures."

Seungcheol turned to his grandma and only then realized she seemed completely unfazed by the recent news.

"You knew he was going to do this, didn't you?" he asked, despite already knowing what her answer would be.

Grandma Choi approached him and lightly touched his reddened cheek, causing him to flinch. "Your grandfather had his reasons. That's all you need to know for now."