Cha Joo Young Novels & Stories

He wasn’t used to admiration. He wasn’t used to her making them love her, but they did. It was during dessert that the silence cracked. Jian’s younger brother, Junho, returned from abroad that morning. Unlike Jian—Junho smiled easily, dressed in mismatched colors, drank too much wine, and charmed with reckless ease. And he liked Chaewon immediately. “So this is the legendary phoenix,” Junho said, raising his glass to her. “The one who made Jian Lee fall.” Chaewon blinked. “Excuse me?”

I love the security these sunglasses give me. I step on as soon as the elevator doors open, and he joins me, standing to my right. If anyone can understand my struggle, it's Leander. Being sixteen when father died, I couldn't legally run the syndicate. I was decidedly barely legal at eighteen, but it was more acceptable then. So between sixteen and eighteen, Leander stood by my side and made the final executive decisions with my expressed approval only. No one was allowed to tell him what to do except for me because, well, it was my syndicate and he was my Murphy.

Kuya Logan still replied with a laugh. "You used to call me 'Cole, Aiden' before, why now?" I don't know why he needs to complain when before he wanted me to call him 'kuya' because he's five years older than me. I'm twenty-two, and he's twenty-seven, the same age as my older brothers. "Well, KUYA, at that time, I was too young to realize that." I could see his jaw clenching when I emphasized the word 'kuya.' "Sorry, guys, we need to go, right, Drake?"

As she delivered her greeting clearly without her gaze wavering just like she practiced, Hyo-jin whispered beside her. “As expected, perfect.” Next, led by Hyo-jin's hand, Hyeon-sin moved through the mansion's interior while revealing a heavy presence. “Dad!” This time, they headed to Ju Jeong-hun, chairman of JJ Group. At the voice of his one and only precious daughter, Ju Jeong-hun immediately wore a bright smile. “This is my boyfriend LF's younger sister, S.” “Aha, LF's younger sister—you look so much alike that I would know even without being told. Nice to meet you, pretty young lady.”

By now, Yuhwan must have received his acceptance notice too, arriving at the field early to warm up his massive, imposing frame. If I choose not to go, his pitches will end up being caught by Yoo Gyeong-ho, that third-year Business Administration student. The mere thought of Yoo Gyeong-ho—the youngest son of a massive chaebol family, a guy who possessed strikingly handsome looks, a slick, smooth personality, and held the absolute adoration of every girl on campus—made Haneul’s stomach violently twist into knots.