Young Wife and Bad Things

**Chapter 1**

Wet snowflakes swirled through the sky like flower petals.

It was the first snow of the year.

While it was enough to excite the hotel lounge’s patrons, it left no impression on I-jae.

After all, next month, she would be forced to marry the man sitting across from her.

“Ahem, Professor Seo has told me a lot about you, Miss I-jae. You’re twenty years old, right?”

I-jae stared at the steam rising from her coffee cup and forced a smile.

She was in the middle of a marriage meeting.

Her prospective groom slurped his hot coffee loudly, his lecherous gaze sweeping over her body.

“…How old are you, by the way?”

“I was born in 66, the Year of the Horse.”

I-jae’s lips parted slightly before closing again.

Noticing her surprise at the unexpected age gap, the man waved his wrinkled hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry about the age difference. It’s irrelevant when you’re living together and… sharing a bed. That’s what really matters in a marriage. By the way, I’ve got the energy of a horse in bed—like I’m galloping… Ahaha!”

“……”

The man burst into laughter, wheezing as if amused by his own joke.

“Sure, I’ve had three painful divorces, but that’s because my ex-wives were all greedy for my money.”

He continued, “Anyway, I, Go Hong-gyun, decided it’s time to choose a pure woman who will truly love me—not for my looks, but for my soul!”

“……”

“Professor Seo highly recommended you, Miss I-jae.”

Hong-gyun flashed a grin, revealing his gold tooth.

“I don’t ask for much. I just want you to give me three healthy sons. And don’t mind the fact that I have a daughter who’s ten years older than you.”

“……”

“You’re still young, so you’ll have no trouble giving birth, right?”

Go Hong-gyun, vice president of Geumya Distribution.

As I-jae glanced at the business card he had placed on the table, a memory from a few years ago surfaced.

A man who had tossed her his business card as if he were doing her a favor.

“Miss, do you really want to marry a bastard like this?”

The deep, chilling voice and the faint smirk that played on his lips as he looked down at her.

I-jae swallowed dryly as vivid memories of last night with the man who had trapped her like a beast came rushing back.

“Miss I-jae?”

“…Yes?”

Hong-gyun frowned at her lack of attention and spoke again.

“Professor Seo said you’re the perfect homemaker type. You’re so innocent, yet brimming with allure—a rare treasure. A woman who can set a man’s desires ablaze!”

A sudden silence fell over the lounge, but it wasn’t because of Hong-gyun’s words.

I-jae felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

She knew what such stillness meant.
It was usually when *he*…

‘Get a grip. You’re going to be forced into marriage next month—why do you keep thinking about last night…?’

She felt pathetic for letting her thoughts drift to that man, someone she had no reason to meet again.

Last night, she brazenly asked him to hold her as a woman.
But he had turned away coldly, saying she was too young to excite him and that she should come back when she was older.

“Ahem, yes…”
I-jae tried to focus on her conversation with Hong-gyun.

But as if mocking her effort, a commotion broke out in the hotel lobby.

Moments later, a black sedan smoothly pulled up outside the hotel.

As though awaiting someone important, a man with a dangerous aura opened the car door with a click.

A polished shoe stepped onto the marble floor.

The man who exited the car with an elegant motion caused all the men waiting outside to bow deeply, bending at a perfect 90-degree angle.

When Beom Do-geon, leading the group at the center, entered the lobby, I-jae’s heart sank.

“Miss I-jae, are you listening to me?”

Guided by his subordinates, the man entered the lounge.

As Hong-gyun continued talking, the man’s face gradually came into view behind him.

His slicked-back pomade hairstyle, perfectly tailored all-black three-piece suit, and strikingly handsome face made him stand out.

Every person in the lounge couldn’t help but stare at his sharp features and long legs, radiating innate superiority.

But when their eyes met the cold gazes of the men standing behind him, they quickly lowered their heads.

“This is…”

Realizing belatedly that this hotel was under the Mujung Group’s umbrella, I-jae bit her lip.

Beom Do-geon took a seat at the table directly behind Hong-gyun, his back to her.

‘…Why is he here?’

Surely, he didn’t come looking for her.

Of course, he was just here on business at his hotel.

I-jae couldn’t understand why she felt so tense.

Even from a distance, she thought she could faintly smell Do-geon’s heavy, musky scent—a scent that had always wrapped around her whenever she was in his arms.

They weren’t even close right now, so why?

“Yes, this hotel was built by the Mujung Group,” Hong-gyun said mockingly, apparently hearing her murmur.

“You wouldn’t believe the amount of money they poured into it. This area was originally off-limits for tall buildings because it’s an air route for fighter jets in case of war. But Mujung made it happen. Those bastards live above the law.”

I-jae knew that Mujung Group had its roots in the underworld.

But now, it has transformed into a legitimate conglomerate, dominating major industries like construction, hotels, and casinos.

“Good grief! It’s like the country is being handed over to thugs.”
“Ah…”

I-jae looked at Hong-gyun with a bewildered expression.

It seemed he was too absorbed in bragging about himself to notice the man who had drawn everyone’s attention in the lounge—Beom Do-geon, the power behind Mujung Group.

Beom Do-geon sank deeper into the velvet sofa, listening to the report being given by the subordinate in front of him.

“I tell you, I can’t sleep at night worrying about this country! These days, it feels like South Korea is about to fall into the hands of thugs. Mujung Group is not normal. You know its roots are in a terrifying organization, right?”

I-jae began to feel like crying as she looked at Hong-gyun.

Please, Father-in-law, stop talking.
Right behind you…
But Hong-gyun, thinking I-jae was listening intently, raised his voice even more enthusiastically.

“They started out in loan sharking, you know. And now, they’ve got their hands in every corner of South Korea’s industries because of all the money they’ve made. Tsk, tsk.”

“……”

“Professor Seo’s been lobbying Mujung, trying to break into politics, hasn’t he? I used to think he was a patriot. What a joke.”

I-jae, desperate, made a pained expression and gesture behind him, trying to signal him.

“What, what’s wrong?”
Unfortunately, Hong-gyun didn’t catch on.

He simply ran his hand over the few strands of hair left on his head.

“They even handpicked a candidate for the upcoming presidential election. That’s why I’m saying South Korea is completely under Mujung’s control! I can’t live in a country like this.”

Oh no, why is he doing this?

I-jae wanted to flee from the scene.

“That Beom Do-geon—he’s the managing director, isn’t he? I know him too. Word is, he’s unbelievably ruthless. Guess he couldn’t shake off his gangster habits.”

“……”

“I saw him in person once. He’s huge and solid. If he hit you, you’d probably be finished. Sure, he’s got a ridiculously good-looking face, but what else is that good for besides seducing women?”

I-jae glanced over her shoulder at Hong-gyun’s back.

She could see Beom Do-geon’s neatly groomed hair and the solid nape of his neck, leading to his broad, unyielding shoulders.

“Anyway, patriots like me can’t stand to see Mujung swallowing up South Korea, ugh…”

I-jae’s heart sank.

At this distance, he must have heard everything.

Maybe he was just so used to hearing such things that he didn’t even care anymore.

“Well, Miss I-jae.”

“……”

“Let’s set aside worrying about the country for now and deal with the urgent matter at hand. Seeing your startled face has me all excited. Ahem.”

“Excuse me?” I-jae asked, confused.

“I need to personally check for any flaws in you, aside from that bum ankle of yours. Our wedding is next month, after all! Come on, let’s head upstairs. Lucky we’re at a hotel.”

I-jae bit her lip in discomfort.

She was being sold into a loveless marriage, but even so, she wanted to delay her first night with Hong-gyun as much as possible.

“You’re still a virgin, right? I completely understand why you’d be scared. This oppa is a bit intense—like a wild stallion, you know?”

Hong-gyun’s gaze lingered on I-jae’s chest, and he swallowed hard.

“I’m sorry, but I have another appointment,” I-jae said, standing up.
But Hong-gyun grabbed her wrist firmly.

“What’s this? Playing hard to get now?”

“Let go of me!”

“You think you can act like this just because I got you cheap? Do you even know how much money I gave Professor Seo for you?”

“……”

“You used to be a promising ballerina, sure, but now you’re just a defective product with a bad ankle! I bought you!”

I-jae tried to shake off his grip, but the more she struggled, the tighter he held on.

“Shut your mouth and come upstairs with me, you little wench!”

Screech.

The sofa suddenly slid back with a loud noise as the man who had been as immovable as a mountain rose to his feet.

I-jae froze as she watched Beom Do-geon stride toward her with long, purposeful steps.

His indifferent gaze locked onto hers as he closed the distance between them.

Then it happened.

Beom Do-geon grabbed Hong-gyun’s head and slammed it against the table with a loud thud.

“Argh! Who the hell are you?!”

“Here comes your gangster.”

—