Moving towards the sofa placed in the center of the D* store, Jung-hwa sat down, crossing one slender leg arrogantly with the other perched on the soft cushion of the stool. Her cold gaze was still fixed on that female employee.

With a slight movement of the chin, she tapped the tip of her red shoe on the floor. It was not a hand gesture but a call for someone to come here.

Due to Jung-hwa’s cold and disdainful attitude, the atmosphere in the store instantly froze. As a result, the employees, all tense, rolled their eyes, alternating between Jung-hwa and Kim Mi-ho.

Feeling like being struck by lightning, Kim Mi-ho couldn’t refuse the guest’s call, and reluctantly approached Jung-hwa.

However, what kind of whim is this? Disregarding the chilled atmosphere, Jung-hwa smiled gently and asked.

“The oil they use at this hotel therapy shop is quite good. Does it match the products here?”

Phew, I’m alive!

Contrary to expectations, with Jung-hwa’s unexpected smile and casual question, the employees breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension that had frozen their breaths subsided. Even the most frightened Kim Mi-ho relaxed her stiff expression and quickly replied.

“Oh… um, I think you’re talking about the jojoba oil serum. Should I bring it?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, yes!”

Awkwardly trying to smile with her thawed face, it looked somewhat unnatural, but the employee quickly brought the product that Jung-hwa requested with a courteous attitude.

“Is this the product you’re looking for?”

“Hmm, shall I hear an explanation?”

When Jung-hwa, who only glanced at the serum, took a listening posture by loosening her crossed legs, the employee began speaking with a fervent voice.

“This serum is the product with the highest quality among all serums, and the production quantity is not large. We supply it exclusively to this hotel.”

“Oh? Tell me more.”

In response to Jung-hwa’s smooth reply, there was still a sharp thorn somewhere in her smiling expression.

“It has an excellent moisturizing function that keeps the skin moist for a long time, and it’s 100% plant-based natural ingredients, so there’s no aversion even if you eat it. Therefore, you should store it in the refrigerator as soon as it’s opened…”

“Wait.”

The gaze of Jung-hwa, who was listening carefully to the employee’s explanation, suddenly twinkled. It was because she caught the tail she wished for.

“You said it’s okay to eat it, right?”

“Yes.”

“Is it really okay to eat it?”

“Yes. As I mentioned…”

“Eat it.”

Cutting off the employee’s words, Jung-hwa’s command left the employee who couldn’t understand what she was talking about in bewilderment.

“Yes?”

“Eat it.”

“What…?”

“You said it’s okay to eat it. So, eat it in front of me. As a luxury department store salesperson, you should take responsibility for what you said.”

“Well, that…”

It was too much. The employee, feeling overwhelmingly ridiculous, could only look at Jung-hwa with confusion.

“Why, don’t you want to?”

“No, no.”

Although Jung-hwa’s demand was rude, the employee, who had no choice but to accept it because of what I said, opened the serum cap and took a sip of the liquid.

“You have to drink more.”

But Jung-hwa, feeling that it was still not enough, demanded more.
The employees and the manager remained silent, dumbfounded. Despite the high-handedness prevalent in luxury stores, this was the first time they encountered a customer who openly insulted them.

“…Ugh!”

Once the bottle was completely empty, Jung-hwa asked, “Feeling nauseous? Is the taste not to your liking?”

“No, it’s… fine.”

“Well, I didn’t really know you’d drink it…”

Remember this well. It’s the price you pay for speaking ill of me.

“Heh…”

Jung-hwa stretched her bright red lips into a long smile.

It was as if she had already seen So-yeon, who was slowly dying after drinking poison, suffering while standing as a witness.

Dare to stand in the witness stand?

Well, before that, will So-yeon, who will lose everything, be able to do that?

“This is the serum cost. The rest is for Kim Mi-ho.”

Rising from the stool, Jung-hwa tossed a bundle of ten-thousand-won bills from her bag.

The scattered bills on the store floor served as a consolation prize for the regrettable incident and, in a way, a reward for the amusing effort.

It was a peaceful morning.

So-yeon opened her eyes to welcome another day.

Although a week had passed since the engagement ceremony, So-yeon still couldn’t believe it. What she couldn’t believe even more was the excessively handsome face of the man she woke up to every day in the same bed.

It was an area that was not easy to adapt to, a breathless zone. Especially, to handle him, who must be held tightly every night, her stamina was significantly lacking.

Carefully maneuvering her body that was entangled by the robust arms of So-yeon, as if she might be caught again like yesterday, she struggled to extricate herself.

That’s when.

“Euit!”

“…”