ADT 01

Chapter 1

The End of Betrayal

Ding.

2 a.m. on December 31.

After receiving Seol-ah’s summons, Yuri finally straightened her hunched body and got out of bed.

[Bring everything to the Yangpyeong villa by 7 a.m., from underwear and clothes to change into, shoes, bags, and accessories. There’s nothing to eat in the morning, so prepare something yourself. Oh, and hangover medicine.]

“Haah! Who on earth did she bring this time that she’s waking me up at this hour? I want to get some rest on a day like this too….”

Yuri let out a deep sigh. Her face had every reason to show irritation, but there was no change in her expression.

Yesterday, right after finishing her morning shift, she had planned to meet her fiancé, Hyun-woo, to prepare for their wedding. However, her appointment had been canceled because of an unexpected work order from her superior, Seol-ah.

As always, nothing went the way she wanted.

After all, Baek Seol-ah, the director, had always been Yuri’s number one priority.

The beloved daughter of Baek Do-hoon, chairman of Royal Hotel, and Madam Joo Sang-hee, Yuri’s benefactor.

Yuri’s life had always revolved around Baek Seol-ah, as if following the hands of a clock.

After her mother’s sudden death forced seven-year-old Yuri into an orphanage, it was only natural that she regarded Joo Sang-hee, who had reached out to her, as an angel.

Joo Sang-hee allowed Yuri to live in the same house as Seol-ah and was the person who had supported her all the way through university.

However, because of their difference in status, Yuri was made to call her same-aged Seol-ah “Miss” and Joo Sang-hee “Madam.”

From elementary school until now, Yuri had lived like Seol-ah’s avatar in order to protect her from the endless accidents and incidents caused by Seol-ah’s selfish personality.

Whenever Seol-ah caused trouble, all the blame for her mistakes fell on Yuri. It had hurt at first, but now it had become a life she accepted without much thought, perhaps even one she considered natural.

Ever since Yuri came to live in this house, she had never made a decision based on her own wishes. She had no choice but to follow Joo Sang-hee’s decisions about everything, and she thought that was only natural.

Because the person who had saved her from the terribly lonely life at the orphanage was Joo Sang-hee.

If it had not been for her, Yuri’s childhood would have remained cold and hungry, filled with the bullying of other children.

She never wanted to be left alone again. As her desire to live safely under the protection of Joo Sang-hee grew stronger, she did not want to lose that protection.

Just as she absolutely trusted and depended on Joo Sang-hee, she even decided to marry the man Joo Sang-hee had chosen for her.

Yuri’s fiancé, Jang Hyun-woo, was the general manager of Royal Hotel’s restaurant and the only son of Jang Moon-soo, Chairman Baek’s chief secretary and right-hand man. He was a fairly decent man in both appearance and ability, so Yuri could not find any particular reason to refuse.

‘Yuri, you won’t find a better marriage prospect than him. And Chief Jang treats you like his own daughter. Isn’t that wonderful?’

Joo Sang-hee had told Yuri several times, as if there would never be another opportunity if she let Hyun-woo go.

With two weeks left until her wedding, Yuri wanted to give him a meaningful gift to celebrate the first Christmas they would spend together, so she asked him directly.

‘I don’t need anything else. I want you. Let’s spend that night together.’

‘Mr. Hyun-woo, I’m sorry…. I don’t want to until we’re married.’

Although Yuri had decided to marry Hyun-woo because of Joo Sang-hee’s strong recommendation and because there was nothing particularly wrong with him, honestly, she was not attracted enough to him to spend the night together beforehand.

She had continued to feel troubled by the unhappy look on Hyun-woo’s face. So, on the last day of December, she planned to make another dinner appointment with him and ease his hurt feelings.

Yuri decided that once she finished whatever Seol-ah had ordered her to do, she would contact Hyun-woo immediately. She got out of bed and stretched.

“Ahh. If I want to get ready and arrive on time, I’d better hurry and shower.”

Dragging her tired body into the bathroom, Yuri quickly finished showering and headed to Pyeongchang-dong, Seol-ah’s family home where Yuri herself had lived until university.

＊＊＊

After packing Seol-ah’s things in Pyeongchang-dong, Yuri arrived in front of Seol-ah’s private villa in Yangpyeong and opened the entrance keypad, entering the password.

Her whole body trembled in the freezing winter morning air, but she did not even have time to feel cold as she first pushed several bags inside.

Once she entered, Yuri saw bottles of alcohol scattered all over the living room floor and sofa, along with Seol-ah’s underwear, and let out a hollow laugh.

“I’m going crazy. How much did she drink yesterday?”

The urgent task Seol-ah had given Yuri yesterday was none other than going to get her fiancé, Park Hoo-shin.

On the evening of December 30, she had rented a suite at Royal Hotel and prepared a private year-end couples’ party with her friends. She had ordered Yuri to bring Park Hoo-shin there by any means necessary.

Park Hoo-shin was the vice president of PARK FOOD and a third-generation chaebol heir. He was also officially engaged to Seol-ah.

His untouchable background, handsome face, and impressive physique as a star chef made him practically the object of admiration for single women everywhere.

He was practically a walking advertisement and a celebrity in his own right, and thanks to his constant public appearances, PARK FOOD’s sales had been rising day by day. He had already proven himself sufficiently as a successor and established his position within the company.

Seol-ah wanted to show off her impressive fiancé in front of her friends. However, Hoo-shin had never spent private time with her outside of official events.

And yet she had ordered an ordinary secretary like Yuri to take responsibility for bringing him there.

Naturally, Yuri had failed to bring him to the party. Upon hearing the news, Seol-ah had lost her temper with Yuri and proceeded to drink like crazy.

Whenever Seol-ah was rejected by Hoo-shin or things did not go the way she wanted, she would find some easygoing man to take her anger out on and come to the Yangpyeong villa.

That must have been why she had sent Yuri on this errand yesterday too.

Carefully taking one step at a time, Yuri approached the closed bedroom door. The leg of a pair of men’s suit pants and a belt caught on her foot with a soft thud.

“Phew…. How long am I supposed to keep cleaning up this kind of mess? If Vice President Park saw this, he’d break off the engagement immediately.”

The moment she opened the bedroom door, she could already imagine what she would see.

It was not as if this was the first or second time, but for some reason, she felt nervous today.

Yuri carefully opened the door, and a sigh escaped her lips involuntarily.

“Ha!”

A naked man and woman were tangled together on the white sheets. At the sight of the unfamiliar man’s exposed back, her stomach suddenly churned and her face grew hot.

Yuri squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, then quietly approached to wake Seol-ah.

At that moment, the man moved.

The thin sheet that had been tangled around them slipped away, revealing his body completely except for the parts hidden by the sheet.

Startled, Yuri opened her eyes again and fixed her gaze on the man’s face.

“Gasp! Ha….”

Yuri collapsed right there.

The man who had turned his body was none other than her fiancé, Jang Hyun-woo.

“No way…. Why is Mr. Hyun-woo here? How….”

Her throat suddenly felt as if it were being squeezed, and she became dizzy. Her mind went blank as her consciousness seemed to drift away.

Even though she was seeing it with her own eyes, she could not believe what was happening.

Yuri barely managed to steady her trembling body and parted her lips with difficulty.

“Mr. Hyun-woo…. Get up right now.”

But he did not move at all.

Instead, Seol-ah, who was lying beside Hyun-woo, spoke to Yuri without even properly opening her eyes.

“How did you get here? Did I tell you to come…. If you came, you should have woken me up. What are you doing?”

“…….”

Seol-ah sat up in bed and picked up the robe that had fallen onto the floor, loosely covering her body with it.

Seol-ah met Yuri’s eyes as Yuri stood before her with a face as pale as a sheet.

“You saw? It’s nothing. We just had a little fun a few times because we were drunk, so don’t worry about it.”

“…….”

Seol-ah frowned as if Yuri’s silence was irritating her, then shouted loudly.

“Ah, fuck! My head is killing me. Bring me some water. And hangover medicine.”

Dumbfounded, Yuri clenched her trembling jaw and barely managed to speak.

“How could you…. How could you do something like this with Mr. Hyun-woo?”

“Why? Are you upset? Then why don’t you try doing something like this too? Though I doubt you have the skills.”

Seol-ah stared directly at Yuri with a cynical smile.

At the sound of their raised voices, Hyun-woo stirred and slowly sat up in bed.

“Ah, what? Why are you making so much noise?”

The moment Hyun-woo noticed Yuri standing in front of him, his eyes widened twice their size.

“Y-Yuri…. Ah, fuck. This is crazy. Baek Seol-ah! Why did you call her here?”

Seol-ah immediately lost her temper at Hyun-woo’s irritated voice.

“Ah, I don’t know! I was drunk yesterday, so I don’t even remember sending her a message. What do you want me to do about something that’s already happened? You take care of her yourself.”

Hyun-woo shifted his gaze to Yuri with an awkward expression.

“Uh, Yuri…. I’ll explain everything. Let’s go outside and talk after you calm down first.”

“…….”

Yuri ignored Hyun-woo as if his excuses were not even worth listening to.

She did not want to stand there any longer.

It felt like it was finally time to end this miserable life.

Perhaps, in an unfortunate way, their betrayal had given her the chance to finally stop being Baek Seol-ah’s maid—a role she had desperately wanted to escape.

She even felt that she had repaid enough of the debt she owed Joo Sang-hee.

Unexpectedly, Yuri regained a calm expression and slowly opened her lips.