Lee-Soo stayed by Kiera's side almost the entire day. They reviewed documents together, he taught her some basic Korean, and even made her memorize sentences she might need at the funeral. Despite the serious mood, those quiet hours they spent were oddly comforting.
All the while, Lee-Soo's phone buzzed nonstop — texts and calls, all from Aera.
"Aren't you going to take that?" Kiera asked, flipping a page.
"I should. Also... I have to leave now. You'll be okay on your own, right?" he asked.
Kiera nodded lightly without looking up.
Lee-Soo stepped out of the room and immediately returned one of the calls.
"Aera. Let's meet tonight."
Meanwhile, Kyung had taken Carolyn to Namsan Tower, both assuming Lee-Soo would be spending the day with Kiera at the hospital.
As he walked out to his car, they spotted him.
"Where are you going? You left Kiera behind?" Kyung asked in surprise.
Carolyn gasped. "You're leaving her now of all times?"
"Relax, Madam," Lee-Soo said, already unlocking his car. "I've been with her all day. I have something urgent to take care of. She said it was fine."
"I do not approve of him!" Carolyn shouted as he drove off.
Kyung chuckled. "Unni, are you sure? Because your face says otherwise." She ran back into the hospital.
Later that night, Apex Hotel — Private Suite
Lee-Soo sat beside a stunning woman in a silk red dress.
"Why did you ignore my calls and texts?" Aera asked, her voice trembling. "I heard Jung-Sik is dead. It must've been hard."
"You know how much he meant to me, right?" he said.
She nodded slowly.
"Now that he's gone… I have to fulfill all of his final wishes. That includes getting married."
Aera's eyes widened. "Married? Wait… Lee-Soo, I don't think we're ready. Our relationship—"
"Not you, Aera," he cut in flatly. "His daughter."
Silence.
"His daughter?" she repeated, as if struck.
"You said it yourself — we weren't that serious. Let's not pretend. This was a contract from the start. You weren't meant to fall in too deep."
"You heartless—what about your father? What will he think?"
"My father and Jung-Sik were best friends. If he were here, he'd expect me to honor Jung-Sik's wish."
He stood and walked away, ignoring her sobs.
The Next Morning – Hospital
The hallway buzzed quietly. Kiera, dressed in sleek black pants and blouse, reviewed papers calmly. Her hair was pulled into a low bun, lips bare but confident.
Lee-Soo entered, and she greeted him without glancing up.
"You're five minutes late."
Before he could respond, the emergency doors slammed open.
Aera.
In full glam, red heels, and zero dignity.
"Lee-Soo! So this is where you came after humiliating me?!" she shouted.
Nurses paused. Visitors turned. Time froze.
"And this—this must be the new wife. The lonely hospital girl. Still here?"
Kiera stood slowly, arms crossed. "Still here. Still better," she replied coolly. "FYI, my father's funeral is in two days. Lee-Soo's helping me prepare. Judging by that tantrum, I guess you didn't know."
Aera looked around, realizing her dramatic entrance had failed.
"And by the way," Kiera added with a smirk, "Lee-Soo isn't just someone you call whenever. I don't care what you two had. He's mine now. My... jalgi chingu."
Lee-Soo choked. "Wait, wait—what?"
He leaned closer. "You meant yeobo or nampyeon. Jagi chingu means... 'darling friend.' Kinda like calling me your romantic BFF."
Kiera raised an eyebrow and said, completely unbothered, "Oh? That's cute too. Let's go with handsome legal almost-husband-in-progress, then. Better?"
The crowd burst into stifled giggles. Even Aera was stunned. Not just by Kiera's words, but by how free Lee-Soo was with Kiera.
Lee-Soo laughed. "You just invented a new relationship status."
"Exactly," Kiera said, slipping on her sunglasses. "Now step aside, Miss Side Story. I've got a funeral and a legacy to slay."
Aera gasped. "F-fiancée?!"
Kiera slid her hand into Lee-Soo's and smiled at the crowd. "Yes. Uri namsin-gwa gyeolhonhal geoeyo."
(We're getting married.)
The hallway gasped.
"Oh? Didn't see that coming? Tsk. Poor Aera. You should've asked before he asked someone else to be his forever."
Aera, humiliated, turned red, then white, then stormed off.
Kiera leaned toward Lee-Soo. "Tell Eun-Sang to block her. I don't want her coming near you anymore."
Two days later, the funeral began.
It was somber. Traditional. Painfully stiff. The late Jung-Sik's family sat at the front: his second wife in a muted hanbok, her children bowed with rehearsed sadness. Eyes shifted. Whispers started the moment the doors opened wide.
Kiera entered.
In an elegant black hanbok embroidered with gold cranes, her hair pinned with a jade ornament and her face glowing with strength, she looked like royalty—and war. Behind her, Lee-Soo and Kyung followed in formal wear. Carolyn, draped in sleek black with a dramatic shawl, walked proudly beside her daughter, head high and eyes forward.
Gasps filled the room. Her appearance alone silenced the murmurs. The second wife looked away immediately, jealousy etched into every wrinkle of her face.
"She's... breathtaking," someone muttered.
Ji-Won leaned toward Carolyn, her voice laced with contempt. "She just had to show off, didn't she?"
Carolyn didn't even glance at her. She shrugged coolly. "And yet, you can't take your eyes off her either."
Ji-Won hissed through clenched teeth. "Does she think this is a wedding?"
Carolyn smirked. "No. She thinks it's war. And by the looks of it… she's already winning."
Kiera stepped onto the platform for the eulogy. She scanned the room, saw the faces of those who had ignored her existence. Then she spoke—not in English, but in confident, clear Korean.
"Na-neun appa-ui ttal, Jeong-Ha imnida."
(I am the daughter of my father, Jung-Ha.)
Heads turned.
"Geu-ui sarang-e naneun jogeumdo uihaui eopsda. Geu-neun jeongmal naege appa-yeossseumnida."
(There is no doubt about his love. He was truly a father to me.)
She locked eyes with her father's wife.
"Geureoni geu-ui yujeong-eul jal jikyeo juseyo. Geu sarang-eun tto dareun saramdeul-i gajil jagaji anh-aseoyahamnida."
(So please protect what he left behind. His love is not something others should steal.)
A hush blanketed the room. Kiera bowed gently, then stepped down.
As she walked past the front row, her eyes flicked toward Ji-Won and her children—just for a second. But it was enough to sting.
Ji-Won's hands tightened into fists. Her jaw clenched.
"Protect what he left behind… Does she think he only loved her? Is she asking me to protect her? That girl…" she thought, her mind racing. "She thinks she's clever. But she's only a child trying to wield her father's name like a sword."
Jung-Cha, seated beside Ji-Won, noticed her trembling fists but said nothing.
Outside, the air was cool.
Lee-Soo stepped beside Kiera. "That was incredible," he said softly.
"I practiced those lines for two days straight," Kiera admitted, her voice barely above a whisper, a shaky laugh catching in her throat.
"Well," he said, smiling at her, "they just declared you the main character. I was scared you'd make a mistake, like last time."
She gave him a mock glare, then smiled and looked up at the sun.
Then, she winked.