“Ji-woo, it’s time for a change in strategy,” Park Mi-sook said, a familiar, scheming glint in her eyes as she held out her phone. “What’s this?” Ji-woo asked, looking up from the treatment diary she’d been writing in. “You know the Nuri Landscaping Company, don’t you?” Ji-woo nodded. Of course she did. Everyone in the region knew Nuri; their projects were massive. “Well, this,” Mi-sook said, wiggling her eyebrows, “is the president’s son.” Rolling her eyes at Mi-sook’s theatrics, Ji-woo glanced at the photo on the screen. “Oh,” she said flatly, then immediately returned her attention to her diary. Mi-sook’s own brow furrowed at the blatant lack of interest. “That’s it? Just ‘oh’?” Mi-sook asked, baffled. “Manager, don’t you think he’s a little young for you?” Ji-woo said, her focus still on her notebook. “He looks young enough to be your grandson.” “Not for me, you fool! For you!” “What?!” Ji-woo exclaimed, confused by where this was going. “We can’t go on like this. We’ve hit our limit,” Mi-sook said, her voice softening. The sadness in her eyes was a mirror of Ji-woo’s own. “Our major contracts are gone. J Hospital is taking everything.” Ji-woo clenched her jaw, suppressing the bitter frustration that rose in her chest. The J University Agricultural Biology Department Hospital. The name alone was a mouthful, a behemoth that had recently erected a new five-story building complete with its own research lab. Since arriving in Cheongdo, J Hospital had been ruthlessly efficient, wining and dining landscaping companies, nurseries, and agricultural corporations. They’d taken the local industry by storm, poaching contracts left and right with their aggressive tactics and state-of-the-art facilities. In the face of their advance, Ji-woo’s small tree hospital was barely staying afloat. Their contracts had vanished practically overnight. Now, they were surviving on minor examinations for the town hall and the few clients who still opted for their cheaper rates. “We have to do something! We can’t just give up,” Mi-sook insisted, pacing the small office. “Then what do you suggest?” Ji-woo shot back. “We close up shop and go beg for jobs at J Hospital?” That’s what most of Cheongdo’s other small entrepreneurs had been forced to do. “Sorry, Manager. I didn’t mean to raise my voice,” Ji-woo apologized, feeling a pang of guilt for taking her anger out on her colleague. “Don’t worry about it. Do you really want to work for them? I can just picture you, scrawling curses about them on the bathroom stalls,” Mi-sook snickered, clearly remembering the time Ji-woo had flung a bucket of manure at a construction crane during an environmental protest against a new golf course. “I know how clever you are,” Mi-sook said, her voice turning sly as she held out the phone again. “You could try to steal a contract back.” Seeing the mischievous gleam in her manager’s eyes, Ji-woo’s expression hardened. She already knew what was coming next. “All you have to do is have tea with him.” “W-what? Are you insane?” Ji-woo sputtered, taking an involuntary step back. “The Nuri heir is in Daehan for a series of blind dates. You just need to show up and introduce yourself. I even have the list of women he’s scheduled to meet,” Mi-sook said, her eyebrows practically dancing. “I’m not doing it! You’re making me sound like some kind of gold digger!” Ji-woo exclaimed, sinking back into her chair. “What are you talking about?!” Mi-sook’s voice rose, sharp and sudden. Ji-woo flinched. She had never heard Mi-sook raise her voice before. The sixty-year-old woman was the epitome of elegance, always impeccably dressed, her heels clicking with a confidence that made her seem ageless. Next to her, Ji-woo, in her comfortable, baggy work clothes, always felt like a weed. “Think about it carefully,” Mi-sook said, her tone softening again as she began to pace. “This isn’t about love or romance. It’s not like you’re marrying the man. You’re just having tea. You’re introducing yourself. It’s a business move to save your livelihood. Our hospital. Is it so wrong to be strategic about your career?” She stopped in front of Ji-woo, her gaze intense, hopeful. “I want to save the hospital, but…” Ji-woo murmured, her resolve wavering. “Great!” Mi-sook clapped her hands, her excitement instantly returning. “Did I give you the hotel key yet?” she asked, already lost in the logistics of her scheme. Ji-woo’s head was spinning. The conversation had taken such a wild turn. I’m just doing this for the hospital, she told herself, taking a deep breath. For my career. “Wait a minute!” Ji-woo said, cutting through Mi-sook’s cheerful planning. “How did you hear about this?” “Hear about what?” “About the Nuri heir returning to Daehan. And what do you mean, you have a waiting list?” Park Mi-sook raised her perfectly sculpted eyebrows into delicate arches and smiled. “Who else would I hear it from but the president himself?” “What? The president? But why would he…” “Why?” Mi-sook interrupted, a smug little smile playing on her lips. “Because I used to date him, of course.” “Manager Mi-sook!” Ji-woo gasped, jumping to her feet in surprise. Mi-sook’s colorful love life was the stuff of legend, a dark and dazzling fairy tale to someone as inexperienced as Ji-woo. She had met Mi-sook at seventeen, a runaway with nothing to her name. Mi-sook had taken her in, tried to teach her that there was more to life than just hard work, but Ji-woo had always stubbornly rejected any talk of romance. While Ji-woo was lost in the memory, Mi-sook had already launched into another one of her lectures. “…Destiny isn't something that happens to you; you choose your own partner. So don't give up on the idea. Life is too short to eat tasteless food, and being stuck in the past will only leave you with moldy scraps.” While Mi-sook was engrossed in her speech, Ji-woo saw her chance and made a break for the door. The intensely pragmatic young woman was simply no match for the free-spirited older one. She had barely stepped out into the hallway when she heard Mi-sook’s voice ring out behind her. “Are you planning to be alone your entire life?!”

Chapter 3: The Behemoth's Shadow