The Chaebol’s Broken Bride

Chapter 5: The Banquet Trap

Morning arrived too quickly.

Hana barely slept after finding the mysterious note on the window ledge. The words “Tomorrow… everything changes” echoed in her mind all night.

Now she stood in front of the mirror in her room, adjusting the simple cream dress one of the housemaids had laid out for her. It was elegant but plain compared to the extravagant gowns worn by the Kang women.

A deliberate choice.

They want me to look small, she realized.

A knock came at the door.

“Madam Hana,” a maid said nervously, bowing slightly. “Lady Kang requests your presence in the main hall. There will be a family banquet tonight. Important guests will attend.”

Hana’s stomach tightened.

“A banquet… tonight?”

“Yes. The entire Kang family will be present… along with several business partners.”

The maid hesitated before adding quietly:

“And Lady Soo-jin asked that you make a… good impression.”

Hana already knew what that meant.

By evening, the Kang mansion was glowing with luxury.

Crystal chandeliers illuminated the vast banquet hall, and elegant music floated through the air as powerful businessmen and social elites mingled with the Kang family.

Hana felt dozens of eyes turn toward her the moment she entered.

Whispers followed.

“That’s the new wife.”

“The girl from a poor family…”

“Why would the Kang heir marry someone like her?”

Her chest tightened, but she forced herself to keep walking.

At the center of the room stood Madam Kang, regal and intimidating as always.

“Ah, Hana,” she said coolly. “You’re just in time.”

Soo-jin appeared beside her mother, dressed in a stunning black gown that drew admiration from everyone around her. She looked Hana up and down with a smile that was anything but kind.

“Sister,” Soo-jin said sweetly, “tonight you’ll help represent the Kang family.”

Hana blinked in confusion.

“Represent…?”

“Yes,” Soo-jin continued smoothly. “You’ll give a small welcome speech to our guests.”

Hana’s heart nearly stopped.

“A speech?”

“Yes,” Madam Kang said sharply. “A bride of this family should know how to greet influential partners. Surely you can manage a few simple words.”

But Hana knew the truth.

She had never spoken at an event like this.

Soo-jin’s smile widened slightly.

It was a trap.

An hour later, the guests gathered near the grand staircase.

Madam Kang raised a glass.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” she announced, “allow me to introduce the newest member of the Kang family… my daughter-in-law, Hana.”

Applause echoed politely through the hall.

Hana’s legs felt like stone as she stepped forward.

The room blurred slightly from the pressure. Every powerful figure in the hall watched her carefully.

Don’t embarrass yourself.

Don’t embarrass the family.

She swallowed and began.

“Good evening, everyone. I… I am honored to”

Suddenly, laughter erupted from somewhere behind the crowd.

Hana froze.

Soo-jin stepped forward dramatically, holding a tablet.

“Oh my… I think everyone deserves to see this,” she said loudly.

The screen lit up.

A photo appeared.

Hana’s breath caught.

It was an old photo of her family’s tiny home, the shabby building she grew up in.

More photos followed.

Her father is working a labor job.

Her mother is in worn clothes.

Her younger brother delivers newspapers.

Whispers spread like wildfire through the hall.

“Is that really her family?”

“She’s practically poor…”

“Why would the Kang family allow this?”

Hana’s face burned with humiliation.

Soo-jin tilted her head innocently.

“I just thought everyone should know the background of our dear new sister-in-law.”

The room filled with uncomfortable murmurs.

Hana’s vision blurred.

This was exactly what Soo-jin wanted.

To destroy her dignity in front of everyone.

And worst of all

Joon-woo was standing nearby.

Watching everything.

Silent.

Hana’s chest tightened painfully.

Of course… he won’t defend me.

But suddenly

A glass slammed loudly onto the table.

The entire room fell silent.

Joon-woo stepped forward.

His voice was calm, but dangerous.

“That’s enough.”

Everyone froze.

He walked directly to Soo-jin and slowly lowered the tablet.

His dark eyes were cold.

“Embarrassing my wife in front of guests… is not something I will tolerate.”

The room went still.

Even Soo-jin looked shocked.

Hana stared at him in disbelief.

For the first time

Her husband had chosen her side.

But just as the tension peaked, one of the guests suddenly approached Madam Kang and whispered something urgently in her ear.

Madam Kang’s face turned pale.

She looked directly at Hana.

Then she said words that made the entire hall gasp.

“Is this true…?”

She held up a document.

“And here I thought you were just poor… but this says your family might be connected to the Park Industries scandal from twenty years ago.”

The room erupted in shocked whispers.

Hana’s heart stopped.

Because she had never heard of that scandal before.

And yet…

Everyone in the room was suddenly looking at her like she was part of something far darker.

The banquet hall fell into uneasy silence.

Every pair of eyes was now fixed on Hana.

The document in Madam Kang’s hand trembled slightly as she stared at Hana with a mixture of disbelief and cold suspicion.

“Well?” Madam Kang demanded sharply. “Are you going to explain this?”

Hana’s mind spun.

“I… I don’t understand,” she said honestly. “I’ve never heard of any scandal.”

Soo-jin let out a soft laugh.

“Oh, how convenient,” she said mockingly. “The innocent bride knows nothing.”

The whispers around the room grew louder.

“Park Industries… that name sounds familiar.”

“Wasn’t that the company that collapsed after the fraud case?”

“Yes… billions were lost.”

Hana felt like the floor had disappeared beneath her feet.

Fraud? Scandal?

Her parents had always lived modestly, struggling to pay bills. They never mentioned anything about a company or a scandal.

Madam Kang stepped closer, her sharp eyes boring into Hana.

“Your family name is Park,” she said slowly. “And according to this document, your father once worked for Park Industries before its collapse.”

Hana’s heart pounded.

“My father… was just an employee,” she said quietly. “He worked as a technician. He had nothing to do with”

“Oh please,” Soo-jin interrupted smoothly. “Do you really expect everyone here to believe that?”

A ripple of uncomfortable laughter spread through the guests.

Hana clenched her hands tightly to stop them from shaking.

She felt exposed… humiliated… powerless.

And once again, all eyes turned to Joon-woo.

For a moment, he said nothing.

His expression was unreadable.

Then he spoke.

“Mother,” he said calmly, “this banquet is for our guests, not for interrogating my wife.”

Madam Kang frowned. “This concerns the reputation of our family.”

“And humiliating her publicly protects that reputation?” Joon-woo replied coldly.

The room went quiet again.

Soo-jin’s smile faded slightly.

Joon-woo stepped closer to Hana. His presence beside her felt unexpectedly solid, like a shield she didn’t know she had.

“My wife will not be judged based on rumors from twenty years ago,” he said firmly.

Madam Kang’s expression hardened.

“You are defending her rather quickly for someone who barely knows her.”

Joon-woo didn’t hesitate.

“She carries the Kang name now. That is reason enough.”

Hana stared at him in shock.

She had expected him to remain distant, indifferent… but now he was standing beside her in front of the entire room.

Protecting her.

Soo-jin crossed her arms.

“Oh dear brother,” she said sweetly, “you might want to reconsider. If the scandal is real, keeping her here could damage Kang Group’s reputation.”

Joon-woo’s eyes darkened.

“Then I will deal with it myself.”

The confidence in his voice silenced the room.

Madam Kang lowered the document slowly.

“This matter is not over,” she said coldly. “We will investigate.”

With that, she turned away, signaling the end of the confrontation.

But the damage had already been done.

The whispers continued as the guests resumed their conversations.

Hana felt exhausted… overwhelmed… and deeply confused.

What scandal? Why would my father be connected to it?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Joon-woo gently took her arm.

“Come with me,” he said quietly.

He guided her away from the banquet hall and into a quieter corridor of the mansion.

The moment the doors closed behind them, Hana finally spoke.

“Is it true?” she asked softly. “About the scandal?”

Joon-woo looked at her carefully.

“I don’t know yet.”

“But everyone seemed to know about it…”

“Yes,” he said. “Park Industries collapsing was one of the biggest corporate scandals in the country twenty years ago.”

Hana’s chest tightened.

“My parents never told me anything.”

Joon-woo studied her face.

And for the first time since meeting her, he realized something important.

Hana looked genuinely shocked.

She wasn’t pretending.

Which meant one thing.

She might be hiding something without even knowing it.

Just then, Joon-woo’s phone vibrated.

He glanced at the screen.

His expression instantly darkened.

“What is it?” Hana asked nervously.

Joon-woo slowly turned the phone toward her.

On the screen was a message from an unknown sender.

Attached was an old newspaper article.

The headline read:

“Park Industries Fraud Case: CEO Disappears After Billions Vanish.”

And below the headline was an old photograph.

Hana gasped.

Because the man in the picture looked exactly like her father.