Ch. 12
Yuna/Selene's POV
I stood near the edge of the ballroom, where there were fewer people, with a glass of champagne in my hand. Thankfully, no one in my family seemed to suspect that their new daughter could drink alcohol. And I wasn't even sure if the original Selene could drink.
The thought amused me slightly.
Selene was only nineteen. I should at least make her youth a little more exciting.
A moment later, the music changed. A soft, romantic melody instantly filled the ballroom, and many of the older couples made their way toward the dance floor.
As I watched the crowd from a safe distance, two familiar figures entered my line of sight and headed straight toward Lina.
Of course, who else would it be?
The male lead and the second male lead, everyone.
Well~
This was actually my first time seeing all three of them in the same frame. And I had to admit... the visuals were ridiculous.
When Ethan reached Lina, he immediately flashed his trademark cheerful smile.
"Hey, care to dance?"
"Oh! I... I don't think I should. This isn't really—" Lina blinked, visibly caught off guard.
"Then let's make it," Ethan interrupted, offering his hand as if he'd been doing this since birth.
I subtly rolled my eyes.
I had prepared myself for scenes like this, but there was still a huge difference between reading about them and watching them unfold in front of me.
A little cringe...but manageable.
My attention shifted to the second male lead. Adrian had stopped walking the moment Ethan beat him to Lina.
Don't worry, though.. he didn't look pitiful at all. In fact, his expression barely changed.
He simply adjusted the watch on his wrist, glanced at the pair once, and slowly turned away.
Yep, that's our second male lead right there. Cold and painfully nonchalant.
Suddenly, my father's voice came from behind me.
I nearly jumped.
Apparently, my plan had failed because he had still noticed me standing alone.
"You've been watching that girl from afar," he remarked casually before taking a sip of his wine. "Do you happen to know her?"
"Nope," I answered immediately.
"Then why did you roll your eyes?"
I froze.
Huh...he saw that?
"Wh-What? I didn't."
"Are you jealous of her?"
That question caught me completely off guard.
"I-I didn't, okay?" I replied a little too quickly.
Damn. Selene, your father is way too observant.
"I was just looking around. I didn't roll my eyes and why would I be jealous of her?"
"Fine, if you say so." He shrugged. "For a moment, I thought you were jealous because she got to dance with Ethan."
My brows furrowed.
Ah, that explains it...
He must've assumed I had my eyes on Ethan.
Gosh. As if!
Never, not in this lifetime.
Sure, Ethan Ward was handsome, wealthy, intelligent, and apparently every girl's dream man. But that didn't mean I was interested in him. Besides, getting involved with someone like Ethan sounded more like the beginning of a disaster than a romance.
"You know him?"
My father gave me a strange look. Of course he knew him.
The Ward family was one of the most influential families in the country. Their name frequently appeared alongside major corporations, business mergers, and investment projects. It would have been more surprising if my father didn't know them.
"Everyone in our circle knows the Wards," he said. "Especially Ethan Ward."
I glanced toward the dance floor again, where Ethan was still drawing attention without even trying.
"And I thought for a minute that you liked him since you've been staring at them from the beginning. Well, if you do like him, I won't say no."
"Dad, stop being so supportive." I groaned. "I don't like that guy. It just so happens that both of them are in the same class as me. That's all. I know them."
"Oh? Is that so?" Dad looked genuinely pleased. "That's good to hear."
He seemed ready to say something else when another businessman approached him.
"Mr. Valen."
Dad immediately turned his attention to the newcomer, greeting him with a polite handshake. Before long, another businessman joined the conversation, then another, until a small group had formed around him.
The topic quickly shifted to investments, company expansions, and business matters that I had absolutely no interest in listening to.
Unfortunately, I had nowhere else to go.
With a silent sigh, I stepped behind my father and stood quietly beside him while the businessmen continued their discussion. The group gradually grew larger, making me feel less like a guest at a celebration and more like an unwilling bodyguard assigned to follow my father around.
At least this way, no one would force me to socialize.
"—the condominium project downtown is on pause again," one of the older businessmen said with a weary sigh.
"Something about the foundation alignment being off by a few degrees. It's bleeding money every week we delay construction." Another man groaned.
"Our engineers can't seem to fix it without tearing down half the base structure. Investors are starting to panic."
"That's unfortunate. The location had promise." Dad nodded thoughtfully and swirled the wine in his glass.
I stood quietly behind him, half-listening to their conversation while absentmindedly tapping my fingers against my champagne glass.
Foundation alignment issues?
The words immediately caught my attention. That sounded familiar. Back in my previous life, I had encountered the exact same problem during one of my company's early development projects. It had nearly cost us millions before we found a solution.
For a moment, I simply listened. Then before I could stop myself, I spoke.
"Have you tried recalibrating the base measurements instead of redoing the entire substructure?"
The conversation died instantly. Every pair of eyes at the table turned toward me. I froze.
...
Ah.... right.
I wasn't CEO Yuna anymore. I was supposed to be nineteen-year-old Selene Valen.
Ugh, Yuna.... so much for staying quiet.
One of the businessmen blinked in surprise before studying me curiously.
"Recalibrating?" he asked. "How exactly, Miss Valen?"
Since I'd already opened my mouth, there was no point backing out now. I straightened slightly and answered calmly.
"You can use geotechnical sensors to remap the load distribution points without dismantling the lower levels. If the engineers adjust the slope ratio along the central beams instead, it should restore balance without requiring additional excavation."
"That..." He exchanged looks with his colleague. "That would actually work."
"Why didn't anyone on-site think of that?" His companion rubbed his chin.
I resisted the urge to say because they're looking at the problem from the wrong angle. Dad turned toward me, one of his eyebrows rose slightly. Not in disappointment but in surprise.
"You seem to know quite a bit about structural engineering, Selene."
"Just something I read about once." I smiled politely.
"Remarkable." The businessmen laughed.
"Most young people wouldn't even understand half of what we were discussing."
"You might want to consider joining your father's company sooner, Miss Valen."
"I'll think about it." I lifted my glass slightly.
Dad chuckled beside me, though I could still see the faint disbelief in his eyes. I couldn't exactly blame him. His daughter was supposed to be known for elegance, social grace, and excellent grades. Not for casually offering solutions to multi-million-dollar construction problems.
The discussion gradually shifted to other business matters, but something had changed. Instead of speaking only to Dad, several of the businessmen began directing questions toward me.
"What do you think about the current property market?"
"Any thoughts on commercial developments?"
"Do you believe luxury condominiums will continue growing in demand?"
bblah blah blah....
I answered them carefully, just enough not to sound intelligent. Unfortunately, that strategy wasn't working. The more I spoke, the more interested they became. Soon, quiet whispers spread through the group.
"The Valen daughter isn't just pretty."
"She's got a sharp mind."
"I agree!"
"That girl is going to run an empire one day."
I nearly choked on my champagne.
Gosh! Please don't.
Running one empire in my previous life had already given me enough stress for several lifetimes.