CHAPTER 30

They had said the tiger would come if called, and now as they were talking about Eunhye, there she was, right in front of them. However, she wasn’t alone. Seeing the man in the driver’s seat, Siyeon slowly closed her slightly parted lips.

“I didn’t see him next to you.”

“….”

She found herself seeing him in a place she didn’t really want to meet.

“Yoonsoo-oppa, long time no see.”

Eunhye, who got out of the passenger seat, greeted Yoonsoo with a smiling face. Soon after, Gwihyeon, who got out of the driver’s seat, casually turned his head towards Yoonsoo and Siyeon.

Seeing him unfazed, Siyeon realized that Gwihyeon already knew that she worked there. However, Gwihyeon didn’t act like he knew Siyeon, and she didn’t want to pretend to know him either.

“Hello, Siyeon.”

“Yeah, hello.”

Siyeon reluctantly greeted her dryly. Eunhye, who had always called her an “alba” (part-timer), surprisingly knew her real name. Probably because Gwihyeon was with her, she couldn’t call her the usual.

Siyeon already knew about her duality, so she didn’t have much of a reaction to Eunhye’s changing attitude, like black and white.

“Hello.”

Yoonsoo stood up and walked toward the two. Siyeon sat under the parasol and watched Eunhye introduce the two of them.

When Eunhye explained something with a proud face, Yoonsoo briefly had a surprised expression but soon nodded his head. It seemed like he had heard about Gwihyeon, the eldest heir of Baekya Foods. Yoonsoo’s expression became quite friendly.

Yoonsoo led Gwihyeon inside the office, and Eunhye hesitated to follow but then smiled and whispered something to Gwihyeon before approaching Siyeon. She exuded excitement in her steps.

“What are you doing here?”

She was wearing a thin white T-shirt with deeply cut shoulders and a short flared skirt that fluttered in the wind. Her voice when she asked Siyeon was as refreshing as her appearance.

“I’m not doing anything. Just sitting here.”

“Do you know who the person I brought with me is?”

“I’m not curious.”

“He’s my boyfriend. Have you heard of Baekya Foods? It’s Yeongjin’s biggest client. He’s the company chairman’s grandson. He’s going to school now and working for the company at the same time.”

Eunhye had intentionally left Gwihyeon with Yoonsoo to approach Siyeon.

“How did you meet such an impressive guy?”

“The grandmother next door to ours said she would introduce someone she knew. I didn’t expect much, but it turned out to be that oppa. Apparently, our families have known each other for a long time.”

“Did you like that type of guy?”

After looking at Eunhye with Yoonsoo and Eunhye with Gwihyeon, it was clear that there was a distinct difference. Eunhye had acted comfortably in front of Yoonsoo, but with Gwihyeon, she looked at him with admiring eyes and was careful in her actions.

“You might not understand, but people like us prioritize different things. There’s a reason why people who grew up in similar environments meet each other. But you’ll never understand that in your lifetime.”

“How can you compare Yeongjin and Baekya? If Baekya were to disappear, Yeongjin would be nothing.”

“Yeah, you can’t really compare the two. But someone like you needs to realize that even if you wake up from the dead, you can’t go near someone like Gwihyeon oppa.”

Siyeon looked at Eunhye, who had an enthusiastic expression, with a blank expression. She was going to be the future daughter-in-law of the Jeong family and the hostess of Baekya Foods. Thinking about Eunhye being welcomed into the family by Suwon grandfather and Gwihyeon’s parents made Siyeon sigh inwardly.

“It’s Saturday, what brings you here? It doesn’t seem like you’re here for a date.”

“Oppa wanted to see the company, so I brought him along to show him around. Our company is a client of his company, after all.”

“I see. Show him around then and take care.”

Checking the time on her phone, Siyeon realized it was time to go to work. She tidied up her seat and stood up.

As she looked up, she saw Yoonsoo coming out of the office building. Eunhye, who glanced at him for a moment, frowned and whispered softly into Siyeon’s ear.

“Don’t mistake Yoonsoo-oppa for someone on the same level as you just because he works here part-time. He’s still on a different level than you.”

“….”

Eunhye, who smiled and looked at Siyeon with a smirk while making eye contact, noticed Gwihyeon coming out behind Yoonsoo and hurriedly smiled and walked toward him.

“Oppa, why are you already out in this heat? You should wait inside, I was just about to go in.”

“I feel a bit suffocated being in a small space.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Compared to your company, my dad’s company seems much smaller. How big is Baekya Food? I’d like to take a look and see how big it is sometimes.”

Eunhye looked at Gwihyeon and shook her body slightly. Gwihyeon smiled slowly as he watched her.

“I’ll show you when you graduate from school and join the company. Can you wait until then?”

“…Yes, I can wait.”

Though she had a disappointed look on her face, Eunnye obediently nodded her head.

“By the way, is that person an employee here?”

When Gwihyeon glanced at Siyeon over Eunhye’s shoulder, Eunhye made an annoyed expression.

“I’ve mentioned before that there are part-time workers who come to work on weekends. She’s one of those part-time workers.”

“That student who has no parents, is poor, but doesn’t give up on their dreams and earns tuition and living expenses through work? You’re around the same age and even told me their name, but I can’t remember their name.”

“Uh… you remember everything. But you can just forget about it.”

Listening to their conversation, Siyeon realized why Gwihyeon wasn’t surprised to see her. It seemed like Eunhye had talked to Gwihyeon about Younjin and even told him about Siyeon. It was probably praise disguised as criticism.

“We should get to work.”

Siyeon said to Yoonsoo, ignoring Gwihyeon, who was openly looking at her. Gwihyeon had made Eunhye think that they were on a date but was just probably trying to confirm if Siyeon really worked in Yeongjin. His intentions might not have been entirely noble.

“How much do you get paid for working here part-time?”

Gwihyeon asked Siyeon with a curious expression disguised as a smile.

“It’s 10,000 won per hour. 60,000 won per day.”

“If you work for two days, that’s 120,000 won… It seems like it would be tight for living expenses. Is the work difficult?”

“It’s not difficult.

“That’s fortunate.”

“….”

After giving Gwihyeon a cold look while he smiled, Siyeon quickly entered the factory building with Yoonsoo following behind her.

“Oppa, where should we go now?”

“We should go home.”

“Already? I wanted to hang out with you a bit longer… Going home will be boring.”

“If you’re so bored, it might be okay to get a part-time job like that friend of mine.”

“Oppa!”

“That friend I mentioned earlier is the same age as you, but she works.”

Eunhye looked at Gwiihyeon with a bewildered face. She sent him a resentful look as if he was saying something unreasonable.

“Just because we’re the same age doesn’t mean we’re all the same. She and I are on different levels.”

“…Yeah, that’s true.”

“And while it’s not right to talk about someone else’s private life, but… Actually, that friend of mine is also working here for a different reason.”

“A different reason?”

“You saw Yoonsoo-oppa earlier, right? That oppa is the son of the owner of Daesung Department Store over there.”

Gwihyeon shifted his gaze to where Eunhye was pointing. A building larger than Yeongjin could be seen even from a distance.

“Why is the son of Daesung Department Store working at Yeongjin?”

“That oppa has a somewhat unique hobby… Anyway, Siyeon is quite interested in him. She knows that his family is well-off and asks him to give her a ride home.”

“… Really?”

“Yes. I can’t even imagine it. No matter how poor you are, you shouldn’t shamelessly use someone just for money. She made a big mistake with me before, and when I asked her to apologize, she demanded money instead. So, I had no choice but to give her money, and she didn’t refuse and put it in her pocket right away.”

Gwihyeon listened to her story without looking at Eunhye’s face. Eunhye continued her chatter, feeling pleased that he was paying attention to her.

“At first, I felt upset as if I had been robbed, but when I thought that I had given money to a poor person, I felt relieved. People like us are supposed to live by helping those in need, right? Isn’t that right, oppa?”

“…That’s correct. You had a noble thought.”

Gwihyeon forced a smile, but Eunhye didn’t catch on. Eunhye beamed and hugged him tightly when she heard his praise.

“The next-door grandmother said that you and I are meant to be, and I really think so. My dad also works with your company, and my grandmother is very close to your family. Sometimes, I think it would be nice if that next-door grandmother was really my grandmother. She treats me so well.”

“Her son and daughter-in-law are also good people.”

“Yes, that’s true. But I feel sorry for them. They lost their daughter, who was the same age as me when she was young. So, when they see me, they cry. They say I remind them of their daughter. That uncle is a professor, and they live well, but it’s still sad.”

As Gwihyeon approached the passenger side of the car and opened the door, Eunhye blushed and got into the car. The two of them left the place shortly after.

“I heard that CEO Choi is good to his employees and part-timers too.”

“Did Yoonsoo tell you that? That’s right. That’s why the people at the factory like my dad, but I don’t like it much.”

“Why don’t you like it?”

“No one takes my dad seriously. They speak casually to him, even calling him by his first name.”

Eunhye made a displeased expression.

“Having the trust of the employees is also a sign of good management.”

“Maybe because our house hasn’t been well-off since my great-grandfather’s time.”

“What do you mean?”

Gwihyeon showed interest, so Eunhye began to explain enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling.

“They said our house was very poor during my great-grandfather’s time. He worked in a small factory during the day and studied at night school. He had good craftsmanship and was good at writing, very impressive… Anyway, he passed away tragically, so Grandpa suffered a lot while growing up. That’s why my dad is kind of soft-hearted toward the factory workers. When he sees them, he thinks of Grandpa and my great-grandfather.”