CHAPTER 80

Ijun’s statement that there was still more to come was not an exaggeration. Victim Kim Eunhye revealed the details of her story with the eldest heir of Baekya Foods and even disclosed the fact that she and Siyeon had been accidentally switched at birth and raised in the wrong families.

Eunhye only went as far as to mention that, but the later released interview included the story of her grandmother intentionally swapping the babies and testimonies from witnesses.

Provoked by Gwihyeon’s ridicule, Eunhye spilled everything about him during the interview, and Ijun discreetly filled in the missing details in the interview content without Eunhye’s knowledge.

Gwihyeon sued Eunhye for defamation, and the public closely watched the intense legal battle between the heir of Baekya Foods and Kim Eunhye, the descendant of Kim Dong-han.

One day, Ijun’s grandfather and President Jeong visited Siyeon in their house to meet her.

“Siyeon, please try to restrain Ijun a bit. I can’t bear the shame he’s bringing to our family anymore.”

The grandfather said as soon as he saw Siyeon. Siyeon felt a pang of guilt looking at President Jeong, whose face was flushed with embarrassment. She had read the articles about Gwihyeon and Eunhye and realized that Ijun was heavily involved and noticed the phrase “family shame” was brought up a lot.

“Why is he so persistent in doing things against the family’s wishes…?”

Siyeon said in a faltering voice, feeling her face burning up at the thought of the trouble Ijun was causing.

“If you don’t like it, tell him to stop. Then he’ll thank you and fly off to America, that scoundrel.”

President Jeong said, watching Siyeon. She lowered her head even further. She made up her mind not to let Ijun off the hook for putting her in such a difficult position.

“I intend to completely remove Gwihyeon from any involvement in the company. I plan to live quietly, preserving our family’s legacy. So, Siyeon, please try to make Ijun understand.”

“Yes, Grandfather. I’ll talk to him when he gets home.”

“Instead of that, how about the two of you go on a trip somewhere? Since you haven’t even had your honeymoon, it might be nice to take a few days off and go to a quiet place. Your father-in-law and I can take care of things while you’re away.”

Grandfather’s implication was to have Ijun disappear with Siyeon for a few days. It seemed like he was planning to finalize things while Siyeon was with Ijun.

“Yes, I’ll include that in the conversation.”

“Great, thank you.”

He took Siyeon’s hand with a much-relieved expression and patted the back of her hand.

After the two left their house in Samseong-dong, Siyeon sent a text to Ijun.

[I want to go on a trip.]

[Sure, let’s go. Where do you want to go?]

[Anywhere except Namhae is fine with me.]

[……]

Seeing the six ellipses, Siyeon chuckled. While she was smiling at her phone screen, she received a message from her father. She checked the message with a slightly awkward expression.

[Siyeon, interview requests are pouring in from all over about your great-grandfather these days. I want to let people know about your great-grandfather, but I feel it’s not something I should decide on my own and I want to discuss it with you.]

[I’m all for actively sharing about my great-grandfather. Also, please convey my thanks for the food Mother sent. It was delicious. Thank you.]

After sending the text, Siyeon put her phone down and pondered. It was about revealing the fact that she, Drumstick, was the great-granddaughter of the poet Choi Deok-gu.

She had briefly discussed this issue with Ijun as well. Ijun’s opinion was that unless Siyeon had a particular aversion to it, it would be good for enhancing the reputation of the poet Choi Deok-gu and could also be beneficial for her.

With the game based on her novel becoming a huge hit in China and Japan, and with the nickname “Drumstick,” now might not be a bad time to reveal this fact.

“Let’s think about it.”

Siyeon clapped her hands loudly and stood up from her seat.

***

A few days later, Ijun got some time off. President Jeong suggested to Ijun that since they hadn’t been able to go on a proper honeymoon, he should take this opportunity to rest with Siyeon in a nice place for a few days. However, because Siyeon was busy with deadlines, they couldn’t go on a trip.

Ijun’s grandfather and father didn’t mind what they did during his vacation as long as Siyeon kept Ijun company. They only casually asked if there was any time for a trip amidst Siyeon’s busy schedule.

The two spent the whole day together at home. They wanted to be alone, so they gave the maids a day off. It was a proper honeymoon vacation, except they didn’t travel far.

Sunlight poured into the room through the wide-open window. Siyeon sat facing the large window in the living room on the first floor. To allow her to work anywhere, Ijun had placed a long desk in the sunlit living room. The arrangement completely disregarded the aesthetics of the interior.

However, thanks to that, Siyeon could work in a well-lit room with a view of the blue sky. While she worked, Ijun sat in the rocking chair next to her, reading a book, and sometimes he brought her juice or coffee.

‘I’m happy.’

Siyeon thought as she tapped on the keyboard. On a lazy afternoon, with the warm sunlight, and Ijun by her side.

She smiled as she looked at Ijun, who had fallen asleep with his arms crossed, covering his face with the book. Then, she quietly approached and carefully took the book away.

But Ijun wasn’t asleep. His eyes, full of mischief, met hers. At the same time, a big smile spread across Ijun’s face.

“Let’s take a nap.”

“Absolutely not.”

Siyeon shook her head firmly. Ijun’s idea of a nap and hers were very different. Siyeon had no intention of taking a nap in the middle of the day.

“Then give me a kiss.”

Siyeon gave in to Ijun’s persistence and lightly kissed his lips. Once their lips touched, she couldn’t pull away. Ijun held her face and tilted his head slightly, drawing her lips into his mouth like a magnet.

“…I hope summer comes soon.”

After briefly parting their lips, he murmured this and then opened her lips again. Siyeon wanted to ask why he was looking forward to summer, but she couldn’t ask.

For a brief moment, she wondered if he was waiting for the conclusion of the novel, but she soon stopped thinking deeply as Ijun grabbed her and carried her off to bed.

***

[Fantasy novel writer Drumstick, who was shrouded in mystery, was revealed to be the great-granddaughter of poet Choi Deok-gu.]

[Choi Siyeon, wife of Baekya Foods’ Vice President Jeong Ijun and great-granddaughter of poet Choi Deok-gu, was the author of ‘Dragon’s Wings’.]

In the end, Siyeon revealed to the public that she was Drumstick, the granddaughter of poet Choi Deok-gu. Many people were astonished to learn that Siyeon, the author of ‘Dragon’s Wings’ was the wife of Jeong Ijun of Baekya Foods.

Her story, including her tumultuous past, the injustice suffered by her great-grandfather for generations, and the dramatic revelation of the truth, spread widely among the public.

Siyeon was most pleased to learn that Ijun’s grandfather and his parents were proud of her, a famous novelist in China and Japan. Ijun’s grandfather was especially delighted that Siyeon had inherited the bloodline of his friend, and he expressed his joy by transferring shares to her. As a result, Siyeon’s ownership of Baekya Foods’ shares reached 3% of the total shares.

Si-yeon’s parents, who already knew the truth, were not particularly surprised, but they were extremely proud to see Siyeon’s name alongside her great-grandfather’s. They honestly told Siyeon that Eunhye occasionally visited their home, and if it hurt her even a little, they would live without seeing Eunhye. However, Siyeon was only slightly surprised to hear that Eunhye had visited her parents, and she didn’t have any special thoughts about it.

Baekya Foods created limited edition products featuring characters from ‘Dragon’s Wings’ to commemorate the real Baekya poet and his great-granddaughter, Drumstick. However, due to overwhelming demand, the commemorative products sold out within a day, prompting urgent additional production.

Despite efforts to replenish stock, the character products were consistently out of stock, causing dissatisfaction among die-hard fans. Siyeon was curious about the reason and later found out that the products were being swept by China, where game characters were highly popular.

Eventually, unintentionally, Siyeon ended up signing an exclusive contract with Baekya Foods for the character products, and the company began exporting them overseas.

And then summer arrived.

After completing Part 1 of ‘Dragon’s Five Wings’, Siyeon and Ijun finally went on a real honeymoon to Jeju Island. Apart from a minor issue of readers asking on Baekya Foods’ customer forum when Part 2 would be serialized, it was a peaceful trip.

Thanks to the export boom of the character products, Baekya Foods’ second-quarter operating profit increased significantly, and its stock price also rose, bringing some small joy. Rumors circulated among company employees that Jeong Ijun would be promoted at the autumn regular personnel reshuffle.

Although it was late at night, the summer night in Jeju, which had arrived early, was warm. Ijun had gone to the Jeju branch office late in the afternoon, and Siyeon had been reading a book until then.

[I’ll send a car to the front of the hotel, so come here by car.]

After reading the text message sent by Ijun, Siyeon smiled and prepared to go out. When she went out to the lobby on the first floor of the hotel, the car that Ijun mentioned was waiting outside. Siyeon got into the car and headed towards him.

As the car left the city, she felt a little scared. The night in the rural area of Jeju, with few streetlights, was often shrouded in darkness.

[I’m on my way. But it’s too dark outside.]

[Look at the sky.]

Siyeon, who was texting with Ijun, turned her head and looked up at the night sky through the window. The stars were densely scattered in the dark sky. Lost in admiration of its beauty, she arrived at her destination.

Ijun was waiting for her. Siyeon smiled warmly when she saw him. Seeing his face, she felt reassured.

“Where are we?”

“In a dark place.”

Playfully responding, Ijun took Siyeon’s hand and started walking along a rural path. Soon, Siyeon understood why Ijun had brought her here.

The place where the two of them stopped walking was a field of buckwheat flowers. The vast field was filled with pure white buckwheat flowers as far as the eye could see. Watching the beautiful scenery, tears welled up in Siyeon’s eyes, feeling deeply moved.

“I’ve been waiting for Choi Siyeon to come to Baekya.”

“…Ijun.”

Seeing her tearful expression, Ijun handed her a black mother-of-pearl box containing a hair comb. Then, just as her great-grandfather had proposed to her great-grandmother amidst falling flower petals, standing in the middle of the buckwheat field covered with white flower petals, Ijun proposed to Siyeon.

“I will love you and cherish you for a lifetime, so please be my wife.”

His gentle voice made her eyes moisten. It felt like Ijun and she had traveled back in time a hundred years together.

“Yes.”

Looking up at him, Siyeon nodded slightly, and the two of them exchanged a solemn kiss against the backdrop of the dark sky. A shooting star streaked across the night sky with its long tail.

I wait for you in ‘Baekya’.

In the deep darkness untouched by white light, 

The sky is filled with stars, 

And beneath my feet, anxious footsteps scatter in all directions. 

My beloved, 

I will never be tainted by the darkness like gloom, 

And I will stand among the crowd of white light, 

Waiting for you, just like yesterday.

The End (Main Story)