Chapter 8 (Part 4)

Going downstairs to eat the food prepared by Chae-seon, Hwa-woong entered the kitchen.

Chae-seon explained to Hwa-woong that she prepared it because the child hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch.

Yet, Hwa-woong’s expression was dark.

Noticing Hwa-woong’s low mood, Chae-seon mouthed to Hae-mi to eat quietly.

However, Hae-mi ignored it and chewed her meat while watching Hwa-woong’s back.

It seemed he came to drink water. As he pressed the button on the water dispenser, Hae-mi called him.

“Grandpa.”

Even at Hae-mi’s call, he did not respond.

Hae-mi shamelessly called out once more.

“Grandpa.”

“…….”

“Grandpa. On the day of the engagement mentioned in the article, are Mr. Won Do-jin and I really getting engaged? Mom, should we go to the department store after this? I need to buy a nice dress.”

Hae-mi soon forgot that she had asked Hwa-woong a question first and began to mutter to herself.

“Oh, right. And Grandpa, if you have time, maybe we should invite Chairman Won and Do-jin to our house once more before the engagement ceremony….”

Thud-!

“Ahh!”

Hwa-woong threw a water cup at Hae-mi’s forehead in an instant.

The kitchen turned into complete chaos.

Chae-seon, utterly shocked, stood in front of Hae-mi and shouted at Hwa-woong.

“Father! What are you doing right now?!”

Hae-mi clutched her bleeding forehead and sobbed loudly. She felt terribly wronged, experiencing the same treatment she had given Seo-hye.

“Do you know what Hae-mi did? She told her friend how Seo-hye was born! What if that gets revealed to the world? Huh?”

Chae-seon looked at Hae-mi with a face as white as a sheet.

“You’re going to ruin the reputation our family has painstakingly built up! And you think you can marry into Seonghan?! Ugh, you foolish girl!”

The family’s division was swift.

***

Mr. Kim watched this scene from the living room.

Normally, he would have gone into the kitchen to stop Hwa-woong and the family, but this time he did not.

Having already lost Seo-hye and Hyo-young, Hwa-woong had become incapable of providing any more help to Seonghan.

Moreover, since Hae-mi had revealed the secret of Seo-hye’s birth to her friends, if that were to leak out, this family would truly be finished.

Why bother stopping those who are already destined to fall apart?

He hoped they would tear each other apart and meet a miserable end.

At that moment, a call came in from Do-jin.

Mr. Kim glanced at the still chaotic kitchen and then stepped out into the yard.

• This is Seonghan’s Won Do-jin. To get straight to the point, could we meet sometime? I have questions about the past car accident involving Mr. Lee Hwa-jun.”

Mr. Kim thought that what was bound to happen had finally come, and he arranged a meeting with Do-jin.

***

At Seok-young’s visit, Seo-hye checked that her mother was asleep and went out into the hallway.

Seok-young handed her a small shopping bag.

It was a new cellphone.

Seo-hye accepted it and expressed her thanks.

“And, Ms. Seo-hye.”

“Yes?”

“The Executive Director said…”

Seo-hye watched as Seok-young bit his lip, hesitating to say something.

“What is it, Secretary? You can tell me.”

As Seo-hye reassured him that it was okay, Seok-young carefully began to speak, recalling what Do-jin had asked him to convey.

“Um… so… the Executive Director asked me to tell you to text him every 10 minutes.”

Seo-hye’s clear face slightly frowned.

As silence made Yoo Seok-young unsure of what to do, Seo-hye quickly responded.

“Okay, I’ll contact Mr. Do-jin.”

She thought it was a joke when he said to send a text every 10 minutes…

“If you make a reluctant face, he asked me to say this…”

“……”

“He said, ‘I will also stay in the hospital room and nurse Ms. Seo-hye’s mother all night, indefinitely.'”

When Seo-hye, dumbfounded, didn’t respond, Seok-young seemed embarrassed to speak further, bringing his fist to his mouth and clearing his throat several times.

“Ahem, ahem. And if Ms. Seo-hye can’t speak, he asked me to say one more thing…”

“……”

“He mentioned that he forgot to say this in the morning.”

Despite her embarrassment, Seo-hye was curious about what Do-jin intended to say in the morning, so she focused.

“He asked you to go back and change the dressing on the face wound.”

An ‘ah’ of realization escaped from Seo-hye’s slightly open mouth.

Fortunately, she had been told at the hospital yesterday that the scratches on her face and around her mouth were light and wouldn’t leave scars.

Do-jin was greatly relieved by this fact and had repeatedly urged her not to be lazy and to change the dressing on time.

It seemed he had forgotten to mention it again earlier.

Seo-hye couldn’t help but smile, finding Do-jin’s concern for her wounds endearing.

However, it seemed Seok-young’s duties were not yet over. With a tense face, he looked at Seo-hye and delivered the last remaining message.

“In fact, he said that even with the wounds, Ms. Seo-hye, you’re still pretty.”

The surroundings fell silent.

“……”

“……”

Seo-hye closed her eyes tightly and then opened them again.

…What exactly is Do-jin making his secretary do?

She felt sorry for Yoo Seok-young, who must have found it very awkward to convey these words, and she raised her eyebrows apologetically.

“Why does Mr. Won Do-jin make you deliver such troublesome messages, Secretary?”

As she spoke with a hint of reproach towards Do-jin, Seok-young replied with an even more astonishing remark.

“If you say it like that, he asked me to remind you to keep in touch regularly…”

So, the purpose was to ensure I contact him consistently?

Seo-hye chuckled softly. He was truly an incorrigible man.

Seok-young seemed much more at ease than when he first handed over the phone, as if he had finally delivered all he had to say.

He leaned slightly towards Seo-hye and whispered.

“His persistence is really something. Please keep in touch, even if just a little. It’s very difficult for me to convey such embarrassing words. The Executive Director is someone who would definitely ask again…”

At Seok-young’s plea, which was almost not a plea, Seo-hye nodded and reassured him not to worry, then apologized to him for being put in an awkward position because of her.

“I’m sorry, because of me…”

“No, why would that be your fault, Ms. Seo-hye? Haha, anyway, Ms. Seo-hye. I have somewhere else to be, so I’ll be going first.”

“Yes. Thank you so much for delivering this despite your busy schedule. Please take care on your way back.”

Seo-hye shook the handle of the bag containing the phone, expressing her gratitude once more.

After exchanging small nods towards each other, the two parted ways.

After Seok-young left, Seo-hye returned to the hospital room.

With Hyo-young asleep, she could more comfortably operate the new phone.

Seo-hye memorized Do-jin’s number, saved it, and composed a text message.

If I don’t send it now, he’ll probably send the secretary again to deliver another embarrassingly awkward message.

However, soon after, she slumped her shoulders in worry, unsure of what to send.

[Received the phone well. Contacting because you told me to.]

She wrote it, then erased it.

[It’s me, Seo-hye. Received the phone well.]

She wrote it again, then erased it.

In the end, after writing and erasing the message about ten times, she finally pressed the send button.

[Mr. Do-jin. Thank you for the phone.]

He should know who it’s from with just this, right?

Having completed her mission, Seo-hye placed the phone on her lap and stared at it blankly.

Wondering when a reply would come.

But as 1 minute and then 2 minutes passed without a reply, it was Seo-hye who grew anxious.

While she was staring intently at the phone, a call came in.

It was Do-jin.

She composed herself and answered the call.

• What do you want to eat for dinner?

A pleasant voice came through.

Seo-hye tried to suppress the smile that was forming and played along.

“Did we plan to meet for dinner?”

• We did. Have you already forgotten?

But Do-jin played along even more skillfully.

Seo-hye felt a tickling sensation in her neck and chest that made her want to laugh.

She raised her free hand to scratch around her neck.

• So, what do you want to eat?

“Mr. Won Do-jin, I want to ea-”

Before she could finish saying “eat,” he interrupted.

• You want to eat me?

“……What…!”

A laughter so sweet it could melt her heart was heard.

• I’m almost at the hospital. I’ll pick you up in 30 minutes.

Do-jin hung up before Seo-hye could respond.

“…….”

Seo-hye looked down at the phone screen with a bewildered expression, then suddenly stood up.

She ran to the mirror to fix her hair, which had become disheveled from the nap she took before Yoo Seok-young arrived.