28.1

“Did the formal meeting go well?”

Joo-eun asked as she welcomed Chaeyoon and Seonho inside.

“Chaeyoon, she’s a bit strange.”

Seonho said in a small voice like he was telling a secret.

“What’s strange about her?”

“She seems to have a talent for charming people. You know, Grandfather immediately approved of her. He even suggested having a meal together before she goes to England.”

“You just realized that now? She’s a killer at winning over adults. My mom doesn’t even believe me when I speak, but she believed everything Chaeyoon said.”

Joo-eun laughed heartily.

“It’s because mother mediated well.”

After the formal meeting and setting a wedding date, Chaeyoon started calling Seonkyung ‘mom,’ which visibly boosted Seonkyung’s spirits.

“Is Chan-min in his room?”

Chaeyoon asked Joo-eun just as Seokhyun emerged from the room, holding Chan-min.

“He just woke up after a good sleep.”

“Oh, my God.”

Chaeyoon’s mouth dropped open when she saw four-month-old Chan-min.

“How could there be such an adorable baby?”

“Hehe, so he’s not just pretty in my eyes, is he?”

Joo-eun smiled broadly.

“Don’t go around saying that. You’ll get stoned. Hi, Chan-min!”

Chaeyoon extended her hand, and Chan-min squeezed her fingers and purred.

“Look, he’s smiling. So pretty, right, Seonho?”

Chaeyoon asked, to which Seonho responded in an indifferent tone.

“If we have a daughter who looks like me, she’ll be even prettier than him.”

“Does that mean if she looks like me, she won’t be as pretty as him?”

Chaeyoon turned to look at Seonho.

“Maybe? Let’s be honest. In terms of looks, I’m better. If she inherits my looks and your people skills, she’d be perfect.”

“We might also end up with a child who has my face and your personality.”

“That’s fine. Your face is passable enough to cover my prickly personality. We’ll solve the rest with money.”

Joo-eun and Seokhyun burst out laughing at Seonho’s reasonable solution.

Chaeyoon shook her head in disapproval and pulled a small box out of her bag.

“Auntie has brought a gift for our Chan-min.”

Chaeyoon spoke playfully, her tone making Seonho whisper to Seokhyun.

“Hey, I think there’s a ghost that looks like Chaeyoon.”

At this, Chaeyoon glared at Seonho, causing Joo-eun and Seokhyun to laugh again.

Chaeyoon opened the box to reveal a silver bracelet with a unicorn charm.

“What is it?”

“A child safety bracelet. I engraved your phone number on it.”

“Did you make this?”

Joo-eun looked moved.

“Yes. I made it thinking of our Chan-min. Didn’t this unicorn turn out cute? I made it in silver because high value isn’t good for a safety device.”

“What’s the matter with making it out of silver? It’s a complete work of art.”

Amazed by the delicate design of the unicorn, Joo-eun showed it to Seokhyun.

“Mom’s jewelry was really beautiful too.”

“My mom’s was really pretty too.”

In addition to her initial commission, Mrs. Ko purchased a set of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets that she could wear often.

“Mrs. Ko came by?”

Chaeyoon looked surprised.

“Yes. She said you showed her Chan-min’s pictures. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It was the least I could do.”

“When she came over, she boasted so much about the jewelry you made for her. You really do have a talent.”

“Don’t even mention it. You should see how much your mom and my mom wear the jewelry she made for them, and the orders have been flooding in. Do you know how busy she is?”

Seonho grumbled, and Joo-eun clicked her tongue in amusement.

“You seem like a doting fool.”

“A doting fool? Me?”

“You’re pretending not to be, but you’re actually bragging about Chaeyoon.”

“Oh, right.”

As Seonho readily agreed, Joo-eun and Seokhyuk laughed again.

Seonho had changed too much. He used to be filled with boredom, languor, and indifference towards people, but now he looked like any man in love you might see anywhere.

And towards Chaeyoon, he was incredibly diligent and passionate. It was unbelievable that he, who was thought never to change, could become such an ordinary man.

“Chan-min is really lucky. He has an aunt who’s a jewelry designer, so he gets such pretty gifts.”

Joo-eun singsong as she puts the bracelet on Chan-min.

“If it gets smaller, we can just add more chains.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Oh, and this is for you.”

Chaeyoon pulled another small box out of her bag.

“Do I have one too?”

“It was tough giving birth to Chanmin.”

She opened the box to reveal a daisy-shaped finger ring with a white opal in the center.

“Huh? Isn’t this too small?”

“No. It’s a finger ring for your pinky. On the left hand.”

Chaeyoon showed her own finger ring on her pinky and explained.

“Ah, I see, it goes here. Is it like a friendship ring?”

Joo-eun slipped the finger ring onto her pinky.

“Not exactly. It’s a lucky ring to keep the good fortune from leaving you.”

Chaeyoon shared the story about the finger ring that the manager at the antique shop had told her.

“The left pinky represents ‘opportunities’ or ‘luck’. They say that opportunities and luck from heaven enter through the right pinky and leave through the left pinky. That’s why you wear the ring on the pinky like this to prevent that luck from escaping.”

“That’s a nice meaning. Did you make that one yourself?”

“I bought mine at the antique shop. After hearing the story about the finger rings, I wanted to make one too. This is the first piece I made. The gem in the middle is opal. They say if a woman carries an opal, she can overcome sorrow and distress and gain hope and peace.”

Joo-eun felt a prickling sensation in her nose with Chaeyoon’s deep care in the small ring.

“Chaeyoon, I love you.”

Joo-eun hugged Chaeyoon’s neck and choked up. Then Seonho stepped in to separate them.

“Hey, this is troubling. Love less, just only for me. For the sake of both of your friendships, I’ll overlook this far.”

“Are you going to keep doing this?”

Joo-eun scolded Seonho for ruining the emotional moment.

“Chaeyoon, I will love you a lot. My love will be so great that there will be no room for anyone else’s love.”

Seonho hugged Chaeyoon tightly, as if she were now his.

“Remember that I built the bridge of love for you.”

Joo-eun spoke proudly, referring to the time they were left alone at the villa.

“That’s why I became the majority shareholder of Seokhyun’s company. Remember who you owe your peaceful marriage to.”

Watching Joo-eun and Seonho’s banter, Chaeyoon spoke to Seokhyun.

“It seems they fight more now than before. It used to be more like watching each other like hawk and chicken.”

“It’s because of their strong possessiveness.”

“Seonho seems to have become a fighter rooster lately. Arguing so much even with the chairman. From a sexy sloth to a sexy fighter rooster.”

“He’s still sexy, though.”

Seokhyun chuckled.

“That is his nature. I had a crush on that.”

Chaeyoon grinned.

“Who knew you had a thing for sexy guys.”

“I didn’t even know myself.”

“When are you two getting married?”

“In November.”

Seonho answered Seokhyun’s question.

“That’s soon. I thought you’d be engaged longer.”

“My mother insisted that we get married quickly. Since we’re both in the UK, we only need to prepare the ceremony.”

“I’m surprised. The chairman approves of the marriage. I thought he’d be extremely picky, especially because of your brother.”

Seokhyun stroked his chin, thinking the chairman would choose an even better family for Seonho to rival his brother’s wife’s family.

“He must have seen something exceptional in Chaeyoon. Occasionally, even my mother said she wanted to pair Chaeyoon with one of my cousins since their ages match.”

Joo-eun said with a proud expression.

“I’ve never heard that before.”

Seonho’s voice turned cold, instantly thinking of Eunho.

“I said no. Chaeyoon doesn’t like the idea of becoming a daughter-in-law in a chaebol family. Oops, now that I think about it, I’ve become a liar, huh? Ah, I’m going to hear it from my mom. She really likes Chaeyoon.”

“It’s me who’s become a liar. This is why you can never fully understand people.”

“Yeah, well. If we knew everything, wouldn’t we be gods?”

Chaeyoon, Seonho, Joo-eun, and Seokhyun looked at each other and smiled broadly.

As children, none of them could have imagined-no, shouldn’t have imagined-this combination. And yet, they were each other’s mates.

This was a pairing that no one, not even themselves, could have imagined in their childhood.

“When are you coming back to Korea? You’ll return once Seonho finishes his studies, right?”

Joo-eun asked eagerly.

“I’m not sure yet. I’ve received a scouting offer from a luxury brand company.”

“As a jewelry designer?”

“No, for marketing. I’m more interested in antique jewelry than luxury and I enjoy making jewelry, but working in luxury might broaden my horizons, so I’m a bit tempted.”

“That makes sense. It’s not an opportunity that comes often. Ah, it’s problematic to have too many talents. What do you think, Seonho?”

“I don’t mind whatever Chaeyoon wants. I’m just worried work might be too demanding, but if Chaeyoon needs it, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Seonho smiled and stroked Chaeyoon’s hair. A red gem sparkled in his right ear.