CHAPTER 19

*

After cursing, her heart felt a little lighter. Taeheon’s mouth was slightly upturned when she looked up. He seemed to be amused.

“Go inside and change your clothes first.”

“Aren’t you coming in?”

He didn’t come here to bow in front of Moon-sik’s portrait.

“Change and come out. We’ll talk then.”

“I can’t empty the seat because I’m the head mourner. Let’s talk about it next time.”

Yeonseo smiled weakly and turned around. By now, the darkness had lifted and morning had arrived.

Yeonseo took a step forward.

“Is it hard to ask for help?”

Taeheon asked mockingly from behind her.

“You won’t be able to handle this alone. Those guys will persist and resort to dirty tactics.”

“There must be a way out.”

“Don’t you think that I could be you savior?”

She was nothing but his belonging.

Yeonseo was just a mistress, someone he uses when he wanted to…….

If Taeheon’s feelings for her were deep enough to be infatuated, then their relationship would be just about physical intimacy, and it would wither away after their bodies were entwined.

Even though he hasn’t married yet, he’s impressive enough to have a mistress. Surely, he could have helped Yeonseo in some way.

But to put it differently, this was just sponsorship. If he offered her money and assistance, Yeonso would give herself to him.

It was clear from the start. A relationship that would one day end in ruin, and it was certain who would be left behind.

She didn’t want that kind of relationship. Being poor was about her bank account, not her pride.

The more she thought about it, the more a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her heart.

“It’s not that asking for help is difficult, it’s just that I find it difficult to rely on others.”

“What part is difficult for you?”

“Everything. It’s all burdensome and uncomfortable.”

Yeonseo turned around and smiled at him. For a moment, his gaze hardened.

“Don’t smile like that.”

Taeheon said as a warning. He looked at her quietly for a moment and then turned away without saying anything.

After he was gone, it took a while for Yeonseo to realize that Taeheon’s jacket was draped over her shoulders. She tightly held onto the edge of the clothes, trying to suppress the swirling emotions inside her as the wind brushed against her.

She thought that her growing attraction to him was solely due to her own dark and gloomy situation, leading her to fall into the even darker world of Taeheon.

Even if she reached a dead-end worse than this, she vowed never to ask Taeheon for help.

She would only be tied to him solely for Mrs. Kang’s sake, and she wouldn’t reach out to him for anything else.

That was the only way.

*

A calm morning. Seungbin woke up to a phone call. It was from one of the agents he had placed near Yeonseo. His drowsiness vanished in an instant.

“What? Taeheon went there?”

• Yes, he went there to offer condolences and then left. As for those loan sharks, what should we do about them?

It was already surprising that Taeheon went there, but it’s even more concerning now that they said loan sharks came looking for Yeonseo.

“How much did they say?”

• They demanded 300 million won.

“Transfer the amount as agreed and make sure to get a receipt of it.”

• 300 million won?

“Yes, handle it quickly. Is Yeonso preparing for the funeral now?”

• Yes, it seems so.

“Okay, understood. Proceed with the handling, and let me know if anything else comes up.”

Seungbin hung up the phone and sat up in bed.

It was common tactic for someone to step in and pay off the debt on behalf of another, making them feel indebted. The problem was Taeheon.

Ever since he’d shown up at Ji Ye-yeon’s, things felt strange. And he even went as far as attending the funeral?

Taeheon was never a warm and kind person to anyone. He could have just sent his condolences through his secretary. He must be up to something.

Could it be that he had something going on with Yeonseo…?

Seungbin was the one who first noticed Yeonseo. He found her endearing and charming in her naive and kind demeanor. Of course, her face was naturally beautiful, as well.

At first, he just wanted to try spending time with her once. But then he wanted to win her heart, so he approached her and Yeonseo, in her innocence, quickly opened up to him. The relationship with Yeonseo, which was going well, took a wrong turn because of Taeheon’s influence.

“Of course not.”

Even as he tried to reassure himself, he still felt uneasy. Looking back, Taeheon had always been ahead of him.

Now was not the time to just sit and do nothing. He threw off his pajamas, quickly put on new clothes, and hurried down the stairs to the first floor.

Seungbin knocked on the door of his parents’ bedroom, forgetting any politeness.

Knock, knock, knock.

If it was something beyond his ability, he thought of seeking help from his father, Managing Director Woo.

“Father, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

Managing Director Woo was already dressed in a suit, choosing a tie. Seungbin admired his father’s diligence. He looked around nervously.

“Where’s mother?”

“She went to the salon. There’s a founding anniversary event in the afternoon. Is there something you want to say?”

“I think this tie would be better, Father.”

Seungbin handed him a dark navy blue tie, and Director Woo accepted it.

“It’s about Yeonseo.”

“You mean Han Yeonseo, the nurse?”

Behind his glasses, Director Woo’s eyes showed a reaction.

“Yes, Father. Do you know that Grandma is thinking of leaving an inheritance to Yeonseo?”

As Director Woo was tying his tie, his hands paused. There it was. Seungbin smiled as he saw his father’s reaction.

“So, here’s the thing. What do you think about making Yeonseo my girlfriend?”

“What?”

Director Woo narrowed his eyes as if he had stumbled upon an unexpected idea.

Raon Planning’s executive, Woo Jang-hyeok, was naturally ambitious. He masked his ambitious nature behind a smiling face.

On the other hand, his younger brother, Woo Lee-hyeok, two years younger, was like a machine moving for the company’s profit.

Lee-hyeok didn’t bother packaging himself. He presented a cynical and rational approach, not trying to hide who he really was.

He was always confident and didn’t care about society’s views on his choices. He was the polar opposite of Managing Director Woo, who was sensitive to his reputation.

Looking at his smiling son, Director Woo recalled the time he first became conscious of his younger brother.

From the day he was born, Lee-hyeok had excelled in everything, received praises from the world. Jang-hyeok instinctively realized that a competitor had appeared, and his intuition turned out to be correct.

Throughout his life, he had competed with his younger brother and often faced defeat. As a result, Chairman Kang, their father, entrusted Sewon Holdings, the head of the group, to Lee-hyeok’s hands.

Compared to being the managing director of Raon Planning, Lee Hyeok’s rise to the position of vice president of Sewon Holdings was far ahead in terms of status and position.

As someone who had dreamed of dedicating himself to Sewon even before reaching adulthood, Director Woo found it difficult to accept the result.

It’s possible that Chairman Kang was not completely unaware of Jang-hyeok’s efforts, because he consistently sided with Lee-hyeok. Even after his passing, Chairman Kang’s decisions continued to leave Jang-hyeok feeling frustrated and disheartened.

He entrusted their mother, Mrs. Kang’s well-being to Taeheon, who resembled Lee-hyeok. In return, Taeheon inherited a significant portion of his wealth.

The eldest son was alive and well, with his two eyes wide open, so why?

The accumulated questions bred hatred. Fueled greed and avarice.

The idea of Taeheon inheriting Mrs. Kang’s fortune was something he couldn’t bear to see. The thought of it, worst-case scenario, keeps him awake even in his sleep.

“Father.”

Seungbin smiled faintly at his distraught father.

Yes, he had a son, Seungbin, who resembled him – clever and tactful, Woo Seungbin.

Director Woo wondered why Seungbin came knocking on the door early in the morning, but then he mentioned a surprising name.

Han Yeonsoo, it was an unexpected move. Director Woo’s mind was racing more fiercely than ever. He began to piece together the relationship between the inheritance and Han Yeonsoo.

“And I have firmly kept the secret of that herbal medicine incident under control.”

“Yes, of course, I trust you.”

“Dr. Kim and I are not people who easily spill the beans in just a day or two. Even if we get questioned, we can handle it appropriately. Besides, even if we get caught, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Seungbin shrugged nonchalantly, showing his cunning side, resembling his father.

Intentionally adding a small amount of shiitake mushrooms in Mrs. Kang’s herbal medicine was a deliberate act. They wanted to trigger a mild rash.

To get Mrs. Kang, who refused to budge from the Yongin house, to move, they needed to induce some distinct symptoms that were different from before.

The plan was that if a rash appeared, they would call in a the family physician, who had been arranged by Director Woo, and then intentionally bring her to a hospital in Seoul. The attending physician had been under Director Woo’s influence for quite some time.

Once the elderly spent a day or two in the hospital, they would use that as an excuse to coax her into revising her will.

Mrs. Kang was the kind of person who couldn’t refuse if she was pestered. To achieve their goal, they needed to keep her close by.

As they were not aware of the contents of the original will, they had to rewrite it in a way that would be favorable to Director Woo.

If Mrs. Kang acted according to her usual personality, she would have divided her assets fairly. And that fairness would be unfair to Director Woo.

He had lived with his parents all his life, and he was the eldest son. So, it was only right that he should have more.

“Still, I didn’t expect an allergic shock to happen nor did I expect Taeheon to take her to Shinju Hospital neither. It’s really painful at the back of my head, Dad.”

Even without that incident, it was already a headache-inducing situation. To switch the power entirely, and so quickly at that, was unexpected.

It was regrettable, but Seungbin had brought some pleasant news, which slightly improved Director Woo’s mood.

Afterwards, Seungbin explained how much Mrs. Kang admired Yeonseo and how eager she was to connect him with Yeonseo

At first, Director Woo was skeptical, but as Seungbin continued talking, he became more convinced of the direction to take.

If it came from Mrs. Kang’s mouth, it wouldn’t be out of the blue. Mrs. Kang was the kind of person who, once she put her heart into someone, would see them through to the end.

If she was thinking of pairing Yeonseo with her grandson, it meant that she really liked her. As Seungbin said, she would undoubtedly give Yeonseo a share of her inheritance in some way.

Still, since Director Woo hadn’t personally witnessed it, he had some lingering skepticism. Narrowing his eyes, he asked.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Of course. Grandma can’t live without Yeonseo. She keeps bragging about her to me.”

If he had known that the nurse was such an important figure, he would have used her differently.

“If that’s true, why don’t you two get engaged?”

“Engaged?”

Seungbin asked in surprise, but his face quickly brightened.

“Does Yeonseo really appeal to you?”

“Yeonsoo is pretty, you know. She also has a dignified charm.”

Seungbin was quite skilled when it came to dealing with women. Now was the time to utilize that skill.

It shouldn’t be hard for Seungbin to woo that nurse.