Chapter 7
“About Baek Hong-joo. She doesn’t belong to Myeongmun Group. She belongs to the law firm Joongwon.”
If it’s the law firm Joongwon, isn’t it a law firm that belongs to the TOP 3 in South Korea? And holds the most international lawyers?
“She seems quite capable. Graduated at the top of her law school, passed the prosecutor exam in one go, and worked at the prosecutor’s office for nearly 2 years.” “Baek Hong-joo was a prosecutor?” “Yeah, then she was scouted by Joongwon 6 months ago.”
She doesn’t belong to Myeongmun Group, was a prosecutor, and is now at a law firm? Then why did she come to pick him up under Myeongmun Group’s orders?
“The connection between Joongwon and Myeongmun Group?” “6 months ago, Chairman Seol Byeong-joo’s will was notarized at Joongwon.”
The timing of Hong-joo joining and the notarization of the will aligned. Does that mean Hong-joo was involved in drafting the Chairman’s will? Is that why she came to pick him up?
“You truly never know the ways of the world, huh?” “About what?” “Baek Hong-joo being a prosecutor and a lawyer. Who would have thought? I thought for sure she’d be an idol or an actor, just like she wished.”
At Seong-tae’s words, Ji-hyuk narrowed his brow. Although Hong-joo’s dream for the future had passed through being an idol and then an actor, he didn’t know why Jeong Seong-tae knew that.
“How do you know that?” “How could I not know? She was a famous figure in our high school.”
A famous figure. Right, she was a famous figure. Baek Hong-joo was a kid who caught everyone’s attention with her noticeably pretty face. Was it just her pretty face? She studied well and had a good voice, too. Because she belonged to the broadcasting club, Hong-joo’s voice flowed through the speakers during lunchtime. Even so, it wasn’t like she went around publicly proclaiming she would become an idol, though?
“There were plenty of bastards dying because they liked her so much. They just couldn’t say anything because they were scared of you.” “…Scared of me?” “When you slapped a ‘Baek Hong-joo is mine’ label on her and stood firmly right next to her guarding her. Could they have even made a move?”
At Seong-tae’s words, Ji-hyuk let out a cold snort.
“What nonsense. When did I ever put a label on Baek Hong-joo.” “You didn’t?” “Did you forget? Baek Hong-joo and I were bitter enemies officially recognized even by the police.” “Who do you take for a complete idiot. Hey, I may look like this, but I am your best friend, CEO Seol. Even if you pretend otherwise, I know everything. How specially you treated Baek Hong-joo.”
He did treat her specially. Because Baek Hong-joo was special.
“That’s why everyone chose fangirling instead of making a move.” “Fangirling?” “They were fans, fans. There were even guys who dug up every little detail about what Baek Hong-joo was doing.”
That’s not being a fan, that’s stalking.
“Then the rumor spread that Baek Hong-joo was debuting as an idol because of you.” “Because of me?” “Don’t you remember? You skipped night study session and jumped the school wall with her, and the next day it was a total uproar. It turns out you followed her to her audition?”
Ah, he did. With hands slick with sweat, he jumped the wall as if it were an elopement.
“If only Baek Hong-joo had run away, rumors wouldn’t have spread, but because you skipped the night study session, even the girls were making a huge fuss.”
At Seong-tae’s words, long-standing memories surfaced one by one.
“And then there was another huge fuss when she passed that audition and started her trainee life.”
That was why Hong-joo was quite bullied by the female students. She was bullied by the male students in a different way. Ji-hyuk’s expression as he recalled the past was somewhat distant. However, his face had no choice but to harden at Seong-tae’s subsequent words.
“Still, she turned her direction well. Imagine if she were a mere entertainer, would your family have ever considered her as a daughter-in-law candidate?” “Daughter-in-law candidate?”
Wondering what this out-of-nowhere nonsense was, Ji-hyuk furrowed his brow. Over the receiver, Seong-tae continued speaking.
“This is just a rumor in our industry, but your nephew.”
If it was Ji-hyuk’s nephew, it would mean one of his older sister Seol Eun-hee’s son and daughter. Since Seong-tae, a lawyer, said ‘our industry,’ the nephew he was talking about was probably Do Chan-young, the head of Myeongmun Group’s legal team out of the two.
“Who, Do Chan-young?” “Yeah, Do Chan-young.”
Seong-tae, bringing up Do Chan-young who was the same age as Ji-hyuk, continued speaking again.
“He retook the exam, so he and Baek Hong-joo were classmates in law school and all the way through, right? But lately, your brother-in-law, CEO Do Mu-jin, has been trying hard to connect the two of them. Publicly babbling that she’s a daughter-in-law candidate.”
Do Mu-jin is? Ji-hyuk’s face stiffened coldly. His pitch-black pupils contracted and sharpened sharply. That face of his was reflected completely intact in the mirror.
“And Baek Hong-joo. Did she agree too?” “I wouldn’t know.”
Answering like that, Seong-tae paused for a moment and then continued again.
“Right before Baek Hong-joo’s grandmother passed away, it seems there were formal marriage talks too. There was even a rumor that your brother-in-law got angry because the grandmother was being hesitant. Then as the grandmother passed away…” “Wait.”
Watching his own reflection in the mirror, Ji-hyuk frowned. Amidst the uniformly annoying news, an unwelcome piece of information had slipped in.
“Hong-joo’s grandmother, passed away?” “Yeah, it’s already been almost 2 years, right? Because it was right when Baek Hong-joo was first appointed as a prosecutor.”
He ignored most of the news transmitted from Korea. Even more so when it was news about Hong-joo. He didn’t want to know the details, and there was no need to know. Naturally, Seong-tae kept his mouth shut too. But to think Grandmother Wonju-daek had passed away in the meantime. Why did that healthy person…
“They say Do Chan-young stayed at the grandmother’s funeral hall for three whole days. There’s talk that Baek Hong-joo has been keeping her distance since then because he acted exactly as if he were her husband.”
Even while Ji-hyuk was caught in his thoughts, Seong-tae’s words didn’t stop.
“Isn’t it funny? No matter how smart and pretty Baek Hong-joo is, she’s the granddaughter of a servant employed by the family, isn’t she? Usually, even if their child throws a fit saying they like her, parents would rightfully oppose it, but your brother-in-law was supposedly anxious because he couldn’t put the two of them together. So everyone wondered if Do Chan-young was impotent, or if he had some other flaw? No matter if he’s born from a previous wife, it’s a fact that your older sister cherishes Do Chan-young terribly. But why…”
Pretending not to hear his family affairs flowing out of Seong-tae’s mouth, Ji-hyuk threw a question.
“How did she pass away?” “Who, Baek Hong-joo’s grandmother?” “Yeah.” “They said it was an accident.” “An accident? What kind of accident?” “Did they say it was a fall? Probably death by a misstep?” “Where?” “I don’t know the details that closely. If you give me more time, I’ll look into the police records.” “I’ll give you more time, so find out.” “Okay.” “And Baek Hong-joo and Do Chan-young.”
Putting Hong-joo and Chan-young’s names together in his mouth made it feel as though bitter mugwort juice was welling up under his tongue.
“Find out about the relationship between those two as well. Whether marriage talks really went back and forth, if they are still valid, and how far they progressed.” “Got it. But CEO Seol.”
Seong-tae spoke very carefully.
“I heard the Chairman passed away…” “I know.”
At Ji-hyuk’s answer, Seong-tae’s voice brightened considerably.
“Right? You heard the news too, right? Ha, man, because you had such a perfectly fine face this morning, I watched the news and wondered if Myeongmun somehow hadn’t informed you.”
He had hoped they wouldn’t inform him. Because he wanted to be cleanly forgotten while living in a different world from them. They sent Baek Hong-joo to such a him. It felt exactly like an invitation to return to that dirty world.
“You’re going to enter Korea, right?” “I have to go.”
He hadn’t intended to go. Somehow, it seemed he had no choice but to go. The invitation was too grandiose to not go, impossible to ignore.
“Then when you enter, I’ll also…” “Hang up for now.”
Without listening further, Ji-hyuk hung up the phone. Instead of the showerhead, Ji-hyuk turned the sink faucet, wet his hands with cold water, and roughly rubbed his face. At this point, he became curious. What was the intention of the person who sent Baek Hong-joo to him. Was it an invitation, or a letter of challenge? Are they saying let’s fight, or are they saying try fighting?
“To forcefully stick Baek Hong-joo to Do Chan-young.”
It was an astounding situation. Leaning on the sink with both hands, he muttered while staring intently at himself in the mirror.
“This is not right.”
This is not right. He didn’t make that huge fuss 10 years ago just for this to happen. Heat boiled up from somewhere deep inside his solar plexus. The breath squeezing up his throat was hot. The heart beating rapidly was hot, and the blood the heart pumped out was hot too. And yet, his mind was cooling down more coldly than ever.
Marriage talks? A cold laugh squeezed through his lips.
“Brother-in-law, you shouldn’t handle Baek Hong-joo that way.”
Who gave you permission. She has my label stuck on her.
