RWMFL 05

Chapter 05

Taeseok slowly reached toward Chaerin’s gaping collar. At the sight of his movement, her body began to tremble.

But instead of slipping his hand beneath her clothes, as she had expected, he fastened the buttons that had come undone.

“If you’re cold, you’ll catch a cold. I’ll have someone bring you a change of clothes.”

Chaerin lifted her eyes to look at him, taken aback by his unexpected reaction.

Their gazes met. The passion still smoldering in his eyes was scorching.

“Wait here for a moment.”

But Taeseok soon turned and walked out of the room.

Chaerin’s eyes lingered on his broad back and shoulders.

Though Taeseok had merely left the room, an inexplicable chill crept into her body.

Mugang Construction, Executive Director’s Office

When Taeseok arrived at work early that morning, he found an unwelcome visitor waiting for him.

The woman who had given birth to him and nothing more.

The woman who had abandoned him by the roadside without even a coat on a bitterly cold day, as though she wouldn’t have cared if he died.

The woman who had come looking for him twenty years later, after discovering that he was Chairman Kang’s son.

And the woman who had left the country with a handsome payout after negotiating a deal with Chairman Kang.

‘Just live as though you don’t have a mother. You should be grateful that I found you a rich father.’

Those had been her final words to him.

And now, that same woman had appeared before him again.

“Who gave you permission to let her in?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

Chief Secretary Yeo hurriedly bowed her head. At her signal, the security guards immediately dragged the woman out.

As they pulled her away, she shouted at the top of her lungs, having tried to approach Taeseok with open arms.

“Taeseok! You can’t treat your own mother like this! Do you hear me?”

As her voice gradually faded into the distance, Taeseok leaned his head against the headrest and slowly closed his eyes.

Exhaustion washed over him.

Just then, someone knocked on the door outside his office.

“Come in.”

At Taeseok’s permission, Chief Secretary Yeo entered with a stack of documents.

“What happened to that woman?”

“She’s been escorted out. I apologize. She claimed to be your mother, Executive Director.”

“If she comes back, report her to the police and have them deal with her.”

As far as the legal records were concerned, they were strangers anyway. He had absolutely no intention of acknowledging her as his mother.

“What does my schedule look like today?”

Taeseok pushed his thoughts aside and asked.

Chief Secretary Yeo quickly briefed him on the day’s appointments.

He listened with an expressionless face, then suddenly interrupted her.

“What’s the financial situation at Myungin Furniture?”

A flicker of surprise crossed Chief Secretary Yeo’s eyes.

She had considered it the least urgent item in her report and had deliberately saved it for last.

“Their financial situation isn’t particularly good. The home interior product line they invested heavily in has received a disappointing response.”

Chief Secretary Yeo hurriedly switched to another document and answered.

“What about their stock price?”

“After former CEO Yoo Chaerin’s illness became public, the stock price dropped once. Since then, it’s continued to fall following the failed product launch.”

A faint crease appeared between Taeseok’s brows, unusual for someone who was normally so indifferent.

As though deep in thought, he silently tapped his fingers against the desk.

After a moment, he spoke again.

“Buy every share of Myungin Furniture that comes onto the market. Use my personal funds.”

Chief Secretary Yeo nodded and left the office.

Left alone, Taeseok picked up the documents she had placed on his desk.

They contained an extensive report on Myungin Furniture.

As he skimmed through the pages, Chaerin suddenly came to mind.

Just thinking about her was enough to make his lower body grow heavy with desire, heat surging through him.

Last night, he had nearly crossed the line with her.

After barely managing to restrain his lust, Taeseok had left the room and stood under a stream of cold water for a long time, trying to calm his arousal.

He had only just found her again after all these years.

He had used her circumstances as leverage to push her into marriage, but even so, he had no intention of taking advantage of her without restraint.

After breaking up with Chaerin, Taeseok had deliberately avoided any news about her.

Remembering the miserable past when he had been unable to hold on to her had hurt too much.

He had thought that nothing remained of the love that had ended so long ago.

But now he realized that he had never truly put an end to that love.

He had merely buried it deep in his heart.

Meanwhile, as Chaerin had expected, chaos had erupted in the CEO’s office at Myungin Furniture.

They had reviewed the CCTV footage and found images of Chaerin leaving the hospital with a man. They had even traced the car’s license plate, but her whereabouts remained unknown.

The prime suspect was the friend who had reportedly visited Chaerin not long ago.

Unfortunately, the CCTV cameras in Chaerin’s hospital room had been switched off at precisely that time. The footage from the parking lot and hospital corridors was too blurry to identify the man’s face clearly.

“What the hell have you people been doing all this time?”

Han Ohjun flew into a furious rage after finally receiving the report.

“Have you reported this to the police?”

“According to the CCTV footage, Ms. Yoo Chaerin left of her own accord, so the police are reluctant to accept a missing-person report. Since she’s an adult…”

Unable to contain his fury, Han Ohjun grabbed a cup from the table and hurled it across the room.

It struck the floor and shattered into pieces.

“Who the hell is this guy? Get out there and find her! Find out who’s involved!”

Jabbing his finger and shouting until the veins in his neck bulged, Han Ohjun pointed toward the door. The head of security hurriedly bowed and rushed out of the office.

Left alone, Han Ohjun struggled to conceal his anxiety and unease.

A month earlier, Chaerin, whom he had assumed would remain in a coma until she died, had suddenly regained consciousness.

Upon hearing the news, Han Ohjun had rushed to find Dr. Kim.

“Where’s Dr. Kim? Where is he?”

Unfortunately, while the doctor was away attending a medical conference, Chaerin had begun to recover little by little.

‘Don’t worry. We’ll continue administering muscle relaxants, so her muscles will gradually grow weaker.’

When Dr. Kim finally returned, he had tried to reassure the increasingly anxious Han Ohjun.

But what Han Ohjun wanted was far more drastic than that.

‘Put her back into a coma. No, just kill her outright.’

Han Ohjun had uttered those terrifying words without hesitation.

Everything had gone according to plan.

Using Chaerin’s voting rights, Han Ohjun had convened an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and secured his appointment as CEO.

All that remained was for Chaerin to die, and everything would be over. But then, without warning, she had awakened.

Now that she was conscious, her voting rights were practically useless to him.

If she persuaded the shareholders to convene another meeting, the outcome could be reversed at any time.

Chaerin owned 12 percent of Myungin Furniture’s shares, a full four percentage points more than Han Ohjun.

Moreover, since he had taken over as CEO, sales had declined, and the shareholders’ dissatisfaction had been steadily growing.

If Chaerin recovered under these circumstances, the shareholders would quickly turn their support back to her.

That was something he absolutely could not allow to happen.

Chaerin had to deteriorate suddenly while undergoing rehabilitation at the hospital and eventually die.

Once she was dead, he would naturally inherit her shares.

Han Ohjun lit another cigarette, trying to calm himself.

It was already his fifth.

He drew the smoke deep into his lungs when he heard his secretary’s voice from outside the office.

“Team Leader Han Sera is here.”

His secretary announced Sera’s arrival.

“Send her in.”

At Han Ohjun’s command, the door soon opened, and Sera entered the CEO’s office.

Within the company, Sera’s reputation was at rock bottom.

He had brought his only daughter into the company, but instead of proving herself, she had done nothing but damage her own reputation. He found her increasingly distasteful.

But there were more important matters to deal with right now.

“Yoo Chaerin has disappeared. Do you know anywhere she might have gone?”

At Han Ohjun’s words, Sera’s eyes widened. She looked genuinely surprised, as though she had no idea what had happened.

Han Ohjun clicked his tongue in irritation.

After thinking for a moment, Sera asked, “Could she have gone to see Oppa Gyeyoung?”

“That’s right. O Gyeyoung. I forgot about that bastard.”

Only then did Han Ohjun remember Gyeyoung, and his face twisted into a scowl.

Even if Chaerin returned, as long as Sera managed to secure O Gyeyoung, she could use the backing of Jinseong Construction to help him retain his position as CEO.

“What have you been doing all this time if you still haven’t managed to win that man over?”

His thunderous rebuke fell upon Sera.

“Go and get him to promise to marry you. I don’t care how you do it!”

After barking orders at his daughter, Han Ohjun dismissed her with a curt wave of his hand.

Back at her desk, Sera gnawed furiously at her fingernails.

Marriage was exactly what she wanted, after all.

Gyeyoung had held her in his arms whenever he pleased, but ever since Chaerin had awakened, Sera could feel him gradually distancing himself from her.

If things continued this way, the outcome was all too obvious.

Just then, Sera spotted Assistant Manager Kim entering the office.

The woman had said she was going to the hospital briefly that morning, and now she was carrying a maternity record booklet in her hand.

The sight sparked an idea in Sera’s mind.

She had just thought of a surefire way to make Gyeyoung marry her.