APOS 03

Chapter 03

Complete English Translation

Kang-hyun reached forward and picked up his cup of coffee.

“I work there. The salary is pretty high. No, I’ll just tell you the truth. It has the best work-life balance you could ask for, and it’s also a place where I won’t get fired as long as I don’t do something like pull off the vice president’s wig.”

He almost spit out the coffee in his mouth.

Pull off what? The vice president’s wig?

No, more importantly, how did she even know that his uncle was fond of wearing wigs?

“And right now, I live alone in a 24-pyeong apartment with a jeonse deposit of 600 million won.”

The longer Seobin’s difficult-to-follow explanation continued, the more strangely distorted Kang-hyun’s eyes became.

“To be honest, my parents helped me with the apartment. They said they would give me something when I got married anyway, so we settled the house that way. And I have 100 million won in cash saved up.”

“……”

“My salary will keep increasing, so I can support you.”

“Okay. So that’s what you wanted to say… What?”

Kang-hyun’s eyebrows shot up.

“I’ve worked hard for four years so I could take responsibility for you. I’m the kind of person who can’t live with a debt hanging over me.”

Seobin’s expression had become firmer than when she had first entered the café.

She immediately took something out of her bag.

A white sheet of paper.

“It’s a marriage registration form. I filled out all my information. Now you just need to—”

That was when—

“Pffft!”

A loud sound of someone violently spraying coffee came from behind Kang-hyun.

Silence instantly fell over the surroundings.

Seobin’s gaze landed on the back of Secretary Hwang, who was sitting behind Kang-hyun.

Embarrassed, Kang-hyun leaned slightly to the side, blocking Seobin’s view so she could no longer see Secretary Hwang.

“……”

When Seobin slightly furrowed her brows, Kang-hyun’s throat tightened.

“Oppa.”

“……”

“Getting back to the main point… Oppa Do-jun said that for a man, ‘that’ is the source of his reason for living. You lost it because of me, so I think it’s only right that I take responsibility.”

He was so dumbfounded that it felt as though he had forgotten how to speak.

Not a single sound came out.

“I filled in all the blanks. You just need to—”

“Ahem!”

Secretary Hwang coughed loudly from behind.

It was an unspoken pressure telling him to either reject her immediately or somehow get out of this situation.

Kang-hyun quickly regained his composure and was about to tell her that she had probably been deceived by her brother.

But then he saw Seobin’s hand trembling slightly as it rested on the marriage registration form.

His gaze lifted straight up.

Seobin couldn’t even properly meet his eyes. Her face and even her ears were bright red.

Ah.

This isn’t a joke.

She really means it when she says she’ll take responsibility for me.

……How could someone do this?

At a moment when he should have been telling her the truth, a seed of curiosity began to grow inside him.

“I just need you to fill in your part. Hmm.”

Even though Seobin had said everything she wanted to say, her voice trembled badly, and Kang-hyun’s entire body began to tense.

Was he getting worked up?

Or was he simply excited because this was so amusing?

When was the last time he had experienced something that made his blood boil like this?

Kang-hyun reached out and pulled the marriage registration form toward himself.

“So, Seobin. You’ve been working hard and saving money so you could marry me.”

Without hesitation, Seobin answered,

“Yes.”

A laugh escaped between Kang-hyun’s teeth.

Meanwhile, a groaning sound came from behind him.

It was probably Secretary Hwang desperately holding back the urge to shout, Why aren’t you rejecting her immediately?

Kang-hyun composed his expression again and opened his mouth.

“You don’t need to feel guilty.”

I’m not impotent.

That was what Kang-hyun had intended to say, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to say the rest.

He had become interested in Seobin, who had spent four years working hard so she could take responsibility for him.

Does this make any sense?

But Seobin violently shook her head.

“No! If I did something wrong, then it’s right for me to feel guilty.”

“Seobin.”

“I’ve also thought about that incident very seriously since it happened. Think it over, and don’t feel too pressured. Just come as you are.”

Just come as you are?

She’s so dependable it almost makes me want to cry.

Kang-hyun forcefully suppressed the corners of his mouth, which were trying to rise.

“This is my contact information.”

Seobin suddenly handed him her business card.

Shinseong Electronics — Home Appliances Division, Team 1
Assistant Manager Lee Seobin
**010–”

“Contact me. If you feel awkward about contacting me directly, then contact me through that thief—no, through Oppa Do-jun!”

“Seo—”

Before Kang-hyun could even finish saying her name, Seobin quickly stood up.

Then she left the café without looking back.

He didn’t even have a chance to stop her.

Kang-hyun’s dazed gaze moved from the café entrance back to the table.

All that remained was the scent Seobin had left behind—

And the marriage registration form.

Crash!

That was when he heard something slam hard into the table behind him.

He glanced back.

Secretary Hwang was hunched over, rubbing the knee he had apparently slammed into the table while hissing in pain.

Perhaps sensing Kang-hyun’s gaze, he quickly came back and sat down in the seat where Seobin had been sitting.

“Vice President! What on earth was that situation?! I almost fainted!”

“I think I just got proposed to.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying! A marriage proposal isn’t some random dog’s name! Why on earth did you suddenly get a marriage proposal?!”

Secretary Hwang picked up the paper from the table with a pale face.

Then he glanced at Seobin’s business card and was horrified.

“Gasp! What is this?! S-S-S-Shinseong Electronics?!”

“……”

“This has to be a marriage scam! She must have already known that you were taking over the electronics division and plotted all of this!”

That can’t be.

Do-jun had talked about his younger sister all the time.

She was diligent.

She hated causing harm to others.

And she was foolishly innocent.

Do-jun had even said she was the kind of person who would believe nine out of ten lies if someone lied to her ten times.

That was probably why she had believed Do-jun’s lie that Cha Kang-hyun was impotent and spent four years working hard for his sake.

“She wouldn’t do that.”

“Vice President!”

“What’s the problem?”

Secretary Hwang loosened his tie in frustration.

“You seem to be viewing her favorably just because she’s your friend’s younger sister, but there are plenty of people in this industry who approach others with bad intentions.”

“You think I can’t tell the difference?”

Just then, the phone in Kang-hyun’s jacket pocket rang.

It was his mother.

“Let’s go to Seongbuk-dong first. I guess Mother noticed that I went somewhere else.”

Kang-hyun stood up.

As he rose, he reached for the marriage registration form in Secretary Hwang’s hand.

Secretary Hwang held onto it tightly, unwilling to let go, so Kang-hyun quietly called out to him.

“Secretary Hwang.”

Secretary Hwang wore an expression as if he would rather die, but eventually relaxed his grip.

Kang-hyun tightly held the marriage registration form and was about to leave when he added one more thing.

“Bring the flowers.”

As Kang-hyun left the café, an indescribable smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

Seongbuk-dong — Main Residence

As Kang-hyun passed through the main gate and entered the house, Mrs. Moon Ji-seon welcomed him with a gentle smile.

She was an elegant, sophisticated woman who took such good care of herself that at first glance, one could easily believe she was in her late thirties.

“Have you been well?”

Ji-seon’s expression became faintly sad.

Which meant she hadn’t been well.

Well, could she really have been fine after losing her son two months ago?

“Mother—”

Ji-seon cut Kang-hyun off with a glance.

Following her gaze, he looked toward the center of the living room.

And his eyes met those of an unwelcome guest.

It was his grandfather, Tae-yong.

“He came a little while ago. I didn’t even have a chance to tell you.”

Knowing that Kang-hyun and Tae-yong did not have a good relationship, Ji-seon lowered her eyebrows like someone who had done something wrong and whispered softly.

Kang-hyun let out a faint sigh and passed Ji-seon, heading into the living room.

Even while drinking tea, Tae-yong’s sharp, snake-like eyes carefully scanned Kang-hyun from head to toe.

There was always judgment in that gaze.

It wasn’t the gaze of a grandfather looking at his grandson.

It was the calculating gaze of someone assessing what kind of person could bring the most benefit to the group.

“I told you to take over the company so many times, but you pretended not to hear me.”

“……”

“Now that disaster has finally struck, you’re willing to listen.”

A sharp fury appeared in Kang-hyun’s eyes.

“If you had come back earlier and relieved your brother, who didn’t have an ounce of ability, of some of his burden, your brother wouldn’t have left this world like that.”

Kang-hyun clenched the inside of his cheek and closed his eyes, trying to hold back his anger.

Two months ago.

He had received the tragic news in America.

His older brother, Kang-seok, who had always worked hard to serve the group and live up to the expectations placed on him as the eldest son, had taken his own life.

Kang-hyun, who had refused to enter the family business and had been living abroad, had no choice but to return to Korea.

To take his brother’s place.

The truth was, he still wasn’t okay.

“Why weren’t you born as the older brother instead?”

His brother’s words, spoken by someone Kang-hyun had believed was inferior to him, had become deeply embedded in his heart and continued to torment him.

The wound of that guilt had festered until it was unbearably painful, and now his grandfather was digging into it with a sharp knife.

He couldn’t keep his expression under control.

“Father.”

“Woman, you stay quiet.”

At his grandfather’s words silencing Ji-seon, Kang-hyun slowly opened his heavy eyes.

“What is it that you want to say? I’ve already decided to take over the electronics division. What more do you want from me?”

“You know Assemblyman Park Chang-beom, don’t you?”

“Does anyone not know the next mayor of Seoul?”

“His only daughter is quite an admirable girl.”

Kang-hyun’s expression hardened.

“I heard she’s so pretty that she could marry you as early as next month.”

Did I suddenly become incredibly lucky with marriage?

The moment he came back to Korea, he had somehow ended up with two women who wanted to marry him.