Chapter : 07
Time passed.
There were now only about two weeks left until the CSAT.
It was a time when both students taking the exam and their parents across the country became increasingly sensitive, and a period when the students lived almost like monks in order to maintain their condition.
But not all students were the same.
“Teacherrrr!”
Ever since the conversation about Congressman Park’s marriage proposal some time ago, Eum had come to see Jihoon every single day without fail—or rather, several times a day.
She had become like a summer mosquito that kept coming back even after being chased away.
It would have been fine if she had merely come to visit.
“Please marry me.”
After learning about Jihoon’s situation, in which he might be forced into marriage, Eum had begun pestering him to marry her every other day.
“I thought about it, and if you marry me, it benefits you too. Look?”
Perhaps the girl who had the CSAT in just a couple of days wasn’t studying at all and had instead been thinking only about the advantages of marriage, because she wouldn’t stop chattering.
Jihoon had thought only her footsteps were like a chick’s, but now that he thought about it, her mouth was the same.
“Have you given up on the CSAT?”
“No? Why would I give up! I’m definitely going to attend a prestigious university and make lots of money.”
“Then go upstairs and study.”
“I can’t study. I miss seeing you, Teacher.”
Jihoon let out a deep sigh.
He had thought that, like the other girls, she would back off if he rejected her firmly, but this bold girl seemed not to know how to retreat.
Apparently, the blood of Yeon Honam really did run through her veins.
“Listen to me. I have nice hair, clear skin, and straight teeth. And my facial features are pretty too!”
“Who says that? There are tons of girls prettier than you.”
“But among them, I’m probably the youngest and smartest, right? They say children take after their mother’s brains. I’m pretty, and I can give birth to a child who is smart too!”
“You still smell like milk, and you’re talking about having a child?”
“Do I smell like milk?”
As Eum said this, she pretended to smell herself, and Jihoon hurriedly covered his eyes.
It seemed this chick had now thrown shame out the window too.
“If you keep this up, I’ll give you demerit points for school violence.”
“What school violence?”
“Persistent harassment. So go upstairs.”
“I’m not joking. Please, marry me. Otherwise, I have to marry Mr. Park, who’s older than my father.”
Jihoon couldn’t decide whether to praise her audacity in cleverly using his concern as a threat or scold her for being cowardly.
“Why aren’t you answering? There isn’t much time left. Until you answer me, I……”
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s not a threat. It’s a plea.”
At the word plea, Jihoon glanced subtly at Eum.
She was clasping both hands tightly, as though she really was desperate.
A fate in which she would be forced into marriage against her will.
Jihoon was the person who had watched such a fate from closer than anyone else. His mother had become the daughter-in-law of the Hyeseong family at a young age under circumstances like that.
“If you get a perfect score on the CSAT, I’ll think about it.”
Eum’s mouth fell open as if she had just witnessed a miracle.
But Jihoon, certain there was no way she would get a perfect score, casually crossed his arms and added,
“If you’re serious, get a perfect score.”
She would probably say he was being too harsh. That it was unfair to bring up the CSAT.
As expected, not long afterward, Eum’s eyes began to waver in confusion.
“U-uh, come on…… People can make mistakes. If you’re going to be that strict, that’s no fun. I could get one or two questions wrong……”
“No. A perfect score.”
“……”
“If you appear on TV as the person who got a perfect score on the CSAT and even give an interview, then I’ll think about it.”
The mouth that had been chattering so energetically suddenly snapped shut. Where had all that confidence about her hair and teeth and everything else gone? All that remained was a newly hatched chick.
Jihoon felt pleased and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
Why had he only thought of such a surefire way to get rid of her now?
“Okay.”
But instead of whining that it was impossible, as he had expected, Eum asked with a determined expression after a moment,
“That will be enough?”
“……Huh? Yeah.”
“Understood, Teacher!”
For some reason, the excessive liveliness in Eum’s eyes bothered him.
As he watched her hurry out of the chairman’s office, saying that she would come back tomorrow, Jihoon clicked his tongue.
“Surely not.”
Some time ago, he had checked her academic records.
There was no problem with her getting into a prestigious university, but getting a perfect score on the CSAT was another matter entirely. She had never even come close to a perfect score on a mock exam.
Yet why did he feel so uneasy?
He had the strange feeling that, in the very near future, he would see Eum on the news, smiling brightly as she said that the CSAT had been the easiest exam ever.
A variety of warm, steaming food was spread appetizingly across the dining table.
It was a cozy family dinner.
However, Bora hadn’t even picked up her spoon and was instead staring intently into empty space.
“Daughter, I made braised short ribs, your favorite. Try some.”
“That’s right. The fresh kimchi is delicious too.”
Her mother, Kim Juyeon, and even her stepfather, Yeon Changshin, tried to encourage her, but Bora’s twisted mood hadn’t improved over the past few days.
It had been like this ever since she saw Jihoon and Eum together in the rain. And after learning through Yeon Changshin that Jihoon had rejected her expressed intention to marry him, her mood had become even worse.
The reason she had studied so hard until now was to make a good marriage. The reason she had maintained smooth relationships with her classmates was also because having a good reputation from a young age would affect the quality of the men she could meet.
But Seong Jihoon had rejected her.
It was practically an obstacle thrown directly in the path of Bora’s goal.
“Dad.”
Bora simply couldn’t believe that he had rejected her.
How could he reject her when she was this young and pretty? Was that saying that a woman’s face and age were everything really a lie?
“Then who does Seong Jihoon intend to marry?”
“Bora.”
“I’m just curious. I heard he entered the marriage market because he wanted to get married. So I don’t understand why he said he didn’t like me.”
“He said you’re too young.”
“Did you tell him my birthday is January 2nd? Did you clearly tell him that I’ll turn eighteen right away next year and that there won’t be any problem with marriage?”
Changshin was also walking on eggshells day after day.
His daughter refusing to cheer up for days was one thing, but his father, Yeon Honam, had also berated him for being useless and unable to close even such a simple deal.
Juyeon, who had been watching the conversation, quietly gauged Bora’s mood before speaking.
“From what Mom heard, Executive Director Seong Jihoon doesn’t seem to think of marriage purely as a business matter.”
At that, the eyes of the daughter who had been staring intently into empty space turned toward her.
“What do you mean?”
“If that weren’t the case, do you think he would have gone so far as to reject that incredible Kang Riwon and make such a scene in front of everyone?”
One of Bora’s eyebrows slowly rose.
The incident in which Seong Jihoon, who had been flying high at headquarters as the future heir, was suddenly demoted to a school was famous enough that even Bora knew about it.
Jihoon had declared at a gathering attended by the owners of both families that he would never marry Kang Riwon, the eldest daughter of the KJ Group, a brother group that cooperated closely with Hyeseong, even if the sky itself split apart.
Apparently, the whole process had been so loud and tumultuous that there were dozens of witnesses.
“If you really want to marry Executive Director Seong Jihoon, why don’t you try starting with dating him?”
“Does that make sense? Seong Jihoon rejected marriage, so would he date me?”
“He rejected it because it was marriage.”
Only then did Bora’s expression change at Juyeon’s words.
“If it’s dating, there’s no reason for him to reject you. Our daughter is this pretty, after all.”
Changshin, who had been quietly watching their reactions, also supported his wife’s opinion.
“That’s right. Dad thinks so too. There isn’t a single man in this world who would turn down a woman as beautiful as Bora.”
Only then did the sharpness in Bora’s eyes soften slightly.
But the scene she still remembered vividly made her feel bad.
Jihoon covering Eum’s head with his jacket in the rain.
And in contrast, the look in his eyes when he faced Bora—beyond indifference, they had been dry and brittle.
“Don’t worry, Bora.”
Changshin smiled gently at Bora.
“In your father’s eyes, you’re prettier than Eum.”
