CHAPTER 07
Jae-hyun added one more white lie out of kindness.
He had never really thought about whether he preferred older women, women his age, or younger women, but he wanted to put Tae-joo at ease.
“Yeah. These days, older women are apparently the trend. Anyway, I’m counting on you, Jae-hyun.”
As Tae-joo spoke, he suddenly took out his wallet and handed Jae-hyun a card.
Jae-hyun quickly lowered his gaze to the card, then looked back up.
“What’s this?”
“Buy yourself something good to eat. Use it for your textbooks, too. Buy whatever you need.”
When Jae-hyun didn’t take it, Tae-joo awkwardly waved the card in the air.
“Come to think of it, you probably have several more zeros in your bank account than I do.”
“Yes. So let’s consider the expenses I incur while tutoring her as rent for staying here.”
“Okay. I’m off.”
Tae-joo gave the corner of his mouth a gentle smile and patted Jae-hyun’s arm before leaving.
Only after he was gone did a peaceful silence settle over the living room.
Amid that silence, an inner voice cried out.
This isn’t some kids’ make-believe game. Why the hell am I tutoring my friend’s little sister?
Do I look like I’m at an age where I should be working as a private tutor?
Another voice urged him to crush his cunning half-brother before he could rise any further and uphold the proper tradition of the legitimate son becoming the heir.
Just as his heart began to lean toward that voice, he heard rustling from inside the room Haesom had entered.
The image of her shy, bright-red face as she had run away came to mind, and he found himself heading toward her room.
As he walked, he finally made up his mind about the thought that had been confusing him.
His mother’s memorial day was approaching, and the closer it got, the more sensitive he became. It would be better to get away from Taekyung Group for the time being and find a way to live independently.
He strode over with his long legs, knocked twice, and opened the door.
But perhaps because he had always been quick in his movements—
THUD!
The moment he opened the door, Haesom, who had been standing right behind it, was pushed backward and landed hard on her backside.
She looked exactly like someone who had been leaning against the door and listening.
Seeing her grimace in pain and rub her hip, Jae-hyun asked,
“Sorry. I didn’t know you were standing so close to the door.”
Haesom didn’t answer, clearly confirming that she had been eavesdropping on what was happening outside.
Instead, she lowered her head, and her ears turned as red as strawberries.
“Why do you have strawberries attached to your ears?”
He muttered it without thinking.
Haesom immediately lifted her head and covered both ears with her hands, pouting.
She seemed to be the kind of person who showed every emotion plainly on her face.
Meanwhile, she tried to get up.
But perhaps because her backside hurt, she only grimaced and struggled, so Jae-hyun held out his hand.
Haesom nervously bit her lip as she stared at his hand, then cautiously took it.
At the same time, Jae-hyun pulled her up.
No—now that he thought about it, she had practically floated up like cotton candy. It hardly felt as though he had used any strength at all.
Are women normally this light?
Without permission, a strange ticklish sensation arose in his chest, as though someone were making cotton candy inside it.
Unfamiliar with the feeling, he released her hand and looked down at her.
She had supposedly been kidnapped and lived on an island.
Yet her skin didn’t look particularly tanned.
It was so pale and smooth that she almost looked like a white seal.
I wonder if it would feel soft and moist like a seal if I touched it.
At that moment, a heavy sensation settled in his lower abdomen.
He was extremely flustered.
“Um… oppa.”
Haesom called out to him.
Something heavy seemed to drop into Jae-hyun’s chest.
Op…pa?
It was an extremely common word he had often heard at university and social gatherings, so why did his heart suddenly sink?
He tensed like someone caught stealing, then composed his expression and answered briefly.
“Yeah.”
“……Are you really going to be my private tutor?”
“Probably?”
“For all of elementary, middle, and high school equivalency exams?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Does she not want to study?
“When… are we starting?”
“Today—”
At that moment, a faint rumbling came from somewhere.
It was so quiet that for a moment he couldn’t even tell whose stomach it had come from.
Haesom immediately panicked and grabbed her stomach.
“Looks like you haven’t eaten. How about we get brunch and use it as a chance to get to know each other?”
It was perfect timing for him to turn around.
He gestured for her to come outside and turned his back.
Today wasn’t going to be a proper lesson. He had come merely to get a rough idea of whether it would be okay for him to stay in this house and whether she was at a level he could teach.
So it seemed better to learn more about her while they ate.
“Then we’re not really having a lesson… We’re just going out to eat. What should I tell my brothers if they ask?”
She blushed as though she had done something improper.
Jae-hyun answered calmly.
“It’s not just playing around. It’s an orientation. An introduction. So get dressed and come out, pretty—”
He trailed off.
Wait.
What was this girl’s name?
Since he didn’t know her name, hadn’t he unconsciously repeated the nickname Gi-ju had used earlier?
Why the hell didn’t Yoon Geuk-ju even tell me his sister’s name?
He let out a short sigh and lowered his gaze again.
That was when he saw Haesom covering her mouth with her fist, trying to suppress a laugh.
She soon raised her head and looked at him with lake-like eyes.
Her sparkling eyes looked incredibly clear and moist.
“I… haven’t heard anyone call me pretty in twelve years. It feels… really nice. Like I’m finally a person again.”
Then she murmured in a serious voice,
“Thank you, Jae-hyun… oppa.”
A warm breeze brushed past the back of his neck.
How many times have I felt this unfamiliar sensation since coming here?
“You’re my second oldest brother’s—no, Geuk-ju oppa’s friend, right? Do you know my name?”
As he was momentarily at a loss for words because of this strange feeling, Haesom spoke in a brighter voice.
“I’m Yoon Haesom.”
“Yoon Haesom.”
He rolled the three syllables of her name over the tip of his tongue.
“That’s a cute name.”
Haesom laughed out loud and thanked him.
Everything about her—her appearance, the way she spoke—was unmistakably that of a twenty-two-year-old woman, yet she seemed incredibly innocent.
Is it because she remained untouched by the world while she was trapped on that island?
“Kid.”
He called her, suppressing the questions that kept arising despite himself.
“Yes…? Huh? I told you my name just now….”
“I’ll call you whatever I want.”
Haesom’s face turned red as she lowered her gaze.
“So when are you going to get dressed and come out?”
Haesom lowered her head and looked at what she was wearing.
She had on an oversized brown T-shirt that seemed to belong to one of her brothers, paired with wide-legged pants so long that she had folded the hems several times.
Her head looked small while the oversized clothes made her body seem larger.
She looks just like a kiwi bird.
Jae-hyun looked down at the round, thickly haired crown of her head and let out a quiet chuckle.
Haesom didn’t hear it. She quickly said she would change and closed the door.
There was a clattering sound from inside, and soon the door opened again.
When she timidly stepped out wearing a bright yellow two-piece outfit, Jae-hyun frowned slightly.
“D-does it… look strange? My brothers bought me a lot of clothes yesterday, so I picked this one.”
It’s horribly tacky.
He wanted to say that, but held himself back.
It did look expensive, but it also made her look like someone from the 1970s.
With the taste of the people who bought this, I bet all the others are just as bad.
Tae-joo and Geuk-ju mostly wore suits, so perhaps they could be excused.
But Gi-ju was an idol, wasn’t he?
“Um. Can I be alone for a moment? Just one or two minutes.”
Haesom blinked her round eyes several times before slowly nodding.
Jae-hyun quickly left the house.
It wasn’t that he was embarrassed to walk around with her. He simply didn’t want Haesom, who hadn’t even adjusted to life in Seoul yet, to experience unpleasant stares from other people.
After crossing the yard and stepping outside the gate, he went to his parked car.
He picked up a lightweight summer windbreaker from the back seat and was about to return to the gate when he suddenly stopped.
He took two steps backward.
Then he abruptly turned his head.
Something quickly disappeared around the corner of the alley.
“If you don’t want rumors going around that you were fired for stalking me, come out.”
At that, a woman and a man who looked around Tae-joo’s age timidly emerged.
They were Kim, his secretary, and Manager Hyun from his executive office.
Jae-hyun gestured for them to come over.
They hurried over and stood in front of him.
“Director…!”
“Director.”
“Why are my secretaries stalking their boss? What’s going on?”
The two clasped their hands in front of themselves and bowed their heads at exactly the same time, as if they had rehearsed it.
“Is there nothing you’re supposed to be doing? I clearly gave you several tasks to handle. Ah. Do you want me to transfer you to an even more brutal department?”
“No!”
“No, Director…!”
Jae-hyun slowly lowered his eyelids and calmed his slightly startled emotions.
Then he remembered what had happened that morning.
“Organize every ongoing contract I’ve touched and all the unfinished reports, and submit them to me. Make sure there are no problems when the handover takes place.”
No matter how much he had made it seem as though he was about to quit the company soon, he hadn’t expected his secretaries to actually follow him.
At that moment, Secretary Kim tightly gripped the hem of her skirt and murmured,
“We were just… worried. Whether you really intended to… quit your job.”
“Nothing has been decided yet. I’m thinking of taking a week to decide what to do, so why did you come here and interfere?”
Manager Hyun appealed in a somewhat louder voice.
“Director! Rumors are already spreading that the chairman’s illegitimate child is about to join the company. If you quit at the same time, how is that any different from openly declaring that you’ve been pushed out of the succession race?!”
“So what if I have?”
Despite being outdoors, Jae-hyun’s cold voice caused a suffocating silence to settle around the three of them.
“I’m taking time to think about it because of the projects I’m in charge of and the employees under me, not because of the position of heir itself.”
And he meant it.
He didn’t want the secretarial staff who trusted him and worked under him, nor the employees in Taekyung Motors’ battery division that he was responsible for, to suffer because of his family problems.
So even if he decided to quit, he intended to finish the projects he was currently handling before leaving.
He would simply attend meetings twice a week.
“I understand what you’re worried about, but I’ll personally oversee the projects I’m responsible for until they’re finished. If I decide to leave, I’ll take responsibility for making sure everyone in our secretarial office gets better positions.”
Perhaps his responsible words made them feel guilty for following their boss all the way here.
Or perhaps they had finally confirmed that he really was considering quitting.
Secretary Kim’s eyes filled with tears.
Manager Hyun quietly handed her a handkerchief before looking back at Jae-hyun.
“……I didn’t know you would think so deeply about our positions as well, Director. And it wasn’t because we felt threatened about our jobs. You suddenly left as though you were going to quit immediately, so we were just startled and came running after you. We’re sor—”
The two secretaries bowed simultaneously.
Looking down at the backs of their heads, Jae-hyun let out a faint sigh.
“If you’re sorry, do me one favor.”
“Anything, Director!”
“Buy several outfits for a woman in her early twenties. Clothes for going out, homewear, pajamas—everything. Ah. Make sure they’re in a modern style.”
Silence fell.
Then Manager Hyun tilted his head.
“……Early twenties?”
“Director… are you seeing someone…?”
Neither of them could bring themselves to finish the question.
Just as Jae-hyun was about to say it wasn’t like that—
Creak.
The gate of Geuk-ju’s family home opened behind him.
Both secretaries’ gazes immediately shifted diagonally.
“Gasp!”
“D-don’t tell me….”
Their voices trembled like frightened sheep.
Following their gaze, Jae-hyun turned his head.
Haesom had opened the gate and was standing awkwardly outside.
“……Are you dating that young woman in her early twenties?”
“She looks so young… S-she’s not a minor, right, Director? If she is, it’ll be a huge blow to your image…. No, more importantly, you’d go to prison….”
“Haah.”
Jae-hyun roughly ran a hand through his hair as though he had a headache.
“It’s not like that. Don’t get any weird ideas. Just prepare what I asked for and bring it over today.”
He gave them a sharp look and gestured toward the tops of their heads.
Go.
But the secretaries remained frozen in place, their faces pale, apparently convinced that a man approaching thirty was truly involved in some forbidden romance.
This is ridiculous.
What have I done that’s so scandalous? I’ve never even been involved with a woman.
He awkwardly shoved his hands into his trouser pockets.
Then—
“Hu…sband!”
Haesom called out to him.
The secretaries made a strangled sound.
“Eek.”
They exchanged frantic glances.
“D-Director! ‘Husband’? What on earth is this…?”
Jae-hyun closed his eyes at the absurd situation, then slowly opened them and looked at Haesom.
“Yeah.”
“Why aren’t you coming inside?! You said you’d make the baby some formula! She’s crying like crazy!”
“……”
Jae-hyun’s mouth fell open.
So did the secretaries’.
“Disappear. Right now.”
Flustered, Jae-hyun left those words behind and hurried toward Haesom, grabbed her arm, and pulled her inside.
The moment the front door closed, Jae-hyun pushed Haesom into a corner and asked,
“What did you just do?”
He didn’t even realize how dangerously close they had become.
Haesom moved her pink lips as she timidly answered,
“I was trying to help you in my own way… Did I do something wrong?”
“What?”
He let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“Why would you suddenly help me?”
“No, oppa… You said you were going to your car, and more than ten minutes passed. I thought you might have been kidnapped, so I went out to check. And sure enough, there were suspicious people in suits holding onto you.”
He was dumbfounded.
“I may have lived trapped on an island, but I know some things. I sometimes watched TV at the village chief’s house. You know those crazy cult followers who stop people on the street and try to preach to them? And they were even wearing neat suits…! Their clothes were exactly the same, too!”
My secretaries are cult followers?
How could she possibly come up with something so absurd?
Yet Jae-hyun could see how it might have looked that way to Haesom—or to anyone else.
Both of them had been standing in front of him with their hands neatly clasped while giving him a sermon.
Suppressing the laugh that threatened to burst out at Haesom’s ridiculous rescue attempt, Jae-hyun draped the windbreaker in his hand over her shoulders.
“The clothes you changed into—aren’t they uncomfortable? Just wear this when you go out. It’s for summer, so it won’t be too hot.”
“……Thank you. But… you’re not angry, right? I did the right thing, didn’t I?”
“Yeah. You did well. Thanks to you, I safely escaped from the cult followers.”
Haesom smiled, her eyes curving happily at the thought that she had been useful.
She has a really pretty smile.
He was vaguely thinking that when—
Grrrrr.
Her stomach rumbled again.
Jae-hyun quietly chuckled to himself and opened the front door.
He looked around and saw that the secretaries were already gone.
He went outside again and walked toward the car. Just as he was about to open the passenger-side door for Haesom—
“Huh?!”
A woman’s voice suddenly came from directly behind them.
Jae-hyun and Haesom turned around simultaneously.
A woman with lightly dyed, shoulder-length hair stood there, wearing a cropped tank top and jeans.
She had long, snake-like eyes without double eyelids and a sharply defined nose. Her slender figure made her look like a model.
Perhaps because of that, she had a rather intimidating impression.
Suddenly, she rushed toward Haesom.
Jae-hyun instinctively moved Haesom behind his back and held out a hand toward the woman.
“What do you want?”
The woman stopped abruptly and looked up.
Her eyes, which had been fixed on Jae-hyun, shook violently.
“I asked what you’re doing here.”
Only then did the woman clear her throat and glance past him at Haesom.
“I think she might be my friend… This is the house where my childhood friend used to live.”
Jae-hyun could feel Haesom flinch behind him.
“Is the person behind you… Yoon Haesom?”
Jae-hyun was briefly surprised but quickly composed his expression.
“It is, isn’t it?! I’m Kwon Min-ah. I used to live next door since we were little! Haesom and I were always together…. Haesom!”
At Min-ah’s call, Haesom cautiously leaned her head out from beside Jae-hyun and looked forward.
Min-ah’s eyes grew as round as a rabbit’s when she saw Haesom as an adult.
“It is! It really is!”
Min-ah practically bounced with excitement, words pouring out of her like water from a spring.
“You still have the same face you had when you were little! This is amazing!”
She clapped her hands and even bounced on her feet.
“Hey, Yoon Haesom!”
“Y-yes?”
“Don’t you remember me?!”
“……”
