Chapter 21
“And let’s not forget, the new overseas brand business rights you’ve just taken on—President Tae Sang-yoon is fiercely getting in your way, isn’t he? I believe if you join hands with our Seongjin Group, you’ll be able to move forward much more easily.”
Seungjo took a deep drag of his cigarette and let out a dry chuckle.
“Miss Kang Saerin of Seongjin Group—do you want to marry me?”
“Yes. All I want is to be by your side. I want to be your wife. I want to be the only woman who can bear your child.”
As expected, her offer was enticing. Saerin smiled brightly, gripping Seungjo’s arm even more seductively.
Feeling Seungjo’s firm, masculine body beneath the tailored suit, a subtle twinge stirred in her lower belly.
“Welcome!”
Seungjo entered a small local diner and chuckled lightly as the bell above the door chimed pleasantly.
“Is it rude to walk in ten minutes before closing?”
“Other customers are welcome, but for you? You definitely count as rude,” his aunt Yeyoung replied playfully as she wiped down a table with a cloth, her hair neatly pinned up and a blue apron matching the shop’s sign.
“What? My brother-in-law’s here?”
Uncle Eunseong, who was finishing up in the kitchen, immediately wiped his hands and rushed out with a big smile.
“We don’t serve rude customers, so you should leave,” Yeyoung joked, crossing her arms. Seungjo calmly looked around for a seat and took off his coat.
“Even if I’m rude, shouldn’t you make an exception for someone with a lot of money?”
“Oh, listen to this brat show off his money again! So what if you’re from Taehwa Group?”
“Money’s all I’ve got,” Seungjo replied nonchalantly, pulling out a chair like a proper customer and sitting down.
Across from him, Uncle Eunseong winked playfully.
“Seungjo, unlike your aunt, I love rich guys!”
“Honestly! He clearly came here because something’s bothering him, and you’re acting all happy about it!” Yeyoung smacked her husband’s sturdy shoulder with her palm after tossing down the cloth. Eunseong winced but gazed at her with obvious affection.
Watching their ever-loving dynamic, Seungjo poured water into a glass and set it in front of Eunseong.
“I won’t be drinking today.”
“Wait a minute, Tae Seungjo—you!”
Yeyoung snatched the glass from him and leaned in.
“Don’t tell me you broke up with that lovely young lady? That’s why you’re here alone today? No way, right? She’s going to pop through that door any minute now, right?”
“We weren’t dating, even back then.”
“You jerk! Do you hear yourself?”
She smacked Seungjo’s firm shoulder again.
“I really liked that young lady! Seon Haejoo, right? Even her name is so lovely! She was sweet, kind, warm… Even though I’m your aunt and that must’ve made her nervous, she still spoke so politely and warmly. Such a good person!”
“She’s someone else’s wife, Aunt. You shouldn’t be greedy for another man’s woman.”
“You just said you weren’t even dating! So how is she your woman?”
“Because I wanted her. I stamped my seal all over the place—so yeah, she’s mine.”
“Ugh, you’re not even worth the water in this cup!”
Yeyoung snatched the water jug from his hand and downed a full glass in one gulp, clearly fuming. Her fiery personality—just like her sister Na-ae’s—was something Eunseong knew well. He leaned in and whispered to Seungjo sympathetically.
“You planning on dying tonight, nephew?”
Seungjo chuckled softly.
“Why do you want her so badly? Well, I get it—when I met Haejoo that day, even I felt a bit envious. She mentioned her mother had passed, but you could see in her eyes that she was raised right.”
“Aunt, didn’t you once protest in front of Madam Hong for three months because you wanted a department store? I’m just like that.”
“Oh come on! That was when I was young and dumb! Wanting a department store is completely different from wanting to possess a person!”
“What’s the difference? Whether it’s a department store or a person, if you want it, and you can get it, that’s that.”
“Unbelievable…”
Yeyoung shuddered with exasperation, but Seungjo’s calm face remained as steady as ever at thirty-two, unwavering as always.
“Just imagine how much Haejoo must have suffered being with a man as emotionally broken as you.”
Something clogged in Seungjo’s chest.
“Even just from the brief meeting I had with her, I could tell she liked you a lot… Does she even know how you think? Is that why she left you?”
“…”
Seungjo kept silent. Unlike Yeyoung, who assumed most people would walk away upon knowing how cold-hearted he was, Haejoo had chosen to stay despite knowing everything.
He’d made it clear—he wouldn’t love her. He’d said he didn’t want to be in a relationship. But she never begged for love and continued seeing him anyway.
She always tried not to be a burden. She even controlled her breathing to avoid bothering him. If he needed her, no matter the time, she’d come willingly. She once got sick from hiding her own pain and overexerting herself just to meet his needs through the night.
“This kid’s hopeless! You’re dead today, I swear!”
“Honey, please put the soju bottle down…”
Yeyoung, now swinging an empty soju bottle she picked up while cleaning, was about to go wild. Eunseong hugged her waist to stop her, but Seungjo remained seated, only raising his head slightly.
“I’m thinking of getting married. To Kang Saerin of Seongjin Group.”
“Wow, my nephew’s officially garbage now.”
“Don’t you regret marrying for love?”
Yeyoung blinked, almost about to slap him again, but the question didn’t sound like something that cold-hearted nephew of hers would ask.
“Do we look like people who regret it to you?”
“…”
“Every single day is precious. It kills me that the time we have to love each other is getting shorter.”
“D-Dear!”
Yeyoung grabbed Eunseong by the nape and planted a kiss right on his lips in front of Seungjo. Eunseong, shy as always, blushed and murmured her name.
“Right. I asked a dumb question to the aunt who gave up her inheritance from Madam Hong just to marry you.”
“Damn right you did, you precious little idiot! Do you even love that Seongjin Group daughter?”
“Love?”
Seungjo frowned as if he’d heard something unfamiliar.
“What kind of arranged marriage includes love?”
Oddly, instead of exploding in anger, Yeyoung now had a calm, thoughtful look in her eyes.
What are we supposed to do with a boy like Tae Seungjo, who only knows business and not love?
She looked at him with sad affection.
He’d never received the kind of wholesome love a parent should give. The only warmth he ever knew was from his grandmother Na-ae, who cherished him for his intelligence and capabilities.
He had a beautiful and wise mother, but she married Yeyoung’s brother, the then-chairman, not out of love but for money.
Such stories were common among the wealthy. Mistresses, secret lovers, and so on. But in this rare case, Yeyoung’s brother had liked Seungjo’s mother enough to marry her formally.
Yeyoung also knew well the rumors that followed Seungjo.
“That actor’s kid.”
“His mom blackmailed Chairman Tae with something to marry into money.”
As memories resurfaced, Yeyoung asked cautiously:
“Chairman Tae Jae-woong, your cousin Sang-yoon, even the mother who gave birth to me—when I married Eunseong, they all completely cut ties with me. You’re the only person from Taehwa Group who still visits our little diner.”
“…That’s unexpected.”
“Aren’t you secretly envious of us?”
“…”
Seungjo froze, hand hovering over a new glass of water.
“Of people who love each other? Of a happy family? Don’t you envy that, even a little?”
“…”
Do I envy them?
Seungjo’s brow furrowed.
