Episode 17
“…Hello. I’m sorry I’m late.”
Ha-yoon thought she would be the first to arrive, but when she walked into the room, Chairman Bong-soo was
already sitting there, looking at her.
She quickly took off her shoes and bowed deeply. Bong-soo waved his hand like it was no big deal.
“I know how long it takes to get here from our office. If you left right at closing time, then this is the exact time you’d
arrive. It’s fine. Please sit down.”
He gestured for her to sit. Ha-yoon hurried to sit across from him.
“Chairman, I’ll wait outside,” said Secretary Choi, then left the room.
Once Choi was gone, silence filled the room. Bong-soo had definitely called her for a reason, but he didn’t say
anything. He just stared at her. So Ha-yoon sat stiffly, nervously swallowing.
“I guess I’m old… I don’t really know what young people like to eat.”
“Sorry?”
“So I ordered a course meal with a bit of everything. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Secretary Choi said this place is popular
with young folks.”
He finally spoke, and it was about food. The table was full of all kinds of dishes—more than she could take in at once.
He pushed a dish toward her and told her to eat. Ha-yoon smiled and picked up her spoon.
“You didn’t have to worry so much, sir.”
“Oh?”
“I eat everything! Honestly, food like this—I can’t usually afford it, so I’m just really grateful.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“And since you kindly bought it for me, I’ll eat it all without leaving anything behind. That’s the polite thing to do.”
Trying to sound cheerful, she took a bite.
And wow… the food was amazing. She had never tasted anything so delicious. Each bite melted in her mouth.
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
Ha-yoon was so impressed by the food, she forgot she was sitting with the chairman. Her hand holding the abalone
fell. She quickly coughed and bowed her head.
“Sorry. It’s just really good. Thank you so much for the meal.”
“I’m happy to hear that,” he said with a small smile.
“But… Chairman?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Ha-yoon cleared her throat again.
“I’m sorry, but… did I do something wrong? Or did I maybe offend you somehow? I’ve been thinking about it all day
and couldn’t figure it out. If I did something wrong, please let me know and I’ll fix it.”
“No, no. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then… why did you ask to meet me? I don’t think you’d call me here for no reason.”
Their eyes met. Ha-yoon looked directly at him as she asked, and Bong-soo chuckled.
“See? This is why it’s hard to lie to young people.”
“Huh…? I didn’t mean—”
“There’s only one reason. You know Tae-jun is my grandson, right?”
Ha-yoon silently nodded.
She didn’t want to know, but she found out accidentally when she was about twenty—overhearing a call at home.
“Exactly. I wanted to meet you because of my grandson. I think he might need your help.”
“Help… with what?”
“I heard you two are close.”
“Well… my older brother is his friend, so we’ve known each other for a long time.”
“Right. That’s why I think you’re the only one I can ask this favor of.”
Ha-yoon’s heart started to pound. A “favor” from the chairman? That couldn’t be good…
“I want my grandson to get married soon. But for some reason, he doesn’t seem interested at all.”
“Ah…”
She had a feeling it was something like this. And now hearing it out loud, it hit hard.
To her, marrying Tae-jun was like a dream. But in the chairman’s version of that dream, she wasn’t the bride. That’s
why he could say it so casually.
“So, I’d like you to help him with his marriage.”
“You… want me to help him get married?”
“I feel like Tae-jun listens to you more than he does to me.”
“That’s not true. Why would he listen to me…”
“I think he does. That boy won’t even go on a blind date when I tell him to, but when you ask something even if he
complains—he still does it in the end. Like when he added someone to his team, breaking company rules.”
Ha-yoon looked up, surprised. She didn’t know Tae-jun had helped bring Yun-ho onto the team.
“I was shocked too. I didn’t think he’d ever do that. It showed me he could think outside the box.”
She started feeling nervous again. What did Yun-ho joining the team have to do with her?
“But that was just because he had too much work…”
Bong-soo gave a small snort.
“Is that what he told you?”
She fell silent. Now that she thought about it, she never heard the full reason directly from Tae-jun. People just
assumed he needed help, and so did she.
“But to think he did it for me… that makes no sense…”
“Ha-yoon.”
Bong-soo pulled out a photo and placed it in front of her. A woman’s face stared back.
“This woman is a perfect match for my grandson. You’re an adult, so I won’t explain too much. Tae-jun needs
someone strong by his side to help him in life.”
His words felt sharp—like he was saying, You don’t have anything. Stay away from him.
Yes, he definitely knew how she felt about Tae-jun.
“I don’t want Tae-jun to struggle after I’m gone. This woman can support him. If you really care about him, I believe
you’ll help make this happen. Or am I wrong?”
“…Ah…”
“What do you think, Ha-yoon? Please speak freely.”
His dark eyes locked on hers, waiting for an answer.
