Chapter 8
Between Bora
Spring had fully arrived.
Everywhere, countless flower buds stretched out as if they could no longer contain themselves, showing off their beauty.
Because of this, Kang Yoon’s allergy symptoms had worsened, and he spent several days debating Bora’s request to go to the cherry blossom festival.
If he took allergy medicine, his coughing would stop for a few hours, and with glasses and a mask, it might be manageable.
He had always hated flower viewing, but Bora’s casual comment a while ago — that she wanted to hold cherry blossom ice cream and take photos along a cherry blossom path — kept lingering in his mind.
“Some nerve,” he muttered.
Despite saying that, he found himself typing “best spots for cherry blossom viewing” into the search bar, a small twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Last night, Kang Yoon had informed Han Tae-su that he intended to marry Bora.
Han Tae-su held Kang Yoon’s face in his hands — far bigger than his own — and pressed kisses to his forehead several times.
“Oh, my child. My beautiful child. Finally, you’ve decided to get married!”
Kang Yoon felt a twinge of guilt at Han Tae-su’s blissful expression, unaware that it was a contract marriage, but he nodded anyway.
“Mother! Kang Yoon is going to get married! Arrange a meeting with the family immediately, and prepare some gifts for our precious bride.”
“Yes, Father.”
As always, Jin Hyun-sook nodded without protest at Han Tae-su’s command.
As they left Han Tae-su’s study, Jin Hyun-sook looked at Kang Yoon with her usual elegant expression.
“You two seem to get along well. Not even meeting a few times before deciding to marry.”
“Well, blind dates are all pretty much the same. Better to do it quickly.”
“Still, what matters most is your heart, Kang Yoon.”
“Don’t worry. She’s exactly to my liking, Aunt.”
Kang Yoon smiled faintly, pretending to know nothing.
“Good, then that’s a relief. We should coordinate a date for the formal meeting with her family.”
“Yes, I’ll ask Bora and get back to you.”
“Very well. By the way, how is the Dubai construction project going?”
To outsiders, their conversation might look like a natural exchange between mother and son, but they were quietly keeping tabs on each other.
‘They want me to take any unhelpful daughters from the Han Kangmun family, and if I secure the Middle East construction deal, they’ll try to get a piece of it.’
Kang Yoon frowned slightly, picturing Han Kangmun, who excelled only at drinking, women, and music, always looking drunk.
“It’s progressing fairly well.”
“Good, I trust you to handle it properly.”
“Thank you. Then have a good rest, Aunt.”
As always, Kang Yoon bowed politely to Jin Hyun-sook and walked up the stairs to the second floor.
‘If only that child were my son…’
Watching his broad back disappear upstairs, Jin Hyun-sook’s heart boiled.
When her children were young, she had been frustrated at how much Kang Yoon outshone Kang Moon, but she had always believed the balance would eventually shift.
The shock of discovering that her husband had fathered a child with another woman as soon as she bore her own son had been indescribable.
After her husband died in an accident, she painfully realized what it meant to live without purpose. She had wanted to join him in death but endured for her son Kang Moon, who had never seen his father’s face.
And now, to see Kang Yoon — whose origins were a mystery — grow up superior in every way to her own son… the feelings were unbearable.
After both inherited their respective businesses from Han Tae-su, the gap between them only widened.
Kang Moon inherited Kangsan Trading, the main branch of the Kangsan Group, but it never recovered from losses after his inauguration.
Meanwhile, Kangsan Construction, previously ranked tenth in the industry, shot up to fourth under Kang Yoon’s leadership.
Jin Hyun-sook had naturally assumed that her biological son, Kang Moon, as the legitimate heir of Han Tae-su, would take over and succeed.
Yet, Han Tae-su, who had observed the two for thirty-six years, seemed to have other thoughts.
“She needs to find a partner for Kang Moon soon…”
Then there was only one option left.
She had to find the best possible match for Kang Moon to win Han Tae-su’s favor.
“When will that fool stop living like a useless playboy?”
Though it would look better publicly if Kang Moon married before Kang Yoon, that was impossible.
Therefore, she had to find someone far superior to Kang Yoon’s partner.
Jin Hyun-sook decided she needed to review the profiles of Kang Moon’s potential matches again and hurried to her bedroom.
“Hmmm… is this too short? This one’s a bit awkwardly long.”
Bora was in high spirits after receiving a message from Kang Yoon.
The cherry blossom festival at Seokchon Lake is this weekend. Would you like to go if you’re free?
A few days ago, when she had visited Kang Yoon’s office to sign the marriage contract, they had stopped for lunch on the way.
He had remembered her casual remark about wanting to see the festival.
“He’s secretly thoughtful and attentive while pretending not to care. A tsundere, right? Isn’t that right, Tosoon?”
Bora glanced at Tosoon, who was sprawled on the pillow without a word, while she focused on choosing what to wear for the weekend in front of the mirror.
“Yes, sounds good. Then I’ll pick you up in front of your house at 10 a.m. on Saturday.”
“Okay, see you Saturday. Sleep well!”
“Sweet dreams for you too, Bora.”
Their messages contained no overly sweet expressions or casual emoticons.
It was a simple conversation, yet Bora felt a small smile creeping to her lips.
Just as she was gazing at Kang Yoon’s message wishing her good dreams, her phone vibrated.
Bzzzz-.
The caller ID read: Han Kang-moon, Kangsan Trading CEO.
She hesitated, unsure whether to answer, and the call stopped after ringing for a long while.
“Phew… that was scary. Must’ve been a wrong number, right?”
But just as she relaxed, the phone vibrated again.
Sighing, Bora answered.
“Hello?”
[Yoon Bora, how have you been?]
“I… I’m well. And you, sir?”
[Oh, I’ve been lonely and gloomy this spring because you haven’t met me.]
Ridiculous. Bora pursed her lips tightly to prevent her true feelings from slipping out and wrinkled her nose slightly.
[The cherry blossoms are so beautiful these days. Nothing compared to you, of course. So, what are you doing this weekend? Want to go to the festival together?]
Caught off guard by Kang Moon’s unexpected proposal, Bora quickly responded.
“Uh, CEO Han. I have something to tell you.”
[Haha, I’m ready to listen to anything you say.]
“Perhaps you haven’t heard at home…”
[Heard what?]
“…I went on a blind date with CEO Han Kang-yoon the other day.”
[What? Who?]
“And we are seeing each other with good feelings and planning to get married…”
[What? Yoon Bora, what exactly did you just say?]
Bora frowned, instinctively, at the huge voice that seemed to jump out of the phone.
“I said I’m going to marry Han Kang-yoon. So I’d appreciate it if you no longer contacted me personally.”
[…Understood. I’ll call you again.]
Click.
Bora couldn’t hide her unpleasant expression at the abruptly ended call.
“Quite different. Even as half-brothers, they’re really different.”
Kang Yoon maintained a cold demeanor but never crossed the line or spoke rudely.
Thinking they were raised in the same household with the same education, Bora marveled at how different they were and returned to choosing her outfit.
“Mother, look at me.”
Jin Hyun-sook had been selecting highly educated daughters of top companies as potential matches for Kang Moon.
Kang Moon burst into the bedroom, fuming.
“What’s wrong with you? What happened?”
“I heard the woman Kang Yoon went on a blind date with is Yoon Bora?”
Jin Hyun-sook raised her eyebrows in surprise, then returned her attention to the profile papers.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“You set this up, didn’t you? Kang Yoon?”
“They requested a blind date from her family, so I arranged it. Any problem?”
“I’m interested in Bora. Can we cancel that date?”
“What?”
“Why is the woman I want going on a blind date with Han Kang-yoon?”
“Kang Moon, get a grip. She’s not at your level.”
“That’s your opinion. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Kang Moon had never been denied what he wanted, and now he was in an intense state of excitement.
Jin Hyun-sook sighed deeply, watching her son act foolishly.
If she could go back in time, she wished she could have raised Kang Yoon as her own son.
‘Fool. Doesn’t even come close to half of Kang Yoon’s ability.’
Her fists clenched as she forcibly swallowed the words rising to her throat
