Chapter 37. Immaturity
The name of Grip Company began circulating widely following a string of articles. Even the news media, usually uninterested in feel-good stories, picked up the video coverage, leading to a temporary crash of the company’s website.
“Yoon Yooa really is a lucky charm.”
Lee Jun lay in the camper van, holding Yooa in his arms as they watched the news together.
He was pleased with several recent developments—the unexpectedly successful product launch, Chairman Kang’s safe recovery, and the public announcement of Yooa as his fiancée.
It turned out that Chairman Kang had suffered physical strain from intense stress over a short period. However, he appeared healthy at the company’s founding anniversary celebration, putting executives and shareholders at ease.
“Everything seems to be going smoothly.”
Saying it was all thanks to her, his strong arm wrapped around Yooa’s body. Yooa, resting her hand on his outstretched palm as she lay in the crook of his arm, whispered her thanks for his kind words.
But her mind was occupied with only one thing—what Sung Ji-hye had said.
“Ms. Yoon Yooa? You know who I am, don’t you?”
At the product launch, Sung Ji-hye had approached in a pristine white jacket, saying it was only polite to introduce herself. She emphasized that her father was the president of Hanseo Newspaper.
She also made sure to point out that she had been introduced to Lee Jun by his aunt, implying that both families acknowledged their connection.
“Looks like you caught Lee Jun with just your face. Take what you can and let him go, okay?”
Perhaps realizing they wouldn’t have much time to talk, Ji-hye sped up her words. Despite her sweet smile, every sentence was threatening and unpleasant.
“Does Lee Jun know about this too? Should I ask him now if he feels the same way you do?”
Ji-hye probably expected Yooa to cry or blush and panic. But when faced with a reaction so different from what she imagined, her face twisted.
Yooa clearly heard Ji-hye’s muttered insult about “how shameless the poor are.” But Yooa said nothing.
She knew Ji-hye wanted to see her lose composure. And Yooa had no intention of giving her that satisfaction.
“Do you have anything to offer?”
“…Excuse me?”
“All you can do is receive. I can give Lee Jun things you could never even dream of—connections, sponsorships, wealth.”
The question that followed—if Yooa possessed even one of those things—stabbed her heart.
“When you’re with Lee Jun, you’re like that dress you’re wearing.”
Ji-hye’s insolent gaze scanned Yooa from head to toe. Yooa felt stripped bare by the way Ji-hye looked at her, like she was being rated.
“You covered it up well, but the hem of your dress is dirty. Dust, mud—filthy, isn’t it?”
Lee Jun, who had been escorting Chairman Kang, noticed Yooa’s pale expression and returned.
Upon seeing Lee Jun frown at her, Ji-hye took a step back, perhaps realizing nothing good would come from staying. As she passed Yooa, she lightly tapped her shoulder and whispered in her ear:
“You’re nothing more than grime clinging to Lee Jun.”
Even days later, Ji-hye’s words lingered in Yooa’s ears. They refused to fade, popping up uninvited to torment her. Dark circles formed beneath her eyes.
“What are you thinking about?”
Lee Jun playfully nibbled on her earlobe when she didn’t respond right away. Startled by the change in mood, Yooa quickly covered her ears.
“W-What are you doing?”
Her heart fluttered as she scolded him. Lee Jun chuckled, turning on his side to ask why she was so surprised.
“Yooa, when are you going to move back home?”
“…What?”
“I mean, the camper’s nice and all, but it’s too cramped.”
“But you said you liked it. You said you liked how the bed’s small enough that you can reach me no matter where you stretch your arm.”
Yooa glared as she pushed away his lips inching toward her ear again. Lee Jun lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.
“I like everything when I’m with you. But… I keep wondering if you don’t want to come home because you don’t want to marry me.”
“That’s not it.”
“You’ve hurt me a lot with your words, your eyes, your actions… I don’t know if I should believe you.”
“When did I ever do that?”
Startled, Yooa shifted, and the rustling blanket fell to the floor.
As she protested with a pout, Lee Jun picked up the blanket, dusted it off, and gently covered her shoulders. He asked again:
“You really don’t know?”
“…?”
“When you were eighteen, nineteen, twenty.”
“…?”
“I confessed to you. I said I liked you.”
Startled, Yooa sat up abruptly, causing the blanket to fall again.
Saying it was probably time to get a new one, Lee Jun got out of bed and opened a storage cabinet. Yooa followed him closely, wide-eyed.
“You weren’t joking?”
“Who confesses as a joke?”
She trailed behind him like a baby chick. Lee Jun had already found the blanket in the second cabinet but closed the door on purpose.
As he stood, Yooa mirrored his movements. Eventually, she even stomped her feet in frustration. Hearing her loud steps behind him, Lee Jun couldn’t help but smile.
“Lee Jun.”
“I was always sincere with you.”
When he spun around, Yooa, unable to stop in time, fell right into his arms.
He held her tightly as she struggled to escape, resting his chin on her head. The sweet apple-scented shampoo tickled his nose.
He ran his hand through her glossy hair and murmured:
“I told you I liked you. When your dog died and you cried in my place as we buried it in the garden. When we got muddy hands planting it together. That’s when my heart first turned toward you.”
“I… don’t remember.”
After having her child, Yooa’s world had revolved around Sejin. She hadn’t had the time or reason to look back on her past, and those memories had faded.
Now, the bittersweet recollections resurfaced, warming her cheeks.
“Try to remember slowly.”
Maybe it had all started when he taught her the 6-times table because she couldn’t memorize it.
Back then, Lee Jun had seemed like someone from another world—completely out of reach for the daughter of a servant. Yooa thought he was teasing her.
Looking back, he had confessed his feelings several times. Ignoring all of them had been her mistake.
“I thought it was a joke. You’re saying it was all true?”
She’d believed the rich heir of a chaebol family was just playing with the help’s daughter. She’d even gotten angry. But back then, she was still a child too. They were both immature.
“So I’m the one who should apologize?”
Lee Jun wasn’t one to show emotion easily, but she figured he must have been hurt deeply.
But he shook his head. Taking half a step back, he looked her straight in the eyes.
“Yooa, you and I are people who get lonely easily. I realized it watching you. We’re the same kind.”
“That’s ridiculous. You think we’re similar?”
He added that their loneliness had the same shape. His way of bonding with people through emotion, not wealth or status, left her mouth dry.
The reason Ji-hye’s words lingered was because they reflected how others truly saw her.
She’d never understood why someone like Lee Jun would show interest in her—let alone marry her.
Seeing the fear on her face, he asked bitterly:
“What don’t you like about this? Am I wrong, or is your heart just somewhere else? I…”
His voice trailed off.
