Chapter : 23
“As a mother, I suppose Mr. Choi is better than someone we don’t know at all.”
After finishing dinner with her father, Hayeon was followed to her room by her mother, who added that remark. When Hayeon only nodded and stepped inside, she found Hyeyeon already waiting for her.
Curious about what on earth her father had said, Hyeyeon had been waiting in her sister’s room.
“Huh? Mom?”
Hyeyeon tilted her head at the sight of their mother trailing in behind Hayeon. Their mother rarely ever stepped into Hayeon’s room.
Ignoring Hyeyeon’s presence altogether, their mother spoke up.
“Hayeon, you haven’t gone on a trip yet this summer, right? Perfect. Why don’t you go with Mr. Choi?”
“…A trip…?”
“I’m talking about the arboretum you visit every year around this time. Forget that, and contact him now. He must have a schedule of his own.”
Though her words sounded like a suggestion, her tone was firm. She clearly had no intention of leaving the room until Hayeon made contact.
“Yes, yes. That Geonppang, or Geonhyeong, whatever his name is. Send him a text.”
Finally grasping what was happening, Hyeyeon also urged her sister. Nervously, Hayeon stared at her phone. She had never once reached out to Geonhyeong first.
Every meeting so far had only been arranged through her mother.
“Hey, hurry up and text him!”
“Uh—uh, okay?”
Startled by Hyeyeon’s nagging, Hayeon dropped the phone she had been holding. Without realizing it, her palms were sweaty, and it slipped. The phone fell with a dull thud under the bed.
Standing at the foot of the bed, their mother picked it up and handed it back.
“Text him. Right now.”
Her tone was an outright command. Forgetting even to take the phone back, Hayeon just stared blankly at her mother.
Finally, Hyeyeon cautiously muttered, as if trying to shield her sister.
“Mom, I think you might be mistaken. Guys like that might run away if the girl makes the first move.”
“Then there’s no helping it. We’ll just go with one of the other matches your father suggested.”
Ignoring Hyeyeon’s objection, their mother kept her gaze locked on Hayeon and pushed the phone toward her again.
At the mention of “another match,” Hayeon had no choice but to accept the phone and send a text. She could feel her mother’s and sister’s eyes fixed on her fingers tapping the screen.
Perhaps because of that, she didn’t even have the luxury of feeling the awkwardness of texting someone for the first time.
[How have you been? Sorry for the late message. I was wondering when our next meeting might be.]
It was nothing more than a dry greeting in the end.
Just before that—
Geonhyeong was on his way home after parting with Myungshin. He had flattered him by calling him “Father-in-law, Father-in-law,” but every time he said it, his insides twisted in discomfort.
All the way home, sitting in the back seat of the car driven by Taeseon, a bitter aftertaste lingered.
‘So shady…’
From demanding money to dragging his daughter into the matter, Myungshin was the exact type of person Geonhyeong would normally never want to associate with. And on top of that—
‘…Not just because I’ve fallen for Hayeon, but still…’
How could a father speak about his own daughter like that?
Having often accompanied his grandfather, Geonhyeong was used to hearing elderly men boast endlessly about their children. Maybe that’s why it struck him as even stranger.
Throughout the entire conversation, Myungshin’s attitude was essentially: I know my daughter isn’t good enough for you, so I’ll guarantee you other benefits instead. Almost as if even he himself wasn’t satisfied with his daughters.
“…Taeseon.”
Geonhyeong called to the driver’s seat. Taeseon met his eyes through the rearview mirror. Seeing Geonhyeong press his fingers against his temple, Taeseon’s eyes flickered with concern.
“Wh-what’s bothering you this time, boss?”
“What I asked you to look into before.”
“You mean about the missus?”
“…Since when did you start calling her ‘missus’?”
Geonhyeong rubbed his temple at Taeseon’s words. Not that he disliked the sound of it. He chuckled faintly, and Taeseon continued.
“Anyway, you mean about the missus and her father, right?”
Again, Taeseon sneaked a glance at him through the mirror. When Geonhyeong nodded, Taeseon began to rattle off the findings he had gathered in such a short time.
“As you know, Assemblyman Na Myungshin was overseas until the younger miss was about to enter high school, so it took some time to track things down. But there’s one odd thing.”
“Odd?”
“Not about the younger one—the older sister. I think her name’s Hyeyeon…?”
Taeseon tilted his head for a while, then went on.
“For some reason, she stayed in Korea the whole time, completely apart from the family. She even went to university here.”
“…Is that so?”
Geonhyeong opened his eyes again. Myungshin had said he didn’t care much for either daughter, but he had implied that at least Hyeyeon was better than Hayeon. If the one he preferred had been kept separate all that time, would he really have lived with the other?
Of course, it might’ve been because she was a minor.
“…Did you only check for Hayeon’s whereabouts overseas?”
“Of course. For a lot of reasons, it’s harder to track minors. It’s easier to look for the parents’ addresses.”
Right, Hayeon stayed abroad until high school.
Geonhyeong had mentioned that to her multiple times, as if to confirm, but she had never once answered.
“…Check in Korea.”
Hayeon couldn’t lie—but if she never answered, she didn’t need to.
“Excuse me?”
Carefully watching his expression, Taeseon asked. Geonhyeong, still rubbing at his temple like he had a headache, was clearly in a foul mood.
“Maybe she lived with her sister. Was the sister in a dorm?”
“No. Assemblyman Na must’ve been willing to spend for his daughters. Ms. Na Hyeyeon lived alone in an apartment under his name the whole time.”
“No way the sisters lived separately…”
Muttering to himself, Geonhyeong rubbed his temple again. Something kept nagging at him. With nothing more to report, Taeseon stayed quiet, focusing only on the road.
He had no idea how long Geonhyeong had been lost in thought when—
Bzzz.
The vibration from his jacket pocket brought him back. Checking his phone, Taeseon held his breath.
Damn, who the hell is bothering him now…
Usually, Geonhyeong hated getting messages from Taeseon after work hours. And he already looked in a foul mood. For someone to text him now…
Spam, maybe?
Yes, if it were spam, he’d scowl, curse under his breath, and that would be the end of it. Please let it be spam.
But instead, Geonhyeong was fiddling with his phone, even replying. What urgent matter could possibly have him exchanging texts at this hour?
Another one?
Hearing the vibrations buzz repeatedly from the back seat, Taeseon shrank his shoulders. Normally, Geonhyeong preferred phone calls over texts. Holding on to that tiny device tested his patience.
Though he was dexterous enough, considering his build, it made sense. And even when he did text, his replies were always curt.
But if he’s texting back and forth this long…
It had to be something important. Taeseon tensed up, worried that the fallout might land on him.
“…Haa.”
Finally, after a long back-and-forth, Geonhyeong let out a breath. It was just a sigh, but Taeseon flinched as if it were thunder. He hurried to ramble nervously.
“Y-yes, boss. I’ve told the guys over and over not to bother you at this hour unless it’s critical—”
“…Where’s XX Arboretum?”
“Pardon? Did something happen there? XX Arboretum’s in XX City, of course. What on earth happened all the way out there? I really need to keep better tabs on the boys—”
“What boys? How do you manage boys that don’t exist?”
Taeseon blinked, dumbfounded. If there are no boys, then who did he think was supposed to find this stuff out? Does he think I do everything alone?
…Though, in a way, that was kind of touching.
While Taeseon was briefly moved, Geonhyeong pressed him again.
“…So it’s in XX City, right?”
“Y-yes?”
“That’s… pretty far, isn’t it?”
“Sure is. Whatever you’re planning, boss, you’d better rest up first before heading all the way out there.”
“What do you mean, ‘planning’?!”
Is that all you ever think about? Geonhyeong’s rebuke made Taeseon tilt his head.
“You’re not just going there to talk, are you?”
“And what if I am?”
“Who goes that far just to talk? When you make a move, you make it big. You’ve got the strength, the build—why waste it?”
At that, Geonhyeong fell silent. Of course he wanted to use his strength. Of course he wanted to put his body to use.
His gaze fell again to his phone. The latest text still glowed on the screen.
[About our next date—since you said before that you wanted to go, let’s go to the arboretum instead of the botanical garden. How about XX Arboretum?]
It was from Hayeon.
Just the fact that she had texted him first was enough to make him grin from ear to ear.
But this? She was asking him out on a date first.
And not to the botanical garden, but to the arboretum.
One far, far away.
“…Hmm.”
Geonhyeong rubbed his chin. Just how was he supposed to interpret this text?
In the dark car, the glow of Hayeon’s message lit up his face, even late at night.
