Chapter 38
38. Marriage Rumors 2021.09.08.
Jeong-o couldn't hear Ji-heon's voice as she was busy suppressing her cough. Ji-heon, who had risen from his seat, approached her to check on her, but Jeong-o held out her hand as if to stop him and shouted.
“Woah! Don't come any closer!”
“……”
“Don't touch me.”
As if confronting a large beast, she issued a threat and ran off. She ran blindly in any direction, further away from the tasting event. However, Jeong-o thought it would be better to turn around and go home. Chae Eun-bi would also be at the tasting event, and there was no point in causing unnecessary misunderstandings. On the other hand, she kept feeling resentful. The father of my child has such bad manners. If she had been a few seconds slower, she would have been kissed. Come to think of it, he had acted inappropriately during the meal as well. He paused and quickly lowered his hand, but he had definitely touched her cheek. He acted as if something was on her cheek, so she remained still, but his behavior was definitely strange.
‘So, he did that on purpose during the meeting last time.’
She recalled the Tawon Liquor production meeting two weeks ago. Ji-heon, who sat next to her then, was somehow restless. He acted so annoyingly, dropped his pen on the floor, and then covered her hand when she bent down to pick it up. That was also this man's scheme.
‘If only I had known what kind of man he was…’
She should be grateful a thousand times over that Yena was born thanks to this man, but she deeply regretted the time she was infatuated with him. If she had known the true nature of this man sooner, she would have been less hurt. But there was no use in regretting it. The past cannot be changed. She had to be careful in the future.
\ Seung-gyu was anxious. Day by day, June 7th, Monday, was getting closer, but he couldn't persuade his friend. Moreover, it seemed like something had gone wrong with Chae Eun-bi because he had brought up Assistant Manager Lee Jung-o in Ji-heon's office. He felt too ashamed to ask about the schedule for Monday again.
‘Jeong Ji-heon isn't the type to come back to this house to play with other people's kids…’
The children and his wife already firmly believed that Ji-heon would come back to this house on Monday, so Seung-gyu couldn't help but feel more anxious.
“Aigoo, aigoo, aigoo……”
While Seung-gyu was playing with the children with winks and gestures, Jin-seo leaned against the bed, groaning.
“Do-yoon didn't take a nap today. I've been wrestling with him all day, and my whole body aches.”
Seung-gyu quickly approached Jin-seo and massaged her shoulders. Jin-seo twisted her body and said, as the children followed the paper airplane into the living room.
“It's okay. Go watch the kids.”
“They're playing well.”
Seung-gyu glanced roughly at the living room and focused on the massage again. He had to tell his wife that he couldn't persuade Ji-heon, that he probably wouldn't come on Monday.
“Hey, Jin-seo…”
Drrr. In the midst of all this, Seung-gyu's phone vibrated. But, who is this! Isn't this my lovely friend Jeong Ji-heon? Seung-gyu stopped massaging and quickly answered the phone.
“Oh! Friend! What's up?”
[There's something I want to ask you.]
Ji-heon's voice sounded urgent.
“Yeah. Ask me anything.”
[Is there a rumor going around at the company that I'm getting married?]
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
[It seems like there's such a rumor? About me and Chae Eun-bi.]
Seung-gyu tilted his head. In fact, Seung-gyu had been working in another affiliate of the Serene Group before transferring to Max Planning less than a year ago. As he was in the HR department, he heard more rumors than Ji-heon, but there were still limits.
“I've heard rumors that you two are dating. But I haven't heard anything about marriage?”
[I see. Thanks.]
Ji-heon hung up the phone immediately, as if he was in a hurry. Seung-gyu stared blankly at the disconnected phone. Oh, you heartless friend. You only said what you wanted to say and hung up. Seung-gyu resented his heartlessness today. At that moment, Jin-seo, who had been lying on the bed groaning for a few minutes, got up and asked Seung-gyu.
“Honey. Doesn't something feel strange?”
“What's strange?”
“It's too quiet.”
At Jin-seo's suggestion, Seung-gyu also held his breath. The house was as quiet as if the children had escaped. It was more reassuring when the children were noisy and playing around. It was the quiet times that were truly scary. Seung-gyu and Jin-seo quickly went out to the living room.
“Aaaaaah!”
Do-bin, who was scooping honey with his younger brother Do-yoon in a corner of the living room, threw everything away and ran away screaming. Seeing his older brother running away, Do-yoon also ran away, sensing the situation. The honey jar spilled. The children's hands and feet were covered in sticky honey. The children ran around, spreading honey all over the floor.
“Hey! Don't run!”
Seung-gyu shouted, but it was no use.
“I said don't run!”
“Dad's going to scold us!”
Do-bin retorted firmly as he ran away.
“You have to get scolded if you did something wrong! No, don't run, you rascal!”
Still, the son was quickly caught by his father.
“You little rascal!”
Seung-gyu picked up Do-bin and took him to the bathroom to wash his hands and feet while scolding him.
“I told you not to take things from the kitchen, didn't I?”
“I asked for honey, but you kept saying no!”
“Does that mean you can secretly take it out and eat it? And then walk around stepping on it? Huh?”
Jin-seo immediately escorted Do-yoon to the bathroom as well. Seung-gyu washed Do-yoon clean as well. Jin-seo sighed sadly and cleaned up the chaotic living room. She felt drained as she checked the sticky floor with each step. She had been feeling inexplicably depressed lately. This house never had a quiet day. She loved the honey-dripping gazes of her favorite actors so much, but why was it so tragic when honey dripped in reality? It was her own son who did this. Jin-seo said to Do-bin, who came out of the bathroom.
“You. You're banned from inviting Yena on Monday.”
Seung-gyu's eyes lit up at Jin-seo's severe punishment. Seung-gyu shouted 'Yes!' inwardly. It was a devastating punishment for Do-bin.
“Mom! No way!”
Do-bin, horrified, knelt on the floor and begged Jin-seo with his hands clasped together.
“Mom, please, not that!”
Jin-seo turned her head away, so Do-bin clung to Seung-gyu.
“Dad! Mom won't let me invite Yena. Dad. Dad.”
“Dad doesn't know……”
Do-bin burst into tears as Seung-gyu avoided the situation. Seung-gyu just wanted to let it pass. However.
“If you want to invite Yena, don't cause any more trouble. Got it?”
The mother, whose heart softened at her son's tears, showed leniency. Do-bin wiped away his tears and answered loudly, 'Yes!' Seung-gyu's shoulders drooped powerlessly. \ Jeong-o took a roundabout route to the tasting event. She wasn't too late because she was walking quickly in anger. It was a pub located on the first and second floors of a building that didn't exist when she was in college. Chief Park Young-gwang, who was standing at the entrance, greeted her.
“Assistant Manager Lee, you're here? Have you had dinner?”
“Yes, I did. What about the others?”
“They'll be here soon. Shall we go in?”
Jeong-o went inside the pub with Chief Park Young-gwang. Canned beer was piled up like mountains in the large hall. It was a tasting event, but it felt like a party. Jeong-o looked around before drinking the beer. Had Jeong Ji-heon arrived first? As Jeong-o looked around, Chief Park Young-gwang pointed to the other side of the beer tower. The people from Production Team 1 were surrounding a man wearing a red tie. Team Leader An Chan-seop looked somewhat troubled.
“Assistant Manager Lee, do you see that person? The one holding two cans in one hand.”
“Yes. You mean the one wearing the red tie?”
“Be careful.”
“……”
“He's very, very 'Remi Remi'.”
“'Remi Remi'?”
“Someone who's gone beyond the limit and is crazy.”
“Ahahaha. That's a novel expression. 'Remi Remi'.”
“I'm not saying it as a joke. I'm serious. Be careful.”
For the gentle Chief Park Young-gwang to call someone crazy. She could imagine how ruthless that person must be. Young-gwang gave her a warning, but she couldn't avoid meeting the 'Remi Remi' client. Eun-bi, who was standing next to the client with a bored expression, called out to Jeong-o as she passed by.
“Lee Jung-o, Assistant Manager.”
“Yes.”
“Aren't you going to introduce yourself? This is our client.”
Ah, she was going to introduce herself when our team all arrived. Jeong-o had no choice but to go to the 'Remi Remi' client. Fortunately, Chief Park Young-gwang followed.
“Director, this is Lee Jung-o, the new copywriter from our company's Production Team 2. She's the same age as me, but still an assistant manager.”
“Oh, really? What have you been doing while our Manager Chae was getting promoted?”
The 'Remi Remi' client asked sarcastically at Eun-bi's bitter introduction. Jeong-o emptied her mind and raised only the corners of her lips to smile.
“Hello. I’m Lee Jung-oh, a copywriter from Max Planning.”
“Are you married?”
“No.”
“Hmm. Then you can work even harder.”
The Remi Remi client poured a can of beer into a clear cup and handed it to Jeong-o. He seemed determined to make sure Jeong-o emptied the glass. It wasn't difficult to down it in one shot, though.
“If you drink this, you’re dating me~”
The moment he held out the glass and said that, Jeong-o was stunned. Was he telling her to drink it, or not? Chief Park Young-gwang interjected.
“Hahaha. Sir, aren’t you married?”
“Hey, Chief Park. Wife separate, lover separate. Don’t you know that? How can I think about my wife when such a beautiful woman is in front of me?”
Ugh. Jeong-o gritted her teeth inwardly, but smiled bitterly and took a sip of beer.
“Oh my, Assistant Manager Lee is drinking it so fast? You must like the director!”
Eun-bi clapped and cheered. The Remi Remi client's face also lit up at Eun-bi's words. Chief Park Young-gwang snatched the glass from Jeong-o and emptied it.
“I drank it too, so you have to date me, Director. Hehe.”
“Hey, why are you doing this? I’m not interested in men.”
While the Remi Remi client's voice grew louder, Chief Park waved his hand at Jeong-o. Telling her to run away quickly. Jeong-o discreetly left her seat and headed to the nearby restroom. After taking care of her business and washing her hands, Eun-bi came in. Eun-bi, standing at the sink next to Jeong-o, looked in the mirror and said.
“You look good with the director.”
“I don’t like you saying that. Don’t say that to anyone, not just me.”
“Why? He’s married, so it’s okay, right? I thought you liked stealing other people’s men.”
Jeong-o felt wronged by Eun-bi's words, but because of what had happened an hour ago, she couldn't immediately lash out. Fortunately, Eun-bi's phone rang for a long time, and the pointless conversation didn't continue. Eun-bi exclaimed, "Oh?" in surprise and answered the phone.
“Yes, Mother. Have you had dinner?”
Eun-bi greeted her in a polite voice that was a tone higher. Jeong-o, who was about to leave, stopped momentarily. The person Chae Eun-bi could politely call "Mother." She had a feeling it was Jeong Ji-heon's mother. Her heart pounded.
“I came to work. One of the companies I’m in charge of is a liquor company. There’s a new product tasting event today.”
Jeong-o opened her bag and took out her cosmetics.
“You know I can’t drink well. But it’s work, so I’m just going to taste it and go in early. Oppa went home early, but I don’t see him. I thought he went home early to come to the tasting event.”
The conversation continued while Jeong-o pretended to fix her makeup.
“Did you talk to Oppa? When?”
Eun-bi seemed to get along quite well with Ji-heon's mother. It was only natural, though.
“Ah… Did Oppa say that? He said he’d tell you soon?”
However, her voice, which had been so high as if she was trying to show off to Jeong-o, suddenly became dark and small. Of course, that tone didn't last long.
“I think he’s going to tell you about the wedding. He mentioned it to me briefly too.”
Eun-bi stretched her lips long towards Jeong-o and continued the call. Wedding. Even though Jeong-o knew all about it, her insides felt raw, as if a piece of sandpaper was hidden somewhere in her chest.
