Chapter 44
- I'm Going Crazy Thinking Only About You
2023.06.13.
The formal meeting between the families went smoothly, but Mal-hee's worries deepened.
She had confidently assured her future in-laws that she would secure 2 billion won, but she heard that her current house, if sold well, would fetch a maximum of about 1 billion won. She visited several real estate agencies, but the agents all said the same thing.
1 billion won from selling the house, plus canceling insurance, savings, and installment savings, selling the jewelry at home, and even selling the car would amount to 1.1 billion won. How much more could she secure with a credit loan? How much had Hee-wook saved up? How much could Heejin contribute? If she scraped everything together, would she reach 1.5 billion won? Would it really be possible?
No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed impossible to reach 2 billion won. But now that she had mentioned that amount, she felt her pride wouldn't allow her to lower it. Hyun-ji's family could easily provide 1 billion or even 2 billion won, but she couldn't bring herself to say that they were struggling to find 100 or 200 million won. More than anything, she wanted her only son to start his married life without any flaws.
'Should I take out a private loan?'
If a house was registered under her son's name, she could pay it back later.
While she was contemplating various options, Hyun-ji approached and asked.
"Mother, are you worried about something? You look gloomy."
The prospective daughter-in-law, who had come to discuss the wedding date, had been smiling brightly the whole time, but after carefully observing Mal-hee, she lowered the corners of her eyebrows. Perhaps because she had grown up without any lack, Hyun-ji was always bright and cheerful. Moreover, she was a sensible girl who knew how to respect elders while also taking care of herself.
"Mother, please tell me. I'm your daughter-in-law now. I don't feel good either when you're suffering alone like this."
When Mal-hee remained silent, Hyun-ji urged her even more.
Could she tell this child the truth? Wouldn't it be less damaging to her pride than telling the child's parents?
"Actually, I..."
Mal-hee cautiously opened her mouth.
After listening to all of Mal-hee's candid story, Hyun-ji showed a serious reaction without any hint of ridicule or disappointment.
"Ah, so that's what happened."
"I... I'm really sorry."
"No, Mother. I'm okay. I would have been heartbroken if you had suffered because of that."
Hyun-ji understood Mal-hee with a generous heart and held Mal-hee's hand tightly.
"I'll talk to my dad about it soon. Don't worry too much."
After telling everything to Hyun-ji, Mal-hee felt a little tearful. She wiped away her tears and asked Hyun-ji.
"Okay. Thank you. And... don't tell Hee-wook about it yet. Our Hee-wook is such a filial son that he'll be even more stressed if he knows I've been worrying about this."
"Of course. I'll keep quiet."
Hyun-ji nodded lightly, then suddenly snapped her knee as if something had come to mind.
"Ah, this might not be a big help, but I just wanted to contribute a little. Mother, have you heard of coin?"
"Coin? You mean like karaoke or laundromat businesses?"
"Not like that."
Hyun-ji laughed as if Mal-hee's answer was funny, then took Mal-hee's phone, which was placed next to her, and pressed something. Mal-hee, who had come to rely on Hyun-ji completely, gave her the account number and ID as Hyun-ji asked. After a while, Hyun-ji handed the phone back. The number '1,000,000' was displayed on the phone screen.
"Mother, I installed an app for you. I connected your account to it and put 1 million won of my money in it."
"What... is this?"
"I created something called a Coin Wallet. This is a coin that will soon become 2 million won. They say this coin will double in a week and increase at least eightfold within a month."
Mal-hee's eyes widened at Hyun-ji's confident statement. She had heard that people these days made money in various ways, and her future daughter-in-law knew how to do things like this. It felt like she had stepped into a strange new world.
"So... this isn't like some kind of Go-Stop point... it's actually going to become 2 million won in cash? Like stocks. You can actually withdraw the 2 million won as real money?"
"Yes. It's similar to stock investment. However, the difference is that there's no lower or upper limit, so there's no bottom, and if you hit the jackpot, it can be much bigger than with stocks."
"..."
"So you shouldn't put in a large amount, but investing a small amount of about 1 million won in a stable coin with not too much fluctuation is worth it, Mother. You can exchange it back to your account at any time."
"You're really saying this coin will double in a week, that it's that coin?"
"Yes. Coin. But just in case, don't believe it too much, just watch it."
Hyun-ji urged, but Mal-hee didn't hear it well. Only the fact that the 1 million won here would soon become 2 million won, and that it would eventually become 8 million won, was imprinted in her mind.
"How do you know about these things?"
"My dad does business in Dubai, so I can get access to these high-level information about that area."
Since it was information passed on by Hyun-ji's father, who was a businessman, it felt even more trustworthy. Mal-hee's cheekbones became so prominent that they seemed to cover her eyes.
"Actually, my dad told me to keep this information to myself, so I hope you don't tell anyone else about it, Mother. Not even Hee-wook. Okay? Let's keep it just between us, Mother."
"Okay, okay. I understand. I understand."
Mal-hee replied, unable to hide her excited expression.
At that moment, the door opened.
"What are you two doing?"
Hee-wook peeked his face in, holding a tray. Mal-hee hid the phone behind her back, and Hyun-ji waved her hand and stood up.
"Huh? No, nothing. Oppa, what's wrong?"
"No, just. Mom, have some tea."
Hee-wook came into the room with two cups of tea.
"Okay. Okay. Thank you. My son."
Mal-hee received the cup with a beaming smile as Hee-wook offered her the tea. Hee-wook then offered tea to Hyun-ji as well.
"Hyun-ji, you have some tea too. It's wolfberry tea. It's good for the liver and good for energy recovery."
"Okay. Thank you."
Hee-wook's action of holding the tray and handing over the teacup was somewhat unstable. He ended up spilling the tea on Hyun-ji's left hand.
"Ah!"
"Oh, Hyun-ji. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Hee-wook was startled and grabbed a tissue, rushing back to Hyun-ji. One of Hyun-ji's hands was completely wet. Fortunately, the tea wasn't hot.
"Aish, Oppa, you're so clumsy!"
Hyun-ji complained and ran to the bathroom, followed by Hee-wook.
Hyun-ji took off the ring on her left hand to wash her hands. Hee-wook, who followed Hyun-ji, picked up the ring and left the bathroom.
"Where's the ring cleaner? I'll clean it for you."
It was actually an excuse.
Hee-wook took this opportunity to replace the fake ring with the real ring.
Hyun-ji, who came out of the bathroom, glared at Hee-wook.
"Are you okay? Is anything else wet?"
"I don't know. Hmph."
Hee-wook found Hyun-ji's grumbling cute and handed her the real ring. Hyun-ji took the ring and put it on her hand, tilting her head and looking at her left hand.
"...Huh?"
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Hee-wook asked, swallowing hard.
"Since Oppa cleaned it, the ring looks newer!"
Whew. Hee-wook breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
"But Oppa, did my hand get smaller in the meantime? The ring feels looser than before."
"Maybe it did. Let's definitely go get it resized this week."
Hee-wook, having completed his mission, had an exceptionally relieved expression.
Tuesday, 6 PM.
Knock, knock, a knock sounded.
"Director, this is the TF Team's task allocation and schedule."
Han So-eun visited Tae-joon's office with the task allocation sheet.
As soon as So-eun showed her face, Tae-joon removed his hand from the keyboard and stood up from his seat. This was one of the changes that had occurred after he and Tae-joon became personally involved. He greeted her warmly every time she appeared. And each time, So-eun was nervous as if it were the first time.
This time as well, So-eun closed her eyes tightly and hunched her shoulders.
Tae-joon approached closely, took only the documents in So-eun's hand, and stepped back.
"Were you expecting something?"
Tae-joon asked teasingly as So-eun blinked, feeling dazed because he hadn't done anything.
"No. I wasn't expecting anything."
"Is that so? Then you won't mind."
His arm, which casually draped around her shoulders, bent inward. So-eun, trapped in his firm arm, was helplessly pulled into his embrace. His hand, which had settled So-eun well in his arms, rummaged through the inside of her hair before descending to her waist and digging into her waistline.
This bad man, who lived doing everything he wanted, skillfully took care of his desires even while reading the report that So-eun had brought. So-eun felt that pushing him away and making a fuss would only make a bigger noise, so she tightly grasped his shirt and leaned on him.
The moment his hand suddenly dropped, a sigh like a lament escaped from her lips. Now that she could think, the first feeling that came to her was resentment towards him.
"Director..."
"..."
"No, it's nothing."
"Why do you start talking and then stop?"
Tae-joon asked with a smile as So-eun opened her mouth and then swallowed her words. Even that smile seemed a little wicked.
You could guess that he was a man with a lot of experience just by looking at these brief moments. It was a speed she wanted to catch up to, but couldn't, so she was overwhelmed every moment. So-eun felt both wronged and anxious about that.
"Director, you seem to be really good at everything."
"What did I do?"
"Anyway. It's too, sexy..."
"No. I'm pure."
He replied nonchalantly. So-eun glared at him. Tae-joon continued speaking, unconcerned by So-eun's reaction.
"The sexy one is Han So-eun."
"I'm not like that at all."
"When I'm in the dark, I'm going crazy thinking only about Han So-eun."
Closing the gap again, he spoke into her reddened ear. So-eun's mouth, which had opened to retort, closed tightly.
"I couldn't turn off the lights even when I slept. Because of someone."
"..."
"Where did you learn such things?"
What should I do about this? I'm not that kind of person. Turning off the lights is just because I have my own reasons.
The time had come to confess her circumstances, but So-eun hesitated. His nonchalant smile seemed genuinely happy, and he really seemed pure. So she didn't want to break that smile.
Just a little longer, I want to enjoy this happiness.
Inside Han So-eun, a greedy person craving love struggled.
In the brief moment of conflict, the opportunity to confess had passed. Tae-joon, who had quickly switched to work mode, reviewed the task allocation sheet again and added his opinion.
"Han So-eun and Jang Eun-pyo are often working together, and Park Bo-bae is often doing the computer work."
"That's how the task allocation is for now, but I'm trying to rotate everyone as much as possible."
"Don't stick together too much. With Jang Eun-pyo."
"..."
"Or I might harass Jang Eun-pyo."
So-eun felt a chill because his joke sounded sincere.
...How is he going to harass Jang Eun-pyo again?
