Chapter 80
80. I Was Wrong
2023.07.19.
"Director."
He must have been lost in thought, completely spacing out. Han So-eun's voice calling him from right in front of him sounded distant, as if underwater. Tae-joon barely snapped out of it and offered a faint smile.
"Are you worried about something?"
"No."
"Why did you tell me to sit down?"
Her question sounded a little harsh, as if they could only see each other if there was a reason.
But he couldn't blame her. He was the one with the dark heart, contemplating wicked ways to hold onto her, seeking momentary comfort.
Unlike his dark intentions, his imagination was presumptuous and dazzling.
If Han So-eun were to have a child, how beautiful would it be if it resembled her? Even if it didn't look exactly like her, if it had her fair skin, her adorable lips, her round eyes full of curiosity, even just her hands or feet, how beautiful would it be?
He was reminded of the seven-year-old girl who used to follow him around a long time ago. Imagining a child resembling Han So-eun was enjoyable even in the midst of all this. That made him feel even more guilty.
He couldn't confine her for his own desires. Or perhaps, if her health had been perfect, he might have considered it more positively. But not now. She was a woman who had undergone major surgery just four months ago. He couldn't tie down a woman who still struggled with fatigue on some days, just for his own selfishness. She needed to live for herself, not for someone else.
As if he hadn't been agonizing at all, Tae-joon stood up and sat in front of So-eun, asking,
"You know Iaks and Nukum are in a dispute, right?"
"Yes."
"It seems K Electronics is helping Iaks with the lawsuit. I looked into it and found out that the brother-in-law of Kim Sang-deok, the head of K Electronics' mobile division, is the founder of Iaks."
Tae-joon told So-eun about the information he had gathered. So-eun seemed surprised.
"There's a good chance K Electronics deliberately funneled work to Iaks. The current CEO of Iaks might just be a figurehead, and there could be someone else actually running things. Anyway, it's certain that Kim Sang-deok is involved."
"Kim Sang-deok, you mean..."
"My fifth cousin."
"..."
"You don't have to look at me like that. You can curse him all you want. We've never gotten along."
Tae-joon smiled casually, as if it were nothing, but So-eun's worried expression didn't fade.
"Can we continue with the TF Team's work?"
"Of course, we should, especially at times like these. It would be even better if you could speed things up a bit."
So-eun braced herself and nodded firmly. Worried that she would once again neglect her own well-being and burn herself out, Tae-joon added a word of caution.
"But don't overdo it."
"Yes, I will. But, if we correct the facts, what will happen to K Electronics?"
"Chairman Kim Jae-pil might be a little embarrassed, but it's best to fix the problem as quickly as possible."
Seeing her quiet, thoughtful expression, he could guess what kind of corporate drama she was imagining. Tae-joon chuckled, amused by her endless chain of worries.
"So-eun, you don't have to worry about anything. K Group will always be strong."
So very, very terribly strong.
The rational coldness of a corporation that quickly fills the void when someone disappears sometimes made Tae-joon shudder with hatred.
\
Mal-hee's husband, Gyu-chil, went out for a round of golf for the first time in a while.
Golf was Gyu-chil's long-standing hobby. Even when his business had failed, he had gone to the course once a month, but now that his family was completely broke, he would have to be more careful about it. Today might be the last time.
He wanted to burn his last time to the fullest, but he didn't like the caddy he was assigned. Gyu-chil complained to the reception desk, and when his request was denied, he shouted and grumbled as he got into the cart. His friends had already arrived at the teeing area, so he had to hurry.
Gyu-chil bitterly lamented to the caddy who was driving.
"These days, you can't even enjoy your hobbies if you don't have money. Don't you think?"
He couldn't even afford to change caddies.
Thinking about his situation, where he couldn't even enjoy a single hobby properly, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Pardon?"
The foreign caddy didn't understand Gyu-chil's words and asked him to repeat them. As she tilted her head to better hear Gyu-chil, the cart wobbled.
Still, with so much going on at home and his head full of worries, Gyu-chil felt relieved as he entered the open field. He thought it might be better that the caddy didn't understand him. Gyu-chil vented his pent-up frustrations to the caddy.
"My wife and son are both a pain in the ass. My son met the wrong woman and can't come to his senses, and my wife, after all the trouble of curing her illness, only brings back debt. I should have taken out some life insurance on my wife. Now that she's had cancer surgery, I can't even get insurance. I'm just going to lose my house and be stuck with all the bills."
"Pardon? Going back?"
"No! Stuck with the bills! Why can't you understand me!"
Frustrated, Gyu-chil shouted. The startled caddy dropped the steering wheel. The cart, which was passing through a sloping corner, lost its balance and tilted to the side.
"Hey! Can't you drive properly?"
Gyu-chil yelled with a flushed face from the overturning cart. The caddy, also frightened, screamed.
\
On his way to Seok-hwa's office, Tae-joon also ended up giving Department Head Song Mun-gyeong, who was working late, a ride home.
When Tae-joon revealed that he was going to visit Seok-hwa, Mun-gyeong confessed about something that had happened recently.
"Actually, Director Kim Seok-hwa called me a few days ago. She asked me if it would be a good idea to introduce you to a woman, and I couldn't answer."
"I figured."
"..."
"My aunt noticed and asked me about it. She knows about Han So-eun too."
"Ah..."
Mun-gyeong felt awkward at Tae-joon's reply. She had tried so hard to hide it, but it was no match for Kim Seok-hwa.
A stinging laugh escaped Tae-joon's lips.
"Isn't it ridiculous? Letting me live as I please all this time, and then trying to control my emotions when it comes to the most important thing."
"…Director Kim Seok-hwa probably said it because she's worried about you. But she won't be able to oppose it completely. She's a kind person."
Mun-gyeong wanted to join in on the gossip about Tae-joon to some extent, but she tried to maintain neutrality. Working so close to the royal family, she had a rough idea of their lifestyle, but that didn't mean she could understand their lives. She probably never would.
After driving in silence for a while, Tae-joon asked,
"How many years did you say you dated, Department Head Song?"
"About ten years. We had a lot of ups and downs too. My in-laws were so strongly opposed that I thought we would break up someday, but we ended up getting married like this."
"That must have been difficult."
"It's just a memory now that it's passed."
Mun-gyeong quietly watched Tae-joon nod for a long time.
*
Seok-hwa was nervous because Tae-joon was visiting her office.
After confirming her nephew's fierce attitude the day before, Seok-hwa's heart had been pounding ever since. She had come to know a new side of her nephew, whom she had only known to be polite, kind, and gentle.
Perhaps that was her nephew's true self, and she just hadn't known it. As Tae-joon had said, she and Tae-joon only contacted each other occasionally. To Seok-hwa, Tae-joon might be like a son, but Tae-joon might never have even thought of Seok-hwa as family.
Soon, a knock sounded, and the secretary came in.
"Madam CEO, Director Kim Tae-joon is here."
The secretary stepped back, the door opened further, and Tae-joon entered. His expressionless, upright face made her feel respectful. Seok-hwa stood up from her chair, offered Tae-joon a comfortable seat, and sat down in front of him.
Still, as the elder, she should speak first, but she didn't know how to start. Her dry lips felt prickly as they parted.
"Tae-joon. I..."
"Aunt."
As soon as Seok-hwa called Tae-joon's name, Tae-joon spoke.
"I was wrong."
"..."
"Don't say anything, Aunt."
It was such an easy apology. And that easy apology was a means to a desperate request.
"If she finds out, she'll leave. She'll leave without looking back."
At first, she thought it meant that he shouldn't tell his father, Chairman Kim Jae-pil. Because his father also knew that she had kicked Han So-eun out of the house 20 years ago. But Tae-joon's direction was not that. It meant that he shouldn't tell her, Han So-eun.
Han So-eun didn't know anything about what his father had done 20 years ago.
That fact was surprising, but her nephew's reaction was even more surprising.
Yesterday, her nephew had treated her aunt with coldness, as if she were a complete stranger, but in just one day, he had changed his attitude 180 degrees and was desperately pleading. It made her feel even more dizzy than yesterday.
"She's that kind of friend. So... I'll do anything, I will."
His sincere and weighty voice trembled as if enduring the wind. His eyes, as if trying to withstand a storm of dark gray with his whole body, were pitiful.
He's scared.
She had been on edge watching him because he seemed fearless.
Yesterday's nephew was like a fearless child standing on a cracked glass surface. Seok-hwa was so anxious that she couldn't even breathe, but the barefoot child was already bleeding and didn't seem to have any intention of turning back. She was worried sick.
Would that have been better?
Seok-hwa's heart ached at the sight of her nephew volunteering for a lower position to protect a woman.
"Please pretend you don't know her."
This child has given up everything around him again.
