Sponsorship Stigma
Chapter 48
Belated Regret
Yeonjae’s clasped hands trembled uncontrollably.
Even without looking back, she felt as though Myeonghee had already caught her, and her heart tightened to the point of suffocating.
Just as she stood frozen, having forgotten how to breathe—
“What brings you all the way here? I told you I’d contact you once I was done.”
A deep, low voice reached her ears as something solid stepped in to block her back.
She didn’t need to look back to know it was Jeheon.
The blatant gaze that had been fixed on her seemed to shift toward him, allowing Yeonjae to finally gasp for air.
Her heart pounded wildly, as if it might burst at any moment.
“After causing such a massive disaster.”
Myeonghee let out a scoff of sheer disbelief.
Her gaze swept the surroundings, cold enough to make anyone’s heart drop.
“You tell me to wait, and all you’re doing is fooling around with some girl in your office?”
Soon, her voice rang out, laden with venom.
It was the exact voice Yeonjae used to hear whenever Myeonghee, in a foul mood, summoned her to the master bedroom—thick with disdain and disgust.
Had she turned around and met her eyes, that glare would have shredded her to pieces over and over again.
“Aren’t you going to greet me, young lady?”
At the sudden question aimed at her, Yeonjae flinched, her shoulders trembling.
Yeonjae bit down hard on her lower lip.
Her lip split, spreading a metallic tang of blood across her tongue, but she had no room to care.
What if she walks over and forces me to turn around?
Jung Yeonjae, appearing in Jeheon’s office after five years.
Myeonghee would never let this slide.
And if she discovered Jiwoo’s existence, and worse, realized that Jeheon was the boy’s father…
As the horrific future unfolded in her mind, Yeonjae bit her lip even harder.
Only now did regret come flooding in.
“That’s why I told you not to act on your own.”
He had been right.
Even if no one here was supposed to recognize her, she should have been more cautious. She had been arrogant.
If only she hadn’t come today, none of this would have happened.
“Then again, judging by her appearance, she’s hardly someone worth introducing to me.”
That characteristically sarcastic voice rang in Yeonjae’s ears.
She could feel a gaze raking over her so sharply that the back of her head pricked, even with her back turned.
Myeonghee seemed to have concluded from Yeonjae’s attire that she wasn’t on Jeheon’s level.
Yeonjae was dressed casually in fitted jeans and a white cotton T-shirt.
The only saving grace was that she hadn’t worn her cafe apron here.
“Yes. As you can see, she’s not someone worth introducing.”
His back pressed against hers.
Yeonjae swallowed hard at the warmth and solid frame she felt through the touching fabric of his shirt and her T-shirt.
“Proud of yourself, are you? Don’t tell me you pulled that stunt yesterday just to fool around with a woman like this?”
Despite Myeonghee’s pressing demands, Jeheon remained silent.
“Gu Jeheon!”
At the sound of his name, Jeheon’s lips curved into a derisive sneer.
Even without looking, Yeonjae could vividly picture the expression on his face.
“This is the office.”
“……”
“If you’re so curious, let’s step outside. I happen to have a restaurant booked.”
“Are you playing with me? Do you really think I can swallow food right now?”
As her screech rose, he gestured with his chin toward the doorway.
Through the slightly ajar door, their conversation would quickly sprout wings and travel far and wide.
“You hate being the subject of gossip, don’t you?”
“……”
“I couldn’t care less about that sort of thing, but I doubt you feel the same, Mother.”
At his near-threatening remark, Myeonghee bit her lower lip.
Even if she hadn’t seen them, she had already been feeling the burning eyes of those around them.
In all her life, she had rarely ever visited Jeheon’s office.
She had always summoned him to the Cheongdam-dong Residence instead; she never acted rashly in public, always mindful of onlookers.
Myeonghee shifted her gaze past Jeheon to stare behind him.
At the woman now hidden from view by Jeheon.
Huddled and shrinking back as she was, she looked all the more frail and pathetic.
If she couldn’t even turn around after seeing Myeonghee, her background was obvious.
A wretched family background with nothing to her name but a pretty face and a body.
Myeonghee knew her kind all too well.
Myeonghee soon withdrew her gaze from Yeonjae. Her interest had completely fizzled out.
“Come out right away.”
With a click of her tongue, Myeonghee turned around.
As she exited the office, Manager Joo, who had been waiting outside, fell into step behind her.
Silence settled over the office after Myeonghee left.
Only after the office door clicked shut did Jeheon, who had been shielding her back, finally move.
He walked over to the coat rack, retrieved his jacket, and turned around.
Even after Myeonghee had left and Jeheon had grabbed his jacket, Yeonjae remained motionless.
Jeheon looked at Yeonjae standing rooted to the spot, and then walked out of the office.
Once again, the sound of the door closing echoed.
Only after she sensed that Jeheon too was gone did Yeonjae brace both hands against the desk.
Her legs, which had barely supported her, gave way and collapsed beneath her.
“Haah……”
A ragged breath escaped her lips.
When she placed a hand over her chest, her heart was racing so violently she wondered if it might explode and kill her.
Yeonjae remained slumped on the floor for a long time.
“The two of them have left. I believe it is safe for you to go now.”
Secretary Oh, who had entered the room, spoke to Yeonjae.
He accompanied Yeonjae until she cleared the building, guiding her through an exit where she wouldn’t draw attention.
She had no idea how she managed to get back; when she finally looked up, she was standing in front of the cafe.
“Yeonjae-ssi, you look terrible. Are you not feeling well?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Returning to the cafe, Yeonjae immediately saw the Manager off.
Only after sending off the Manager, who kept looking back with concern until the very end, did Yeonjae catch sight of her reflection.
Her face in the mirror was deathly pale. And her hands were still shaking uncontrollably.
“You’ve lost your mind, Jung Yeonjae.”
What on earth was I thinking, going to the company?
Just because the distance between her and Jeheon had narrowed slightly, she had completely forgotten her place.
In front of Myeonghee, she was nothing more than a lowly charity case.
Someone who should never come to light.
Together with belated regret, reality etched itself painfully back into her mind.
* * *
“Just bring something suitable.”
Jeheon closed the menu the server handed him without even glancing at it.
Then, he drained the full glass of water in a single gulp.
“Then I will prepare the special course for you.”
He had told Seongjae to reserve a quiet, nice place, and it seemed Seongjae had booked a full-course meal.
Jeheon’s brow twitched at his assistant’s needlessly thorough work.
“Forget that. Give us the shortest one.”
It would be different if I were here with Jung Yeonjae.
The thought of enduring two hours of scolding and nagging throughout a full-course meal already made him feel exhausted.
“……Ah, yes. In that case, I will serve our fastest course.”
“Lunch is only an hour. A long meal is difficult. You understand, don’t you?”
A scoff escaped Myeonghee’s lips at Jeheon’s flimsy excuse.
“As if you ever sat face-to-face and had a proper meal with me anyway. Besides, I have no appetite either.”
“That’s a relief. Trying to do something out of character was making things complicated anyway.”
Jeheon set down his water glass and continued.
“Because I have no intention of eating either.”
“Then why did you do something so out of character in the first place?!”
Furious at being subjected to such an unsightly scene, Myeonghee raised her voice.
“Don’t you dare dream of breaking off the engagement. Do you think a breakup after a five-year engagement makes any sense? Pick a date from the ones provided and go through with the wedding.”
“……”
“With articles already published everywhere, are you trying to humiliate this family?”
As if the rage simmering since last night had reached its limit, Myeonghee lashed out venomously at Jeheon.
Unlike Myeonghee, whose face flushed red, Jeheon remained calm.
That unreadable expression of his grated on Myeonghee’s nerves more than ever today.
“Stop this pathetic fooling around with women right this instant!”
“Whether it’s breaking off the engagement or fooling around, you’d actually prefer that.”
“What?”
Myeonghee’s face contorted helplessly.
Jeheon’s defiance seemed to provoke her, filling her eyes with venom.
“It’s better than a fraudulent marriage, isn’t it?”
“A fraudulent marriage? What nonsense is that! Who would dare make such a claim against Guil?”
Unable to bear it any longer, Myeonghee slammed her hand down on the table.
She glared at Jeheon with furious, wide eyes.
Yet even under that searing glare, Jeheon didn’t bat an eye.
Looking at her with his usual calm gaze, he opened his mouth.
“Why pretend you don’t know? I am, after all, defective goods.”
Jeheon’s lips curved into an elegant arc.
He brought up the shameful secret that had been kept silent for so long.
“I’m not your son, Mother.”
Even while speaking of the hidden Achilles’ heel that no one dared utter—
Jeheon looked, if anything, entirely unburdened.
