Chapter 32
Villain in Love
32.
An Extraordinary and Ordinary Day
“No matter how much I think about it, Ji Yeonwoo-ssi, I think I like you.”
…..….The stars shone.
“Should I try a one-sided love, or should we try dating?”
Her heart surged.
Silence pooled at the end of his words, and the surroundings were so quiet that even the sound of grass swaying was clearly audible.
I think I like you, Ji Yeonwoo-ssi.
She replayed it in her mind, but they were words she couldn’t believe even after hearing them.
Should I try a one-sided love, or should we try dating?
She didn’t know whether she should open or close her eyes, nor could she tell at which phrase she was supposed to breathe.
Yeonwoo looked down with vacant eyes. The alcohol she had consumed had completely vanished before his few words of confession. Her thoughts came to a halt in the face of such honest expressions that needed no addition or subtraction.
Her heart beat so hard she wondered if a corner of it might break off and disappear.
“Of course, I know it’s premature.”
Was this really a man confessing his love? His voice was extremely calm, making her momentarily wonder if this was some sort of business transaction between them.
“I wanted to be the person who makes your heart flutter, rather than the person who makes you shudder with disgust. So I thought about waiting a bit longer.”
“…….”
“But I can’t get any work done.”
She wouldn’t know, but the bench they were sitting on was a chair his father had made by hand. It was a chair where his father had sat side-by-side with his mother, counting stars and speaking of love.
Sitting on such a chair, the grown son was confessing to the woman he wanted to give his whole heart to. That even if she wanted to just pass him by, he had no intention of letting her.
Yeonwoo couldn’t utter a single word. If she tried to question him logically, she didn’t have the confidence to handle the answer. No, more than that, she didn’t know what to ask first, or what words she should use to conclude this.
Yeonwoo just stared at the ground with her lips parted. It was so hard to believe that she struggled to judge whether he was sincere or joking, but she had already learned that he wasn’t the kind of man to cruelly toy with someone with such words.
So her head just spun. She didn’t know what emotion to put forward; her mind seemed clueless as a wave of nausea washed over her.
Just as her frozen mind and rattling heart were blocking all reactions.
Seongheon stood up from his seat.
“Go on inside. I’ll be heading out now, too.”
“I won’t approach you recklessly, so don’t be afraid.”
The sound of her racing heart was almost audible to her ears. Yeonwoo kept her eyes fixed on the ground and remained silent.
“It would be best if you don’t remember any of this due to overdrinking. I don’t want things to become uncomfortable.”
His hand reached out and touched her head. Her pulse beat wildly as if her heart were inside her head, and she couldn’t distinguish if it was his or hers.
“Go get some sleep.”
Slowly pulling his hand away, Seongheon turned his steps. The sound of treading on soil grew distant, and only after it became clear she was alone did Yeonwoo let out a groan.
Like someone reacting to unbearable torture, she made aching sounds for a long time. Clutching her chest with a balled fist, she rubbed at it, wondering if her heart was hurting or tingling.
A long while later, she stared blankly at the empty space where he had been.
Should I try a one-sided love, or should we try dating?
“This makes no sense…..…..”
It was a calm and composed confession, the likes of which she had never heard or seen before. It was also a detached confession that seemed to leave all subsequent emotions up to her, as if he expected nothing in return.
“No, how does this make sense? It makes no sense……”
Interjections flowed repeatedly from Yeonwoo’s lips in her state of confusion.
It was a moonlit night at Domyeongjae.
“Oh my, Newbie. You’re at work earlier than I thought?”
Since they had been drinking late into the night, the Bongwan was a mess like never before. Eunja, who was clearing and organizing the dishes, greeted Yeonwoo with surprise as she entered.
“Big Sister Mun said you’d be late.”
“I woke up early. Since I was awake, I just came to work.”
“Gosh, to be young. You don’t even understand the words ‘take a rest’ and walk out here on your own two feet. Should I call this stupid, or pointlessly diligent?”
“I remembered leaving things messy yesterday and came to clean up……”
As soon as she took off her shoes and entered, Yeonwoo headed straight for the dining table. She began clearing the traces of yesterday’s revelry, placing glasses on a tray and gathering plates with dried sauce.
Since the newbie had come voluntarily to clear the table, Eunja, who had left the work to her and sat down, rested her chin on her hand and looked up at Yeonwoo.
“Is your stomach okay?”
“It’s alright.”
- 3 -
She didn’t even have the mental capacity to feel a hangover.
“You look like you haven’t slept much, though?”
“I slept enough…….”
There was no way she had slept.
Yeonwoo cleared the dishes as if avoiding Eunja’s gaze. Eunja, who was clicking her tongue for no reason, slyly pulled out her phone.
“Hey, Newbie. Come here a second.”
“Yes?”
When Eunja suddenly called her, Yeonwoo stopped cleaning and approached. Eunja held up the phone as if to show her a text message.
“My granddaughter sent me a text. Take a look at what she sent.”
“A text? Okay.”
Yeonwoo took the phone. It wasn’t anything much—just a short message saying she missed her grandmother.
“She says she misses her grandma.”
“Aye. Is that so? That little thing already knows Hangeul. My goodness. Isn’t she a genius?”
“How old is she?”
“She just started school. How old was she again?”
Taking the phone back from Yeonwoo, Eunja tucked it back into her pocket. Yeonwoo watched her silently before opening her lips.
“Aren’t you going to reply?”
“Oh, what reply. I can just give her a call later. I don’t know how to text. Because I don’t know how to write.”
Sigh. Eunja leaned her back against the chair and looked up at the ceiling.
“There was no money at home, so only my eldest brother and fourth brother went to school. The rest of us couldn’t even get near a school!”
“…….”
“I thought about learning the letters, but I just got old. At this age, I can guess things roughly by sight. I can read by context, but I don’t know how to write.”
Yeonwoo quietly cleared the plates.
“You’re lucky, Newbie. Since you’re well-educated, you must have worked as a secretary in Seoul and all that, right?”
While moving with the tray, Yeonwoo suddenly looked at Eunja.
“Um, then would you like me to teach you a little?”
“Teach me what?”
“Hangeul. So you can send texts.”
Instantly, a spark lit up in Eunja’s eyes. After blinking a few times, Eunja scratched her neck and made a dismissive sound.
“Forget it. I’ll just live as I am and die. What’s the point of studying at this age? I’m a blockhead, so studying is a story from another world to me.”
“Still, if you do a little bit at a time, you’ll learn quickly. Hangeul is easy to learn.”
“…..Is it?”
It seemed her interest was piqued. Yeonwoo nodded, and Eunja quickly stood up to follow her.
“Then when and how do I learn?”
“Let me know when you have time. I’ll prepare some materials.”
Oh my. Eunja looked Yeonwoo up and down, the corners of her mouth twitching upward. Then, meeting Yeonwoo’s eyes, she immediately pulled her expression down and let out a fake cough.
“If you’re going to tell Big Sister Mun, then forget it. I know it’s embarrassing. I get cursed at for being ignorant every day, and I don’t want to get cursed at for acting above my station.”
“I won’t tell. I’m good at keeping secrets.”
“I guess only your body is light. You’re the complete opposite of me. I’m jealous of that too, goodness.”
Eunja hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should say thank you, but turned away abruptly out of bashfulness. Yeonwoo watched her walk away before finishing the cleanup. In the meantime, Seongheon passed right by the Bongwan on his way to work.
Though an event that felt like the sky was splitting had occurred overnight, the morning was peaceful in its own way.
I won’t approach you recklessly, so don’t be afraid.
If I just keep my mouth shut, will it really be as if nothing happened? Then should I just keep quiet and act like I don’t know?
Yeonwoo finished tidying the Bongwan, her heart full of worries she couldn’t speak aloud. It was absurd how her thoughts about Cha Yunseok had drifted away, overwhelmed by the incident with Seongheon.
After arriving at work, Seongheon finished his morning meeting and one video conference. Checking that he had a moment before heading to the site, Seongheon stared at the monitor and let out a short sigh.
“…..I’m doing great.”
In front of a woman who shuddered at the thought of men due to long-term gaslighting, he had revealed his emotions as he pleased.
At the end of his thoughts, Seongheon gripped the mouse. Even to himself, it felt like a pathetic and poor choice.
Yesterday, Yeonwoo had a blank face as if she were witnessing the end of the world. Regret flooded him the moment he spoke, but in another sense, he had no lingering attachments.
The future was uncertain—would it be her clean rejection, or the start of a pathetic one-sided love? He was needlessly troubled.
After mulling it over, his gaze flickered to the Namsong Industrial Development documents. After staring at the files he had looked over so many times he had practically memorized every minor digit, Seongheon recalled an event from a few days ago.
It was morning, and he had a private meeting with Lawyer Sin Jongmun, who had come down from Seoul.
‘If you speak freely, Vice President, I will look for a way.’
‘I told you. I want to pull the pillars out of that house. People who cover up crimes with money only learn not to do such things when everything they have is taken away. Never again.’
‘That is what I think. What do you think, Lawyer?’
“……Ah.”
Ah. Lawyer Sin let out a sigh laden with meaning. it was a signal that he finally understood Seongheon’s words.
Seongheon continued his words with an utterly dry expression.
My concern has already turned into a decision, and I hear the stalking punishment laws are just a slap on the wrist. So, what should we do?
Lawyer Sin nodded slowly.
Summarizing his words, Seongheon didn’t just want to terminate the contract with Namsong Industrial Development.
‘Please wait a moment, Vice President.’
‘Go ahead.’
Destroy Namsong Industrial Development itself.
Lawyer Sin’s gaze behind his thick glasses was sharp for a while. It meant he was concentrating.
…………Time passed in silence. After making calls somewhere, rummaging through documents, and finishing several more calls, Lawyer Sin finally looked up.
‘I’ll need to review it in depth to be certain, but following the cash flow of Namsong Industrial Development reveals several suspicious signs.’
Lawyer Sin turned his laptop screen toward Seongheon to show the data. Then he continued with the remaining explanation.
‘There are a few subcontracting companies for Namsong Industrial Development that are in a special relationship. Since they weren’t subject to external audits, I think something will come out if we knock on that door. They are companies formed by relatives of CEO Cha Gilwook.’
…….
‘This is a money laundering structure that applies in ten out of ten, a hundred out of a hundred cases.’
An embezzlement structure that is hard to detect unless government departments decide to look into it intentionally.
Lawyer Sin, a veteran in this field who had frequently investigated breach of trust and embezzlement cases for large corporations, quickly caught the money laundering flow primarily used by small and medium-sized enterprises.
‘If we can just find charges such as professional breach of trust or embezzlement, we can apply the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, which is qualitatively different from stalking punishment. The clean result you desire, Vice President, doesn’t seem impossible.’
‘Are you sure?’
Lawyer Sin wore a cautious expression.
‘Of course, I cannot conclude whether there are false facts in the financial statements or disclosure violations based solely on what appeared in last year’s audit report.’
‘But.’
‘….…….No. I will shake them down until something comes out.’
As Lawyer Sin took off his glasses telling him not to worry, Seongheon showed a faint smile.
‘Good. Then please work hard on it.’
‘Yes. I will be in touch.’
Lawyer Sin stood up. Lawyer Sin had an old nickname: the Dehydrator.
- 6 -
Coming out of his thoughts, Seongheon leaned back in his chair and picked up the receiver. Pressing the extension, he was immediately connected to his secretary.
— Yes, Vice President.
“Contact Namsong Industrial Development. Tell them let’s have a meal at Domyeongjae.”
— Understood.
“The time is tonight. Seven o’clock.”
— Yes, Vice President.
Seongheon hung up the phone.
