Chapter 35
A Villain’s
Pure Love
The Way I Protect You
Leaving the room, Yeonwoo set the tray down, her lips trembling so violently her teeth chattered. She had tried everything to face the fear etched into her heart, but in the end, she had been too busy shaking to even look Cha Yunseok properly in the face.
“They’ll be startin’ their meal now, won’t they? Better get these out.”
The staff at the Bongwan grew busy. They loaded trays with alcohol and side dishes to accompany the meal.
The employees, unaware of her history, merely regarded the man as Seongheon’s guest and harbored no other suspicions. While they didn’t think he was the type of man who would typically associate with Seongheon, they didn’t dare speak such thoughts aloud.
“But tell me, isn’t it a bit odd? He’s swaggering around like some filthy thug. I thought a pumpkin-themed nightclub bouncer had walked in.”
Only one person, Eunja, offered an assessment of Cha Yunseok in her characteristically bright voice.
“Quiet now. What kind of way is that to talk about a guest who traveled all this way? How vulgar.”
“Goodness, sister. If we’re talkin’ vulgar, he’s got me beat by a mile. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone more uncouth than me.”
Eunja chattered away as she piled japchae onto a plate. Even as she arranged it neatly on the tray, she continued.
“I can hear our Vice President’s reputation dropping from all the way over here. My goodness!”
“When you’re doin’ big business, can you only meet people who suit your taste? That’s just how it is.”
Inadvertently, Manager Mun agreed with Eunja’s words.
“That’s what I’m sayin’. Our Vice President must be sufferin’ so much, havin’ to share a table with such a lowly fellow. It’s sure hard to earn a livin’.”
“Do you not see my sufferin’, havin’ to rub shoulders with you every day?”
“You say that, sister, but I know you like me.”
“Sure. Why don’t you wrap up all that nonsense in a lettuce leaf, shove it in your mouth, and chew until your jaw snaps.”
“Your cursing’s gettin’ better too. Even at your age, there’s still room for improvement. You’re just full of surprises.”
Good grief. Arguing with Eunja was a job in itself. Raising her eyebrows as if giving up, Manager Mun looked at Yeonwoo.
Never dreaming that this guest was the person Yeonwoo had been hiding from, Manager Mun gave her a task.
“Newbie. You take this inside now. You do it.”
“Yes.”
Yeonwoo took the tray with both hands. When her fingertips trembled slightly, Manager Mun caught it and looked up.
“Is it heavy?”
“No. Not at all.”
Yeonwoo turned and headed toward the room. Walking down the short hallway, she swallowed hard several times.
Just the thought of Cha Yunseok being inside made her feel suffocated. Can I do this without making a mistake? As she clung to that thought, she remembered Seongheon.
A moment ago, in front of the trash area—
I’ll head in first, Vice President.
Just when she felt like she might burst into tears at the news of Cha Yunseok’s arrival—
‘Let’s not run away, Ji Yeonwoo-ssi.’
He had said something unexpected.
Yeonwoo’s devastated expression shifted. It looked as though tears might fall at any moment.
‘I know. I know, but let’s face it.’
‘I’m right beside you, so I’m telling you that you don’t have to be afraid.’
Standing before the closed door, she blankly recalled what had just happened. Holding the tray, she let her eyes drift shut and then open again, biting her lip hard at the sound of Cha Yunseok’s laughter leaking through the door.
Putting strength into the fingertips gripping the tray, Yeonwoo knocked and pushed the door open.
Cha Yunseok and Seongheon looked at her simultaneously as she stepped inside.
Instinctively, Yeonwoo moved toward Seongheon with the tray. As she began setting down the food, Cha Yunseok watched her with a peculiar gaze.
“Yeonwoo. Have you been well?”
He spoke in a tender voice, as if asking for the first time.
When Yeonwoo laid out the food without a word, Cha Yunseok let out a loud laugh and pointed a finger at her.
“She’s always like this. Makes a person feel embarrassed. Yeonwoo, when someone asks how you are, you should give them a pretty smile. Still so shy, I see.”
“Do you like working here? Is it manageable? You know, Yeonwoo, it’s hard for me to work without you. I haven’t found an employee who suits my mind as well as you do.”
At the end of his sentence, Cha Yunseok looked at Seongheon.
“Vice President. Our Yeonwoo is someone I absolutely need, yet here she is stuck in this place carrying plates. It breaks my heart.”
“Is that so?”
Seongheon poured a drink.
“Yeonwoo. Let’s go back to Seoul together. Hmm? I’ll raise your salary. I’ll give you a huge bump. I’ll get permission from the Vice President, so just come with me.”
Cha Yunseok picked up the bottle and held it out to Yeonwoo. When he extended his glass, signaling for her to fill it, Yeonwoo stared at it silently.
“You’re going to leave without even giving me a drink? I’m hurt. It’s not like we’re strangers, and I’m welcoming you like this.”
“Pour him a drink and then go, Yeonwoo.”
Seongheon, who had sipped his glass empty without a toast, turned his gaze to Yeonwoo.
“You may leave now.”
“Yes, Vice President.”
Yeonwoo picked up the tray and stood. Feeling snubbed in various ways, Cha Yunseok set his empty glass down.
“Ah, and one more thing.”
Seongheon spoke to Yeonwoo as she turned to leave.
“Tell Manager Mun to assist personally from now on. Since he is a precious guest.”
“Yes, Vice President.”
As Yeonwoo politely closed the door and left, Cha Yunseok smacked his lips regretfully.
“Ha, women, I tell you.”
When Seongheon emptied his second glass alone, Cha Yunseok quickly grabbed the bottle.
“Allow me to offer you a drink, Big Brother! No, I mean, Vice President!”
Pouring the drink with a polite posture, Cha Yunseok naturally dropped to his knees.
“Would it be alright if I just served you as my Big Brother from now on? The word ‘Brother’ just keeps sticking to my tongue—it feels like destiny.”
Seongheon, who only accepted the drink without pouring one in return, emptied his third glass.
When there was no answer to his question, Cha Yunseok cursed inwardly as he shifted out of his kneeling position.
Cha Yunseok busied himself leading the conversation, mixing in a smattering of shallow knowledge and pathetic jokes. Manager Mun entered occasionally to check on the alcohol and side dishes, and before they knew it, nearly two hours had passed.
Having finished most of her busy work and hurrying to leave for the day, Eunja looked at the boxes piled by the doorway.
“Sister, what’s all this?”
Manager Mun glanced over and waved her hand dismissively.
“Leave it. A guest brought it, but we’ll have to pack it up and send it back.”
“My, my. He brought so much, even though it won’t be accepted. What is all this?”
The curious Eunja fiddled with the wrapping cloth.
“I told you to leave it be.”
“Is it gonna wear out just ‘cause I touch it? I’m just touchin’ it ‘cause the cloth is pretty.”
Let’s see now. Eunja pulled out a business card that slipped easily from within the wrapping. But since she didn’t know her letters well, she couldn’t read it properly.
As if losing interest, she flicked the card back and forth.
Worrying that the loose cannon Eunja might mindlessly mess up the bundles, Manager Mun watched her closely. Seeing her fluttering the business card, she walked over quickly.
“Where did you pull that from? Put it back.”
“What do you mean, where? It just slipped right out.”
As Eunja made her excuse, Manager Mun reached out.
“Honestly, you never listen. Give it here. Where did you take it from…?”
Manager Mun’s voice trailed off as she caught sight of the business name on the card. At that, the indignant Eunja grumbled.
“It’s so unfair, I can’t live like this. It fell out from here, so you put it back yourself, sister. It’s not like the cloth is gonna tear.”
“Oh my, sister! You’re really bein’ too much!”
“…That son of a bitch.”
When a heavy curse suddenly burst from Manager Mun’s lips, Eunja jumped back. Just because she touched a guest’s wrapping cloth, she was a bitch, a bitch, a what?
“Why are you cursin’ like that! At my age, callin’ me a ‘son of a bitch’!”
“Look at this absolute bastard of a wretch. Where does he think he is, crawling in here?”
Eunja wore a bewildered expression. Looking closely, it seemed the curses weren’t aimed at her, but at the owner of the business card.
“Sister, what kind of grudge do you have to be cursin’ like that? Didn’t you tell me not to say vulgar things about the guests earlier?”
Manager Mun shot a furious glare toward the room where Seongheon and Cha Yunseok were sitting. She spat out a few more sharp curses, her hand holding the business card eventually beginning to tremble.
“It’s him. It’s definitely him.”
“Eh? What is?”
As Eunja raised her eyebrows, Manager Mun looked at her.
“The kind of man who shouldn’t be hit with a dried pollock head, but beaten with a sledgehammer, has crawled into Domyeongjae on his own two feet.”
“Beaten with a sledgehammer?”
Wouldn’t he die then…?
For once, Eunja swallowed the words she wanted to say.
“That… that… that bastard who should be drowned in an earthen jar to be pickled, that wretch who wouldn’t be enough even if he were ground in a millstone to make soybean paste.”
“…At this rate, he must be your family’s mortal enemy.”
“That bastard who should be smeared with Cheongyang chili powder and left to dry—that wretch who should be tossed into a boiling pot of ox-bone soup and simmered to nothing!”
What on earth was happening? Eunja looked appalled.
Even after working together for decades, Eunja had never seen Manager Mun so enraged, dragging out every curse imaginable. It seemed her seventy-plus years of life hadn’t been spent in vain; the insults she hurled were rich, savory, and unlike anything Eunja had ever heard.
A significant amount of alcohol had been consumed. Unlike Seongheon, who still sat with his back perfectly straight, Cha Yunseok’s body leaned heavily toward the table.
Cha Yunseok had never conducted proper business, nor did he have much of a history of drinking in well-lit places. A man like him, an expert at playing lewdly and decadently with people of the underworld, couldn’t possibly shed habits that were so deeply ingrained.
As time passed, the difference in the two men’s attitudes became stark. His swaggering speech and demeanor were revealed in their rawest form.
“Vice President Cha Yunseok!”
“Yes, Big Brother.”
Though Seongheon had never given permission, at some point, Cha Yunseok had started calling him ‘Big Brother.’
“What do you think of Ji Yeonwoo-ssi?”
“Huh?” Cha Yunseok lifted his heavy eyelids. When Seongheon mentioned Yeonwoo’s name first, he laughed loudly as if delighted.
“Yeonwoo? Yeonwoo’s pretty. She’s pretty, isn’t she? Her looks are just… you know? That face of hers just picks a man up and throws him back down.”
He rambled on, his words somewhat removed from the question. Seongheon slowly closed and opened his eyes. Blue veins pulsed visibly on the back of the hand gripping his glass, but Cha Yunseok was in no state to notice.
“…….”
“Actually, you know, she’s a bit scared of me. Women are like that, aren’t they? They’re bound to bow down to a man with power and authority. You know how it is, Brother.”
“I like the look on her face when she’s terrified. The way she fusses and doesn’t know what to do. The way she finds me difficult. It makes me feel like I’ve become her entire world.”
He seemed to believe it was acceptable to speak carelessly about a woman. He thought, What’s the harm in saying such things between men? Having only associated with people of that ilk, he didn’t feel the slightest bit of danger in his words.
Having listened calmly, Seongheon picked up the bottle.
“Ji Yeonwoo-ssi has a habit of casting herself as the underdog.”
“Ah, right, exactly. You know her well, Brother. As expected of a man who knows women.”
“The moment someone casts themselves as the underdog, the other party automatically becomes the one in power.”
Suddenly, the flow of the conversation shifted.
Seongheon continued as he filled his glass.
“If there is a self-appointed underdog, an authority figure is bound to be born. A human who becomes the one in power through such a route inevitably struggles to make their own nature, utility, and the essence of their grade known!”
Huh? Power tripping? Cha Yunseok blinked his drooping eyes. He didn’t quite understand why the talk had shifted from Ji Yeonwoo to power trips.
“Pardon?”
“…….”
“That is exactly what a power trip is.”
Seongheon drained his glass in one go. Then, he set it down with a sharp clack.
“That thing you call a power trip—the one thing you believe you’re best at?”
His face was completely devoid of understanding. Cha Yunseok’s expression said as much.
Seongheon continued in a composed voice.
“It’s quite a relief, really. I realized it won’t take much effort to crush your life, Cha Yunseok-ssi. Since the life you’ve lived is so pathetic.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Brother.”
“Fine. Then I’ll put it simply.”
Seongheon wiped his mouth with a napkin and tossed it aside. Then, he laced his fingers together and leaned closer to the table.
“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say, Cha Yunseok-ssi.”
“What on earth…”
For the first time, he flashed a faint smile toward Cha Yunseok. It was a smile of mockery and contempt.
“From this moment on, I intend to infringe upon your character and your rights. Deeply, and relentlessly.”
“Until you’re trembling with loathing.”
The curtain had risen.
