Chapter 38
A Villain’s
Pure Love
I’ll Come to You with Everything I Have
“So. You’re saying I should watch out for Vice President Cha Yunseok, is that it?”
When Seongheon asked for clarification, Yeonwoo nodded vigorously.
“Yes. The people he hangs out with are beyond reason; you can’t talk sense into them. He’s good at intimidating people, too.”
“I see.”
“They’re people who actually make a living doing bad things, so it’s hard to keep up with them in that regard. They have criminal records, lots of tattoos….”
“Aha.”
As Seongheon listened with light interjections, Yeonwoo gazed at him blankly. She was worried to death that Cha Yunseok might harm Seongheon using some despicable method, but his reaction was somehow indifferent.
Well, I suppose someone who hasn’t experienced it wouldn’t know. Just how terrifying a person Cha Yunseok is.
Yeonwoo lowered her gaze again, thinking it was better not to say anything more. Seongheon looked at her crestfallen face and smiled faintly. Her ever-changing expressions were quite cute.
“Criminal records, tattoos—they are scary, especially if they’re people who don’t listen to reason.”
When he spoke as if in agreement, Yeonwoo snapped her head up. Then she nodded even more emphatically than before.
“…Yes, that’s right. The people around Cha Yunseok will do anything for money.”
“You must have been very scared all this time. Ji Yeonwoo-ssi.”
The conversation took a slightly different turn.
Yeonwoo closed her eyes for a long moment at Seongheon’s words before opening them again.
“How scared you must have been. Unable to speak out, unable to get help.”
The faint scent of alcohol on him felt sweet. Yeonwoo kept her lips pressed shut and took his words to heart.
The suggestion that it must have been hard, that she must have been afraid, seemed to set her chest ablaze. Barely swallowing her dry saliva, Yeonwoo spoke in a small voice.
“I’m okay now. It’s all in the past.”
The words he left behind resonated softly in her heart, making it hard to answer. She had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to forget this for a long time.
“I want to overcome it well and live as if nothing happened. I’m trying.”
……….I know. I am aware.
That you won’t be able to forget completely.
That a wound carved into the very marrow of your bones won’t be perfectly erased.
“Because I feel like I’m not alone anymore…..…. I’m gathering courage. Slowly, bit by bit.”
Though it will come to mind from time to time, leaving a breath filled with anxiety.
Though it will be lamentable because of that, and some days will be gloomy because of that.
I have no choice but to make the ‘me’ of that time, the ‘wound’ of that time, like a blunt knife.
So that it cannot hurt me.
“It’s all thanks to the people here. And more than anyone, I’m grateful to you, Vice President.”
She begins to grind down the memories that are as sharp and keen as a well-honed blade. She decides to start the task of looking after herself, however late it may be.
Yeonwoo conveyed her heart with a somewhat tense face, as if delivering a prepared speech. She didn’t think her deep and earnest gratitude could be conveyed in just a few words, but she wanted to say it regardless.
Watching Yeonwoo deliver her thanks with her fists tightly clenched to keep from crying, Seongheon gave a short nod of acceptance. Her determination, spoken with every ounce of strength in her body, word by word, was incredibly brave.
Seongheon raised an eyebrow.
“Right. I hope for a good result.”
It was an absurdly short reply compared to her lengthy speech, but it was hard for him to say more. Since listening to others’ stories was outside his area of expertise, this level of empathy was practically a miracle.
“And I will take your words to heart—to be careful day and night. Thank you for the advice.”
“Yes. Definitely. Please be very careful.”
“I will. Definitely.”
The words ’I think you should be worried about Cha Yunseok rather than me’ pushed up to his throat, but he held them back.
It seemed this ‘silver spoon’ who grew up like a greenhouse flower—who surely wouldn’t even know how to swear—was mountains of worried that he might run into trouble on a dark road at night.
Being worried about by someone else was strange and awkward, but what could he do? It was only right to protect her innocence.
Confirmed: greenhouse flower silver spoon. Seongheon decided to let Yeonwoo keep her worries.
…..The conversation dies down.
In the silence that followed their exchange, Yeonwoo had a hesitant look on her face. Feeling Seongheon looking down at her, she pointedly avoided his gaze before taking a step back, realizing she had kept the intoxicated Seongheon standing for too long.
“I’m sorry. I think I stayed too long without thinking.”
Yeonwoo bowed her head before she even finished speaking.
“You must be tired, so please go in and get some rest…….”
“We still have some things left to talk about, don’t we?”
Like the fact that I think I like you, Ji Yeonwoo-ssi.
“And I think there are words I need to hear from you, too.”
Should I try a one-sided crush, or should we try dating?
Yeonwoo, who had paused while bowing, blinked while looking only at the ground. Then she slowly straightened her back and stood tall.
Her mind had been clouded by the matter with Cha Yunseok, causing her to miss the bigger issue.
As Yeonwoo’s face froze in shock, Seongheon tilted his head slightly and looked at her.
“I know you’re overwhelmed with various things, and I know adding my business on top of that is quite a headache. So I tried to wait.”
“…….”
“But I’m getting a bit impatient.”
Ah…..…. Yeonwoo’s lips parted slightly.
At Seongheon’s words about being impatient, her gaze reflexively landed on his chest. It was hard to fully believe that the inside of such a broad and solid chest was burning up with impatience.
It had been a series of unbelievable events for days. Among them, Seongheon’s confession was the most unrealistic and incomprehensible.
As Yeonwoo just stood there with a loss for words, Seongheon rubbed his brow. He wanted to launch a head-on offensive, but because of that damned Cha Yunseok trauma, it wasn’t easy.
For fear she might think he was treating her recklessly. For fear she might put him on the same level as Cha Yunseok and say he made her skin crawl.
“I……… I’m sorry, Vice President.”
Finally, Yeonwoo opened her mouth. Her frozen mind couldn’t form words properly, so she stammered.
“I’ve been out of it lately, and I have a lot on my mind, so, uh….…… so I don’t know how I should say this.”
“……”
“Ah…… That…….. Yes, I’m sorry. Uh……… Actually, I was very surprised, and I don’t really know why you’re doing this……”
Seongheon, who had been slowly rubbing his brow, lowered his hand.
The reason I’m doing this—right, there’s no way you would know the reason for this attraction when even I don’t.
“The issue of me accepting is, after all……. uh….…. I don’t think it’s possible. Uh…..… That is, I’m still too overwhelmed to……”
“…….”
“The ‘dating’ you mentioned…… I think it would be difficult. I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”
Having barely squeezed out an answer like pulling teeth, Seongheon lowered his shoulders and relaxed his stance.
Yeonwoo struggled to replay the words she had just spat out. Had she spoken correctly in her overwhelmed state? Had she conveyed her meaning well?
How could I start such a relationship with the Vice President while working here? Even if that weren’t the case, I have no desire to date a man right now. I don’t think it would be a healthy relationship, so I think taking care of myself comes first.
She could have explained it calmly and cleanly. But because she was nervous, her words didn’t flow logically, and she ended up stammering through a messy rejection.
Yeonwoo squeezed her eyes shut and winced slightly. It was no use regretting words already spoken, but she couldn’t help the lingering sense of disappointment.
“Okay. Fine. I respect your opinion, Ji Yeonwoo-ssi.”
Truly, he was a big-hearted man with a disposition as wide as the sea. Yeonwoo let out a long breath at Seongheon’s calm response.
To have such a clean and simple conclusion. Yeonwoo was moved by his consideration, thinking that respecting the other person after a confession wasn’t something just anyone could do.
“I already knew dating would be difficult. And I knew well enough that I’d be flatly rejected.”
“Yes….. I’m sorry…..”
Yeonwoo rubbed her fingertips, feeling frustrated even at her own words. Seongheon, catching a glimpse of her hands, gave a faint smile.
He was the one who had acted on a whim, but seeing Yeonwoo flustered and apologizing made him feel sorry instead.
Seongheon straightened his upper body. Then he murmured low, as if he truly respected her heart.
“Ji Yeonwoo-ssi, just do your best to look after yourself as you are now. That’s enough.”
Seongheon took a step closer and stood before her. After looking at her, he opened his arms and embraced her.
“There’s no need to be sorry. If anything, I’m the one who should apologize.”
…..…Whenever she talked with this man, it felt like tears were boiling up for some reason, and she didn’t want to find out why.
Yeonwoo slowly closed her eyes. Her pulse was racing so wildly and fiercely that it felt like her head might burst.
Yeonwoo stood still without resisting. There was no trace of a man’s impure emotions lusting after her body; he just slowly patted her back somewhere, and it was so kind and warm that Yeonwoo could only bite her lip hard.
It was a much firmer and broader chest than she had felt just by looking. Enough that she could lean on it and close her eyes.
“Look after yourself well, overcome it well, and then tell me when you’re ready.”
“Because then, I’ll come to you with everything I have.”
Her world, which had been tossing violently enough to cause motion sickness, came to a quiet halt in an instant.
She thought this must be what a dream feels like.
Royal Palace River View Village, located in Hannam-dong, Seoul, was a high-end local villa complex. Completed by Seoyang Construction ten years ago, it was a top-tier luxury residence consisting of 13 units in a single building.
It boasted a perfect view of the Han River and excellent accessibility to the Gangbyeon Expressway. With resident-only services and living infrastructure that rivaled luxury hotels, it became a residence of choice for many celebrities.
In the penthouse with the most spectacular view lived Chairwoman Nam Yunyoung of Seolyang Group and her husband. She was Seongheon’s eldest aunt and, excluding the clan elders, the highest-ranking adult of the Nam family.
At six in the morning, the couple’s breakfast began. It was also the only time Chairwoman Nam Yunyoung, the head of Seolyang Group, and her husband Kim Woo-seop, the Vice Chairman, could actually talk.
Today’s breakfast menu was medicinal duck porridge to warm the stomach and water kimchi.
“I heard your brother’s company pushed a case over to the prosecution. Haven’t you heard anything about it?”
When her husband, Kim Woo-seop, asked, Yunyoung, who had been eating while watching the news, looked up. By ‘her brother’s company,’ he meant Seoyang Construction.
“I haven’t heard anything. What is it?”
“I don’t know. Apparently, they raided some tiny little SME. It was a construction subcontractor.”
After briefly looking up, Yunyoung moved her gaze back to the tablet screen. Why bring that up this morning as if it’s a big deal?
- 5 -
“There must have been an issue. You expect them to report every single subcontracting issue to me? They’re not children; I’m sure they handled it properly.”
When Yunyoung replied dismissively, Kim Woo-seop gave a mocking laugh. His voice, as indifferent as their dry conversation, showed they weren’t exactly a close couple.
“Always with the ‘handled it properly.’ Don’t wait until it hits the news and say you didn’t know; look into it.”
“Forget it. Are you telling me to call my brother and ask about every little thing over something like that?”
“It didn’t seem like your brother did it; it looked like Seongheon ordered it.”
At the mention that her nephew Seongheon, not her brother, had ordered it, Yunyoung looked up again. Her husband let out a huff and scooped up some porridge, as if his wife’s delayed reaction was pathetic.
Yunyoung gave a small dry cough. Then she focused on her meal again without saying much.
“Keep a close eye on Seongheon. He’s different from your soft-hearted brother.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He’s a tiger cub. How long do you think he’ll stay at Seoyang Construction like that? Be careful.”
When Kim Woo-seop, who perceived everyone in the world as a competitor or an enemy, gave his warning, Yunyoung glared at him unpleasantly.
“Stay out of it. I’ll handle it.”
“As if. You’ve raised him for so long and you still don’t know? He’s going to take our spots one day. I can see it clearly. Don’t regret it later and keep a good eye on him.”
Kim Woo-seop, having quickly emptied his porridge bowl, stood up first. Offended by his wife’s attitude of looking down at her tablet as if uninterested, Kim Woo-seop sneered.
“He should have died with them back then. He’s an eyesore, honestly.”
Yunyoung’s eyes shot up urgently. Watching his wife glance around to see if any of the live-in staff were nearby, Kim Woo-seop clicked his tongue and hurried off to work.
It was the morning the search and seizure of Namsong Industrial Development began.
