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Chapter 25
As silence settled over the car, Ji-hyuk realized he had spoken in a way that could be misunderstood.
“What I meant is that you and I are strangers. Legally and in reality.”
Even after adding the explanation, Yu-eul showed little reaction.
Did she think I was making a pass at her?
The light turned red, and Ji-hyuk turned around.
Yu-eul was unbuckling her seat belt.
As if she were about to grab the baby and run the moment they stopped in front of the house.
It made him laugh.
So it’s not because she thought I was flirting—she found out my brother and I are half-brothers and thinks she needs to run away with the baby?
Do I really seem that untrustworthy?
“Freeze.”
Yu-eul flinched and stiffened.
Judging by her reaction, his guess seemed right.
“He’s still my biological nephew. My brother and I weren’t the kind of half-brothers who were dying to kill each other.”
Some of the wariness faded from Yu-eul’s face.
“…Then were you two close…?”
“Who knows. Not as devoted as you and my sister-in-law. Let’s just say we were fine.”
“Then may I ask just one question…?”
“Go ahead.”
“My aunt’s family is different from me. You could say they’re demons wearing human skin. They might try to use a child to extort money.”
Since he’d already heard the same thing from Secretary Choi, Ji-hyuk listened without suspicion.
“If they come looking for us… and ask for my sister’s child—Do-ha—what would you do?”
“What would I do? I’d never give him up.”
“What if they use every means possible? Threaten to go to the media, stage protests at the company?”
“What then? I’d wipe them out without leaving a trace. Anyone who touches Do-ha won’t be spared. Even more so if it’s to exploit him for something dirty.”
“…But aren’t you ultimately trying to use Do-ha too? You said he’s a source of money…”
“Hah.”
Once again, Ji-hyuk regretted using that word.
Still, it was a good chance to correct her.
“It’s true that I need Do-ha to fully secure my position within the group. He inherited my brother’s shares. When he becomes an adult, I plan to have him transfer all of that to me.”
“….”
“I have to become chairman to properly guide Do-ha.”
Silence fell.
“You might think I sound calculating.”
“No. Thank you for being honest. Considering your position, it makes sense. And if you think about it… how big is the age gap between you and Do-ha anyway?”
“What?”
“When Do-ha becomes an adult, won’t you still be under fifty?”
He was left speechless.
“By then, it’ll be right for you to be at the top of Sehan. But please promise me just one thing.”
“…….”
“After you become chairman, when Do-ha is old enough to enter the succession race, you’ll support him more than anyone else.”
“That goes without saying.”
The seriousness in his voice came out without a moment’s thought, and Yu-eul smiled.
It was only for a brief moment, but her clear voice almost made Ji-hyuk smile too.
Han Yu-eul definitely had a knack for tickling people’s hearts and making them smile.
How many times had he smiled because of her since dawn?
He remembered his father once worrying in all seriousness that Ji-hyuk hardly ever smiled.
“They say there are laughter clinics these days. Want me to set you up one-on-one with an instructor?”
Letting her encroach just a little into his territory had brought about this much change.
If his father knew how many times he’d smirked today, he’d probably faint.
“But.”
Just then, Yu-eul tightened her throat slightly and continued the conversation she’d seemed to end.
“Actually, I know how Sehan grew. So my distrust hasn’t completely disappeared.”
Of course.
Since it had grown from a security contracting company, its reputation was still bad.
Han Yu-eul seemed to think the same.
“I mean I’ll be watching.”
Yet her words didn’t offend him.
“Whether you committed illegal acts or not… as long as you raise our Do-ha with love… I’m fine with everything.”
From what she added afterward, he understood why.
Yu-eul didn’t hold prejudices like those who attacked her and her father.
To her, someone was good if they raised Do-ha well.
And bad if they didn’t.
Simple. Clean. He liked it.
At least, if he cherished Do-ha, he’d be a good person in Han Yu-eul’s eyes.
No—what am I even thinking?
What do I gain from being a good person to Han Yu-eul?
The thoughts that kept popping up left him flustered.
He didn’t know why he was like this.
Several days passed after Do-ha fell ill.
Finding a temporary babysitter to replace Madam Shim took quite a while, delaying Ji-hyuk’s return to work.
As a result, the moment he got back to the office, he was swamped dealing with the backlog of work.
He’d even had to come in over the weekend, so he’d turned down Yu-eul when she said she’d come by the house.
Every time he remembered her dejected voice, it took real effort to focus on work.
Determined to show Do-ha to Yu-eul this week, Ji-hyuk worked harder than ever to wrap up urgent tasks by Friday.
“Director.”
As soon as he stepped out after a meeting, Secretary Choi, who had been waiting, called out to him urgently.
“Yeah?”
“Someone came asking to see you, Director…”
Ji-hyuk stopped short.
Then he turned to look straight at Secretary Choi.
“Who?”
For a moment, he wondered if it was Han Yu-eul.
Not because he wanted to see her—absolutely not.
It was just that he remembered how she’d once shown up at the company demanding to see Sehan Group’s chairman.
“Um…”
Covering his mouth with his hand, Secretary Choi spoke quietly.
“Ms. Han Yeon-sook… Han Soo-young’s aunt—legally, her mother.”
“What?”
Ji-hyuk’s face twisted ominously.
Seeing his dangerous gaze, Secretary Choi flinched and hurriedly explained.
“She was causing a scene in the lobby… I was worried it might reach the chairman’s ears, so I quickly escorted her to your office…”
Suppressing his anger, Ji-hyuk gave Secretary Choi’s shoulder a brief pat.
Indeed, if his father found out that Soo-young’s aunt had come to the company and made a scene, things would blow up.
After praising Secretary Choi’s judgment, he strode off.
He reached his office far faster than usual.
Throwing open the door, he found a middle-aged woman sitting in the seat of honor, leisurely drinking tea.
Startled, she dropped the cup.
It fell straight onto the glass table in front of her.
A clear crack formed across the surface.
Flustered, the woman stood up, not knowing what to do.
Unlike her, Ji-hyuk walked to the sofa with an utterly emotionless face.
Then he sat down in the seat she’d been occupying moments before.
The woman, suddenly robbed of her place, flushed red, glanced around, and finally sat on the guest sofa.
“When you covet someone else’s seat, things tend to crack like that.”
As Ji-hyuk spoke while looking at the cracked table, Yeon-sook’s peach-colored face turned red like a ruby apple.
“Well! You’re awfully rude for a young man meeting someone for the first time.”
At her unexpected remark, Ji-hyuk burst out laughing.
Then he quickly wiped the smile away and looked at her coldly.
Dressed in a black one-piece, wrapped in a luxury scarf, her hair neatly pulled up—she disgusted him.
With such straitened circumstances yet so fond of dressing herself up, he could easily imagine how badly she must have treated Soo-young.
And knowing exactly why she’d come looking for him made him feel even more repulsed.
“I’m Han Yeon-sook.”
A bitter smile tugged at Ji-hyuk’s lips.
Her confidence that simply saying her name would make him recognize her was laughable.
“You know who I am, right? Soo-young’s mother. We still have accounts to settle, don’t we?”
Accounts.
She must be talking about Do-ha.
How should I deal with this?
“You need to return my grandchild. If you don’t, I won’t stay quiet.”
“Hm.”
Ji-hyuk lowered his gaze slightly, looking at the cracked table.
