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Chapter 5
Mutual Needs
“Let’s eat!”
“Let’s eat.”
Barely a few minutes after ordering, a large earthenware pot of sundae-gukbap (blood sausage soup with rice) was served.
The way Bora casually added a generous spoonful of perilla powder and cheongyang chili peppers into the boiling broth looked quite familiar.
Before the steam even had time to fully dissipate, Bora quickly took a spoonful of soup. Watching her, Kang Yoon also picked up his spoon and spoke.
“Looks like this really is your regular place.”
“I’ve been coming here with my dad since I was young. The owner’s grandmother ran this place for almost 40 years, but she only handed it over to her daughter-in-law last year. The daughter-in-law finally inherited the secret of the taste.”
“I see.”
Bora glanced at Kang Yoon, who, unlike her expectations, didn’t seem the least bit uncomfortable as he put his spoon into the earthenware pot.
“But… still, places like this must feel a bit uncomfortable for you, right?”
“Not really.”
At his words, Bora’s eyes widened as she watched Kang Yoon casually toss a large handful of spicy chive salad into the pot.
“You’ve had sundae-guk before?”
“You probably misunderstood because I came in wearing a neat suit, but I’m the CEO of Kangsan Construction. My job is going to construction sites and checking everything myself, down in the dust.”
“Wow, I thought CEOs would mostly do paperwork rather than go on-site.”
“That may be true for other industries, but not construction. I’ve inspected sites, and if I count all the bowls of soup I’ve eaten while drinking soju with contractors, it must be in the thousands by now.”
“Really? That’s interesting.”
Bora thought Kang Yoon was quite different from what she had expected and blew on the hot soup before bringing it to her mouth.
“Mmm. It’s good. Right?”
“It is. The broth is clean but rich.”
The two focused on eating in silence.
At that moment, the owner who had recognized Bora came out from the kitchen and quietly placed a serving of sundae on the table.
“Wow, you brought a man today?”
“Oh, auntie! Is this service?”
“If a pretty girl brings such a handsome guy, of course I should give a little extra.”
“Oh, thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Is he your boyfriend?”
“No, no. Not a boyfriend… not yet… I mean, not a boyfriend, but there’s potential for development in the future, or maybe not…?”
At Bora’s rambling, the owner laughed and turned to look at Kang Yoon.
“Alright, not a boyfriend yet, but still a handsome young man. Bora has loved our sundae since she was little. Come often. I’ll give you lots of sundae.”
“Ah, yes.”
Kang Yoon nodded unconsciously while eating his spoonful of soup at the owner’s friendly words.
Bora scraped the last drop of soup clean and proudly tapped the spotless earthenware bowl.
Then she poured water into two cups from a plastic bottle labeled like a soju advertisement and placed one in front of Kang Yoon and one in front of herself.
“Since you came all this way, I’ll treat you for the meal.”
After taking a sip of water, Bora stood up with a bright smile.
Kang Yoon watched from behind as she went to the counter and paid in cash.
“This woman is really something.”
He had never had a blind date or matchmaking meeting like this before.
Usually, meals were at hotel restaurants or high-end Japanese restaurants, and naturally, Kang Yoon always paid.
So Bora insisting on paying for a 20,000-won meal (two bowls of soup) felt both funny and a little cute to him.
“Since the weather’s nice, shall we have coffee while walking in the park?”
Bora showed off her clean white sneakers, saying she wore flat shoes on purpose because she expected to walk a lot under today’s good sunshine. Her face looked refreshingly pretty.
“Alright. I’ll buy the coffee.”
“Then I’ll have an iced Americano. There’s a small café nearby that uses good beans even though it’s cheap. And I need to stamp my coupon too.”
Smiling, Bora headed toward a small private café not far from the soup restaurant.
“Hello, owner! Two iced Americanos please. Please stamp my coupon too!”
Bora, grinning brightly, handed over a coupon already filled with eight stamps. Her eyes sparkled.
“You’ve already collected all ten stamps. Next time you come, you’ll get a free Americano.”
At the owner’s words, Bora looked pleased as she took the coupon back, then glanced at Kang Yoon’s large hand as he paid.
“By the way… I actually have another coupon that’s already fully stamped.”
She whispered as if sharing a secret, and Kang Yoon found her voice ticklishly amusing.
“Next time you suddenly crave sundae-guk again, come back. Then I’ll treat you to coffee.”
Bora’s bright smile, as if proudly showing off her two coupons, made Kang Yoon’s expression soften slightly as he looked at her.
“Alright.”
The two soon took their iced Americanos and headed to a nearby park.
“Hmm, I was thinking about something yesterday.”
Kang Yoon, matching his pace to Bora’s slower steps, glanced down at her.
“I wasn’t a top student or anything, but people always said I was pretty perceptive since I was young.”
What is she trying to say? Kang Yoon sipped his cold coffee through a straw and waited for her next words.
“I thought carefully about what you said yesterday. What kind of old man am I supposed to persuade? Why do I need to capture an elder’s heart?”
Their footsteps matched as they walked side by side through the park.
Kang Yoon thought her small white sneakers looked cute, much smaller than his own feet.
“As I said, I, and my family… we need financial help.”
“I looked into it roughly. The amount your family needs right now is about 3 billion won.”
At Kang Yoon’s emotionless mention of such a huge sum, Bora swallowed nervously.
“You calculated that precisely. Even 300 million would be manageable for me, but 3 billion is….”
Her eyes seemed to waver slightly as she shrugged.
“First, thank you for saying you’d be my investor yesterday.”
“…So?”
“Thank you? Isn’t that what people say when they’re rejecting something?”
Kang Yoon met her eyes, tense.
“What I mean is…”
Bora sipped the remaining coffee, cheeks slightly hollowed as she drank through the straw.
“About 3 billion won, I will pay it back. I’ll return it with interest.”
“…Ha.”
Kang Yoon let out a dry laugh, as if the tension had suddenly broken.
“She’s really good at this push and pull thing.”
“But no matter how much I think about it, I still don’t understand what you meant yesterday. Why did you specifically mention things like ‘illegitimate son,’ ‘second son,’ or ‘mistress’s child’? I thought about it all night.”
After walking for a while, a bench appeared.
Bora quickly sat down, and Kang Yoon slowly sat beside her.
“I don’t know much about the business world, but Kangsan Group is so famous that it’s honestly overwhelming. I never thought someone like me would even get a meeting like this. Like you said, I’m not some prestigious family’s daughter.”
“If that offended you, I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not that. I also think the same.”
She trailed off, rubbing the condensation on her empty plastic cup with her thumb.
“And as I said yesterday, I met Han Kang-moon first… but…”
In her personal opinion, even if she didn’t know much about conglomerates, Han Kang-moon didn’t seem as suitable as Kang Yoon for the position of Kangsan Group’s heir.
“And somehow… I felt like you think the same way too. If the ‘old man’ I’m supposed to persuade is needed for your ambition, I’ll do my best. No matter what.”
“…So you’ll be my queen?”
“If that’s what you want, gladly.”
Bora smiled as she understood immediately.
“The queen on a chessboard that protects the king until the end. I’ll do whatever it takes so that no other piece can touch you and you can remain the king. So that 3 billion won won’t be wasted.”
No matter how impressive the effort, there was no way 3 billion won wouldn’t feel like a huge amount.
Still, Kang Yoon felt certain that among all the women he had ever met, none could read his intentions as well or be as resolute as Bora.
In families like his, romantic marriages were rare.
Most were arranged marriages made for mutual benefit and profit between families.
Jin Hyun-sook had chosen Bora to divert Han Kang-moon’s attention away from Kang Yoon and attach a weak in-law family to him, but for Kang Yoon, this might actually be an opportunity.
He looked quietly at Bora’s slightly tense face, waiting for his answer.
“Alright. I’ll expect you to charge high interest. Then this won’t be a loss for either of us.”
At his words, Bora’s soft cheek dimples appeared as she smiled.
Sunlight sparkled and shattered brilliantly between their gazes.
