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Chapter 6
Instead of answering, Beomjin merely looked at him with an ambiguous expression.
Seeing his grandson’s gaze, Dokgo Hyungjun let out a short sigh.
“Good grief. Forget it. Don’t say another word! If I hear your answer, my blood pressure’s going to shoot up and I’ll collapse on the spot.”
“If you say so.”
“You little…!”
At Beomjin’s infuriatingly calm reply, Dokgo Hyungjun squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.
“Honestly. If only you’d pour that stubbornness into company work.”
Beomjin had accepted the positions of Executive Director and Head of the Chairman’s Direct Office on one condition:
That they leave the girl he cared about alone.
It was utterly absurd.
Other people would do anything to obtain those positions, yet this grandson of his would only reluctantly accept them after his grandfather practically begged him to.
And all because of a girl.
Still, deep down, Dokgo Hyungjun considered it fortunate.
Perhaps because he resembled his late father so closely, Beomjin rarely showed emotion.
Nothing interested him.
There was nothing he wanted, nothing he desired to do.
But the things he disliked were crystal clear.
People trespassing into his territory.
Physical contact without permission.
Having his time wasted by meaningless conversation.
He didn’t merely dislike those things—he loathed them.
Enough to crack that perpetually expressionless face.
Yet after meeting one particular girl, Beomjin had changed.
“I’ll attend a school in the Operations District. Keep my connection to Kangho Group hidden, and I’ll quietly finish my studies.”
“What? Do you even hear yourself?”
“Would you prefer I keep causing incidents like I did in America? Even I don’t know how far the group’s image would fall.”
“Dokgo Beomjin!”
“I’ll stay out of trouble and live quietly. Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if I simply graduated from an ordinary school instead of wasting energy monitoring me while I keep running away?”
His tone had been so dry and matter-of-fact that it sounded like he was presenting a business proposal.
Then—
“After I graduate from university, I’ll join the company and do whatever work you assign me.”
“Are you serious?”
“On one condition. Don’t touch Ahn Sui. Ever.”
Ahn Sui.
Dokgo Hyungjun could never forget the expression on Beomjin’s face when he spoke that name.
His eyes, usually as dark and lifeless as a bottomless abyss, flashed for an instant.
The light in them had been deep.
Dark.
Dangerous.
The emotions contained within that gaze had been so fierce and savage that Hyungjun couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
But one thing had become obvious.
No one could overturn Beomjin’s decision.
In the end, Beomjin got what he wanted.
Concealing his true identity, he enrolled in what their family considered an ordinary private high school.
At first, they thought he wouldn’t last long.
He had been born at the very top of society, surrounded by luxury and comfort, never once having to do unpleasant work.
Surely he would find it unbearable.
But they had worried for nothing.
Beomjin adapted far better than expected.
Though it was the nicest house in the neighborhood, it was tiny compared to the family estate, yet he lived there without complaint.
He treated his fake father, Dokgo Jinseok, with impeccable courtesy and respect.
He studied well.
He excelled at sports.
Aside from his unusually striking appearance, he looked every bit like a normal high school student.
But what shocked the family most was something else entirely.
No matter what the girl named Ahn Sui did, Beomjin simply endured it.
Even when she marched right into his personal space without permission.
Even when she smacked his arm or ruffled his hair.
Even when she wasted his time asking pointless questions like what flavor of ice cream he preferred.
Beomjin remained docile.
Like a tamed beast.
The bodyguards reporting these events and the Kangho Group family members receiving the reports all wore the same expression of disbelief.
Who would have thought Beomjin was capable of looking at someone with such gentle eyes?
And yet…
“I was about to bring my report to you. Why did you come all the way here yourself? It must be tiring at your age.”
As he looked at his grandfather, there wasn’t a shred of warmth in Beomjin’s indifferent eyes.
Maybe the bodyguard really did submit doctored photos back then.
Dokgo Hyungjun found himself seriously entertaining that possibility.
Beomjin’s behavior was completely different depending on whether Sui was present or absent.
“Listen to that mouth of yours. Your grandfather’s still perfectly healthy. Keeping one brat like you in line is nothing.”
“That’s good. You’ll need to stay healthy long enough to see your great-grandchildren.”
The moment he heard the word great-grandchildren, Hyungjun’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“G-Great-grandchildren? Don’t tell me, Beomjin, you…!”
He had vaguely expected this day might come someday.
After all, this was the same grandson who had practically abandoned home for over ten years because of a woman.
“So after following her around all this time, you’ve finally done it! When’s the baby due? And the wedding—when is it—”
“It’s planned.”
“…What?”
“The wedding. The child.”
Not yet.
As he murmured the final words, Beomjin’s gaze darkened.
He had succeeded in becoming the person closest to Sui.
Yet he still hadn’t crossed the final line.
“Be my friend forever. That’s my wish.”
Wearing her school uniform, Ahn Sui had smiled brightly at him.
She wanted them to remain friends forever.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
“You’ll promise me, right, Dokgo? Here.”
With a dazzling smile, she held out her pinky finger.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
And unbearably cruel.
When he finally hooked his finger around hers, Sui smiled as though she were truly happy.
She said she trusted him.
That he was the only person she could trust.
That now she could finally relax and be a proper friend.
It had been the most despairing moment of Beomjin’s life.
And that foolish girl was still suffering from the wounds left by her parents.
Despite staying by her side all these years, he had never managed to erase those scars.
To Beomjin, that was humiliating.
Just then—
Bzzzt.
His phone vibrated.
Checking the screen, Beomjin rose from his seat.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“What? You’re seriously going to leave after dropping a bombshell like that?”
“I’ll send Chief Jung to you. I’m leaving work now.”
“You brat! Don’t tell me that girl called and you’re running off like a loyal dog again!”
Why state the obvious?
Clutching his forehead, Dokgo Hyungjun groaned.
But, as usual, Beomjin’s attention wasn’t on his grandfather.
It was focused elsewhere.
[I’m at Aunt Hansang’s place right now. Let’s eat dinner out together today. I’ll start drinking first.]
***
Sui sat in a corner booth, holding a green bottle.
She poured the clear liquid into her glass.
Glug, glug, glug.
The sound made her chuckle, and her upper body swayed slightly.
“That sound is cute. Which means I should drink it.”
Muttering to herself, she emptied the glass in one gulp.
She had already lost count of how many drinks she’d had.
But today, she couldn’t bear not to drink.
She had a feeling the moment she’d always feared was finally approaching.
Next time, it might be Dad.
She had thought she was prepared.
But when Team Leader Oh called her earlier that afternoon, Sui realized the truth.
She wasn’t prepared at all.
“Ha…”
She released a long breath tinged with alcohol.
If she really ended up facing an unidentified corpse bearing the heart-shaped birthmark on its shoulder…
She wasn’t sure she’d be able to endure it.
“As you live, time passes surprisingly fast. We only grow weaker. It’s better to find a good person and rely on each other as soon as possible.”
Team Leader Oh’s words echoed in her head.
And naturally, one face came to mind.
Sui immediately took another drink.
“No… Dokgo Beomjin won’t work.”
Because they’d promised to be friends forever.
Because that way, they would never have to part.
Because a deep, enduring friendship would last longer than a fragile romantic relationship.
Because they could stay by each other’s side forever.
“Yeah… that’s how it should be.”
She muttered to herself and reached to refill her empty glass.
Then—
Tap.
Someone grabbed her wrist.
Sui looked up through half-lidded eyes.
“Oh? My friend’s here.”
The large hand wrapped around her slender wrist tightened.
“Sorry. I started drinking before you got here. For some reason today… I just felt like it…”
Seeing the two empty bottles on the table, Beomjin sat down beside her without releasing her wrist.
“What happened?”
“Mmm… something did happen.”
Nodding her small head, Sui smiled lazily.
Then she said:
“I agreed to go on a blind date.”
