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Chapter 12
Yoo-eul hurriedly answered the phone.
“Hello?”
—Is this Ms. Han Yoo-eul? This is the Culture Center. We’re calling about your application for the Newborn Care Class!
Yoo-eul remembered how she had tried to apply for the Newborn Care Class on the Culture Center website near her home yesterday.
But it had already closed, so she had left an inquiry asking how to join the waitlist and when the next class would open.
“Oh! Yes, yes!”
—One person just canceled, so a spot opened up. Would you like to enroll?
“Yes! Please put me in right away!”
—Okay. I’ll send the instructions again by text message. Please check it~
“Thank you!”
Yoo-eul ended the call with a delighted voice.
“What call made you so happy?”
Ji-eun, nibbling on gimbap, asked curiously, and Yoo-eul answered.
“Oh. I applied for the Newborn Care Class at the Culture Center.”
Cough!
Startled, Ji-eun choked and began coughing.
Yoo-eul quickly handed her the iced coffee in front of her and pulled out a tissue for her.
“Keck—! Ahem! Hey, why are you taking a newborn class…?! Is it because of your niece?”
When Yoo-eul nodded, Ji-eun shook her head as if she couldn’t deal with her.
“There’s still no guarantee you’ll end up taking her in… But I figured I should prepare myself in case I do. I’ve never raised a baby before.”
Ji-eun stared at Yoo-eul in surprise, then seemed to understand her feelings and smiled.
“You’re right. Makes sense. If you bring your niece home and you’re too clumsy, it’ll be tough on both the baby and you. Yeah! Good thinking!”
She encouraged Yoo-eul with a cheerful voice.
“How many seats were left?”
“It was originally full, but one spot opened up, so I immediately told them to register me.”
“Really? Too bad…”
“Why?”
“I could become an aunt too, you know~ Would’ve been nice to take the class together.”
Yoo-eul smiled faintly.
Even the words alone warmed her heart.
“By the way, how’s things going with Executive Director Seo Ji-hyeok? Did you get anything useful?”
Yoo-eul shook her head weakly.
“No… not yet. But, Ji-eun.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s say I got proof of him saying something immoral about a baby. Even if I threatened to expose it… he wouldn’t just sit still, right?”
“Come on~ He’s not some ordinary guy. He’s part of the Sehan Group! If something like that gets out, the damage to the group’s image would be huge.”
“You think so?”
“Of course!”
Yoo-eul let out a bitter smile, then clenched her fists tightly.
“Right! Justice will prevail!”
She aggressively chewed and swallowed her gimbap.
If only, like last time, he would say something again like “The baby is my cash cow.”
Her eyes dropped to her phone as she debated whether to call Executive Director Seo Ji-hyeok or not.
Arriving at the company, Ji-hyeok headed to the chairman’s office on the top floor.
As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, the chairman’s secretaries waiting in the hall greeted him.
“Good morning, Director.”
“Good morning, sir.”
Ji-hyeok only nodded briefly and walked quickly toward the chairman’s office.
At the door, Chief Park Young-jun, who had been waiting, put his hands together politely and smiled faintly.
“You’ve arrived, Director.”
“Yes. The chairman is inside, right?”
He nodded and immediately opened the door for him.
Without stopping even once, Ji-hyeok walked inside like a commander marching through a battlefield.
The chairman—the Emperor—was sitting at the head of the sofa set, elegantly drinking tea. When Ji-hyeok entered, he set his teacup down.
“You’re here.”
Ji-hyeok sat directly across from him.
Before he could say anything, the chairman slid a document envelope across the table toward him.
Raising one eyebrow, Ji-hyeok stared at it, then slowly reached for it.
“What is this?”
“Just open it.”
He tensed a little, wondering what bizarre proposal the chairman had come up with this time.
Masking his apprehension, he opened the envelope. Inside were several photos of beautiful women in their early 20s or 30s.
“…What is this.”
“What do you mean what. Didn’t you say you needed a woman to help raise Doha?”
Ji-hyeok was speechless.
He had never said he needed a woman to help raise the child. That had been the chairman’s interpretation.
As he sat there in bewildered silence, the chairman continued casually.
“They’re all similar in terms of conditions. And every single one is from a family that would benefit you—and the company.”
Ji-hyeok ran a hand down his face.
“Who said I was worried about that? I’m barely getting one or two hours of sleep a day—I’m about to die here—and you want me to go on arranged dates? That’s basically a death sentence.”
“You brat. When I was young, I survived for months sleeping one hour every 36 hours. Stop whining and pick a girl you like.”
“…”
“You should at least like her, so you can get along and raise the baby well together.”
Without even looking properly at the photos, Ji-hyeok tossed them onto the table.
“They’re all not my type.”
“You little—!”
The chairman exploded.
“The secretaries said they look like celebrities! Who do you think you are! Know your limits!”
“What limits? Don’t you remember? CEO Park of Enter Entertainment said my looks come around once in a thousand years and tried to debut me as an idol.”
The chairman froze.
It was true, so he couldn’t deny it.
“You shouldn’t have made me look exactly like you, then.”
Flattered, the chairman cleared his throat and leaned back, withdrawing the threatening posture he’d taken earlier.
Seeing that the mood had softened, Ji-hyeok lowered his tone.
“Let’s put the dates on hold for now. I’m not saying I’ll never do it. But stabilizing my life with Doha is more important at the moment.”
The chairman didn’t respond, only humming low.
Taking the chance, Ji-hyeok spoke again.
“Just give me one more month.”
The chairman looked up.
“You mean delay the blind dates for a month?”
“No. I mean Ms. Shim.”
“What?”
“Please let Ms. Shim stay at my place 24 hours a day for one more month. I’m still not skilled enough to care for Doha alone.”
“And after a month? She’ll switch to commuting, and it’ll be just as tough.”
“It’ll be different. Right now, I know nothing about childcare, so it’s harder on both Doha and me. On top of that, it’s an extremely hectic period at work.”
The chairman didn’t refuse immediately.
Ji-hyeok pressed on.
“Please reconsider. Doha would also want me to be more competent at taking care of him.”
“How about cutting down your workload?”
“No. With the year-end performance announcement coming up, you know I can’t take time off. Do you want the chairman’s only remaining son to be mocked for having no ability and no results?”
“So taking care of Doha is that hard?”
He wanted to say Try it yourself, but something stopped him.
His father had raised both him—an infant at the time—and his eight-year-older brother alone.
Thinking about that, he suddenly understood why his father insisted he care for his nephew.
He did it, so he thinks I can do it too.
But the chairman was neglecting one thing.
His brother and he were his father’s biological sons. Doha was not his own child.
And his brother and he weren’t even full siblings—they were half-brothers. So expecting him to give Doha the same affection was unrealistic.
But if he said that, his father would kick him out and tear up the contract, so he kept his mouth shut.
Then—
“All right. I’ll let Ms. Shim stay full-time for one month. After that, even if you whine, it’s no use.”
It was exactly what Ji-hyeok wanted to hear.
He was inwardly celebrating when—
His phone vibrated.
It was Ms. Shim.
Perfect timing, he thought as he answered quickly.
“Yes, ma’am?”
—Director… something terrible happened. I…
“What’s wrong?”
—I think I seriously strained my back. I should probably go to the hospital… What should we do…
