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Chapter: 11
A Family Conflict
Kang Yoon looked down at Bora’s large, bright, and clear eyes and felt a strange sense of calm.
It was the first time in his life he had ever heard such words.
Telling him to take what he wanted.
Telling him that whatever it was, she would help him have what he desired.
For a moment, Kang Yoon’s eyes turned red as he felt a surge of emotion. Bora panicked and quickly pulled the mask hanging from his wrist and handed it to him.
“Ah, pollen! Pollen! Put your mask on quickly!”
It wasn’t because of pollen, but Kang Yoon, relieved that she hadn’t noticed his weakness, put the mask over his ears.
“Shall we hold hands too? Everyone else is holding hands while walking.”
As she said that, Bora held out her small, white hand.
Kang Yoon stared at it for a moment, then slowly reached out with his large hand and took hers.
The two of them walked forward awkwardly, holding hands as if it were fragile and delicate.
Their hearts were pounding so hard, their whole bodies felt strangely itchy, and neither of them had the courage to look at the other’s face.
Kang Yoon thought this cherry blossom path he was walking for the first time would remain in his memory for a very long time.
The sweet cherry blossom ice cream he had tasted for the first time, and the gentle woman who had told him she would help him get what he wanted.
As soon as Kang Yoon returned home and went up to the second floor, he dodged a whiskey glass flying straight at his face with quick reflexes.
“Starting off violently, I see.”
“Hey, come here.”
Kang Moon, sitting on the sofa with a deeply furrowed expression, slammed his canned beer onto the table and gestured toward Kang Yoon.
It seemed he had already vented his anger, as broken fragments of objects were scattered across the table.
Kang Yoon silently watched Kang Moon, who was curling his finger like he was calling a dog, then frowned and walked over.
“You, who hate flowers, suddenly got obsessed with a woman and went to a flower festival?”
“And who’s the one so obsessed with women that he’s stalking other people?”
“Hey, Han Kang Yoon. I don’t know if you know, but Yoon Bora is someone I saw first. I already marked her first.”
“When did you mark her? Stop talking nonsense.”
“Nonsense? Is that how you talk to your older brother?”
“I’m being serious. Don’t ever mess with Bora again. We’re getting married, so treat her properly as your sister-in-law.”
“Ha! Sister-in-law, my ass. That’s not happening.”
Kang Moon glared at Kang Yoon, his face red, staring down at him with contempt.
“Hey, Han Kang Yoon. Get a grip, huh?”
Unlike his usual easygoing and friendly demeanor, Kang Moon had a habit of digging in relentlessly when he wanted something.
Born with a silver spoon, whenever he couldn’t get what he wanted or was refused, his blood would boil.
“Yoon Bora is mine. She’s mine. Not yours, got it? You, Han Kang Yoon, can’t have her. Why? Because I, Kang Moon, already chose her.”
His face turned crimson as he shouted, spitting as he spoke.
Kang Yoon only silently looked at him.
That expression almost seemed to say, “You’ll never have Yoon Bora,” which made Kang Moon jump up from the sofa and step in front of him.
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
“What answer? I don’t respond to nonsense.”
“Damn it. You can’t have her. If your family finds out about her, who do you think they’ll choose between us? Me, who will inherit Kangsan Group, or you, an illegitimate child from a woman no one even knows?”
Kang Yoon’s fist clenched tightly as he glared at Kang Moon’s sneering face.
Should he hit him?
Should he just knock some sense into this little bastard?
“Kang Moon, stop it.”
While he was hesitating, Jin Hyun-sook came up to the second floor and stepped between them.
“Mother. I told you clearly, didn’t I? It’s not happening with Yoon Bora. I said I would go on a blind date with her!”
“Kang Moon. That conversation is over. Your grandfather has already approved Kang Yoon marrying that young lady. The meeting with both families is next week, so you should attend too. Stop throwing a tantrum and get yourself together.”
“What? A meeting? This is insane. What is going on? Am I the only one who doesn’t know? Why are even Grandfather and you trying to give the woman I like to him?”
Kang Moon’s eyes were already unfocused as he raged.
Jin Hyun-sook frowned, looking at the scattered bottles and beer cans on the table.
“How long are you going to keep drinking? Do you think your grandfather will trust you like this and give you what you want?”
“So what? Why does that bastard get what he wants? That’s never been how things worked! That’s not fair!”
“Han Kang Moon! Go to your room. Stop causing a scene and go to sleep.”
“A scene? A scene? If you had just listened to me earlier, none of this would’ve happened!”
Kang Moon, heavily intoxicated, could barely stand properly and shoved Jin Hyun-sook’s shoulder.
“Stop it!”
Losing her balance and being pushed back, Jin Hyun-sook was quickly caught by Kang Yoon, who shouted at Kang Moon.
“What are you doing? No matter how drunk you are, are you pushing Mother?”
“What? Your mother? Your mother? She’s my mother!”
Like a child throwing a tantrum, Kang Moon flailed his arms, causing bottles to crash to the floor.
Seeing shards of glass scatter everywhere, Kang Yoon turned Jin Hyun-sook toward the stairs.
“Please go downstairs. I’ll calm him down and handle this.”
“…Sigh. Honestly… I can’t live because of that boy…”
Jin Hyun-sook bit her lip, holding her forehead as she slowly went down the stairs.
Her sigh echoed loudly in Kang Yoon’s ears.
“You crazy bastard. Enough already.”
Kang Yoon kicked Kang Moon’s shoulder, who was half sprawled on the floor.
Then he grabbed Kang Moon by the collar, who had already half-closed his eyes, dragged him over, shoved his limp body into his room, and shut the door.
“You’re unbelievable. I really want to beat you up.”
Barely holding back his anger, Kang Yoon went back into the living room.
He picked up the larger broken pieces and threw them into the trash, and used a cordless vacuum to carefully clean up the smaller shards.
After finishing the cleaning, he went into his room, stripped off all his clothes, and took a shower.
He had taken a lot of allergy medication, so it was somewhat manageable, but as time passed, his entire body started itching.
Earlier, while he was with Bora, he had been so nervous that he hadn’t even noticed it—but now his body was covered in red allergic reactions.
“Shall we hold hands too? Everyone else is holding hands while walking.”
Bora’s hand, the one she had first offered him, was small, soft, and warm.
Kang Yoon slowly rubbed his palm, still remembering the lingering sensation of her touch.
“That crazy Han Kang Moon. He should know his limits.”
The more he saw Bora, the more he understood her, the softer his heart became.
She was the person who overturned his decision to just pass time at the blind date.
Even though it was a contract marriage, she said she would help him achieve his goals once they got married.
She was the person who made someone who hated flowers decide to go somewhere filled with them.
Above all, she was the cute and strong-willed woman who had stood in front of Han Kang Moon and declared she would marry him.
“She’s pretty, kind… and cute.”
Bora was a woman who could be described with all the adorable words he could think of.
“…I want to see her.”
He had seen her all day, but after parting, he already wanted to see her again.
Maybe…
“Do I… like her? Bora…?”
No way. He had only met her a few times.
They hadn’t even signed the contract yet.
Of course, she had been so beautiful under the cherry blossoms today that his heart felt like it might stop.
And when he had dropped her off at her place, despite her allergy and how tired she must have been, she still smiled and thanked him for spending time with her—and for a moment, something below his waist had reacted unexpectedly.
“…Is that it?”
He hadn’t dated or felt love in so long that he couldn’t properly recognize his own emotions.
Maybe it was just because he was about to get married—even if it was a contract marriage—that his mind had loosened.
Still, he felt relieved that the woman named “Yoon Bora,” not someone else, had suddenly leapt into his dull life.
For his dry, desert-like existence, it was only right that he would gladly offer a refreshing, overflowing oasis for the woman who had fearlessly jumped in.
As he stood under the stream of the shower, Kang Yoon’s lips kept twitching upward without stopping.
“Damn… I’m screwed. I’m totally… hooked.”
