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Chapter: 8
Between Bora
Spring was in full bloom.
All around, countless flower buds stretched as if they could no longer hold back, each day revealing their own beauty in full display.
Because of that, Kang Yoon’s allergy symptoms had worsened even more. When Bora said she wanted to go to the cherry blossom festival, he spent several days thinking about it.
If he took allergy medicine, the coughing would stop for a few hours. If he wore glasses and even a mask, it might be fine.
He had always hated flower outings his entire life, but Bora’s offhand comment a while ago—“I want to take a picture holding cherry blossom ice cream on a cherry blossom path”—kept replaying in his mind.
“Look at me, doing all sorts of things.”
Even as he said that, the corner of Kang Yoon’s lips twitched as he typed “cherry blossom festival spots” into the search bar.
Last night, Kang Yoon had told Han Tae-soo of his intention to marry Bora.
Han Tae-soo, whose face was much larger than Kang Yoon’s despite the age difference, had grabbed his face and kissed his forehead several times.
“My goodness, my child. My beautiful child. You’ve finally made up your mind and decided to get married!”
Han Tae-soo had no idea it was a contract marriage, but Kang Yoon still felt a slight sting of guilt at his father’s genuinely happy expression. Still, he soon nodded.
“Hey! Kang Yoon says he’s getting married! Set a date for the meeting right away, and prepare gifts for our precious daughter-in-law.”
“Yes, Father-in-law.”
Jin Hyun-sook, as always, nodded without objecting to Han Tae-soo’s orders.
As she left Han Tae-soo’s study, Jin Hyun-sook looked at Kang Yoon with her usual elegant expression.
“So you two must be quite compatible. Getting married after only meeting a few times.”
“All arranged meetings are more or less the same. Better to do it quickly.”
“Still, what matters most is your feelings, Kang Yoon.”
“Don’t worry. I like her very much, Aunt.”
Kang Yoon smiled faintly as if nothing was wrong.
“I see. That’s a relief. We’ll need to coordinate the engagement meeting date with their side, right?”
“Yes. I’ll ask Bora and let you know.”
“Oh right, how is the Dubai construction project going?”
To anyone watching, they looked like a natural mother and son having a normal conversation, but in reality, they were cautiously sizing each other up.
“That family is probably planning to hand over their useless daughter to me, and if I secure the Middle East construction contract, they’ll somehow try to piggyback on it,” Kang Yoon thought.
He frowned slightly, remembering Han Kang-moon’s perpetually drunken face—someone good for nothing except drinking, partying, and chasing women.
“It’s progressing steadily.”
“I see. I trust you’ll handle it well.”
“Thank you. Please rest, Aunt.”
Kang Yoon politely bowed as always and climbed the stairs to the second floor.
“If only that child were my son…”
Watching his broad back disappear upstairs, Jin Hyun-sook’s insides boiled.
When they were young, the gap between the children was wide, so it was frustrating that Kang Moon lagged behind Kang Yoon in everything, but she believed things would eventually reverse.
The shock of discovering that her husband had another woman’s child right after she gave birth to her own son was indescribable.
Moreover, after her husband died in an unexpected accident, Jin Hyun-sook learned what it truly meant to live without being able to die.
She had wanted to end her life as well, but for the sake of Kang Moon—an infant who had never even seen his father—she endured and survived.
But how could she bear watching Kang Yoon, the son of some unknown woman, grow up surpassing her own son in every way?
After they became adults and inherited their respective businesses from Han Tae-soo, the gap only widened.
Kang Moon took over “Kangsan Trading,” the core of Kangsan Group, but under his leadership it remained in the red.
On the other hand, “Kangsan Construction,” which had ranked around 10th in the industry, rose to 4th place after Kang Yoon took over.
Jin Hyun-sook naturally believed that Kang Moon—son of Han Tae-soo and her own legitimate heir—would take over the group.
But Han Tae-soo, who had watched the stark difference between Kang Moon and Kang Yoon for 36 years, seemed to be thinking otherwise.
“Kang Moon should get married soon…”
Then there was only one option left.
Find Kang Moon the best possible match and change Han Tae-soo’s mind.
“That useless boy, how long is he going to keep living like a wastrel?”
It would have looked better if Kang Moon got married before Kang Yoon, but that was unrealistic.
Then she would have to find a woman whose qualifications were infinitely better than Kang Yoon’s match.
Thinking she should recheck the profile files of Kang Moon’s arranged marriage candidates, Jin Hyun-sook hurried toward the master bedroom.
“Hmm… is this too short? This one feels a bit awkward in length.”
Bora was in an unusually good mood after receiving a message from Kang Yoon.
The Sakon Lake cherry blossom festival runs until this weekend. Would you like to go together if you’re available?
A few days ago, she had gone to Kang Yoon’s company to sign the marriage contract and was on her way to lunch when she casually mentioned wanting to go to the cherry blossom festival.
She didn’t expect him to remember.
“He acts like he doesn’t care, but he’s actually considerate and kind. Such a tsundere, right, Ttoso? You think so too, don’t you?”
Bora glanced at the stuffed toy lying on the pillow and focused intensely on choosing what to wear for the weekend in front of the mirror.
Yes. I like it.
Then I will come to pick you up at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Yes. See you Saturday. Good night!
Bora, have sweet dreams too.
Their messages contained no overly sweet expressions or cute emojis.
It was nothing special, but Bora’s lips lifted slightly without her noticing, a small smile forming.
As she stared at Kang Yoon’s message telling her to have sweet dreams, her phone suddenly vibrated.
Bzzzz—
“This is…”
The caller ID read: “Han Kang-moon, CEO of Kangsan Trading.”
As she hesitated over whether to answer, the ringing stopped.
“Phew… that startled me. Probably a wrong call?”
But just as she sighed in relief, the phone vibrated again.
With a reluctant breath, Bora answered.
“Hello.”
[Ms. Yoon Bora, have you been well?]
“Yes… Have you been well too, Mr. Han?”
[Oh, I’ve been spending a lonely and depressing spring because our Bora won’t meet me.]
How ridiculous.
Bora pressed her lips shut tightly and wrinkled her nose slightly, afraid her true thoughts might slip out.
[The cherry blossoms are so beautiful these days. Nothing compared to our Bora, of course. By the way, what are you doing this weekend? Want to go to the cherry blossom festival together?]
Taken completely off guard, Bora quickly responded.
“Um, Mr. Han. I actually have something to tell you.”
[Haha. I’m ready to listen to anything you say, Bora.]
“Did you perhaps not hear anything from home?”
[What do you mean?]
“…I went on an arranged meeting with Mr. Kang Yoon Kang recently.”
[What? Who?]
“And we’ve been seeing each other with good feelings… and we’re planning to get married…”
[What did you say? Ms. Yoon Bora, what did you just say?]
The loud voice, as if it were about to burst out of the phone, made Bora frown involuntarily.
“I said I’m getting married to Kang Yoon Kang. So please don’t contact me privately anymore.”
[Understood for now. I’ll call again.]
Click.
Bora couldn’t hide her unpleasant expression at the abruptly ended call.
“They’re really different. Even if they’re half-brothers, they’re completely different.”
Kang Yoon, although cold in atmosphere, never crossed boundaries or acted rudely.
They must have grown up in the same household under the same education—so how could they be so different?
Thinking this, Bora picked out her outfit again.
“Mother, please look at this.”
Jin Hyun-sook was in the middle of selecting the most prestigious families’ well-educated daughters for Kang Moon’s arranged meetings.
The bedroom door burst open violently, and Kang Moon’s face was twisted in anger.
“Why do you look like that? What happened?”
“I heard Kang Yoon is getting matched with Yoon Bora?”
Jin Hyun-sook slightly raised her eyebrows in surprise, then calmly returned her gaze to the profile papers.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“You sent her out, didn’t you? You sent Kang Yoon?”
“The request came from their side. I simply accepted it. Is there a problem?”
“I’m interested in that woman, Yoon Bora. Can’t you cancel that meeting?”
“What?”
“Why is the woman I want going on a date with Kang Yoon?”
“Kang Moon. Get a grip. That woman is not on your level.”
“That’s just your opinion. Damn it. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Kang Moon, who had never been denied anything he wanted since childhood, was in a state of extreme agitation.
Jin Hyun-sook let out a long sigh and silently watched his disgraceful outburst.
If she could go back in time, she would have raised Kang Yoon as her own son instead.
“What an incompetent fool. Not even one-quarter of Kang Yoon.”
A surge rose in her throat, but Jin Hyun-sook clenched her fists tightly and swallowed the words back down.
