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Chapter 12
Taesan’s eyes turned fierce at the words coming through the phone.
“Who do you think you’re throwing out?”
—Excuse me?
“Forget it. Just leave her be.”
Hanging up irritably, Taesan let out a long sigh. If it were up to him, he would’ve forced her out already, but the thought of treating Hongsi harshly made him deeply uncomfortable.
It had always been like this.
Sometimes he couldn’t understand why he was only ever lenient with her. He had thought and thought about it countless times, but at some point, he simply gave up trying to figure it out.
Compared to everyone else, Hongsi held a far more special place in Taesan’s life than he realized.
Of course she did. Hongsi was his precious younger sister.
Which was exactly why this madness could never happen. He could not let her become a pawn in the absurd games of the adults around them.
Taesan called Chairman Kang, but for once, the old man’s phone was turned off.
Feeling something was off, he called the main house instead. After only a few rings, Chief Butler Choi answered.
—Yes, Vice Chairman.
“Is Grandfather still awake—”
—Taesan!
Before he could finish, someone snatched the phone away and greeted him warmly.
It was Jung Heeyoung.
“Please put Grandfather on.”
—Father went to Japan on a hot spring trip. It’ll probably be hard to contact him for a while.
“…He went where?”
Taesan’s face twisted sharply in disbelief.
The man hated soaking in hot water, yet suddenly he’d gone on a hot spring trip?
There was no doubt he had fled the country just to avoid Taesan’s calls.
Suppressing his anger, Taesan spoke again.
“Then at least Mother should step in and—”
—I’m thinking of going to Paris for a while too. I sent Taegyeong there alone, but she still hasn’t contacted me. I think she’s still angry about your marriage issue with Hongsi, so I’m worried. Anyway, take good care of Hongsi!
“I don’t care if you go to Paris or Hong Kong. Just come take Hongsi away immediately.”
—Taesan, do you know how rare it is to find a bride who’s young, beautiful, and kind? And this is Hongsi we’re talking about.
“That’s exactly why it’s Hongsi—!”
—Anyway, Taesan, take good care of our Hongsi, alright?
Click.
The call ended along with her bright voice.
Taesan felt like the last thread of his sanity had snapped too.
He had no idea what to do with the adults who had completely lost their minds over the words of some shaman.
And Hongsi, who had agreed to go along with it, only made his headache worse.
Knock knock.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
When Taesan told them to come in, a rather handsome man wearing glasses stepped inside.
It was Kim Hyunseong, Taesan’s junior from university and now practically his right-hand man as chief secretary.
“What.”
“What do you mean, what? You told me to look into the call you got right before your car accident.”
“Oh, right.”
With everything involving Hongsi, he had completely forgotten.
Right before the accident, Taesan had received a strange phone call.
He’d forgotten about it after waking up, but remembered around the time he was discharged and asked Hyunseong to investigate.
“Did you find anything?”
“It’s some tiny countryside village in Switzerland.”
“Switzerland… countryside?”
Switzerland was the last thing he expected.
“And you said you heard something about a patient, right? Surprisingly, that little Swiss village has over fifty nursing homes and hospitals combined. It’s probably going to take some time to find them.”
“I don’t care how long it takes. Keep looking.”
“Yes, Vice Chairman.”
After replying playfully, Hyunseong turned to leave, then paused and looked back at Taesan curiously.
“But didn’t your schedule end already today? You’re usually the type to leave work the second the clock hits quitting time, so what’s with you?”
Taesan was a workaholic, but he wasn’t the type to stay in the office all day.
Hyunseong knew very well that once work hours ended, Taesan always went home to enjoy his solitude. Seeing him stuck in the office so late was unusual.
Taesan waved the same document he’d already read dozens of times and answered vaguely.
“You head home first.”
“See you tomorrow.”
After telling him not to overwork himself, Hyunseong finally left.
Now completely alone, Taesan genuinely wanted to go home and rest.
He wanted to sink into his private bathtub with expensive bath salts imported from some French luxury brand, sip whiskey, and listen to jazz.
For Taesan, who had spent his entire life shuttling only between work and home, that was paradise.
And all of it had been ruined by that tiny little Hongsi.
His body was aching and practically screaming at him to rest.
He couldn’t stay in the office any longer.
In the end, Taesan headed to a Taejung Group hotel affiliate.
But…
“There are no rooms?”
He was stopped right in the lobby. Ridiculously enough, they told him there were no vacancies.
Even though the family-exclusive suites should obviously be empty.
As Taesan’s brow twitched, the general manager hurriedly explained with an awkward face.
“Th-that is… Chairman Kang said he would be using them first.”
“The man who supposedly went to Japan is here?”
“Oh, no, he isn’t staying personally. I heard he reserved them for an acquaintance.”
A wave of irritation surged through him, but Taesan couldn’t bring himself to vent at the manager.
“Then call another branch for me.”
But even that request was refused.
“Um… all the other branches are fully booked as well, Vice Chairman.”
Judging from the manager’s nervous expression, his grandfather had clearly orchestrated this.
“So basically, I can’t stay at any of our hotels. Not the main branch, not anywhere else?”
The manager lowered his head instead of answering.
“I’m sorry, Vice Chairman.”
A long sigh escaped Taesan’s lips.
Suppressing his anger, he loosened the tie tightening around his neck.
“What are you apologizing for, Manager? If anything, I’m sorry for dragging you into this ridiculous power struggle.”
After being seen off by the manager, Taesan turned away.
For some reason, his broad shoulders looked strangely pitiful today.
Slumping into the driver’s seat, he tapped the steering wheel with his index finger thoughtfully.
Should I just go hom—
No. Absolutely not.
As long as that troublesome little fox Hongsi was there, he had no idea what kind of disaster she might cause next.
Taesan turned the car around and headed back to the company.
“He didn’t come home…”
Hongsi had fallen asleep curled up by the front entrance while waiting for him all night.
Waking to the sound of chirping birds, she stared blankly ahead in despair.
Taesan, the man who loved his home more than anything, hadn’t returned.
“Is it because of me?”
Sniffling, Hongsi thought of him.
It was obvious.
Taesan definitely hadn’t come home because he couldn’t stand the sight of her.
The thought made her heart ache endlessly.
But only for a moment.
Hongsi lightly smacked both cheeks and sprang to her feet.
“Pull yourself together, Kim Hongsi.”
She had barged into this situation fully prepared to be hated by Taesan.
She couldn’t crumble over something like this already.
If there was one thing she had confidence in, it was persistence.
This was only the beginning.
“Is this really the time to sit around looking miserable?”
Hongsi firmly steadied herself.
“You can’t get discouraged this early!”
Once she calmed down, hunger hit her.
Rubbing her growling stomach, she headed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
What should I eat?
But before she could think long, Taesan came to mind again.
“Oppa always eats breakfast.”
Worried that he might’ve skipped meals because of her—
Wait.
Hongsi’s eyes sparkled.
“Should I make something simple and bring it to his office?”
Thinking it was a brilliant idea, Hongsi hurriedly began pulling ingredients from the fridge that Taesan might like.
Taesan had always had a nasty temper, but today it was especially bad, and the employees were being slaughtered under his mood.
While holding his throbbing head and reading documents after staying up all night, he noticed Hyunseong repeatedly glancing at him strangely.
Finally pulling his eyes away from the tablet, Taesan glared at him.
“What. Say it.”
“Did you sleep in the office?”
Taesan froze for a split second.
He quickly crossed one leg over the other and lifted the tablet as if nothing had happened.
“You look unusually shabby today.”
But Hyunseong’s next comment made him twitch.
Taesan’s brows jumped as though he’d heard something outrageous.
“Shabby? You think that word suits me?”
“At the moment, I honestly can’t think of a more accurate one.”
“You’ve got some nerve.”
Under Taesan’s murderous glare, Hyunseong coughed awkwardly and pretended to focus on documents.
Taesan was about to resume work when Hyunseong struck right at the heart of the matter.
“Something really happened, didn’t it?”
Just then, the secretary knocked on the door.
“Vice Chairman, you have a visitor.”
A visitor?
Tilting his head slightly, Taesan frowned.
“Did I have an appointment? I don’t remember scheduling anyone.”
“No, but the name sounded familiar.”
“So who exactly is—”
“Oppa!”
As he irritably set down his fountain pen, a bright voice suddenly rang through the office.
Taesan froze.
Then, with an uncharacteristically stunned expression, he looked past the secretary toward the woman standing there.
“…Hongsi?”
Dressed in a bright yellow two-piece outfit even more vivid than a chick, her half-tied hair swaying softly, the person walking in was unbelievably Hongsi.
Crash!
Taesan shot to his feet.
“You—!”
