Chapter 166: Date?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166: Date?
A few days later.
"I’m telling you, bringing flowers is a bit much," I said.
Yun-ji let out a small chuckle and held out the basket of artificial flowers she was carrying.
"No one hates receiving flowers. Remember how happy I was when you bought some for me?"
"No, that was..."
Why was she bringing up the past again?
I found myself at a loss for words, my mouth snapping shut. Yun-ji gave another light laugh and nudged me forward.
"Let’s just go. There are things I want to say, and we have a lot of places to stop by."
"Things you want to say?"
"Apologies and gratitude."
Yun-ji’s answer was concise.
Understanding exactly what she meant, I stepped into the hospital with her.
We took the elevator to the highest floor.
The VIP ward.
"This must have cost a fortune," I remarked.
Since Yun-ji was the one covering all the medical expenses, I asked tentatively. She replied with a bittersweet smile.
"Money isn't the important thing here."
"..."
"Besides, it’s not just me paying; the company is covering it. To put it bluntly, we failed in every aspect of this operation."
Looking at her expression, it seemed Yun-ji had learned quite a few lessons from this ordeal.
Since the VIP ward consisted of private rooms, there were four rooms we needed to visit.
We first entered Jeong Chan-woo’s room, only to find all five of them gathered there unexpectedly.
"What the? Why are you all in here?"
Our 'cool guys,' who had been pummeled by gangsters in under thirty seconds, were huddled together, tapping away at their phones.
"We're in a match."
"It’s boring being in a room alone."
They were certainly not getting the full value of those private rooms.
It looked like the four of them were playing a mobile game together. In the corner, the Bald Man smiled gently and waved at us.
"Thank you so much for everything. Thanks to you, the boys weren't hurt too badly."
Surprisingly enough, the one who had protected the four of them after they were knocked down in thirty seconds was the Bald Man.
The man knew how to fight.
Thanks to him, they didn't have major injuries, but the important thing was...
Kang Han-gang and Pyo Jin-ho’s military enlistment had been delayed because of me.
They were supposed to enter the training center the very next day, but their hospitalization had pushed it back again.
I handed over an expensive fruit basket, intending to apologize for that, when—
"Ah, I died. Oh, right! Woo-jin!"
"Kghhh! Woo-jinaaaa!"
The game must have ended because two of them lunged at me.
I expected them to complain, but forgetting they were patients, they hoisted me up and started spinning around the room.
"The military is delayed! Whoo-hoo!"
"Hell yeah! I'm so happy! This is the best!"
"...These guys really do live like there's no tomorrow."
Give me back my guilty conscience. I had been so apologetic I couldn't even lift my head.
Watching them celebrate not going to the army made my feelings complicated. They’d have to go eventually anyway.
Wouldn't it be better to just get it over with early?
I wasn't sure if I should apologize or just laugh along with them. It was an awkward situation.
Anyway, once the chaos subsided...
Yun-ji cleared her throat and handed a bouquet to each of the four.
"I heard real flowers aren't allowed in the hospital, but artificial ones are. Here."
"Oh..."
"Tsk."
To a man, they all looked less than thrilled with Yun-ji’s gift. They seemed to be wondering why she was giving them flowers, but Yun-ji smiled brightly and pointed inside the bouquets.
"Try pulling on the flowers."
Confused, they grabbed the stems and pulled. Bills started streaming out of the center, one after another.
"Holy..."
"How much is this?!"
"Goddess Yoon! Ah! Goddess Yoon-nim!"
"No army, and now we have pocket money! Hell yeah!"
I didn't know how long the stream of cash would last, but seeing the bills keep coming, they all cheered like primitive men who had just discovered fire.
"What? That's what it was?"
I was just as surprised as they were. Yun-ji nodded with a wink.
"I knew exactly what guys would like."
"Being around broadcasters has taught you how to pull off an event."
"I used to do them with you all the time, too."
"Well, that... that’s true."
Cosplaying, going shopping while she had a vibrator inserted, doing it in a camping tent, and so on.
Wait, why are all my memories so lewd?
The fact that 'event' only triggered those kinds of thoughts made me wonder if my brain was rotten.
Yun-ji must have been thinking of something similar, as her face flushed slightly and her breath hitched.
Stepping toward the four rejoicing men, Yun-ji cleared her throat and bowed deeply.
"Our immature handling of the situation caused you all to get hurt. I am truly sorry. This is a small token of our sincerity, though it hardly compares to the trouble you went through."
"Oh, please! This is more than enough!"
"Exactly! Thank you so much!"
"The bad guys were the ones at fault anyway!"
I couldn't tell if they were just easy to handle or if they were just genuinely good, simple-minded guys.
Seeing them so happy, Yun-ji expressed her relief and then bowed toward the Bald Man.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd be here. I was planning to visit you separately later."
"No, it's fine. Protecting my 'cool guys' was enough for me. No need for a separate visit."
"But..."
"If you really feel bad, why don't you lend me Woo-jin for a bit?"
What the hell?
Why me?
Go to Chan-woo or something.
As I shuddered in horror, Yun-ji took a step back, linked her arm with mine, and shook her head.
"I... I don't think I can do that."
"What a shame!"
He gave a bright smile that didn't look disappointed at all. After finishing the conversation with the Bald Man, we left the room to the cheers of the four, who had reverted from 'cool guys' back to 'idiots.'
"Phew, what a relief."
Yun-ji let out a long sigh of relief, clutching her chest.
Since the incident had been so massive, she had apparently been worried they wouldn't accept her apology.
After leaving the hospital, we stood in silence for a moment.
We both had things to say but were still organizing our thoughts.
"How is Popo?"
I was the one to speak first.
"She's okay. The other girls all retired from broadcasting, but Popo decided to stay with our agency."
"The fact that the guys from the Architectural Engineering Department showed up at the end must have meant a lot to her."
"Yeah. She was going to quit, too, but after seeing her fans from the department, she said she wanted to keep going and asked for help. She does want to change her name, though."
It seemed she had always been unhappy with the nickname 'Popo' that President Hwang had given her.
I mean, 'Popo' did sound like a name from the eighties.
"Starting fresh with a new name wouldn't be a bad idea."
When I nodded with a smile, Yun-ji took a deep breath and lowered her head.
"I'm sorry, Woo-jin."
"..."
"I was very immature during this whole thing."
Watching Yun-ji apologize, a mix of emotions stirred within me.
She had done her best in her own way.
Those people knew exactly how to handle the police. They already had countermeasures ready for a simple report.
So, she must have wanted to uncover their internal secrets and true nature to get solid evidence before striking.
In that sense, Yoo Ah-rin must have been a very tempting key.
One amazing Short had made them set their sights on her.
Since President Hwang’s side had approached Yoo Ah-rin first, rather than the other way around, there was no reason for them to be suspicious.
"To be honest, I was caught off guard back then."
"..."
"I didn't expect to see you and Yoo Ah-rin there."
Involving Yoo Ah-rin was definitely a mistake on the part of Yun-ji, my little brother, and my second sister-in-law—even if Ah-rin had consented.
"It could have been a huge problem if things hadn't worked out. But anyway, it ended well."
I placed my hand on the head of the bowing Yun-ji.
Since it felt like the first time I'd done this, I gave her hair a firm, affectionate rub.
"Then it's fine. We're only twenty-one. People call us 'CEO' or 'the Chairman's son,' but in the end, we're still just college students."
We can make mistakes.
We can fail.
I had been a bit puzzled because Yun-ji had always maintained such a meticulous image, but this just showed how desperate she had been.
It meant she wanted to save those exploited broadcasters that badly.
"If you failed, just don't do it next time."
As I offered those words of comfort, Yun-ji slowly raised her head.
Her eyes were rimmed with red.
Seeing her look like she was about to burst into tears at any moment, I gave her a wide grin. She reached out with trembling hands and tentatively grabbed my sleeve.
"J-just once."
"Hmm?"
"Can I... can I be held, just once?"
"In front of the hospital? Everyone's watching."
"I don't care. I wanna be held."
Look at her acting all cute.
After checking our surroundings, I spread my arms slightly. Yun-ji immediately lunged forward and buried her face in my chest.
"Never again! I'll never make a mistake like this again!"
"Yeah, you'll do great."
"I'm sorry, Woo-jin! I'm so sorry!"
"It's okay. You made that judgment because you've been working so fiercely for the past six months."
She had probably been working herself to the bone, trying to do whatever it took to come back to me.
If she had broken a little in her attempt to return to my arms...
Then I could just fix her.
My chest grew damp.
Watching Yun-ji cry made my own heart ache, and I held her gently.
"It's okay, so just make sure to talk things out with Yoo Ah-rin. She has a bit of a temper, but she's not a bad person. If you're honest with her, she'll forgive you."
"O-okay."
"Geez, when did you become such a crybaby?"
"Hey! Don't say that!"
Despite her words, she didn't let go.
The eyes of the people near the hospital were focused on us, but Yun-ji didn't seem to notice, her face still buried in my chest.
"Since you like the confident version of me... I was acting a bit on purpose."
A small truth confessed only now.
Hearing that, I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"Well, this is a different side of you."
After giving her some time, her crying eventually stopped as she calmed down.
"But can you give me Senior Min Ju-hee’s number? I want to visit her separately."
Captain Ju, who had played a major role this time.
"Oh, that's fine. I already spoke to her. She said there's no need for that and told me to just buy her a meal instead. So I'm having lunch with her today."
"..."
I felt the grip of Yun-ji’s hands on me tighten slightly.
* * *
After parting ways with Yun-ji, who was heading off to meet Yoo Ah-rin...
I went downtown to have lunch with Senior Ju-hee.
Since I had grandly promised to buy her an expensive steak, I headed toward the steakhouse.
"Is she not here yet?"
There were people around, but I didn't see Ju-hee.
Checking the time, I saw there were still ten minutes left.
Thinking I should just wait by the entrance, I was looking at my phone when...
Tap, tap.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder.
Wondering who it was, I glanced over.
"Why... why are you looking at me and not saying anything?"
She wasn't wearing her usual Dragon Padded Jacket.
Instead, she wore a form-fitting beige one-piece dress.
The hand that usually held a cigarette was now resting demurely on her lap, seemingly unsure of where to go.
Her face was brightened with makeup, looking different from her usual self, and her hair was tied neatly back.
"C-Captain Ju?"
It was Senior Ju-hee, nodding with a blushing face.