Chapter 286: Proposal
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 286: Proposal
“Sigh, what is wrong with them today?”
I stood there awkwardly, scanning the displayed products, but nothing was actually registering.
“What’s the problem?”
Something was definitely off.
Yoo Ah-rin had suddenly gotten annoyed, demanding we link arms like a normal couple.
Seo Ye-rin was keeping her distance, telling me not to even touch her.
And then there was Choi I-seo, who was doing the exact opposite—shouting that she wanted to have sex.
It’s like a movie. Did they swap souls or something?
I glanced over at the three of them. They were huddled around the suitcases, seemingly calculating the cost-effectiveness of each one.
They looked hesitant because of the prices, but I was planning on buying one for each of them anyway.
I needed to go over and tell them that, but...
“Ahem.”
Their behavior today was so bizarre that I found myself hesitating to just walk up to them.
In my awkwardness, I started fiddling with a pair of professional-grade goggles, debating what to do.
“Are you planning on buying those?”
Choi Jin-ah, who had been glancing at me from the side, spoke up.
“Jin-ah?”
I hadn’t even asked why she was here, but she answered anyway.
“This is our department store.”
“Ah.”
That explained it.
I’d figured that no matter how much money someone paid, renting out a VIP lounge for private use required more than just cash. You needed the right connections.
It turned out we were able to get in because this was her family’s department store.
“Did you really not know? I thought you’d recognize it immediately.”
“I had no idea. How would I know something like that?”
When I shrugged, Jin-ah’s eyes narrowed.
“In this case, it’s not that you didn’t know—it’s that you weren’t interested.”
“……”
“I suppose it doesn’t matter to you whether this is our department store or not, Woo-jin. You’re just here to enjoy yourself with your girlfriends.”
“Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be at home playing games?”
“I don’t play much these days.”
“Are you seriously still staying at my family’s place?”
“……”
I’d only said it to test her, but she really was still clinging on like a parasite.
At this point, I wondered if her face was plated in iron. Her shamelessness was impressive.
“W-well, we are technically engaged. It’s only natural for me to accompany you on a shopping trip like this.”
“Does your father still believe that?”
“Yes. I haven’t gone back home since that day.”
“Hah.”
“He probably thinks I’m getting a head start on living with my in-laws.”
Hearing her say that made me curious.
“Doesn’t your father watch TV? The news about me and Yun-ji must have spread everywhere by now.”
If he knew his daughter’s fiancé was going around talking about his other girlfriend on TV, he’d surely find it hard to accept.
“It’s probably fine. Most chaebols Woo-jin’s age walk around with two or three girlfriends anyway.”
“……”
Does Bong-geun do that too?
The thought crossed my mind, but I didn’t ask.
“To my father, this is a political marriage anyway. Your past history won’t be a big deal to him.”
“Well, fine. If you’re okay with it, I guess it’s fine.”
Honestly, I didn’t really care. I wasn’t interested in the first place.
“More importantly, go tell the girls something for me. Tell them I’m buying them each a suitcase, so they should pick whatever they want regardless of the price.”
“What? Me? You can just go tell them yourself, Woo-jin.”
“The girls are a bit sensitive right now, so it’s a little awkward for me to go over there.”
“Hmm? I don’t really get what you mean, but okay.”
Jin-ah then trotted over to them. She greeted Seo Ye-rin warmly and naturally blended into their group.
Unlike the old Choi Jin-ah, who was defined by stiff formality, she now carried herself with a sense of friendliness.
She had definitely changed since our first meeting at the blind date.
Come to think of it, she said she’s still in touch with those people.
I’d heard she occasionally talks to the two women she drank and hung out with at the reunion.
I didn’t know if they’d become good friends, but they were certainly breaking down the 'dignity' that Choi Jin-ah used to possess.
And that meant the teachings her father had built up—the person who had drilled that dignity into her—were crumbling.
I guess it’s for the best.
If she wanted to change, then that was that.
Hmm, I should probably pick something out for myself too.
I’d been so busy following the girls around and helping them choose that I hadn’t bought anything for myself.
While the four of them were occupied, I decided to indulge in some luxury using my father’s money for once.
I need a suitcase too...
Since the girls were still picking theirs, I decided to avoid that area for now.
My eyes drifted toward the sunglasses, and I began browsing.
I wanted to get something that matched the girls, but having all four of us wearing the exact same thing seemed a bit weird.
“Hmm.”
It was a tough call.
As I looked around, I saw wallets, watches, perfumes, and all sorts of luxury brands. It was a nice sight, but...
Usually, you don’t buy things like this for a trip; you buy them as gifts for someone else.
“Oh, right.”
A good idea struck me, and I began picking things out one by one.
*
After the shopping was finished.
The three girls had returned to their 'petty thief' personas.
I thought they’d wear the new clothes they bought, but they said the items were too expensive and it would be a waste to wear them now.
Since the items were being delivered separately, we were heading back empty-handed.
“Wow, I never thought the day would come where I’d shop in a place like this.”
“It’s like something out of a drama. The female lead meets a rich male lead and spends a luxurious day together.”
Yoo Ah-rin and Seo Ye-rin started talking about dramas. Hearing them describe it, it certainly felt that way.
I’m glad I could give them a good time.
“But Kim Woo-jin isn’t as handsome as a male lead in a drama.”
“What? I think Woo-jini is better-looking than those actors.”
“Do you happen to prefer pork over beef?”
“Huh? How did you know? Pork suits my palate better than beef.”
“I figured.”
What the hell was she saying?
“Are you calling me pork?”
I stepped closer and asked, but Yoo Ah-rin just linked her arms and smirked.
“What are you talking about? I was just asking about her meat preference, you pig.”
“Oink oink?”
“Hahaha! That’s hilarious!”
“I’m serious! Senior Sung-ho came to the set during this shoot, right? But I still think Woo-jini is better.”
“What?! Han Sung-ho was there? Hey! You should’ve at least gotten an autograph!”
Han Sung-ho was an actor famous for his good looks.
“Wait, Ah-rin, was that your type?”
“It’s Han Sung-ho. Is there any woman in Korea whose type isn’t Han Sung-ho?”
“Not me.”
“That’s because you like pork. Most people like beef.”
“Aha! Then next time—”
Seo Ye-rin started to say something, hesitated, then looked back at Yoo Ah-rin.
“But why did you reject Chan-woo? They have a similar vibe.”
“……”
“Now that I think about it, didn’t you say in high school that handsome actors were too greasy and you didn’t like them?”
“……”
“Wait, are you just saying this to make Woo-jini jealous?!”
“Hey! Heyyy! No! My tastes changed once I became a college student!”
Heh.
The corners of my mouth twitched upward.
That sly girl.
As I struggled to suppress a grin, Yoo Ah-rin turned red and shouted at me.
“You jerk! Don’t look so happy!”
“I’m not happy.”
I slowly spread my arms wide.
“Does the pork want a hug?”
“Get lost!”
“I want one!”
I’d offered it to Yoo Ah-rin, but Seo Ye-rin lunged into my arms first. As I held her tight, Yoo Ah-rin glared at us, huffing.
“See? The body is honest.”
People say they like expensive beef.
“But in reality, the body craves pork.”
When I smiled and gestured to her, Yoo Ah-rin hesitated before starting to walk toward me.
Just as I reached out an arm to pull her in as well—
“T-this isn’t right!”
Seo Ye-rin, who had been burying her nose in my chest, suddenly pushed me away and backed off.
“R-refrain from physical contact!”
“You’re the one who hugged me.”
Seo Ye-rin wrapped her arms around herself, maintaining her distance.
Beside her, Yoo Ah-rin flinched as if remembering something, cleared her throat, and put on a gentle smile.
“Woo-jin, what’s wrong?”
“……Huh?”
“Hoho, you shouldn’t act like that in a place where everyone can see us.”
She patted my shoulder in a way that was completely unlike her. It was actually a bit creepy.
“What is it? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? What’s the problem?”
“There’s no problem. We’re getting along just fine.”
“What is it?! Why are you doing this?!”
No matter how much I asked, neither of them would give me a straight answer.
“Men and women should not sit together after the age of seven!”
“Woo-jin, are you very tired? Do you want to lean on my shoulder on the way back?”
Seo Ye-rin had suddenly become a 'Confucian Girl,' and Yoo Ah-rin had started doting on me.
It wasn’t just creepy; it was nauseating.
“I-I don’t know what kind of prank this is, but it’s really not working, so stop it.”
I had no idea why they were suppressing their personalities to do this weird stuff.
I tried to tell them off, but they just doubled down.
“The Three Bonds and Five Moral Rules! The Ten Regrets of Zhu Xi!”
“Woo-jin, you look exhausted. Should I give you a massage?”
“……Just do whatever you want.”
I gave up.
I didn’t know if they’d eaten something wrong, but talking to them any further today would just result in me being ignored while they did whatever they wanted.
Are they trying to change their images?
If so, they’d definitely picked the wrong concepts.
If they don’t change back later, maybe I should try a counter-strategy.
If I changed my own concept and fought fire with fire, maybe they’d realize how weird they were being.
“Are you leaving now, Woo-jin? The Chairman mentioned that he’d like you to stop by the main house tomorrow if you have time.”
“I have plans with friends tomorrow.”
We were supposed to have omakase.
“Fri...ends? You do, Woo-jin?”
“I-seo, let’s go.”
I blatantly ignored the shocked Choi Jin-ah and called for Choi I-seo.
However, I-seo remained standing there and replied.
“I’m going to stay and talk with Jin-ah for a bit before I head out.”
“With Jin-ah? About what?”
It was so out of the blue that I was confused, but Choi I-seo just smiled and didn’t offer an explanation.
“I’ll make sure I-seo gets home. Don’t worry too much.”
“……”
I felt a bit uneasy.
But I had no reason or justification to stop the two of them.
In the end, I had no choice but to get in the car.
“Ahem, let us depart. I wish to stop by a tavern for a cup of gabe on the way...”
“Woo-jin, is it hard to get into the car? Should I help you sit down?”
And the two of them blathering nonsense behind me was starting to get on my nerves.
Seo Ye-rin, who had taken the Confucian girl concept too far and regressed into a Joseon scholar, and Yoo Ah-rin, whose excessive consideration now made her treat me like a patient.
“Sigh.”
How was I supposed to survive their antics without Choi I-seo there to balance things out?
The future looked bleak.
*
After parting ways with Kim Woo-jin’s group.
Choi I-seo had said she had something to discuss with Choi Jin-ah, but the person she actually needed to speak with was someone else.
Creak.
She entered the study.
Despite the late hour, Kim Woo-jin’s father—the Chairman of Uju Group—sat there like a deeply rooted old tree.
“Good evening, Father. I heard you asked for me.”
She bowed politely, but the Chairman cut straight to the point without any pleasantries.
“I heard you are working at the company run by Oh Yun-ji and Un.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
The Chairman turned a page in the book he was reading. Even as he spoke to Choi I-seo, his gaze never once shifted toward her.
“The victims were sending threatening letters to Oh Yun-ji, weren’t they?”
“……Yes.”
How did he know?
Choi I-seo wondered how the Chairman had obtained information that only she and Oh Yun-ji should have known.
Flip.
The only sound was the turning of a page; the heavy silence remained.
“Why didn’t you use that?”
An unexpected situation, an unexpected question.
But she didn’t think it was meaningless.
Choi I-seo answered with total sincerity.
“Because those people are victims too.”
“……”
“If I had revealed that the bereaved families were sending threatening letters to Yun-ji, public opinion would have solidified even more firmly in our favor.”
But she hadn’t done it.
“Victims who became aggressors... but I understood how they felt, so I didn’t want to hurt them any further. In fact, no more letters have come since then.”
When the world had turned to Oh Yun-ji’s side.
She didn’t want the arrows of public scorn to be aimed at the victims' families.
Even if they had done something wrong, Choi I-seo didn’t want to go that far.
“What if Woo-jin had failed? Would you have used it then?”
“Yes.”
Choi I-seo was firm.
She had a set of standards within her.
You could call it a line, and she was someone who always strove to maintain it.
But that didn’t mean there were never times when she would cross it.
Flip.
Another page turned.
After a brief silence, the Chairman asked another question.
“Do you not regret what you told Oh Yun-ji?”
“……”
“Thanks to that, Oh Yun-ji took action, and I hear the two of them have become quite close. The public is even rooting for their relationship.”
And.
“I, too, no longer have a reason to oppose Oh Yun-ji.”
The whole world now knew that Oh Yun-ji was an innocent victim.
If he accepted her now...
It would be seen as a lack of prejudice, a display of humanity—a beautiful, storybook happy ending.
At this point, accepting Oh Yun-ji might actually be more beneficial for Uju Group.
“Do you not regret it?”
“……”
“If that boy Woo-jin chooses Oh Yun-ji now, it’s over. I will accept it, and the two of them will start over.”
He remained the same.
The Chairman’s eyes were still fixed on the words in his book.
“And it will be because of your choice.”
That indifference was actually what was tightening the noose around Choi I-seo’s neck.
“Friendship and love. It’s a cliché, but it’s one of the oldest dilemmas. You chose friendship this time.”
“I chose both.”
Clench.
Choi I-seo balled her fists and took a deep breath as she answered.
Her blue-tinted eyes didn’t waver for a second, even under this immense pressure.
“I will have both.”
“Hmm. There is nothing I hate hearing more than the empty theories of the incompetent.”
“But.”
Before she knew it, a smile had formed on Choi I-seo’s lips.
“I will make it happen.”
For a fleeting moment.
The Chairman glanced at Choi I-seo and let out a short, dry laugh.
“Greedy and selfish.”
Thud.
He finally closed the book.
“You resemble him.”
The Chairman finally looked Choi I-seo directly in the face, the corners of his mouth relaxing slightly.
“Pardon?”
“You resemble him—the way Woo-jin looks when he’s making grand promises in front of me.”
“……”
Hearing that made Choi I-seo a bit embarrassed, but...
“They say you grow to resemble the one you love.”
Braving the embarrassment, she subtly hinted at her feelings for Kim Woo-jin.
The Chairman gave a small nod and made a proposal to her.
“Marry Woo-jin.”
“……!”
“You are more than enough. Better than those other two girls, or Yun-ji... I prefer you.”
Gulp.
Choi I-seo unconsciously swallowed hard.
She had just received permission from the father—the person she thought would be the most difficult hurdle.
He was even telling her he’d cast the others aside and accept only her.
Choi I-seo’s heart hammered against her ribs, but...
“Those words.”
The smile that resembled Kim Woo-jin’s remained on her face.
“Seem meaningless unless I hear them from Woo-jin himself.”
“……”
“If you have nothing more to say, I will take my leave.”
Choi I-seo bowed deeply.
Even as she slowly walked out of the room, he didn’t call her back.
However.
Just before the door closed, Choi I-seo thought she saw a smile on the Chairman’s face.