This Is Truly a Mental Illness
“....Hey, Seo Jia. I didn’t give you permission for that...”
“It’s for educational purposes, isn’t it? Please, just let me.”
“What kind of education is this? Get your hand off me!”
He tried to pull her hand away, flinching, but Jia just grabbed his thigh and shook her head, saying, “Master...”
This crazy bitch was likely trying to do it herself under the guise of ‘education.’ He tried to stop her, but he must have miscalculated his footing; Jia, who had been sitting on the bed, tipped over and collapsed against his side, leaving them face-to-face.
“...”
“Are, are you trying to start with a kiss...”
When he glanced slightly to look at Eunbyul, he saw her flushed expression—eager and curious about everything—which only made him feel more burdened.
“...Seo Jia, I’ll deal with Eunbyul separately later. No, wait. Do that ‘education’ thing later. Don’t do it. Actually, why would that even need education—”
“Master’s cock is different from a normal person’s. It’s like... a monster’s.”
“A monster?”
“I’m sorry. But you know it too, Master. ...It’s too big. It’s deep.”
He started to say something more, but then waved his hand as if exhausted. “Anyway, stop it. That’s enough. Let’s all just sleep. I’m a bit tired. I’m going to wash up first.”
If he hadn’t resisted more intensely, he suspected his body might have truly become an ‘educational tool.’ After showering and lying down in bed, he fell asleep with the two women for the first time. None of them had any particular sleeping habits, so the moment he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the bare faces of Eunbyul and Jia. Even without a trace of makeup, their beauty was so significant that he wondered how two women could be this pretty.
Still, he thought to himself, ‘...One woman tried to blackmail me, and the other is my divorced ex-wife...’ so he shouldn’t just let it slide because they were pretty. Of course, it’s human nature that when you tell yourself not to do something, your mind keeps drifting in that direction, but he forced himself to suppress it. He got up slowly, washed his hair, showered again, and returned to the room.
“Mmm.... Senior, you’re up...”
“Yeah. Did you sleep well?”
“...Yes, it was good...”
Jia also woke up groggily, sat up, bowed her head, and lifted it back up. “Did you sleep well, Master?”
“Yeah. I did.”
No breakfast, just coffee. It was a Sunday morning. ...It would have been better if he were alone.
He sat on the sofa near the balcony, with Eunbyul and Seo Jia sitting beside him, each sipping coffee and spacing out. He slowly set his coffee cup down and spoke.
“...Byeol, you should head home.”
“Ah, yes. I said I’d sleep over, but... my parents kept prying, so I just said I’d be home soon.”
“I see. ...But are you really going to live next door?”
“Hmm, let me think about it. The market price here is currently...”
“3.37 billion won.”
“Money isn’t the problem, but I don’t know if they’ll let me live alone.”
It was a rough way of saying that because her father treated her like a precious gem, she had been living under her parents’ roof until now.
“I see. That’s how it is.”
“Senior, I’ve been thinking. First, this contract...”
It was the contract for Eunbyul’s shares, which had been placed on the table. The original copy. After picking it up and hesitating for a moment, Eunbyul slowly tore the contract vertically in half.
“Is this enough to earn your trust?”
“Don’t do things like that in the future. It’s exhausting for me.”
“I’m sorry. Truly. Instead, I’ll work really, really hard at the company. I’ll try to make it up to you that way.”
“...Alright.”
Even saying that, the truth was he still couldn’t fully trust her. Unless she worked hard at the company and contributed to major achievements like that oil tanker rescue, she still looked like a ticking time bomb to him.
Eunbyul surely knew that was what he was thinking.
“...Sigh, why did I even do something like that...”
“Your father isn’t always right about everything.”
“You’re right. I’m the fool for thinking the same would apply to you, Senior. ...I guess you really do become a fool when you’re in love.”
Jia nodded slightly at that. She was the result of that very thing.
“I’m sorry, Senior. Truly. I’ve loved you for a very long time.”
“...”
Then, she began her own excuses and defense.
“I truly loved you sincerely, Senior. Sometimes I loved you so much that I couldn’t sleep at night, imagining going on dates with you or walking down the aisle at our wedding. I hadn’t even had a single sip of coffee, but I couldn’t sleep and just tossed and turned in bed.”
“That’s too much in the past tense. I still love you, Senior. But Jia-unni was by your side... and I never had a chance. Then, suddenly, I became the secretary to the Senior I’d only dreamed of, and while I was wondering how to appeal to you, I got caught doing that... and it felt so good, but I also thought maybe I could use it as leverage to make something happen.”
“I didn’t have a single chance for years. If I had contacted you personally, I didn’t think Jia-unni would just sit by and watch. I couldn’t just meet you for no reason and ask to have sex. Even when I tried to look at other people, there wasn’t a single man who caught my eye.”
“Senior, do you know what they say when I go on blind dates? They bring up my dad, and throughout the whole date, they talk about how they need to work hard to inherit his business—acting as if the marriage is a done deal and they’re already set to receive the inheritance. My dad doesn’t even want to pass it down; he’s the type to sell the company for cash. It’s absurd. They’re complete snobs.”
“I tried to erase you from my mind, but only men who keep making me think of you show up. You have so many strengths, Senior. Your voice is warm, you’re handsome, you’re tall, you try to be considerate of others, and you don’t get upset even if you take a loss yourself. You’re so affectionate that you don’t cut people off easily. It seems like you only have good people around you... but when I go to matchmaking meetings or blind dates, everyone else is at the bottom because they lack those strengths. They’re only busy bragging about the money they have. I hate that. I have more than enough money myself.”
Jia, who had never been on a matchmaking date, nodded in empathy as she recalled the reviews she’d heard from her friends.
“That’s right. I hate that so much. People who think money can solve everything.”
“Exactly, Unni. Honestly, when it comes to money, isn’t Suhyun-oppa the best?”
“Just look at the assets he’s going to inherit later. ...That’s right, why did I even bother with stocks?”
Jia reflected on it once more, and Eunbyul chuckled.
“Ugh, just sell everything you have and hand it over to Senior.”
“...Should I? But still...”
“Why?”
“...”
It was something she’d heard until her ears were sore. The woman must hold the economic power. Remembering this, Jia glanced at him and spoke honestly to Eunbyul, who was also a woman.
“...They say the woman has to hold the economic power...”
“Ah, Unni, are you really that much of a fool?”
“...? But,”
“Ah. Well. If the woman gets her salary taken away and the man manages the money, you think you’ll end up living like a maid? Unni, you’re really stupid.”
Jia dropped her head again, being lectured by a younger sister two years her junior.
“Don’t you know that if someone in the house is running a business, it’s only right for that person to manage all the assets?”
“....”
“So, did you think that later on, even if Suhyun-oppa becomes the Chairman, you’d be the one managing all the money?”
“But if I don’t do that, I’ll just be living like a maid on an allowance...”
“No, do you think Senior would look at you like a maid? You said he was kind earlier!”
“...That’s true, but that’s different from later...”
Eunbyul let out a deep sigh, glanced at him, and said,
“This is truly a mental illness.”
“What...? Hey, seriously, you keep doing that!”
“Then, let’s assume Suhyun-oppa becomes the Chairman later. If he takes the dividends and donates them to society, or uses a portion for lobbying, are you going to review all of that, Unni? If Senior donates 10 billion won to the Daehan New Party, can you figure out why he’s donating, what he can gain from it, and what will happen if he donates it?”
“....”
“Unni, the market cap of Doowon Holdings as of Friday was 650.9413 trillion won, and if you add up the market caps of all the listed subsidiaries, it’s 833.1647 trillion won. How much is that combined?”
“1,484.106 trillion won...”
Her mental math was fast.
“As far as I know from the business report, the value of the shares held by the Chairman alone is 284 trillion won. Can you beat that, Unni?”
“....”
“Honestly, you don’t even know what kind of family Senior comes from, do you? Or what kind of work they do.”
“Th... that... I know too!”
She shouted as if to prove she knew, but Eunbyul laughed as if it were pathetic.
“Senior, I thought Unni was just ignorant of the ways of the world, but I think this is the real issue.”
“...?”
“Maybe the idea that she can win by making money through stocks is real. Because she doesn’t know what kind of family Senior comes from or what they do.”
Jia, while still trying to defend herself, said, “...I, I know he’s a Managing Director. Um. That’s right. I saw it last time. In some office, he was touching some documents like this...”
“What documents? What was the content of those documents—?”
“...Well, that, um... Ah, I don’t remember well...”
“Excluding the Chairman, what is the total percentage of shares held by special related parties, Senior’s mother, his relatives, and various other people? If you don’t know the ratio, at least tell me the amount.”
“...”
“It’s all in the business report—under the section regarding shareholders. Look, see? *Sigh.*”
It seemed like before Eunbyul went home, Jia was going to get a lot more ‘education.’