Chapter 155
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155
With a look of utter satisfaction, Eun-ah watched Dokyun eat.
“I-Is it good…?”
“Hm? Yes, of course. Everything you make is always delicious, Eun-ah.”
“Hehe….”
His gentle smile and kind words made her instinctively lower her head.
She felt like she was soaring through the sky.
As always, just being with him was enough to make her happy, but she was also feeling particularly blissful because of how satisfying it had been to see Honeybee confront that wench earlier today.
‘N-Next time, I d-don’t think we can meet with a smile…!’
He had been so cool. The gentle Honeybee was wonderful, but the Honeybee who hardened his expression and spoke so coldly was just as amazing.
Eun-ah could feel her face flush, unable to stop the smile that kept creeping onto her lips.
As she basked in her happiness, a thought struck her.
“Ah, r-right….”
“Yes?”
Dokyun tilted his head at the sound of her voice.
“H-Honeybee. M-My sister asked if you could clear your schedule the day after tomorrow….”
“Eun-seol did?”
“Yesss….”
Dokyun gave a small nod, signaling his assent.
“Well… it’s the weekend, so I don’t have anything planned.”
What’s this about?
It was rare for Eun-seol to specifically ask him to set aside time, so a seed of curiosity began to sprout in Dokyun’s mind.
He tried to guess the reason for a moment.
…Well, I’ll find out when the time comes.
Unable to come up with any plausible clues, Dokyun simply picked up his spoon and continued his meal.
Still, it’s times like these that I’m reminded.
When it comes to cooking, Eun-ah is the best.
Eun-ah’s cooking was truly second to none.
* * *
Two days later, Dokyun narrowed his eyes at the sight of Eun-seol chugging alcohol first thing in the morning.
“Don’t you ever get sick of that?”
“How could I?”
The reply came back nonchalantly. A weary expression formed on Dokyun’s face as he let out a deep sigh and sat down next to her.
“So, what did you call me for today?”
“Just wanted to get some fresh air.”
“Pardon?”
Eun-seol’s head tilted toward Dokyun.
“We’re going out. Get ready.”
The command came out of nowhere, but as always, Dokyun simply nodded in response.
* * *
The place Eun-seol took him to was a cafe in a corner of the city, near her department store.
The atmosphere was quiet overall. It was a cafe Dokyun had never been to before, despite having come to the city countless times to help Eun-ah with her commute.
There, Dokyun watched Eun-seol, who sat across from him, take a sip of her coffee before his own lips twitched.
“This is unexpected.”
“What is?”
“You came for coffee, not alcohol.”
“Idiot. What bar is open at this hour?”
Ah, so that was the problem.
The explanation clicked, and Dokyun, looking slightly sheepish, picked up his own coffee.
Slurp—.
The coffee made a soft sound as it traveled up the straw.
Dokyun felt the cold liquid awaken his senses as it went down his throat, and he remained silent for a moment.
His time with Eun-seol was usually like this. Whether they were out or at home, they would sit in the same space, wrapped in silence, each doing their own thing.
It was the kind of atmosphere that could easily feel awkward or uncomfortable, but strangely, being with Eun-seol evoked a sense of comfort rather than any of those feelings.
It was probably a sign of how accustomed they had grown to each other.
Dokyun looked at Eun-seol, struck by the sudden realization that it had already been over half a year since he’d met her.
Her hair was tied back neatly in a single ponytail. She wore an oversized suit, as she disliked her petite frame. Behind her half-rimmed glasses, her eyes were deep and sunken.
The same eyes he once thought were steeped in desolation.
The same eyes he later came to think were just perpetually pickled in alcohol.
As Dokyun was staring at those eyes, the pupils within them shifted to meet his.
“What.”
“…Nothing, I was just looking.”
Dokyun flinched at her sharp tone and replied.
“Idiot.”
“Hey, why the insult…?”
Is she getting on my case for just looking at her? A sense of indignation rose in Dokyun. As he continued to grumble, a sigh escaped Eun-seol’s lips.
“Whatever. That’s not what I brought you here to talk about.”
Her next words were tinged with annoyance.
“Things have gotten a little complicated.”
“What?”
“Two days ago, when Eun-ah met your ex-girlfriend.”
At her words, Dokyun tilted his head.
“What about it? Is there a problem?”
“There is. A big one.”
Eun-seol took a sip of her coffee, then frowned as she continued.
“The company your ex-girlfriend works for is the problem.”
The company Ji-woo works at.
“Hanseong?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
It was a natural question for Dokyun. From what he’d heard, it was a company run by one of Eun-seol’s department store VIPs. To Dokyun, it was the top conglomerate in his own industry.
Why would that company have anything to do with Eun-ah? As Dokyun was puzzling over this, a shocking answer came from Eun-seol.
“The chairman there. He’s Eun-ah’s grandfather.”
Drip—.
Coffee dribbled from Dokyun’s mouth.
Eun-seol’s face contorted into a deep frown at the sight of him drooling coffee. She tossed a tissue at him.
“You filthy bastard. Why are you drooling like that?”
“Wait, hold on. That’s not what’s important right now.”
Feeling his mind go blank, Dokyun stared at Eun-seol with wide eyes.
“…Really?”
“What, you think I’m lying?”
“Ha.”
Have you ever been so flustered that the only thing that comes out of your mouth is a hollow laugh?
Struck by the sudden bombshell, Dokyun couldn’t form any words, his mouth just opening and closing uselessly.
Eun-seol clicked her tongue at the sight, then stood up and roughly wiped Dokyun’s mouth with a tissue.
“It wouldn’t be a problem if your ex was just a regular employee, but she happens to be on the managing director’s team… in other words, Eun-ah’s uncle. Word is going to get to him.”
Ji-woo? She was that high up?
The description didn’t match the woman he knew. As Dokyun frowned, Eun-seol, having finished wiping his mouth, returned to her seat.
“That man is quite interested in Eun-ah. He feels guilty about her. Since everyone on his team knows this, they’ve all memorized Eun-ah’s face.”
Eun-seol tossed the tissue onto the table and continued with a heavy sigh.
“I wanted to avoid getting involved with him at all costs, but now that he has an excuse, he’s going to approach her. That’s why I brought you here.”
“Does Eun-ah know?”
“You think she would?”
A groan escaped Dokyun’s lips. “Wouldn’t it be better to tell her?”
“No. That idiot Go Eun-ah can’t handle him.”
A sigh escaped Eun-seol’s lips as well.
“He’s a man who has mastered the art of politics. He’s the type who will get what he wants, no matter what.”
Her following words were laced with irritation. Seeing the deep frown on Eun-seol’s face, Dokyun could tell she absolutely despised Eun-ah’s uncle.
“…Didn’t you say he feels guilty about Eun-ah?”
“That’s what makes him even more vile.”
Eun-seol took a sip of coffee and spat out her next words.
“The guilt he feels for Eun-ah is about abandoning her after Seo Han-gyeong killed herself, all because he was trying to stay in the chairman’s good graces.”
Pfft. A sneer formed on Eun-seol’s lips.
“Isn’t it hilarious? He abandoned that little kid to protect his own interests, and now that she’s doing a little better, he comes sniffing around.”
“Ah….”
“He’s not someone you can trust or rely on. He’s the type to act all righteous and virtuous, but when a crucial moment comes, he’ll always choose to protect himself. If Eun-ah gets tangled up with him, it could only bring her harm.”
Her explanation was long and detailed.
And through it all, Dokyun could clearly feel Eun-seol’s utter loathing for Eun-ah’s uncle.
“That’s why I called you. You may be an idiot, but at least you’re more trustworthy than that man.”
Their eyes met. At her words, Dokyun’s fingertips twitched.
The story was so unexpected that it was hard to formulate a response.
Just as Eun-seol had said, the situation had become truly twisted.
“…What do you need me to do?”
“He’ll approach you, too. Do not give him any information about Eun-ah. Not a single thing.”
“Is that all?”
“I’m going to try and handle this on my end first. So, while I’m gone, you need to stop that man from getting near Eun-ah.”
At her request, Dokyun gave a small nod.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Huuu… To think you dated a woman like that.”
The words she muttered with a deep sigh were a clear rebuke, blaming Dokyun for ever meeting Ji-woo.
Dokyun flinched, but then the serious expression on his face was replaced by a sullen one as he glared at Eun-seol.
“…Hey, but if you think about it, wouldn’t this all have been fine if you hadn’t overreacted?”
He felt wronged.
Honestly, wasn’t the reason things got so twisted because of Eun-seol’s dramatic scribbling in the notebook?
If she hadn’t made such a fuss about his ex-girlfriend showing up, Eun-ah and Ji-woo would never have met in the first place.
As he glared at Eun-seol with these thoughts in mind, she flinched and avoided his gaze.
“…Is that important right now?”
“You think it’s not?”
A hollow laugh escaped Dokyun’s lips.
Eun-seol’s gaze dropped even lower.
She had nothing to say. Honestly, he was right.
Still, she had her own reasons to feel wronged. Wasn’t this how it usually went? In every story she’d ever read, the moment an ex-girlfriend appeared, the plot would spiral into an affair.
A nerve-wracking war of attrition, ending in exhaustion, ruin, and catastrophe.
As Eun-ah’s guardian, it was only natural for her to worry about such things.
…Or so Eun-seol thought, but the only one who didn’t know that such ideas came to her because she only ever read those kinds of stories was Eun-seol herself.
“…Anyway.”
Thus, the method Eun-seol chose was escape. She tried to steer the conversation in a different direction.
“I called you here to warn you to be careful.”
“You think you can get away with it just like that?”
Of course, the tenacious and petty Dokyun never let go of a weakness once he’d seized it.
He was the pettiest of the petty, a man who would hold a grudge for a lifetime.
Dokyun vividly remembered the resentful glares Eun-ah had given him, which had tormented him for days.
How suffocating it had been.
He knew she was upset about something, but he had no idea what it was. And every time he tried to talk to her, she would just huff and puff, while the other personalities scratched away at his sanity.
Recalling the pains of the past, Dokyun continued to glare at Eun-seol.
“Apologize. I had a really hard time.”
Eun-seol flinched again.
“…You petty bastard.”
“Apologize.”
Mmph—. Eun-seol’s lips pressed into a tight line.
Looking as if her pride had been wounded, and perhaps a little embarrassed, she averted her gaze, her face turning a faint shade of red. A few moments passed before she finally managed to reply.
“…ry.”
“What?”
“…I’m sorry.”
A smile crept onto Dokyun’s lips.
The moment the tables turned on an opponent who had always been above him was just so delightful.
“I can’t hear you very well.”
Dokyun deliberately adopted a smug tone, cupping a hand to his ear and leaning forward.
“Could you please say that again?”
Eun-seol’s fists clenched tightly.
Her face turned beet red, and she ground her teeth before spitting the words out again.
“I said… I’m sorry!”
The words were squeezed out of her.
At that, a huge grin spread across Dokyun’s face.