Chapter 173: A Heartfelt Confession
Chapter 173: A Heartfelt Confession
Korea was a powerhouse in the mobile phone market.
It was the country that led the commercialization of CDMA technology, with Earth Electronics, and LK Electronics had been a global player in the mobile phone market until it collapsed.
That’s why they couldn’t bear to give up, even while racking up trillions in deficits every year.
‘A phone on wheels...’
Korea ranked fifth in the world in automobile production as well.
‘If we partner with Korean companies to expand the factory scale and create a new leap forward.’
Business planning over a 3,500-won iced Americano at a coffee shop in Hannam-dong.
I let my imagination run wild without any restrictions.
Until now, Eddie or Oh Myeong-woo had handled expanding into new businesses, but imagining was free.
Late at night, I got another call from Choi Won-seok.
―Where are you?
“Outdoor terrace at a coffee shop.”
―I’m heading up to the building now, so wait right there.
He sounded like he was ready to throw a punch...
Jason and the bodyguards were positioned around the terrace.
“You the one?”
A moment later, Choi Won-seok and his friend strode confidently onto the terrace.
“Yeah, I’m Jo Soo-ah’s boyfriend.”
“You crazy bastard. You think you’re good enough for Jo Soo-ah? Get lost and stop clinging to that sweet girl.”
Choi Won-seok spoke first, while his friend bared his thick, tattooed arms to create a menacing atmosphere.
“Listen, man. You should do what you’re told when words are enough. The ones who don’t listen always regret it later.”
It felt like violence could erupt at any moment.
I took off my sunglasses first, then my mask, and set them on the table.
With my face exposed, I picked up my cool iced Americano and took a sip.
“What are you doing? You came to a coffee shop—sit down and talk.”
Only then did they seem to recognize me. I could see Choi Won-seok and his friend’s faces drain of color.
* * *
Choi Won-seok and Lee Beom-seok had thought it would be easy when they entered the coffee shop.
They hadn’t planned on resorting to violence—they figured they’d bruise his ego and humiliate him to settle it.
But the moment Jo Soo-ah’s boyfriend revealed his face.
‘Gasp, it’s Kim Shin.’
‘Why’s Brother Kim Shin here?’
Choi Won-seok was well-versed in personal finance and economic news.
He’d followed the incident at Arahan Software, and he knew Kim Shin had brought tens of trillions to Isung Group through Biolife and other ventures.
His father wielded significant power in Busan as a local fixer.
‘Kim Shin? Is Kim Shin really standing in front of me?’
Just yesterday, this was the Kim Shin who’d been drinking beer with President Biden.
He swallowed dryly from the tension.
* * *
Just in case, bodyguards were stationed at nearby seats and key positions.
The two had passed through hidden metal detectors when they entered the terrace.
They weren’t carrying guns like in America, but security preparations were thorough.
The place had a somewhat rough atmosphere.
The moment I revealed my face, the two turned into perfect lambs.
Their expressions shifted from surprise to shock to fear.
“Take a seat, you two.”
When I told them to sit, they pulled out chairs and sat cautiously.
“I’m Jo Soo-ah’s boyfriend. We don’t meet often because of my business in the U.S.”
“Ah, yes. I see.”
Choi Won-seok bowed his head slightly and responded politely.
It was completely different from the rough tone he’d used on the phone.
He looked like a model student who communicated well right now.
“Soo-ah says she doesn’t want to meet, but you keep contacting her, and it’s making her really uncomfortable.”
“I’m sorry. I was completely wrong. I won’t do it again.”
Apologies and remorse from the guilty party were usually hard to trust. But when it came from someone who’d been overpowered, it was a bit more believable.
Choi Won-seok’s tattooed friend spoke up.
“My friend committed a grave offense. I’ll make sure he never does it again.”
“Really?”
“Yes. If he calls or bothers her, I’ll break this guy’s hands myself to stop him.”
* * *
Once Choi Won-seok and Lee Beom-seok heard they could leave, they slipped quietly out of the coffee shop.
They’d been furious at first and driven a long way while exhausted, barging in without hesitation.
But after seeing Kim Shin, they started noticing their surroundings anew.
Foreign bodyguards were positioned on the streets, alleys, and inside the coffee shop.
‘If I hadn’t recognized him and cursed him out, my life would’ve been ruined.’
Choi Won-seok had some understanding of how the world worked.
Even chaebols bowed to Kim Shin. If a mere landlord’s son like him poked the bear, who knew what would happen—his heart raced just thinking about it.
The public could badmouth him all they wanted, but if Isung Group moved, the police, prosecutors, and tax authorities would all come down on him.
A sense of relief at having survived the worst crisis of his life.
As they walked to the parking lot, Lee Beom-seok spoke.
“Jo Soo-ah, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t even think about contacting her again. Don’t drag my life down with yours.”
Lee Beom-seok had thrown punches around town and knew exactly who not to touch.
“Yeah, I won’t contact Jo Soo-ah anymore.”
Choi Won-seok let out a long sigh.
He’d been deeply infatuated with her, but that vanished into thin air the moment he saw Kim Shin.
No matter how much he chased her, she’d never like him back.
* * *
Jo Soo-ah’s vacation still had two days left before it started.
I’d arrived a bit early, but knowing she was nearby made for a strange feeling.
―Kim Shin: What’re you up to?
A reply came shortly after.
―Jo Soo-ah: At a dinner with the Su Ophthalmology Network in Cheonan.
―Kim Shin: Gamjatang place? They always go late there.
―Jo Soo-ah: Yep. The nurses drink a lot too. I only had a bit of beer, but your name came up a ton at the dinner.
―Kim Shin: My name?
―Jo Soo-ah: They didn’t expect you to be this successful. They talked a lot about your sales rep days. Not just at Su Ophthalmology—other hospitals too.
Being in the news so often, people who knew me probably talked about me a lot.
Even if it was trash-talk, it didn’t bother me.
But Jo Soo-ah’s attitude did.
Her feelings for me were clear, but it felt like she was keeping distance, ready to leave at any moment.
‘Does she not trust me?’
The feeling lingered, so I’d consulted Lee Jong-yeop about it.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah.”
“Imagine back when you were at Arcor, dating Isung Group’s young, pretty female heir.”
“That’d never happen.”
The gap between an Arcor sales rep and an Isung Group heir suddenly felt enormous.
I’d experienced it myself, but even convenience store triangle kimbap gave me pause.
“Exactly. But your position now is way above any Isung Group heir, right?”
“Ah...”
“You’re not some naive early-20s kid anymore—you know the world. To Jo Soo-ah, it’d breed insecurity, thinking you could leave her anytime.”
“That makes sense.”
I’d only thought of my own feelings, but Jo Soo-ah was considering the harsh realities that might make her anxious.
She might be prepared to let me go if a better woman came along.
‘She’d think it’s a choice for my sake, not hers.’
If I truly loved a woman, I might let her go for someone better too.
And welcome her back warmly if she returned someday.
That’s when realization hit.
‘Jo Soo-ah already went through that with Han Chae-won.’
Back at Arcor, Jo Soo-ah had liked me more than anyone.
She hadn’t shown it, and I’d been oblivious.
“Jason.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“There’s somewhere we need to go now.”
I took the wheel of the Mercedes.
Leaving Seoul, where traffic jammed even at midnight, I hit the Gyeongbu Expressway.
Jason was in the passenger seat, issuing orders to the bodyguards via radio.
At least ten Mercedes were moving together.
‘It’s been a while.’
I drove the expressway I’d grown sick of during regional sales trips, entering the Cheonan Interchange.
My destination was the gamjatang restaurant near Su Ophthalmology Clinic.
I loved bone hangover soup, and this place was especially delicious, so I always stopped here in Cheonan.
“Jason, hold on a sec.”
“Yes, Boss.”
After hesitating in the car for a while, I sent a text.
―Kim Shin: I have something to say.
―Jo Soo-ah: What? You’re making me nervous.
―Kim Shin: I have a request. Will you grant it?
―Jo Soo-ah: ……What is it?
I’d said I loved her many times, but words like that didn’t convey complex emotions well.
I decided to be straightforward via text.
―Kim Shin: I want you to become my family.
―Jo Soo-ah: Family?
―Kim Shin: I don’t have any family.
The texts carried my raw feelings as they were.
―Kim Shin: Even if I did, just one. I want that person to be you—the one I grow old with.
―Kim Shin: After breaking up with Han Chae-won, I thought I’d live alone forever. I was confident I could handle the loneliness.
―Kim Shin: But I want to live with you. Forever.
I wanted her beside me through my thirties, forties, and fifties.
Even into old age, I wanted to be with Jo Soo-ah.
―Kim Shin: Sorry for springing this without making many good memories first.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the Su Ophthalmology staff dinner, Jo Soo-ah stared at her phone.
Tears dropped from Jo Soo-ah’s eyes as she read Kim Shin’s texts.
“Sniff.”
Seeing her suddenly sobbing pitifully, the nurses beside her comforted her.
“Soo-ah, what’s wrong?”
“Something at home?”
Jo Soo-ah always took good care of even the new nurses at the clinic, so they got along well.
“It’s nothing.”
But as she covered her phone with her hand and kept sobbing, the dinner table fell silent.
Doctors and nurses alike stared blankly.
Jo Soo-ah had always been pretty, but this year, she’d become even more beautiful for some reason.
Everyone watched the beauty cry, and the young single doctors glanced around before standing slyly.
‘I’ll comfort her.’
‘This is my chance to get close to Jo Soo-ah.’
Just as fierce competition was about to unfold among the young doctors.
The gamjatang restaurant’s door opened, and a man entered with bodyguards.
The man gave a light bow to the clinic director.
“Hello, Director Gu Suk-jeong.”
“Huh? Who...”
“I’m Kim Shin.”
Kim Shin briefly removed his mask to show his face.
Everyone at the dinner—customers, staff—stopped what they were doing and stared.
Quite a few had known Kim Shin before, but his stature now was different.
They were meeting in person the Kim Shin they’d seen on the news.