The Chairman's Generosity
Dayeon turned to look at him, but Siheon kept his gaze fixed on the tablet PC.
“Next Saturday?”
With a puzzled expression, Dayeon lifted her water cup and thought for a moment.
“Hmm... I'm not sure.”
She wanted to go on a date with her teacher. It would take a lot of luck, though.
She had heard about a new cafe near the school. It had a good atmosphere. She had been hesitating whether to ask him to go together but hadn't yet.
If not, maybe they could have dinner together. She had heard from Sangjudaek that Siheon had liked dumplings and ribs since he was little.
Even though she couldn't cook well, if she learned to cook from Sangjudaek and put it in front of him, Siheon would say why are you doing this for nothing and eventually taste a few bites. Because he was always the type who was warm in actions rather than words.
Of course, the possibility was not high.
These days, Siheon was unusually busy. Not only weekdays but also weekends, he often had to leave the company to handle business.
So, probably, he would be home most of the time. He would study alone.
Although she was still only a first-year pre-med student, the workload was beyond imagination. Exams, assignments, practicals she had to check frequently....
There were mountains of things she had to do in advance.
“It doesn't seem like there is anything special.”
Dayeon took a sip of water and looked at Siheon. Was there something she had to do separately?
However, the words that came out of Siheon's mouth were completely different from what she expected.
“Then let's do it that day. Marry.”
“Puhup!”
Dayeon spat out the water.
“Kehek. Kek. W-what did you say?”
With a hoarse voice, she hurriedly patted her chest. Her face looked like she had heard something wrong.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“No...”
Dayeon opened her eyes wide with an aggrieved expression.
“Who says 'let's get married' like that?”
“It's just a meal with the family after saying 'let's get married.'”
“Then...”
“No need to worry. If you just smile appropriately, it will end there.”
His expression and tone were as if he was scheduling a meeting. Dayeon looked at his face and let out a small sigh.
Even though it was a contract marriage, it was still a marriage.
'Only I am feeling this way, getting excited. For the teacher, all of this is just something to handle.'
It was when a feeling of resentment was about to come. Suddenly, the intercom rang with a cheerful sound.
“Who is it?”
Since it was the weekend and Sangjudaek wasn't working, it wasn't her.
“I'll go check.”
Dayeon moved first towards the intercom and saw the unexpected person on the screen with a puzzled expression.
“Song Jibsa-nim?”
“Song Jibsa?”
Siheon, hearing the name that came out of Dayeon's mouth, shook his head.
“I guess Chairman Cha is up to something again.”
“What should I do?”
“I can't do anything about it. Tell him to come in.”
Following Siheon's words, Dayeon pressed the button on the screen.
A moment later, the front door opened and Song Jibsa appeared.
“Have you rested well, Managing Director. And, Dayeon-ya.”
Song Jibsa entered the house and bowed his waist straight, greeting.
“What is it? From the morning.”
Siheon, arms crossed, looked at Song Jibsa's back with an unpleasant expression.
There, a group of people stood like shadows, holding something in both hands.
“I'm sorry for not informing you in advance. However, Chairman Cha is so strict...”
Song Jibsa trailed off, as if trying to show that he had been persuaded but couldn't do anything.
“Then, excuse me for a moment.”
Song Jibsa bowed again and gave a signal to the people behind. Then, the black-clothed aides filed into the house one by one.
“Wait, what is this...”
Before she could stop, the people who rushed into the house placed the things they were holding on the living room floor and quickly left.
The living room quickly filled with shopping bags and boxes.
“What is all this?”
Siheon asked with a dumbfounded expression, and Song Jibsa answered with an awkward face.
“Chairman Cha sent these as gifts for Dayeon-ya.”
“Gifts...?”
Dayeon, who was standing behind, looked at the shopping bags on the floor with a bewildered expression.
'I thought the teacher said he wouldn't do things like that yesterday.'
“Anyway, the old man doesn't know how to listen to others.”
Siheon clicked his tongue and picked one of the shopping bags, taking out the contents. The thing he pulled out was a square box wrapped in burgundy velvet cloth.
When he lifted the lid, a long necklace with sparkling gems embedded in it appeared.
The necklace had a few exaggerated small gems like Vienna sausages.
“What is this...?”
As Dayeon stared at the necklace with a dazed face, Siheon's phone rang with a buzzing sound.
He checked the screen, let out a short sigh, and pressed the call button.
“Yes, Grandfather.”
The voice of Chairman Cha, slightly excited, came from the phone.
Siheon rubbed the tired corners of his eyes.
“I told you yesterday that I didn't need anything like this.”
“Eokki. Inseok-ah. Even so. How can you bring your granddaughter-in-law empty-handed.”
“So you sent Song Jibsa from the crack of dawn. Perhaps because you thought Dayeon might be disappointed if she didn't receive anything.”
It hadn't even been a day since he declared he would marry. In that short time, he had bought a lot of things busily.
Was it really right to buy these things that didn't match peanut at all?
“Anyway, it's better to give the things you bought as soon as possible. Right?”
Chairman Cha said that, but Siheon's inner thoughts were clear.
He probably thought to eliminate all the regret and worries that Dayeon might have about the marriage.
Since he had always solved everything with money, he probably thought that if he gave overflowing gifts, she would gladly accept this marriage.
“Since you've bought them, what else can you do. Tell Dayeon well.”
After that, the call ended. Siheon stared at the phone with a troubled face, and Song Jibsa, who approached, smiled faintly.
“Then we'll be going.”
Following Song Jibsa who bowed again, about five aides left the front door in a row.
Dayeon looked at the gifts left by the uninvited guests with a troubled expression.
“What should I do with these?”
Siheon, who had been scanning the shopping bags on the floor, let out a small sigh and replied.
“It's yours, right?”
“Mine? But this is too...”
“The old man who has nothing but money. Even if he bought this much, it won't scratch his vast fortune.”
Siheon closed the necklace case with a click. And with that being the only thing he had to say, he went into the room.
“What am I supposed to do with all this...”
It was already surprising enough with just the words about marrying on the weekend, but to receive such expensive and inappropriate gifts.
Dayeon's troubled gaze wandered over the shopping bags in the living room for a long time.
“Oh my, you mean you kept all these in the closet for a week?”
Sangjudaek exclaimed while looking at the enormous number of shopping bags filling the closet.
It had been empty because she didn't have many things, but now colorful shopping bags were crammed inside the closet.
“I don't think any of those are my things.”
Dayeon, standing with an awkward face, scratched her head and replied.
“They seem too flashy and too expensive.”
Dayeon had always lived frugally since she was a child. The thought of wearing such flashy things that she couldn't even guess the price made her feel burdened.
“Wow. Clothes, bags, shoes. You sent them all categorized.”
“What should I do? It seems like there are too many things.”
Watching Dayeon hesitate, Sangjudaek shrugged her shoulders.
“What's the problem. It's a gift from an adult. You receive it with 'thank you.'”
Dayeon sighed. It was no different from her reaction to Siheon.
Sangjudaek's gaze, who was organizing the various shopping bags, suddenly landed on the clothes Dayeon was holding.
“By the way, what is this?”
“Eh? What?”
“The clothes you're holding right now.”
Dayeon said 'ah' and unfolded the clothes she was holding to show Sangjudaek.
“Chairman called it a meal, so I'm going to wear this. Is it okay?”
A sky-blue shirt and beige pants. It was the most neat outfit among what Dayeon had.
Sangjudaek, who saw the clothes that had been washed and ironed yesterday, showed a bewildered expression. Sangjudaek had also heard about the weekend meal.
“That isn't just a meal.”
She swallowed hard and added as if to confirm.
“It wasn't a substitute for a wedding ceremony?”