Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Even If a Tiger Enters the House, Keep Your Wits and You'll Survive
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Jihyun Yoo stammered in panic as she opened her mouth.
"I-I'm at home! Th-that's right! I'm in the shower right now... Just wait downstairs for a bit, and I'll come down soon!"
It was a hastily made excuse, but there was a faint hope that it might just work.
But that hope was shattered without mercy.
[Don't lie to me.]
Yoo Daeho's voice came low and gravelly.
[I'm already inside 1104 right now.]
"...!"
Jihyun bit her lip.
'That traitor Kim Cheolsu!'
There were only six people who knew the password to 1104.
Out of them, the only one who might have fallen for Yoo Daeho's persuasion was Kim Cheolsu, lying in the hospital.
[Not a single ant in the house. So there's only one conclusion.]
Jihyun swallowed hard.
[You haven't left this house in the past day. Katherine from 1003 and Kim Cheolsu from 1004 are both out. No reason for you to leave your own place for an empty one...]
It was the most obvious process of elimination.
[So the only place left is one. Right here...]
"I-I have to hang up!"
Jihyun abruptly ended the call.
Tu- tu- tu-
The line went dead.
However...
Bang– bang– bang–!
The front door of 1103 shook heavily, and a roar like a tiger's penetrated through it into the room.
"Open the door! I know you're all in there."
Silence fell over the living room.
Clink–
Sangjin dropped the spoon he was eating with.
"Yoo... President Yoo Daeho... for real?"
The second-ranked figure in Korea's business world.
The tiger whose single word could make stock prices dance was standing right outside the door.
Jihyun stomped her feet in frustration, her face scrunched up in distress.
"Yeah! So what? It's just one meal together? Why should I be scared?"
As she said that, Jihyun started heading toward the front door.
"Sorry about my dad. I'll handle this."
But Woojin blocked her path in alarm.
"Hey! Hey! Wait a second!"
Whoosh–
In his haste to stop her, it looked like Jihyun was throwing herself into Woojin's arms.
A sweet, fragrant scent hit Woojin's nose hard.
How did these two always smell so damn good?
Normally, they'd both be blushing and making a fuss, but this was an emergency.
"Are you insane? You're going to open the door!?"
"Y-yeah, why not? I-I didn't do anything wrong..."
Her already panicked stuttering was incredibly suspicious.
And then there was Jihyun's outfit.
Not just the underwear-like spaghetti-strap top that exposed her navel.
The real spectacle was the short shorts that revealed a hint of her underbutt.
Open the door like this? Disaster was guaranteed.
"Jihyun, calm down. Take a look at what you're wearing right now."
Jihyun slowly examined her own clothes.
"!!!"
Only then did her face flush bright red.
Who in their right mind visits a friend's house dressed like this?
Objectively, it screamed live-in couple.
If the conservative President Yoo Daeho saw this?
Woojin might be fine, but Kim Cheolsu or a few security team leads could be done for today.
An alarm rang in Jihyun's head.
"N-no, you can't open it!"
Yeah, better to leave it at suspicion without visual confirmation.
[Jihyun!! I can hear your voice! Open the door now! If not, I'll break it down!]
Damn, the old man's ears were sharp too.
Woojin also panicked and started racking his brain for a way out.
His opponent was none other than President Yoo Daeho.
There was a high chance he'd actually break the door down.
In the end, they had to open it.
"We have to open it. He'll really smash it."
"Th-then... h-hide!"
"Hiding will make it look even worse. Pretend you're sick in bed or something. Cover up with this at least."
Woojin grabbed a blanket from the sofa and wrapped it around Jihyun.
"Stay rolled up like that. Say you have a cold and came to borrow medicine from next door."
"O-okay..."
Jihyun quickly sat in the corner of the sofa and pulled the blanket over her head.
With just her face peeking out, she looked like a scared hamster.
Bang– bang–!
"Not opening? I'm counting to three starting now!!"
Woojin scurried to the front door.
"Coming, coming! The door's gonna break, seriously."
Woojin took a deep breath and unlocked the door lock.
"Hoo...!"
Beep–
Click–
"...Hello, President. Sir...?"
As soon as he opened the door, a massive shadow filled the entryway.
Nearly 190cm tall, a hulking build.
An intimidating presence that belied his sixties.
President Yoo Daeho, with eyes like a beast.
Behind him, security in black suits were spread out.
Yoo Daeho's eyebrow twitched.
"Out of the way. I'm here for my daughter."
"Yes, come on in."
Yoo Daeho started to step in with his shoes on but paused, then politely took them off.
Woojin found the gesture a bit unexpected.
Yoo Daeho brushed past Woojin like he was shoving him aside and strode into the living room.
Then he spotted his daughter, huddled in the corner of the sofa.
"Jihyun! You, what are you doing in this guy's place...!"
Yoo Daeho's eyes scanned the room in an instant as he entered.
Dishes on the table, Sangjin standing frozen with his rice bowl in hand, not knowing what to do.
And in the sofa corner, Jihyun sitting with the blanket over her, head poking out.
"...".
Jihyun called out in a voice muffled as if crawling into the blanket.
"...Y-you're here?"
Yoo Daeho let out an incredulous scoff.
"Ha! Unbelievable. Won't even pick up your father's call, and here you are like this? And what's with that getup?"
"I'm sick... No energy to answer the phone."
"Sick? What the hell is a sick girl doing in someone else's house!?"
Yoo Daeho's voice rose.
The moment her father started yelling, Jihyun fired back.
She'd been scared before seeing him, but now that she saw him raging, her own anger bubbled up.
"What business is it of yours what I do! You never cared before!!"
Silence descended on 1103 at Jihyun's shout.
The sounds of the security guards outside quietly moving away could be heard.
"Team A... keep your distance."
Yoo Daeho was at a loss for words.
"...".
The reason he'd come here wasn't anything else.
– What? A gate? Secretary Kim and Jihyun got caught in it?
– Yes, sir. Fortunately, both are safe.
He'd already gotten the report. He'd even visited the hospital where Secretary Kim was laid up.
– Useless fool. All he knows is hopping helicopters to buy meat. I sent him to protect my daughter, and look at this mess...
– My apologies, sir. But he survived thanks to the young miss. She's incredibly strong.
Even so, to him, Jihyun was still a child left by the water's edge.
His harsh treatment of her only applied to matters involving his other children from different mothers.
Even an S-rank hunter was at risk entering a gate unprepared.
President Yoo Daeho knew that all too well.
That's why, right after Ailin left, he'd come to check on his daughter out of worry.
"D-did it hurt a lot? B-body's okay, right?"
"Who asked you to worry?"
Jihyun snapped back. It was the sharp exchange typical of their strained father-daughter relationship.
"...Sigh... Fine, where does it hurt? How bad? After a gate, if you're feeling off, you need a full checkup. Come on, we're going to the hospital right now."
Yoo Daeho was trying to hold back his anger, concerned that his daughter was ill.
"N-no thanks. I know my own body. Oppa’s medicine is enough."
At that moment, Yoo Daeho's eyebrow twitched again.
"...Oppa...?"
Woojin looked up at the ceiling and tapped his forehead.
'Oh no... Jihyun...'
His gaze slowly, heavily, turned toward Woojin.
"Did my daughter just call you 'oppa' right now?"
It was a voice laced with killing intent.
The presence of Korea's number-two businessman crushed the living room.
It was so overwhelming, you’d think he was an awakener himself.
Sangjin froze, unable to even breathe.
But Woojin shrugged nonchalantly.
"I'm older, so. Neighbors can call each other oppa and dongsaeng."
"Neighbors? Ha, that's rich. My daughter calls her own blood brothers 'that guy.' And she calls you, a total stranger, 'oppa'?"
Yoo Daeho took a step toward Woojin.
"What are you, really? What have you done to my daughter?"
"Done? We just ate some rice together. That's it."
"Rice?"
Rice. He couldn't even remember the last time he’d eaten with Jihyun.
That was when it happened.
Grrrrowl–
Perhaps triggered by the word "rice," a thunderous rumble echoed from Yoo Daeho's stomach.
Silence fell.
The mighty President Yoo Daeho cleared his throat awkwardly and averted his eyes.
"Ahem!"
His gaze landed on the table, on the kimchi fried rice still steaming.
"...Smells good."
As if changing the subject—or really, drawn by instinct—he approached the table.
"Who made this? You?"
Yoo Daeho glared at poor Sangjin, who was standing there with cheeks puffed, chewing kimchi fried rice, unable to swallow at the right moment.
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Sangjin gulped it down and stammered.
"M-my sister-in-law... no, Jihyun noona made it."
Overwhelmed by the pressure, Sangjin slipped up too.
Woojin pressed his temple.
'That idiot...!'
Yoo Daeho said in disbelief.
"Sister-in-law?"
It was getting worse by the minute.
'How dare she set up house here, out of my sight? Who gave permission!'
The moment Yoo Daeho was about to bellow—
"D-Dad! Why don't you eat before you go!?"
Jihyun's shout made Yoo Daeho's eyes widen.
"Eat... and go...?"
He looked utterly incredulous.
'How long has it been since she invited me to eat...?'
– Hehe, eating with Daddy is so fun.
– Yeah?
– Yup, usually it's just me and Mom or me alone, but when Daddy comes, we're three, so it's more yummy.
– Let's eat together more often then.
– Yeah, if we ate together every day, it'd be the best.
The memory flashed by: his young daughter, wriggling happily, smiling brightly as she moved her spoon.
Today, he wasn't here as the group president, but as her father.
Yoo Daeho strode to the table and sat in the cramped chair.
"Fine, let's see how it tastes."
Woojin watched and thought.
'Wait... if I get up to cook now...!'
But Jihyun was undeterred.
Whoosh–!
She tossed the blanket aside and marched to the kitchen.
Yoo Daeho's expression twisted in real-time at the sight.
"You... right now... what the hell is that outfit...?"
Jihyun decided to play it bold.
"What, what about it!?"
"What do you mean, what! That practically naked look—what is it!?"
"Ha! Now you're critiquing my clothes? Ailin Benedict, who lives with me, dresses like this every day—why don't you say something to her! You told me to get close to her! That's why I matched her style!"
At Benedict's name, Yoo Daeho flinched a bit.
"S-still, this is too much! Even if young people dress freely these days. I mean, it looks just like..."
Yoo Daeho swallowed the words "newlyweds" that rose to his throat.
"Means you're old. Everyone dresses like this nowadays?"
Yoo Daeho's pupils shook.
Old... The word stabbed like a dagger.
"...Just bring the food..."
Thus, they safely passed the outfit crisis, and Jihyun resumed cooking.
Thud–
"Here."
'Kimchi fried rice, huh...'
The familiar dish brought a wave of nostalgia.
It was the simple, warm food Jihyun's mother used to make for the busy Yoo Daeho when she was alive.
Yoo Daeho sat at the table, swept by strange emotions, and picked up his spoon.
Clink–
In less than five minutes, Yoo Daeho's kimchi fried rice vanished.
His habit of eating quickly for work was still ingrained.
"Delicious..."
"Now that you're done, go."
At Jihyun's eviction order, Yoo Daeho looked at Woojin.
"First time seeing you in person, Woojin. Sorry about earlier. I was out of sorts worrying about my daughter."
Woojin bowed politely.
"I understand. It's an honor to meet you, sir."
Yoo Daeho smiled bitterly.
"What's honorable about seeing an old man with no teeth left..."
Then his massive frame leaned toward Woojin.
"Want to have a drink with me?"
"Pardon?"
A term that rarely ever came from Jihyun's mouth echoed loudly through 1103.
"Daddy!!!"