Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: In vino veritas.
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In vino veritas (In wine, there is truth).
Yoo Jihyun let out a sharp shriek.
"Do you think that makes any sense right now? Drinking with Woojin oppa!?"
"What's wrong with that? That's why I'm asking what Woojin thinks."
As Yoo Jihyun stepped forward in fierce opposition, Yoo Daeho smacked his lips awkwardly.
At that moment, Yoo Daeho's eyes subtly shifted toward Woojin.
Tick.
'You convince her.'
It was that kind of look.
Woojin chuckled inwardly.
'Haha, look at the chairman.'
The mighty Yoo Daeho was sending an SOS with his eyes.
It wasn't a bad deal for Woojin either.
It was like racking up a favor with the second-largest conglomerate in the country.
Plus, watching this awkward father-daughter dynamic was pretty entertaining content.
Woojin nodded crisply.
"Sounds good. Let's have a drink."
"Oppa!"
"But I'll go buy the booze. I don't drink just anything. Do you have a preferred brand?"
Yoo Daeho flashed a satisfied smile at Woojin's cue.
"Excellent. I'm fine with anything. Pick whatever you like."
"Got it."
Yoo Jihyun glared at Woojin in disbelief.
"What? Why are you doing this too, oppa?"
Woojin threw on his coat to head out.
"Make some simple side dishes too. We'll have a drink together—all three of us."
"Wh-why me!?"
"Fine? If you don't want to, no big deal. Just the two of us men will drink. Plenty to talk about."
Woojin headed for the door without a second thought.
Yoo Jihyun bit her lip.
Her dad and Woojin oppa drinking alone?
She couldn't bear the anxiety of what they might discuss.
What if he slipped up somehow...
"......Fine."
She murmured softly.
"I'll... make the side dishes."
Woojin's lips curved up.
As expected, she couldn't hold back her curiosity.
"Then just wait a bit. I'll be right back."
"Go ahead."
Jingle.
"Welcome! Oh? Bro! You're here?"
The part-timer jumped up and greeted Woojin warmly upon seeing him.
Ever since Woojin had given those troublemaking customers a proper lesson last time, the kid had treated him like a hero.
"Yeah. Keep up the good work. Hey, where's the corner with the pricier, good stuff?"
"Over here! Even convenience stores carry decent whiskey and traditional liquors these days."
Woojin scanned the shelves.
This was for entertaining the chairman—nothing too cheap.
And the booze Woojin wanted wasn't your average stuff anyway.
That's when a peculiar bottle caught his eye.
What kind of insane booze is this...
Save that for when I want to create some personal black history later.
As he browsed various options, Woojin's gaze locked onto one.
His lips curved up.
'Here it is!'
It was a premium traditional liquor in a porcelain bottle.
And floating above it, the status window.
It was an option he'd glimpsed before when buying that sweet whiskey.
Why, isn't booze called the water of truth?
This liquor fit the saying perfectly.
The perfect item for that stuffy father-daughter pair with their walls up.
"Hey, any more stock of this?"
"Ah, that's pricey stuff—doesn't sell much... Probably two or three more in the back?"
"Bring 'em all."
"Yes, sir!"
As the part-timer dashed to the storeroom, Woojin pulled out his card at the counter.
'Wonder what'll come out of this... Could be more fun than I thought.'
A meaningful smile played on Woojin's lips.
While Woojin was out buying booze, Yoo Jihyun whipped up some tofu kimchi and rolled omelet and sat waiting.
Sangjin had wisely retreated to his room.
Woojin set the bottles on the dining table.
"Oh ho, Premium Andong Soju. Good taste."
Yoo Daeho eyed the bottles approvingly.
Woojin deftly uncorked one.
Of course, he'd finished enhancing them on the way back.
It said no compulsion, but could they really resist at +5?
Once the booze hit, unlocking the heart was only a matter of time.
"Here you go."
Glug.
The clear liquor filled the glass.
Yoo Daeho downed it in one go.
"Kuh...! Good stuff. So smooth and sweet."
Yoo Jihyun pouted and forced down a glass.
"......Gulp! What's the proof on this, oppa?"
"This? 45. Hits nice, right?"
No noticeable effects at first.
But after the first bottle emptied silently and they cracked the second.
The air began to shift subtly.
Yoo Daeho's face gradually flushed, his fierce gaze softening.
He stared mutely at his glass before suddenly speaking.
"Woojin."
"Yes, go ahead."
"What do you think of Jihyun?"
Woojin had drunk the Frankness-laced booze too.
But unlike Yoo Daeho and Jihyun, Woojin had no reason to hide his true feelings.
"Do I even need to say? Pretty, kind, strong, rich, great cook. Is there a more perfect girl in Korea? I don't think so."
Truth carries power.
When spoken from the heart, it's unmistakably real.
Yoo Daeho nodded, sensing Woojin's sincerity.
"So, you two dating?"
The question came without warning.
Jihyun's face flushed crimson.
"Dad!! Come on!!"
"No. She's too good for me."
Jihyun's face fell subtly.
Yoo Daeho chuckled at the sight.
'Jihyun's the one clinging... Kid...'
Yoo Daeho took another long swig.
Silence fell again.
Then his mouth opened slowly once more.
"Jihyun... She's my sore spot."
"I figured."
"All my fault... Everyone blames me."
Jihyun was quite shocked right now.
Her iron-willed father blaming himself instead of others?
Impossible.
Glug.
Woojin refilled Daeho's glass.
"Tell us. Why's it your fault, Chairman?"
"......"
"If you've done wrong, confess and seek forgiveness—that's only right. No one knows if you don't speak."
"Hoo..."
A deep sigh escaped.
Moments later, Chairman Yoo Daeho's heavy words began.
"You know I built Daeho Trading into Korea's second-largest group in just 20 years."
"Of course. Impressive feat."
But Yoo Daeho shook his head.
"How could a country bumpkin do that? Young me had ambition and greed. To grow the company, I needed backing. So I married the daughter of a powerful politician with aligned interests."
"!!!"
Jihyun hearing this for the first time.
"But by then, I'd already promised a future with Jihyun's mom... Han Suyeon."
"Wh...!"
Woojin placed a hand on Jihyun's shoulder as she shot up, gesturing to listen more.
Nod.
"I chose ambition over her. She said she understood. Told me to follow my path. Sent me off with a smile. Thought that was the end."
Gulp.
The potent liquor scratched thrillingly down his throat.
He bowed his head, voice wet.
"She was too good for me. Realized too late. She'd already been given a terminal diagnosis."
"......!!"
Jihyun's eyes shook wildly.
"What...?"
"She knew. She wouldn't live long. Pushed me away desperately so I could succeed, gain power."
Yoo Daeho's voice trembled.
"For the child she'd leave behind like a lump of blood... so I could take you in. She chose your future in her belly over her own love."
"Ah, ahh..."
A gasp escaped Jihyun.
She'd thought her mom was abandoned by dad.
That she'd lived sadly like a tragic heroine.
But no.
Mom had foreseen her death, forced away the man she loved so her daughter could grow safe in his shadow.
Thud!
Yoo Daeho punched his chest.
"I didn't know... Drunk on success and power, oblivious as she birthed you alone and withered. Too late when I went back—beyond help."
All he could do was share a few meals, play with Jihyun occasionally.
Even then, Han Suyeon made him kimchi fried rice herself.
But those days didn't last.
"When Suyeon died and I finally brought you home, I didn't hide you were mine. If I had, you wouldn't have suffered like this... That was my selfishness."
Yoo Daeho looked up, eyes brimming with tears.
"Han Suyeon... bore you... I couldn't deny you were my child. It would've betrayed her trust in leaving you to me. Your torment as the mistress's kid... all my fault."
It was excuse and belated repentance from an old father.
"This DH Group seems mine, but it's not. Not built solely on my power... Yet I couldn't let go. Losing it too—after taking her place—would leave me nothing. That's why I neglected you... All my greed."
Jihyun's eyes reddened. She screamed in fury.
"Then you should've said it!! Why you did it! I could've understood!!"
Her voice quavered wetly.
"Do you know how hard it was for me!? Hospitalized in pain, graduation! You never came once! I thought being born was my sin!!"
Sharp resentment.
Decades of pent-up grief burst like a dam.
"Why bring me if like this!? Let me die with mom! Why bring me!? Thought that a thousand times!!"
Yoo Daeho closed his eyes, smiling bitterly.
"......Sorry."
Words she'd never heard.
"No... I have no right. Not asking forgiveness. Just..."
He wiped his flushed face with a huge, rough hand.
"Just, sorry. That's it. For leaving you and your mom alone... truly sorry."
Silence followed.
Jihyun bit her lip hard, head bowed.
Her shoulders shook.
She too felt the booze and skill's pull.
True feelings buried deep by pride forced their way out.
"......World's biggest idiot."
"......?"
"Dad's the biggest fool, moron, loser!!"
Jihyun looked up, face tear-streaked.
"Who wants sorry? Who wants apologies!?"
She sobbed out.
"Not asking forgiveness!? Without knowing my heart! Still doing your own thing!!"
"......Ji, Jihyun?"
"Hated you... disliked you... but after mom died, you were my only family! Who else to trust!? Only you! Just... a warm word like now was enough...!"
She didn't need his money or power.
Just someone in her corner.
Yoo Daeho's eyes reddened too.
"Yeah... I see. What a pathetic wretch I am."
"Hic... Hngh!"
Finally, Jihyun wailed like a child.
Yoo Daeho rose hesitantly, then carefully embraced his daughter's shoulders.
His massive back trembled faintly.
Over a decade of emotional walls melted under hot tears and strong liquor.
Woojin quietly refilled glasses, then slipped away.
'Family squabbles are like cutting water with a knife.'
No place for him here. Nor should there be.
Woojin entered his room, opened the window.
Cool winter night breeze blew in.
From the living room, their tearful talk murmured on.
Woojin looked up at the sky and chuckled.
"Good booze."
The moon shone especially bright tonight.
A bit later.
Knock knock.
Click.
Woojin's door opened.
It was Jihyun.
"Talk go well?"
"...Yeah... Thanks, oppa."
Woojin scratched his head.
"No biggie... C'mon, let's go. Chairman's leaving?"
As Woojin headed to the living room.
Clack.
Click.
Jihyun locked the door.
"......? Jihyun?"
Her hand already gripped his wrist tight.
Not something Woojin could shake off with strength.
And,
Whoosh!
Thud!
"???!!!"
Woojin flew like a paper doll onto the bed.
His wrists pinned above his head by her hands.
Grip!
Crunch!
"Kuh!!"
He strained to escape—futile struggle.
'C-can't budge!'
"Ji-Jihyun. Wh-what's wrong? Let, let go!"
Woojin sensed danger.
'Oh crap. Her eyes are crazed!'
Only now did he recall Frankness Lv.6's effect.
– While under the influence, you feel an urge to act without falsehoods.
'Damn it!! Should've stopped at +3!!'
Too late for regrets.
Swish.
Jihyun's long, beautiful black hair tickled his face.
Her flushed face—booze or otherwise—drew closer.
Her sticky sigh fell on him.
"Haa... O...ppa..."