As Expected, the Protagonist Is the Protagonist
In the end, I didn't stop until Ha Juyun begged me to stop after going at it ten times straight. I lay there with her head pillowed on my arm as she panted, trying to catch her breath. Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she asked me.
"By the way, isn't Juangua crazy expensive? From what I heard, even the cheap ones go for at least five hundred million won... Of course, I don't really buy into that stuff, so I never got one for myself."
"It's fine. I have more than enough to buy something like that for you, Nuna."
"This kid, seriously..." Ha Juyun shook her head. "How does a regular company employee have the money to buy a single fruit worth over five hundred million? What, are you some chaebol heir like Yugyeong?"
I smiled and nodded at her words. There was no real need to tell her, but she seemed genuinely worried about the cost, so I decided to come clean. Besides, it wasn't like Ha Juyun would go spreading it around.
"Actually, my grandfather is the chairman of the Taira Group."
"Oh my god! Really?!"
Ha Juyun's eyes widened in shock. Then, as if a thought had struck her, she looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"Wait, isn't Yongtae Korean? The Taira family is Japanese, right?"
"Well, the truth is..."
With her head still resting on my arm, I told her the whole story—how my surname had become Taira. That I was a Zainichi Korean, how my father had died without me even knowing, the funeral, and how my grandfather had suddenly given me the Taira name. Ha Juyun listened with rapt attention, clearly fascinated.
"Ah... so that's what happened. Our Yongtae has been through a lot, hasn't he?"
"It wasn't that bad. My mother raised me comfortably without any hardship, so..."
After hearing my story, Ha Juyun gazed at me with a touch of pity in her eyes.
The original Jin Yongtae had indeed been bullied for being Zainichi and grew up without a father. But he had good friends like Kazuhiro and Kiyohira, and Mrs. Jin Mi-ja had raised him well—scolding him when he strayed and praising him when he did right. He hadn't felt particularly unhappy. The bullying had stopped completely after he met Fujigasaki Rinka, too.
"You're amazing~."
Ha Juyun pulled me into her generous chest as she spoke. Hmm... the sensation was fantastic. Her breasts felt warm and full of maternal affection. I savored the softness for a moment before gently squeezing them.
"Hey... not right now♥ I have a lunch meeting."
I hadn't been thinking about sex; I'd just touched them because they felt good. Checking the time, it was already close to eleven forty. I needed to head back soon.
"Anyway, don't worry about the money. I have plenty. It's not family money, though—it's what I earned from stocks."
"Really? Our Yongtae is pretty impressive, huh?"
Ha Juyun kept praising me as she stroked my head. Then she got up, saying she needed to start getting ready.
"I'm going to shower. There's a bathroom over there besides the master one, so you should wash up too, Yongtae."
As expected of a luxury penthouse, there were multiple bathrooms. Since I was already naked, I stepped in, showered, and came out to find Ha Juyun drying her hair. I got dressed and walked over to her.
"I'll head out first. It would get messy if we left together and got spotted by the paparazzi."
"Okay. Next time, I'll come visit you in Japan."
"Anytime."
After a brief kiss with Ha Juyun, I left her place. Quite a bit of time had passed. I wondered if Han Yugyeong's work was finally done.
Han Yugyeong seemed sorry for having to keep leaving me alone because of work ever since we'd arrived in Korea. For me, though, it wasn't so bad—it gave me time to meet with Ha Juyun. I'd just grab something simple for lunch. Maybe some comfort food? It had been a while since I'd had bunsik.
Han Yugyeong returned around three and immediately crashed for a two-hour nap. Probably because I'd kept her up all night and she'd headed straight to the office early that morning. She was exhausted; the moment she got back, she was out like a light.
"Yawn...! If I keep living with you, Yongtae, I don't think I'll last long. You torment me way too much at night♥"
"So you hate it?"
"Nooo~ I love it♥"
When Han Yugyeong woke up, she pulled a suit from the closet and handed it to me, telling me to put it on. We'd gotten custom suits together the first time I'd come to Korea, so she must have remembered my measurements and ordered a new one.
It was a little tighter now that I'd bulked up some, but it still fit well enough. Once we were both dressed, we headed out. As soon as we stepped outside, I asked her the question that had been on my mind.
"Why the suit, though?"
"The restaurant I booked has a dress code."
A dress code? She really had picked somewhere fancy, just like she'd said.
"But..."
"Hm?"
"You look really handsome in a suit. Hehe."
Han Yugyeong stared at me with a dreamy, lovestruck expression, like she was falling for me all over again. She looked stunning too, wearing a tight black dress that followed the dress code. It was far more beautiful than her usual outfits. The deep neckline revealed just enough of her lovely cleavage to make it impossible for anyone not to stare.
"You look amazing too, Yugyeong. Really beautiful."
When I wrapped an arm around her waist, she giggled and leaned her head against me.
We took a taxi to the restaurant. The driver kept glancing at Han Yugyeong in the rearview mirror, which annoyed me. I shot him a sharp look full of killing intent. He flinched and kept his eyes firmly on the road after that. Han Yugyeong saw the whole thing and let out a soft, amused laugh.
The restaurant was every bit as upscale as it looked. After we were seated, we looked over the menu.
"I'll get the A course and you get the B course. We can share and switch plates."
"Sounds good."
One course might not be enough to fill my large stomach, but if I was still hungry, I could always eat more somewhere else.
Once we ordered, the different courses arrived and we compared flavors as we ate. Han Yugyeong seemed delighted to be in a place like this with me. She wore a happy smile the whole time, feeding me bites and accepting the ones I offered her.
I know it's shameless to say it myself, but we made a striking couple. I could feel the people around us stealing glances. My sharp senses even picked up the sound of a man staring at Yugyeong getting scolded by his girlfriend. I was chuckling at that when Han Yugyeong spoke up.
"Oh, my friends want to meet you tomorrow. What do you think?"
"With your friends? Sure, that sounds good. I've been curious what kind of people they are..."
Han Yugyeong's friends... The only name I knew was Son Nari, her closest friend in the department. Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked.
"So who exactly is coming tomorrow?"
"Son Nari—she's my best friend in the department. Then Hong Soo-yeon, a friend from my club. And Ji-soo, the student I tutor."
Hearing that only raised more questions. It probably wasn't a tennis club... And wasn't it a bit awkward to bring a tutoring student when meeting friends? Han Yugyeong seemed to sense my confusion and explained.
"Oh, I never told you about my club, did I? Back when I invested in Health Miracle, I wanted to learn more about stocks, so I joined a stock investment club for a while. That's how I met Soo-yeon. I don't really do club activities anymore, but I still see her."
In games, the type of club you joined affected what information and skills you could gain, so a stock club seemed like a solid choice.
"I see. But won't it be awkward with that Ji-soo student there?"
"Oh! Ji-soo's fine. Nari, Soo-yeon, and I each taught her different subjects, so we're all close."
That made sense. Using three students from Korea University as private tutors for different subjects? Must be a pretty wealthy family. I wondered which one. If it had come up in Mega Cop's Youngest Son, I probably would've recognized the name.
The conversation about Han Yugyeong's friends paused when our main dishes—steak and lobster—arrived. We shared bites again while this time talking about my friends.
"How are your friends doing these days, Yongtae?"
"Kazuhiro transferred to a team in America, so he's there now. Kiyohira was already living in the States, so I don't really have any friends left in Japan."
I had plenty of women, though... but there was no need for Yugyeong to know that.
"Then let's go to America together next time! I want to meet that Kiyohira friend of yours too."
"He's a pretty wild guy who loves fighting, but he's funny. I'm sure you'd like him."
We kept the conversation flowing through dinner, then went to a café for coffee before catching a movie. It was a standard action flick. In the final scene, after the protagonist rescued the heroine from all sorts of chaos and kissed her, I leaned in and kissed Han Yugyeong as well.
This was our third day in Korea, and it finally felt like a real date. The smile never left Han Yugyeong's face, so it seemed she was enjoying it just as much.