InkBound
patreon
CH246
🕑 Added 2025-03-22 09:36:06 +0000 UTCI was startled by what I heard.
To think something like that happened between them on the opening party day!
The next day, coming to his senses, he formally confessed his feelings. Hyun-joo noona said she would take time to think about it, and he waited anxiously. But from some point on, she started avoiding meetings and drawing a line.
Henry covered his face with both hands.
“It’s all my fault. If only I hadn’t made a mistake that day…”
Listening to him say this, it seemed he thought Hyun-joo noona had gotten carried away by the atmosphere and slept with him, and now regretted it.
Taek-gyu looked at me and asked.
“Then Henry is the one, right?”
“Probably.”
Considering the timing and circumstances, it’s almost certain.
“Hmm.”
Taek-gyu had been glaring at Henry with a pointlessly fierce expression since earlier. He was still doing it now, but a strange sense of relief surfaced in his expression.
Henry is definitely better than some random guy she might be dating.
“But why did Noona hide it?”
“Maybe she didn’t want to put undue burden on him?”
Taek-gyu nodded.
“That’s just like our sister’s personality. But he’ll find out eventually anyway.”
“Noona was probably planning to tell him herself soon.”
She wouldn’t have intended to hide it forever.
Henry, who had been blaming himself with his head down, looked up, startled by our conversation.
“What are you talking about? What is she hiding?”
“Well, that is…”
Should I tell him now, or should we wait until Noona tells him herself?
Taek-gyu told him the truth.
“My sister is pregnant. It’s probably because of what happened that day.”
“Huh?”
Henry blinked with a puzzled expression. And then a scream burst from his mouth.
“Oh my god!”
It seems that men, both in the East and the West, are shocked when they learn about a woman’s pregnancy.
“Well, it might be shocking, but calm down first…”
Henry jumped up and shouted.
“A baby! This is unbelievable!”
Seeing his reaction, Taek-gyu asked in a small voice.
“Is that liking it, or disliking it?”
“I don’t know.”
I don’t know for sure, but it seems like he likes it.
“Is that really true? Did Jessica really have my baby?”
“W-well, probably.”
“Is she healthy?”
“They say they’re both fine, so don’t worry.”
Henry made an expression as if he was about to cry with emotion.
“That’s such a relief. Oh! God! Thank you!”
“…….”
If it turns out not to be Henry’s baby, this could become a big mess.
Henry grabbed me and shouted.
“But why are you telling me this important fact now?”
“Because I just found out myself.”
“This is not the time to be like this here. I need to go see her now.”
He was so excited that he seemed like he would break through the window and jump into the next building.
I calmly said.
“Calm down and compose yourself.”
“How can I possibly calm down right now?”
Taek-gyu put his hand on Henry’s shoulder, who was about to rush out, and said.
“Calm down, brother-in-law.”
“Okay.”
What? Why doesn’t he listen to me but listens to Taek-gyu?
Anyway, Henry calmed down and sat back down. The reason Hyun-joo noona didn’t accept his confession and decided to raise the child alone must be because she judged that Henry was acting out of a sense of responsibility.
Then how can we convey his sincerity?
As we were worrying together, Taek-gyu asked in a small voice.
“Then who is that man who came to see Noona?”
“That’s right.”
Is he completely unrelated to this?
Just then, a call came from Ellie. She said urgently.
[That man just came to the company again.]
“Who is he?”
[He says he’s a lawyer working at DSD Law Firm. His name is Kim Han-sang.]
“Okay.”
Does Hyun-joo noona have business to meet a lawyer?
After hanging up the phone, I asked Taek-gyu.
“Do you know anyone named Kim Han-sang?”
Then Taek-gyu shouted in surprise.
“What? Kim Han-sang?”
“You startled me. Do you know him?”
“That’s the name of my sister’s boyfriend from when she was in college.”
“R-really?”
Why is her ex-boyfriend from way back when coming up here?
“That bastard is a stalker. He kept following her around school and home for months, and Noona cursed at him so much.”
At those words, Henry and I were startled.
“What?”
* * *
Large buildings in Gangnam usually have franchise cafes on the first floor.
Golden Gate also has a cafe on the first floor, but it’s exclusively for employees, and external access to the entire building is strictly controlled.
It was during busy work hours, so there were hardly any people in the cafe.
Hyun-joo looked at the man in front of her.
He smiled and said.
“Do you remember when we used to date? Those were good times.”
Hyun-joo sighed inwardly.
‘Good times’, my ass.
Looking back now, it’s nothing short of a dark chapter in her life.
The reason they met was because of a close junior colleague. Her cousin kept begging her to set him up on a blind date, so she asked Hyun-joo to go on just one blind date, and she reluctantly agreed.
The man she met for the first time at a cafe near the school was so ordinary that it was hard to describe any particular feature.
He was the same age as her and was studying law at Seoran University after retaking the college entrance exam. Seoran University wasn’t as good as Korea University, but Seoran University was also a prestigious university within the top five in Seoul.
Up until this point, Hyun-joo had little interest in men or dating. Conversely, this meant she didn’t really have any specific standards for her ideal type.
When he asked her to date, she agreed without much thought. She liked the fact that he seemed ordinary and innocent.
Every day was busy with studying, but she made sure to make time for dates. She believed that if you were dating, you had to fulfill your responsibilities to your partner.
They dated like that for almost a year.
The reason they broke up was because he cheated on her. A friend whose younger sibling went to Seoran University told her that he seemed to be seeing a freshman girl.
When she asked him to confirm the truth, he notified her of their breakup.
Relationships can begin when two people’s hearts are in sync, but breakups can happen even if only one person decides to end it. Hyun-joo broke up with him without any regrets.
But…….
This man’s true pettiness was revealed after that. Whether things didn’t work out with the new girl, about three months after their breakup, he started begging her to get back together, crying and pleading.
He not only came to school, but later even came to her house. She tried reporting him to the police, but it was useless. She even seriously considered studying abroad, it was that bad.
Fortunately, at that point, he had to go to the military, which he had been postponing, and naturally disappeared from her sight.
She never saw him again after that. All she heard later was that he had gone on to law school at a local university.
‘But to think he would reappear in front of me like this again.’
Success attracts people around you like magnets.
If you ask financial professionals around the world to name just one Korean investor, they will naturally say Kang Jin-hoo’s name. And if you ask them to name two, Ryu Cheol-gyun’s name will come up, and if you ask them to name three, Oh Hyun-joo’s name will come up.
And it doesn’t end there, she holds 3 percent of OTK Company shares. With this much, she is the richest woman in Korea, and her wealth is still increasing.
After her name became known after becoming the head of Golden Gate Korea, countless people she had known in the past contacted her. And among them was her ex-boyfriend whom she had broken up with.
She felt a headache coming on.
‘I’ve always been told I don’t have an eye for men, but to think I dated a man like this.’
If she could meet her college self, she felt like she wanted to slap herself across the face and tell herself to come to her senses.
Once, he came to the company under the guise of business, and after that, he came to the hotel and pretended to run into her by chance.
She had no intention of ever seeing his face again, but the reason she was sitting here and even talking to him was because of the item he had brought.
“I kept it because it seemed like a precious item to you, without throwing it away.”
A Montblanc pen was placed on the table. It was a gift her father had given her when she entered college a long time ago.
For a college student, it was quite an expensive item, and she used it well throughout her school years.
I thought I had lost it and forgotten about it, but….
‘Did I drop it when we broke up?’
Touching it again, it felt like the memories of that time were coming back to life. She had studied hard, wanting to get a job and earn money quickly.
Now, if she wanted to, she could buy not just this pen, but even the company that makes it.
“Is there anything else you want to say?”
When Hyun-joo looked at him, he pretended to look around and avoided her gaze.
“Ah, no, well…”
“I’m busy, so I’ll get up now. As I said last time, don’t come looking for me again.”
He said urgently.
“W-wait a minute. How about we start seeing each other again?”
“…….”
Is this what it’s like to be speechless with disbelief?
Hyun-joo wanted to swear at him, but she calmly said, thinking of the baby in her womb.
“Why do you want to see me?”
“Well, you’re still not married, and I heard you don’t have anyone you’re dating? So, wouldn’t it be okay for us to get back together?”
No matter how you look at it, this ordinary man’s only strength is his shamelessness.
‘How on earth can he tell a woman he cheated on and dumped to get back together with him?’
Hyun-joo said decisively.
“I have no intention of dating anyone right now, and even if I did, it wouldn’t be you.”
Hyun-joo got up as if there was nothing more to say.
“I’ll go first, so take your time finishing your drink and get up.”
Then he jumped up and grabbed Hyun-joo’s wrist tightly.
“Hey! Oh Hyun-joo!”
Hyun-joo frowned.
“Let go of my hand.”
“Sit down! I’m talking to you right now.”
He shouted, gripping her wrist even tighter.
“What’s so great about you that you look down on people like this?”
“What?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know? Even when we were dating, you always looked down on me because you went to Korea University! Isn’t that why I dated other women? If you’re so great, why do you look down on people?”
“…….”
So what on earth is he saying? Does he even know what he’s talking about at this point?
‘This human is truly hopeless.’
There was no need to get angry or shout. Employees in suits were already approaching.
But at that moment, a completely unexpected man appeared.
Henry, who had run out in an instant, grabbed the man’s collar with his left hand.
He was so strong that even though he grabbed him with one hand, almost his entire body was lifted upwards. In fact, the other man’s heels were lifted, as if he was standing on tiptoes.
The man, who had been shouting aggressively just moments before, struggled like a puppy caught by the scruff of its neck.
Henry was making a face as if he was really going to kill him. I’ve known him for quite a while, but I’ve never seen such an expression before.
The man trembled, terrified.
“Wh-who are you? Wh-why are you doing this to me?”
Henry raised his fist. I heard his hobby was boxing, and his form was no joke. If he landed a punch, it wouldn’t just end with a few broken teeth.
“Aaaak! D-don’t hit me!”
The man screamed like that and squeezed his eyes shut.
Just as he was about to throw a punch, Hyun-joo noona shouted.
“Stop!”
At that one word, Henry froze as if he had been turned to stone.
Hyun-joo noona said with a sigh.
“He’s not even worth hitting.”
Henry finally lowered his fist and released the man’s collar.
The man, his heels back on the ground, looked back and forth between the two with a surprised expression.
“Wh-what? What kind of relationship do you two have? Don’t tell me you’re dating or something?”
Hyun-joo noona waved her hand dismissively, as if annoyed.
“It’s none of your business, so just get lost.”
He straightened his crumpled collar and shouted.
“Wh-what? Are you done talking? Do you think I’ll just let this go? What is this in a country ruled by law? The scene just now was all caught on CCTV, and I’m going to report you, foreigner or whatever, so you know! I’m a man of my word!”
He suddenly became arrogant, realizing that the other person couldn’t hit him.
What’s the best way to deal with a guy like this?
Before I could finish thinking, Taek-gyu rushed in and swung his fist.
“OTK Punch!”
Whack!
“Uaaaagh!”
Apart from the flashy technique name, the power was terrible. It didn’t seem like he hit him very hard, but the man screamed and collapsed to the floor.
“How dare you touch our Noona’s body? Report this too, you bastard.”
Taek-gyu shook his hand as if his own hand hurt from punching him. After all, only those who have thrown punches before know how to throw them well.
“Are you okay, Noona?”
Still, he looks kind of reliable.
Hyun-joo noona looked at us and said.
“What are you all doing here?”
Henry approached Hyun-joo noona.
“I’d like to talk to you, just the two of us.”
