Chapter 27
Yugam called after Jaekyung as she disappeared into her room.
She hadn't even properly introduced her husband to her friend, and now she was openly ignoring him.
If he followed his instincts, he wanted to pull her into his arms and demand to know whether she couldn't hear her husband speaking.
But Jaekyung had been prickly and tense like a stray cat lately.
Provoking her further wouldn't do any good.
So Yugam forced himself to hold back.
“Yes. I'm not doing it.”
Jaekyung answered from inside the room.
“There's no reason for me to meet my friend together with you, Chairman.”
If anyone couldn't separate work from private matters, it was Yugam.
Click.
Jaekyung quickly locked the bedroom door.
Yugam had never even come into her room before.
Still, ever since the Jeju business trip, Jaekyung had been hiding from him because she was afraid she might be shaken by her ex-husband again.
Even after showering and lying in bed, the conversation with Yeseul lingered in her mind.
What am I doing in this house?
A secret romance.
A wedding.
A wedding dress.
A housewarming.
A pretty baby.
Not a single one of those things had ever been part of her life.
Jaekyung flicked the orange keychain hanging from her bedside lamp with one finger.
“Keep the one that looks like me. It's a gift.”
How did that smiling little orange look anything like him?
She only hadn't thrown it away because the accessory itself was cute.
Then another memory returned.
“You're my toy. You have no idea how long I searched for you.”
“Haa... a toy?”
To a man like Yugam, who could have anything he wanted, Jaekyung was probably nothing more than a toy.
The blunt honesty of that word still made her chest ache.
“Get a grip.”
She was getting confused again, as though she and Yugam were actually something to each other.
In two months, he would disappear from her life forever.
No.
Just like five years ago, it wouldn't even be strange if she was suddenly thrown out before the contract ended.
She couldn't let down her guard.
She needed to keep her heart strong and remain calm.
Knock, knock.
“Secretary Seo, are you asleep?”
Jaekyung's carefully settled emotions immediately stirred at Yugam's voice.
“Yes... I'm sleeping.”
“How does someone who's asleep answer?”
“I'm talking in my sleep.”
Jaekyung answered without opening the door.
“I respond very well even while sleeping. My boss gives me a lot of stress.”
She never let a single remark pass without answering back.
Yugam had showered and come all the way here to apologize.
If that was his intention, shouldn't she at least recognize his effort and let something go?
At this rate, their future married life would definitely be full of arguments.
“Open the door for a moment.”
Yugam's throat felt dry.
Jaekyung's indifferent answers through a closed door were frustrating.
“I'm sleeping, so I can't open it.”
“If you're not opening the door, apologize.”
Jaekyung paused.
“...For what?”
“For not introducing your husband to your friend.”
“Go to sleep.”
Her voice became colder.
“You haven't forgotten tomorrow's breakfast meeting at headquarters, have you?”
Then she added,
“I'm sleeping, so stop talking to me.”
“Secretary Seo?”
Yugam turned the handle.
Locked.
No matter how many times he called, there was no response.
Anyone could see she was deliberately ignoring her husband.
“...”
“Seo Jaekyung!”
He knocked again.
“Seo Jaei, I won't get angry. Open the door.”
His competitive streak flared.
The more she refused to answer, the more stubborn he became.
He called her name dozens of times.
Still nothing.
Should I break the door?
Where had he put the master key?
He remembered taking it out when Jaekyung nearly drowned in the bathtub.
Maybe he had left it on the bedside table.
Since no one normally locked doors in this house, he hadn't even bothered remembering where the key was.
“Secretary Seo!”
His voice lowered into a growl.
“Are you going to keep locking your door?”
Still no answer.
“Just wait until tomorrow.”
Inside, Jaekyung lay perfectly still with her eyes closed despite the threatening voice outside.
Minho continued following Jaekyung.
No.
Following sounded too harsh.
This was a surprise event.
That was the right way to describe it.
The head of internal medicine at Taebong Hospital, whose appointments were fully booked for months, had even taken a day off to wait for his girlfriend.
I'm naturally romantic.
In the underground parking garage of KE Group headquarters, Minho spotted Do Yugam standing there.
Yugam's tall figure stood out immediately.
His face was so obviously handsome that Minho felt intimidated just looking at him.
That made him even angrier.
“Fuck.”
He muttered under his breath.
“Seeing that bastard's face makes me want to swear.”
Then he saw Yugam climb into the back seat while being attended by a handsome male secretary who looked like a celebrity.
Minho's hair practically stood on end.
“Well, look at that.”
Jaekyung was in the driver's seat.
She turned toward Yugam and smiled faintly.
It was a smile Minho had never seen directed at him.
Now she's smiling like that because she's running around with handsome men?
Minho followed their car.
I'm seeing Jaekyung today no matter what.
Then he watched the car enter a townhouse complex.
“What are they doing going in there together?”
His eyes narrowed.
“They're not actually living together, are they?”
Minho parked across from the townhouse entrance and waited endlessly for Jaekyung to come back out.
Eventually, he fell asleep against the seat.
When he opened his eyes again, he jolted upright.
“Damn! I fell asleep.”
He checked the time.
It was already six in the morning.
Minho rubbed his face roughly.
Yesterday had been his day off.
Now he had to get to work early.
He hadn't even gotten his date.
Jaekyung still wasn't answering.
Irritation surged through him as he glared toward the building she'd entered.
Then another car approached the townhouse.
The front gate opened.
Minho immediately straightened.
“Huh?”
He saw two people standing side by side in the garden.
“The chairman and Jaekyung?”
There was no mistaking them.
His girlfriend.
And her ex-husband.
Minho's face twisted.
“Those bastards!”
He grabbed his phone.
“They're not actually living together, are they?”
He began taking photo after photo.
Seeing both of them inside the small frame made curses spill from his mouth.
He called Jaekyung again.
No answer.
Minho breathed hard.
“No.”
He tried to calm himself.
“Sweet Jaekyung wouldn't deceive me.”
His expression hardened.
“That bastard must be confining her and watching everything she does.”
Minho had occasionally treated patients who had been rescued after being imprisoned by their husbands.
Some had endured physical violence and repeated gaslighting until they believed they couldn't even call the police.
Jaekyung had to be in the same kind of danger.
“Look.”
Minho zoomed in.
“She moves away whenever the chairman gets closer.”
He clenched his teeth.
“Piece of trash.”
Seeing it with his own eyes only strengthened his certainty.
But if he spoke recklessly against the KE Group, he could disappear from society without anyone knowing how.
If the owner's private scandal caused the share price to collapse, civil damages could easily reach tens or hundreds of billions of won.
Minho had moved to Seoul at twenty with no money.
People had mocked him for being from the countryside.
He had suffered plenty of humiliation.
After fifteen years in Seoul, he understood in his bones how frightening money and power could be.
Yugam got into the car.
Jaekyung bowed politely.
That settled it for Minho.
She's definitely being controlled.
“What woman bows like that to her ex-husband?”
His face became determined.
Jaekyung, I'll save you.
Minho tightly gripped the phone containing what he believed was evidence.
But he was still a salaried doctor.
Getting to work came first.
He quickly started the engine.
“Chairman Do, you're difficult to see.”
One of the nearly sixty-year-old executives smiled warmly across the breakfast table.
“We should have these breakfasts more often.”
No one knew when Do Yugam might become the real power inside the KE Group.
The executives were therefore especially welcoming toward Chairman Do Uitae's grandson.
Another executive nodded.
“Exactly.”
“You shouldn't only come once a quarter.”
“At least once a month would be better.”
Even quarterly meetings already felt forced to Yugam.
He sat expressionlessly and looked toward Director Jin at the head of the table.
“European exports increased significantly last month.”
Jin Heeyeon spoke confidently.
“Oil prices have also risen sharply, and there are many international issues.”
She looked around the table.
“Make sure there are no disruptions to raw-material supply or marketing.”
She had recently spent a long time traveling in Europe because she was putting everything into expanding that market.
“Once Europe stabilizes, we'll focus on North America next.”
The same conversation every time.
Don't they ever get tired of it?
To Yugam, it sounded like a song stuck on repeat.
He hid his boredom and remained seated without expression.
Jaekyung said she was going to work alone.
Did she arrive safely?
He had texted her.
No answer.
Last night she'd locked her door.
This morning she'd barely greeted him before running away with that sulky little expression again.
Because of the breakfast meeting, he hadn't even properly seen her face.
Irritation tightened one small line between Yugam's brows.
“North America is difficult because of the recently changed export regulations.”
An executive continued,
“We'll need coordination with the United States and Canada, but there are domestic legal restrictions on export materials as well.”
“Then manufacturing should first be adjusted to the destination country's standards.”
A news headline about Jin Heeyeon once flashed through Yugam's mind.
Iron Lady Jin Heeyeon of KE Group. After Chairman Do Uitae collapsed and KE Group faced a management crisis, his daughter-in-law Director Jin brought the company back from the brink...
Jin Heeyeon had always wanted to climb higher.
High enough that no one would ever dare look down on her again.
“We're still lacking sufficient clinical trials, but safety has been verified.”
One executive explained,
“If the enforcement decree is revised and we complete the approval process, exports will be possible.”
For that, the influence of Minister of Justice Han Sucheol would be useful.
If Yugam married Han Sora, then with Minister Han becoming family...
A revision of an enforcement decree might become much easier.
Director Jin smiled.
“I'll find a way.”
The so-called meeting finally ended.
Most of it had been nothing more than praise for how Jin Heeyeon had saved the collapsing KE Group and executives flattering her achievements.
A waste of time.
Afterward, Heeyeon sat across from her son for the first time in a while.
“You heard what the executives said earlier, didn't you?”
She straightened proudly.
“You should come to headquarters at least once a week.”
Then her expression sharpened.
“Why are you putting so much effort into that useless school?”
Yugam looked at his mother, who wore the confident expression of someone who had conquered the world.
He answered indifferently.
“You know very well that the Uitae Foundation is the foundation of KE Group.”
His gaze remained cool.
“No matter how busy you are making money, you should keep the order of priorities straight.”
Then he added,
“It's all Grandfather's property, isn't it?”
Yugam leaned back.
“Director Jin and I are both just salaried employees.”
