IDTE 11

Chapter – 11

Up until now, the way I dealt with problems around me was simple.
Annoying things? I just got rid of them.
Things that irritated me? I eliminated them.

So that was the plan. I intended to get rid of the unwelcome visitor named Yoo Min-ha.

But to get rid of something annoying, I realized I would need that woman for a while.

“Director Do, is it true you’ve got a girlfriend?”

At a dull meeting under the grand name of Sungjin Holdings, one of the old men from the entertainment division spoke first.

“Finally losing your mind, huh?”

“That arrogant bastard!”

“I heard the same. Apparently, he’s been running in and out of Sungjin Capital, taking money too?”

“There’s talk that the woman has close ties with Myungcheon’s Shin Kwang-hyuk. Could she have been leaking all our internal info?”

“They’ve all gone mad.”

“Director Do, this time you should clarify things properly. The messy rumors aren’t something to ignore.”

They pressed their temples with their fingers. The old men were practically foaming at the mouth, wanting to take me down quickly. How annoying.

The irony was, weren’t they the ones collecting rumors from Myungcheon’s lackeys themselves?

“Chairman, no matter how you look at it, Director Do from Capital seems suspicious.”

“I know the chairman holds Director Do in high regard, but if we stay silent, we’ll have no choice but to formally raise the issue.”

Eventually, the arrows of their garbage talk were aimed at Chairman Park Jin-ho.

“Director Do, I’ll ask you one more time. Who is this woman?”

“She was attorney Kim Hyung-man’s client.”

“Hey! That makes it even more suspicious! If she was the lawyer for a traitor, she must know a lot about Sungjin. Is she colluding and scheming something?”

“…If it bothers you, I was planning to deal with it. It’s not difficult.”

“Quiet! Quiet!”

Chairman Park Jin-ho’s low, resonant voice filled the entire meeting room instantly. The old man’s presence seemed unstoppable.

“Do you realize, if that lawyer is Director Do-hyun’s woman, things would look very different?”

It was such a ridiculous statement that I had to mull it over several times.

“Chairman! There has to be something shady.”

“And how can you be so sure?”

“That is…”

“Director Do, what do you think? If the lawyer and he are an item, everything would be neatly settled, don’t you think? I’ll give you time to think. Maybe soon, everyone can happily clear up this misunderstanding! Ha ha.”

I had been raised by Chairman Park Jin-ho since I was young, but sometimes, when he looked at me with that inscrutable gaze, it was both annoying and frustrating.

In truth, I could roughly guess his intention.

A woman who knows Sungjin’s internal info.
Bring her in under a plausible pretext, give those old men a lesson, and while everyone’s attention is elsewhere, deal with Myungcheon’s lackeys. Of course, the woman comes along too.

I left the now noisy meeting room and checked my phone. A message appeared with a photo of a dilapidated container.

―Shin Kwang-hyuk. Gyeonggi-do, Shintaxi 35–12. If you don’t show in 30 minutes, Yoo Min-ha becomes my problem instead of yours.

Disgusting. It felt like a crime that such things even existed in text form.

I got into the waiting car and loosened the tie that was strangling my neck.

“Shall we take her straight to the company?”

“Yes. Take her straight there.”

The car didn’t go far before stopping at a red light at an intersection.

“Director… just so you know, Shin Kwang-hyuk is with that lawyer.”

“You got a message too? Must be bored, that bastard.”

“Should we just leave it?”

“Leave it.”

I was craving a cigarette like crazy. As I reached into my jacket pocket to pull one out, my phone vibrated in the same pocket.

―The sooner the engagement happens, the better. That bastard tends to run off if left outside too long.

I clenched the cigarette in my hand tightly. What a pain.

“Han-gyu, where are you?”

“Eh? Where?”

“I asked where Shin Kwang-hyuk is.”

“Should we head that way?”

“I think we should go.”

“We’ll go as fast as possible.”

“Forget it. Take it slow.”

A vivid childhood memory came to mind.

On a pitch-black night, countless insects swarmed around the fluorescent lights on the ceiling.
The sound of them burning was unbearably irritating.

What did I do? I opened the window wider. Come on, burn some more, you worthless things.

Now, seeing that irritating person reminded me of that moment.

That person probably thought they were running toward the light. But in reality, that light would burn her alive.

If the woman is at fault, maybe she doesn’t even know what real light is.

Convincing that annoying woman was easier than I expected. Saying it was a fake engagement even made me chuckle a bit.

The only thing that irked me was her gaze when we arrived at her miserable villa.

Life had returned to her dead eyes. I know those eyes. The look someone gets when they start desperately wanting something.

I had seen eyes like that when I first met Chairman Park Jin-ho and Kim Geon. It was surprising to see someone else with such a gaze.

“Those are good eyes. Seems like you’ve found something you want.”

She didn’t deny it, which made me smile unconsciously.

“Whatever it is, I hope luck is on your side. Skill won’t be enough anyway.”

I meant it. I knew it wouldn’t work. So I was a little curious what her futile hope might be.

Judging by how she lived, she wasn’t money-obsessed. Perhaps she wanted something like justice?

Maybe I’d end up being more curious about her than I thought.

But that fleeting thought vanished instantly the moment we visited Chairman Park Jin-ho.

“Finally, I can face your father. If Sung-chul were here too, he would have been so happy.”

My father, Do Sung-chul, who had once run the old Sungjin Association with Chairman Park, had been killed pitifully by Myungcheon faction leader Myung Se-gwang.

He says my father would have been happy if he were here? Ridiculous. If my father were alive, I wouldn’t even need to be here.

Chairman Park was sending me a message again. Remember my father’s unjust death.
Take revenge on Myungcheon. Deal with anyone who hinders Sungjin. Don’t get too caught up in useless engagement games.

He knew that the only memory I had of my family was enough to bind me hand and foot.

My mood plummeted. I was already annoyed and irritated, and now I felt even worse.

“…You’re going back to Sungjin Capital now, right? Excuse me?”

Her presence and words alone were enough to irritate me. I wanted to get rid of her.

Should I just get rid of her now? Why should I have to do this useless engagement game with her? Was it really necessary?

I could just take out Myungcheon’s lackeys quickly and quietly. And that person…

Thoughts tangled in my mind, my jaw clenched. Then, for some reason, I suddenly recalled Yoo Min-ha’s gaze from in front of the villa.

I felt the tension in my jaw gradually ease.

“Should I drop you off in front of your company?”

I don’t know how much time had passed, but even after leaving Yoo Min-ha behind, an unfamiliar lingering scent in the car made it feel as though she was still there.

“Damn…”

I tried to force down the urge to burst out.

I called Kim Geon. He had grown up like an older brother to me and was probably the only person now who didn’t irritate me.

[Lee Hyun-ah, did you greet him properly? The fiancé?]

“What fiancé?”

[Why, that woman is pitiful too.]

“Pitiful? The one who’s pitiful is me, having to play along with this childish game.”

I heard Kim Geon’s small laugh through the phone.

[You’ll get used to it. You’re going to have to pick her up again later anyway, right?]

“Ah, I need a favor. Go pick her up for me.”

[Me?]

“Yes. Just show her the way home; she’ll shrink into place on her own. Don’t worry about it.”