MBWI 13

Chapter – 13

“Do as you like.”

“You won’t regret it, right?”

Feeling like her bluff had been exposed, Gaeun deliberately pretended to stay calm.

“As long as I don’t get intimidated and end up unable to say anything.”

“…Don’t you remember?”

At her question, Seokjin looked at her as if asking what she meant.

“When we first met, you said everything you wanted to Chairman Joo. If you’ve got that much courage, I’m confident I won’t be pushed around by the rest of your family either.”

“…I’ll look forward to it.”

“You can.”

“Alright.”

At Seokjin’s low voice, Gaeun lifted her head and looked up at his face.

She had already thought he was handsome from the front and the side, but seeing his face from below like this was just as mesmerizing.

Were those eyebrows transplanted or something?

She couldn’t easily look away from his perfectly thick brows.

If he just kept his mouth shut and stayed still, she might have mistaken him for a portrait of a perfectly handsome model.

Sometimes it felt like God’s hobby wasn’t making the world fair, but making things extremely uneven.

Some faces seemed mass-produced like factory goods, while someone like Joo Seokjin was clearly handcrafted with great care.

And on top of that, he was given wealth and ability that others envied.

Gaeun glanced at the dark sky above his head and silently blamed God.

Then suddenly she realized she had been staring at his face for too long.

Right. I should ask something.

“What am I supposed to do in front of your family?”

“You just need to get my father to say this marriage must never happen.”

Seeing Seokjin say that with a serious face, Gaeun let out a small laugh.

“Isn’t that too easy? The moment I greet him, he’ll probably say he won’t allow this marriage even if he dies.”

“Well… he’s not an easy person to read.”

“Even if he’s hard to read, isn’t it obvious he’ll oppose me?”

“I hope so.”

After saying that, Seokjin turned his head forward and began walking slowly.

Walking beside him, Gaeun tried to guess what he was thinking, but couldn’t.

Does this man really want this marriage?

His face remained serious the entire time, too serious to dismiss as a joke.

It almost looked like he was worried she might actually get approval tomorrow.

That would never happen…

There was zero chance that the mighty Jushin Group would accept someone like Oh Gaeun as a daughter-in-law, especially as the partner of their youngest son, who was rumored to be the most favored.

All she had to do tomorrow was endure the needle-sharp words and hostile situation that would surely come her way.

“I’ll say we met during volunteer work.”

“Volunteer work?”

“You volunteer at an orphanage. I happen to be a sponsor there.”

“…How did you know? Oh right, you said you looked into me back then.”

Seokjin neither confirmed nor denied her words.

How much did he investigate?

He probably knew about Hankyung too.

Then maybe he thought she was a fool.

As she worried about how much he had found out, a sudden wave of anger rose in her chest.

It felt like she was completely exposed in front of him, while he remained fully buttoned up to the neck.

All she knew about him was that he was the president of Jushin Retail.

That was it.

“What kind of person is Joo Seokjin?”

Was that too direct?

Seokjin slightly raised his brows and narrowed his eyes.

Should she have asked about hobbies or talents instead?

Or asked him to give a one-minute self-introduction?

After staring at her expressionlessly, Seokjin looked away and resumed walking.

“What do you want to know about me?”

“…As much as you investigated Oh Gaeun.”

His steps stopped.

Her answer must have landed like a solid punch.

“Isn’t that fair? You probably dug up everything about me down to the last speck of dust, but you’ll only give me the bare minimum useless information about yourself. That’s unfair.”

“How much do you think I found out?”

“Then how much did you find out?”

“Not much. Your education, family background, and the long-term boyfriend you had. That’s it.”

“Then how did you know I don’t exercise?”

“If you did something unusual like Muay Thai, I would’ve been informed about that too.”

What?

So I just fell for something he threw out?

How stupid must she have looked just now?

She even felt wronged realizing how easily she had fallen into his psychological game.

“Wow, President Joo, you’re really scary.”

“Me?”

“You seem like the type who throws bait and waits for people to bite.”

“What do you mean?”

“Forget it. Let’s just go home.”

If she kept arguing, she’d just look petty, so she turned back the way they came.

She heard his footsteps following behind but didn’t look back.

It was childish, but it felt necessary.

People with nothing tend to cling to their pride.

Compared to Seokjin, Gaeun had almost nothing.

All she had was small things like this pride.

“…Gaeun…”

When they reached her house, she froze upon seeing a figure crouched near the gate, groaning.

“…Oh… Gaeun…”

It sat right in the middle of the entrance, impossible to avoid.

Clearly drunk.

If he was drunk, he should’ve gone home instead of sitting here like he expected something.

As she approached carefully, a strong smell of alcohol hit her.

Frowning, she reached out to shake him awake.

“It’s dangerous.”

Seokjin grabbed her wrist and stepped forward instead, shaking the man’s shoulder.

“Excuse me.”

“…Mm?”

The drunk man lifted his head.

When Gaeun saw his face, she almost cursed but swallowed it because of Seokjin.

It was Jung Hankyung.

Seeing her, Hankyung gave a half-dazed smile and suddenly stood up.

“Gaeun!”

He spread his arms to hug her.

“…!”

But instead of her, he ended up hugging Seokjin, who stepped in front of her.

Startled, he quickly let go.

“Y-you! Who are you?!”

With unfocused eyes and unsteady steps, he pointed at Seokjin.

Seokjin ignored him and brushed off the arm Hankyung had touched as if disgusted.

“Hey! Oh Gaeun!”

Seeing her behind Seokjin, Hankyung moved toward her excitedly.

“Gaeun… how could you do this to me… My chest hurts so much…”

He pounded his chest dramatically.

Gaeun looked at him with cold eyes.

He was always like this.

Whenever he needed to apologize properly, he’d instead get drunk and say nonsense to gain her sympathy.

People really don’t change.

Now that she had completely let go of him, he just looked pathetic.

“How could you… Hey, Gaeun! Do you know why I dated another woman? Because you made me lonely! You can’t live without me… Gaeun…”

“Ugh, is this guy insane…?”

She tried to push him away, but froze when she saw Seokjin’s broad back blocking her.

Seokjin grabbed Hankyung’s arm and twisted it slightly, warning him in a low growl.

“If you’re too drunk to even control your own body, you should go home. Not come to my woman’s house.”

“My woman?”

Hankyung suddenly looked sober and stepped back.

“Hey, Oh Gaeun! You really—”

“Why do you keep calling my woman’s name?”

Gaeun’s face turned red.

She was right there, yet he kept calling her my woman so naturally.

“Like you’re trying to wear it out.”

Goosebumps rose along her arms.

Where did he even learn lines like that?

“What’s your relationship with Gaeun?”

“Me?”

Worried he might say something strange, Gaeun stepped beside him.

With a surprisingly gentle smile, Seokjin placed his hand on her shoulder.

“The man who’s going to marry her.”

“If you’re marrying Gaeun then…”

Hankyung’s eyes widened.

Seokjin smirked.

“Yes. I’m Joo Seokjin. The one from the news.”

“It… it was real?”

Shocked, Hankyung looked at Gaeun for confirmation.

“…Yeah.”

Her hesitant reply seemed to displease Seokjin.

He scanned Hankyung up and down and let out a dry laugh.

“So it was this guy.”

“Isn’t that a bit rude for a first meeting?”

“Oh! Sorry. I spoke harshly to someone I should be thanking.”

Gaeun couldn’t understand why he was thanking such trash.

She wanted to question him immediately.

“Thank you very much for breaking up with our Gaeun.”