Chapter 10
No sooner had Dogeon finished drinking a glass of water than the area around him became crowded. There were so many people wanting to seize this opportunity to make an impression on Seo Dogeon of Seowon Electronics.
Ji-an bowed her head beside him, greeting people along with him. Should she bow when her husband does? Or only when the other party asked first?
Could she just stand there…?
Come to think of it, there hadn’t been any official Seowon Group events since the wedding, so this was effectively their first appearance as a married couple in public.
“…Ah.”
Dogeon, who had his arm around Ji-an’s shoulder as she looked flustered, pulled her a little more affectionately into his embrace. Her heart began to pound again at his scent. The feel of his touch against her bare skin was warm.
“Cold?”
Even while conversing with others, Dogeon was attentive to her, and Ji-an’s fingertips tingled.
She shook her head to say she was fine, and he gestured with his eyes toward his suit jacket draped over her arm. It seemed he meant for her to put it on if she was cold.
She was really fine….
Standing right beside Dogeon made her so nervous that she didn’t even notice the cold—if anything, she felt hot.
“Vice Chairman, you look even better since getting married.”
“President Joo, it’s been a while.”
“You two look great together. I heard you’re forming a consortium with the YK Group this time. We put in a bid too, but unfortunately we didn’t make it.”
“Is that so.”
President Joo of Yangil Construction subtly highlighted his company’s technology, capital strength, and track record in overseas plant projects in front of Dogeon. It seemed like a strategy to seek future opportunities, even if not this time.
After that, Ji-an continued to shake hands with many people and smiled diligently. All the while, she stole glances to the side.
This was a man who had been working nonstop from the moment he arrived at the office that morning until just before coming here. Yet he showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
Like his perfectly pressed shirt and suit without a single wrinkle, he maintained his usual composure.
He leaned his upper body toward Ji-an. Though the room was somewhat noisy, only Dogeon’s voice reached her ears.
“You must be tired. Let’s go say hello to Grandfather and leave. It’ll be quick.”
“Okay. Are you okay, oppa?”
Grandfather would likely use her husband as a prop, needing the backing of Seowon Group. Up close, he would call him his grandson-in-law and try to show him off even more. That was why she felt embarrassed.
“Yeah.”
“I was surprised to see you here. I heard you were busy today.”
“I stepped out during another event.”
“Is that okay?”
He stepped out in the middle of a prior event just to come here? Ji-an’s eyes widened.
“Yeah. Here, there’s nowhere to run, and it’s too small for you to hide anyway.”
“What do you….”
“Han Ji-an. You hid every single time during Seowon’s founding anniversary events.”
“Tch, you always found me every time anyway.”
“Exactly. So now that you’re an adult, you can’t hide anymore anyway.”
At that, Ji-an fanned herself with her hand. To think he would casually bring up something from her childhood like that.
Whenever the founding anniversary event was held at Myeongheonjae, Ji-an would run off and kill time looking at the plants or watching the fish in the pond.
At hotel events, she’d sit blankly in the lobby or hide behind the curtains. Sometimes she’d be in the adjacent ballroom that was being cleaned up.
Whenever she was bored, restless, and wanted to be alone, she would always run into Dogeon.
Dressed impeccably that day, befitting a future heir, he would show his fatigue by frowning or sighing.
“I’m fine at these things now, you know. I greeted everyone properly just now, didn’t I?”
“Really?”
“…Yes, really. I have years of experience, you know.”
“True. You’ve been following Grandfather around since you were that small.”
Seeing his hand near her waist, Ji-an frowned. She didn’t think she was that small anymore.
“I was bigger than that.”
“Hmm.”
“Maybe about this tall?”
Ji-an moved his hand a little higher up. Still, there wasn’t much difference.
Oh no. Now he’ll just see me as a kid again.
In Dogeon’s eyes, she was probably still just a child half his height.
Even now, she was still much shorter than Dogeon, but that was only because Seo Dogeon was a good two heads taller than most people.
Just then, Grandfather, who had spotted Dogeon, came over with the party leader and some politicians.
“Our grandson-in-law, heh heh. What a fine-looking man. This is our party leader. You two haven’t met before, have you?”
“No. Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Min-gap.”
“Seo Dogeon.”
As the other party extended his hand, Dogeon shook it.
Compared to other companies, Seowon avoided meetings with political figures outside of the Blue House entirely. They mostly managed political and media circles through their legal team, which also meant they received relatively little media exposure.
To that end, the welfare foundation actively sponsored young talents. Those individuals would go on to become judges and prosecutors, serving as Seowon’s backing, and they spread into various fields outside the legal profession, acting as its hands and feet.
While Dogeon was speaking with Grandfather, Ji-an was pulled away by Grandmother.
She pushed Ji-an into the adjacent ballroom, closed the door, stationed her secretary outside, and strode in.
“Today is an auspicious day.”
“What do you….”
“I got the date from a fortune-teller. If you do it today, you’ll conceive.”
As Ji-an stared blankly, Grandmother frowned.
“Don’t pretend you don’t understand. Take this quickly.”
Grandmother handed her a shopping bag, and Ji-an took it in a daze. Inside the palm-sized bag were mesh lingerie, some lotion, and beside them, an unidentified potion.
“I heard that potion is widely used in Gangnam. Go upstairs and mix it in alcohol or water—you drink it, and make the Vice Chairman drink it too.”
“This…. That’s illegal.”
At that, Grandmother’s hand flew and smacked Ji-an on the head. With a thud, Ji-an dropped the shopping bag, and Grandmother clicked her tongue.
“If you were doing your part properly, would I have to do this? Stop talking nonsense and do as you’re told. Your father needs Seowon to become president. You just give birth to one son and then keep having more.”
“…….”
“At your age, you can get pregnant easily. Your womb is healthy.”
She had acted so reluctant to marry off her other granddaughters, telling them to wait until after thirty. Now she was telling Ji-an that she could get pregnant easily at this age.
It was a familiar disregard, but that didn’t make it any less hurtful.
“This is the key to the suite upstairs.”
Grandmother placed a hotel key in Ji-an’s hand as she picked up the shopping bag. Meaning she was to go upstairs and do what needed to be done for conception today.
“I’ve made an appointment with Dr. Jung in two weeks.”
“Grandmother…. Can’t we take things slowly?”
“Have you lost your mind? Talking so calmly. This is urgent.”
“……What happens if I don’t get pregnant?”
“What do you think? You’ll be divorced from Seowon. In our day, if a woman couldn’t bear a son, she was sent away. Your mother is lucky she married into a good family and didn’t get divorced, living with your father as she does. Aish. I have no luck whatsoever.”
The anger toward her mother, who hadn’t given birth to a son, poured out again. Just as she was getting tired of the repeated tirade, a knock came at the door.
Grandmother, as if she hadn’t just been hurling abuse, put on a kind face and took Ji-an’s hand.
As they opened the door and walked out of the ballroom, Ji-an spotted her husband looking for her from a distance. He noticed Ji-an and Grandmother and bowed his head to Grandmother first.
“Oh my, our grandson-in-law. You must be tired from being inside. My husband, honestly, I don’t know what gets into him.”
“It’s fine.”
She rushed over, clasped her grandson-in-law’s hand with both of hers, and expressed her delight.
“Have a good time with Ji-an.”
Then Grandmother turned and gave Ji-an an icy glare over her shoulder.
It was a clear message to do what she had to do today.
