All afternoon, Kwon Taejung, harassed by people he knew well, people he knew somewhat, people he barely knew, and even reporters, finally escaped from the company and headed home. Despite the constant chatter about speeding and such, the only good thing about the marriage announcement was receiving a lot of congratulations throughout the day.
It would have been better if he could share these congratulations with Yigyeom, but revealing Yigyeom to others wasn’t an option, so he decided to be satisfied with this.
“Yigyeom!”
As soon as he entered the house, Kwon Taejung hurriedly went into the room to find Yigyeom, checked the empty bed, and was surprised to find the room empty.
“Chief, are you here? I was changing my clothes.”
Kwon Taejung quickly approached Yigyeom, who came out of the dressing room, and hugged him gently to avoid any pain.
“Did you become the Chief again? Call me ‘Babe’ again. Did I hear it wrong earlier?”
“Ah…”
It was already embarrassing to make a sound when his face couldn’t be seen, and it was even more embarrassing to speak while looking at his face. Yigyeom lowered his body towards Kwon Taejung and smiled, biting his lip as their eyes met.
“Babe…”
“Oh, you’re so beautiful. What should I do, really? Did you want me to call you ‘Babe’?”
“Yes… Chief, you also call me ‘Babe’ often. Every time I hear it… I feel good. I also wonder if you would like it if I called you that…”
“Great, I love it.”
After hugging Yigyeom again and letting go, Kwon Taejung looked down at the clothes he had carefully chosen. The brightly colored shirt he had picked, considering it as they were meeting his parents, looked excessively beautiful.
“Oh, it’s beautiful. It suits you well.”
Smiling with relief at the compliment, Yigyeom looked at himself in the mirror in the dressing room for the last time and fixed his hair. Kwon Taejung, throughout this, held Yigyeom’s waist from behind, bent towards his cheek and ear, and lightly kissed him.
“Let’s go quickly. I’m hungry.”
Smiling, Kwon Taejung straightened up from the large body that was bent and held Yigyeom’s hand. The warmth that Yigyeom had missed all day traveled through the fingers that met.
* * *
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Meeting Kwon Yoojung and Kwon Kijung at the hotel lobby at a similar time, Kwon Taejung went up to the restaurant with them. Following the guide to their room, the parents, who were already waiting inside, greeted them with smiles.
“Glv sbe mbwf delmxis, Zbw, Gjv?”
“Qf atbeuta atf agjoolm kbeiv yf tfjns, yea la kjrc’a, rb kf jgglnfv fjgis. Tlusfbw, vlv sbe mbwf? Pa’r ubbv ab rff sbeg ojmf yfaafg atjc atf ijra alwf.”
Vwlilcu jcv ugffalcu tlr qjgfcar, Tlusfbw kfca ab atf qijmf ktfgf Bkbc Kjfpecu’r wbatfg ufraegfv jcv rja vbkc. Bkbc Kjfpecu obiibkfv Tlusfbw jcv rja vbkc cfza ab tlw, tjqqlis kjamtlcu tlr wbatfg jcv Tlusfbw mtjaalcu.
“We came to congratulate you on the marriage article today, and also, our baby seems to be feeling better lately, so I wanted to buy something delicious for you. Is your health okay?”
“Yes, thanks to your concern, I’m really much better these days. Thank you… for thinking of me.”
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
Amidst the affectionate conversations, the pre-ordered dishes were served, with no difficult-to-eat foods for Yigyeom, thanks to Kwon Taejung’s prior arrangement. This allowed Yigyeom to enjoy a delicious and comfortable meal.
Throughout the meal, the joyful and laughter-filled conversation continued, and Yigyeom, watching the family members, was once again delighted to be a part of this family, where not a single moment had been uncomfortable since the day they first met.
“You eat well, our Yigyeom.”
“Everything is so delicious. Even the dessert…”
“I’m really glad that you eat well these days.”
Seeing Kwon Taejung kiss Yigyeom’s cheek and hearing Yigyeom’s laughter, she showed her happiness and turned her gaze towards Kwon Taejung.
“Yigyeom, why are you like that?”
“…A loan shark called.”
“Loan shark… Goo Daebom?”
Yigyeom, nodding, showed Kwon Taejung the phone. Even though the number had changed, the sight of the number that had constantly threatened and harassed him for years made his anger rise. Kwon Taejung quickly glanced around, catching the eyes focused on him, then looked back at Yigyeom.
“Go to the greenhouse with my mother, Yigyeom. It seems like an annoying call, so it’s better if you and mother don’t hear it. I’ll explain the situation later.”
“Yeah, sure. I understand. Yigyeom, let’s go look at the flowers.”
“Yes.”
Seeing Yigyeom and his mother leaving together, Kwon Taejung quickly informed his father, sister, and brother about Goo Daebom, who was Kwon Taejung’s relative and how he made threatening calls to Yigyeom because his grandfather had once borrowed money from him. He also made sure to record the conversation.
Knowing that if he spoke too much, they would know he wasn’t Yigyeom, Kwon Taejung quickly and concisely answered, then pressed the button to listen to the explosive voice of Goo Daebom.
“Hey, Yigyeom. Long time no see, huh? I thought you wouldn’t pick up. Well, now that you’re entering the conglomerate, what’s there to be afraid of, right? There’s nothing I can’t reach by phone.”
“….”
“So, the news broke today? Kwon Taejung is getting married. I thought of you as soon as I saw it, so I called. We’ve been through a lot, so I should congratulate you.”
With a sarcastic tone, both Kwon Yoojung and Kwon Kijung frowned. Kwon Taejung leaned back in his chair, listening to the voice of Goo Daebom, who was treading into the fiery pit of hell.
“Ah, it’s a real turnaround in life, Yigyeom. Isn’t it? Life should be lived like you. It would have been nice if your grandpa knew that his grandson was selling himself to Kwon Taejung. Then he could have closed his eyes comfortably.”
Unable to endure the trash talk and the insults, Kwon Taejung looked like he was about to respond when the chairman raised his hand. It was a gesture to keep listening, to hear more. Kwon Taejung suppressed the urge to tear Goo Daebom apart and kill him, even if only for a moment.
“How long do you think you can endure there? A year? Two years? Selling your body with a split face won’t last long. What do you think the level is in that slum house? How much can you endure there? The chairman must have fainted several times. The youngest son he cherished so much brought home a kid from a slum. Ridiculous. It’s so laughable.”
“….”
“Do you think you can match the level of that house? But well, since it’s me, I’ll give you some realistic advice. If you had done this business properly once, you would have closed shop if you didn’t understand the subject.”
When he had heard enough, Kwon Taejung’s father slammed the table with his fist. With a loud noise, Goo Daebom’s verbal diarrhea also abruptly stopped.
“Do you think spitting it all out means it’s over? You have to take responsibility for the crap you just spilled.”
“What? Who…”
Dumbfounded by the unfamiliar voice instead of Yigyeom’s, Goo Daebom stammered. Kwon Taejung, watching the embarrassed Goo Daebom trying to make sense of the situation, pulled out his phone towards him.
“Who is it? It’s my father. We were having a family meal. President, CEO, Vice President, they all heard it. What are you going to do now? And let me tell you one more thing… Our mom, dad’s youngest, is no longer me but Yigyeom. What are you going to do, really. Life sucks, doesn’t it?”
Now that all his family members have heard it, Goo Daebom’s future was practically non-existent. His father really hated messing with the family in his arms, and he never forgave it.
“Hey, Taejung… Ah, that’s…”
“If you could say such things because you could take responsibility, it wouldn’t be just words, right? Be sure to take responsibility. Ah, I have to pick up my father who’s going to Daeguk Industries now.”
The laughter disappeared from Kwon Taejung’s face when he hung up the phone. It was a fortunate call to receive when everyone was together, and it was indeed fortunate that Yigyeom didn’t have to face such filth.
“Is that guy really insane? Dad, I don’t think this is an issue we should just let go.”
“Yes, I agree with Noona’s thoughts. Yigyeom is now a part of our family. This is as insulting as offending our entire family.”
Alternating between his angry sister and brother and his father, Kwon Taejung finally spoke up.
“Dad, I’m going to blow up Royal Capital. Honestly, I’ve been preparing to show them all this nonsense, or… this chaos, for a while. It may look convincing on the surface, but if you just dig a little deeper, it’s a complete mess inside. If you permit me, I can blow it up right away. Actually, I was planning not to ask for permission, but since we’re acquainted with Chairman Gu, I thought I’d ask just in case.”
“Do as you wish. The collapse of a major company is not a big deal for a day or two. I need to meet Chairman Gu right away. How did he let our family hear such nonsense? I’m considering cutting off everything related to Daeguk, so be prepared, Yoojung, Kijung.”
Rising sternly from his seat, Father was followed by Kwon Yoojung and Kwon Kijung, who also stood up, grabbing their bags and clothes. Drinking a sip of water to calm himself down, Kwon Taejung looked at their faces, now excessively cold due to anger.
“Yoojung, follow me, and Kijung, take responsibility for your mother and safely bring her home. Taejung, make sure Yigyeom doesn’t know the content of the call. Protecting Yigyeom, ensuring he doesn’t get hurt, is the most important thing you should do in your life, always remember that.”
“Yes, Dad.”
After bidding farewell to his father and sister, Kwon Taejung, who remained seated, opened Yigyeom’s phone. He transferred the file containing Goo Daebom’s voice to his and Kwon Kijung’s phones and then deleted it from Yigyeom’s phone.
“Yigyeom must have had a hard time. It’s still coming out like this even now when there’s nothing more to see. I wonder how it was before. Even without looking, it’s so obvious.”
“Whenever he’s bored, he calls him, comes over, makes a fuss, threatens him with all kinds of things. I stepped on him every time I saw him, but he still hasn’t learned. I wonder if he’ll come to his senses just before he completely falls apart.”
“No need for our hands to get stained unnecessarily. When Dad meets Chairman Gu from Daeguk, they’ll handle it on that side. It might be annoying, but just blow up the major company we’ve prepared. If you go beyond that, it might cause unnecessary trouble for you, Taejung.”
“Yeah. I’ll do that, hyung. I’m going to live quietly now without getting into the news. Happily with our Yigyeom.”
Naturally expecting that, Kwon Kijung patted Kwon Taejung’s back and turned around at the sound of the opening door. And when he saw Mom and Yigyeom entering, he smiled.
“Where’s your Dad and Yoojung?”
“Oh, there was an urgent matter, so they left first. Mom, please go with me.”
Kwon Taejung reached out his hand to Yigyeom approaching him. Then, with Yigyeom’s waist in front of him, he leaned his face against his chest. More than anything else, he was relieved that Yigyeom, warm and affectionate, didn’t have to face such filthy things.
About time that a hole got his comeuppance.
Some pronoun errors and other grammar errors in the beginning of this chapter… Saying that Goo borrowed money from the grandfather but it was the other way round.
thank you for letting me know. will fix this soon!