CS Chapter 12

“You really didn’t have to drive me…”

 

After leaving the lounge, Minjun acted quite kindly, offering to drive Seowoo to the hotel. 

 

The woman in the passenger seat fidgeted the entire time. She seemed very uncomfortable.

 

“You need to get used to it. We’ll be living as a married couple for the next few years.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Seowoo nodded weakly, knowing he wasn’t wrong. 

 

Unlike the humid weather outside, the air inside the car was chillingly cold. 

 

Only then did she realize why the man insisted on wearing a suit jacket even in this hot summer. He probably rarely, if ever, experienced being in a hot place when it was hot. Feeling a strange sense of inferiority, she gazed out the window when the man’s voice broke through.

 

“There’s a phone in the glove compartment, it’s yours, so take it.”

 

“A phone?”

 

“You need to contact people, right?”

 

“Ah…thank you.”

 

Once again, Seowoo nodded without any complaints. Having barely escaped with just her body, she had nothing, not her phone, not her wallet. It had been inconvenient communicating through the Chairman’s secretary all this time, so this was welcome.

 

Opening the glove compartment, she found a box sitting there, just as he said. It was a new model released earlier this year by Daehan Electronics.

 

“I’ve saved my number. Contact me if you need anything.”

 

Just as he said, there was only one contact saved on the phone. Cha Minjun. She stared blankly at the three saved characters for a moment.

 

“Please let me know if there’s anything I need to prepare separately.”

 

“Well.”

 

The man then smiled enigmatically. Even the way he tapped the steering wheel seemed playful. Contrary to his cool and indifferent demeanor, he seemed to enjoy teasing people.

 

“Let’s start with sorting out how we address each other.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Seowoo immediately understood what the man meant and bit her lip, seemingly embarrassed. Truth be told, while she had called him “ajusshi” (아저씨- uncle/mister) , she felt a vague sense of guilt. Probably because of his extraordinarily handsome looks.

 

‘He seems not to like ‘ajusshi’ or ‘samchon‘… Then, ‘oppa¹‘?’

 

Oppa…. huh?

 

Having rarely used the term “oppa” in her life, the thought alone made her feel awkward.

 

As Seowoo hesitated for a long time, unable to find the right answer, Minjun shook his head as if he was fed up.

 

“Minjun-ssi.“

 

“….!”

 

“Call me Mr. Minjun.”

 

“Yes…”

 

It was still an awkward title, but ‘Mr. Minjun’ seemed better than ‘oppa.’ To get used to it as quickly as possible, Seowoo repeated the title ‘Mr. Minjun’ several times in her mind.

 

Just then, the man’s phone, placed on the holder, vibrated. The name Shin Haeri floated on the brightened screen.

 

“Yeah, Haeri.”

 

The man turned on the speakerphone without a second thought. Then, a voice, as if a lover was being coquettish, echoed throughout the car.

 

-“Cha Minjun. You haven’t been contacting me much lately, am I upsetting you? Are you cheating on me, maybe?”

 

“Shin Haeri, the great Shin Haeri, is upset?”

 

-It’s not like I have a choice. Is there any difference just because it’s me? All women’s hearts are the same.

 

The woman chuckled softly at the man’s smooth tone. Seowoo, quite embarrassed by this situation, could only freeze like a broken doll.

 

Just a moment ago, the man had been discussing marriage with her, and now he was having an affectionate conversation with another woman so casually. As a twenty-three-year-old woman, it was nothing short of bewildering. She wondered if this was how all wealthy people were…

 

The man continued his conversation with Shin Haeri as if he didn’t care at all about how uncomfortable Seowoo might be. He even made a dinner appointment before finally ending the call.

 

After a few seconds of silence,

 

“Where were we in our conversation?”

 

The man asked nonchalantly. He didn’t seem to be aware of what was wrong with the situation at all.

 

“…You told me to call you Mr. Minjun.”

 

“Oh, right. Are you okay with it?”

 

“Yes, Mr. Minjun.”

 

“You learn fast.”

 

Minjun pulled up the corners of his lips as if satisfied, and Seowoo tightly shut her mouth with an uncomfortable expression.

 

The man’s car, which had been smoothly driving on the road, soon stopped in front of the hotel. Seowoo got out of the passenger seat, escorted by a bellboy.

 

“Thank you for the ride.”

 

“I’ll contact you.”

 

With those words, the man’s car quickly disappeared.

 

But then, something strange happened. From the moment she parted with Cha Minjun, her stomach started churning uncontrollably.

 

“Ugh-!”

 

As soon as she entered her hotel room, Seowoo began to gag. She continued to retch madly, as if completely consumed by the self-loathing that was washing over her.

 

“Haa… haa…”

 

She caught her breath, struggling to stand up. The mirror in the sink reflected the face of a haggard woman. A face devoid of any vitality, just helpless.

 

She had been desperately holding on until now, but the events of the past few days had relentlessly gnawed at her spirit.

 

Plus, there was the sudden and horrific self-loathing. Where was this loathing coming from?

 

But the answer was easy to find. The reason she hated herself so much that she was disgusted.

 

She had wanted to avoid marrying the old cult leader even if it meant dying, but she had agreed to marry Cha Minjun without much hesitation. She hated that about herself so much.

 

It was because he was rich, handsome, and would let her take the GED exam. And because it was only until her grandfather died. Because she didn’t have a path forward or a direction for her life anyway. So it wasn’t the worst decision…

 

“Ugh!”

 

She was nothing but a gold digger.

 

***

 

After dropping off Ji Seowoo in front of the hotel, Minjun returned directly to his company. After that, it was a series of meetings.

 

As he began to prepare for the personnel changes and management succession in earnest, everything was a whirlwind. Several business meetings, including executive meetings, took place every day.

 

He meticulously reviewed the quarterly performance data for Daehan Motors, which had been submitted in the morning. He felt a heavy burden on his shoulders as he would be solely leading the development of the autonomous driving new car that would be released in the second half of the year. It was a battle that he had to win no matter what, so as to avoid any talk of family-run management. Therefore he could not help but be more sensitive.

 

As he was signing a mountain of approval documents with his fountain pen, his secretary entered the office with a troubled expression.

 

“CEO. Ms. Shin Haeri has arrived.”

 

“Shin Haeri?”

 

“Shall I ask her to wait for a moment?”

 

At this, a small crack appeared on Minjun’s face. He wasn’t too pleased with her coming to the company abruptly before their scheduled time.

 

“Tell her to come in.”

 

However, Minjun quickly composed himself and greeted Shin Haeri.

 

Soon after, Shin Haeri entered, the sound of her high heels clicking. She was noticeably flamboyant, adorned with a bright, primary-colored two-piece suit and bold accessories. She was the complete opposite of the plain, simple woman he had been with a moment ago.

 

Shin Haeri smiled brightly as soon as she saw Minjun.

 

“I’m sorry. I know you hate it when I come by unexpectedly.”

 

“You know that, and yet you still came anyway?”

 

Minjun replied in a soft voice. His voice was certainly gentle, but his expression clearly showed his displeasure.

 

But Shin Haeri pretended not to notice and examined Minjun’s face. Well-defined eyebrows, sharply angled eyes, a prominent nose, and a cool-looking impression. She had seen this handsome face quite often as they had a “sex partner” relationship, so she felt a bit disappointed.

 

“I heard you’ve decided on a marriage partner. I couldn’t suppress my curiosity and came to see you like this.”

 

“The news spreads fast.”

 

“That’s how it is in this world. So, what kind of woman is she?”

 

“A young woman.”

 

The man answered without hesitation. At the mention of a “young woman”, Shin Haeri stiffened without realizing it.

 

“That’s great. Men can’t help but be attracted to young women. What else is she like?”

 

“Well, there’s nothing special. Except that she’s young.”

 

“Is she pretty?”

 

“I don’t know. At first, she smelled of baby milk.”

 

The man’s lips formed a curve as he briefly thought of the woman.

 

“Maybe it’ll be different once I undress her.”