IMFOBO | CH 29 | What’s So Great About Her?

‘Out of Order,’ ‘Under Maintenance,’ or ‘Please Use Another Restroom.’

Tae-san deeply contemplated his position as a gatekeeper in front of the women’s restroom.

What’s so great about a woman who can’t even send a single text while we’re apart?

He turned away every woman who approached the restroom, directing them elsewhere. It was absurd for a man decked out in head-to-toe designer brands to be doing this, but the serious atmosphere inside the restroom meant he couldn’t let anyone else in.

He couldn’t let Lee Eun-cho embarrass herself.

Only Ryu Tae-san was allowed to make things difficult for her and tease her.

As a result, he looked ridiculous. It was already unlike the Ryu Tae-san anyone knew to be caught in such a situation, and if he’d been holding a small women’s purse on top of it all, he would have lost it.

At first, he stood guard outside the restroom because he was worried Eun-cho might try to run away. Instead, he ended up overhearing a conversation he never expected. He never knew Director Lee Han-moo’s wife, who always seemed so elegant, could be so venomous.

“Hmph, really!”

Madam Jung threw down the check and snorted. The moment the woman disappeared down the hallway, Eun-cho staggered again. He couldn’t understand why she was stubbornly holding on, even with such a high fever that she couldn’t even stand straight.

“Ugh!”

This time, Tae-san scooped Eun-cho up, supporting her neck and the backs of her legs. He deliberately put on a show of being an affectionate fiancé in front of Madam Jung, and her look of startled fury was pretty satisfying.

“Put me down. I can walk on my own!”

That damn ‘on my own.’ If there were a ‘Stand on Your Own Two Feet’ association, they’d be giving Lee Eun-cho an award. Did she really need to be this stubborn, even when she was sick? Her flushed eyes looked like she was already at her limit.

“You need to be good now, darling.”

Just like the day they first met, Tae-san loosened his grip on Eun-cho, and her struggling stopped immediately. Her tailbone was still precious to her, it seemed.

“Please stop calling me ‘darling.'”

“Why? That lady was about to foam at the mouth.”

“…Heh.”

Eun-cho, who had been thrashing around, now buried her face in his chest and chuckled. She clung tightly to his neck, like a baby koala who didn’t want to let go.

“I suppose.”

Seeing her so relieved, like she was getting rid of a lot of pent-up frustration, Tae-san couldn’t help but feel good too. Except for the feverish breath of Lee Eun-cho brushing against his neck.

“How long are you going to carry me like this?”

“By tomorrow, the rumor that Ryu Tae-san sobered up and settled his monthly ‘girlfriend expense account’ will be everywhere.”

“So this is all part of your plan?”

“Just play along.”

Eun-cho gave a weak smile and rested her forehead on his shoulder, looking completely drained. It was as if the tension she’d been desperately holding onto had snapped, and she had no energy left. The spot where their foreheads touched quickly grew hot. How could a woman who made a living taking care of other people’s health be so careless with her own?

His mood, which had improved slightly after getting a small revenge on Madam Jung, was now back in the dumps. Getting her to the hospital quickly was the priority. He wouldn’t be able to relax until she was hooked up to an IV.

Not that he was worried about Lee Eun-cho, more like he was doing it for his own peace of mind.

This woman was unusually small and delicate; if she stayed sick like this, she might just disappear into thin air.

Tae-san pulled out his phone and made a call. The ringing stopped almost immediately, and Director Ki’s clear voice came on the line.

“Yes, CEO.”

“Wrap up things at location two and call Director Yoon. Tell him to clear out a VIP room.”

He relayed his message briefly and stood in front of location two. The elevator went straight down to the second basement level without stopping once. He couldn’t waste any time; this was Lee Eun-cho, who he’d guarded by standing watch in front of the women’s restroom.

The woman in the passenger seat, who no longer had the strength to resist, lowered her eyelids. A ragged breath escaped her slightly parted red lips. Each inhale and exhale sounded like a wheezing bellows.

She was a child.

A foolish woman who couldn’t even say she was sick, just enduring and suppressing everything inside. He thought she was all grown up, but then he’d discover the little girl inside Lee Eun-cho, and the feeling was… indescribable.

“I can do it myself.”

As he leaned in to fasten her seatbelt, she refused with an almost energetic tone.

In the past, women had given Tae-san their hearts just for making eye contact and smiling at them, without him even trying. Was Lee Eun-cho any different? She was acting stubborn now, but eventually, she’d fall for him, like most women did. The day Lee Eun-cho, with her innocent eyes and firm resolve, crumbled would eventually come.

Capturing a woman’s heart was easy. Especially a woman who had nowhere else to turn.

“Suit yourself.”

She might not have had the strength to lift a finger, but she had enough energy to buckle her seatbelt. It wasn’t bad to have her stimulate his competitive spirit rather than easily falling for him. It was true that he found himself more interested in a woman who would rather break than bend compared to other women.

The moment when she finally surrendered to him, even after stubbornly resisting, would be even more thrilling.

“We’re going to the hospital.”

“I just want to go to Cheongnim-ri…”

“Stop being stubborn. If you keep it up, it just means you’re inconveniencing others even more.”

After observing her for a while, he knew that Lee Eun-cho hated being indebted to anyone. Even in a dramatic, life-or-death situation, she would grit her teeth and barely manage to ask for help. That said it all.

He was curious about the expression she would make when she arrived at the hospital. Or, more precisely, he was looking forward to her reaction when she discovered the patient in the next room.

* * *

“Ms. Lee Eun-cho.”

The trip to the hospital only took about 20 minutes. The woman, who was fast asleep with her forehead soaked in sweat, looked unusually small.

Tae-san felt annoyed at her stubbornness, for enduring and enduring until she reached this state, but at the same time, it was so typical of Lee Eun-cho that he was speechless.

“Ah… Are we here? I can walk on my own this time.”

That stubbornness.

It seemed to rival Chairman Ryu’s. Was that why she caught the old man’s eye?

Her legs were shaking like a newborn fawn’s, but she still walked click-clack in those uncomfortable heels. As if she would never rely on Ryu Tae-san again.

What was she always trying to do on her own? Would she have been better off being a little more cunning and shrewd? She had absolutely no sense of how to get by.

“It’s okay to lean on me a little.”

“…”

“We’re going to be married.”

It didn’t matter if it was fake or real. It seemed necessary to give her a glimmer of an opening to lean on him.

Eun-cho looked at the arm he offered, hesitated, and then took it. Her weight shifted slightly onto him, and her pace quickened, walking was easier.

“Hey, Tae-san? I think we’re in the wrong place. It’s just a cold; isn’t this Joosung Hospital? Even a family clinic in town would…”

Only then did Eun-cho recognize the hospital and stop abruptly. She looked at him as if to say, Why do you always have to go so overboard? Her gaze was identical to the look she gave him when she received the proposal ring, which made him want to laugh.

What a consistent woman.

“CEO, you’re here? It’s good to see you so often.”

As soon as they reached the lobby, he saw a familiar doctor’s face. It wasn’t surprising that he looked a little nervous, since Tae-san had booked VIP rooms twice in one night.

“Is the room ready?”

“Yes, it’s ready.”

Eun-cho was silent as if trying to figure out the situation. He didn’t know if she didn’t have the strength to speak. Her face was unusually pale under the bright lights. Her lips were so bloodless and pale that he almost preferred when they were red like she had been eating mice, and he didn’t like that.

“The patient this way.”

“Hello, I’m your doctor, Yoon Jae-young.”

Eun-cho realized that the atmosphere was unusual and squeezed Tae-san’s arm. Her eyes darted around as they headed to the VIP ward.

“I don’t think this is right. I’m embarrassed. It’s just a cold. This is too much.”

“It’s okay to be sensitive when you’re sick. People’s lives aren’t as resilient as you think.”

“…”

When he spoke with a painful experience, the woman immediately became silent and raised her eyes to stare at Tae-san. But that didn’t mean he wanted her to look at him like a poor, orphaned child. Objectively speaking, this face and this wealth didn’t belong in the category of the unfortunate, right?

“Don’t embarrass me. I protected Lee Eun-cho’s honor in Cheongnim-ri, didn’t I?”

There’s no one here who doesn’t know I’m Ryu Tae-san of Baekun Construction.

Eun-cho made a crying face at the whispered words but nodded. Anyone would think he was dragging her here against her will. Of course, he didn’t tell her where he was going.

Eun-cho was quite compliant from then on.

Her temperature was 39.2 degrees Celsius. The reason was a cold accompanied by tonsillitis. Her inflammation levels were quite high.

He couldn’t believe how foolish she was. Tae-san’s eyes lingered on Eun-cho’s sleeping face for a long time.