IMFOBO | CH 67 | Seems I’m Caught

During the presentation, Tae-san was distracted by his phone. 

No matter how many times he checked, the message was indeed from Eun-cho. 

She’s coming to Seoul? 

And this quickly? What about her medical appointments? 

Though questions mounted, he had been ready to chase her all the way to Cheongnim-ri, so Eun-cho’s message left him feeling both deflated and pleased. 

No, perhaps he was actually glad. 

[I’ll stop by your company for a bit.] 

His gaze wavered at the message that arrived next. 

And on top of that, she’s coming to see me? 

Tae-san scanned the short message over and over with his eyes. 

Eun-cho had never come to him voluntarily before. It felt strange. 

At that moment, the corners of Tae-san’s lips loosely curled upward. 

“Mr. Managing Director?” 

“Continue as planned.” 

The frozen atmosphere that had persisted throughout the meeting instantly thawed. He sensed the executives exchanging glances, but that was no longer important to him. 

Eun-cho was coming. 

Eun-cho was coming to him. 

He couldn’t deny that the sharp energy inside him had softened at the thought filling his mind.

His thin patience, which seemed ready to snap at any moment, was soothed by just this one statement. 

Tae-san firmly gripped his phone. 

[I’ll call when I arrive.] 

At the message that briefly rang again, Tae-san pressed his lips tightly. 

Getting angry, then calming down in this brief moment. I’m really going crazy. 

“Let’s end the meeting here. Let’s redraft the modular housing service list.” 

“Yes, understood.” 

As Tae-san stood up, the sound of chairs scraping echoed. 

The commotion that had filled the conference room dispersed. 

It was worth ending the meeting early. 

Had his words about missing her worked? 

Doesn’t this mean you’re also wavering because of me? 

It was his first time attaching meaning to every little action of another person and letting his mood be swayed by it. 

“She really keeps me on a rollercoaster. Such a tiny thing.” 

Back in his office, Tae-san tapped his desk with his index finger. 

His nerves were on edge as he focused on his phone. 

Watching his repetitive motion, Gi-wang deliberately hardened his expression. 

“Should we leave for Cheongnim-ri now?” 

“No.” 

Gi-wang’s gaze seemed to regard him as a madman for his fickle behavior, but Tae-san wasn’t particularly bothered. 

Zzzzzring. 

As soon as the long vibration sounded, Tae-san immediately grabbed his car keys and coat and headed outside, as if he had been waiting.

“Sir! Are you leaving work now?” 

“Yes, everyone can leave without waiting.” 

He could hear Gi-wang trying to stop him from behind, but it was too faint a cry to halt his steps.

Tae-san, who had caught the elevator, watched the descending numbers with his eyes. 

28, 17, 9… 

Today, the elevator’s speed seemed particularly slow. 

After passing through the entrance gate and finally stepping into the lobby, he saw Eun-cho in the distance, holding a phone. 

The vibration buzzing in his pocket strangely seemed to grow louder, creating an illusion. 

It felt as if one side of his body was vibrating. 

“Eun-cho.” 

At Tae-san’s soft call, Eun-cho turned around. 

Her smiling face… 

Was she always this beautiful? 

“Oh? You came out quickly.” 

“Are you cold?” 

Tae-san suppressed the sudden urge to embrace her. 

Instead, he cupped her reddened cheeks with his large hands. 

Her small face fit perfectly in his hand. 

Warm body heat spread to the woman’s cold face as she blinked her gentle eyes. 

“A little? I’m not cold anymore.” 

A rather intimate atmosphere swirled between the two. 

The rumor that the notoriously severe Managing Director Ryu was warming his wife’s face with his hands in the lobby would spread far… 

But Eun-cho, with her cautious nature, seemed awkward even with this. 

Nevertheless, just being able to look into Eun-cho’s eyes right now was quite satisfying. 

He had many questions about the abruptly ended call this morning and about Bonghwang, but at this moment, none of that seemed to matter. 

“Were you surprised that I was with Bonghwang this morning?” 

“Is that why you came?” 

“Well, partly.” 

Tae-san took Eun-cho’s frozen hands and tucked them into his coat pockets. 

He could feel Eun-cho staring blankly at the bulging coat pockets, but he pretended not to notice. 

This woman would always remain the same if not pushed forward. 

“I wasn’t trying to deliberately deceive you… I just didn’t tell you because I thought you might worry.” 

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about such things.” 

Her worriedly chattering lips were pretty. 

Pretty enough to make him want to kiss them right away. 

Only then did he realize clearly. 

At first, he wasn’t sure, but his uncharacteristically hysterical nervousness had appeared because of Eun-cho. 

Damn it. 

Seems I’m more caught than I thought. 

By this small woman. 

“Is it really okay for you to leave just like this?” 

“I think Eun-cho is forgetting, but I’m a managing director here.”

Eun-cho studied Tae-san’s expression. 

She had expected him to be furious about Bonghwang, but he seemed normal. 

No, was it her imagination that he seemed subtly more generous than usual? 

This man, whom she thought would only be intimate in bed, was affectionate and kind in public, too. 

This wasn’t just a temporarily staged act of being a married couple… 

They really seemed like lovers or a genuine married couple. 

As she realized this, her face flushed bright red. 

She also realized that her own insistence on seeing him face-to-face to explain wasn’t much different from Tae-san’s behavior. 

When she wiggled her hand in his large grasp, he held on even tighter, as if afraid to lose her. 

A faint electric sensation ran through her as her frozen hands slowly warmed up. 

She could feel people in the lobby glancing at them one by one, but Tae-san didn’t care at all.

“Just ignore them. You’ll get used to it eventually.” 

“…Ah. You noticed?” 

He seemed completely at ease, as if such stares had always followed him throughout his life. 

Eun-cho nodded and began walking. 

There was something oddly ticklish about how this long-legged man adjusted his stride to match hers. 

“You said ‘partly.’ What’s your other schedule besides seeing me?” 

“Aren’t you busy?” 

Ryu Tae-san still wouldn’t let go of her firmly held hand. 

His attitude suggested that his business was just beginning. 

Eun-cho turned her gaze forward, avoiding Tae-san’s downward stare at her face. Somehow, even her earlobes felt like they were burning. 

“…I’m going to see my father. To return his bankbook.” 

Eun-cho tensed slightly. 

She knew she was the type who stubbornly didn’t let others get close to her. 

She also knew how frustrating that might seem to others. 

To Ryu Tae-san, the money in this bankbook would be pocket change, so he probably wouldn’t understand her pride. 

The same went for her insistence on paying back the principal and interest punctually on the 15th of every month. 

She had braced herself for criticism when she mentioned it, but no words came from Tae-san.

“I’ll take you there. Let’s have dinner together before going home.” 

The sun was still high—was he really planning to leave work now, not just step out briefly?

Eun-cho was about to add something but stopped herself. 

The thought of visiting her father made her nervous, but somehow having this man beside her made her feel it would be okay. 

Her father was the reason she had rushed to Seoul. 

She had received word from his secretary that he would be leaving on an overseas business trip in the late afternoon. 

The two-week trip was long, and given that she couldn’t leave Cheongnim-ri on weekdays, it would be three weeks or even a month before she could return the bankbook. 

She didn’t like dragging this out. 

And she liked owing people even less. 

“…Thank you.” 

Tae-san smiled slightly. 

In that moment, Eun-cho was grateful for the man who didn’t question her and felt reassured by his presence. 

She couldn’t deny that much. 

The car carrying the two slowly glided into the parking lot of Baekwoon Retail headquarters. 

It wasn’t far, just a few blocks from Baekwoon Construction. 

“Then will you wait in the car?” 

Eun-cho gave a slight smile to Tae-san as he nodded, then closed the car door. 

The stifling air characteristic of underground parking lots pushed into her lungs. 

Thinking of the numbers printed in the bankbook made her chest feel tight. 

Her grandmother, not knowing the full situation, might have thought she should receive this much as her granddaughter’s share, but Eun-cho didn’t agree. 

She didn’t want to be indebted anymore. 

Considering how long her aunt had been a burden to her father, she absolutely couldn’t accept it. 

“How may I help you?” 

“I’m here to see CEO Lee Han-mu. I’m Lee Eun-cho.” 

Eun-cho went to the information desk and stated the purpose of her visit.

After calling the secretarial office, the employee handed her a visitor badge. 

Since he was only giving her a brief moment before his business trip, she should just get straight to the point. 

Her heart raced with tension—thump, thump, thump. 

Eun-cho repeatedly thought of Ryu Tae-san waiting in the underground parking lot. Somehow, this seemed to calm her endlessly throbbing heart a bit. 

Whenever she stood before her father, she always felt like she reverted to that miserable little girl… 

But now her shoulders were no longer hunched, nor did her heart shrink. 

So this is what it feels like to have someone to rely on. 

The elevator doors opened. 

It was time to meet her father.